NBC weds Vivendi studios
CoastalWader
NBC weds Vivendi studios
By Matthieu Demeestere in New York
03sep03
NBC, which won the bidding for the entertainment assets of Vivendi Universal,
is now poised to transform the peacock network into a diversified entertainment
industry giant.
A tentative deal announced today will wed Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the
troubled unit of French-based Vivendi, with the NBC unit of General Electric in
a new company owned 80 per cent by the US group and 20 per cent by Vivendi.
NBC, which up to now has been the only major US broadcast network not
affiliated with a Hollywood studio, will get the famed Universal Studios, along
with its five theme parks and the Sci-Fi and USA Networks cable channels.
Analysts said the NBC-Universal hook up appears to make sense in a new US
regulatory environment with production and broadcasting no longer separated.
Universal will give NBC "sources of production for their TV shows," said David
Joyce, analyst at Guzman and Company, who suggested the deal could offer
synergies and keep costs under control.
This will help NBC better compete against rivals such as Viacom's CBS, which
owns Paramount Pictures, and ABC, which is part of the Walt Disney Company, as
well as The News Corporation Ltd, which owns the Fox television and film
studios.
"I think that NBC needs to have production on its own shows," said Joyce.
"They've had a very successful decade, but they're starting to get some serious
competition from CBS and Fox."
While NBC claims to be the top-rated television network, the Universal deal
would allow access to more programming without difficult negotiations with its
competitors.
Smith Barney analyst Jeffrey Sprague said the deal makes financial sense as
well, and was likely to boost GE's earnings.
The combination should "is a likely source of future gains to fund
acquisitions/restructuring and could provide a currency to further grow the
entertainment business," Sprague said.
"A deal would come at the risk of some potential additional volatility and
integration risks, but on balance looks attractive."
Sprague said Hollywood studio earnings are being boosted by DVD sales, which
now account for 40 to 50 per cent of profits, making the outlook more stable.
The analyst said the deal appears to "unlock" value in NBC, because it values
NBC at $US30 billion ($47 billion) even though the book value is just $US10
billion.
"We believe the strategic rationale in combining NBC and VUE is solid," Sprague
said.
"It is true that GE management in outlining its portfolio priorities never
suggested such a thrust into entertainment (especially a studio). However, we
believe this is a logical response to a rare opportunity to acquire such assets
is such a unique structure."
While NBC has been able to obtain content from third parties, the costs have
been escalating, Sprague noted.
"All the other major networks are now aligned with studios. VUE brings the
respected Universal movie and TV studios and a vast library of films that can
provide content to NBC's distribution such as NBC and Bravo.
"We doubt if NBC has much interest in the Universal theme parks, but those
could be operated until an attractive exit could be found."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7153238%5E462,00.html
Kerry
It's all relatively relative
I be Groovy
Central Perk coffee house? (Actually, that aint a bad idea, depending on how
well they train their baristas!)
Will they make any of their shows move filming location - as in Jay Leno, live
from Universal Studios, instead of Burbank, California?
Erica
Insert favorite quote here.
TEEVTEE
assume we will see an infusion of NBC into the parks (eventualy).
However I can't help but wonder if this move will actualy HURT NBC. I mean
right now, as a sort of independant, they seem to cull shows from many sources
and the result is that they are #1 and generaly have decent shows. Now look at
ABC with it's HORRID shows, most of which come from Disney owned sources. I
wonder if this will limit NBC and make their selection pool much smaller than
it was before.
Teevtee:
Mind reading hype machine.
I be Groovy
>right now, as a sort of independant, they seem to cull shows from many
>sources
>and the result is that they are #1 and generaly have decent shows. Now look
>at
>ABC with it's HORRID shows, most of which come from Disney owned sources. I
>wonder if this will limit NBC and make their selection pool much smaller than
>it was before.
>
>
the development department AND are still willing to work with other places.
Disney just seems to be on a "horrid" streak all the way around creatively...
theme park and television and movies (with a few exceptions - LOVED Pirates
movie. HOWEVER, it MUST be said that it was based on/ inspired by a ride that
Walt himself had a hand in!!!)
TEEVTEE
creatively...
theme park and television and movies<<<
Well that is what the infamous "syndergy" will do for you. In fact all
"synergy" really is is a way to force all the corporate divisions to work
almost exclusively with each other to make more profit. Why hire a third party
to develop a TV show for you when you can keep it all in house?
I could see this harming NBC. But I must say in terms of movies, box office
atleast, this has been a VERY good summer for Disney, like record good for
them.
TravMatte
Somehow this makes sense. Uni's California complex is just a mile or so
from NBC's, in the Valley. They are already neighbors!
CoastalWader
Not sure if thats smart, but I think they will shop them right off the bat.
TEEVTEE
Not sure if thats smart, but I think they will shop them right off the bat.<<<
Well parks are down in general right now and after the IOA debacle I could see
whay they would want out. But then again parks CAN be profitable (well,
atleast Disney parks can be, Uni has yet to prove that it can but I bet it
could be) and they also serve as ego boosting platforms to launch and promote
new and exisiting properties. Seems to make sense to keep them. Plus, who
would want them? I mean you really could be venturing into Six Flags over
Universal here.
DuaneDude1
water company or a sports team. ABC would have Disney, NBC would have Uni, and
CBS/Viacom would have to then strengthen their relationship with- is it
Paramount parks? I get confused because Nicelodeon and WB characters seem to be
at more than one brand of theme park- no excluvisity?!
Remove NOSPAMss for e-mail.
duane...@aolNOSPAMss.com
www.norakeenan.org
DuaneDude1
with a large company hold so much promise- but are these promises ever
realized?
This relates to radio-TV stations which save money by combining, but lose the
ability to bring up future leaders from the individual stations if they are all
automated.
This relates to Studios/TV/Radio and Theme Parks as well... When Disney was
just one of many studios, with Disneyland they had to be good- there wasn't any
other option. Some of the various Hollywood studios lost what made them
special- many sold-off their film libraries and back lot production facilities.
When companys get too big for their britches, they forget from whence they came
and are run by beancounters- unwilling to take risks.
Apple and Steve Jobs... Apple has to be good at what they do for their niche-
they will never have the market share of the IBM/MS clones- there is no choice.
MS can do whatever it wants, releasing flawed operating systems because they
can- you MUST use their products in today's world- no real choice for
consumers.
As to NBC/Universal... What are the greatest Blue Sky hopes for a combined
company- what you'd like to see if dreams still do come true... and what does
your cynical side say would most-likely actually happen?
TEEVTEE
company- what you'd like to see if dreams still do come true... and what does
your cynical side say would most-likely actually happen?
<<<<
Well sadly I think what you said Duane is generaly true. That being that
bigger is often NOT better.
A Giant ass Disney is clearly NOT better than a leaner more focused Disney.
Combining two giant companies like NBC and Universal (both to then be owned by
an even larger mega company, GE) may just add confusion and yet more corporate
red tape.
What I have found is that in the corporate world people are most concerned with
covering their asses, not really inovating anything. It is rare to find a
company that is large and still remains focused on doing what it does as best
it can.
I think lots of this must come from it's leaders. If you look at both Apple
and Pixar they do what they do incredibly well, industry leading well. Now it
is true that these are relatively small companies when compared to say
Microsoft or Disney, yet they are still big corporations worth billions. They
have one thing in common, Steve Jobs. So I think if you have a quality guy at
the top who demands and expects quality above all else, well then you have a
good shot at getting quality.
But in MOST cases you have a guy at the top who is trying to squeeze profits
out of every corner because that is what they think Wall Street wants to see
and so forth. That type of attitude will seldom if ever lead to quality and
inovation.
Best case scenerio for NBC/Uni in terms of parks? Well I think the parks are
very secondary to them but I could see NBC pumping some real cash into them and
focusing more on the target age group of both NBC shows and the Uni parks...
young adults. There is no reason why the relationship could not work well for
both parties.
Worst case? NBC just flat does not care about the parks and lets them rot away
into oblivion.
I think the reality will be someeher inbetween in which Uni continues very much
the way they have been for the last several years.
I be Groovy
shows like Fear Factor filmed on Universal - in front of an audience. Small
potatoes in terms of the big picture, but it could be fun :)
TEEVTEE
creatively...
theme park and television and movies<<<
I'm sure you will see than EXACT thing, if nothing else as a season ending
finale type of deal.
DuaneDude1
last night. It looked like he may have been in a theme park- was it Uni
Hollywood?
TEEVTEE
last night. It looked like he may have been in a theme park- was it Uni
Hollywood? <<<<
Yea, but that is nothing new... they ALWAYS film that crap at City Walk because
it is an easy place to basicaly find a lot of dumb tourists who cannot answer
basic history questions.
You know, speaking of that... I think it is really funny that Jay Leno is
considered this nice guy, and yet a large part of his act is ridiculing normal
people and making fun of their lack of knowledge. Seems kind of mean spirited
to me.
DuaneDude1
of passers-by in New York. Maybe they get a lot of clueless tourists, too.
People don't know who the vice president is.
There was a game show like that ("Street Smarts"?) that had people wager on if
one of 3 ditzy people would know the answer to such questions. I'm not sure
exactly how it went- but laughing at other's ignorance is nothing new.
The scary thing is that some of the "dim bulbs" are allowed to procreate, vote,
and do jobs where you'd think some intelligence is required. The scarrier
thing would be to be interviewed myself- then get a brain fart and babble
incoherently. They'd never know how truly intelligent the real me is...
(Did I spell "Scarrier" correctly?).
Maddie
After five years without making a profit, taking on the burden of three
(four, five, six?...are the international parks a part of this deal?) very
large, very different theme parks could destroy Six Flags.
It may come down to Six Flags unloading some of its parks. But, then, who's
around to buy?
--
..::Maddie::..
"TEEVTEE" <tee...@aol.comwho> wrote in message
news:20030903104911...@mb-m05.aol.com...
TEEVTEE
<<<
Sure, I agree, that concept is as old as the hills.
It is the fact that JAY LENO does it that gets me. I mean he has this image of
Mr. Nice guy and he is the safe, mainstream (read boring white guy) choice of
America. Now I think he USED to be funny back 15 or 20 years ago and is now
dreadfully dull and boring, but whatever, people seem to love him. They
specificaly seem to enjoy his brand of wholesome, white bread, non
confrontational humor. But them mocking stoned valley girls on City Walk seems
odd and out of character to me. This is in fact exactly what Howard Stern has
people do. I'm not even saying that it is not funny, in fact it is one of the
few segments of Leno's show I enjoy, but it does seem out of sync with what he
pretends to be.
I be Groovy
>People don't know who the vice president is.
I think too that it is taking advantage of "stage fright" - heck, I'm a fairly
intelligent person, have taught US History among other subjects, and regularly
watch West Wing :) but when I read this statement at first - my mind went blank
at the VPs name! I could picture him, remember that he has a heart condition,
etc. - couldn't remember that his name is Cheney! I can only imagine what
would happen if I had Jay Leno holding a microphone to my face with a camera
zooming in for a close up!
animator-boy
strengthen their relationship with- is it
Paramount parks? I get confused because Nicelodeon and WB characters seem to
Viacom isParamount is Nickelodeon ..they are one big happy family...or...are
they? Which brings up a good Uni point my brother has mentioned to me a lot.
One bad thing about Uni having Spidey, Neutron, Shrek etc at the parks is that
for them to do anything...I mean anything..they have to first get approval from
Marvel, Nick, DW....example..walk around Shrek was a face character at one
point...DW said fine....then they said no thats not fine...make him a foam head
dude...o-k....oh yes and no more walk around Farquad..cause he's a ghost in the
3d movie...BUT we insist that walk around Fiona must be a human face princess
version eventhough she's an ogre in the 3D film..huh?...it goes back and forth
back and forth......he said its incredibly frustrating to get stuff approved
and new attractions greenlight when its not a Uni owned property.......
Raymation
http://www.raymation.net
TEEVTEE
and new attractions greenlight when its not a Uni owned property.......
<<<
This is typical of ANY corpporate situation.
RIght now I am doinga shot that involves a satalite radio company and several
of the stations they broadcast. Logos from Radio Disney, ESPN, NBC, Weather
Chanel, E! and others are all seen in the photo. Getting each companies
approval and OK on the thing is living hell and has postponed the shoot nearly
a month. This is just the way it is when HUGE companies filled with people
trying to cover their asses get together.
TEEVTEE
This makes it even worse!
Now Leno (mr nice guy?) is taking advantage of stage fright to paint otherwise
intelligent people out to be babling morons.
"Hey, look at the dumb girl, she doesn't know who the V.P. is, HA HA HA, lets
all feel superior because she is so damn stupid!" I don't know.... it's odd.
animator-boy
Yes but, and I probably should have mentioned this, in regards to
getting things done at Disney and getting things done at Uni, its very
different since the majority of Disney attractions etc are in house
not relieing on outside owners.....
TEEVTEE
different since the majority of Disney attractions etc are in house
not relieing on outside owners.....<<<
True but there is not a company on this planet more afraid of screwing it's
image up than disney is. that means UNBELIEVABLE approval processes of EVERY
little thing. The sad thing is this does not lead to higher quality, just more
bland and 'safe' decisions.
animator-boy
>True but there is not a company on this planet more afraid of screwing it's
image up than disney is. that means UNBELIEVABLE approval processes of EVERY
little thing.
Are they really afraid to screw up there image...DCA...Cinderella 2...yeah its
already done...all I know is that when my brother compares his job at Uni to
that at Disney...he had a FAR easier time getting things done there....i mean
it only makes sense really....say u have to get approval from 2 divisions of
Disney...u get em..done....now say Uni has these same 2 divisions and your
doing something for say Nickelodeon...u get approval from Uni's 2
divisions...but wait there's 2 at Nick that have a say...wait...now Paramount
is giving a opinion...uh-oh Viacom has a problem with something......the chain
of approvals has gotten A LOT longer......
The only time he ever really had approval problems at Disney was when working
with McDonalds...that damn clown is very demanding......
Raymation
http://www.raymation.net
TEEVTEE
working
with McDonalds...that damn clown is very demanding......<<<
Ray;
I am not doubting your brother's experiences in any way! I am sure he is 100%
correct in what he has told you and you have told us.
All I am saying is that Disney is literaly famous in the world of advertising
for being a couple things;
1) Cheap (big shocker there)
2) Conservative as hell (all really grat ideas are rejected as being too out
there)
3) Notortiously hard to deal with because EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING has
to be approved by 30 different people.
I have had some minor first hand experience with this while shooting some
Disney credit card stuff and I am telling you, it is the hardest approval
process I have ever seen.
All that said it is 100% true that when multiple companies are involved in a
project things have to go through even more layers and it takes that much
longer. So your point about Uni sharing projects with others and that slowing
stuff down is appreciated.
TravMatte
basicaly find a lot of dumb tourists who cannot answer basic history questions.
Plus, CW is just a mile from NBC.
TravMatte
they have to first get approval from Marvel, Nick, DW
This might be why Anheuser-Busch hasn't taken me up on my idea of them
using Spongebob Squarepants and his buddies as "mascots" for its Sea World
parks.
I thought that, since SW in Orlando is allied with Uni- which is tied with
Nickelodeon- it should be fairly easy for a deal to be struck between the
parties.