Mergers and acquisitions activity in the media world tanked in 2008, thanks to the credit crunch, which stalled dozens of deals, according to DeSilva + Phillips. The investment bank says the number of deals decreased 20% compared to 2007. But the real news is dollar volume, which fell 80% -- from $9.6 billion to $2 billion.
Envisioning a new celebrity-bolstered era for original Web programming, male-oriented entertainment site Heavy.com has tapped actor/comedian Seann William Scott to co-host its weekly sports roundup, "The Burly Sports Show." "This goes beyond a sponsorship," said Simon Assaad, CEO of Heavy.com. "What we have in mind here is a 'Saturday Night Live' model, where we bring in a featured celebrity every week to promote something they're working on, and create entertaining content at the same time."
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TODAY'S ONLINE NEWS AND HEADLINES
VC 2009 Investments: Which Startups Will Get The Dough?Today, 7:00 AM Investments for venture capitalists got squashed in 2008, and the outlook for initial public offerings (IPOs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) doesn't look much better for this year. But at least one VC firm still plans to make investments in 2009. Jeremy Liew, managing director at Lightspeed Venture...
Google Solicits Suggestions For Mobile ProductsToday, 7:00 AM Building on the openness underlying its Android mobile platform, Google is allowing users to propose ideas for new mobile product features through a new Web site. The Product Ideas page for Google Mobile allows Google users to submit and vote on mobile features they'd like to see the...
Dreamworks, Pepsi Go 3D For Super Bowl Ads1 hour ago DreamWorks Animation and PepsiCo will each air 3D spots in the coming Super Bowl as part of a joint initiative that includes distribution of 125 million pairs of special glasses. The marketers will take over a full commercial break that will plug the coming film "Monstrous vs. Aliens,"...
Full-Frontal: 'New York Times' Sells Ads Below Fold1 hour ago The New York Times made history. Again. On Monday, it ran an ad on its front page for the first time in its history--yet another indication of how dire the fortunes of big newspaper publishers have become. As the industry reels from the one-two punch of Internet competition...
Cox Sells For ABC TV Sites2 hours ago
A Cox unit that operates as a national rep firm for Web sites affiliated with local TV outlets has inked a deal to begin selling on behalf of the 10 ABC owned-and-operated stations....
Hyundai To Nouveau Pauvre: You Can Return Car 2 hours ago "Hyundai can probably afford this because they are in better financial shape, and it's likely the cost won't be significant," says Edmunds.com's Jesse Toprak. "Any measure that is creative, like this one, will give consumers more reason to go out and shop. It won't be a magic solution...
FDA Requires More Disclosure of Bug-Based Colorings 4 hours ago The Center for Science in the Public Interest contends that the colorings should have been banned because "the only way people can determine that they are sensitive to them is to suffer repeated reactions." At minimum, it says, the FDA should have required that labeling specifically indicate that...
Wobbly Borders Gets New CEO, Turnaround Team 5 hours ago Most retailers are struggling, with the International Council of Shopping Centers reporting that the recession, widespread discounting and poor weather combined to make this the weakest holiday selling period since 1970. But observers are wondering how much additional pressure retailers like Borders, already wrestling with balance sheet issues...
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Investments for venture capitalists got squashed in 2008, and the outlook for initial public offerings (IPOs) and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) doesn't look much better for this year. But at least one VC firm still plans to make investments in 2009. Jeremy Liew, managing director at Lightspeed Venture...
Building on the openness underlying its Android mobile platform, Google is allowing users to propose ideas for new mobile product features through a new Web site. The Product Ideas page for Google Mobile allows Google users to submit and vote on mobile features they'd like to see the...
DreamWorks Animation and PepsiCo will each air 3D spots in the coming Super Bowl as part of a joint initiative that includes distribution of 125 million pairs of special glasses. The marketers will take over a full commercial break that will plug the coming film "Monstrous vs. Aliens,"...
The New York Times made history. Again. On Monday, it ran an ad on its front page for the first time in its history--yet another indication of how dire the fortunes of big newspaper publishers have become. As the industry reels from the one-two punch of Internet competition...
"Hyundai can probably afford this because they are in better financial shape, and it's likely the cost won't be significant," says Edmunds.com's Jesse Toprak. "Any measure that is creative, like this one, will give consumers more reason to go out and shop. It won't be a magic solution...
The Center for Science in the Public Interest contends that the colorings should have been banned because "the only way people can determine that they are sensitive to them is to suffer repeated reactions." At minimum, it says, the FDA should have required that labeling specifically indicate that...
Most retailers are struggling, with the International Council of Shopping Centers reporting that the recession, widespread discounting and poor weather combined to make this the weakest holiday selling period since 1970. But observers are wondering how much additional pressure retailers like Borders, already wrestling with balance sheet issues...