TWC

A Content Standoff

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After a few days of threats and warnings, cable distributor Time Warner Cable (click ticker for report: ) dropped CBS (click for report: ) programming from its content offering as the two failed to reach an agreement on retransmission fees. Retransmission fees are charged by basic cable station owners (think CBS, NBC, and ABC) to distributors that wish to carry the content. Time Warner released a statement to its customers blaming CBS for outrageous demands. Current retransmission fees per subscriber hover around $1 a month, but rumors have suggested CBS would like to double this price. Time Warner believes that allowing the fee to double would set an unhealthy precedent, especially when considering that CBS is free via antenna TV.   … Read more

Could TV Get Competitive?

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Compounding worries that internet-based distribution will continue to eat away from traditional cable distributors, Intel (click ticker for report: ), DirecTV (click ticker for report: ), Time Warner Cable (click ticker for report: ), and Charter Communications (CHTR) are seeking deals to over-the-top (OTT) rights from programmers. This matters because OTT rights could give content distributors the ability to deliver TV shows via the internet rather than set-top boxes. If such a dynamic were to take hold, the TV business could become more competitive, as it would allow virtually every participant to offer services everywhere. Thus far, only Best Ideas Newsletter holding Intel has showed that it is serious about offering a broadband TV service, while the previously-mentioned companies are … Read more

Best Ideas Newsletter Holding DirecTV is on the Verge of Acquiring Hulu

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Key Takeaways: ·         Best Ideas Newsletter holding DirecTV could acquire Hulu in the ballpark of $1 billion. Though its earnings are undisclosed, we know Hulu posted $695 million in revenue in 2012, and people watched 24 billion minutes of entertainment on Hulu during the first quarter of 2012. ·         The acquisition keeps Hulu out of the hands of competitors. It also keeps Hulu out of the hands of companies that may want to enter the content distribution business. ·         The cord cutting trend is overblown, but we think Hulu is a nice hedge against cord cutting. We also think Hulu rounds out DirecTV’s TV Everywhere package. ·         Content costs could come down, and DirecTV is well positioned to benefit. We … Read more

A Dish/DirecTV Merger Would Be Golden

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After a potential acquisition target of DirecTV (click ticker for report: ) was taken off the market, chatter of a DirecTV-Dish Network (click ticker for report: ) merger has escalated. The big obstacle, in our view, would be anti-trust hurdles, and given recent trends in US anti-trust regulation, that could be difficult to defeat. However, let’s take a look at what could happen if regulators allow it. Increased Leverage Over Content Creators One of the consistent themes we’ve been hitting on over the past year in the media space has been the rising cost of content. Netflix (click ticker for report: ), Coinstar (click ticker for report: ), Amazon (click ticker for report: ), Hulu, cable, and satellite are all … Read more

Comcast Bets Big on NBCUniversal

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Tuesday afternoon, cable provider Comcast (click ticker for report: ) announced that it will acquire the 49% stake of NBCUniversal that it doesn’t already own for $16.7 billion from General Electric (click ticker for report: ). The company will also acquire the famous 30 Rockefeller headquarters in Manhattan and CNBC’s Englewood Cliffs headquarters for $1.4 billion. The deal had long been anticipated to occur in the future, but it appears to have closed earlier because Comcast feared the price might rise. Rarely do deals seem like a “win-win” for both parties, but we like this deal for both Comcast and GE. GE now has largely purged itself of its diverse conglomerate past, leaving it more of an industrials and financials pure-play. … Read more

Search Dividend Reports by Company Name: Q to Z

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Going forward, please use the ‘Symbol’ search box to download stock and dividend reports of companies you are interested in. The ‘Symbol’ search box can be found in our website header. Image shown from above. Use the active search box in the website header above. Learn more about your membership >>  Note: We have now discontinued this list. Please use the ‘Symbol’ search box in the website header for stock and dividend reports. Please read about our Valuentum Dividend Cushion score (ratio) here. Just having access to this valuable metric alone could save your income portfolio thousands of dollars! The past meets the future as we showcase the Valuentum Dividend Cushion scores of Dividend Aristocrats in this article (click here). The dividend reports below … Read more

Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 31

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Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending January 31. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week 1st Constitution Bancorp (FCCY): now $0.09 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.075. Alaska Air (ALK): now $0.375 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.350. ALLETE (ALE): now $0.6175 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.5875. AmerisourceBergen (ABC): now $0.42 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.40. Anthem (ANTM): now $0.95 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.80. Apartment Investment (AIV): now $0.41 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.39. Apollo Global … Read more