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Radio Company Dial Global Says Rush Limbaugh Hurt Its Ability To Stay Afloat

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday November 16, 2012 @ 9:06am PSTTags: Rush Limbaugh, Westwood One

It’s not clear how the conservative talk show host affected Dial Global — the radio programming company that merged last year with Westwood One. (Limbaugh is syndicated by Clear Channel.) But Dial says in an SEC filing that “advertisers’ response to controversial statements by a certain nationally syndicated talk radio personality in March 2012″ contributed to financial woes that raise “substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” The March date coincides with an advertiser boycott of Limbaugh following his attacks on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, who urged Congress to require employer health insurance plans to cover contraception.

But Limbaugh appears to be the least of Dial’s problems: Its stock is down nearly 77% today, to about 47 cents, after it said that it may not be able to meet its debt covenants and will voluntarily leave NASDAQ to just trade over the counter. The company reported a Q3 net loss READ MORE »

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Media Stocks Join Market Exuberance Over Effort To Stabilize Banking System

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday November 30, 2011 @ 3:29pm PSTTags: CBS, Comcast, Disney, Entercom, LIN TV, Netflix, News Corp, Sony, Standard & Poor's, Stock Market, The New York Times Company, Time Warner, Viacom, Westwood One

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 4.3% today after central banks in the U.S., Europe, and Japan said that they’d help supply cash to avoid a credit crunch if the European debt crisis worsens. That … Read More »

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Media Stocks Up On Strong Holiday Sales And Hope Of European Debt Solution

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday November 28, 2011 @ 9:40am PSTTags: Big Media, CBS, Cinedigm, Comcast, Crown Media, Disney, Madison Square Garden, Netflix, News Corp, RealD, Sinclair Broadcasting, Sony, Time Warner, Viacom, Westwood One

Shoppers spent a record $52.4B over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, up 16% from last year, the National Retail Federation says. Add that to reports that European leaders are getting serious about resolving their debt crisis, and it’s easy … Read More »

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Media Stocks Hit By Market Fears Of Impasse Over U.S. Debt Cuts

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday November 21, 2011 @ 12:50pm PSTTags: Barnes & Noble, CBS, Cinedigm, Comcast, Crown Media, Dish Network, Disney, E.W. Scripps, Entercom, LIN TV, Live Nation, McClatchy, McGraw-Hill, National CineMedia, Netflix, Radio One, RealD, Sirius XM, Sony, Time Warner, Viacom, Westwood One

The federal government will have to slash $1.2T in spending, mostly beginning in 2013, if the 12-member congressional Super Committee can’t strike a deficit reduction deal soon. They still appear split — even though, as a practical matter, … Read More »

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Media Stocks Suffer As Investors Fear Ad Sales Will Weaken

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday October 3, 2011 @ 2:49pm PDTTags: CBS, Coinstar, Comcast, Crown Media, Cumulus Media, Disney, Entercom, LIN TV, Live Nation, News Corp, Pandora Media, Radio One, Regal Entertainment Group, Sony, Time Warner Cable, Viacom, Westwood One, Yahoo

The Dow Jones U.S. Media Index was down 3.5% today while the DJ Industrial Average was off 2.4% — and Goldman Sachs may have contributed to the imbalance: It downgraded the entertainment sector today to “neutral” from “attractive” … Read More »

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Media Stocks Slammed Amid Concerns Of A Double-Dip Recession

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday September 22, 2011 @ 4:49pm PDTTags: Barnes & Noble, CBS, Coinstar, Comcast, Cumulus Media, Disney, IMAX, Live Nation, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, News Corp, Sirius XM Radio, Sony, The New York Times, Time Warner, Viacom, Westwood One

Media stocks suffered along with just about everyone else today after the Federal Reserve stirred recession fears by reporting “significant downside risks to the economic outlook” — and World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that global economies are in … Read More »

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UPDATE: Media Stocks Down, But With Exceptions, As Overseas Debt Fears Grow

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday August 10, 2011 @ 8:59am PDTTags: AOL, Disney, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, LIN TV, Lionsgate, Live Nation, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, Rovi, Standard & Poor's, The New York Times, Time Warner Cable, Westwood One

UPDATE 4:10 PM: The markets couldn’t sustain an early afternoon rally amid concerns that France might lose its AAA debt rating and that Spain or Italy might default on payments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell … Read More »

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UPDATE: Media Stocks End Day -7.3% As Markets Grapple With S&P’s Debt Downgrade

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday August 8, 2011 @ 11:22am PDTTags: AMC Networks, Barnes & Noble, Cablevision, CBS, Coinstar, Comcast, Dow Jones, DreamWorks Animation, Entercom, Liberty Media, LIN TV, McClatchy, McGraw-Hill, News Corp, Pandora Media, Rovi, Sinclair Broadcasting, Sirius XM, Sony, Time Warner, TiVo, Viacom, Westwood One

UPDATE, 2 PM: The market deteriorated as the day wore on, continuing the worst market slump since 2008. The Dow Jones U.S. Broadcasting and Entertainment Index closed down 7.3% — exceeding the 5.6% decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 6.7% drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500, and 6.9% fall at NASDAQ.  CBS’ -10.3% slide made it the leading loser among media’s Big Guns. It was followed by News Corp (-7.7%), Viacom (-7.1%), Comcast (-6.6%), Sony (-6.4%), Disney (-6.1%), and Time Warner (-5.8%).

Double-digit losers include AMC Networks (-12.8%), LIN TV (-12.7%), Sirius XM (-12.7%), RealD (-12.6%), Cumulus Media (-11.9%), TiVo (-11.4%), Entercom (-10.9%), Westwood One (-10.8%), and E.W. Scripps (-10.3%). Those losing at least 9% include National CineMedia, Dish Network, Arbitron, Sinclair Broadcasting, Rovi, Outdoor Channel, Crown Media, Electronic Arts, Cablevision, and Coinstar. Read More »

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UPDATE: Media Stocks Continue To Suffer As Recession Fears Spread

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday August 4, 2011 @ 11:52am PDTTags: CBS, Disney, Live Nation, New York Times, News Corp, Sinclair Broadcasting, Sony, Time Warner, TiVo, Viacom, Westwood One

UPDATE, 1:30 PM: Fear that the economy may be headed back into recession seemed to grow in the last hour of trading. The Dow ended the day -4.3% at 11,383.68. It was the biggest single-day drop since Oct. 22, 2008 and took the Dow below where it was at the beginning of 2011. Similarly, the S&P 500 was -4.8% and NASDAQ was -5.1%.

Although most media companies remain well ahead of where they were a year ago, today’s losses still look ugly. CBS, down 9.3%, was the hardest-hit infotainment giant. Here’s how the other Big Guns fared: News Corp -6.7%, Sony -6.5%, Disney -5.6%, Time Warner -4.6%, Comcast -4.3%, and Viacom -3.4%.

Among other media companies, Comscore finished -38.3% and Westwood One was -13.2%. Sinclair Broadcasting and McClatchy each lost more than 9%. Cinedigm, Live Nation, TiVo, and Liberty Media fell at least 8%. And Yahoo, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, The New York Times Company, Coinstar, and Dish Network lost at least 7%. Even World Wrestling Entertainment, which had been up earlier in the day, closed -1.4%.

The only company in the sector that gained ground today was Pandora Media. It ended +1.6% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch initiated coverage with a “buy” recommendation. Read More »

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