Now on his own, Chernin is doing the same thing: He’s producing TV — Fox’s “Terra Nova” and “The New Girl” — and movies — “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” — and he’s making digital investments in highfliers like Flipboard and Pandora. And last fall, Chernin made a strategic move outside of the U.S. by opening up CA Media, an operating and investment vehicle focused on China, Asia and Indonesia.

8:57 am: Good morning from Hong Kong. Peter Kafka takes the AsiaD stage and after a few introductory remarks is joined by Peter Chernin.

A bit of patter and then the first question:

Peter Kafka: So you were the chief operating officer at News Corp for many years. A couple of years ago you left, you’re in TV and movies — seems to be doing quite well. What are you doing in Asia?

Peter Chernin: Well, I had been in the same job at News Corp. for 13 years. So when I made a decision to leave, I started thinking about — what I really spent most of my time thinking about was, where do I think growth is likely to occur? And what I set out to try and do was build a company in — you know, I had the luxury of starting with a blank piece of paper, and I decided to use that luxury to try and build a company that really focused on areas of the media that I thought had growth potential.

So it ended up in a couple of buckets. So I’m clearly in the premium content business, I’m producing –

PK: And you left with deals in place with News Corp.?

PC: I left with deals just for movies and television, so I produced movies, I produced television shows. I’ve been doing a fair amount of investing in digital, which is an area of growth. And then the other big area of growth, I believe, in the world, is going to be the developing world. And so one of the things I did was I hired a colleague of mine, a gentleman named Paul Aiello who had run STAR TV for me. And our thesis was that, between the two of us, we probably had more media experience in Asia than just about anyone else, and we felt that this is likely to be the sort of nexus of growth in both the immediate world and the tech world in the years ahead. And we thought there was an opportunity to bring sort of our — a combination of our expertise and at the same time not having any other legacy issues that come with these big companies as it relates to regulation, as it relates to partnership, etc.

So we started a company called CA Media about 10 months ago. We’ve opened offices here, we opened an office in Mumbai, we’re about to open an office in Beijing and we’re going to open an office in Djakarta.

PK: You’re not the first Western media executive to go, “There’s going to be a lot of growth in Asia; I should get over there.” Does your thesis differ from the NBCs of the world, Warner, Fox, lots of people who have tried to put stakes in Asia?

PC: Well, I guess I’d say, immodestly, the thesis differs in the sense — you know, I’ve had 15 years of experience of businesses, you know, we essentially built the largest media business in Asia in STAR TV. So I’m not sure the thesis is all — I’m not sure it’s an act of genius to say there’s going to be growth in Asia, and I don’t take credit for that; but I do think hopefully our thesis is different in that we have experience in there.

Paul, before running STAR TV, he’d spent 15 years in Hong Kong running T&T Banking for Morgan Stanley. So we’ve got a pretty deep experience base here.

PK: And this is the AsiaD conference, but obviously, territory by territory, things are radically different. So give me an idea of how you’re going to approach China differently than, say, India?

PC: Well, I think — look, so we’re going to approach all these places opportunistically. I’d say, on a superficial basis, I think the opportunities in China are likely to be more digital; there are more regulations as it relates to traditional media: You can’t own a platform, you can co-produce but you can’t own a content business.

On the other hand, there are much looser regulations on the digital side, although the first deal we’ve done is we made a deal to buy a significant portion of a sports business in China. We bought a mixed martial arts business in China.

India, I think, is likely to be more of both. India, there are big content broadcast platform opportunities, and also very significant digital opportunities there.

PK: And to be clear, this isn’t about exporting content that you’ve made in the U.S.

PC: No, this is trying to buy local businesses, buy and build local businesses.

PK: And do you think about — well, obviously you do — so in terms of the way that your customers are going to consume this stuff, do you assume that mobile is going to be more important in one country versus traditional TV, or is this all sort of up in the air?

PC: Well, I think that these are arguably the two most significant mobile markets in the world. They both have a little over 700 million –

PK: It’s India and China?

PC: India and China, they both have a little over 700 million mobile customers. And I think the interesting — the very interesting thing, particularly — I think the big difference beyond that is China has a pretty decent Internet infrastructure; India does not. India probably has 10 or 15 million broadband customers today, probably going over 100 in the next several years, but still, on the basis of population, very limited broadband distribution.

So I think what you’re going to see in both these places is the real growth of the mobile Internet; on some level leapfrogging the traditional Internet. And, I would conjecture, probably setting a standard for the growth in mobile Internet. And I think, in my mind, one of the questions that’s going to be very interesting is, traditionally, I think people have thought that the digital businesses here have largely taken U.S. models and copied them. I think the really interesting question is, are we going to see developments — particularly in the area of mobile Internet — from this part of the world, which ends up getting copied in the U.S. because it has so much more of a dominant presence in people’s lives.

PK: And you weren’t here earlier, but this has been sort of a running theme, sort of the idea at this conference, that China in particular, but lots of Asian territories are sort of replicating stuff they’ve seen in the U.S. and the West, and iterating on it versus creating new stuff. And we haven’t seen much of the latter, but you think some of that’s coming?

PC: I do think some of that’s coming.

You know, I think the other thing that’s fascinating is India. India is a fascinating place because, as I said earlier, low Internet penetration, right? Huge mobile penetration, launching 3G right now, supposed to launch 4G at the end of this year, and what does a country look like that has 3G/4G distribution and cheap tablets? And they are about to launch a $50 tablet, $45 tablet in India, subsidized by the government to $30 for students. And there are 700 million people with cellphones there, so there’s clearly a lot of mobile connectivity. But what does a country look like that’s got 300, 400 million low-cost tablets, and that becomes the dominant distribution infrastructure?

PK: And you think a tablet can be a dominant form — a primary form of media consumption, of video consumption? In the U.S., so far the iPad seems to be ancillary; it’s something you hold while you watch T.V. Maybe it’s a remote –

PC: [Interposing] Well, I think — what’s really interesting to me and — it’s a little esoteric, but one of the dominant things about the Indian television business, and there are 105-110 million paid television households in Indian — probably up to 150 — but the average Indian home has one television set. So if you look — to me, I think the really fascinating content question is, if you have a country with one television set — generally controlled by the mother in the family — you have a country with 350 million people under the age of 15 all about to sort of become teenagers, clearly not dying to watch T.V. with their mom and dad and low-cost tablets. What does that say about a potential distribution infrastructure? So I do think — and very limited Internet infrastructure. So I think — it’s a recipe, I think, for absolutely a very different content delivery experience.

PK: Let’s go back to the U.S. for a minute — for a bit. You are one of the key architects of Hulu, back when you were at News Corp. And, if anyone doesn’t know, Hulu is perhaps the most successful media company formed by a giant media conglomerate.

PC: It’s a low bar. [Laughter]

PK: It’s a low bar, but a genuine success. I think this year they are on track to do $500 million in revenue. And in some ways you can argue that Hulu became too successful and now there’s a lot of flux around it, but — bring me back — when you were kicking around the idea for Hulu with Jeff Zucker at NBC, what was the original thought? Why did you guys want to create a video Web site?

PC: You know, I had several thoughts in mind. One was, I felt that IPTV was going to be a big phenomenon and, you know, I didn’t want to see a replication of, essentially, HBO, where a third party had built a dominant business on the back of the studio’s content. I felt like we should build it ourselves.

PK: Are you speaking about YouTube specifically, or a player to be named later?

PC: A player to be named later. Secondly, I was concerned about YouTube, although the Google-YouTube acquisition was sort of in the middle of our thought process of — so I wasn’t concerned about it at the beginning, but — and what I was concerned about was I didn’t want to have one dominant video distributor, I felt it was really important to have a second. And then the third thing I was concerned about was — it felt to me, you know, one of the dominant issues in the television business in the U.S. is PVRs. You have 50+ PVR penetration. You have people skipping ads, and what I felt was, that’s in some way the least valuable … sort of chink in the value chain for traditional media, and I felt like if we could get people so that rather than PVRing things and skipping commercials, if it was all available the next day on an online platform with limited commercials, we would monetize, at higher levels, DVRs. And so I thought that was an important part.

PK: So you guys built this — so you hired Jason Kilar and a team, and they built a very successful service — very successful, out of the gate — and one version of the narrative is it almost became too successful right away and that it caused the studios and the networks to go in it and were actually going to pull some of the eyeballs away from our own viewing. And the other part of the narrative is that while this was happening, you guys were starting to see real money from the MSOs and cable operators in terms of retransmission — they were starting to pay you for stuff they hadn’t paid for before, and the idea of giving it away for free over Hulu became a lot less attractive. The third part is that you left Hulu — you left News Corp. — and the chief advocate for the company sort of went away, and Jeff Zucker sort of left NBC. Does that narrative — all the narrative … First of all, is that the correct narrative? That all those three things happened at the same time, and that’s why the people who own Hulu are no longer as excited to own it?

PC: Well, I think — first of all, I have a different point of view. I don’t have a different point of view on that narrative, but I have a different point of view than — which is that — I think that sequential IP distribution of product is a huge opportunity for the studios.

PK: Explain what you mean by “sequential.”

PC: Well, I think that you can figure out ways to window it in ways that you don’t destroy your existing businesses, and I think the DVR example I used is the right … The stuff is available the next day on a platform anyway with zero monitorization, so the idea that you are giving — this notion that you are giving away stuff for free, is free anyway. Eighty-five percent of Hulu viewing is stuff that was on for free for broadcast television the night before. So this notion that you are going to put it in a bottle and somehow — I think is silliness. The other thing you’ve seen — it’s out of the bottle and it’s available, and I personally believe the media companies ought to monetize it. I also genuinely believe that more distribution has always been better. You know, I will give you a very good example: Fox did something — which I thought was very smart and I take no credit for it, they did it entirely by themselves — which is, we premiered a new comedy series, that I produced, in September, called “The New Girl.” Fox gave away the pilot episode for free on iTunes, and on Hulu for a week or 10 days before. Most people inside the broadcast industry said they were crazy. Why give it away for free — all you are going to do is take away ratings from the pilot. By the time it came on it was — something more than a million people had downloaded or streamed it — it was the highest-rated new comedy in 10 years on Fox, and it’s clear lots of those people watched it again, talked about it again. So I am a big believer that don’t put it back in the bottle, number one. I think you are competing with PVRs, and I think you can figure out a way to sort of sequence the distribution that maximizes it. The other thing, to be fair, is — and the media companies, I don’t think want to talk about this that much, unless they have a viable, legitimate means of distribution — consumers are going to steal the stuff and, nobody may like that, but there is not a single episode of television, not a single movie, that is not available on a pirated site.

PK: It’s still harder to get to it than it was to get a song from Napster in 1999, but it’s not very hard.

PC: It’s not so hard that if you don’t — look, I think historically piracy has always been the same thing, which is the bulk of people, if you give them an easy, straightforward way to do it legitimately and at rational costs, they will do it legitimately. If you don’t, they will steal it from you.

PK: I was surprised that — as an experiment, I am not endorsing it — but I was able to start watching a pirated stream of “The Daily Show” while “The Daily Show” was still being broadcast live in the U.S. I mean, it goes up that quickly now.

PC:: So the idea that media companies should put this away and make it so it is not available, I think is a recipe for disaster. To be fair to them, I think that, you know — they just took it off the market; so they decided to keep it now so they seem to be this month back in the “embrace Hulu” mode.

PK: If you were there, if you were running News Corp, if this was one of your properties, what would you want to do with Hulu now? They have now split the business into a free business, where there is really going to be less content available and it’s going to take longer to get there … In business –

PC: [Interposing] I would want to do everything I could to support Hulu, and the reason I said that is, I think — you know, I am sure most people … it’s not easy to build one of these things, and Jason and his team have done a spectacular job of building a significant business in three years. But secondly, I think if you’re the studio, what you want more than anything is you want an important and significant competitor to Netflix. The last thing you want is for there to be one dominant online subdistributor, because right now, you know, there is huge money being spent, but if they own the world, the money is going to come down –

PK: But you were specific. You said Netflix. You didn’t say YouTube, you didn’t say Apple, you didn’t say Google.

PC: Well, right now it’s Netflix. I think Netflix, in terms of the IP distribution of studio content, they have a pretty big leadership. In terms of IP — streamed IP distribution and studio content.

PK: Netflix had a very rough summer. They raised prices. They’ve moved back and forth in terms of some strategy. The stock price is down 60%, and a lot of people say, alright, they had their moment in the sun, they are knocked out. You seem much more optimistic about their prospects.

PC: Well, from their prospective, yes. You know — I think they’ve built a terrific business and they have reached a point of general critical mass. They are approaching right below 30 million subs. That ‘s a lot of cash being generated; a lot of cash to spend on the content business, and they are out there making big aggressive deals, buying exclusive content, and so I think they are a real source.

PK: They are buying some exclusive content, and then primarily what they are buying are repeats from the big studios.

PC: I meant, but they are buying those repeats exclusively. You know, they are out there buying those “Mad Men”s of the world — they just did a big WB deal exclusively, they just did a DreamWorks.

PK: And from the network’s perspective, this all seems like found money. These are repeats, we have extracted all the value we can, you are going to give us more money that falls to the bottom line. We win if you want to buy our repeats, great. Do you think that’s shortsighted on their part?

PC: I don’t think that’s shortsighted. I think what’s shortsighted is, I think they should be doing everything they can to make sure there is a competitor, because if there is not a competitor, at some point the amount of money they are spending will come down. And I think their best hope for a competitor is Hulu.

PK:: So you spent a lot of time at a very big media company; you pushed a lot of the digital efforts there in addition to Hulu; you did several … You oversaw Myspace, and News Corp. in particular seemed to have unwrapped all of those investments. They sold off Myspace for spare change. They bought a company called IGN; they are spinning that off, and Hulu they seem to have boxed off. Do you think News Corp.’s uncomfortableness with digital properties is specific to them or do you think that’s reflective of all of the established media companies?

PC: Look, I think these things end up being a combination of both. I think there is an overall discomfort on multiple … there are specific issues going on.

PK: We will leave it there. Speaking of digital — I said this yesterday and it’s still true — everyone who was on stage with me has either worked at Yahoo or wants to buy it. Your name has come up several times as a potential Yahoo buyer. Is that still something you are interested in?

PC: I heard Jerry [Yang] yesterday say it’s not for sale, so it’s kind of a moot point.

PK: I think he said all options were on the table.

PC: Look, to be honest, I spent a fair amount of time looking at it a year ago. I’ve done very — and it seems so confusing to me, at least, right now — that I’ve spent very, very little time in recent months on it and, you know, I don’t want to rule out anything. On the other hand, I’m not — you know, it seems like such a confusing situation, it doesn’t seem like right now it’s worth … investment.

PK: Can you see putting energy and time into building a brand-new digital asset? Could you create a new all-digital distribution channel in the U.S.? Is that possible for someone like yourself, sort of standing outside the … companies?

PC: Well, I think there are numerous different ways, you know, one of the things I — I am certainly very interested in the area of digital media distribution, and I think that, you know, you’ve seen the Internet create dominant players in so many areas, you know. A dominant search business. A dominant e-commerce business. A dominant social networking piece. And I still think that media distribution is fairly fluid and wide open, and so that’s appealing to me. I think some of the investments I’ve made are absolutely playing that. I think Flipboard — which is an investment I made a year and a half ago, almost two years ago — is a fascinating model for digital distribution of content. You know, I just made an investment in Tumblr, which I think is a really interesting model. So I think those things are interesting.

PK: Can I ask about those two before we go any further? Because Tumblr — I’ve used it and seen it grow, and the best I can tell it’s sort of a dumbed down, in the best way possible, version of Blogger. It’s a blogging platform. It seems hard to understand what they’ll do with that business. They’ve made no real efforts to monetize that in any way. But you, obviously, seem comfortable with that, you’ve put money in there. Where do you think that company goes?

PC: I think that — what interesting about it to me — first of all, the growth trajectory is … It’s astonishing right now, the growth trajectory that we’ve seen with Facebook, we’ve seen with Twitter, etc. And to me, what’s interesting about it is a couple of things. One is, it seems to fall in between Twitter and Facebook, which is that it’s an opportunity to — it’s Twitter-like in its ability to express yourself, but without — and I don’t say this negatively — without the sort of restrictions in terms of number of characters and the ability to add photos and video and to add a much deeper, richer level of self-expression. And it’s Yahoo-like in the ability to communicate as your real self and express yourself. I think what it says about the content distribution business is that — what’s most interesting about it is that it is ultimately a way of — it’s a self-publishing content business, and I think where it has really gained traction is people retweeting, resending tweets, resending other people’s blogs, resending other people’s photos and resending other people’s videos. And I think this notion of self-publishing just in content is very, very profound and significant. And so I think that I look at that as being interesting.

PK: So you’re fine with that notion — build the service, build the platform; we’ll figure out ads as we go or monetization as we go. And Flipboard is a different take on this — it’s sort of a shell for existing content companies to distribute their stuff via tablets.

PC: Well, I think, to me, what’s most interesting about Flipboard is two things, which is, one, in a very much Steve Jobs sort of sense, a most beautiful content interface I think that we’ve yet seen created. I think it’s an absolutely beautiful interface to present content, and I think products matter. I think people want — the products that deliver a service are absolutely critical to people, so I think that’s one. The other is, I think it’s a very interesting sort of proxy for social distribution of content. The ability to sort of tie in your Flipboard feed to your Facebook feed and ultimately… You know, to me what feels extraordinarily interesting is –

PK: The progress …

PC: There’s so much content available right now, and I think that consumers are and will become more interested in organizing principles that allow them to figure out ways to navigate through all that kind of — it’s a sort of next generation of portals, which is, portals were early on … I think that what consumers are really looking for is, how do I wade through all this stuff and how do I discover this stuff?

PK: And you want to make those choices, as opposed to having stuff served to them.

PC: I think that they want to — they want to have stuff served to them in a … targeted way. So I think whether you see it — Pandora, which is another company I invested in –Pandora has clearly figured out a way to serve music content in a very specific way. Flipboard is using your social network as a way of doing that. I think that you begin to see that there are other targeting things, that are other recommendation engine things, but I think that beginning to put these technological tools around products that deliver content that’s relevant, is meaningful to consumers and has a lot of potential.

PK: So these are investments in other people’s digital projects that you’ve made. Could you imagine creating — I mean, is there opportunity to create the equivalent of a digital HBO, given the new distribution channels?

PC: I think there is certainly next-generation original video distribution platforms. I think it’s challenging, it needs serious work and I think that part of the issue in my mind is that what you’ve seen in Web -based original video product is that, for the most part, it’s been low budget, low-risk stuff, and I think the key is to do stuff that (a) feels like it specifically takes advantage of interactivity, etc., and (b) to start delivering premium content because, you know, consumers are very, very sophisticated and they are not interested in cheap, they are interested in better.

PK: There are lots of people watching very crudely made stuff. They seem happy with it but one of the reasons it’s very crudely made is there’s no ad budget that supports …

PC: Well, one of the other investments that we’ve made is that we’ve backed a gentleman named George Strompolos, who was in charge of all the content relationships at YouTube … really an attempt to aggregate some of the key individuals sort of, these guys who are getting 10-15 million views of low-budget content. But I think it is a way of trying to aggregate additional advertising resources, allowing them to promote each other, almost to think about … dirty word but network-izing them.

PK: And YouTube is trying a version of this themselves, they are going out to Hollywood and trying to seek content. What about the idea of going to someone and saying, alright, we are going to give you original content, it’s only available on the Web or digital distribution — we would like you, the consumer, to pay for it. Do you think people are willing to pay for that stuff?

PK: I think — I personally believe people will be willing to pay for it, but it needs to be genuine premium content. Look, the interesting thing I would think about is, HBO spends about $500 million a year producing original content. They spend a huge amount of stuff, you know, the core HBO series that we all think about, they probably spend about $200 million or $250 [million] because they are doing being movies and miniseries, they’re doing sports, they are doing kid’s programs. One of the interesting questions is, could you get 10 million people paying you $2 a month for HBO original content? For $200 million could you create a suite of content that is of that level of quality, and could you get 10 million people paying you $2 a month? I think you could.

PK: So why not do it?

PC: I think there’s a lot of chicken-and-egg things in there. It’s something I have sort of been playing around with and thinking about but, look, I personally am a big believer in –

PK: I think you would have people flocking if you could say, here is HBO-like stuff that’s $2 a month. There are lots of folks. Just anecdotally from my readers that say, I would love to get HBO but I don’t want to get a cable subscription, or I don’t want to pay $15 a month.

PC: And I think if you — HBO is not my business, and I’m by no means putting them — I don’t think the movies are why people are buying HBO at this point.

PK: What about sports … you were at News Corp. when they broke … Fox via the NFL. Does the NFL or any other sports league, is it worth overpaying a premium to create a digital window?

PC: Yes.

PK: How much would you pay for the NFL?

PC: Well, given that ESPN just paid $2 billion for “Monday Night Football,” you would be paying probably $3 billion.

PK: Could you make that work though, on an all-digital platform?

PC: Well, you certainly couldn’t make it — first of all, nobody can make NFL work other than the NFL on a standalone basis. I don’t think there has ever been an NFL contract that has been profitable on a standalone basis for the person doing it. So you have to look at it as a strategic weapon. So, you know, if you look at Direct TV, it clearly looked at Sunday Ticket as a weapon to sell overall subscribers. They are not making money selling Sunday Ticket for … they are making money selling that many more Direct TV subscriptions. You know, at Fox we never made money on the individual contract, but it allowed us to significantly rejiggle our affiliate base, it allowed us to start Fox Sports, it gave us tremendous leverage in the cable channel business. So I think that if you are an online distributor, you need to look at it strategically, and that’s a big bet.

PK: So it seems pretty clear, Google and YouTube ought to buy NFL rights? That’s my theory.

PC: It’s a big bet.

On to questions from the audience …

Q: Yes, good morning, Peter. My name is … with … Communications, we are a mobile Internet operator in Malaysia. So, two questions. The first one is, programming grid: In light of all these new ways to discover content, is there still a role for programming grid? For the linear notion? Those days are numbered, right?

PC: By programming grid, you mean what show follows what show. I think those days are highly, highly numbered. I’ll give you an example. We premiered this “New Girl” show, brand-new comedy, historically very difficult to launch new things. We premiered it behind “Glee,” No.1 drama on Fox, probably the No. 3 drama on television and, you know, I was thinking about expectations the night before and I kept saying, if we can hold 75% of the “Glee” audience, I would have been thrilled. And we did 30-40% more then “Glee” on a brand-new show no one had ever seen before. Is the grid as important as it used to be?

No, I think the grid is no longer as important as it used to be. That show was clearly quite capable of — an audience, and you see the same thing on the other side — which is shows that come after the No. 1 show on television, which lose 40, 50, 60% of their audience — and I think that the grid becomes less important every single day. You know this is really sort of silly jargon but, you know, as in relation to the media business, the one truism I have always felt is, no one can predict where technology is going to go and no one can predict … what I can tell you with absolute certainty is the effects of technology and the effects of technology are, consumers have more choice and more control. That’s what happens with every single piece of additional technology — there is more fragmentation and more choice and you have less ability to control them to get them — and in that sense, the single most overwhelming piece of technology for the television business was the remote control. When they didn’t have to get their ass off the couch and go change the channel, it really changed the amount of control that broadcasters had … and every single step gives you less control. And the grid was about control.

PK: This season is the first season that Fox has started window content online. For the last couple of years, you could watch any Fox show the day after on Hulu; now they have made that only available to Dish TV — it’s called authentication. As someone who is putting on new shows — you’ve put on “Terra Nova” and “The New Girl” this year — can you see that effect one way or another on your shows?

PC: Yes, I would prefer they didn’t do it.

PK: You would prefer your shows be available on Hulu or —

PC: Well, certainly for a new show you would prefer as much circulation as possible. Look, I think that they have their own reasons which is, you know, they have a gigantic multibillion dollar distribution infrastructure which they are trying to protect. But speaking as the producer of a show, I would rather –

PK: You think you lost eyeballs.

PC: I would rather it be ubiquitously more available, so more people have a chance to sample it.

Q: My following question — just a quick following question. So, digitalization of broadcast TV … hasn’t created much new business models or innovations in the Western Hemisphere. In the emerging markets in Asia, do you see digitalization of … opening up new business models and innovation opportunities, and if so, how?

PC: Well, I see it opening up more innovation than it did in the West because, you know, the West’s digitalization came into an existing, enormously rich and vital distribution infrastructure. It was a world in which there were already 200 or 300 cable channels, satellite distribution, cable distribution, and so digitization wasn’t offering anything that spectacular to consumers. I think in a less-developed television ecosystem, digitization means more. I think one of the most significant things that’s going to happen in the television business on the globe in the coming years, in the next two to three years, you are about to have — there is no digitalization of cable content in India. India is about to go digital on the cable business. One of the fascinating things is most — 85% of the average cable subscription never gets up to the channel or the cable operator. It is kept by the local operator, who just pretends … operator will have 200 subs and it will tell STAR, well, I actually have 80 subs or 200 subs and pay for very few — and pay for 10 or 15% of the subs. With digitalization you are about to have a huge influx of capital coming back up the chain, which is going to lead to clearly more money to be spent on content, but also the beginning an explosion of niche channels, an explosion of additional content. So I think digitalization in this part of the world where a West-developed television ecosystem is going to be quite meaningful.

Q: You talked a lot about how Netflix needs a competitor like Hulu. I am curious — Amazon didn’t come up, I mean, and they obviously are going to be a big player in the Android tablet business and what they have done in books. How do you see them as a factor or nonfactor in terms of movie/TV content?

PC: Well, I think that there is — there are several people who have an opportunity to play a meaningful, meaningful role. Clearly Netflix is already there. Amazon has an enormous opportunity. It’s very powerful, has hundreds of millions of credit card accounts and people already going there for content. Less video content now, but — clearly, Apple is a very, very important player and is going to continue to be an important player. YouTube — whatever the current number is, a gazillion video views, so an enormous amount of people — the dominant video distribution platform on earth, not yet for premium content, but a huge opportunity. Microsoft, currently today the No. 1 premium online video should be 50 million Xbox Plus subscribers. So I think there are a number of players, all of whom can be significant. So I don’t think Hulu is by any means — and I think if you are sitting in a studio, you hope that they all get aggressive about it.

Q: And the follow-up questions, in the previous discussion with … and Sony … some discussion on Internet TV, there was also a lot of discussion on Apple and what others can do. How do you think about Internet TV, both in the developed and the developing market? More in the developing market here?

PC: Well, do you mean from a hardware prospective, or do you mean from the distribution platform?

Q: We’ve got all these hardware folks in Asia creating all kinds of … T.V. The problem is there is not as yet a cohesive content strategy, and then you’ve also got this emerging competition from tablets and so on, and then the whole lean back, lean forward — I was just curious, if remote control was the biggest innovation for controlling the previous generation of television, how do you think that Internet TV becomes a real business?

PC: I think, clearly, the hardware guys are going to ship lots of connected television sets, and I think the point you raise is exactly the right point — it needs a content services layer and whether — and I think the question is, does that layer come from the hardware guys — you know there are three or four places it can come from. It can come from the hardware guys, particularly if they ever figure out a way to form a consortium.

PK: Samsung, Sony, LG.

PC: Right. It can come from the pipes, you know, AT&T, in the U.S. AT&T, Verizon and the cable guys could decide we are going to be the ones to figure out our way … It could come from the big tech players, and ultimately the content guys could play a role. So any number of those people can play a role in it. I believe –

PK: Who’s got the most leverage there?

PC: Everybody — every one of those players has got some real leverage and a real position to play from. I think it takes leadership.

Q: My question is about the Nielsen rating system in the States that has historically been what … defines success. With the digital age, with people watching content online and the Nielsen ratings doesn’t actually count that into their statistics. How would you … update themselves and track those things, because a lot of shows that are good and have a big following online … doesn’t get counted, so the shows get canceled. Should they really start being a little bit more proactive in following the online site viewers?

PC: First of all, let me say two things. The guy who runs Nielsen is one of my best friends, and we went to war with Nielsen and Fox. We had a big public war with them three years ago, so we have been as aggressive about their shortcomings as anybody. To me the issue — first of all, they have started to count these things. I think the question for Nielsen going forward is the following, which is the sort of hardware to collect viewing information which was originally Nielsen’s platform, they were able to deliver … and then they were able to deliver meters in households. That’s no longer an issue. You can ultimately track ratings exactly from set-top boxes, from IP addresses. There would be absolutely perfect rating information and Nielsen has started to get quite aggressive about measuring other screens. I think the real challenge and the issue for Nielsen or anybody else is going to be the analytic side. And there is going to be so much data available; I think the real question is going to be the level of sophistication on the analytics of all that data because the days when — 50 years ago when Nielsen got started, that data was at a real premium. Nobody else was capable of delivering diaries and extrapolating that. The data right now is the easiest thing in the world to obtain. Every set-top box in the world knows exactly what each person watches. It will get even more sophisticated with IPTV and individual devices, but there will be so much data, the analysis of that data will become that much more demanding and demand that much more sophistication. And to be fair to Nielsen — and, you know, I have been very public with annoyance with them — they are a pretty good analytics company in many ways.

Peter Chernin Session Photos

So why Asia? It seemed the most obvious choice for us, as we looked at the global landscape for tech. While the whole world has now been engulfed in the powerful trends of digitalization, perhaps nowhere else has been as important a place for understanding where it is headed next than this region, which is home to companies critical to the next phase of innovation.

There’s no question that Silicon Valley, which has been the base for most of the key players — such as Google, Apple, Facebook and more — has driven the digital revolution over the past decade. But as we look out onto what’s to come, it’s clear to us and many others that what’s coming next and even the next great company might be born here.

That’s why we have created a conference that mixes both important speakers from U.S. tech and also from all over Asia.

Given that smartphones are in ascendance globally, having Andy Rubin, who runs Google’s Android efforts, is a no-brainer. The longtime mobile exec is at the top of an aggressive push by the Internet giant to dominate the important sector across the world.

Speaking of domination, Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma efforts to make the company a powerhouse in China and elsewhere are hard to ignore. His recent tussle and interest in Yahoo, as he has built a wide-ranging Internet giant, should make for an interesting interview.

Expect a deep dive into what makes the future Web work with Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey, who is someone breaking new ground as he tears down old digital paradigms. With Twitter, Dorsey redefined the real-time world and how the virtual one communicates; with Square, he is upending the payments arena.

Nvidia is not only a pioneer of graphics chips, but now its processors are widely used in the latest mobile devices. That’s why its founder and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has a lot to say about the future of the fastest-growing sector of computing, from smartphones to tablets and whatever’s next.

Asus Chairman Jonney Shih has presided over the Taiwanese tech giant since the early 1990s. Most recently, the company pioneered the netbook market and is now plunging deeply into the tablet business, making Shih perfect to discuss these key issues in Asia and around the world.

Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai is widely considered the second in command at the consumer electronics giant Sony, in charge of its key computer entertainment division, as well as now serving as executive deputy president of the whole company. As Sony struggles to reassert its dominance in tech, Hirai will be a key player in that effort.

Bradley Horowitz — as head of product management for Google+, the search giant’s aggressive effort to break Facebook’s hammerlock on social networking — has a perfect perspective to talk about the fast-growing area and where it is going globally. With locally-based social companies springing up all over Asia, can Google establish one the whole world will use?

At Microsoft, Andy Lees is leading one of the software giant’s most important initiatives, as president of its Windows Phone division. His come-from-behind-Google-and-Apple job includes mobile software and hardware, as well as its key partnership with Nokia, and Lees will need to win in markets globally, especially in Asia.

Peter Chernin is one of Hollywood’s top players and execs. But he’s also been increasingly active in media investing in Asia of late, and has a lot to say about the global nature of entertainment in the digital age.

John Roese heads the North American R&D team for Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant making everything from heavy-duty gear for networks to mobile phones and tablets. Roese will also talk about the phenomenon of a Chinese-owned company emerging on the world technology stage.

We also felt that it was important to hear from Silicon Valley start-ups, which have enjoyed unprecedented growth and funding in the Web 2.0 era. But as they seek to expand beyond the U.S., a critical move for them all, we’ve assembled a panel of entrepreneurs to discuss it, including: Brian Chesky, CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, the popular online vacation rental site; former Google exec Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, who is running the recently funded Joyus, a new premium video commerce site trying to pioneer a new way to shop online; and David Goldberg, who is now running one of tech’s most successful start-ups at SurveyMonkey, the dominant online survey company.

Yahoo co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang, who will appear with the Internet giant’s Asia head Rose Tsou, needs little introduction. For all of the noise around the company these days, Yahoo has a huge footprint in the region, maintains a big e-commerce business there and holds massive stakes in key firms, such as Yahoo Japan and China’s Alibaba.

And so does LivingSocial, whose CEO and co-founder Tim O’Shaughnessy, who will appear along with founders of two of its Asian units, Daniel Shin and Paul Srivorakul, which the daily deals site just bought as part of its aggressive move into Asia.

Because of Samsung’s increasing importance as a global player in smartphones and tablets, it was natural to invite Dr. Won-Pyo Hong, who heads global product strategy for the Korean giant’s mobile business. That has surged in the past year to make Samsung a leader in Android-based phones and tablets, and a significant challenger to Apple.

Also key in the mobile arena is Cher Wang, chairman of HTC, the important and innovative handset and tablet maker which has been a key player in Android’s success story. Add to that HTC buying an operating system, which would further strengthen its hand in the competitive market, and it’s clear it is in a pole position on the critical mobile market going forward.

Finally, we are also glad to bring back Al Gore, who had a memorable interview at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference in 2006. The former VP and Nobel Peace Prize winner is now chairman of Current TV and also continues as a prominent environmental activist. He is also on the board of Apple, while also being a senior adviser to Google, as well as a partner in the famed Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins.

In total, along with some very cool demos to show off, it’s going to be an exciting AsiaD, and we are thrilled most of all to welcome our first international audience. So get ready for a busy three days here and we hope you will like what we have to show you.

Is this investment-banker-hype week and nobody told me?

It certainly seems so from all the almost ridonkulous rumors about everyone and their mother being “imminently poised” to make a bid for Yahoo.

In fact, the process is only beginning to chug along with the Yahoo board, aided by Allen & Company and now Goldman Sachs.

At this point, it is lots of folks rubbernecking, books being prepared and all the other stuff bankers do to look like they are busy, busy, busy.

Among the most serious players: Silver Lake and a shifting group; and a consortium that includes former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin and Providence Equity Partners.

And, just slightly, News Corp. (which owns this Web site) is considering dipping a very small toe in as part of a larger group.

That has been copiously reported here and elsewhere a badillion times already.

But — and I have been clear on this, as have others — no one is near anything of substance, which has not stopped this really lame game of Clue being pumped up by bankers who should know better.

Yesterday, it was Silver Lake, DST Global and the Alibaba Group in the billiard room with foreign money. Nope, nope, nope. Silver Lake and DST are indeed looking hard and Alibaba is a player here, but there is no grand troika going at this moment.

In fact, Alibaba’s Jack Ma — after declaring he was “very interested” in buying Yahoo — has since backed off.

And today, it’s a thinly sourced and carefully worded report of Microsoft in the basement, interested in bidding with a pile of their own dough.

How can I put this delicately? How about: No.

According to my sources, throughout this entire process Microsoft execs have taken pains to make it clear that they are not going to be among the bidders in any significant manner.

In addition, the company has also been communicating with bidders that — while Microsoft is interested in a stable Yahoo, given their search and advertising partnership — it would not throw in with anyone in the process yet.

And, finally, if a winner eventually emerges, it might — and this is only might — consider making a token investment to help get the deal completed.

Certainly, Microsoft has been and is willing to talk to anyone interested, said sources, given their Yahoo business relationship. But this does not make it a bid of any shape or size. They are not even “considering” it, unless that means watching from a distance.

I suppose in some incredible shift Microsoft could change its mind, but most credible sources I spoke to said that is not happening now.

In fact, after its bruising and failed takeover attempt of Yahoo several years ago, said multiple sources, Microsoft now has the deal it wants with Yahoo.

“Why buy the cow when you can get the search and advertising deal for free,” joked one person close to the situation.

And then there was Schiller and Gore.

That would be Apple’s SVP of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller and former Vice President Al Gore, who round out the stellar list of speakers at our upcoming AsiaD conference.

Taking place from Oct. 19 to 21 in Hong Kong, the lineup is already impressive, with a mix of speakers from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as well as Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

The previously announced speakers include: Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma; Google Android head Andy Rubin; Twitter inventor and product guru, as well as Square co-founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey; Nvidia founder and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang; Asus Chairman Jonney Shih; Sony president and second-in-command Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai; Google+ guru Bradley Horowitz; Hollywood big shot Peter Chernin; Huawei’s North American R&D head John Roese; Microsoft’s Windows Phone head Andy Lees; and a panel of Silicon Valley start-up stars — Joyus’ Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, SurveyMonkey’s Dave Goldberg and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky; Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and Asia head Rose Tsou; LivingSocial’s Tim O’Shaughnessy, along with founders of two of its Asian units, Daniel Shin and Paul Srivorakul; Samsung mobile head Dr. Won-Pyo Hong; HTC CEO Peter Chou, who replaces Chairwoman Cher Wang.

Schiller, who reports to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook (and before that, Steve Jobs) is a member of the executive team of the tech icon, where he has worked for 17 years. He is responsible for a swath of Apple’s outward-facing businesses, including product marketing, developer relations and business marketing.

Today, in fact, he was onstage at Apple’s iPhone event, outlining some of its new product offerings. In addition, Apple just opened its first retail store in Hong Kong.

Gore, who had a memorable interview at the fourth D: All Things Digital conference in 2006, needs little introduction. The former VP and Nobel Peace Prize winner is now chairman of Current TV and also continues as a prominent environmental activist.

Gore is on the board of Apple, while also being a senior adviser to Google, which is a neat trick. At the same time, he is a partner in the famed Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins, and co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, a partnership that is focused on sustainable investing.

And, as most people know, he knows a thing or two about the Internet.

Walt Mossberg and I could not think of two better people to add to the lineup we have for AsiaD, which has very few seats left.

See you in China in two weeks!

A range of major players interested in acquiring all or a large piece of Yahoo have been prepping possible bids and have been in touch with the Internet giant’s board over the last several days.

While Yahoo has publicly said it was not for sale, according to numerous sources both inside and outside the company, it has been receptive to the interest and its Chairman Roy Bostock and Co-founder Jerry Yang have spoken to several.

Among the possible players: Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which is working with private equity firm Silver Lake, in a deal that also might include Russia’s DST Global and Yahoo’s Japanese partner Masa Son; former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin, who is partnered with Providence Equity Partners; and the possibility that Yahoo’s Chinese partner, Alibaba Group, might consider entering the fray in what could be a reverse merger of sorts.

Also being rung up by some of the parties: Microsoft — Yahoo’s advertising and search partner — which is being seen as a possibly moneybags in any deal.

The movement among these investors is against a backdrop of increasing pressure for Yahoo’s board, after it fired CEO Carol Bartz last week. In the wake of the dramatic move, shareholders have upped criticism of Bostock and the board and have been looking hard for alternatives.

Today, that included hedge fund investor Daniel Loeb of Third Point, which has a 5.1 percent stake in Yahoo. In a filing this morning, he said he might increase that amount, and described a testy hour-long phone call he had earlier this week with Bostock that ended abruptly with a hang-up from Yahoo.

Sources said Loeb called Bostock a “fool,” among other not-so-nice names, on the call and asked for Yang’s help in dumping him.

This comes as exactly no surprise, given his previously strong letter in which Loeb called for Bostock’s ouster.

Loeb has been calling out Bostock — who is also on the boards of Morgan Stanley and Delta Airlines — for a series of gaffes at Yahoo since he became chairman in 2008 (he’s been on the board since 2003).

Those have included: Yahoo’s bungled effort to stave off a takeover by Microsoft several years ago; the too-long enthusiasm for Bartz, who was hired in early 2009 and fired last week; sitting unusually still as competitors such as Facebook, Google and more have out-innovated and outgrown Yahoo; and, of course, the falling knife of a stock, which has dropped precipitously since Bostock has been in charge of the board.

As Loeb wrote in a letter he sent to the company last week:

“It is time that certain members of this Board were held accountable for its past failures and their individual roles. Accordingly, we insist that Mr. Bostock, who championed Ms. Bartz’s hiring and led the charge against the Microsoft deal, promptly resign from the Board.”

Loeb is likely to add to that later today at a high-profile investor conference in New York, where the colorful but tough-talking investor is sure to add more logs to the fire.

But it not only him. Other major shareholders of Yahoo are also in touch with possible outside buyers, seeking a change at the long-troubled company, after its shares have remained in the doldrums, its attrition rate of employees has spiked and its product pipeline has slowed to drip.

This has all been taking place — of course — during one of tech biggest and most innovative booms, in which Yahoo competitors have grown strongly.

Enter Marc Andreessen, the well-known entrepreneur who has transformed himself into one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful venture capitalists.

He and his partner Ben Horowitz recently pulled off another similar deal — with Silver Lake — to take control of a then-troubled Skype. They later flipped it to Microsoft for a large return.

Sources familiar with the situation said the pair have become increasingly intrigued by the situation at Yahoo and believe that its assets and brand are still strong, despite its management turmoil in recent years.

One problem is the huge cost of almost any kind of takeover and also the complexity, given much of Yahoo’s $18.5 billion valuation is due to its Asian assets.

The sale of those shares, as well as the selling off of some of Yahoo’s less core properties, makes for a very complicated situation for anyone.

Said one person looking at the company: “It is one of the more massive hairballs around.”

That is a common sentiment among many of those looking at Yahoo, which has hired Allen & Co. to manage the process.

Also of worry is a bid that would include too many players. Yahoo has long been plagued by indecisiveness on the part of its execs and, mostly, its board.

But one thing all the possible buyers of Yahoo, as well as an increasing number of its shareholders, agree on: The Yahoo board needs a major shake-up.

As Loeb wrote last week, which many I interviewed also echoed:

“This letter details our principled demands for sweeping changes in both the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and Company leadership, and outlines the hidden value of Yahoo, which has been severely damaged — but not irreparably — by poor management and governance.”

The firing of Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz leaves open one of the bigger and more difficult jobs in tech — one that has taken its toll on many.

Nonetheless, rapper Snoop Dogg stepped right up to the Twitter plate yesterday, as soon as news broke of the ouster.

Tweeted Snoop Dogg:

“Im takn over as tha CEO of Yahoo. Need sum of tha Snoop Dogg content ya digg. Nuff Said.”

Not nearly nuff!

Thus, while the Yahoo board has yet to begin a search, I have already been hard at work on selecting the next CEO.

(Last time, the company took none of my suggestions, but after the most recent result, the directors might want to pay mind!)

Sources said Yahoo is looking for an experienced Internet type, either from inside or outside the company.

“Yahoo has put its flag in the ground as a digital media company with a technology base,” said one source. “The job requires big buckets of expertise and needs someone who will grow the company.”

Here I go with the outsiders:

Peter Chernin: The former News Corp. exec has been eyeing Yahoo for a possible takeover with other investors. Both Yahoo and I had picked him when co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as CEO almost three years ago, and he had declined the offer. This time, perhaps a big chunk of the company and total autonomy would work, even if making a hit like “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” is more fun.

Sheryl Sandberg: The COO of Facebook is sort of the anti-Bartz, with a smooth and efficient persona, and she is an experienced tech exec. But the former Google exec is at a place of growth at the social networking site, and is unlikely to want to leave the big show, especially since a blockbuster IPO is looming.

Jason Kilar: The Hulu CEO is in the midst of the process of selling the premium video service, with Yahoo as a bidder. While he has some tense relations with the studios, Kilar is top notch in his dedication to consumer products, and has a lot of experience from his stint at Amazon, too.

Dan Rosensweig: Currently CEO of IPO-headed Chegg textbook rental service, the former Yahoo exec never got a chance to run the company as its top leader. Well-connected and still well-liked by the troops at Yahoo, it still would be pretty hard for him to go home again.

Dave Goldberg: Sure, he’s married to Sandberg (see above), but the savvy CEO of polling phenom SurveyMonkey is one of the sharpest thinkers in Silicon Valley. He sold his music company to Yahoo many years ago and has a strong background in consumer online services.

Jon Miller: The chief digital exec at News Corp. almost got the CEO spot years ago when Carl Icahn was agitating for change at Yahoo, before Time Warner blocked him via a noncompete. With the mishegas at the media giant, and dwindling digital businesses there, it might be a good escape hatch for Miller.

Susan Wojcicki: The accomplished Google exec, who runs all its ad products, has the kind of calm, cool, collected persona that Yahoo could use right about now. The search giant was founded in her garage, and she has been a key part of its success since then. Wojcicki is also an understated class act in hey-look-at-me Silicon Valley.

Todd Bradley: The Hewlett-Packard exec just got blindsided when the company kicked webOS to the curb. While he is in line to run a possible spinoff of the device business, Bradley might also want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.

Mike McCue: The CEO of Flipboard would certainly energize Yahoo with his intense focus on quality and consumer delight. The news app start-up could be a good addition to Yahoo, and McCue, the former Netscape and Microsoft exec who is well-liked in the Internet scene, would be, too.

Joanne Bradford: The former Yahoo advertising head bolted Bartz’s regime early on to run revenue for Demand Media. Well-liked in the ad business, she also knows where all the bodies are buried at Yahoo. Since ads and media are key at the company, she’d make an interesting choice.

Yusuf Mehdi: The Microsoft online exec would also be a left-field candidate to run Yahoo, given his even-keeled personality and longtime experience in the sector. And, though pricey, Mehdi’s impact on Bing search has been important. But he’s also been involved in the software giant’s lackluster ad and search partnership and still has not turned around the situation at MSN.

Kevin Johnson: The former Microsoft exec and current CEO of Juniper was once slated to be the CEO of Yahoo, had Microsoft managed to win the company in its hostile takeover attempt. In fact, Johnson was the architect of the idea of Yahoo running the media and Microsoft running the tech.

Tim Armstrong: Well, he might have been a good candidate before the downward slide of AOL and a recent series of questionable judgments. If Armstrong can’t keep a loud tech blogger in line, it’s not clear he can wrangle the Yahoo beast.

And here’s the insider scoop:

Ross Levinsohn: The former News Corp. exec is running the Americas for Yahoo, which puts him in charge of the company’s key businesses. But he’s still struggling to turn the ad business around, and how well he does that could be a major determinant of his success. But fantastic hair!

Blake Irving: The former Microsoft exec has an amiable nature and is well-liked at Yahoo, but he still needs to show that the company can ship some innovative products, and quickly. Like Livestand, the news reader, which is muchly late.

David Kenny: The Yahoo board member is now president of Akamai, which might preclude him from the job. But the well-regarded exec — he’s a snazzy dresser, too — ran one of the Internet’s top digital ad agencies and now has tech chops from the content delivery network.

Memo to Yahoo board: I have a million more ideas, from former Viacom exec Tom Freston to former Yahoo board member Eric Hippeau. Or why not bring back a passel of former Yahoos to advise, such as former CEO Terry Semel or former president Sue Decker?

Or Oprah! I hear Winfrey will be in Silicon Valley later this week, and she has a lot more free time now.

Like Snoop Dogg, she would fo shizzle be the bomb to cover.

Related posts

• As Yahoo Continues to Wobble, Investors (And Board) Eye Options
• Exclusive: Carol Bartz Out at Yahoo; CFO Tim Morse Named Interim CEO
• Carol Bartz’s Last F%*& You — Now Aimed at Yahoo Board
• Yahoo’s Statement on Bartz Ouster
• Wall Street Likes Bartz’s Firing — Yahoo Stock Spikes on News
• My Picks for Yahoo’s Next CEO — Maybe Snoop Dogg, Ya Digg?

According to sources at the company, Yahoo’s Carol Bartz is no longer CEO of Yahoo. CFO Tim Morse has been named interim CEO.

The situation around what is clearly an ouster is uncertain, but Bartz has had a very rocky tenure in her 32 months at the company.

[UPDATE: Yahoo confirmed the departure of Bartz in a press release outlining a reorganization.]

Bartz also sent a stunning email to staff, saying she had been ousted:

To all,

I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.

Carol

Several sources said the board, specifically Chairman Roy Bostock and Co-founder, as well as director Jerry Yang, acted today, informing Bartz by phone of the need to make a change.

What the next steps will be are unclear, but Yahoo needs desperately to explore a range of strategic changes to bring it back to its former glory.

But Wall Street liked the move, with Yahoo stock up more than six percent already in after-hours trading.

Sources said Morse held a call with Yahoo’s senior staff this afternoon, telling them Bartz was out and that a search for a permanent CEO will be commencing.

Why Yahoo’s board did not name a new leader immediately is curious and might indicate a larger deal around Yahoo is in the offing.

As I wrote earlier today, when the Internet giant announced on January 13, 2009, that it had hired longtime Silicon Valley tech veteran — who was well-regarded for her tenure at running Autodesk — to replace outgoing CEO and co-founder Yang and turn around the company, there was much hope.

At the time, she presented a take-no-prisoners image and was touted as someone with a reputation as a professional manager who could clean up the place.

Not so, as it has turned out.

While Bartz has streamlined certain areas and made some strong management hires, her performance has been decidedly bumpy and mostly downhill.

The share price has settled in at about $12.50 (just about where it was when Bartz took over), Yahoo’s recent financial results have been weak, its key advertising business is struggling, its attrition rate among engineers and others is startlingly high and its product innovation cycle seems stopped up.

Add to that: Weak relationships with key Asian partners, a pricey but failed marketing effort and a proclivity for embarrassing verbal gaffes by Bartz.

Still, given that Yahoo’s Internet traffic, top media sites and brand remain huge, the going-sideways situation has again caused some investors — including powerful private equity firms and other monied investors — to pull out their spreadsheets about a variety of scenarios related to Yahoo.

The players who have sniffed around of late are powerful, sources said, including Silver Lake Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin and Providence Equity Partners, among others. Also in the Wall Street rumor mill recently are large companies: AT&T, News Corp. and Verizon.

All the schemes are different — ranging from taking it private to making a large investment to splitting it into parts — although they all seem to require cooperation with Yahoo to get done.

And while there is no serious effort afoot as yet, there have been increasing signs of late that Yahoo’s board is ready to listen to any serious offers, said multiple sources, especially as the company has continued to drift under the leadership of Bartz.

While board chairman Bostock has publicly backed Bartz — after all, he was her biggest champion at the time of her hiring — multiple sources said he had started to become more involved at looking at the management issues at the company and its challenges.

Yang — still a key figure at Yahoo — has also become more active, said sources, and tensions between him and Bartz have increased over the last few months.

The increasing pressure on the directors of the company from its major shareholders to act has gained in recent months, said sources.

Thus, Bartz is gone and the next chapter in Yahoo’s corporate drama begins.

[Photo credit: Asa Mathat for All Things Digital]

Related posts

• As Yahoo Continues to Wobble, Investors (And Board) Eye Options
• Exclusive: Carol Bartz Out at Yahoo; CFO Tim Morse Named Interim CEO
• Carol Bartz’s Last F%*& You — Now Aimed at Yahoo Board
• Yahoo’s Statement on Bartz Ouster
• Wall Street Likes Bartz’s Firing — Yahoo Stock Spikes on News
• My Picks for Yahoo’s Next CEO — Maybe Snoop Dogg, Ya Digg?

When Yahoo announced on January 13, 2009, that it had hired longtime Silicon Valley tech veteran Carol Bartz to replace outgoing CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang and turn around the company, there was a sigh of relief.

At the time, she presented a take-no-prisoners image and was touted as someone with a reputation as a professional manager who could clean up the place.

Not so, as it has turned out.

While Bartz has streamlined certain areas and made some strong management hires, her performance has been decidedly bumpy and mostly downhill. (Update: And this afternoon that ride took her straight out the door.)

Consider: The share price has settled in at about $12.50 (just about where it was when Bartz took over), Yahoo’s recent financial results have been weak, its key advertising business is struggling, its attrition rate among engineers and others is startlingly high and its product innovation cycle seems stopped up. Add to that: Weak relationships with key Asian partners, a pricey but failed marketing effort and a proclivity for verbal gaffes by Bartz.

Still, given that Yahoo’s Internet traffic, top media sites and brand remain huge, the going-sideways situation has again caused some investors — including powerful private equity firms and other monied investors — to pull out their spreadsheets about a variety of scenarios related to Yahoo.

The players who have sniffed around of late are powerful, sources said, including Silver Lake Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin and Providence Equity Partners, among others. Also in the Wall Street rumor mill recently are large companies: AT&T, News Corp. and Verizon.

“It’s hard to ignore all that value sitting there and not being managed properly,” said one person who is considering a variety of investing options related to Yahoo. “And it’s not like AOL, whose assets are so weak, so it seems like an opportunity.”

All the schemes are different — ranging from taking it private to making a large investment to splitting it into parts — although they all seem to require cooperation with Yahoo to get done.

And while there is no serious effort afoot as yet, there are increasing signs that Yahoo’s board is ready to listen to any serious offers, said multiple sources, especially as the company has continued to drift under the leadership of Bartz.

While board chairman Roy Bostock has publicly backed Bartz — after all, he was her biggest champion at the time of her hiring — multiple sources said he has started to become more involved at looking at the management issues at the company and its challenges.

Yang — still a key figure at Yahoo — has also become more active, said sources, and tensions between him and Bartz have increased over the last few months.

While this might, as often happens at Yahoo, lead nowhere, what’s clear is the increasing pressure on the directors of the company from its major shareholders to act.

“You watch an asset like that degrade and it makes you furious,” said one investor. “After a while, you hope it makes the board at Yahoo feel the same.”

Yahoo declined to comment (but so would I).

Related posts

• As Yahoo Continues to Wobble, Investors (And Board) Eye Options
• Exclusive: Carol Bartz Out at Yahoo; CFO Tim Morse Named Interim CEO
• Carol Bartz’s Last F%*& You — Now Aimed at Yahoo Board
• Yahoo’s Statement on Bartz Ouster
• Wall Street Likes Bartz’s Firing — Yahoo Stock Spikes on News
• My Picks for Yahoo’s Next CEO — Maybe Snoop Dogg, Ya Digg?

After our grand tour of Asia last week — with stops in Korea and Japan — it seems like a perfect time to update the speaker list for our upcoming AsiaD conference in Hong Kong in October.

As Walt Mossberg and I said, we are trying to mix both U.S.-based speakers with a pan-Asian selection of speakers from across the region, and the new additions are just that.

For the international confab — this one will be held Oct. 19-21 — we’ve already announced a great lineup, including Alibaba’s Jack Ma; Google Android head Andy Rubin; Twitter inventor and product guru, as well as Square co-founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey; Nvidia founder and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang; and Asus Chairman Jonny Shih.

Now, to add to that terrific lineup:

Kazuo “Kaz” Hirai is widely considered the second in command at the consumer electronics giant Sony, in charge of its key computer entertainment division, as well as now serving as executive deputy president of the whole company. In that role, the dynamic exec is at the nexus of the Japanese company’s efforts around tablets, smartphones, gaming and more. As Sony struggles to reassert its dominance over the arena, Hirai will be a key player in that effort.

Bradley Horowitz — as head of product management for Google+, the search giant’s aggressive effort to break Facebook’s hammerlock on social networking — has a perfect perspective to talk about the fast-growing area and where it is going globally. With locally-based social companies springing up all over Asia, can Google establish one the whole world will use? It’s an important question and Horowitz’s job No. 1.

At Microsoft, Andy Lees is leading one of the software giant’s most important initiatives, as president of its Windows Phone division. His come-from-behind job includes mobile software and hardware, as well as its key partnership with Nokia. With Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android far in the lead, Lees will need to win in markets globally, especially in Asia.

Peter Chernin is one of Hollywood’s top players and execs. The former top News Corp. exec is now a movie producer — his first effort, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” is a big hit. But he’s also been increasingly active in media investing in Asia of late, and has a lot to say about the global nature of entertainment in the digital age.

John Roese heads the North American R&D team for Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant making everything from heavy-duty gear for networks to mobile phones and tablets. The former CTO of Nortel, he’s heading up global development of Huawei’s cloud services for both businesses and consumers. Roese will also talk about the phenomenon of a Chinese-owned company emerging on the world technology stage.

Even in the midst of an economic downturn, there is no denying that it has been a golden time for Silicon Valley start-ups, which have enjoyed unprecedented growth and funding in the Web 2.0 era. But as they seek to expand beyond the U.S., a critical move for them all, we’ve assembled a panel of entrepreneurs to discuss it, including:

Brian Chesky is the CEO and co-founder of Airbnb, the popular online vacation rental site that recently got a huge dose of funding and an equally large amount of controversy. How Airbnb can take the company to the next level, including across the world, while dealing with the kinds of challenges the small management team has to face, will be an interesting topic for discussion.

After stints as president of Asia Pacific and Latin America operations at Google and co-founder of the online personal finance company Yodlee, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is trying her hand at a small start-up again. She’ll talk about how the recently funded Joyus, a new premium video commerce site trying to pioneer a new way to shop online, plans to expand globally.

Finally, longtime tech exec David Goldberg is now running one of tech’s most successful start-ups at SurveyMonkey, the dominant online survey company. With stints as founder of music site Launch Media, which was bought by Yahoo, and as an Entrepreneur in Residence with Benchmark Capital, he is the perfect person to explain what it’s like being an entrepreneur today in Silicon Valley.

We have even more speakers for AsiaD we’ll be announcing in the coming weeks, so get ready for what’s next.

It seems the computer-generated imagery in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” convinced critics and audiences that the well-worn movie series prequel is a winner.

It grabbed $54 million at the box office over its opening weekend.

Its producer, Peter Chernin, told me that a lot more of the film than it seems — including the stunning opening scenes in the wild that look like a real-life nature special — were mostly CGI, used to prep audiences for extended scenes of the apes morphing into believable rebels.

Here is the last trailer for the movie:

You would think the settlement of a major dispute would goose the stock of a company, but Yahoo’s deal with its Chinese partner Alibaba Group on Friday did exactly the opposite.

Despite the clearing of an obvious overhang to its shares, the stock of the Silicon Valley Internet giant dropped almost three percent Friday to close at $13.10. While the ongoing federal budget wrangling was partly to blame, it was only a very small part with an overall market decline of under one percent.

A tepid reaction to the deal — in which Yahoo, Alibaba and Japan’s SoftBank came to terms over the spinoff of Alibaba’s Alipay payments unit after much wrangling over the move — came quickly from Wall Street analysts.

A report titled “Yahoo Inc: Alipay Agreement: Better than Nothing, But Not That Great,” by J.P. Morgan’s Doug Anmuth, was typical. Pointing to no clarity on an IPO of the Chinese assets of Alibaba and that “prior to the divestiture, Alibaba Group owned 100% of Alipay and all of its income, which is now reduced to 37.5% ownership of Alipay and 49.9% share of the pre-tax income,” he noted that Wall Street “has recently assigned no value to Yahoo!’s share of the asset.”

Well, less than zero, if the stock decline is taken into account, which means Yahoo’s market cap is now just over $17 billion.

According to sources close to the situation, especially since Yahoo’s Asian assets make up more than $9 billion of that valuation, private equity investors and others are pulling out their spreadsheets once again about a possible takeover or privatizing of Yahoo.

Several months ago, for example, former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin had been contemplating a friendly bid with partners such as Providence Equity Partners and others. While there have been rumors recently that he has reengaged in that effort, that is unclear.

Sources also note that Yahoo’s top execs, especially CEO Carol Bartz, and also members of its board, are perplexed that the settlement in China — a positive development — had the opposite effect on the stock.

It’s part of a continuing decline. Yahoo shares are down almost 26 percent in the past three months. Most Web stocks — such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft — are strongly up in that period. The only other obvious laggard is AOL, which is down almost 16 percent in the past three months.

An agreement to extend the content licenses that owners News Corp., Disney and NBCUniversal signed two years ago should be in place within a week, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The pact is being negotiated by Hulu managment, led by CEO Jason Kilar, and officials from News Corp. and Disney. Investor Providence Equity Partners also has a say.

But NBCUniversal, one of the site’s original owners, gave up its board seats and management role in the joint venture earlier this year as part of its Comcast merger agreements; it will have to accept whatever terms its partners arrange.

A Hulu rep provided this statement from Kilar, and said it represented the view of all four companies involved in negotiations:

News Corp, Disney, Providence and the Hulu team have been engaged in productive discussions to extend our existing content agreements a number of years. Keep in mind that our existing Hulu.com content agreements already extend for several more years; these discussions would extend the term further and also extend our separate Hulu Plus content agreements.

Between the operating results and formalizing the above, it is shaping up to be a big year for Hulu.

I don’t have details on the new pacts, but people familiar with the negotiations tell me that the joint venture’s basic structure will remain the same: Hulu.com will continue to be an ad-supported site, while the Hulu Plus subscription service will offer more programming and the ability to watch it on devices like Apple’s iPad.

The new deal terms are unlikely to change things that will be obvious to casual Hulu users. It’s possible that some programs may be withheld from the site, but it’s more probable that the changes will affect things like programming “windows,” which determine when a show turns up on the site and when it disappears, and how much Hulu pays for the content it shows.

The terms may also give content owners more flexibility to distribute their programming on other digital outlets.

Hulu’s original premise was that the site would would have co-exclusive rights to programming from its networks’ partners/owners–shows would stream on the networks’ own sites and Hulu.com, and nowhere else. But my hunch is that programmers will want the ability to offer their stuff to other distributors.

Disney CEO Bob Iger seemed to hint at this during his earnings call this week, when he said that Disney supported Hulu, but not exclusively: “We don’t intend to let a platform—even one we own—get in the way of doing what we think is right.”

The new deal will put to rest any idea that Hulu’s network owners want to kill off the site. That notion has been floated in part because some of Hulu’s original backers, like former News Corp. COO Peter Chernin and NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker, have left their jobs. (News Corp. also owns this Web site.)

More important is that the media landscape has changed since Hulu was assembled in 2007. At the time, NBC and News Corp. officials were primarily interested in building a site that could compete with Google’s YouTube.

Now, Hulu’s owners are trying to extract new and/or increased fees for the programming from cable and satellite services, as well as services like Netflix; offering their shows for free on Hulu makes that harder.

And yet one more question mark about Hulu’s future popped up in February, when Kilar wrote a blog post challenging the TV industry’s business model. The move angered some of his bosses, and led to speculation that he would quit or be fired.

Tempers have cooled since then, but that doesn’t mean Kilar will stick around indefinitely. I’m told that his contract expires in July, and that if he wanted to he’d be able to stay on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he left for something else.

One of the results of Yahoo’s weak earnings report earlier this week has been the renewal of chatter about possible changes in its leadership and even ownership.

And continued investor discomfort with its troubled stock price–Yahoo shares are down 7.25 percent year over year and an astonishing 49 percent on a five-year basis–and the level of renewed grumbling by major institutional shareholders is causing some key players to go back to their PowerPoints to reevaluate various options.

(By way of contrast, Google is down about 4.5 percent year over year–largely due to last week’s earnings release with higher than expected expenses–but still up more than 20 percent for the five years.)

As many might recall, last year Yahoo was under scrutiny by a number of interested parties–from big media companies to other digital players to private equity firms–considering a number of takeover scenarios.

Most of them were just talk and no action resulted, but that did not mean that interest went away.

The truth is, they are still out there and ruminating–this time with what sources describe as a much more amenable Yahoo board, with several of its key members willing to entertain any legitimate offers or ideas to improve the Silicon Valley search giant’s prospects.

In the last go-round, by contrast, Yahoo’s top execs–including CEO Carol Bartz–denied any interest in the swirl of rumors related to a variety of ideas.

That’s definitely changed–at least at the board level–so here are three very credible scenarios of what could happen:

Peetie, Peetie, Yahoo-Sweetie

Late last year, BoomTown wrote a post about the interest that former News Corp. COO and President Peter Chernin–who now owns his own entertainment production company–had in the situation at Yahoo.

As I wrote in November:

But multiple sources from a variety of sides said that Chernin, a well-liked and deeply experienced media and entertainment exec, has been contacted by a number of private equity firms and other investors about his interest in becoming involved should any of the various and sundry scenarios around the Internet giant pan out.

And Chernin, many sources said, has expressed a definite interest in the situation, perhaps because he was deeply involved in a previous deal when running News Corp.

At the time, it involved combining the media giant’s Myspace social networking site with Yahoo and also Microsoft’s portal MSN and creating a new company, code-named “TrafficCo.”

Indeed, that interest remains for Chernin, who has also been an increasingly active investor, including in the digital sector. He is an angel funder of the hot social media app start-up Flipboard, and also just joined the board of the popular Pandora music service.

The most likely possible scenarios have him joining with deep-pocketed partners, including Providence Equity Partners and, yes, Microsoft, as well as investment banks or advisory firms, such as Morgan Stanley and Code Advisors.

The approach being considered–which would only be done in a friendly way, with the cooperation of Yahoo’s board–would center on making a large enough investment in its shares, allowing the group to take control of the management and the board, putting Chernin in as chairman and maybe CEO (or with a new CEO–see next section).

If Microsoft were involved–and Chernin has strong ties there–such a scenario might include folding all its online properties into Yahoo and renegotiating its rocky search partnership, too.

This is an idea that intrigues a lot of people–including current Yahoo board chairman Roy Bostock, co-founder Jerry Yang and other board members–who have indicated recently to several investors and dealmakers a willingness to listen to credible player such as Chernin.

But, in this scenario, it would be up to Chernin and his partners to make a prosposal, said sources, and he might decide that the complexity of getting the power to make big changes at Yahoo is too big to tackle.

In addition, Chernin remains a successful Hollywood player, with several major television and movie projects in the works, as well as big investment possibilities in Asia.

“Does he want the headache of Yahoo at this point in his career?” asked one person, among many Chernin has talked to recently about becoming involved in the company. “Would you?”

Maybe so, if it would provide a big financial windfall. Many think an exec with a reputation like Chernin’s could easily begin to move Yahoo’s moribund stock upward quickly.

ABC (Anybody But Carol)

Here’s one truth: Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz does not get proper credit for a number of moves she has made since coming to the company two years ago, including cleaning up the messy corporate structure, de-complexifying garbled systems, cutting costs and bringing its far-flung operations into line.

Yahoo’s stock is certainly doing better than when she arrived in early January of 2009, when it was in the $12 range compared to its current $16 price point.

But here’s another: That stock price now includes more than $10 in solid assets–cash and Yahoo’s much more valuable stakes in China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan–leaving very little true share appreciation.

And here are more truths: Bartz’s inability to get revenues growing, innovations flowing, promising start-ups acquired and–most importantly–to stop the continual exodus of talent out the door of Yahoo has made her tenure shakier than ever.

Add to that making its relationships with Asian partners more tense, almost no traction in key mobile, video and social arenas, a record of loud public declarations that have fallen flat and serious troubles in Yahoo’s search and online partnership with Microsoft–a deal Bartz struck and is charged with managing–recently highlighted in Yahoo’s earnings earlier this week.

As shareholder activist Eric Jackson, who has long agitated for change at Yahoo, wrote this week in a post:

“The truth is that investors are fed up with Bartz. Their enmity towards Bartz is palpable when you talk to them. Bartz talked a big game coming into the job and she hasn’t delivered. It’s that simple.”

Well, not that simple and maybe not fair, but it’s also clear that no one thinks Bartz will be re-upped when her contract is up in 18 months.

Thus, it’s no surprise that ideas of other possible leaders of Yahoo are being contemplated now.

Here’s the short list I have made of my choices: Akamai President and Yahoo board member David Kenny; former Microsoft exec and current Juniper Networks CEO Kevin Johnson; former AOL CEO and current News Corp. digital head Jon Miller; and Nikesh Arora, current Chief Business Officer and sales head at Google.

There are plenty more to pick from, of course, and any could be installed in conjunction with an effort such as Chernin’s.

AOL Under the Hoop

No good Yahoo scenario plotting can be contemplated without including AOL and its flashy CEO Tim Armstrong.

Armstrong has made no secret of wanting to get ahold of Yahoo properties to apply the strategy he has been trying at AOL to get it moving again.

Which is: To become the premiere digital media company.

Which is actually Yahoo’s new motto–although arguably, in word and deed, Armstrong has been much more active in pushing the concept and narrative.

That includes his incessant acquisitions of all kinds of online media properties, including the big fish–the $315 million purchase of the Huffington Post and the coronation of its even-flashier co-founder Arianna Huffington as content chief.

Armstrong has certainly not been averse to the idea of a Yahoo-AOL hookup with him at the top, and has been actively talking to anyone interested in such a deal.

And things could get a lot more interesting if AOL linked with a bigger strategic partner, such as News Corp. or Disney or even Google, Armstrong’s former stomping grounds.

Still, wishing does not make it so, especially with a much smaller and weaker set of assets than Yahoo and a still poor record on goosing its advertising sales.

AOL’s stock is down 30 percent year over year, as investors still worry about Armstrong’s ability to turn the company around, which kind of puts him in the same situation as Bartz.

“AOL is waiting under the hoop for whatever happens, which is a good place to be,” said one person close to the situation. “Why not?”

Why not, indeed–so, let the games begin.

Late last month, BoomTown posted about a huge venture funding effort by the high-profile and even more highly designed social media reading app for the Apple iPad, Flipboard.

Today, its co-founder and CEO Mike McCue confirmed the $50 million round at an eye-popping $200 million valuation, in a wide-ranging interview at the start-up’s Palo Alto, Calif., HQ.

“We’re obviously thrilled, because we think it confirms our focus that people want a beautifully designed way to interact with content and to share it,” he said. “And there is a lot more to come–on a scale of one to 10, we’re just at a two or three.”

The bulk of the new second round of funding–Flipboard had previously raised $10.5 million–came from New York-based Insight Venture Partners.

Insight’s Jerry Murdock said in an interview that he was excited about the idea of “social endorsement” that Flipboard was pioneering.

“We back great entrepreneurs and Flipboard is that and also in an obviously unique position to solve a problem of media consumption in the digital age,” he said. “The sky is the limit. Or more precisely it is the best environment to consume curated real-time content for Twitter and Facebook, because of the user experience and social endorsement integration with the content.”

Insight is also an investor in Twitter.

Also stepping up in the new Flipboard round is Comcast’s venture arm, as well as previous investors, including Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures and a spate of well known angels, such as Twitter co-founder and product guru Jack Dorsey, Facebook co-founder and Asana dude Dustin Moskovitz, the ubiquitous Ron Conway, actor Ashton Kutcher and the investment company of former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin.

“From a Comcast perspective, we’re intrigued with Mike and what he’s doing with content aggregation,” said Amy Banse, Comcast Interactive Capital’s new head. “We think we can learn from him and he from us.”

Co-founded by longtime entrepreneur McCue (Netscape, Tellme) and former Apple iPhone engineer Evan Doll in January, Flipboard launched to much attention in July.

The elegant Flipboard–which McCue recently told me in an onstage interview at the South by Southwest conference in Austin had zero revenues thus far–has changed the game on the consumption of social media.

Its innovative social magazine concept is attempting to make the social networking universe more accessible, consumable and, perhaps most importantly, visually arresting via its rich app.

Essentially, Flipboard pulls information from media RSS feeds and sites such as Twitter and Facebook data streams and then reassembles it in an easy-to-navigate, personalized format in a mobile tablet touchscreen environment.

In its current offering, there are pull-quotes, photos, videos, status updates and even the first paragraphs of linked-out content. There is also the ability to comment and share, as if one were on a social networking or microblogging site.

McCue said the new giant pile of cash will be used to increase its 32-person staff to about 50, international expansion, small acquisitions and more product development on more platforms.

The next in the arena will be the iPhone version of Flipboard, said McCue, followed by one for the Google Android mobile operating system eventually.

Left unsaid, of course, was the need for funding to fight the likelihood of increased competition in the hot space for delivering both professional and social content to consumers on a wide range of devices.

Rivals are varied, such as Silicon Valley’s most adorable news reader start-up Pulse and also Zite, a news reader which was recently sued for copyright infringement by a group of major publishers.

There are bigger potential players, such as Google, which is trying to find various ways to move into the social space.

In fact, said several sources, Google and others have made acquisition approaches to Flipboard, which has instead opted for raising more funding and staying independent for now.

McCue declined to talk about that, but did note that he is not surprised by publisher interest, especially of the worried and wary kind, in the arena.

“Anyone not respectful of others’ content is going to get in that kind of trouble,” he said, noting Flipboard has struck deals with 17 big publishers so far, including this morning’s announcement about a partnership with Oprah Winfrey’s and Discovery’s OWN cable network. “There is not one half to this equation.”

Right now, the Flipboard app is free and the business plan is advertising and some possible subscription scenarios.

McCue said advertising will be the key to Flipboard’s business plan in the future, although it’s not clear if the company will ever sell advertising itself.

Rather, it will partner with publishers seeking better distribution in the explosive tablet and smartphone market, where Flipboard has been gaining traction quickly.

But until that is sorted out, there is now $50 million more in the Flipboard kitty to figure it all out.

“With this funding, we can grow at the right pace and have a lot of flexibility to get the product right,” said McCue. “And, that’s the most important thing.”

Flipboard, the high-profile and highly designed social media reading app for the Apple iPad, is out raising another round of funding at an eye-popping $200 million valuation, according to numerous sources close to the situation.

The Palo Alto, CA, company declined to comment on its new funding efforts, which sources said had recently accelerated.

While that valuation might change, several sources considering the investment said it is unlikely to go down in the current frothy financing market in Silicon Valley, especially given Flipboard’s splashy profile and top-drawer pedigree.

Co-founded by longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur Mike McCue and former Apple iPhone engineer Evan Doll in January, Flipboard launched to much attention in July.

That included $10.5 million in venture funding from Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures and a spate of well known angel investors, such as Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey, Facebook Co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, the ubiquitous Ron Conway, actor Ashton Kutcher and the investment company of former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin.

At the time, it was unclear what Flipboard’s valuation was. But now, said several sources, it’s clocking in at a hefty $200 million, which is perhaps no surprise at a time of increasingly lofty investments in tech start-ups.

Suddenly, Foursquare’s $95 million valuation seems like a bargain! (Sorry, Dennis Crowley, for comparing you to the Kool-Aid pitcher dude.)

In any case, the elegant Flipboard–which McCue recently told me in an onstage interview at the South by Southwest conference in Austin had zero revenues thus far–has changed the game on the consumption of social media.

Its innovative social magazine concept is attempting to make the social networking universe more accessible, consumable and, perhaps most importantly, visually arresting via its rich app.

Essentially, Flipboard pulls information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook data streams and then reassembles it in an easy-to-navigate, personalized format in a mobile tablet touchscreen environment.

In this offering, there are pull quotes, photos, videos, status updates and even the first paragraphs of linked-out content. There is also the ability to comment and share, as if one were on Twitter or Facebook.

Flipboard has since added a number of features and will be launching its new iPhone app later this year.

Right now, the Flipboard app is free and the business plan is advertising and some possible subscription scenarios.

It will be interesting to see who will jump into this leader in a nascent market, besides its current investors. Sources said one likely target group for Flipboard could be a large traditional media company.

Until the financial dust settles, here is the video of an onstage interview by the Digital Solution’s Katherine Boehret with McCue at the All Things Digital event, D: Dive Into Mobile, in December:

(Full disclosure: ATD is part of Flipboard’s publisher beta program.)

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110323/pretty-flipboard-fundraising-at-an-even-prettier-200-million-valuation/feed/ 8 http://allthingsd.com/20101117/enter-the-chernin-former-news-corp-president-and-coo-in-yahoo-what-if-mix/ http://allthingsd.com/20101117/enter-the-chernin-former-news-corp-president-and-coo-in-yahoo-what-if-mix/#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:58:26 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=37239

Things have certainly quieted down in the swirl of mostly vapor plots about the future of Yahoo, although the pondering, machinating and such on the parts of a variety of players have most certainly continued.

And that includes the introduction of a new character into the drama: Former News Corp. President Peter Chernin.

Let’s be very clear–there is no active plan for Chernin to join Yahoo or its board, nor is he currently part of any possible takeover plan related to the Silicon Valley Internet giant.

But multiple sources from a variety of sides said that Chernin, a well-liked and deeply experienced media and entertainment exec, has been contacted by a number of private equity firms and other investors about his interest in becoming involved should any of the various and sundry scenarios around the Internet giant pan out.

And Chernin, many sources said, has expressed a definite interest in the situation, perhaps because he was deeply involved in a previous deal when running News Corp.

At the time, it involved combining the media giant’s Myspace social networking site with Yahoo and also Microsoft’s portal MSN and creating a new company, code-named “TrafficCo.”

“He is asking a lot of questions and is nosing around, but there is not a plan,” said one source. “Yahoo has always been an interesting opportunity to him.”

Indeed, especially since Chernin has had a longtime interest in being more involved in digital business after a long career in traditional media.

He currently has a Santa Monica, Calif.-based media company, called Chernin Entertainment, which has a lucrative first-look production film and television deal with News Corp.–as well as the Chernin Group, which “pursues strategic opportunities in media, technology, and entertainment.”

And, in recent weeks, Chernin (pictured here) has also unveiled a new media venture in Asia called CA Media, which will “focus on a broad range of opportunities in content creation (specifically, film and TV production), television networks, sports, education, advertising, and digital media.”

But so far, since he left News Corp. in early 2009, Chernin has done very little in the digital arena.

In contrast, at News Corp., he was a key exec behind its co-founding of the Hulu premium video site, for example, among other digital initiatives.

And when Microsoft was vying to acquire Yahoo several years ago, Chernin and News Corp. CEO and Chairman Rupert Murdoch were actively trying to forge some solution that involved the company.

One possibility floated by numerous sources was that Chernin could once again work with Microsoft on settling all the turmoil around Yahoo of late.

In a related matter, sources said he had been in very early talks with the company about doing a subscription original-content channel on its Xbox–a kind of digital-only HBO–aimed at young men. Those discussions have not resulted in any project.

And, in fact, Chernin was a guest speaker at a Microsoft board retreat just yesterday in the Seattle area, where the theme was “Three Screens.”

He reportedly addressed television, the other two screen being the computer and the mobile phone.

A tighter relationship between Chernin and Microsoft would be interesting and possibly helpful to both.

“Microsoft is very worried about making sure there is a stable Yahoo,” said a source close to the situation, who noted the software giant has been quietly eyeing the situation and considering options. “Involving a well-regarded executive like Chernin makes a lot of sense.”

That makes sense given the key online search and advertising partnership Microsoft and Yahoo are now in, which tightly ties their fates together.

Of course, much about the Yahoo situation and any scenario being thought of–from spinning off its Asian assets in China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan, to taking it private, to replacing its management and board–is, as BoomTown has frequently noted, a lot of shadows and dust at this point.

But–as a longtime admirer of Chernin’s curiosity about the digital realm, refreshingly minus the requisite horror over its growth that is so characteristic of much of Hollywood–his interest is a welcome one into the debate over what Yahoo needs to do to reinvigorate itself going forward.

Asking his thoughts might be a good question at the Web 2.0 Summit conference, where Chernin is being interviewed later today on the topic of content.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101117/enter-the-chernin-former-news-corp-president-and-coo-in-yahoo-what-if-mix/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100720/meet-flipboard-mike-mccue-talks-about-stealth-social-magazine-start-up-that-just-nabbed-10-5-million/ http://allthingsd.com/20100720/meet-flipboard-mike-mccue-talks-about-stealth-social-magazine-start-up-that-just-nabbed-10-5-million/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:56:38 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=30973

Today, BoomTown gassed up the MINI and headed down to see one of the more innovative new start-ups I have encountered of late.

That would be a new social magazine concept called Flipboard, which is attempting to make the social networking universe more accessible, consumable and, perhaps most importantly, visually arresting via a rich app on the Apple (AAPL) iPad.

Essentially, Flipboard pulls information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook data streams and then reassembles it in an easy-to-navigate, personalized format in a mobile tablet touchscreen environment.

In this social magazine, there are pull quotes, photos, videos, status updates and even the first paragraphs of content linked out to. There is also the ability to comment and share, as if one were on Twitter or Facebook.

Co-founded by longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur Mike McCue and former Apple iPhone engineer Evan Doll in January, Flipboard decloaked itself tonight, announcing both a $10.5 million funding from top Silicon Valley power players and also the acquisition of Ellerdale, a relevancy search engine for the real-time Web.

The funders include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures and a spate of high-profile investors, such as Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moscovitz, angel investor Ron Conway, actor Ashton Kutcher and the investment company of former News Corp. (NWS) exec Peter Chernin.

Flipboard currently has about 20 employees at its downtown Palo Alto, Calif., HQ.

“Flipboard is a social magazine filled with all the the things your friends are sharing,” said McCue, who co-founded Tellme, the speech recognition service acquired by Microsoft (MSFT). “We’re trying to bring the timeless principles of print to social media.”

(You can read The Mossberg Solution’s Katherine Boehret’s review of Flipboard here.)

McCue left Tellme a year ago and was casting about for a new start-up when he settled on creating a new way to digest and present the noisy flood of information being spewed 24/7 by social networks.

Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr, who backed Tellme, said he was immediately intrigued by the idea.

“It is at once intimate and alive and beautiful,” he said in an interview with me earlier today. “This is the next wave of social media and redefines what magazine is…and I think it will be one of the defining apps on the iPad.”

Right now, the Flipboard app is free and the business plan is advertising and some possible subscription scenarios.

Ellen Pao, also of Kleiner and a member of Flipboard’s board, said she hoped publishers, whose Web sites are reconfigured from tweets and other social links by the app, will welcome the new distribution format.

“Traditional publishing is facing a crossroads and this imagines it from the ground up,” she said. “I hope it paves the way.”

We’ll see about old media reactions, which has been decidedly mixed to aggregation apps like this.

The New York Times (NYT), for example, attacked rather than embraced another terrific news reading iPad app called Pulse, accusing it of misusing its content.

It was a stupid move against inexorable concepts such as Pulse and Flipboard, which are beginning to make sense of the changing digital information landscape.

Here’s the video interview with McCue, followed by the official press releases about Flipboard:

FLIPBOARD LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST SOCIAL MAGAZINE

INSPIRED BY THE BEAUTY OF PRINT AND DESIGNED FOR iPAD, FLIPBOARD TRANSFORMS THE SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERIENCE

Raises $10.5MM From Legendary Investors KPCB and Index Ventures and Media Innovators Including Jack Dorsey, Dustin Moskovitz, Ashton Kutcher and The Chernin Group

Acquires Ellerdale, Names Arthur van Hoff CTO

FORTUNE BRAINSTORM TECH–ASPEN, COLORADO – JULY 21, 2010–Founded by Mike McCue, former CEO of Tellme, and Evan Doll, former senior iPhone engineer at Apple®, Flipboard™ began a quest today to transform how people discover and share content by combining the beauty and ease of print with the power of social media. Flipboard also announced the immediate availability of it’s Flipboard App for iPad™, a social magazine that brings to life the stories, photos, news and updates being shared across Twitter and Facebook. Flipboard’s first public demo will happen at the FORTUNE Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado at 4:40pm MDT tomorrow.

“With over 1 billion posts shared every day, social networks are quickly becoming the primary way people discover and share content on the Web. The result is a huge influx of incoming messages and links people must sort through across multiple web sites just to stay up to date,” said Mike McCue, Flipboard’s CEO. “We believe the timeless principles of print can make social media less noisy, more visually compelling and ultimately more mainstream.”

Designed from the ground up for iPad, Flipboard creates a magazine out of a user’s social content. Simply launch Flipboard and “flip” open the cover to get started. From the Table of Contents readers can view their sections and personalize the magazine.

The Facebook and Twitter sections let readers quickly flip through the latest stories, photos and updates from friends and trusted sources. Because Flipboard renders links and images right in the magazine, readers no longer have to scan long lists of posts and click on link after link – instead they instantly see all the stories, comments and images, making it faster and more entertaining to discover, view and share social content.

Flipboard also lets readers easily create sections around topics or people they care about. Choose from Flipboard’s suggested sections on topics such as sports, news, tech and style, with content hand-curated from popular and interesting Twitter feeds. Or, create an entirely new section by searching by topic, person or Twitter lists to make Flipboard even more personal.

The Flipboard App is available for free at www.flipboard.com or from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

ACQUISITION OF ELLERDALE
As part of it’s quest to fundamentally improve the social media experience, Flipboard also announced the acquisition of Ellerdale (see press release: “Flipboard Acquires Ellerdale”). Ellerdale’s advanced semantic analysis of large, real-time data streams will enable Flipboard to extract, categorize and feature highly relevant and hot trending content from across a variety of social networks. Flipboard will also retain the world-class engineering team at Ellerdale, including Arthur van Hoff, a leading Silicon Valley technologist who played a major role in the creation of Java. Arthur will become Flipboard’s Chief Technology Officer and spearhead the company’s technology strategy.

INVESTORS
Flipboard is backed by legendary investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures. Other key investors also include Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, The Chernin Group founded by Peter Chernin, Ron Conway, Alfred Lin, Peter Currie, Quincy Smith, and Ashton Kutcher. The company has raised $10.5 million in a Series A venture capital round.

FLIPBOARD ACQUIRES ELLERDALE TO BOOST CONTENT RELEVANCY IN NEW SOCIAL MAGAZINE

Arthur van Hoff Joins Flipboard as Chief Technology Officer

PALO ALTO, Calif.–July 21, 2010–Flipboard today announced it has acquired Ellerdale, the real-time Web intelligence company. The acquisition concurs with the launch of Flipboard, a social magazine designed for Apple’s iPad, which provides a faster and more engaging way to discover, view, and share what matters on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Ellerdale, founded in 2008, has developed a Web Intelligence technology that applies semantic analysis to large, real-time data streams to extract relevant and valuable information. To date, Ellerdale has indexed over 6 billion messages from around the social Web and currently processes nearly 70 million messages per day. This technology and data set will be become the relevancy engine for the next release of Flipboard, enhancing the reader’s experience by always surfacing the most important and personally interesting information from Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Designed from the ground up for the iPad, Flipboard creates a magazine out of a user’s social content. With Ellerdale’s technology, future versions of Flipboard will be able to extract, categorize and feature highly relevant and hot trending content from across a variety of social networks.

“Ellerdale has developed an impressive solution for understanding the ever-increasing stream of social data coming at us every day,” said Mike McCue, CEO and co-founder of Flipboard. “This technology will add deep relevancy for our readers, enabling us to present social content in a way that is not only more beautiful, but also more meaningful. It’s a great combination.”

Arthur van Hoff, co-founder of Ellerdale, is joining Flipboard as the company’s new chief technology officer. Van Hoff, who played a major role in the development of the Java programming language at Sun Microsystems, and was founder of six high-tech companies, including Marimba, Strangeberry and Zing, will spearhead Flipboard’s technology strategy.

“Combining the two companies creates a situation in which one plus one equals three, bringing together Flipboard’s innovative front-end with Ellerdale’s powerful real-time relevancy engine on the back-end,” said Arthur van Hoff, co-founder of Ellerdale and Flipboard’s new chief technology officer. “Our technology will play a key role in providing readers with the content that matters most to them.”

Mike McCue and Evan Doll founded Flipboard earlier this year and received $10.5M in funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Index Ventures. The founding team members come from Apple, Netflix, Tellme/Microsoft, Aardvark and Adobe. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100720/meet-flipboard-mike-mccue-talks-about-stealth-social-magazine-start-up-that-just-nabbed-10-5-million/feed/ 7 http://allthingsd.com/20090506/news-corp-the-economy-is-rough-and-so-are-our-earnings/ http://allthingsd.com/20090506/news-corp-the-economy-is-rough-and-so-are-our-earnings/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 20:16:46 +0000 Peter Kafka http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/?p=7082

For the past year or so, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has been a consistent voice of pessimism, and he forecast an ugly economy before his big-media peers did.

And now he’s more upbeat than his fellow media CEOs. Here’s his opening salvo:

“I am not an economist…but it is increasingly clear that the worst is over….As you know, I have been uncharacteristically pessimistic in recent calls, though I would argue that it was a well-founded concern. But there are emerging signs in some of our businesses that the days of precipitous decline are done and that revenues are beginning to look healthier.”

Not only is this a turnaround, it’s a turnaround from just a month ago, when Murdoch professed to be full of bearish sentiment at the cable industry’s annual show.

So what changed? Advertisers have started spending money again, he says: “Everybody was in shock by the economy and all business was falling of a cliff in the last 3 months of last year. Including me.” And that meant ads disappeared in January, February and March. But now they’re coming back. “It’s not back to the old levels. Don’t get me wrong, he says. “But at the very least we seem to have hit the floor.”

There is some nuance to this: When asked by an analyst why that optimism has prompted him to reinvest in his company, via stock buyback, Murdoch hedged: “I want a little more evidence that the worst is over…there is a real feeling that we’ve hit bottom and there is something turning, but this is early days yet.”

As usual, Murdoch’s call was well worth listening to, as he’s the most unbuttoned of the media moguls when it comes to earnings calls. Plenty of good stuff here on the Kindle, the state of the newspaper business, his plans to charge for more online content, etc.

EARLIER:
Thanks to a helpful News Corp. (NWS) official for deciphering the company’s earnings for me. The media conglomerate, which owns this Web site via its Dow Jones unit, posted earnings of 16 cents (after factoring out one-time gains and charges) on revenue of $7.4 billion. Wall Street had been looking for 16 cents and $7.7 billion, respectively. The company’s revenue number is down 16 percent from a year ago.

CEO Rupert Murdoch isn’t crowing: “Our third-quarter results directly reflect the continuing weakness of the global economic climate.”

News Corp. doesn’t offer much transparency regarding MySpace, which just recently swapped out its leadership team, or the Fox Interactive Media group MySpace belongs to. But it does say that its “other segment” which includes FIM/MySpace, lost $89 million in the last quarter, down $82 million from a year ago.

“The decline in FIM operating results was driven by lower advertising revenues combined with increased costs associated with the MySpace music joint venture and the launch of new features.”

Expect more detail in the earnings call, which begins at 4:30 Eastern time.

Here’s the sector-by-sector breakdown (click chart to enlarge):

News Corp.’s numbers come a day after Disney’s (DIS). not-as-bad-as-we-feared report. CBS (CBS) reports tomorrow.

Call starting shortly: I’ll be covering live.

Call starting. This will be COO Peter Chernin’s last go-round.

CFO Dave DeVoe starts:
Paper and broadcast TV down, cable doing OK (just like every other media conglomerate).

Some segment notes: Studios are up in part because of “Wolverine,” “Slumdog,” etc. Also because they’re making more TV shows (recall there was a strike a year ago).

TV stations down 28 percent (if you strike out Superbowl revenue from last year). That’s about par for local TV these days (i.e., down 20 percent is the new flat!).

Cable: “Very strong growth.” Operating income up 30 percent, revenue up 11 percent. Affliate fees up 24 percent. Ad revenue down six percent (not bad). Fox News Channel had record operating profit. New affiliate deals in effect with everyone except for Charter and Cox, and those should be set next year.

Newspaper business: Operating income at $7 million, down from $200 million(!) last year. Dow Jones: Advertising down 33 percent at The Wall Street Journal (gulp).

FIM (MySpace): $187 million, down 11 percent. Online ads down 16 percent. That’s a big collapse from last quarter.

Murdoch: “I’m not an economist…but it is increasingly clear the worst is over.” This is meaningful given that Murdoch was an early pessimist, at least by media mogul standards. “We’re beginning to see a number of bright spots that give us encouragement.”

Movie business: “It is booming right now.” “Could not be happier” with “Wolverine” opening.

Lots of praise for Fox News’s “stunning achievement” in closing the gap on NBCU’s USA.

Broadcast ad volume and pricing are holding up well.

Strong growth at WSJ.com, as measured by internal metrics. Ad revenue for site will grow 20 percent year to year in the fourth quarter. Will soon be making pay people “handsomely” for iPhone app.

I believe I heard a challenge to the Kindle, but not sure. Following up with News Corp. PR. Yup: “We will not be sending our content rights to the fine people who created the Kindle. “

“Too many content creators have been passive in the face of obvious violations of property rights….Our content is extremely valuable and the violators recognize that value.”

Re MySpace: Confident in new team that will “spur new growth and new profitability. Profitability, I must say, that has completely escaped our competitors.”

Praise for Hulu. “There are lessons for Hulu’s success in other parts of our company.”

Now praise for Chernin: “I’ve watched him grow from young executive to my trusted deputy”…built strong management team. I’ll miss him, etc.

Chernin: Praising investor community, a bit tongue in cheek. “Also a great privilege to work at News Corp…and a deep, deep privilege to work for” Murdoch.

Q&A:
Murdoch: Cable advertising down six percent this Q but will be up two percent for the year. General purpose cable nets all up:

Q: If worst is over, why not buy back stock?
Murdoch: “I want a little more evidence that the worst is over…there is a real feeling that we’ve hit bottom and there is something turning, but this is early days yet.”

Q: You have $6 billion in cash. What do you want to do with that? Would you spin out any part of business, like newspapers?
Murdoch: We believe that we are a very strong interrelated company and that all of our divisions help each other. And yeah, we have $6 billion. Except that in the first three or four months of next year we do have $2 billion worth of repayment. So let’s deal with that first.

Q: How does local TV business look? And how is home video looking?
Murdoch: A month ago, I would have said that pacings for the quarter looked “frighteningly bad,” but things are improving. Other stats: For the year, Dow Jones will be down 22 percent. Fox Interactive will down four percent. On movies: A big film will do as well as ever. Library a bit doubtful. But we think there are some things in the works. Thinking about Hulu…and Blu-ray will help too. “There are various things that we believe are going to more than make up for the present slight decline in library titles.” Chernin: “We’re seeing strong titles perform strongly. Particularly with “middle-America-type titles like ‘Marley and Me.’”

Q: Have credit markets loosened up?
CFO DeVoe: Yes. Spreads have contracted. Over last week, the markets are open at attractive prices.
Murdoch: There is a lot of money out there, and we would have no trouble raising one or two billion in public bonds.

Q: Want to buy any additional newspapers?
Murdoch: No.

Q: What’s the outlook for cable, once you’re done jacking up affiliate fees for the likes of Fox News?
Murdoch: Same growth.
Chernin: Some channels still have a lot of growth in them: Big Ten channel, Fox Business, etc.
Murdoch: Yeah! We have 140 channels. The growth of cable and satellite and multichannel television is really only beginning in the rest of the world. And we’ll be riding that.

Q: Are more restructuring charges coming? Why isn’t that in guidance?
Devoe: We really don’t know. What it’s going to be, it’s going to be.
Murdoch: We’ll take about $100 million out of the costs of Dow Jones, and we expect it will be another $100 million by this time next year. Like by linking back office of Dow Jones and New York Post. There will be, and I won’t specify it, but there will be “major cost savings at MySpace.”
Devoe: With regard Dow Jones restructuring, important to note that we planned for that in acquisition.

Q: FIM ad revenue down 16 percent. What’s up with that?
Murdoch: Jon Miller has a lot of ideas. We think we’ll have a much more attractive site for people to visit and stay with and just generate a lot more visits. “We are not going for the Facebook model for bringing hundreds and hundreds of millions of people who don’t bring any advertising with them at all.”
Cherin: MySpace Music coming along. Monetization opportunities just beginning. Some signs that things are improving at MySpace ad sales. A lot of this is marketplace-driven.

Q: On management changes: Rupert, can you handle all this reorg and the absence of Chernin?
Murdoch: Duh.

Q: I assume you have money-losing papers beyond the New York Post.
Murdoch: The only paper that’s in loss is the London Times. And that’s always been the case.

Q: You were so bearish at the cable show a month ago. What’s changed?
Murdoch: “Everybody was in shock by the economy and all business was falling of a cliff in the last three months of last year. Including me.” So we saw the results of ads disappearing in January, February and March. But now they’re coming back. “It’s not back to the old levels. Don’t get me wrong.” Retail is back. Chrysler is advertising – $5 million, I believe. There’s a lot of activity. Not back to the boom days, but “at the very least we seem to have hit the floor.”

Missed Q, but here’s Chernin on piracy: “That’s as big as an act of industrial sabotage that we’ve seen.” In terms of fighting it, there are things that can be done and we are doing it. The “Wolverine” leak was isolated incident, but a “good wake-up call.” Best thing to do is build good alternative business model. That’s Hulu, and that’s other things we’re looking at.

Q: Is the idea to add streaming movies or subscription to Hulu?
Chernin: We already stream movies, but not many. We’re looking at everything. Although I don’t think we’re ready to add subscription yet, although you should talk to Jason Kilar.
Murdoch: Let me stress the importance of Hulu. It’s already the third biggest video site in the country and the only one that collects any real revenue. Very happy with it.

Time for press Q&A:
Q: Can you imagine taking The Wall Street Journal online subscription model to other news sites?
Murdoch: “We’re absolutely looking at that.” You’ll see some stuff “within the next 12 months.”

Q: Hey Peter, what are you going to do after you leave?
Chernin: Now news until July or August.
Murdoch: “I’m very confident Peter will be bringing us a couple of big hits.”

Q: Any plans to spend that $6 billion cash on M&A?
Murdoch: “No. Nothing of any size.” Our best products have been stuff we built ourselves.

Q: When are you going to see digital subscription revenue surpass lost print ad revenue?
Murdoch: “A couple of years.” Looking at a couple things. Charging. Use of mobile readers. “We don’t believe in the business Kindle model,” but it’s significant that people are looking at that for news, and looking at their BlackBerries for news. Lots of way to make money from content over and above advertising. Some of the most advanced companies in the world are looking at reading/mobile devices. We may invest a little bit in one of of them, but we’re neutral. “We’re not appliance makers. There are other great ones in the world.”

Some confusion about a New York Post (owned by News Corp.) story today.

Q: Any thoughts about cost-cutting at local stations because they’re getting hammered?
A: Yes. Making our own news instead of syndication, etc. “We also expect a return to television advertising faster than we see it for newspapers.”

Q: How much can you cut from MySpace to get it profitable?
Murdoch: “It is profitable. We wish to make it really profitable, and we think that’s possible.” But not going into details.

Q: What about buying AOL?
“We’ve never really thought about it, to be honest, perhaps because they’ve always talked about such ridiculous prices.”

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090506/news-corp-the-economy-is-rough-and-so-are-our-earnings/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20090401/news-corps-new-digital-lineup-to-be-officially-announced-today/ http://allthingsd.com/20090401/news-corps-new-digital-lineup-to-be-officially-announced-today/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:04:27 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=11548 (UPDATED: With full News Corp. press release below)

News Corp. will officially announce its shaken-but-not-stirred digital lineup this morning, as former AOL head Jon Miller takes over as the media giant’s new chief digital officer.

And Peter Levinsohn–his predecessor at Fox Interactive Media, which Miller will inherit in a new form, along with a larger portfolio, all based in New York–will also officially take up his new post as the key digital exec at News Corp.’s film and television studios in California.

In the press release, the company said Miller “will be charged with driving digital strategy across News Corp. businesses.”

In a statement, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch said: “Our focus moving forward is twofold: to enable our digital businesses to flourish as individual entities and to bolster the digital strategies of our core media properties by treating them as central to, and not separate from, the enterprise.”

The release went on to say that Miller will have sway over News Corp.’s standalone digital businesses, including MySpace, IGN Entertainment, Photobucket, as well as Jamba and the Hulu joint venture with NBC Universal, and will “collaborate with operational heads and digital executives through all lines of business around the globe to develop and refine digital efforts.”

Last Friday, BoomTown and others outlined the moves, part of Murdoch’s efforts to make significant changes related to how the company’s digital efforts are managed.

The shifts come in the wake of the previously announced upcoming departure of COO Peter Chernin, who was in charge of digital efforts at News Corp.

Miller (pictured here), whose noncompete agreement with Time Warner (TWX) from his AOL stint just ran out, will report directly to Murdoch. Besides the chief digital officer title, he will also be chairman and CEO of the newly created News Digital Media group.

Levinsohn, a longtime News Corp. exec, is also getting a significant new job as president of new media and digital distribution at the Fox studios, coordinating delivery of its film and television assets on all mobile and digital platforms.

It will be his task to create sustainable advertising and other business models in this fast-moving arena, as well as create innovative new content for those platforms.

In his new post, Levinsohn (pictured here) will report to Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, co-chairmen and CEOs of Fox Filmed Entertainment.

News Corp. said that Levinsohn will oversee “Fox Filmed Entertainment’s entire content portfolio across all digital distribution channels, including Hulu and third party platforms in the broadband, mobile and gaming markets. He will direct all policy decisions regarding new usage and business models, content protection, and will further develop the studio’s original and derivative content businesses by working with creative talent, distributors and brands to bring short and long-form digital entertainment to audiences worldwide.”

It’s definitely a complex, challenging job–although a big opportunity–for the affable Levinsohn, who never sought the limelight as some who worked for him have, most especially MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe.

Both previous FIM heads, Ross Levinsohn and Peter Levinsohn, many sources said, had to deal with DeWolfe’s own sphere of influence within News Corp. (NWS), especially his close ties to Murdoch. Both FIM and MySpace are located in Beverly Hills, Calif.

As I previously wrote, relations between DeWolfe and both those execs could be described, at best, as tense.

Miller now inherits that relationship at the social-networking site. And he must also navigate the complexities of the global media giant, as well as figure out ongoing relationships with digital companies, such as Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO) and his former company, Time Warner (TWX) unit AOL.

The same, of course, goes for Levinsohn.

And, especially with the weak economy, which often slows innovation at large companies, it is likely the pair will end up having to work together closely if News Corp. is to have a cohesive and successful digital strategy under the new set-up going forward.

(News Corp. owns Dow Jones, which owns this Web site.)

Here’s the press release, after the jump:

News Corporation Establishes Digital Leadership Roles

Jonathan Miller named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Media Group and Chief Digital Officer for News Corporation

Peter Levinsohn named President New Media and Digital Distribution, Fox Filmed Entertainment

New York, NY April 1, 2009–News Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch today announced the company has named former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Media Group and Chief Digital Officer for News Corporation. Based in New York and reporting directly to Mr. Murdoch, Mr. Miller, 52, will be charged with driving digital strategy across News Corp. businesses.

In this newly created role, Mr. Miller will direct News Corp.’s stand-alone digital businesses, including MySpace, IGN Entertainment, Photobucket, as well as Jamba and the Hulu joint venture with NBC Universal. He will also collaborate with operational heads and digital executives through all lines of business around the globe to develop and refine digital efforts.

“Our focus moving forward is twofold: to enable our digital businesses to flourish as individual entities and to bolster the digital strategies of our core media properties by treating them as central to, and not separate from, the enterprise,” Mr. Murdoch said. “With his strong background in media and entertainment, coupled with a deep understanding of the digital business, Jon Miller is–hands down–the best equipped executive to provide the vision, oversight and operational experience to truly transform our offerings.”

“’I'm fortunate to join the world’s most dynamic media company at a time when digital opportunities are shaping our business in new and exciting ways,” said Miller. “News Corporation has shown a unique ability to excel globally in all forms of media and I look forward to working with its leadership as we position the company for continued growth and innovation.”

Peter Levinsohn has been named to the new position of President New Media and Digital Distribution, Fox Filmed Entertainment, the unit that controls the company’s film and television content worldwide. He will report directly to Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, chairmen and CEOs of Fox Filmed Entertainment.

Levinsohn will oversee Fox Filmed Entertainment’s entire content portfolio across all digital distribution channels, including Hulu and third party platforms in the broadband, mobile and gaming markets. He will direct all policy decisions regarding new usage and business models, content protection, and will further develop the studio’s original and derivative content businesses by working with creative talent, distributors and brands to bring short and long-form digital entertainment to audiences worldwide.

Mr. Murdoch said, “Peter Levinsohn did an extraordinary job running Fox Interactive Media, having steered MySpace’s trajectory to the world’s leading social media portal. He is the perfect executive to place at the heart of our global content business as we look to further exploit our movie and television properties over new and yet to be discovered platforms.”

“As one of the leading suppliers of content worldwide, we’ve made huge strides in giving consumers an array of choice when it comes to consuming digital content,” said Levinsohn. “I look forward to working with Jim and Tom and their teams to further our commitment to building distribution models that are both sustainable and durable over the long term.”

“With a newly minted portfolio that combines the absolute best in film and television entertainment, I’m thrilled to have Peter return to the studio to lead this very important initiative as we deepen our commitment to propel our digital businesses forward,” said Jim Gianopulos, co-chairman Fox Filmed Entertainment. Tom Rothman, co-chairman Fox Filmed Entertainment, said, “We look forward to leveraging Peter’s deep knowledge of emerging markets as we bolster our strategies to bring viewers new content built explicitly for these expanding platforms.”

Levinsohn, a 20-year News Corp. veteran, returns to the studio after running Fox Interactive Media, where he oversaw MySpace, IGN, Photobucket and FoxSports.com, among other web properties. Prior to Fox Interactive Media, Levinsohn held a number of senior positions at the company, including president of Fox Digital Media, and president of Worldwide Pay Television and Video on Demand for Fox Filmed Entertainment.

Mr. Miller was most recently a founding partner of Velocity Interactive Group, a digital media and communications investment firm. From 2002 to 2006, he served as Chairman and CEO of AOL, where he restructured the company’s core business lines, focusing on online advertising. Through his leadership, AOL delivered record annual profit growth of 21 percent and increased online advertising growth, the centerpiece of its new business model, by 46 percent. Previously, Miller was CEO and President of USA Information and Services, now IACI and Expedia (the company split in two in 2005), where he helped build industry-leading positions in such areas as online travel, ticketing, and electronic retailing.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Miller spent several years as Managing Director of Nickelodeon International, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks. He also served as the Chief Executive of Paramount’s first branded international channel, launching the Paramount Comedy Channel in London. He spent five years at NBA Entertainment where, as Vice President of Programming, he expanded the NBA’s TV production business as well as its overall brand image.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090401/news-corps-new-digital-lineup-to-be-officially-announced-today/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20090327/jon-miller-to-news-corp-as-digital-head/ http://allthingsd.com/20090327/jon-miller-to-news-corp-as-digital-head/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:20:33 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=11378

BoomTown has confirmed a report by Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily that former AOL head Jon Miller is set to take over as digital head at News Corp., replacing Peter Levinsohn.

The move was also mentioned in a blog post by Miller’s partner in an investment company, Ross Levinsohn, who once held a smaller version of the job Miller is taking.

But Miller has not actually signed up for the job officially, since he is still under a noncompete agreement with Time Warner from his AOL stint. It runs out in three days, in fact.

As some might recall, Miller was barred from taking a board seat at Yahoo last year by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes.

But sources said News Corp. is likely to announce Miller as head by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

Once he does sign, which seems likely, Miller will become News Corp.’s chief digital officer, reporting directly to the media giant’s head, Rupert Murdoch. Based in New York, he will also be chairman and CEO of the newly created News Digital Media group.

Sources noted that this is a a different and larger platform for Miller, bigger than just the Fox Interactive Media job that Levinsohn held. It will go across all properties held by News Corp. across the globe.

“The idea is to mainstream the digital initiatives, which have been all over the company,” said one source close to the situation.

Levinsohn will move to another job within News Corp. (NWS) at the film and television studios, to coordinate delivery of its assets on mobile and digital platforms, sources said. It will be his task to create sustainable business models in this fast-moving arena.

News Corp. has, in fact, been searching for a new digital head for the past several months, talking to a number of well-known Internet execs, including Joost head Mike Volpi, former AOL exec Jim Bankoff and former Facebook exec Owen Van Natta.

The decision to rejigger News Corp.’s digital assets came after the announcement that President and COO Peter Chernin was leaving his job and has largely been pushed by Murdoch.

Previously, Chernin had been in charge of digital efforts at News Corp.

The search for the position was, in fact, conducted by well-known head tech and media headhunter Jim Citrin of Spencer Stuart.

Ironically, Miller is still essentially taking a job once held by his current partner, Ross Levinsohn, at the investment fund, Velocity Interactive Group. As I noted above, Levinsohn confirmed the Miller offer from News Corp. in a blog post called “Thunderclap.”

The move is a fascinating one, and one of many in the digital arena of late among its top execs. Former Google (GOOG) exec Tim Armstrong recently took over as CEO of the Time Warner (TWX) online unit AOL, for example.

Also, even though the job will cover all the the many News Corp. Web properties, even more compelling will be how Miller will deal with its largest and most prominent asset: social-networking giant MySpace.

More to the point, it will be riveting to see how he will handle managing MySpace co-founder and CEO Chris DeWolfe.

Both previous FIM heads, Ross Levinsohn and Peter Levinsohn, many sources said, had to deal with DeWolfe’s own sphere of influence within News Corp., especially his close ties to Murdoch. Both FIM and MySpace are located in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Relations between DeWolfe and both those execs could be described, at best, as tense.

But Miller, who is a much bigger Internet player in his own right, with a more powerful charge from Murdoch, certainly is likely to shift that balance of power.

More to come…

(News Corp. owns Dow Jones, which owns this Web site.)

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090327/jon-miller-to-news-corp-as-digital-head/feed/ 2 http://allthingsd.com/20090312/murdoch-shuffles-desks-on-the-fox-lot-heres-the-memo-and-the-scorecard/ http://allthingsd.com/20090312/murdoch-shuffles-desks-on-the-fox-lot-heres-the-memo-and-the-scorecard/#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:35:12 +0000 Peter Kafka http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/?p=5191

This one isn’t quite as momentous as the new blood–and bloodletting–over at Time Warner’s (TWX) AOL, in part because it was more expected.

But in the wake of News Corp. COO Peter Chernin’s departure, Rupert Murdoch is reshuffling the top names at his Fox businesses, which Chernin oversaw.

Murdoch had hinted at this last month when he told the troops that it was “time to streamline” the News Corp. (NWS) operation. (News Corp. is the owner of Dow Jones, which owns this Web site.)

The full memo from Murdoch, explaining the moves, is at the end of this post. But here’s the shorter version:

UP: Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, who formerly ran Murdoch’s Fox movie studio, now oversee both movies and television production.

Rothman, who ran the Fox cable operations, also gets to run Fox’s broadcast operation.

Peter Rice, who ran News Corp.’s faux-indie studio, Fox Searchlight, moves into TV, and will report to Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group.

OUT: Fox broadcasting head Peter Liguori.

STAYING PUT: Roger Ailes continues to run the very successful Fox News Channel, the still-embryonic Fox Business Network and the struggling Fox TV stations group.

Peter Levinsohn, remains the head of Fox Interactive Media, which means that MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe still reports to him, at least nominally.

NOT MENTIONED: Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch, who runs News Corp.’s Europe assets and is currently the betting favorite to eventually replace his father.

Here’s the full memo:

Dear Colleagues:

Today I’m announcing a series of management changes to our LA-based businesses to ensure we’re well positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities we will face in the coming months. I have been deeply engaged with senior management to develop a renewed model on which to further grow and transform our business. Challenging economic times can yield great advancements and ultimately unleash new, innovative thinking. Ours is a company that has always thrived on change, so it’s with great enthusiasm that I share with you our initial plans for moving forward.

Creative Production

Effective immediately, all of our LA-based creative production businesses will be reporting to Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, co-chairmen and CEOs of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Tom and Jim have built one of the most successful studios in the world, and I have full confidence in their ability to manage our film and television talent in transformative ways. Under this new structure, Gary Newman and Dana Walden, co-chairmen of Twentieth Century Fox Television, will report to Tom and Jim. Emiliano Calemzuk, president, Fox Television Studios, will report to Dana and Gary.

This new creative structure will enable us immediately to operate more efficiently. We will remove unnecessary barriers that have existed between our businesses, thereby better facilitating the sharing of ideas and resources. Not only will we benefit as a business from these changes, but perhaps most importantly, I’m certain our end users–the millions of people around the world who every day enjoy our creative products – will see the benefits as well.

Networks Group

On the television network side of the business, Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, will continue to head the cable networks, the business aspects of FOX Broadcasting, Fox International Channels, and will gain responsibility for FOX Broadcasting programming. Tony has been instrumental in growing our cable businesses both domestically and internationally, and has been responsible for negotiating many of our landmark carriage and broadcast deals that have made us the leader in broadcast and cable television. As part of this restructuring, Peter Liguori has stepped down as chairman of entertainment, Fox Broadcasting. Under his leadership, FOX was the number one network four years in a row, and I am grateful for his many contributions.

Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight, will exit his role at the specialty label and will assume the role of chairman of entertainment, Fox Broadcasting. During his long and successful tenure at Fox Searchlight, Peter has been the driving force behind the success of the specialty film genre, shepherding to the screen some of the industry’s most successful films, including Slumdog Millionaire, Little Miss Sunshine, and Juno. Peter has the vision, creativity and determination to grow and remodel our television network, and I’m delighted he has accepted this new challenge.  In this role, Peter will report directly to Tony Vinciquerra.

With Peter’s departure at Fox Searchlight, Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula will jointly run the business, reporting to Jim and Tom. Nancy and Steve, COOs of Fox Searchlight, who have been Peter’s partners through all of the unit’s great successes, will assume full authority for the business. Claudia Lewis, president of production, remains in place.

Other

Roger Ailes, chairman and CEO of FOX News Channel and Fox Business Network and chairman of the Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television, and Peter Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive Media, will continue to report directly to me.

Please join me in congratulating Jim, Tom, Tony and Peter in their new roles.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090312/murdoch-shuffles-desks-on-the-fox-lot-heres-the-memo-and-the-scorecard/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20090228/weekend-update-22809/ http://allthingsd.com/20090228/weekend-update-22809/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:50:06 +0000 Beth Callaghan http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=13860 Much ado about Amazon’s Kindle 2 this week:

After its official unveiling on Feb. 9, the e-book reader started shipping on Monday, and actually managed to grab much–but not all–of the hype that’s surrounded Twitter of late. The device has been met with much acclaim, though it’s by no means unanimous. Jeff Bezos made an appearance on “The Daily Show” Monday night to make his pitch to an as-yet unimpressed Jon Stewart. His main sell? “We’d make it cheaper if we could.” Roy Blount Jr., President of the Authors Guild, isn’t thrilled about the Kindle either, but his objection isn’t price–it’s that he believes the text-to-speech feature on the device threatens the audio book market. Rather than engaging in battle with the Guild, Amazon (AMZN) decided to modify the Kindle’s software to make text-to-speech optional. Meanwhile, the Hearst Corporation announced development of its own “Kindle Kopy” aimed at capturing the newspaper and magazine market. The Kindle 2 itself has been shipping for just a week and it’s already gotten some print media looking over its shoulder. It remains to be seen, though, whether it’ll earn the moniker of “iPod for books.” Walt Mossberg’s comprehensive review of the device this week provided a glimpse into its actual pros and cons and some insight into the Kindle hubbub from a hands-on perspective.

Elsewhere, much of the news this week was about reorganizations in the digital space. BoomTown covered the much-anticipated Yahoo (YHOO) reorg, which was sketched out by CEO Carol Bartz for employees first in a post to the company blog, then elaborated upon in not one, but two, internal memos. Even BoomTown’s attention began to wander there toward the end. Must’ve been something in the water this week, because Time Warner’s (TWX) AOL kicked in a little reorganization of its own–CEO Randy Falco announced that Maneesh Dhir, head of AOL International, would be leaving the company and returning to his entrepreneurial roots, and ad head Greg Coleman announced a reshuffling of his own group. Over at News Corp. (NWS), upon official announcement of President and COO Peter Chernin’s departure, CEO Rupert Murdoch alluded to a reorg sometime in the future, and an immediate commitment to “streamlining” the business.

In Mossberg’s Mailbox this week, Walt answered questions about transferring data to an iPhone, giving Vista a dedicated graphics card, and using TrueSwitch to transfer email accounts when switching ISPs. And in the Mossberg Solution, Katie Boehret took a look at the ways different mobile companies back up your data and give you access to it.

More next week.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090228/weekend-update-22809/feed/ 1