Seeking Alpha

EA Says Digital Will Offset New Console Investments for the First Time

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on May 8 at 2:45 pm PT

Despite having to sink $80 million into new console game development this year, EA’s CEO John Riccitiello is upbeat, saying that “we are absolutely a different company in a different spot.”

Multiple Identities in Action: LinkedIn-Powered Logins Grow on Business Sites

Liz Gannes in Social on February 7, 2011 at 11:15 am PT

People seem to separate their online professional identities from their personal identities more than they used to, now that the tools are available. Web users increasingly use LinkedIn to sign in to business-oriented sites, according to the social toolmaker Gigya.

Man Bites Dog! Web Publisher Pays Writers

Peter Kafka in Media on January 16, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

Financial chatter site Seeking Alpha, which has relied on free stories from thousands of contributors for the past seven years, shifts strategies.

HBO on Your iPad? There Won’t Be an App for That (For a While).

Peter Kafka in Media on May 6, 2010 at 10:35 am PT

Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could buy a subscription to HBO without having to pay for cable? You could just beam the shows straight to your laptop or iPad or whatever. It’s not coming anytime soon, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

Apple: Billions of Songs, Billions of Apps, Not Much Profit

Peter Kafka in Media on February 25, 2010 at 4:53 am PT

Apple is patting itself on the back for delivering 10 billion songs from its iTunes Store. And it frequently boasts about the number of apps customers download from iTunes, as well–the tally is now past three billion. But you won’t hear Apple boast about how much money it’s making from iTunes. Because there’s not much to boast about.

The New York Times Explains the Ad Market: Banks Bail, and So Does Hollywood. But Big Pharma Steps Up, and “Modest” Improvement Coming

Peter Kafka in Media on October 23, 2009 at 6:59 am PT

The publisher delivered a pleasant earnings surprise yesterday by cutting costs. Now it’s hoping for a revenue bump, if advertisers will play along.

What Happened to the New York Times’s Web Ads?

Peter Kafka in Media on July 24, 2009 at 8:29 am PT

The paper’s Internet operations used to be a bright spot. But last quarter Web advertising dropped more than 15 percent. What gives?

Did Apple Just Fire 1,600 Retail Workers? Nope.

Peter Kafka in Media on April 24, 2009 at 12:21 pm PT

Question of the day: Did Apple somehow lay off 10 percent of its retail staff in the last quarter without anyone noticing until today? Answer: No. My bloggy brethren are hopped up about Apple’s disclosure, via its most recent quarterly filing with the SEC, that its retail group had “approximately 14,000 full-time equivalent employees” at the end of March. Three months earlier that number had been 15,600. Boring but important distinction: Cutting back hours is different than laying people off.

Good(ish) News From Procter & Gamble: No Ad Cutback Here

Peter Kafka in Media on February 2, 2009 at 5:15 am PT

The world’s biggest advertiser says it’s not cutting back on marketing during the recession–but it is changing the way it spends those dollars. Good news for media companies–especially if they’re in the coupon business.

The New York Times Says Energy Companies Are Advertising, Hollywood Isn’t

Peter Kafka in Media on January 29, 2009 at 6:10 am PT

The paper of record provided a helpful peek into its business–and the ad business in general–during its earnings call yesterday. It’s not all bad news, and it’s all pretty interesting. Here’s the CliffsNotes version.