Allegiance to TV guide isn't winning Gemstar many fans.THE owners of TV Guide magazine have put a lot of time and money into rehabilitating its flagship digest. But analysts and some investors aren't impressed by News Corp.'s print push since taking control of Los Angeles-based Gemstar-TV Guide International Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. is a media company that licenses interactive program guide technology to multichannel operators, such as cable and satellite television providers, and consumer electronics manufacturers, video recorder scheduling code under brands such as VCR Inc. There's skepticism that the company can resurrect its aging flagship at a time when more TV viewers are getting their programming information online. And there's particular hand-wringing over the recent launch of a celebrity-oriented sister publication, Inside TV. "In a time where the world is moving from linear to digital, why have they been creating essentially two new, magazines?" said Alan Gould Alan Gould (born 22 March 1949) is a contemporary Australian novelist and poet. Born in London Alan Gould's family lived in Northern Ireland, Germany and Singapore before arriving in Australia in 1966. , a longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective Gemstar shareholder and analyst at Natexis Bleichroeder Inc. "The magazines provide content for online services, but they cost a lot of money to publish." Gemstar, the largest maker of software for cable-TV program guides, sees new opportunities for growth in its cable, satellite and Internet businesses. So far, though, those have been offset by the financial drag of its flagship magazine Flagship Magazine is an independent magazine for gamers [1]. Published in the UK, it started in 1983 for PBM players [2]. Since its hundredth issue in 2002, it has extended its coverage to include boardgames, role-playing games, web games and massively . The old TV Guide had been guaranteeing advertisers a 9 million circulation since 1999. The new, large-format, which hit the stands Oct. 17, will have a circulation of 4.5 million, but advertisers are being asked to only pay for 3.2 million. The newsstand price also dropped to $1.99 from $2.49, with comparable discounts for subscribers. Advertising in TV Guide fell by $8.4 million in 2004, while subscription sales declined by $32.1 million, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. regulatory filings. Costs connected to the reformatting will contribute to operating losses operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. of $110 million through 2006, although the company says that the changes will make the magazine profitable in about three years. For now, the numbers are weak. Gemstar posted a second-quarter loss of $5.1 million, citing declining TV Guide circulation. (It reports third quarter results on Nov. 3) The stock has fallen more than 55 percent in less than a year, closing at $2.61 a share on Oct. 18. Besides the troubled print division, Gemstar hasn't yet recovered from a 2002 accounting scandal that cost about $80 million in share holder settlements and regulatory fines. Gemstar's ousted chief executive, Henry Yuen, pleaded guilty to federal obstruction of justice A criminal offense that involves interference, through words or actions, with the proper operations of a court or officers of the court. The integrity of the judicial system depends on the participants' acting honestly and without fear of reprisals. charges, and still face trial on charges of accounting fraud. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Yuen's appeal of a Securities and Exchange Commission decision that froze froze v. Past tense of freeze. froze Verb the past tense of freeze froze, frozen freeze $37 million in termination payments to Yuen, and the former chief financial officer, Elsie M. Leung. Yuen and Leung appealed the payment freeze. Gemstar has shown promise in forming new technology partnerships, an area where analysts want to see more emphasis. Deals have been struck in a more cooperative climate with OpenTV Corp., satellite TV provider EehoStar Communications Corp., and cable providers Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. . "I'd be more excited about them if they got into markets like video online and video-on-demand in an even bigger way," said analyst John Tinker John Tinker may refer to:
LLC - Logical Link Control . "It's a hard road they've chosen." Under Yuen, the company would often threaten lawsuits with customers. That's been moderated with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. controlling around 40 percent of the stock, but the company remains vigilant. It sued Tribune Media Services Tribune Media Services ("TMS") is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company. The company is divided into two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products". Inc. for allegedly infringing on a separate patent for providing local television listings on the Internet. Tribune, which owns the Zap2It.com entertainment Web site, has declined to comment. "They have to balance the value of their intellectual property versus the cost of defending that property," Gould said. "I believe the current management is being more cautious about suing than the previous managers." Is it too late for Gemstar's print franchise? The glossier new TV Guide still sandwiches local listings between slices of TV show profiles and short celebrity features, but now sacrifices its prime digest news rack space at supermarket checkout counters. It now must compete for shopper attention with equally celebrity-laden Entertainment Weekly, People, and US. Richard Battista, Gemstar's chief executive has said that closing TV Guide wouldn't free the company from ongoing costs and would be a loss for its corporate branding Corporate branding is the practice of using a company's name as a product brand name. It is an attempt to leverage corporate brand equity to create product brand recognition. It is a type of family branding or umbrella brand. . Gould expects Gemstar will eventually be bought or will sell off its most valuable assets possibly to News Corp. "TV Guide magazine has always been important to Rupert, and he's too much of a businessman to be owning something for sentimental reasons," Gould said. "If anyone can pull this off, it's Murdoch." YEAR (Dec. 31) 2004 2003 Revenue (millions) $732.3 $695.1 Total Expenses (millions) 829.6 1,334.6 Operating Loss (millions) (97.3) (639.5) Net Loss (millions) (94.5) (577.4) Loss Per Share ($0.22) ($1.41) SUMMARY Business: TV Guide and online program guides Headquarters: Los Angeles CEO: Rich Battista Market Cap: $1.11 billion Dividend Yield: None Total Liabilities: $1.01 billion P/E Ratio: N/A * Long-Term Debt: $13 million * Company is not profitable. |
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