Wed May 23, 2012 4:20pm EDT * Netflix helped add 1 mln new viewers for "Mad Men" season 5 - exec * Netflix deal behind 20-30 pct bump in viewership - AMC CEOBy Yinka AdegokeBOSTON, May 23 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc isn't responsible for a ratings dip at Viacom Inc's Nickelodeon children's network, and is unlikely to lure viewers away from its cable TV partners, said the programming chief at the streaming and DVD rental company.Some analysts have cited Viacom's decision to license hundreds of hours of some of its popular children's shows to Netflix as a reason for a surprise dip in its ratings in recent quarters. Viacom has disputed that claim, and Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos backed its partner on Wednesday.Sarandos ... Continue reading →

It is no secret that BlackBerry is a far greater force in the developing world than it is in its home continent of North America.Sales outside North America make up 70% of total revenue, and regions making the biggest contribution to that chunk of income include South Africa, Indonesia, and Mexico.Soon, Nigeria may be added to the list. BlackBerry is already the number one smartphone brand there, but in a tiny smartphone market – which comprises less than 5% of the phone market. And that is without having direct representation on the ground.In the next two months, a BlackBerry office will open in Lagos, and Nigeria will become a specific target market. The news was revealed by Robert Bose, head of RIM for Central Europe, ... Continue reading →

BOSTON | Wed May 23, 2012 12:08pm EDT BOSTON May 23 (Reuters) - The cost of much coveted television rights for top sports programming will continue to rise, a panel of top U.S. TV sports executives predicted on Wednesday. "We will make a bet that the value of sports rights will continue to appreciate," said John Skipper, president of ESPN."Sports rights are going up because the value of sports rights are going up it's not some free-floating abstract."Skipper was speaking on a panel at the Cable Industry show."Sports rights are the purest example of supply and demand that there can be in the economy," said David Hill, president of Fox Sports, which is owned by News Corp.All the executives said they have seen great rewards ... Continue reading →

Albanian Army marching in Tirana's main square (Photo: Reuters) The Albanian Army is coming everyone, watch out! We’re only into week 1 of big media companies reporting their quarterly earnings and the most prominent name hasn’t been CBS Corp, Time Warner Inc, Comcast Corp, and Viacom — instead it’s all been about Netflix. Pretty much on each of these companies’ conference calls, the $4 billion company from Los Gatos, California was a key reason for a boon to the bottom line by supplying ’found money’ by digital licensing of shows that would have been gathering dust on a shelf somewhere in Hollywood. But also on the calls for several of the same companies, Netflix was seen by analysts as a threat to their future. Let’s ... Continue reading →

ESPN chief John Skipper is happy to talk to any of the so-called new over-the-top Web video players surfing around the fringes of the cable TV business. But he doesn’t see any major deals happening soon — if ever. In a conversation with Reuters at this year’s cable show, Skipper was blunt about his skepticism over the idea his network – the best paid in the business according to SNL Kagan data — could work with a new Web partner, a tie-up that may in some way threaten the cozy $100 billion a year cable programmer-distributor relationship which feeds the entire industry. “We have a significant stake in maintaining the current model. There’s no advantage to us in new models that undercut what we have ... Continue reading →