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WSJ: AOL Time Warner May Sell CD/DVD Manufacturing Operations

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:43am.
Dulles, Va. -- Under pressure to reduce its sizable debt, estimated to be $26 billion, AOL Time Warner is mulling the sale of the manufacturing arm of its music operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. AOL's Warner Music unit makes DVDs for AOL's film businesses and Home Box Office cable network in the same factories that manufacture the music division's compact discs. A sale would make sense since the division is not considered a core part of AOL Time Warner's business. The sale could fetch a much-needed $1 billion. http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030307/media_aol_report_1.html
tags: DVD | AOL | CD | WSJ | Time Warner |

Vivendi Shares Plummet After Record Loss

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:42am.
Paris -- Vivendi Universal's shares plunged in Friday trading on the London Stock Exchange as investors punished the company's woeful earnings report yesterday. The French media giant recorded net losses of more than 23 billion euro ($25 billion), much higher than expected. On Friday, the company lost more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in market value after already having lost more than 4 percent of its share value Thursday. Vivendi Universal now holds the dubious distinction of having posted the largest loss in French corporate history, beating a day-old record set by France Telecom.
tags: Vivendi | Plummet | Record Loss |

"Metroid Prime" Takes Top Honors at Game Developers Choice Awards

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:41am.
San Jose, Calif. -- The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) named Austin-based Retro Studios' "Metroid Prime" title for Nintendo GameCube the Game of the Year last night at the Game Developers Choice Awards, held as part of the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. Retro also took home the award for Rookie Studio of the Year. Electronic Arts' "Battlefield 1942," developed by Sweden-based Digital Illusions, won the award for Excellence in Game Design, while the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Gunpei Yokoi, creator of Nintendo's Game Boy handheld video game device. A complete list of winners is available at the link below.
tags: Games | Metroid Prime | Choice Awards |

Dutch P2P Firm Honest Thief to Use Distributed Computing to Pay Musicians

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:40am.
Arnhem, Netherlands -- The Honest Thief, a Netherlands-based file-sharing software provider that is aiming to take advantage of a P2P-friendly court ruling in the country, on Friday announced the release of a beta version of Thank You, its software program that will pay musicians for songs traded through the sale of its users' unused computing resources to research facilities. The company said version 2.0 of Thank You will be available in the second quarter, and will offer file-sharing providers a system that utilizes its users as distributed computing nodes whose computing power is sold to research facilities -- the proceeds from which will be collected and doled back out to musicians whose music is traded on the service. "We are the first to figure out a way for both file sharing providers and musicians to earn an honest Euro," said company founder Pieter Plass. "We are the first, but certainly not the last, to eliminate the record companies from the equation. The record companies are not dead yet, but they're certainly on life support. And The Honest Thief pulls the plug." http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/230665103&ticker=
tags: P2P | Musicians | Dutch | Honest Thief |

TiVo Subscriber Base Grows 64% in 2002 to 624,000

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:37am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Digital video recorder manufacturer TiVo announced that the company's subscriber base for its service grew 64 percent during 2002, adding 115,000 during the fourth quarter to end the year with a total of 624,000 subscribers. The company said it expects to add 450,000 to 600,000 subscribers in its fiscal year 2004, so that it counts well over 1 million subscribers by Jan. 31, 2004. "TiVo achieved important milestones during the year," said TiVo CEO Mike Ramsay. "We delivered record subscriber growth, we added important consumer electronics companies who have licensed TiVo technology and will deliver TiVo products this year, and we accomplished a key financial objective in Q4, reporting positive cash flow for the quarter."
tags: Subscribers | TiVo | Digital Video |

Digital Media Creation Equipment Maker Media 100 Gets Nasdaq Notice

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2003 - 1:37am.
Marlboro, Mass. -- Media 100, a manufacturer of media content design systems equipment, announced on Friday that the Nasdaq has given notice that the company's shares are not in compliance with its standards and are in danger of being delisted from the exchange. Massachusetts-based Media 100's shares have traded below the Nasdaq's $1 minimum for continued listing since December. The company has 90 days to regain compliance or else may apply to have its shares moved to trading on the Nasdaq's SmallCap Market. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030307/70023_1.html
tags: Nasdaq | Digital Media | Equipment Maker |