The weekly Westside Chronicle newspaper has been shuttered.
The move comes as a result of hefty costs incurred in a legal battle with the rival Beverly Hills Courier. An attorney representing the Chronicle confirmed that the year-and-a-half old weekly paper had ceased publication a few weeks ago.
The paper was targeted by a suit, filed by the Courier in May 2006 shortly after the Chronicle’s debut, accusing publisher Vipin Sahgal and other staffers of stealing trade secrets by poaching advertisers. Sahgal filed a countersuit against the Courier, its publisher, Clifton Smith, and its parent company, San Marino Tribune Co., alleging interference and slander.
Sahgal worked for the Courier before starting his paper, and some Courier staffers followed the entrepreneur to his upstart publication. Both suits are still pending and scheduled for trial on June 2.
The Chronicle which claimed a circulation of about 60,000 in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Westwood hasn’t been seen in local driveways or on doorsteps since last month.
The phone number at the paper’s Wilshire Boulevard offices had been disconnected as of last week, and the Chronicle Web site still has the Sept. 2 Sept. 8 edition posted.
“They just couldn’t continue the way things were going,” said Jeffrey Lipow, the lawyer who represents the Chronicle. “The lawsuits are an expensive burden and it was just too much.”
Earlier reports on the lawsuit had estimated Sahgal’s losses related to the lawsuit at more than $1 million.
Sahgal is a businessman, and his wife, Padma, is a teacher. Lipow said the Sahgals are in the process of trying to restructure the publication in order to resume distribution in the future.
Televisa, Lions Gate Partner
Grupo Televisa S.A. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. reportedly signed a partnership agreement last week that could expand Televisa’s U.S. reach and give Lions Gate the foothold in the English-speaking Latino market it has long sought.
The Mexican studio has been looking for ways to distribute its content in the U.S., and the deal could be a big step in that direction, teaming Televisa with an American studio to make movies and television shows and to distribute its growing film library.
Under the partnership, the two companies will co-invest in Mexican film and TV content, largely produced in Mexico at Televisa’s studios and distributed on Lions Gate’s U.S. platforms.
“Niche programming on a theatrical basis is very important to Lions Gate,” said David Miller, an analyst covering Lions Gate for Sanders Morris Harris. “When was last time you saw a large theatrical release marketed specifically to the U.S. Latino audience? It’s a very smart move catering to an underserved audience, and it makes perfect sense for Lions Gate.”
The deal could strain Televisa’s relations with Univision Communications Inc., Televisa’s current partner and the biggest Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S. Univision has an exclusive agreement to distribute Televisa’s Spanish-language programming in the U.S. through 2017. Univision relies on Televisa for a steady stream of programming and sports, including highly rated telenovelas and other fare.
Televisa and Lions Gate are committed to produce at least two English-language films and six Spanish-language films under the deal, which also includes distribution of Televisa’s 384-film library.
Targeting Women
NBC Universal’s agreement last week to acquire Oxygen Media for $925 million will give it what CEO and President Jeff Zucker called a “virtual network.”
His hope is that by combining Oxygen, Bravo, iVillage and the “Today” show, NBC will be able to sell large numbers of young affluent female viewers to advertisers.
To pay for Oxygen, NBC said it would be selling two Telemundo stations, KWHY-TV in Los Angeles and WKAQ-TV in Puerto Rico.
NBC expects to bring in about $34 million in revenue and cost synergies from the acquisition next year. Some of the savings will come from staff reductions in duplicate departments as well as economies of scale from the use of programming on multiple platforms and networks.
Discussions between NBC and Oxygen began this summer and in July, Oxygen disclosed that it was looking for private equity to replace funding from Clarity Partners LP, a Los Angeles-based firm.
When the transaction closes, Oxygen, which features a sex talk show with Sue Johanson, will become part of NBC U’s Entertainment Cable division; Oxygen founder Geraldine Laybourne will stay at the network until the end of the year to help with the transition to NBC ownership. A new chief of the network will be named in the coming months.
‘Peanuts’ Pact
Warner Home Video inked a multiyear exclusive worldwide home video distribution deal with United Feature Syndicate Inc., Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates and Lee Mendelson Film Productions for “Peanuts.”
The distribution deal includes the “Peanuts” library and original made-for-video content for home video and new media distribution based on the more than 18,000 comic strips created by the late Schulz.
Warner will exclusively distribute multiple “Peanuts” DVD titles, including more than 50 classic television specials.
Lynton Stays at Sony
Sony Pictures has extended its contract with Michael Lynton, entertainment chief executive, to 2012. Lynton joined Sony Pictures in January 2004 and under his leadership, Sony Pictures broke the all-time motion picture industry record by taking in more than $1.7 billion at the domestic box office in 2006, with a record 13 No. 1 films.
Staff reporter Anne Riley-Katz can be reached at
[email protected]
or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225.
