Digest/27.5/pollack/dt1st/mark2nd
Disney Eyes Sale of Teams
Facing a second straight year of declining earnings, Walt Disney Co. is reportedly considering selling the Anaheim Angels and Mighty Ducks.
In addition, Disney was said to have held discussions with Hearst Corp. and Conde Nast Publications Inc. regarding a possible sale of Disney’s Fairchild magazine unit, which publishes W, Women’s Wear Daily, Los Angeles magazine and Jane.
Disney officials did not confirm that any of the assets were on the block. But Disney Chairman Michael Eisner said he was uncomfortable with the potential conflicts of owning the sports teams, in addition to ESPN and ABC. He also indicated that Disney had succeeded in firmly establishing the teams in Anaheim a primary goal of the acquisitions.
On another front, Disney moved to shore up its faltering home video unit by announcing plans to release its animated films on DVD.
Community Bank Suffers Setback
The beleaguered Los Angeles Community Development Bank suffered a setback when its largest borrower said it plans to go out of business.
The closing of Copeland Beverage Group, a dairy in South Los Angeles, could cost the federally funded bank, and possibly taxpayers, as much as $18 million in unpaid loans.
Although the bank identified the Copeland loan as financially impaired eight months ago, it continued to lend money to the dairy and reportedly exceeded a $20 million cap on loan amounts.
The closing of the dairy will result in the loss of 100 jobs.
The bank was formed in 1995 in the wake of the riots to create jobs in economically depressed areas of the city. But a study earlier this year determined that one-third of the bank’s major borrowers were in trouble with their loans and that the bank was falling short of its job-creation mandate.
Time Warner Hires Music Chief
Time Warner hired record-industry veteran Roger Ames to run its troubled music division and said the unit’s headquarters will be relocated from Burbank to New York.
Ames will replace departing Warner Music Group heads Bob Daly and Terry Semel, who also ran the Warner Bros. film operation before announcing their departure earlier this month.
Several years ago, Warner Music Group led the world’s five biggest recording companies in U.S. sales of current albums, but is now languishing in fourth place. The unit features artists like Jewel, Cher and George Jones.
Ames is an experienced executive with a talent for developing pop hits. He is former president of PolyGram’s global music operations but left that company last year after its purchase by Seagram Co.
Univision Ad Sales Soar
Univision Communications Inc., the largest U.S. Spanish-language television network, said advance ad sales for the 1999-2000 season rose 42 percent as companies spent more to reach Latino viewers.
Univision officials said contracts totaling $425 million have been signed with 79 advertisers since May, the period when the major U.S. networks sell about 85 percent of their prime-time ads for the coming season. Last year, Univision sold about $300 million in up-front time to 62 advertisers.
The increase reflects “increasing recognition that directly targeting the burgeoning Hispanic population through Spanish-language television makes both cultural and financial sense,” said Henry Cisneros, Univision’s chief operating officer.
By comparison, English-language networks showed an average 13 percent increase in advance ad sales. NBC posted more than any network with $2.2 billion in sales.
(Bloomberg News)
Zacarias Signals Intent to Stay
Setting up a possible confrontation with city and school officials, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ruben Zacarias said he may try to stay in the job for five more years instead of the two permitted under his current contract.
Zacarias, who is paid $188,000 a year, is due for an evaluation within the next six months. If the review is positive, Zacarias said, he likely will try to extend his tenure in the post he has held for 26 months.
That could cause a conflict now that Mayor Richard Riordan has started hosting City Hall meetings with business leaders and outside educators about what to look for in a new superintendent.
The mayor and school board members have denied trying to oust Zacarias, even though some critics contend he has lost control of the district and senior management.
Supporters of Zacarias counter that he has launched effective programs to end social promotion and aid student achievement.
Media Firms Invest in Replay
The maker of a personal video recorder that lets users store a customized lineup of their favorite TV shows and skip commercials received an investment of $57 million from several major entertainment companies.
Officials with Replay Networks Inc. said the money came from Walt Disney Co., Time Warner, NBC and other firms. The move follows similar investments made recently in Replay rival TiVo Inc. by other companies.
The media companies want to have a voice in the development of the technology, which some analysts forecast will become widespread and cut the viewing of commercials on TV almost in half in just 10 years.
Most firms doing the investing also have threatened to sue Replay and TiVo if they don’t agree to obtain licenses to use network programming. As part of the investment, Mountain View-based Replay said it was setting up special graphic icons that highlight programming from some of the investing firms.
Imports Lag at Port
For the first time this year, import totals at the Port of Long Beach lagged in July when compared to figures from the like period of 1998.
Inbound cargo dropped by more than 10,000, 20-foot cargo containers at the nation’s busiest port.
Officials blamed the 5 percent decline on fears by U.S. importers that dockworkers might strike in July if they couldn’t reach a new contract with shipping lines. As a result, importers beefed up shipments in May and June and planned for a slow July.
The workers have since agreed to a new contract.
Meanwhile, port officials said the next three months could break records as retailers stock up for the holiday sales season. Officials at the neighboring Port of Los Angeles said such holiday preparation resulted in a 20 percent increase in inbound cargo during the month of July.
