Posts for 'TV & Broadcasting' Category

Tim Russert, who became a household name in American political discourse as host of NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday talk show, died on the job of a heart attack on Friday, the television network said. He was 58.

Russert, known for his tough interviews of many of the leading U.S. political figures of the past two decades, was the NBC News Washington bureau chief.

"He was an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades," U.S. President George W. Bush said in a statement issued in Paris, where the president was travelling.

Russert became a news subject himself in 2007, when he provided key testimony at the CIA leak trial of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

NBC interrupted its programming for a special report by former anchorman Tom Brokaw, who announced in a voice heavy with emotion that Russert had died at the network's Washington bureau after returning from a trip to Italy with his family.

Russert was prerecording a segment for this Sunday's "Meet the Press" program when he collapsed.

NBC said Dr. Michael Newman, Russert's physician, determined that cholesterol plaque ruptured in an artery, causing blood flow to the heart to be blocked by a clot. The network said an autopsy shortly after his death showed he had an enlarged heart and significant coronary artery disease.

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Sony Corp., the world's second-largest maker of consumer electronics, climbed the most in almost seven months after forecasting a 20 percent increase in operating profit this year, exceeding analysts' estimates.

Sony surged 8.7 percent to close at 5,270 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock had its biggest gain since October, creating $4 billion in market value, after Nomura Securities Co. upgraded its investment rating. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Nikko Citigroup Ltd. increased their price estimates on Sony.

The maker of the PlayStation 3 game console joined Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. in forecasting earnings that beat analyst estimates, easing concern over the slowing U.S. economy and stronger yen, which led Toyota Motor Corp. to predict its first profit decline in nine years. Sony said yesterday its games and TV operations, which analysts estimated would lose money, will turn profitable this year.

``It's good to see Sony is getting out of the situation where they walked towards death every time they sold another PlayStation 3,'' said Seiichiro Iwamoto, who helps look after $977 million at Mizuho Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

Sony, based in Tokyo, said yesterday operating income will rise to 450 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in the year ending March 2009, exceeding the 400 billion yen median estimates of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The company forecast it will post a profit from games, countering the 40 billion yen loss median estimate from the survey. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had estimated a 5.8 billion yen loss at the TV business.

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Philips Electronics NV (PHG) on Monday reported a sharp fall in its first-quarter earnings, hurt by lower gains from the sale of stakes. Group sales were up a meager 1%. Despite the poor results, the Amsterdam, Netherlands-based company confirmed its Vision 2010 target.

The company's first-quarter net income was 219 million euros, compared to 875 million euros last year. The prior-year quarter results were boosted higher gains on the sale of stakes.

Income from continuing operations declined to 232 million euros from 852 million euros in the previous-year quarter. The company's current-year quarter results included a gain of 83 million euros on the partial sale of the company's shareholding in LG Display, whereas, the prior-year quarter included a net gain of 733 million euros from the partial sale of the shareholding in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC (TSM).

Philips also reported a loss of 13 euros from discontinued operations compared to a profit of 23 euros in the previous-year quarter, due to final settlements related to the Semiconductors transaction in the first quarter of 2007.

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(Business Wire) Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHI) and Funai Electric Co Ltd (TSE/OSE: 6839) of Japan today announced their intention to enter into a brand licensing agreement under which Funai will assume responsibility for the sourcing, distribution, marketing and sales of all Philips’ consumer television activities in the United States and Canada. The five-year minimum agreement takes effect September 1, 2008 and stipulates Philips will receive royalty payments in exchange for Funai’s right to exclusively use the Philips and Magnavox brand names for its consumer television offerings in North America during this period. This agreement secures continued presence of Philips and Magnavox branded TV’s in North America in a model that safeguards Philips profitability in this highly competitive market.

Philips today also announced that it will continue to take steps to improve the financial performance of its television operations by further optimizing its existing global supply base and focusing its TV business on its strongest markets, especially in Europe and in key emerging countries. To cover for the costs associated with these additional steps, and the costs associated with the transfer of the company’s North American TV activities to Funai, Philips will take total charges of up to EUR 125 million during 2008.

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Four of the six commercial television stations in the Mahoning Valley could consolidate some services when and if the FCC approves the sale of WYTV and MyYTV to Parkin Broadcasting.A shared services agreement was filed with the FCC this week by the Los Angeles-based Parkin Broadcasting and NVT (New Vision Television, also based in Los Angeles), which owns CBS affiliate WKBN-TV 27 and FOX affiliate WYFX-TV 17/62.

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