WPP has pledged that new media services will make up two-thirds its revenues in “three or four years” and that it expects 2010 to be a stable year, as it reported an 11 percent drop in profits to £663 million ($1 billion) after a “brutal” 2009 and a particularly low…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
WPP	Release	N/A	16.1%	N/A

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Take-Two Interactive (NSDQ: TTWO), which is under heavy pressure to turn-around its flagging performance, is cutting 15 percent of its corporate staff. (A spokesman wouldn’t say how many jobs were cut but said no positions were eliminated at Take-Two’s studios). The company described the job cuts as part of a…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q0109	Net Inc. vs Q0109
Take-Two Interactive	Release		9%	38%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Video games are shining brighter as the jewel in Vivendi’s crown. The French conglomerate is expecting Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard to contribute a boat-load more to this year’s group profit, when two key titles trickle farther down. Its 2009 earnings, out today, show… —Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shifted…

Even before the economy turned bad, the FT was working hard to amp up its subscription funding and reduce its reliance on advertising. But FT Publishing’s 2009 operating profit sank 47 percent from the prior year (to £39 million) - and parent Pearson (NYSE: PSO) blames it on the “tough…

Two months after hiring former HBO CEO Chris Albrecht to oversee Starz as part of an original programming push, Liberty Media (NSDQ: LINTA) says it is evaluating strategic alternatives for Starz’s Overture Films division, which was established three years ago to produce and distribute 8-12 full length films annually. In…

Sirius XM (NSDQ: SIRI) CEO Mel Karmazin has said for months now that his company’s performance would improve considerably soon—and on Thursday he delivered. Sirius XM posted a six percent increase in revenue to $684 million and net income of $14 million, up from a net loss of $246 million…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q0408	Net Inc. vs Q0408
Sirius XM	Release		6%	106%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) had another relatively solid quarter, as it returned to profitability and Q4 revenues rose 5 percent on the strength of its telecom services and the recently spun off Madison Square Garden franchise. Those areas performed well enough to offset Newsday’s 15.7 percent revenue decline to $90.3 million;…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Cablevision	Release	N/A	5%	325%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

As if Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) didn’t have enough competition, this week’s news that Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is buying digital home video service Vudu comes just as the Dallas-based movie renter is taking a cautious approach to build its vending and on-demand. Blockbuster’s net loss widened to $434.9 million in Q4…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Blockbuster	Release		17.6%	20%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

The media segment in Thomson Reuters’ Q4 results can be seen as a microcosm of the segment’s performance for the overall year. Both full-year and Q4 media revenues declined 8 percent. The company, now based in Toronto, pointed to “continued pressure” on the Professional Publishing and Advertising businesses.  The same…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Thomson Reuters	Release		1%	68.4%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) Company’s online newspaper revenue was up just 1 percent to $31.5 million in Q4, but in a sign of a turnaround for display ads, that segment grew 13 percent during the period. For the year, display managed to rise a slight 2 percent, while total…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Washington Post Company	Release	N/A	6%	337%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

After some effusive praise for CBS’ cost containment and ability to withstand the economic downturn, Sumner Redstone, executive chairman, CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), handed the call over to Les Moonves, CEO and president. Before hanging up, Redstone repeated a line he gave when introducing the Viacom (NYSE: VIA) earnings call…

In most cases, online is generally the bright spot on a company’s earnings report. But not in CBS’ case, as the Interactive segment’s 5 percent ad decline offset the 8 percent growth at the TV network and cable. No wonder CBS (NYSE: CBS) Research head Dave Poltrack was so incensed…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
CBS Corp.	Release	N/A	1%	23%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Playboy (NYSE: PLA) President Alex Vaickus opened up the company’s Q4 earnings call with a big “thank you” to pop singer John Mayer, whose controversial interview in the March 2010 issue has been covered by 1,500 media outlets. But as he and CEO Scott Flanders made clear, executives don’t expect…

Playboy (NYSE: PLA) Enterprises’ hopes for a planned sale were dashed during Q4, as its revenue troubles continued as well. As the company’s loss narrowed to $27.8 million from last year’s $146.8 million, combined print and digital revenues fell 14 percent. On its own, digital slid 10.7 percent in Q4.…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Playboy	Release		13.2%	81.1%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Reed Elsevier (NYSE: RUK) will continue to “re-engineer” its Reed Business Information publisher and its costs, it said as it reported RBI annual operating profits dropped 35 percent in 2009. “The print advertising markets are structurally challenged and need to reinvent themselves,” new Reed Elsevier CEO Erik Engstrom told analysts…

With vertical ad networks taking a sharper aim at women, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) plans a major web overhaul this year, said CFO Kelli Turner during the company’s Q4 earnings call. Before the Q&A began, Turner also noted that while the publishing revenues are showing signs of stabilizing,…

As the traditional ad agency structure struggles to reorient services to emerging markets and new media, Publicis Groupe’s digital revenues are at least heading in the right direction, albeit slowly. The Paris-based ad holding company saw digital revs rise 7.1 percent in Q4. Digital dollars now account for 22.4 percent…

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) completed a significant turnaround both in its online segment and in general during Q4. The company swung to a profit of $21.3 million from Q408’s $4.5 million loss. Online revenues were up 28 percent to $7.6 million, while the segment’s adjusted EBITDA almost doubled…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia	Release	N/A	20%	121%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed