“Netflix CEO Reed Hastings [was] called out by the SEC last year over posting what might have been material information on the company’s performance to an update on his Facebook wall. Shouldn’t that kind of stuff be sent out via regular SEC-friendly channels first? Maybe not, according to a release today by the market regulator. ‘Companies should review the Commission’s existing guidance – it is flexible enough to address questions that arise for companies that choose to communicate through social media, and the guidance does so in a straightforward manner,’ said Lona Nallengara, the Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, in a statement.”
“CBS’ entertainment revenues were up 10 percent in Q2, with much of the credit going to an April licensing deal for streaming video with Netflix (though it was not mentioned by name in the release), which came before last month’s deal with Amazon in a similar arrangement covering CBS’ library titles. Higher retrans dollars and primetime ad growth were also highlighted as the cable networks segment, which includes Showtime and the CBS Sports Network, saw revenues gain 12 percent. About the only poor performer was publishing unit Simon & Schuster, which slipped 3.2 percent as the sale of more profitable digital content was offset by lower print book sales.”
“Fox Broadcasting owner News Corp. and ABC owner Disney are contemplating pulling some free content from Hulu, say people familiar with the matter. The media companies are also moving to sell more programs to Hulu competitors that deliver television over the Internet, including Netflix Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.
“Amazon will acquire the remaining shares in the pan-European movie rental and streaming service LoveFilm. Terms have not been disclosed but we believe the valuation was around $312 million. Amazon already owned 42 percent of LoveFilm which acquired Amazon’s DVD rental business in 2008 …