Friday, November 21, 2014

Tina Fey's sitcom moves from NBC to Netflix

tina fey "30 Rock" creator Tina Fey's next television series will be on Netflix. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) "30 Rock" creator Tina Fey's next television series won't be coming to NBC, after all -- it'll be on Netflix.

The sitcom, called "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," will debut on the streaming TV service in March 2015.

This arrangement, announced Friday, illustrates how the lines have blurred between traditional TV networks and newfangled options like Netflix (NFLX, Tech30). It comes a few months after a canceled NBC sitcom, "Community," was resuscitated by Yahoo, and just one day after Netflix revived the canceled A&E drama "Longmire."

In this case, NBCUniversal's studio, Universal Television, was the production company behind "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," and it was scheduled to premiere on the NBC broadcast network sometime in the spring.

Now, it'll still be produced by Universal -- so NBCUniversal will still make money from the show -- but Netflix will stream the show instead.

In a coup for Fey and her co-creator Robert Carlock, Netflix has committed to two seasons of 13 episodes. NBC had previously only committed to one season.

The deal is a coup for Netflix, too, since it gives the streaming service a high-profile comedy series to promote.

"It makes a lot of sense for Netflix to want to be in the Tina Fey business, to me," NPR pop culture writer Linda Holmes wrote. "They haven't got a foothold in real comedy, do they?" (Netflix's closest show to it is "Orange is the New Black.")

Since it's on Netflix, the entire first season of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" will debut at the same time, so viewers can binge-watch it if they choose.

Fey and Carlock's "30 Rock" ended its NBC run in January 2013. The pair said in a statement that they're thrilled to have "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" "exclusively on Netflix, which has proven to be such an outstanding place for distinctive, original programming." But they added, "We grew up at NBC and will continue to develop broadcast projects with them as well."

Robert Greenblatt, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, explained the NBC-to-Netflix shift this way: "While it was originally developed for NBC, we have a very drama-heavy mid-season schedule so we're thrilled about this Netflix op! portunity; it's an instant win-win for everyone, including Tina, Robert, and Universal Television."

Fey will not star in the new show, she will only work on it behind the scenes. Netflix says the sitcom will star Ellie Kemper, previously a star of NBC's "The Office," as "a woman who escapes from a doomsday cult and starts life over in New York."

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Sterne Agee Rolls up the Yoga Mat on Lululemon

We've long wondered why even after ticking off consumers and the general female population at large, luxury yoga wear and apparel maker Lululemon Athletica (LULU) remained such a darling among analysts.

It appears that thread may be wearing thin at Sterne, Agee & Leach. A few days ago, Sam Poser fired off a zinger on the news Lululemon was donating to the Dalai Lama Center for Peace & Education.

Poser is at it again today and downgraded Lululemon from Neutral to Underperform in a note. Poser writes:

 The Lululemon brand has been damaged due to the many events of 2013 and the uninspiring tenure thus far of the new CEO. Many customers have left and it’s hard to get them back, especially given the focus on the women’s active apparel business from brands such as Nike (NKE) and Under Armour (UA), and retailers such as Athleta, Sweaty Betty, Victoria’s Secret, and others which have bitten into Lululemon. Low-single digit same-store sales are likely through 2015; such sales growth does not warrant anything more than a 20 times multiple.

Lululemon is down 0.3% to $45.06 this afternoon.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Google Calendar now auto-creates events and appointments from Gmail

google calendar The new Google Calendar is now available for Android devices. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Google Calendar is becoming more like a personal assistant.

A new version of the popular calendar app is now available for users of the new Android Lollipop operating system, Google announced Monday.

The biggest new feature is that the app can now scan your email and automatically create new events based on incoming messages. That means when you do things like buy concert tickets or book a flight, they'll show up right away on your calendar.

The events will update on your calendar if you receive additional emails about them -- for example, a notification that your flight's been delayed.

The new Calendar app will also make auto-complete suggestions based on previous events, and it automatically includes photos of where the event will take place.

The app will work on all devices running Android 4.1 or later, with an update coming in the Google Play store within a few weeks. The company says it's still at work on a version for iPhone.

Google (GOOGL, Tech30) also recently released a new version of its Gmail mobile app, which now lets you manage accounts from alternative email providers. Lollipop, meanwhile, is available for a handful of new devices, and will become available more widely in the coming months as hardware makers incorporate it into their designs.

Monday, November 3, 2014

GoProĆ¢€™s Q3 Has Been A Promising One

The digital-sports camera maker, GoPro (GPRO), went public this June and in fact this was the first-quarter earnings release after its formal IPO. Last Thursday, after the company disclosed its third-quarter results, analysts cheered and GoPro's shares which had gone down tumbling in early October surged 19% to a high of $81.13 making investors throw a sigh of relief. So is there a growing demand for GoPro's product mix? How did it fare in the third quarter – was it so impressive as indicated through the stock movement. Let's peek into the quarter highlights to derive the final answer.

The quarter numbers

Revenue came in to $280 million versus $266 million estimated by Wall Street analysts. The top line is up 46% compared to the year-ago quarter, and 14.5% up sequentially on the strength of its new camera lineup, including Hero4, which produces 4-K quality video. The company also released updates to GoPro Studio and the GoPro App, including HiLight Tag and Flux.

Earnings were at $0.12 a share, which outpaced the analysts' expectations by $0.04 a share during the quarter.

The adjusted EBITDA was up by a whopping 320% year-over-year to $36.2 million. That makes it 41% up on a sequential basis. GoPro reported a remarkable hike of 101% in terms of cash flow generated from operations in the quarter which stood at $47 million, from $23.4 million reported in the similar quarter last year. Also cash and equivalents balance showed strength this quarter with $237.7 million as cash balance at the end of the quarter which was about 400% increment from $47.6 million in the similar quarter last year.

Demand for Hero4 – a prime contributor

The company cited data from research firm NPD Group that showed GoPro products accounted for the top three camera units sold in the U.S. in September, and seven of the top 10 such products sold during the month. Analysts have opined that the demand saw a further boost after the company released the Hero4 camera into the market.

According to some analysts unit growth was spectacular and was 33% higher year-over-year, which is a huge improvement from the second quarter of the fiscal year.

GoPro's CEO and founder Nicholas Woodman stated, "The global scale and execution of our HERO4 launch made this the most successful rollout in GoPro's history… HERO4 pushes the performance envelope of our Emmy Award-winning capture technology. Advancements in our desktop and mobile content management applications continue to make it easier for our customers to create and share compelling content stories that go on to virally drive awareness and demand for our business. This positions us well for an exciting holiday season."

Stock movement has been eye-popping

Since the company went public in June at $24, the stock price did barely take a breather, and has moved up around 238% over the last four months. This shows that the company has been competent enough to create a winning streak.

The best part has been the 27% slide in share price in October, which was followed by 7.5% spike in share price in after-hours trading on Thursday after the earnings release. This indicates that the company has done exceptionally well this quarter.

To conclude

GoPro shares have been trading only for the past four months in the U.S. stock exchange, but its investors have every right to rejoice as the company's products are gaining traction in the U.S. market. Hero4 launch has earmarked the winning edge for the company which has to regularly face challenges from rival companies. So let's stay tuned and keep an eye on the forward moves of GoPro in the coming quarter.

About the author:reports.droyWe are a group of analysts exploring and analyzing different domains of business and writing reviews based on information available in public domain web portals. We do not hold any stock or investment position in any of the companies that we write for.
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Market Hustle: Stock Futures Rise Ahead of U.S. Retail Sales

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were rising Tuesday ahead of expectations for growth in U.S. retail sales after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at record highs on Monday.

Futures for the Dow were rising 37.53 over fair value to 16,685.0 while futures for the S&P 500 were up 3.05 over fair value to 1,895.5. Nasdaq futures were up 6.42 over fair value to 3,614.3. On the economic calendar, retail sales are due at 8: 30 a.m. EDT. Expectations are for a 0.4% increase during April after a 1.1% jump in March. Export and import prices for April also will be released at 8:30 a.m. In stock news, Pfizer (PFE) indicated it was open to changing the structure and terms of its proposed $106 billion takeover of AstraZeneca (AZN) but that it would remain "disciplined on price." The chief executives of both companies are set to appear before a U.K. parliamentary hearing to discuss the deal. The European Union's highest court ruled on Tuesday that individuals can ask Google (GOOG) to remove links to documents in search results for their names, centering on the right "to be forgotten." Google said the decision was disappointing and that it would analyze the implications. Other shares expected to see price action include Elizabeth Arden  (RDEN), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) and Fossil Group  (FSL). Elizabeth Arden posted a fiscal third-quarter loss of 84 cents a share after Monday's close, falling short of expectations that it would break even. Take-Two Interactive is projected to report fiscal-fourth-quarter earnings of 11 cents a share while Fossil Group is slated to post first-quarter earnings of $1.18 a share on Tuesday. China released April retail sales and industrial output, both of which were slightly below expectations. Industrial production slowed to 8.7% in April from a year earlier after rising 8.8% in March, while retail-sales growth slipped to 11.9% from 12.2% over the same period for the world's second-largest economy. Investor confidence in Germany fell for a fifth consecutive month during May to its lowest level in more than a year. The ZEW institute said Tuesday that economic expectations for Europe's largest economy dropped to 33.1 down from 43.2 in April. Expectations were for a result of 40 points. In international markets, the FTSE was up 0.15% while Germany's DAX was rising 0.67%. The Hang Seng closed 0.41% higher while the Nikkei jumped 1.95%.  The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Monday amid Chinese capital markets reforms and a mostly peaceful weekend vote in Ukraine.

-- By Jane Searle in New York 

Stock quotes in this article: TTWO, PFE, GOOG, AZN, RDEN, FSL, ^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC