Coinstar’s Redbox Sees Rentals DECLINE and 4 Media Titans Making Waves

AOL, Inc. (NYSE:AOL):  Clifford Weinstein, Executive Vice-President of Vringo (AMEX:VRNG) said, “We take this opportunity to update the market on our current litigation and offer some further details on the wireless infrastructure portfolio we recently acquired from Nokia (NYSE:NOK), with respect to the Nokia portfolio, we plan on taking action shortly, through licensing and litigation campaigns.” Vringo’s wholly-owned subsidiary I/P Engine’s case against Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), AOL (NYSE:AOL), IAC (NASDAQ:IACI), Target (NYSE:TGT) and Gannett (NYSE:GCI) is scheduled for a jury trial beginning October 16th in the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, the Norfolk Division. The patents-in-suit were originally acquired from Lycos, Inc. Their shares traded down $0.04 (0.12%), they were recently at $33.70.

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Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX):   Netflix experienced their first, self inflicted wound when Andy Rendich, Netflix Chief Service and Operations Officer, announced that they would begin charging separate fees for their DVD and streaming services. The fee restructuring took effect immediately, for all new subscribers and on Sept. 1st, 2011, for all current subscribers. The blogosphere blazed with outrage over the 60% price increase.  Netflix Chief Executive Officer, Reed Hastings, managed to rub salt into the wound with his dismissive attitude toward the outcry from subscribers. Hastings’ hubris is summed up perfectly in his now infamous quote: “It’s something we’ll monitor, but Americans are somewhat self-absorbed.” Their shares traded down $3.17 (5.00%), they were recently at $60.27.

Coinstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR):  According to IHS Screen Digest,  the United States video rental market is shrinking. It fell 7.3% in 2011, and is expected to fall an additional 6.4%, to $5.3 billion, in 2012. Coinstar, which got 85% of their revenue from Redbox DVD rental kiosks in 2011, has been expanding by taking their share in a dwindling market, making their growth rate unsustainable over the long term. Their shares traded down $0.22 (0.43%), they were recently at $50.895.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE:TWC):  As the first weekend of the college football season gets under way, it appears that fans of the Pac-12 Conference had better be Time Warner Cable customers if they want to watch their favorite school this weekend. The Pac-12 Networks that launched two weeks ago will broadcast five games involving conference schools and so far, Time Warner Cable is the only cable provider in the Coachella Valley that has the Pac-12 Networks on their lineup. Their shares traded down $0.48 (0.54%), they were recently at $88.85.

Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA):  According to the New York Times, Viacom, Inc.’s (NYSE:VIA) Nickelodeon has pushed out their animation chief Brown Johnson, he was the executive responsible for successes like “Dora the Explorer” and “Blues Clues.” Their shares traded down $0.34 (0.67%), they were recently at $50.29.

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