Major Coups at Fox Business

As the Fox Business Channel nears its second anniversary, big things appear to be happening tothe still largely new network. The news media has largely discredited the channel and has even treated it as the ugly step child of the widely successful News Corp family. Network news has often second guessed the decision making of the network's chairman, Rupert Murdoch. In the last few weeks Murdoch and Fox have taken decisive actions designed to put Fox Business on the media map.

First there is the announcement of Don Imus joining the Fox News team. In a press release from the network earlier this month we read "FOX Business Network (FBN) has signed a multi-year deal with legendary radio personality Don Imus in which his nationally syndicated program Imus in the Morning will be simulcast on the channel, announced Kevin Magee, Executive Vice President. Beginning October 5th, the program will be presented in High Definition (HD) Monday through Friday from 6-9 AM ET on FOX Business and continue to be syndicated on the radio by Citadel Media. " Imus reaches millions of listeners every day whom he will drive to the Fox Business Network as they prepare for their day before getting into their cars. Meanwhile, those who love their hard business information will get plenty of reports during Imus' broadcast. Furthermore, Imus will be in a corner screen surrounded by news stories thorough out the broadcast. People will get plenty of business news. This is a huge victory for Imus as he departs the largely limited RFD network and a win for Fox Business who will have its brand promoted to the large audience Imus enjoys.

Shortly after the Imus announcement we are now hearing that one of the country's premier broadcast journalists, John Stossel, is leaving ABC to become a part of the Fox Business and Fox News family. In a statement Fox Business reports that "Award-winning journalist John Stossel has signed a multi-year deal with FOX Business Network and the Fox News Channel. Stossel, who is best known for his work on ABC’s '20/20,' will anchor a one-hour, weekly program on FOX Business, entitled 'Stossel.'" According to Fox, the "program will look at consumer-focused topics, such as civil liberties, the business of health care and free trade." Stossel's activities will not be limited to Fox Business, as he "will also appear regularly on the Fox News Channel, and will produce a series of one-hour specials for FOX News. His blog, “Stossel’s Take,” will be published on both FOXBusiness.com and FOXNews.com."

Separately, the journalist has said “I’m thrilled to join Fox News and look forward to inventing a new show for Fox Business." Fox is thrilled too, I am sure. For those in the news media who have questioned the wisdom in creating another business network, Murdoch may just be a little crazy. Crazy as a fox.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Fox News Does It Again

Fox News and Rupert Murdoch clearly have the "Midas Touch" and is seen in the results of virtually all of their business decisions. The latest brilliant stroke is their daily America's Election Headquarters programming that dominates much of the news day.

Initially I had my doubts. It was beginning to look like an election cycle destined to drag rather than light up. Than the most historically important election in years became one of the most exciting, thanks to the dramatic struggle between Clinton and Obama with a primary that simply won't end. I'm sure the other networks will expand their coverage, but they will likely appear to be seen as merely trying to catch up.

This is typical of News Corp. They always seem to be significantly ahead of the curve and are often found in the role of defining it. Fox's ratings are significantly higher than any of its competitors. This is because of the fact that it enjoys personality driven media, a unique philosophical view not found in other media, and they seem to have a crystal ball that appears to show what's next. It will be interesting to watch the network continue to go and grow.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Fox's Super Bowl Coup

Any regular reader of this blog knows I'm a big fan of Fox. All the more so with recent success they enjoyed with the Super Bowl over the weekend.

It was, without question, one of the best games in the history of the game. In fact, it was one of the best games in the history of all games. This is certainly one that is destined to go down in history. It was one of those games where I am sure many called others saying, "you have to watch this."

I was delighted to see that Fox pulled it off without a major wardrobe dysfunction and all the Any regular reader of this blog knows I'm a big fan of Fox. All the more so with recent success they enjoyed with the Super Bowl over the weekend.

It was, without question, one of the best games in the history of the game. In fact, it was one of the best games in the history of all games. This is certainly one that is destined to go down in history. It was one of those games where I am sure many called others saying, "you have to watch this."

I was delighted to see that Fox pulled it off without a major wardrobe dysfunction and all the embarassment and cost (in fines) that can come with that. Yes, Paula Abdul was a little stiff, but she remained in clothes.

The commercials were solid and, thanks to the network's relationship to MySpace.com, people will find those spots archived. that means these commercials will have an after life like we have never seen before. Furthermore, with the commercials strategic location in the world's premeir social network, all the advertisers will be able to monitor public opinon on the spots. This will provide an unprecedented level of research.

Also, Fox had the opportunity to promote its new line up of programming both on TV and online at MySpace (where you see those ads pop up repeatedly).

In the end, Fox was great for the fans and its clients, proving once again why Murdoch is one of the most brilliant people in media today.and cost (in fines) that can come with that. Yes, Paula Abdul was a little stiff, but she remained in clothes.

The commercials were solid and, thanks to the network's relationship to MySpace.com, people will find those spots archived. that means these commercials will have an after life like we have never seen before. Furthermore, with the commercials strategic location in the world's premier social network, all the advertisers will be able to monitor public opinion on the spots. This will provide an unprecedented level of research.

In the end, Fox was great for the fans and its clients, proving once again why Murdoch is one of the most brilliant people in media today.

By the way, you can see that archive of commercials here.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Time Magazine's Best Lists: Worst Business Deals

I have been summarizing my thoughts on Time Magazine's Best Lists over the last several weeks and hadn't even touched their business lists. Until now. I found the magazine's Worst Business Deals" very interesting.

* The Blackstone Group going public. It looked hot after years of some rather amazing deals, but lost 38 percent of its value in no time after going public. In my experience, VC firms are the epitome of feast and famine. It isn't the kind of place one puts the family nest egg in. However, you can't count these guys out yet. The stock market is a long term game. It is only a bad deal if you cash in from the early highs.

* DaimlerChrysler pays to unload Chrysler. After an amazing array of mathematic antics, Daimler actually paid $2 billion to unload the company to Cerberus. With mathematic geniuses like this, is there any question as to why Daimler was going broke?

* Microsoft overpays for Facebook. First it was MySpace and Murdoch, then it was Google and YouTube. Microsoft simply had to get into the social networking phenomenon. The one it bought a stake in was Facebook for $240 million. The deal gives Facebook an implied value of $17 million, but is only expected to make $30 million a year. Time Magazine fears it looks like AOL a few years ago. I agree.

* KKR and Goldman Sach's pull the plug on Harman Industries International. Time notes that "Private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group's private equity unit pulled out of their $8 billion offer to buy high-end audio equipment manufacturer Harman Industries International, claiming a "material adverse change" in Harman's business. Harman's stock plummeted more than 20%." Harsh indeed!

* Bank of America dumps $2 billion dollars into Countrywide. "Better make that $1 billion — at least that's what B of A's investment was worth as of December 1. Bank of America thought it had picked an opportune time in August to invest in Countrywide's mortgage machine, but the mortgage mess hadn't bottomed out yet." Bank of America was already limping along due to its troubling approach to providing credit to its clients. This situation only makes matters worse.

Some of these stories are not as entertaining or as sexy as some of the others covered, but their implications are far reaching financially. And they are far reaching to investors, customers, and obviously the employees

Fox Business Network Gets Interesting Endorsement

Call it what you want, but I call it "interesting" at the very least. A TV personality of one network that is being directly challenged by another network usually finds "mums the word" about the new kid on the block or choose to even get a little ugly. One personality at CNBC has had select words for the leaders behind the new Fox Business Network, but not the kinds of words that most would have expected.

According to Media Bistro, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner ((and host of his own program on CNBC) had praise for the new network's founders:

Former Disney CEO and current show host on CNBC, Michael Eisner chimed in on the launch of FBN this morning. Speaking at the Dow Jones/Nielsen Media and Money conference in New York, Eisner was asked about FBN's chances: "It's not crazy if you have [Rupert] Murdoch and [Roger] Ailes. It's probably crazy if you have two other people, but those guys are pretty good. So you can't bet against them."

Many have underestimated the Fox Business Channel and its leadership at their own demise. On many occasions I have heard people describe Murdoch (and Ailes) as "crazy." Yes, crazy like a FOX (pun intended).

The video is of Charlie Rose and Michael Eisner. Kevin Price's Houston Business Review newsletter includes excellent articles on business finance, marketing, media, and more. Get your free subscription here.

Fox Business Comes To Houston Comcast

I don't write very often about local business issues, but I have to mention the latest happenings of Fox Business in Houston. I have Direct TV so I had it a couple of weeks before, but Comcast now has the Fox Business Channel in the Houston market and I assume it launched nationwide on the cable provider. It couldn't come a minute sooner.

All my friends have heard rumors about it; "isn't Fox Business coming soon?," "when is Murdoch's business channel going to be on?," and "I can't wait to see Fox Business." The resentment has been huge. "I already have it," I would say innocently to frowns and groans. Then I would add insult to injury by going into detail about how much I love it. I was relieved by the news it was added to Comcast and learned several things from the exchanges with friends:

* Comcast seems to have many customers. The vast majority of my friends have it. Yes, this is anecdotal, but it seems to ring true.

* Not every Comcast subscriber will necessarily benefit. According to Comcast, 600,000 homes in Houston will get Fox Business. But I think there are over 800,000 homes in Houston's entire interconnect. I'm concerned that everyone I know will fall in that unfortunate group that doesn't have the channel. We will wait and see.

* Murdoch knows how to create buzz. People have been talking about the network for almost a year, I have rarely seen so much interest in a new TV channel.

In Houston, Fox Business Channel is big news. If you are a Comcast subscriber, visit their site and find out whether the channel is now waiting for you.

Order Kevin Price's audio program The Accumulators, which explains the impact that the Internet is having on marketing and consumer behavior. It is available online here for only $10 plus p and h. Receive the Houston Business Review e-zine free each week by clicking here.

CNBC to Fox Business: We Are Ready

According to a recent Media Bistro ezine:

In today's Hollywood Reporter, NBCU's Jeff Zucker confidently reveals how CNBC will handle the arrival of Fox Business Network: "We're not going to make the same mistake CNN made when Fox News Channel came along a decade ago. We'll be strong and aggressive and continue to prove what makes CNBC by far the leading financial news broadcaster in the world."Zucker continues, "I think there is a degree of irony that the company that broke the story that Rupert Murdoch wanted to buy Dow Jones was CNBC."

Obviously Murdoch could have broke that same story and chose not to and this story reminds me of the saying that "pride comes before the fall." I don't think CNN fell over and played dead, but simply tried to down play the significance of the rival at their own peril. I believe Fox won the content war more than the personality battle (although I generally prefer Fox's people). I also think the quality of people that Fox brings will be better than what CNBC currently offers. We will have to wait and see.

With Fox's purchase of the Wall Street Journal, will the Dow Jones Industrial Average become the Fox Business Industrial Average? I'm dying to see a CNBC reporter say something like that.

Murdoch Finally Gets WSJ

It appears official. Sure, I'm sure there are documents to be filled and lawyers to be dealt with, but it appears that Rupert Mudoch's quest for the Wall Street Journal has finally been sucessful. Media Bistro reports:

Nearly three months after CNBC's David Faber broke the news that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. was making an offer to buy the Dow Jones Company, Faber reports this morning that it's a done deal, and an "agreement is expected tonight."

Apparently, enough members of the family which controls 64% of the voting shares, have agreed to sell. A little more than 3 months from now, Murdoch launches his business news companion to the #1 cable news network, the Fox Business Channel.

Many analysts, and Murdoch himself, expect the Dow sale to be a game changer for FBC; bringing the heft of The Wall Street Journal to 24-hour TV. "We just want to have a business channel that lives up to the quality and traditions of The Wall Street Journal," Murdoch told FNC's Neil Cavuto on the day the offer was announced. "We think that we can do that and we will do very well."

One hurdle: The Wall Street Journal has a television deal with CNBC until 2012. On that issue Murdoch said, "we think there is plenty of room for us all to work together."

I wasn't sure Murdoch was going to pull it off for a while. After all, the Journal is an old publication with deep family roots. I bet their next family reunion will be very interesting. But I'm not surprised either. One thing I have learned is that it is foolish to under estimate Rupert Murdoch. He might be the single biggest media player in history.

CNBC enjoys a coveted relationship with the Wall Street Journal and, I'm sure, enjoy providing the Dow Jones Industrial Averages (DJIA) with pride. But the DJIA is just a name. What if Murdoch changes it to the Fox Business Industrial Averages? If that happens, 2012 couldn't come sooner for CNBC.

Houston Business Show Develops Television Programming

Forgive me for blowing our own horn, but we are excited to announce the creation of our new "Movers and Shakers" segment on the Houston Manufactuers TV Show, produced by Phonoscope.

In addition to being seen on television in thousands of offices throughout downtown Houston, this program is also seen by thousands more online. In fact, I recently visited with the show's host, Robbie Adair, who said they received thousands of unique visitors to the show's page in the last few days alone. The numbers are comparable to the audience of many popular radio shows in town.

The future of TV is online, in my opinion. In fact, I like to call YouTube one of the first TV networks designed for the 21st century. The web, in the words of Fox's Rupert Murdoch, allows people to get what they want when they want it. Also, the Internet's increasing speed and computer screen quality make it better than the TV in many respects. If websites are going to remain relevant, they are going to need quality video content, which was a goal we had for the Houston Business Media Group in 2007 and was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these fine partners.

We expect our video programming to expand in the weeks to come as we strive to offer more programming. We consider this a valuable tool to convey information to our growing audience.

News Corp Pursues Dow Jones

Rupert Murdoch of News Corp is interested in the Dow Jones Company, but the feeling isn't mutual. The media maverick has announced the creation of the Fox Business Channel, which is expected to launch in the Fall, and is now focusing on the leading financial publication of the world -- the Wall Street Journal and the vast resources of the Dow Jones Company.

News Corp offered approximately $60 a share, which translates into a $5 billion offering in pursuit of majority ownership. This is a sizable profit for the historic leader in business news. However, if one is from a liberal or even moderate bent, Fox News is considered conservative or even radical. This doesn't appear to stand well with Dow Jones and they are rejecting the pursuits of Murdoch.

If News Corps efforts translates into success, this will disrupt the TV relationship Dow Jones has with CNBC and the new Fox Business Channel will take the role of distributing that information for the world of television. The question is, who will have a greater influence editorially, Dow Jones on Fox or Fox on Dow Jones? Most are guessing on the latter. Ironically, both media are considered conservative by and large, but for some reason Fox is described in terms such as "strident," "polarizing," and "divisive." In spite of this, Fox is also considered among the most influential and the purchase of Dow would only increase that prestige. I, personally would be glad to see that happen and it would only increase Fox's growing reach in the business arena.

WebProNews Internet Winners

WebProNews is weighing in on the 8 biggest Internet winners for 06, and I found the list most interesting and something others might wish to read. I like the list and will only add a few edits. I encourage everyone to go to WebProNews and sign up for their newsletter, it is one of my favorite sources. I tell you how they won me over, great headlines in the subject line works every time. Here's their list. What other winners and losers would you add?

1. Google. Every year for Google has been a breakout year for the eight-year-old company, but 2006 was a blockbuster. Besides adding user-generated video phenom YouTube to its roster for $1.65 billion in stock, Google remained a favorite of Wall Street, with stock catapulting over $500 per share. That spike was more than enough to cover the cost of purchasing YouTube. And then they moved in with NASA.

I couldn't agree more. Google has moved from a site, to a verb (in searches, thus googling), to a legend.

2. YouTube. If Google was a winner just for acquiring YouTube, then YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, who created a site and flipped it for major moolah in just a year and a half, without even demonstrating how the site could turn a profit, are the biggest table scrap winners of the year. They still run their company and still got those stock certificates.

YouTube may be the first major television network for the 21st Century. What better place for it to be than online?

3. Broadband. Dialup Internet access has become akin to having outdoor plumbing. In the US, broadband access hit nearly 80 percent of the population. Because people no longer had to begin downloading a large file and then go to dinner while it finished, they spent more time actually enjoying video and audio content on the Web.

Broadband may be number 1, because YouTube and many interactive websites needed this technology to increase the Web's relevance. Without broadband, their would be very little market for dynamic content, in my opinion.

4. Lawyers. Happy days are here again for the corporate attorney. As Internet companies become Web giants, the window for lawsuit, valid or not, frivolous or not, gets a lot bigger. Google settles with advertisers angry over click fraud for $90 million - that's $60 million in advertising credit for the advertiser and $30 million cash for the attorneys who won that case. Yahoo's lawyers are so good, all they had to say was 'sorry about that' and write a check for $5 million to the complainant's attorneys.

Since I'm not a big fan of lawyers, I'll refrain from commenting much, but they have clearly been huge beneficiaries of the legal struggles related to the Web.

5. Social Media. For the end user it's been all about friends' lists, blogs, wikis, amateur videos, vlogging, podcasting, and instant messaging. From the consumer end, it's been a communication bonanza and the official creation of the citizen media. Ideally, the elite and powerful only provide the means by which the people communicate, not control the communication itself, and the people are eating up. And for the professional media, if we hear the words "MySpace" or "YouTube" one more time...

This is obviously huge and as important as the "social" part, is the participatory part, in my estimation. It is being able to influence media that has made such sites so huge.

6. Podcasting. The word "podcast" may have been Oxford's word of the year in 2005, but nobody really knew anything about it until 2006. Now organizations of all types - newspapers, corporations, educational institutions, radio stations, kids - have started their own virtual radio stations. Though Apple made threats to those audacious enough to use the term "podcast," a trademark infringement Apple said, all it took was a tongue-in-cheek one-dollar check to Apple head Steve Jobs to get official approval to podcast at will.

This, too, may be a little low on the list. Podcasting is creating a revolution that is striking fear in the heart of traditional media. People are looking for real, uncensored, and candid media; that typically cannot be done in a government regulated world of media. Traditional media, beware.

7. The Man. In all his incarnations, in government, media, or corporate America,The Man came out far ahead of the rest, even if he were scratched and bruised on the way. The G-Man, and his DOJ minions, strong-armed all the major search engines for their search data and got it, even from Google. Phones were tapped, records were seized, and online gambling, except that which is preferred by The Man, was banned. In China, The Man again forced Google to alter its search results to match the imposed cultural hegemony.

The government certainly was a big winner when it comes to the Internet in 2006, but in the top 8? I doubt it. I personally would put Rupert Murdoch in this spot for his ability to understand the power of the Internet and to transform his massive media empire into a responsive and dynamic media machine. This is being done through his very strategic Internet purchases.

8. The Proletariat. However, The Man hasn't always won this year. Though the telecommunications industry (one of The Man's most powerful front organizations) had Congress wrapped around its green finger, there were enough grass roots to forestall any legislation without meaningful Net Neutrality protections. With a massive Republican defeat in Washington, Net Neutrality has a fighting chance. When AOL tried to impose the equivalent of an email tax, the people revolted and AOL was forced to reconsider. When Britain proposed a blogger code of conduct, again the proletariat told The Man where to shove it. When TV wasn't as entertaining, when news wasn't as neutral or biased as it needed to be, when radio was too censored, and movies were far too polished, the people took the media into their own hands, which makes The Man very, very nervous.

I agree and so does Time Magazine which has called the Web contributor the "Person of the Year." That would be you and me! The world of the media is changing daily (maybe even hourly). Some, like Murdoch, are adapting and over time his traditional media will become a giant support to his Web media (just watch and see). Others are simply dead in the water, like the canal boat industry (no pun intended) that underestimated the power of trains, many in traditional media are still trying to charge for online content or are refusing to make dynamic media available (e.g., videos). Watch many traditional media go on the auction block and sell for cheap in the next few years.

This is a great list, but I would love your comments on this year's winners and losers. I would also like to know which companies or individuals you think will win big in '07.

Cyber Monday and the Continued Decline of Traditional Businesses

All the analysts are trying to size up what we are learning from the current holiday season when it comes to business. At first we were told that happy days were here again because the huge volume of sales on Black Friday (the first day most retail businesses go in the black, which is the day after Thanksgiving). Now we are told that the large volume was due to ridiculous sales that came too early (in the opinion of analysts), indicating a lack of confidence in consumers by retailers.

Regardless of what conclusions people want to come up with, this much I feel confident in saying: the traditional business is in serious trouble and days couldn't be happier for businesses on the web. According to Business Week, sales on Cyber Monday (the first Monday after Black Friday when people make purchases on the web on a large scale) grew an impressive 26% since last year, showing the continued shift from traditional stores. Why are we seeing the continued growth of online shopping?

I think it can be attributed to several reasons, including the fact that one can do it when he or she wants and people can do it largely how they want. Also, it doesn't interfere with work, which is often the case with traditional stores (many people often don't have time to go in the evenings either, the Web is far more convenient). Shopping online is becoming increasingly safer, especially physically (I haven't seen a computer mug anyone yet). Furthermore, there are no lines, which I know I despise.

However, I think the most important factor is that the brick and mortar businesses are trying the same kind of techniques they used to much less sophisticated consumers in decades past. They want us at their stores at midnight, or the sales are only for short time increments, or some other ridiculous treatment that doesn't meet the needs of the accumulators that are largely driving the economy today. In a recent interview Rupert Murdoch put it best when he said, "people want what they want when they want it." The Internet does just that. Sure there are still sales online, but they are typically measured by days, not hours. Treating consumers like animals who will jump hoops didn't work well in years past and it certainly doesn't work now. In stores, it feels as though businesses rule. On the Web, people feel like they rule. We shouldn't be surprised by the shift.

Fox Business News Channel?

Jon Fine, in a recent article in Business Week, asks the question as to whether Fox News is serious about pursuing a Business News channel in light of the problems that CNBC has had. He concluded that, in spite of how choppy the environment, Fox's philosophy and its multi-media approach, would make it a likely success.

I agree with him on all points. The future of business news -- in fact all news -- is on the Internet. Increasingly, TV, radio, and newspapers will become supports to the Web, in my opinion. Furthermore, the case is even more obvious when it comes to reaching the business interested demographic, a group I call the accumulators. These people worship at the alter of time -- they want what they want, when they want it -- and that is why the web is so important. Fox's growing Web presence is accommodating that need.

Furthermore, I believe that most business owners have a Fox News view of the world and Rupert Murdoch will not only attract many of the CNBC audience, he will also bring on many more who have been disinterested in the current business news options.

One thing I have come to believe is that it isn't smart to hedge your bets against Murdoch. I think Fox Business News, or whatever they call it, will do very well.