In stark contrast to some other media companies (hello, Tribune), American Media Inc. is having a relatively smooth Chapter 11 experience. The company, which publishes National Enquirer, Men's Fitness and Shape, among other titles, got approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for a bankruptcy reorganization plan that will dispense with most of the company's debt through a deal with JPMorgan Chase Bank and other creditors. In several earlier restructurings, AMI reduced its debt by handing over equity to creditors. While details of the final reorganization weren't disclosed, AMI said its proposed plan for exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy had the support of all its major creditors. CEO David Pecker sounded an optimistic note, calling the deal "the best capital structure" he has ever worked with in his 10 years as CEO. "This will allow AMI to finally capitalize on all the digital opportunities available for our brands, continue to strengthen our print properties, expand our publishing services efforts and ultimately accomplish what my goal has always been -- to build a major media company that will be among the industry's elite," he added. According to AMI, the court approval should make it possible for AMI to leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by the end of this year.
American consumers are getting used to using mobile barcodes, judging by the results of a new survey by Scanbuy -- at least among people with profiles on social networks. A survey of Twitter and Facebook users found that 57% of respondents had scanned a mobile barcode at least once, while 40% had scanned mobile barcodes five or more times. Overall, mobile barcode usage has increased 50% during the holidays compared to the pre-holiday period. An earlier survey by Scanbuy found that mobile barcode usage has jumped 700% in 2010 compared to 2009. While the Twitter and Facebook survey group results probably show some degree of self-selection (leaning toward tech-savvy young adults), results suggest widespread recognition of the utility and possible applications of barcodes. Ninety-seven percent of those surveyed found mobile barcodes useful -- even if they hadn't used them yet -- for purposes including price comparison, user reviews and accessing special product offers. Survey respondents also said mobile barcodes would be good for looking up prices online and getting information without having to consult sales staff. Turning to devices, 34% of respondents said they used an iPhone, versus 29% for BlackBerry and 27% for Android. The increase in mobile barcode usage may reflect growing penetration by smartphones in the mobile device market. Total annual smartphone sales jumped 15% from 151 million in 2008 to 174 million in 2009; they are on course to increase another 55% to 270 million in 2010, according to Strategy Analytics. In fact, SA forecasts annual sales will rise another 31% to 350 million in 2011. The proportion of smartphones as a percentage of total mobile device sales has increased from 13% in the first quarter of 2009 to 23% in the third quarter of 2010.
News Corp., owner of The Wall Street Journal and Fox TV, sold its Fox Mobile Group unit to investor firm Jesta Group, but terms were not disclosed. The mobile division will become part of Jesta Mobile Holdings. It includes Jamster, Mobizzo and mobile video BitBop. Jesta Group also owns residential and commercial properties worldwide. "We believe that mobile entertainment is an important emerging market, and we are excited about this acquisition and the opportunities for growth it presents," stated Jesta president Jason Aintabi. This is not the first online sale by News Corp.; in January, it unloaded movie review site Rotten Tomatoes to Flixster. A few weeks ago, Fox Audience Network was sold to The Rubicon Project. The Fox Mobile Group, which endured staff cuts this year, was acquired in full by News Corp. in 2008, for $193 million, according to Bloomberg. BitBop was launched in 2010. News Corp. COO Chase Carey said he would consider offers for another company digital property, social network MySpace, which rolled out a new format last month to differentiate it from Facebook.
A new Nielsen report shows that CBS reality series "Undercover Boss" is a notable success with product placement. Part of the reason, of course, may be that the one-hour show highlights a brand. The format has a company top executive taking on another identity and exploring the business on the front lines. Nielsen says episodes of the series accounted for seven of the top 10 "most effective" placements in 2010, using brand opinion index as the metric. That takes into account viewer recall and "improved" opinions of a brand after a show among people ages 13 and up. Nielsen evaluated shows on the Big Four networks and CW. The most effective product placement was for 1-800-FLOWERS in an episode of "Boss," which drew a brand opinion index of 353. In second place, with a 344, was a November episode that had Subway's chief development officer sport a different identity. In fourth place was the premiere episode of "Boss" that came after the Super Bowl with Waste Management's COO. It posted a 302 index. Then, an episode featuring the CEO of family-attraction operator Herschend Family Entertainment placed fifth at 293. However, an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" broke a possible clean sweep for "Boss" in the top five. In the show, Sears pays off a family's debt, and it posted a brand opinion index of 323. Excluding "Boss," the other two leading product placements in the top 10 were Ancestry.com on NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" (6th place) and Subway on NBC's "Chuck" (9th). "Undercover Boss" has a feel-good formula, where the executives masquerade as someone else and learn to appreciate lower-level employees, who garner rewards at the end.