What's going on?

A bunch of �old� media companies reported results this week � and the news was, at best, mixed as these companies struggle to adapt to people�s new viewing habits.

What does this mean?

The idea of traditional TV is, probably, ending: no longer will there be hundreds of channels at your disposal which take 8 minutes out of every half an hour of programming to show you ads. As consumers shift to more online viewing, companies like Time Warner, which owns channels such as CNN and TBS, are struggling. It warned this week that future profits would be lower than expected � and the stock sold off precipitously. Also, Disney reported mixed results after the stock market closed on Thursday with revenues failing to meet analyst expectations. Meanwhile, CBS announced that it saw an 8% increase in advertising revenue (excluding some special factors). So, it appears that some companies are weathering the storm better than others.

Why should I care?

1. The bigger picture: Advertising spending is moving away from television. Despite CBS�s results, as viewers spend more time online, advertisements will naturally follow them. That�s one reason why Facebook stock did so well yesterday, while most of these old media stocks are having a tough week.
2. For the stocks: It will be difficult�for all of the �old media� companies to thrive. Investors are probably trying to figure out which ones will succeed. Live TV (especially sports), a solid streaming capability and, perhaps most importantly, excellent content are likely to be some drivers of success.