Email and entertainment were fit to be featured this past week. Let's take a closer look.

When did email start getting metered?
In a move that may carry some pretty weighty implications, Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX) AOL and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) are gearing up to charge approved marketers to deliver pitches to the inboxes of willing recipients.

Until now, free email sites like Yahoo! and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Hotmail prided themselves on keeping unwanted spam out. Even though most users were freeloaders, the aim has always been to make it a fruitful experience in order to serve more online ads, as well as upgrade its user base to more feature-rich premium email services and other offerings. At the very least, it would keep them close to the flagship portal.

The model will help the email providers, assuming the email recipients play along. It may work, but I'll tell you what is probably going to happen. It won't be long before AOL or Yahoo! -- or maybe a more aggressive email provider like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and its high-capacity Gmail product -- will open up the floodgates in encouraging email signups by cutting in the email readers with a piece of the action. It won't be much. We're talking fractional pennies here. However, just as loyalty sites like MyPoints.com have members merrily absorbing third-party marketing materials in exchange for merchant rewards, it seems inevitable that free email will follow suit.

Mad about the mouse
Quicker than Hines Ward can say, "I'm going to Disney World," Disney (NYSE:DIS) appears poised for a rebound under new CEO Bob Iger. The company's fiscal first-quarter report may not seem like much on the surface. Revenues rose a mere 2%, and profits before one-time hits inched up just 3% higher. However, it's the way the puzzle pieces seem to be coming together that's getting investors excited.

During the period, the company's theme parks and ABC segments saw operating profits soar by 51% and 87%, respectively. That was countered by a slide at its cable properties and a staggering 60% stumble in operating profits in its studio division. Investors seem to be dismissing that final point, given a summer slate that includes Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the company's decision to acquire Stock Advisor recommendation Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR). The company also has several books in the Chronicles of Narnia series to adapt for the big screen in the coming years.

Can you picture the quarter when Disney is running on all four of its subsidiary cylinders? It may be closer than you think.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves to look back, even if it means he falls on his face going forward. He does own shares in Disney and Pixar. The Foo l has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.