Holiday cheer can pack the miles when it involves moving movie release dates, struggling product lines, and entire business models. Don't let the heavy lifting scare you away.
The great summer animated showdown is a draw
Since when did the holiday season get the cooties for the country's leading animation studios? On Tuesday it was Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) announcing that their next -- and final -- original release together was being bumped from next November to June 2006. A day later, DreamWorks Animation (NYSE:DWA) moved the theatrical release of the third installment in its ogre-ific Shrek franchise from the 2006 holiday season to the summer of 2007.
The summer debuts make sense. It sets up computer-animated flicks perfectly to cash in on drawing families when school is out. More important, it moves the lucrative home video DVD release to the active holiday shopping season a few months later.
But let's not dismiss the tactical implications. By moving Cars to the summer Pixar was setting up its first post-Disney release for a summer 2007 release. Now DreamWorks will be crashing that summer party. Can two computer-rendered blockbusters survive parallel releases? Perhaps, but it's more than likely that one of the two will blink before then.
And what about the holidays? In a span of two days the biggest family flicks for the next two years have backed up the moving truck. How will Hollywood fill that void? If it's interested I've got this great claymation script for A Very Folly Motley Fool Holiday Special.
Business is IBM's middle name, you know
It may have shocked some to see IBM (NYSE:IBM) announce that it was getting out of the personal computer business. After all, there are still people who refer to any computer that isn't an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as an IBM. Yet the sad truth is that IBM was pretty bad at the industry it once helped pioneer. While it was still a $9 billion business for IBM, the company was losing money as more focused and nimble computer makers were ruling the PC space. It may have invented the game to a certain extent, but it was Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) that ultimately learned to master it efficiently.
Yes, the $1.75 billion selling price may seem cheap, but it was really just 10% of the company's revenue base. Overnight IBM will be transformed into a more business-oriented and profitable company -- and isn't that what IBM has always been all about?
How to hop the pond without getting wet
When it was revealed that Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was unveiling a DVD rental service it made sense. The company already had an enviable database of film buffs through its DVD sales and its IMDB.com aficionado site. Yet instead of striking what has become a competitive cutthroat market stateside, Amazon has decided to roll out its service in the United Kingdom first.
It may not seem like much. The Amazon service limits its users to renting no more than four to six discs a month with only two out at any given time. Why would Amazon roll out such a restrictively inferior service? Instead of owning the promising U.K. market it's practically daring companies such as Netflix to dive on in.
If Amazon really wanted to make a difference it would have priced its new service aggressively and beaten Netflix to the punch by adding video game rentals. Its limited model would be a colossal flop if it were to be introduced domestically. Yet the rollout does vindicate Netflix in its decision to cut its rates in an attempt to keep Amazon away. It proves that Amazon did in fact have a competitive service in the works. Amazon's overseas splash and weak subscriber plan value make it seem as though the company wasn't ready to face a price war back home.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Aristotle Munarriz
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz doesn't trust moving companies. Maybe it's all of the bubble wrap. He owns shares in Disney, Pixar and Netflix. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
