Best Media Companies To Invest In 2014

Source: thinkstockAugust 30, 2013: U.S. markets opened slightly higher on Friday morning but soured almost immediately. Data on personal income and personal spending was mixed�and the Chicago Fed PMI reading came out as expected. The consumer sentiment index pulled off last month�� six-year high�and it was this the clinched the deal for a sell-off all around.

European markets closed lower today, while Asian and Latin American markets closed mixed.

Just a reminder that U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Tuesday�� calendar includes the following data releases and events (all times Eastern):

8:58 a.m. – PMI manufacturing index 10:00 a.m. – ISM manufacturing index 10:00 a.m. – Construction spending 11:30 a.m. – 3- and 6-month bill auctions

Here are the closing bell levels for Friday:

Best Safest Stocks To Own Right Now: Comcast Corporation(CMCSA)

Comcast Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides entertainment, information, and communications products and services in the United States and internationally. Its Cable Communications segment provides video, high-speed Internet, and phone services to residential and business customers. As of June 30, 2011, its cable systems served approximately 22.5 million video customers, 17.5 million high-speed Internet customers, and 9.1 million phone customers. The company?s Cable Networks segment operates cable entertainment networks, such as USA Network, Syfy, E!, Bravo, Oxygen, Style, G4, Chiller, Sleuth, and Universal HD; news and information networks, including CNBC, MSNBC, and CNBC World; cable sports networks comprising Golf Channel and VERSUS; regional sports and news networks; international entertainment, and news and information networks, such as CNBC Europe, CNBC Asia, and Universal Networks International portfolio of networks; cable television production oper ations; and digital media properties consisting primarily of brand-aligned Websites and other Websites, such as DailyCandy, Fandango, and iVillage. Its Broadcast Television segment operates the U.S. broadcast networks, NBC and Telemundo; 10 NBC and 15 Telemundo owned local television stations; broadcast television productions; and related digital media properties. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment operates Universal Pictures, which produces, acquires, markets, and distributes filmed entertainment and stage plays worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television, and other distribution platforms. Its Theme Parks segment operates Universal Studios Hollywood park and Wet ?n Wild water park, as well as licenses intellectual properties and provides services to third parties that own and operate Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Singapore. Comcast Corporation was founded in 1963 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Comcast provides communications and entertainment products and services to consumers and companies. The company�has begun to turn hundreds of thousands of Chicago-area homes into virtual coffee shops, using existing Comcast equipment to build out its publicly accessible wireless network. The stock has been trending higher over the past few quarters and looks set to continue. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been increasing, which has left investors pleased about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Comcast has been a weak year-to-date performer. Look for Comcast to OUTPERFORM.

Best Media Companies To Invest In 2014: Time Warner Inc.(TWX)

Time Warner Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Networks, Filmed Entertainment, and Publishing. The Networks segment provides domestic and international networks, premium pay and basic tier television programming services, and digital media properties, which primarily consist of brand-aligned Websites. Its premium pay television services consist of the multi-channel HBO and Cinemax premium pay television services. This segment provides programming to cable system operators, satellite service distributors, telephone companies, and other distributors; sells advertising; and licenses original programming to domestic and international television networks. The Filmed Entertainment segment produces and distributes feature films, television and other programming, and videogames; distributes home video products; and licenses rights to its feature films, television programming, and characters. T he Publishing segment publishes magazines and books; and operates various Websites, as well as engages in marketing services and direct-marketing businesses. This segment publishes magazines on style and entertainment, lifestyle, news, and sports. The company?s brands include TNT, TBS, CNN, HBO, Cinemax, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, People, Sports Illustrated, and Time. Time Warner Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Beyers]

  Can anyone touch Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS  ) Marvel Studios? Man of Steel has proved to be a winner for Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX  ) DC Entertainment and should close the weekend with about $248 million at the U.S. box office, Deadline.com reports. Audiences seem to like director Zack Snyder's grittier, more realistic version of Superman.

Best Media Companies To Invest In 2014: CBS Corporation(CBS)

CBS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mass media company in the United States and internationally. The company?s Entertainment segment distributes a schedule of news and public affairs broadcasts, sports, and entertainment programming; produces, acquires, and distributes programming, including series, specials, news, and public affairs; produces and distributes theatrical motion pictures across various genres; and operates online content networks for information and entertainment. Its Cable Networks segment owns and operates multiplexed channels that offers subscription program services, including recently released theatrical feature films, original series, documentaries, boxing, mixed martial arts and other sports-related programming, and special events; and CBS College Sports Network, a 24-hour cable program service related to college sports. This segment also owns and manages Smithsonian Networks, which operates Smithsonian Channel, a basic cab le service in the United States. The company?s Publishing segment publishes and distributes adult and children?s consumer books in printed, audio, and digital formats. Its Local Broadcasting segment owns 29 broadcast television stations; owns and operates 130 radio stations in 28 U.S. markets and related online properties; and owns local Websites that combine television and radio local media brands online to provide the latest news, traffic, weather, and sports information, as well as local discounts, directories, and reviews. The company?s Outdoor segment sells advertising space on various media, including billboards, transit shelters and other street furniture, buses, rail systems, mall kiosks, stadium signage, and in retail stores. CBS Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vera Yuan]

  We believe the heart and soul of Colfax is a set of operational and management tools known as the Colfax Business System (CBS) which stresses continuous improvement in all aspects of the business. Danaher fine-tuned the use of these tools, compounding shareholder capital at a 20%+ Compound Annual Growth Rate, (CAGR) since 1984 by acquiring underperforming businesses, improving revenue, margins and cash flow, and employing that cash flow to fund the next acquisition. Colfax has borrowed the Danaher playbook.

• [By Eric Bleeker, CFA]

  TV's new golden age is broad
  Not mentioned in all this is that broadcasters aren't doing so bad themselves. Ad Age�recently reported that CBS� (NYSE: CBS  ) recently concluded its upfront negotiations with advertisers and managed to secure a 7% to 8% price increase per viewer in the upcoming season.�

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Jeff Neumann/CBS via Getty ImagesA scene from CBS's "The Good Wife." NEW YORK -- CBS (CBS) is jumping on the cord-cutting bandwagon, launching a stand-alone digital streaming service for $5.99 a month that will offer subscribers access to its current and older shows. The news comes a day after HBO said it plans to offer a streaming-only service next year. Americans are increasingly turning to digital media to watch TV and movies. About 45 percent of Americans stream television shows at least once a month, according to research firm eMarketer. That number is expected to increase to 53 percent or 175 million people by 2018, it says. "With video consumption habits changing all the time, it is very important that we continue to provide the best local news, entertainment and sports via a service like CBS All Access," said Peter Dunn, president of CBS Television Stations, in a statement. "Television stations have been the fabric of local broadcasting for 75 years, and today's announcement is part of paving the way for the next 75." The broadcast TV network says 15 current prime-time shows such as "The Good Wife" and "Survivor" will be available the day after they air on the service, called CBS All Access. Subscriptions to the service will include the ability to stream CBS stations live in 14 markets and watch previous seasons of current shows as well as older shows from both CBS and other networks like "Twin Peaks" and "Cheers." But live-streaming of sporting events, including NFL coverage, isn't available. Other monthly streaming services, Hulu and Netflix (NFLX), currently offer some CBS shows for streaming, but the CBS All Access service offers a more complete catalog.

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  DirecTV added 139,000 new subscribers in the quarter — the most since 2011, thanks to refugees from Time Warner Cable (TWC) and CBS (CBS) fee dispute. Time Warner, the second-largest cable company, was the clear loser in the two-week blackout. It lost 304,000 video customers in the quarter, almost double what analysts expected.

Best Media Companies To Invest In 2014: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI)

Gannett Co., Inc. operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States and internationally. Its Publishing segment publishes 83 U.S. daily newspapers with affiliated online sites, including USA TODAY, a national, general-interest daily newspaper; USATODAY.com; USA WEEKEND, a magazine supplement for newspapers; Clipper Magazine, a direct mail advertising magazine; bi-weekly Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek periodicals; and military and defense newspapers. This segment also includes 17 paid-for daily newspapers; approximately 200 weekly newspapers, magazines, and trade publications; and approximately 600 non-daily publications, as well as involves in commercial printing, newswire, marketing, and data services operations. The company?s Digital segment owns and operates CareerBuilder, an employment Web site, which offers online recruitment and career advancement services for employers, employees, recruiters, and job seekers; ShopLocal, which provides multicha nnel shopping and advertising services; Planet Discover, which offers hosted search and advertising services; PointRoll, which provides digital marketing services and technology; and Schedule Star, which offers scheduling solution for high school athletic departments. Its Broadcasting segment operates 23 television stations and affiliated Web sites, which produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment programming. This segment also includes Captivate Network, a national news and entertainment network that delivers programming and full-motion video advertising on video screens located in elevators of office towers and select hotel lobbies in North America. The company has strategic business relationships with online affiliates, including Classified Ventures, ShopLocal.com, Topix, and Metromix LLC, as well as strategic marketing agreement with Microsoft. Gannett Co., Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Not only did Gannett� (NYSE: GCI  ) shareholders re-elect its board, ratify its public accountants, and approve a say-on-pay measure at the�media conglomerate's annual meeting yesterday, but the board of directors also declared the company's second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past five quarters.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  Traditional media sites did unusually well, given that they are not the core products of their parent companies. Broadcaster CBS (NYSE: CBS) was in 9th place at 80.9 million unique visitors in November. Comcast NBCUniversal was 14th place with 64.4 million. Gannett (NASDAQ: GCI) sites were 16th at 57 million. Viacom had 54.3 million, and ESPN 38.7 million.