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See this article at: http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=154085 Bertelsmann Reports Sharply Lower Profit Mar 30, 12:27 PM EST German media group Bertelsmann AG on Tuesday reported sharply lower profit in 2003 compared with strong results a year ago that included one-time gains from the sale of a stake in AOL Europe. The company's main businesses — including books, television, music and magazines — all had profitable years and executives said they had done well considering difficult consumer markets. Net profit fell to 154 million euros ($188 million) from 928 million euros in 2002, with revenue down 8.3 percent to 16.8 billion euros ($20.5 billion) from 18.3 billion euros. The company attributed the lower revenue figure to a weaker dollar, which shrinks the euro value of foreign earnings, and the sale of its professional publisher, Bertelsmann Springer. Operating earnings — which exclude one-time items such as the AOL Europe share sale, as well as financial items such as interest and taxes — rose 20 percent to 1.12 billion euros ($1.36 million) from 936 million euros. Company chief executive Gunter Thielen said Bertelsmann's varied businesses were coping successfully in a difficult economic environment. "All our divisions are profitable, and our finances are in order," Thielen said in a statement. "We now return to concentrating on growth." In particular, the company's Direct Group division, which runs book and CD clubs, turned around to an operating profit of 4 million euros ($4.88 million) last year versus a loss of 150 million euros a year earlier. Bertelsmann's RTL television broadcaster, Europe's largest, also improved operating earnings, to 503 million euros ($614 million) from 465 million euros a year earlier. The company said RTL had raised its share of non-advertising revenue in a tough advertising market, such as online services, merchandising, premium services and home shopping. Earnings at Bertelsmann's New York-based Random House book division, the world's largest trade publisher, fell slightly to 147 million euros ($179 million) from 168 million euros. Profit was also down at its BMG music division, to 110 million euros ($134 million) from 125 million euros. Both decreases were largely the result of the weaker dollar, chief financial officer Siegfried Luther said at the company's annual news conference. Random House "had a very good year operationally" and, with the dollar effect removed, had slightly higher sales and earnings. Music executives also say pirate copies and downloading of illegal music have cut into their profits. Still, BMG "is developing very nicely in a difficult market," Luther said. Random House was boosted by the top-selling adult novel of the year, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," which had 5.1 million copies in print at year's end and was on sale for only nine months of 2003. BMG remained No. 2 in current album sales in the United States with 17 albums selling in excess of 2 million copies. BMG artists include OutKast, Britney Spears, Pink, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Pop singer Dido boosted the division in Europe, where her latest album remained No. 1 for 11 weeks in a row and helped it raise market share by nearly two percentage points to 12.2 percent. Bertelsmann's smaller overall net income resulted largely from smaller capital gains from selling companies. The 2002 result reflected 2.8 billion euros in one-time gains, most of it from the AOL Europe stake sold to Time Warner; in 2003, the company booked 547 million euros in one-time items, primarily from the sale of BertelsmannSpringer. Bertelsmann, based in Guetersloh, Germany, isn't listed on the stock market. The controlling stake is held by the Mohn family, directly and through a foundation. See this article at: http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=138252 Hasbro Files Suit Vs. Ghettopoly Maker Oct 22, 4:35 PM EST Hasbro Inc., has filed a federal lawsuit against the maker of a board game called "Ghettopoly," claiming the game violates Hasbro's trademarks and copyrights to the Monopoly real estate trading game. The lawsuit against David Chang of Saint Marys, Pa., was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. It alleges Ghettopoly has unlawfully mimicked Monopoly's packaging and logos, and has created "irreparable injury" to Hasbro's goodwill and reputation. "While the genuine Monopoly game has become a wholesome and respected American icon that has been enjoyed by millions of adults and children for generations, the Ghettopoly knockoff has generated a firestorm of controversy for its highly offensive, racist content," the lawsuit states. "Indeed, the NAACP has stated that the game promotes and capitalizes on 'negative aspects of society that cause great harm to individuals and to the African-American community at large.'" Ghettopoly mimics Monopoly, except game pieces include a machine gun, marijuana leaf, and a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor. The game's "playas" build crack houses on Cheap Trick Avenue instead of hotels on the Boardwalk. Instead of the "Mr. Monopoly" logo, featuring a man with his arms outstretched, Ghettopoly features a caricature of a black man with outstretched arms, holding a submachine gun and bottle of malt liquor. The game drew outrage from minority leaders this month, after it began selling at Urban Outfitters stores. The retail chain has pulled the game from its shelves and Yahoo! and eBay have notified Chang they would halt online sales. "The concern here is we have had a lot of calls from very upset consumers who are very concerned that we might somehow be associated with Chang's game," said Mark Morris, a spokesman, for Hasbro U.S. Games. In the complaint, Hasbro stated Chang violated Hasbro's trademark rights and copyrights to the Monopoly game, which has been a Parker Brothers game since 1935. Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, is the parent company of Parker Brothers. Hasbro is seeking unspecified damages, attorneys fees and costs, and wants the court to order Chang to stop producing and selling Ghettopoly or any other game that could cause confusion with Monopoly. The toy maker also wants distributors to recall the product. "I just can't believe they are doing that," Chang, 28, told The Associated Press. He said he intends to fight the lawsuit. Chang, who said he is Asian, said he got the idea for the game while watching "MTV Cribs," a television show that often features the homes of various rap artists. "I came up with something that has an urban edge," he said. "I didn't make the game to offend anybody," he said, adding that the game also features references to Asian, Irish, Jewish and other cultures. "I'm not a racist." He said he sent a mock-up of the game to Hasbro several months ago for permission to sell it and he never got a response. Morris said Hasbro has no record of Chang contacting them. The lawsuit states Chang has never received a license or permission from Hasbro for Ghettopoly. Chang began selling the game on the Internet in April, and once it garnered publicity, Urban Outfitters contacted him about selling it in their stores, he said. Chang said he did not know how much money he has made off of Ghettopoly so far. Hasbro has licensed many variations of Monopoly — a company called USAopoly Inc., has produced Monopoly editions featuring The Simpsons, Scooby-Doo, or the Muppets, Morris said. "They are Monopoly editions," Morris said. Other games that allow people to create their own "opoly" distinguish themselves enough from the real game so consumers are not confused, Morris said. ——— On the Net: http://www.hasbro.com http://www.ghettopoly.com |
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