In This Update:
• Ticketmaster, Live Nation Near Merger
• Alloy Media Buys SI-Backed Online Sports Social Network Takkle.com
• Google’s Latitude Adds Location-Sharing to Mobile Phones
• Time Warner, Citing Write-Down, Posts $16 Billion Loss
• AT&T Developing All-In-One U-Verse and Femtocell Box
• Study: Young People Abandoning Email and TV
• Google’s Clout Grows in Washington
• IAC Was Profitable in 4th Quarter
• Doubledown Media Folds
• Kiva Launches API Platform
• Widget Ad Firm iWidgets Raises $4.1 Million First Round

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Ticketmaster, Live Nation Near Merger1
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. are close to a merger, people familiar with the matter said, in a deal that would consolidate two of the most powerful forces in the music industry under one roof. The combined company would be called Live Nation Ticketmaster, and would merge the world’s biggest concert promoter with the world’s dominant ticketing and artist-management company. The resulting firm would be able to manage everything from recorded music to ticket sales and tour sponsorship.
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Alloy Media Buys SI-Backed Online Sports Social Network Takkle.com
PAIDCONTENT
Alloy Media and Marketing, the NYC-based online youth-focused company, has acquired Takkle.com, a high school sports recruitment website also based in NYC. Takkle will become part of the Teen.com Network, Alloy’s content and ad network, the companies said, though the site will remain separate for now. Teen.com’s network includes its flagship Alloy.com, Gurl.com (which Alloy bought from iVillage, Teen.com, and Channelone.com. No financial details were released, though likely a stock and earnout deal.
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Google’s Latitude Adds Location-Sharing to Mobile Phones
O’REILY RADAR
Google has added location sharing to its suite of products. Google Latitude was launched as a Google Maps for Mobile (Symbian, Blackberry, Android, WinMo; the iPhone and iPod Touch will be coming soon) and as an iGoogle widget. It will allow you to share your location with a set group of friends. You can determine the level of your location-sharing and easily turn it off.
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Time Warner, Citing Write-Down, Posts $16 Billion Loss4
NEW YORK TIMES
Time Warner, the media and entertainment company, reported a fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday, hurt by a $24.2 billion write-down for its cable, publishing and AOL assets. The company posted a loss of $16.03 billion, or $4.47 a share, compared with profit of $1.03 billion, or 28 cents a share, a year ago. Quarterly results were dragged down $4.70 a share mostly because of a $24.2 billion write-down. Time Warner had anticipated the write-down, predicting in January that it would record an operating loss for the fourth quarter and the full year. Excluding the write-down, adjusted earnings were 23 cents a share.
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AT&T Developing All-In-One U-Verse and Femtocell Box
GIZMODO
An AT&T employee says that a U-Verse IPTV box with Femtocell capability is in the works. That’s one set top unit that’ll have TV, telephone, internet and improve cellular reception. The employee came upon this information as internal news of landline and wireless business integration. In this case, specifically, landline workers would be used to do low level wireless installs and wireless workers would soon be tinkering with U-Verse.
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Study: Young People Abandoning Email and TV
ACCURACAST
Change, they say, is the only constant. This seems to apply to the findings of studies conducted on the modes of entertainment pursued by youngsters – teenagers in particular – today. Studies conducted by The Pew Internet and American Life Project have found that only 65% of teens use social websites nowadays, as opposed to 78% who play online games. Not too long ago, social networks were the hot favorite among this age group, along with email, which was used by 89% of teennagers at that time. The latest trend, however, is to use text messaging and instant messaging instead of email, which is now used by only 73% of teenagers.
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Google’s Clout Grows in Washington
WALL STREET JOURNAL
When a group of chief executives visited the White House last week to talk about stimulus with President Barack Obama, Google Inc.’s Eric Schmidt wasn’t hard to spot, perched in a prime seat on the new president’s left side. Mr. Schmidt campaigned for Mr. Obama before the election, and Google officials were active in helping with the president’s transition. Now Google figures to be one of the tech companies that benefits from a stimulus program that is likely to include billions of dollars for information technology.
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IAC Was Profitable in 4th Quarter
NEW YORK TIMES
IAC/InterActiveCorp said Tuesday that it swung to a fourth-quarter profit, but its adjusted earnings and revenue missed analysts’ expectations. IAC, which operates Web properties like the dating Web site Match.com, earned $227.4 million, or $1.57 a share, in the quarter. That compares with a loss of $369.9 million, or $2.53 a share, in the same quarter last year.
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Doubledown Media Folds
REUTERS via PE HUB
Doubledown Media, publisher of Trader Monthly and other magazines aimed at rich and aspiring Wall Street executives, shut down after a chief backer pulled its financing, according to a memo obtained by Reuters. Doubledown, which also publishes Cigar Report, Dealmaker, Corporate Leader and Private Air, lost its credit line from a bank affiliate of HSBC (HSBA.L), President Randall Lane wrote in a memo that was obtained by Reuters on Tuesday. As a result, Doubledown is suspending operations immediately, Lane said in the memo, which was sent on Monday.
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Kiva Launches API Platform
TECHCRUNCH
Kiva.org , the non-profit people-to-people microlending organization, is rolling out an open-source API platform for techies interested in building tools and new applications for the microfinance/microlending community. Kiva wants ‘build.kiva.org’ to become a hub for socially-minded developers who want a make a difference in the world (and create cool applications).
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Widget Ad Firm iWidgets Raises $4.1 Million First Round
PAIDCONTENT
Widget ad-syndicator iWidgets picked up $4.1 million in a first round of funding; Opus Capital and Utah-based University Venture Fund led the investment. The news follows investments in widget ad net SocialMedia and avatar-based widget-maker mEgo in late January. The SF-based company also added digital media vet Geoff Katz as VP of business development and marketing; Katz previously held positions with TiVo, DirecTV and design agency Method.
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