The L.A. Times and everyone else is reporting on California's Energy Commission cracking down on those energy-bloodsuckers -- big, flat-screen TVs.

Almost nobody has one of those.

Here's what happened in Sacramento today: the commission voted 5-0 in favor of efficiency regulations for televisions up to 58 inches sold in the state.

Here's the report:  " California moved today to crack down on the sale of energy-gobbling big-screen television sets that now account for about 10% of a typical household's monthly power bill.

"After nearly two years of study, the California Energy Commission voted 5-0 to approve the nation's first efficiency regulations for TVs of up to 58 inches sold in the state.

"The new standards for TVs, which take effect Jan. 1, 2011, are similar to those imposed on refrigerators, air conditioners and dozens of other household appliances since the 1970s. The tightened standards do not apply to any of the approximately 35 million television sets currently in use.

"It looks like a very good deal for society," Commissioner Arthur H. Rosenfeld said after the vote, adding that the new regulations would save consumers money, protect the public's health and reduce the need to build more electric power plants." read the full enchilada here.

I learned this morning that James Finkelstein, but everybody calls him Jimmy, spent about a year courting the editor/founder of media blog Iwantmedia.com, only to walk away within days of learning (from WaxWord!) that Nielsen had put The Hollywood Reporter and other entertainment titles up for sale.

Patrick Phillips of iwantmedia.com - a blog that aggregates media news and sends out a daily email to several thousand media insiders - told me that Finkelstein took him to dinner and drinks for for the better part of 2008 and discussed expanding his site, and buying it. They got as far as signing a nondisclosure agreement and discussing a price.

"He’s very sharp, and he knows a lot of people," said Phillips. "But I was like, 'Why is this taking so long?' AOL bought Time Warner faster than this."

Then Finkelstein suddenly disappeared."All of a sudden I stopped hearing from him. I emailed him, and never heard back," Phillips said. "And few months later, you broke the story about the sale."

Clearly Finkelstein found bigger and more established fish to fry. But according to Keith Kelly at the New York Post, the publisher has a habit of talking up dealmaking and then walking away.

In addition to Iwantmedia, Finkelstein has dated New York magazine and Thompson Educational Publishing, only to break it off.

So as they never, ever say in Hollywood: Caveat Venditor.

Previously:

The word from my inside source is that the deal to sell The Hollywood Reporter and several other flagship Nielsen titles -- like Billboard -- may be done by Friday.

WaxWord reported a week ago that the ailing trade THR was about to be sold to James Finkelstein, a young publisher based in New York whose family's News Communications Inc owns the "Who's Who" series.

That report said the Reporter, along with Billboard, Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek – which all have been struggling mightily in the past year – were part of the deal.

But then we got a bit confused after Nielsen CFO Brian West said early this week that the conglomerate might want to keep those titles. 

"For our prime, core, iconic brands – Billboard, THR, etc. -- where those brands are very strong in their class, that have online capability, the opportunity to go right at the consumer, and there is a trade show element -- those are the ones we’ll continue to work through this cycle because those brands, once this turns around, those are going to win -- largely by the brand itself," West said on an earnings call.

But our source stands by the original report. Veronis Suhler is apparently handling the sale. No word on any price, nor on what Finkelstein intends to do with the titles.

All of the Nielsen brands -- jointly owned by a consortium of private equity firms including the Blackstone Group, the Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, AlphInvest Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, known collectively as Valcon -- are financially ailing.

Neither Finkelstein nor Nielsen has been willing to comment despite numerous requests by WaxWord.

Enough with the deal-making -- bring on the films already.

The long-awaited CBS Films announced late Tuesday that it had allied with Sony Pictures Entertainment for international distribution of its films, for both theatrical and home entertainment.

A statement released by Sony said: 

"Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has signed a three-year marketing and distribution deal with CBS Films, under which Sony Pictures will handle international theatrical distribution of CBS Films productions as well as service worldwide distribution of the unit’s films in the home entertainment marketplace, it was announced today by Peter Schlessel, president, Worldwide Affairs for Sony Pictures, and Jeff Blake, chairman, Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing & Distribution."

"CBS Films will handle domestic theatrical distribution of all titles and retains rights in a limited number of foreign territories."

Les Moonves' foray into moviemaking was launched in 2007, and the division, run by Amy Baer, will release its first films early next year.  

The studio's first release, in late January, is Extraordinary Measures, an inspirational drama inspired by the true story of John Crowley, who pursued a cure for his children's life threatening disease. The film stars Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell, and is produced by Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and Carla Santos Shamberg.

The second release is titled The Back-up Plan, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez.   Schlessel worked Senior Vice President of Business Affairs Michael Helfand in negotiating the pact on behalf of Sony. The deal was negotiated on behalf of CBS Films by Bruce Tobey, Chief Operating Officer, and Rik Toulon, EVP and General Counsel.    

I'm not sure if it's more remarkable that Paramount Pictures managed to pull off a press junket 30,000 feet in the air, or that American Airlines provided the studio with a 767 jet, gratis, to do so.

But that's how it rolled this weekend, as the high-flying (pithy!) promotional partnership between the movie studio and the airline company took wing. (Double pithy!)

The movie, director Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," already has an unusually comprehensive promotional partnership that actually serves the narrative. (Note to branded entertainment managers: It can be done, with skill.)

George Clooney stars as an executive whose job it is to fly around the country and fire people. And with a secret life ambition to rack up 10 million frequent-flier miles, his airline of choice already figures as a co-starring character.

American made a savvy deal to be the airline in question, and figures prominently in the film, including its logo, planes, flight attendants (only friendly ones), lounges and frequent-flier program.

But methinks Paramount got the better end of the deal. At a time where every Hollywood penny needs to be squeezed, the studio has found millions of free marketing and production cash in Reitman's script. In exchange for the product placement, the airline gave Reitman free filming access to its terminals, planes and the Admirals Clubs. The airline currently has a 'Find Yourself Up in the Air' contest going on for its frequent-flier customers.

(Interesting side note:  The L.A. Times reported last week that the partnership came together partly because the airline is represented by Rogers and Cowan, which has many Hollywood clients and works frequently with Paramount.)

If the contest and airline advertising of the film is reminiscent of  the toy and fast-food promotional tie-ins that blockbusters movies have had for years, this movie just crossed  a new threshold with this weekend's junket.

The 767 took off from New York with a cargo full of entertainment press junketeers. They got to see the movie in-flight, hear a live performance of the group that composed the film's soundtrack, Sad Brad, and interview the band and Anna Kendrick, who plays the young firer-in-training who follows Clooney across (well, above) the Midwestern plains.

What? No George Clooney 30,000 feet in the air? I guess for that somebody has to pay real money.

The Comcast deal to buy 51% of NBC Universal from General Electric inches nearer, but there is still no clarity on when it will definitively close.

Reuters is reporting that the two sides have agreed on the composition of the new board of directors, in which Comcast will hold a majority. An executive close to the negotiations confirmed the report, saying the board of the joint venture would have just five members.

We already know that they have agreed on a valuation of about $30 billion for the company comprising the TV network, cable channels and movie studio. And we know that Jeff Zucker is set to keep his job running the place, but that he will report to Steve Burke, chief operating officer of Comcast.

One thing holding up a close of the deal is the role of Vivendi, which owns 20 percent of NBC Universal. Vivendi has until Dec. 10 to exercise its put to sell that stake. The French company has been holding out, naturally, to get the best possible price for its slice of the NBCU pie -- and it is in an excellent position to leverage that position at the moment.

The $30 billion Comcast-GE valuation would put Vivendi’s 20 percent in NBC Universal at $6 billion and “appears to be at the upper end of expectations, which is positive news for Vivendi,” Stephan Haber, a credit analyst at Unicredit Group in Munich, wrote on Nov. 10, Bloomberg reported. “However, the main question remains: What is Vivendi going to do with these disposal proceeds?”

Reuters also reported that former News Corp. executive Peter Chernin, who has been advising Comcast, will not be on the new board.

Previously: 

Comcast Would Own 51% of NBC Universal   NBC Uni Reactions: 'Not Shocking,' 'A Dubious Deal'   Questions for a Potential Comcast/NBCU Deal   Comcast & NBC-U: 'They've All Agreed to Agree'   Comcast Closing in on NBCU Deal   Comcast Earnings Up as NBCU Deal Chatter Gets Louder   GE, Comcast Agree on NBCU Valuation      

 A deep sigh of relief over at MGM: bankruptcy is pushed back, yet again.

In a move that buys the company more time to find a buyer or radically restructure its debts, debt-holders for the debt-laden studio have extended their forbearance on interest and debt payments until the end of January. 

The lenders had previously agreed to hold off on taking their cash until Dec. 15.

The company issued a statement on Friday saying: 

"MGM said today its lenders have agreed to extend the forbearance until January 31, 2010.  The lenders took this action in support of the Company’s ongoing efforts to develop and evaluate long-term strategic alternatives to maximize value for its stakeholders.  MGM appreciates the continued support of its lender group for the process it is undertaking.  MGM also said today it is beginning a process to explore various strategic alternatives including operating as a standalone entity, forming strategic partnerships and evaluating a potential sale of the Company."

In an emergency call with equity and debt holders in September, co-CEO Stephen Cooper said he needed an immediate $20 million for the studio to stay alive in the coming weeks, and would need to raise another $120 million or so shortly thereafter.

MGM has a crushing $3.7 billion debt, and has not found a successful moviemaking formula yet. The survival of the company remains very much in question, though it is presumed that the most likely outcome is a prepackaged bankruptcy that would lead to the sale of the historic MGM film library, and current production and development.

The most likely buyers in that scenario would be Time Warner or 20th Century Fox, which could immediately funnel MGM's movies into their vast distribution system.

Cooper has been meeting on a near-continual basis with debt-holders, including Highland Capital Managment, Fidelity Investors and Stanfield Capital Partners, in an all-out attempt to get them to hold off on demanding repayment of their loans until the studio can come up with a viable restructuring plan.

Previously: Struggling MGM Wins Break From Bondholders

MGM Creditors Push for Auction

Stymied by Debt, MGM Ousts Sloan

MGM in Crisis: Stalemate with Bondholders

Whither the Hollywood Reporter?

Nielsen reported precipitous drops in earnings in its business media unit Thursday, but seemed to offer support for its entertainment titles -- which Waxword reported earlier this week were ready to be sold to James Finkelstein's News Communications, Inc.

Let's figure this out together.

Nielsen earnings for the third quarter were down 1 percent over last year, at $1.25 billion.

But the Business Media division was down 28 percent over last year -- and publications within that division, which includes the Reporter, Billboard, Adweek and Mediaweek -- were down 33 percent.

That's because its advertising was down a whopping 54 percent. (Trade shows, the other piece in that division, was down 20 percent.)

Still, CFO Brian West seemed to suggest that Nielsen might want to keep the "iconic" titles that would have value once the recession and advertising bloodbath was over.

"For our prime, core, iconic brands – Billboard, THR, etc. -- where those brands are very strong in their class, that have online capability, the opportunity to go right at the consumer, and there is a trade show element -- those are the ones we’ll continue to work through this cycle because those brands, once this turns around, those are going to win -- largely by the brand itself."

Confusion reigns. On the very same call, West was asked about "rumors" of a sale of some assets. And to that question, he said rather the opposite:

"For assets that don’t hit the mark, we’re always looking to work them out of the portfolio -- and we’ve done that in last year and a half," he said. "We’re always making sure to see we have a robust portfolio."

Neither Nielsen nor News Communications have responded to repeated requests for comment on the Waxword report that the Reporter, Billboard and several other entertainment titles were set to be sold.

Byrne told Waxword only that he would neither confirm nor deny the report.

The Business Media division, whose entertainment segment is run by Gerry Byrne, has been struggling and undergone serial cuts in staffing.

Here's the press release of full earnings:

The Nielsen Company B.V., a leading global information and media company, today announced its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009.

Reported revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2009, were $1,250 million, a decrease of 1 percent over reported revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2008, of $1,260 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenues for the three months increased 3 percent.

Reported revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, were $3,610 million, a decrease of 4 percent over reported revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2008, of $3,778 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenues for the nine months increased 2 percent.

Reported operating loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, was $100 million compared to operating income of $408 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

The 2009 results included a non-cash charge related to the impairment of goodwill and intangible assets of $582 million as well as $9 million of charges relating to restructuring costs.

The 2008 results included $62 million of charges relating to restructuring costs. Adjusting for these items, operating income, on a constant currency basis*, increased 12 percent.

Covenant earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and other adjustments permitted under our senior secured credit facilities (“Covenant EBITDA”) was $1,311 million for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2009. Covenant EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. See “Covenant EBITDA” below for a reconciliation of Loss from continuing operations of $1,028 million for the twelve months ended September 30, 2009, to Covenant EBITDA.

As of September 30, 2009, total debt was $8,745 million, and cash balances were $409 million. Capital expenditures were $204 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, compared with $253 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

In a week heralding major change at Disney, new studio chairman Rich Ross upended his management structure and aggressively set the frame for a new way of doing business at one of Hollywood’s most old-style studios.

Out: motion pictures group president Mark Zoradi, marketing chief Jim Gallagher and publicity planners Teri Meyer and Jasmine Madatian, among others. They come on the heels of the ouster of studio chairman Dick Cook, a three-decade veteran.

In: Home entertainment’s Bob Chapek becomes a czar overseeing distribution for every media platform -- a position that did not exist before. Another new post -- chief technology officer -- goes to Greg Brandeau, formerly of Pixar.

Safe (for the moment): production chief Oren Aviv (pictured below at left, with Ross and Miley Cyrus) and operations chief Alan Bergman, who have increased responsibilities.

The big unknown is who will head marketing at the studio. That, too, will be a position with expanded responsibilities, running through the home entertainment division. That job, I’m told, has not been filled and Ross is still seeking the right candidate.

At a time of tectonic shifts in the entertainment industry, it looks as if Ross – a television veteran who has quickly won attention in-house as someone who asks the right questions, and asks them directly – has his finger on the rusting fulcrum at the studio.

Marketing wasn’t working, publicity wasn’t working – and all while a huge question mark hangs over the old-stye model of distribution for movies in general.

One sign of how seriously Ross takes the threat of changing business models is the decision to give Chapek responsibility for distribution and delivery for every form of release for motion picture and television content.

Chapek, formerly head of home entertainment, will now oversee the journey of Disney content across theatrical exhibition, home entertainment, pay TV, digital formats and other new media. This shift reflects the realization that home entertainment can’t stand apart from theatrical, which can’t stand apart from what Hulu or HBO deals or video-on-demand have to offer.

“A certain amount of change is inevitable as we move to adopt a new strategic approach to the way we make, market and deliver our films," said Ross, in the studio’s prepared statement. (He gave no live interviews, despite the numerous changes.)

But executives close to Ross explained the thinking as a break with the traditional way of looking at things.

“When you have these siloed distribution channels that aren’t working and developing strategically together, you’re probably leaving money on the table because you’re very insular,” said one Disney executive, who spoke on the condition of not being identified.

The example of a blockbuster movie like Disney’s latest “A Christmas Carol” is instructive. The overbudget 3D romp – at a cost upwards of $180 million (and probably more like $200 million) – took in a modest $30 million in its opening weekend.

Distribution and the unfolding of the release windows will be critical to finding all the revenue that can make a worthwhile investment of a project so pricey.  

Then there’s marketing, a notable weak spot within the studio.

At an early meeting with his executives, Ross asked about the studio’s “Twitter strategy,” according to one person who was present. Someone mentioned there were about six people tasked with following Twitter. Ross thought that wasn’t nearly enough.

“It was pretty clear from the start that Rich wanted to make changes, and marketing has been a sore spot for a while,” said one executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s not surprising that it came to this.”

Oren Aviv will continue to oversee production, but now has physical production as an added responsibility.

Alan Bergman has had the Muppets studio and Disneynature added to his duties.

As for a cultural change at a studio where Dick Cook would pass through the hallways with a kind word and a pat on the back for the lowest employee to the highest in the Disney food chain – welcome to a new day.

Ross’s style seems to be no kid gloves. Security gathered in the front of the Roy Disney building on the Disney lot on Wednesday ahead of the firings.

And he informed the staff of the changes by an email via the same press release that had already been sent out to news outlets like TheWrap.

The internal email went out at 12:03 pm; the press release went out to the media at 11:49 am.

Further reading on the turnover at Disney:

Shakeup at Disney: Chapek Promoted, Aviv and Bergman Get New Duties, Gallagher Out

Dick Cook Exits as Disney Studio Chairman

Disney fallout: Who messed up, Bob Iger or Dick Cook?

Rich Ross tapped to run Disney Studios

Regime Change in Hollywood

Battsek steps down as Miramax president

Mark Zoradi Resigns as President of Disney Motion Pictures Group