After the coffee. Before wondering if we'll go a whole day without Charlie Sheen opening his mouth in front of a microphone.

The Skinny: Wonder if Time Warner Cable is having second thoughts on its deal with the Lakers after that dismal performance against Cleveland. While Time Warner Cable may be shelling out big bucks for sports, NBC Universal's new owner, Comcast Corp., may be tightening the purse strings on its sports budget.

Flame-out? When General Electric Co. owned NBC Universal it had a reputation for being a little stingy except when it came to the Olympics, where it let the network spare no expense. New owner Comcast may not feel so warm and cuddly about keeping the Gold. On an earnings call Wednesday, NBC Universal chief executive Steve Burke told analysts, "We are here to make money" when asked whether NBC would bid aggressively on the 2014 and 2016 games. If NBC does back off the Olympics, it would be a big blow to Dick Ebersol, the head of all things sports at the company. More from the Los Angeles Times and Ad Week.

Taking liberties. Blurring the line between fact and fiction is nothing new in Hollywood, and this year's Oscar favorites did their part to bend the truth here and there in the name of art. The Hollywood Reporter looks at some of the more obvious examples of movie-makers bending the truth with this year's contenders.

Streaming kiosks. Redbox, perhaps thinking it's taking this whole big-red-kiosk-outside-the-7-11 thing as far as it can go, is pushing ahead with a streaming service that it hopes will battle Netflix. A potential partner for Redbox could be Amazon. More on Redbox from Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Disney has raised the wholesale prices it charges to Redbox and Netflix, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Tough talk. The White House said the people who attacked CBS correspondent Lara Logan while she was covering the revolution in Egypt need to be brought to justice. Logan, who has returned to America and is recovering, also received a call from President Obama. Details from the New York Post.

Fashionable news. Perhaps recognizing an opening and wanting to bring attention to a big story, CNN has beefed up its ... fashion coverage. Fashion Week, which seems to happen every other week there, is getting plenty of love from CNN, notes the New York Times. 

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Inside the battle between Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva. Watson the computer wins on "Jeopardy!"

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter so I can start selling advertising. twitter.com/JBFlint

Redbox is gearing up to challenge Netflix head-on, the kiosk DVD rental company confirmed Wednesday.

At a meeting with analysts, Redbox President Mitch Lowe said his company's forthcoming digital option will be subscription-based Internet streaming instead of a transactional service through which consumers pay separately for each movie. A single monthly fee would allow users to access movies on multiple devices and access discs through kiosks.

That means Redbox will be competing directly with Netflix, which has amassed more than 20 million subscribers to its DVD-by-mail and Internet streaming subscription plans.

Redbox has previously said it will launch a digital service with a partner but has not identified the partner. Several people familiar with the matter have confirmed that Amazon.com is in talks with studios to acquire content for a Netflix-like subscription movie streaming service set to launch soon, making it a likely candidate to be Redbox's partner.

Investors have been eager to see Redbox launch a digital service, because consumers are increasingly choosing to watch movies via the Web and not DVD. In Coinstar's last fiscal quarter, Redbox revenue came in below expectations because of the impact of three studios not offering new releases to the company until 28 days after they went on sale.

Redbox was also recently dinged when Walt Disney Studios decided to raise its wholesale prices for DVDs sold to the company.

Related:

Disney raises wholesale price on Redbox and Netflix

Amazon poised to launch online movie service to rival Netflix

Shares of Redbox parent Coinstar hammered on earnings warning

— Ben Fritz

Topspin, a digital marketing and distribution firm that has helped big-name acts including Arcade Fire and Linkin Park build their online businesses, announced at the New Music Seminar in Los Angeles that it is now reaching out to garage bands, unpublished writers and indie filmmakers.

The company, which is so low-profile that it doesn't even have a sign on its offices in Santa Monica, will be throwing a coming-out party at next month's South by Southwest indie music festival in Austin, Texas, with a splashy contest to give away $5,000 to the best business plan.

"For as little as $10 a month you'll be able to use the same tool set that artists like Eminem and others are using," said Topspin Chief Executive Ian Rogers.

But the company is not recruiting just musicians, who currently make up nearly all its customers. Topspin plans to expand its pitch to writers and independent filmmakers.

Its software lets bands sell tickets and merchandise online, as well as manage their digital and online social marketing. Aside from its monthly service fee, Topspin takes a 10% cut for tickets and 15% for other products, such as song downloads, CDs, clothing.

Topspin will be diving into a crowded space filled with dozens of technology companies vying to sell services to artists, including e-mail marketing, Facebook fan pages and helping them sell songs and T-shirts online.

Rogers said his company planned to distinguish itself as a service that the pros use to manage millions of transactions and large marketing campaigns. "We'll be available to everyone, but it's a deep tool set for professionals," Rogers said.

-- Alex Pham

With the advertising market surging, politicians throwing money around in advance of last November's elections and favorable comparisons over 2009, CBS on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that were more than quadruple from the same period a year earlier.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, CBS posted net income of $283 million, or 41 cents a share, up from $58.8 million, or 9 cents a share, from the fourth quarter of 2009 when the broadcasting company was hobbled by a string of impairment charges.

Revenue was up 11% to $3.9 billion.

"Every one of our businesses contributed to our best results of the year," CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told investors during a conference call. "The resurgence in local advertising was the story."

CBS Chief Financial Officer Joseph Ianniello said television station advertising was up 28% for the quarter. Company-wide, ad revenue was up 12%. Even CBS' radio division, which in recent years has put a drag on the company's earnings, posted double-digit growth.

-- Meg James

The news that Time Warner Cable has struck a 20-year deal that makes it the exclusive television broadcast rights holder to Los Angeles Lakers games starting with the 2012-13 season no doubt has other pay-TV providers in Southern California getting ready to guard their wallets.

While terms were not disclosed, Time Warner Cable didn't manage to wrestle away the world champs from their current cable and broadcast homes -- Fox Sports West and KCAL-TV, respectively -- by under-bidding the incumbents. Fox Sports West was paying $30 million a year for the 35 games it was carrying and Time Warner Cable will be carrying north of 50 preseason, regular-season and postseason games that are not nationally telecast, so that price tag will go way up.

"Given the size and length of this deal and importance of it to Time Warner Cable, they are going to attempt to earn it back, and one of the ways to do that is to price aggressively on subscriber fees," said Lee H. Berke, chief executive of media and sports consulting firm LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media Inc.

Regional sports channels are some of the most expensive properties for distributors. Fox Sports West costs about $2.37 per subscriber per month, according to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan.

Odds are that Time Warner will seek a higher price than that for its new English and Spanish Lakers channels, due to launch in fall 2012. Even though Fox Sports West carries other teams, including the Angels, the Lakers are considered a premium property.

What will be interesting to watch with regards to Time Warner Cable's distribution efforts will be whether satellite broadcasters DirecTV and Dish and other carriers such as Verizon and AT&T will look for government help if they feel they are being gouged.

Relief for them may come if they can persuade the Federal Communications Commission to extend an order designed to give distributors the opportunity to enter arbitration if they are at a standstill with a programmer over a deal for a sports channel.

Known as the Adelphia Order (because it was put in place after Time Warner Cable and Comcast bought Adelphia Cable), the rule -- which applies only to local sports channels -- is due to expire in July 2012.

However, before it can be lifted, the FCC is supposed to issue a report on access to regional sports networks and examine distribution issues. The commission will then decide whether to lift the order or extend it. Although it is a long way away, don't be surprised if a big debate emerges in the industry over whether the Adelphia Order should live or die.

-- Joe Flint

RELATED STORIES:

Must-see Lakers have must-pay TV deal

Time Warner Cable, Lakers strike 20-year TV deal

Photo: Lakers' Kobe Bryant dunks against Oklahoma City. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Amid calls from some on Wall Street to choke off the supply of newly released DVDs to discount movie rental services, Walt Disney Co. has quietly decided to hike its wholesale prices on new-release DVDs for Redbox and Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move marks a subtle shift in Disney's relationship with Netflix and Redbox, and one that stands in contrast with most of Hollywood's dealings with the two rental giants. Other studios have refused to supply DVDs to Netflix and Redbox until 28 days after they are released out of concern that low-cost rentals will undercut DVD sales. Disney, on the other hand, all along has been supplying Netflix and Redbox with DVDs at the same time they go on sale, albeit at a lower price.

Disney will now charge Redbox and Netflix the full wholesale rate -- as much as $17.99 -- for its DVDs, the people said. That's more than studios often charge their largest wholesale customers and less than big retailers like Wal-Mart charge consumers for the popular new releases.

The change started with "Secretariat," which was released on DVD on Jan. 25, even though the studio said nothing public about it at the time.

Disney believes that its family-friendly fare, particularly animated films, is the type that consumers want to own for repeated viewing and therefore is not likely to be hurt by rentals, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

How the new policy with affect Disney remains to be seen. By increasing the prices Redbox and Netflix pay for new releases, Disney could either increase the revenue it generates from those companies or force them to buy fewer copies and reduce their supply. That in turn could push frustrated consumers who want to rent toward other options like cable and Internet video-on-demand.

Redbox President Mitch Lowe confirmed that his company had reached a new agreement with Disney but said it would continue to offer Disney DVDs the same day they go on sale for $1 per night. A Netflix spokesman declined to discuss the issue. However, "Secretariat" is currently available to the company's subscribers.

The wholesale price Disney charges Netflix and Redbox for DVDs would drop to $10.79 at 28 days after they go on sale, according to one person with knowledge of the matter. That's the same amount of time that Fox, Universal and Warner make Redbox and Netflix wait to offer their movies. Sony imposes the four-week delay on Netflix only for movies that gross more than $50 million at the domestic box office. Paramount offers its movies to Redbox and Netflix the same day they go on sale.

The studios that have imposed delays have contended that $1-per-night rentals from Redbox kiosks or Netflix subscriptions devalue their content and undermine more-profitable disc sales and video-on-demand rentals.

There has been pressure on Disney to follow their lead. Outspoken media analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG recently recommended that the media giant do just that, saying it would be "an important step in diminishing the negative impact Redbox is having on the movie industry."

A Disney spokesman declined to comment. However, the company will probably discuss its home-entertainment strategy at an investor conference in Anaheim on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter said. 

-- Dawn C. Chmielewski and Ben Fritz

Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts summed it up succinctly Wednesday morning:  "Now it's really all about execution."

The Philadelphia cable company swallowed NBC Universal just three weeks ago, culminating years of ambition to become a world-class entertainment company, and a lengthy 13-month review process to secure the federal government's approval.  Now Comcast has it all: a healthy television distribution business, a growing high-speed Internet service and a collection of entertainment assets that includes the NBC broadcast network, Universal Pictures film studio, Universal theme parks, Spanish-language television Telemundo, sports networks including the Golf Channel, and some of the most profitable cable television channels on the planet, including USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC.

And, in the final quarter of 2010 -- its final period before adding NBC Universal to its mix, Comcast surpassed analysts' estimates for its earnings.  The company's operating income grew rose 10.8% for the quarter. Revenue was up 7.2% to $9.72 billion.

Comcast also raised it annual dividend by 19% -- to the delight of investors.  On Wall Street, investors bid higher for the company's shares.

"We're beginning 2011 in a wonderful position," Roberts said.

Now the work begins. Despite all of the talk about the importance of fixing the ailing NBC broadcast network or the glamour of entering the movie business, Roberts said the first priority of his lieutenant, NBC Universal Chief Executive Steve Burke, would be "to maintain the strong momentum and focus of the cable channels."  

Cable channels, after all, provide 80% of the operating profit of NBC Universal.

And Comcast is, by definition, a cable company.

Burke indicated that he has his work cut out when it comes to the broadcast business. "There is big opportunity in the next few years for NBC." Perhaps in "three, four, five years," he said.  While NBC News is strong, NBC's prime-time lineup is weak.  Sports properties lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Burke cautioned that there won't be any rapid turnarounds.  "I don't think that we are going to see anything for awhile," he said.  

He also sprinkled a little cold water on some people's expectations that NBC would bid aggressively to maintain its rights to broadcast the Olympics.  Negotiations for the TV rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics are expected to begin in a few months, and NBC has long outdistanced its rivals.  But last time around, in 2010, NBC lost more than $220 million on its broadcast of the Vancouver Olympics.  Comcast doesn't appear to be as willing to bid for the games at any cost.

"We are here to make money," Burke said.  "We're here to be disciplined.  Our job is to increase value over the long term."

-- Meg James

After the coffee. Before I analyze my bizarre dreams.

The Skinny: Apple wants a big cut from content providers, and that's not playing well with media companies. Was Chris Nolan snubbed by Oscar voters?

There's an app for that. Apple unveiled its subscription service for content providers and said it would take a 30% cut of any app for a newspaper, magazine or video. In other words, if you were to subcribe to a newspaper through an app, only 70% of the subscription fees would make it back to the paper. Seems steep. More on that from the Wall Street Journal. As for Hollywood, well, if you are traveling abroad to a world without iTunes, Warner Bros. is there for you. The movie studio has created an app for Apple devices to download director Christopher Nolan's "Inception" and "The Dark Knight." The app can be used in 23 countries, and the movies cost from $10 to $12. More on how it works from the Los Angeles Times. 

Denied! Lots of folks are wondering why Nolan's "Inception" was overlooked for all the big Oscar categories. Daily Beast writer Chris Lee (formerly of the Los Angeles Times) looks at why the academy snubbed him. There has been some talk that Warner Bros., which made the movie, could have been more aggressive in its campaign efforts.

How to make a flop. Mitch Hurwitz, creator of the critical favorite "Arrested Development" and the not-so-critical favorite "Running Wilde" has written the rules for how to make sure your TV show bombs. It reminds me of what Pete Townshend cracked when asked how to succeed. "If you steer clear of quality, you're alright." Hurwitz's memo courtesy of the Guardian.

Comcast finishes strong. Cable giant Comcast Corp., the nation's biggest cable and broadband distributor, issued its fourth-quarter results early Wednesday morning and reported a 6.6% gain in net income to $1.02 billion. The company also said it would buy back $2.1 billion of its shares this year. Comcast added almost 700,000 subscribers and lost 135,000. Next report will be interesting because it will include two months of results for NBC Universal, which the company acquired a controlling stake in last month. Details from Bloomberg.

Billy Ray's blues. Sometimes, being an aging country-music star and father to a hugely successful performer isn't all it's cracked up to be. Billy Ray Cyrus sits down with GQ to talk about the dark side of being Miley's dad.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: The Lakers big cable move is still the talk of the town. Veteran entertainment executives Jeff Sagansky and Harry Sloan are on the hunt for media companies.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. Years from now you'll be glad you did. twitter.com/JBFlint

Warner Bros. has found a way to jumpstart online movie sales on Apple devices in 23 countries that don't offer them through iTunes: Turn the film into an app.

The studio on Wednesday is launching "app editions" of its Christopher Nolan-directed pictures "Inception" and "The Dark Knight." Consumers with an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch can at no charge download the app, which includes the first five minutes of the movie along with tie-in games, trivia, and other material. Users will then be able to access the full movie within the app for the standard iTunes price, $9.99 for "Dark Knight" and $11.99 for "Inception" in the U.S.

It's the first time that movies have been available to download on Apple's popular mobile devices outside of its iTunes Stores.

The new initiative by Warner is significant because it allows the studio to offer movies in a number of markets without waiting for Apple to launch a full digital movie store. Of the 35 countries where it will be available, 23 don't have iTunes movie downloads, including such fast-growing theatrical markets as China and Russia, along with a number of European countries including Greece, Hungary, Portugal and the Czech Republic.

"We think this is an innovative way to build a global footprint on devices that are optimized for video viewing," said Thomas Gewecke, president of digital distribution for Warner Bros.

Overseas prices range from as little as $7.99 for "The Dark Knight" in some European countries to $23.99 for "Inception" in New Zealand. In China and Russia, "Inception" costs $18.99.

That high cost is likely to have little impact on rampant piracy in the countries but could appeal to the affluent technophiles who own the Apple devices.

Apple is the biggest seller of online movies for the Hollywood studios, but the "download-to-own" business has not been growing as fast as many in the entertainment industry would like, particularly given the declines in DVD sales.

Gewecke said he was hopeful that beyond jumpstarting movie sales in new markets, the "app editions" would appeal to fans of "Inception" and "Dark Knight" because they provide additional content and can be updated.

He said the studio is already working on app editions for other films that will launch this year.

— Ben Fritz

Photo: "Inception" app edition. Credit: Warner Bros.

Rhapsody, a subscription music service, said today it was mulling over a possible "legal response" to an announcement by Apple Inc. to charge a 30% fee on subscriptions purchased via applications sold on its iTunes platform.

The new policy, announced today, would affect not just music-subscription businesses such as Rhapsody but also news sites such as News Corp.'s the Daily and other providers of content or entertainment services that charge a recurring monthly fee.

Rhapsody, which charges $10 a month for unlimited access to a library of 10 million songs, already pays about 60% of its revenue to license the music from record labels and publishers, said Ted Cohen, a music industry analyst with TAG Strategic in Hollywood.

"If you take away 30% of that, it leaves them with 10% to pay for the bandwidth, employees, marketing, everything," Cohen said. "Apple is taking a business that's already operating on thin margins and driving it deep into the red. It's wrong."

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, in a statement, explained the new fee this way: "Our philosophy is simple. When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30% share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100% and Apple earns nothing."

But that's not how Rhapsody sees it. Jon Irwin, president of the Seattle-based music company, fired back with this statement: "Our philosophy is simple too. An Apple-imposed arrangement that requires us to pay 30% of our revenue to Apple, in addition to content fees that we pay to the music labels, publishers and artists, is economically untenable. The bottom line is we would not be able to offer our service through the iTunes store if subjected to Apple’s 30% monthly fee versus a typical 2.5% credit card fee."

Irwin said Rhapsody would continue to reach out to subscribers on other smart phones, including Google's Android phones, as well as its website.

"In the meantime, we will be collaborating with our market peers in determining an appropriate legal and business response to this latest development," Irwin said.

-- Alex Pham

A three-judge panel on Tuesday rejected Activision Blizzard Inc.'s motion to throw out a lawsuit filed in 2009 by the rock band No Doubt, dealing a minor blow to the Santa Monica video game giant.

The ruling by the federal district court of appeals paves the way for No Doubt to proceed with its suit, which alleged Activision breached its contract with the group when it allowed players of Activision's video game Band Hero to use band members' avatars to perform songs they did not write.

The band, in its lawsuit, said the game's feature "transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act."

Activision Blizzard filed a motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, saying it had the right of creative expression. The motion was rejected in April by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kenji Machida. The appellate court Tuesday agreed with Machida, saying No Doubt can pursue its case against Activision.

While the decision is probably a mere prelude to further legal maneuvers by both sides, the Guitar Hero video game series itself, which had once generated more than $1 billion in revenue for Activision, was recently declared dead. Activision last week said it would shut down its Guitar Hero business, lay off 500 workers and cease development of a Guitar Hero title that was slated for release this year.

-- Alex Pham

Photo: No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Justin Bieber may have won over a bevy of teen girls this weekend, but when it came to the most important date night of the year, audiences fell for Adam Sandler.

The comedian's romantic comedy "Just Go With It" brought in $6 million at the box office on Valentine's Day, down only 22% from its Sunday tally of $7.8 million, according to estimates from distributor Sony Pictures.

That was far more than any of the other movies that opened Friday grossed on Monday. The animated family film "Gnomeo & Juliet" took in $2.7 million, while Bieber's "Never Say Never" collected $1.8 million.

"Just Go With It" just slightly surpassed "Never Say Never" over the wekend, opening to $30.5 million compared to $29.5 million for the Bieber picture. "Gnomeo" debuted to $25.4 million.

The last time Valentine's Day fell on a Monday was 2005, when Sony's Will Smith romantic comedy "Hitch" performed even better, taking in $7.5 million after its $43.1-million-opening weekend.

— Amy Kaufman

Photo: Adam Sandler stars in "Just Go With It" with Bailee Madison and Griffin Gluck. Credit: Sony.