Yes, Stars Do Love Themselves More

It's one of the classic chicken-and-egg questions of our time: Do self-adoring attention-craving spotlight hogs naturally gravitate towards showbiz, or does showbiz make otherwise modest civilians into self-adoring attention-craving spotlight hogs?Fortunately yesterday, science has provided the answer. (More on that shortly.) Researchers S. Mark Young and Drew Pinsky (a.k.a. "Dr. Drew") of the University of Southern California claim that their study, which will be published in the Journal of Research in Personality, is the first "systematic" and "empirical" scholarly work done on this often perplexing, and more than slightly touchy, subject.And what they found was that -- yes! -- narcissistic personalities tend to seek out the entertainment industry more than any other. What's more, the celebrities with the highest scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory were the ones who -- no surprise -- have tended to become famous without any discernible artistic talent, i.e., reality television personalities. And, not that we're looking to start any wars, but the researchers did deduce that women celebrities are more narcissistic than their male counterparts.

NFL makes NBC "Must See TV" again

"Sunday Night Football" truly is the new "Monday Night Football" and pigskin fans could help lead an overall ratings revival at the Peacock Network.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- NBC finally may show some signs of life this year. That's because the athletic ability of 300-pound linemen will do for the network what a lousy "Friends" spinoff and Martha Stewart couldn't: give NBC a real hit.
NBC has a guaranteed ratings magnet on its hands this season with "Sunday Night Football." Sunday night games used to air on ESPN, but the cable sports network owned by Walt Disney (Charts) will now air Monday night games instead.
ABC, which had broadcast "Monday Night Football" since it began in 1970, will no longer air pro football.
According to data from Nielsen Media Research, "Monday Night Football" on ABC averaged 16.2 million viewers a week, making it the 10th most watched program in prime time last year.
If NBC is able to replicate that, it would instantly become the network's biggest hit. It would also be a huge improvement over last season's Sunday night lineup for NBC.
Of the three shows that the network aired from 8pm to 11pm on Sundays last year, "Crossing Jordan" and "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" averaged slightly less than 11 million viewers apiece, and "West Wing," in its final season, had a paltry audience of just 8 million.
For General Electric (Charts)-owned NBC, which finished in fourth place among 18-49 viewers last season for the second consecutive year, having football become a big hit obviously would be welcome news for the struggling network as it attempts to lure back advertisers.
"NBC has a lot going for them. The NFL is a proven ratings generator and it's the anti-TiVo (Charts). People don't tend to fast forward commercials when watching sports," said Rick Dudley, president and CEO of Octagon Group, a sports marketing firm.
But can Sunday night truly become the new Monday night?
Better games and the best broadcasters
Sure, you could argue that pigskin fans may feel burned out by the time Sunday night rolls around and that they'd rather watch something like ABC's "Desperate Housewives" or CBS' (Charts)s "Without a Trace" instead of another football game.
But there clearly is an audience for more football on Sunday nights. ESPN averaged about 8.9 million viewers a game for its Sunday night telecasts ... a respectable number considering that the cable network is available in about 83 percent of all TV households.
Availability won't be an issue for NBC since it's a broadcast network. What's more, NBC has several other developments working in its favor. One, the NBC Sunday night schedule looks great. (NBC actually kicks off the season on September 7 with a Thursday night game that pits defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the Miami Dolphins.)
This Sunday night, NBC has arguably the most anticipated regular season game of the year: the Indianapolis Colts versus the New York Giants (Go Big Blue!). That game pits the Colts' star quarterback Peyton Manning against his little brother, Giants' quarterback Eli Manning.
And later in the season, NBC will have the option of cherry-picking marquee games from Sunday afternoons and moving them to Sunday nights. That's a huge plus for NBC since it means fans won't be forced to watch games featuring a great team against a complete patsy or two mediocre teams playing each other as they did in seasons past.
ESPN often got stuck with games that may have looked intriguing on paper back when the schedules were made in the summer but turned into snoozers by the time fall rolled around.
For example, a Sunday night game last October matching up the Seattle Seahawks, who wound up going to the Super Bowl, and the Houston Texans, the league's worst team, pulled in just 5.7 million viewers. And a game featuring the Kansas City Chiefs against the Texans in November garnered an audience of only 6.8 million.
ABC often had the same problem with its "Monday Night Football" games toward the end of the season.
"One of the things that hurt 'Sunday Night Football' and 'Monday Night Football' was that there was no flexibility in the schedule. NBC won't have that problem," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of corporate research for Horizon Media, a media buying firm that does work for NBC.
It also helps that NBC snared former "Monday Night Football" broadcasters Al Michaels and John Madden away from ABC to serve as the commentators for "Sunday Night Football." Madden and Michaels may have some critics, but they are widely viewed by many as the best broadcasting team in football.
"NBC has put together the A-plus team in the booth with Madden and Michaels," said Octagon's Dudley.
Some may scoff that people don't watch games because of the broadcasters. But a case can be made that NBC will have an easier time getting fans to adapt to Sunday night being the new Monday night because of the familiarity provided by Michaels and Madden.
Weaker competition bodes well for NBC
NBC may also have an opportunity to do well since other networks' Sunday night schedules don't seem as fearsome as they did two years ago. The critical and fan fervor surrounding "Desperate Housewives" cooled considerably last year, and ratings dipped a bit. ABC also moved its monster hit "Grey's Anatomy" from Sundays to Thursdays.
Plus, football won't have to compete with "The Sopranos" either since HBO isn't going to begin airing the final eight episodes of its hit series until next March at the earliest. (HBO, like CNNMoney.com, is owned by Time Warner (Charts).)
This is not to say that "Monday Night Football" on ESPN is going to be a ratings loser. It should do well also ... just not as well as NBC's broadcasts.
Add that all up and you have a touchdown for NBC on Sunday night ... which should help the network become more competitive in the overall ratings race.
NBC could parlay big ratings on Sunday into interest for new shows that are attracting a lot of favorable buzz, such as "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "Heroes" and "30 Rock," as well as larger audiences for successful sophomore shows "The Office" and "My Name is Earl."
"Football does two things for NBC. It provides a promotional platform that it didn't have before and gives the network one less night that it has to program," said John Rash, senior vice president and director of broadcast negotiations with Campbell Mithun, a media buying firm.
"NBC should break its ratings fall this season and begin to position itself to be significantly more competitive," he added.
And if that's the case, NBC would have football to thank for finally making it Must See TV again.

Board-requested probe backs Merck on Vioxx

$21M report finds management 'acted with integrity' in the development and marketing of Vioxx.
NEW YORK -- A report commissioned by Merck & Co.'s board said Wednesday the drugmaker's top executives did not knowingly put patients at risk in developing and marketing Vioxx, the popular arthritis drug withdrawn after a study showed it increased heart risks.
The 20-month review of the drug company's conduct concluded Merck management "acted with integrity" in the development and marketing of Vioxx, according to former Manhattan federal judge John Martin, who led the probe.
The report, on which Merck (Charts) spent about $21 million, criticized certain Merck promotional activity but generally absolved top management.
"Critics contend that senior officials at Merck knowingly put patients at risk of cardiovascular events rather than jeopardize the profits that Merck generated from the sale of Vioxx," the report said. "After an exhaustive investigation, we have concluded that there is no basis for such a claim."
Martin, along with other lawyers and paralegals at the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, spent more than 53,000 hours on the 179-page report, which also included about 1,500 pages of appendixes.
They interviewed 115 people including top company executives and drew upon testimony in civil and governmental proceedings.
One securities lawyer who isn't involved in litigation involving Merck questioned the objectivity of the Merck-sponsored report.
"The conclusion of Merck's own counsel cannot possibly be surprising," said Jay Gould, partner in Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. "I don't know of any firm that wouldn't do what [Debevoise & Plimpton] did. That's our job. We're not paid to be impartial."
Merck board member William Bowen, who led the special committee reviewing the company's Vioxx conduct, said the board was "reassured" the report found company management acted responsibly.
"The main question the board wanted answered was: 'Did the senior people at Merck knowingly put people at risk in ways that they should not have done?'" Bowen said. "There is, I would submit, in the Martin report, no evidence to that effect."
The withdrawal in September 2004 of Vioxx, a $2.5 billion-a-year seller, sent Merck shares tumbling, drew investigations from U.S. authorities and prompted sharp criticism of a pharmaceutical company known for its sterling scientific reputation.
Although Merck shares have largely rebounded, the company continues to face federal probes involving Vioxx and more than 14,200 product liability cases. So far, the company and plaintiffs each have four victories.
The report found no member of Merck management tried to mislead scientists or consumers. It also said there was no support for assertions Merck propelled Vioxx to market without conducting necessary testing. And it rejected claims Merck scientists ignored signals the drug caused heart problems.
The report said it was "worth noting" that several Merck employees were taking Vioxx at the time of its withdrawal. They included its former top scientist, Edward Scolnick, and its general counsel, Kenneth Frazier, as well as the wife of former Chief Executive Raymond Gilmartin and the mother of research chief Peter Kim.
In a negative finding about the company, the report said "certain individuals" in marketing and sales "engaged in practices that were inconsistent with Merck's policies and at times proposed neutralizing critics through means that senior management viewed as unacceptable."
The report criticized some Merck interactions with academic scientists who raised questions about the company and Vioxx. Another criticism involved the use of a promotional aid by sales representatives that failed, on its own, to provide all of the available cardiovascular data on Vioxx.
Bowen said the board also would be working with the company to ensure that further scientific press releases would be clearer, following findings that some press statements involving Vioxx could have been read ambiguously.
The report "raises some questions," Bowen said. "It's up to management now to take advantage of this process."

Take that, Darth Vader!

Rofin-Sinar develops laser technology that make light sabers look like child's play. And its stock looks like a buy.
(Fortune) -- Luke Skywalker would be jealous. Rofin-Sinar, a company headquartered in Detroit and Hamburg, Germany, develops technology that make light sabers look like child's play. And while you may not have heard of Rofin, a 30-year veteran and leader of the laser industry, the company's prospects appear to be heating up and its stock looks like an attractive buy.
Indeed, the stock is up 26% this year to date compared with 8% for the Russell 2000 index, yet it's still trading at a discount to its peers such as Coherent , a Santa Clara, Calif.-based company that, among other things, makes industrial lasers used to produce flat panel displays; and Excel, based in E. Setauket, N.Y., which makes laser systems primarily for industrial and scientific applications.
"These guys are basically the celebrity chefs of lasers," says Rick Weed co-manager of the Putnam Small Cap Growth Fund, which has owned Rofin stock since 2004.
Rofin (Charts) makes lasers and laser systems that fall into three categories: macro for cutting and welding things like sheet metal and car parts; micro for fine welding and perforating small pieces in electronics and other items; and marking for literally making marks, like etching serial numbers on glass, metal or plastic. Its customers range from car makers who use its products in factories to, for example, cut plastic and metal pieces in vehicles; to hard-drive manufacturers, who use it for welding electronics; and jewelry designers who use it to cut precious stones.
The company is given top grades for its strong client relationships in North America, Asia and Europe, and its ability to develop new and useful products.
"They are excellent at controlling their process and the beam," says Weed, "so they get just the right recipe to do what [their customers] need."
That recipe has produced some high-quality earnings and strong revenue numbers. In its most recent quarter, ending in June, Rofin reported a 22% increase in revenues and a 52% increase in earnings. Most encouraging to Weed, though, is Rofin's $94 million backlog - in other words, orders that have been secured from customers, but not yet booked as revenue. The backlog is an all-time high for Rofin, signaling that demand for its products is strong.
While backlog is something companies can manipulate - orders may never materialize leaving a company long on inventory and short on sales, but Chuck Murphy, an analyst with Sidoti & Company says Rofin's management is straightforward, avoids "beating around the bush" and admits trouble when it exists.
"With this company, honesty as far as financial disclosure is not a problem," he says.
Rofin's big money comes from machine-tool-cutting and welding, automotive and semiconductor and electronics applications, which accounted for 54% of its $375 million sales last year. The remainder was spread across a wide variety of industries. For example, Rofin supplies aircraft manufacturers, as well as consumer-goods companies, universities and medical devices users.
Weed is excited about laser use in etching and cutting silicon and in welding lithium batteries and dental devices.
"It really is Star Wars cool technology," he says.
Rofin's products may sound like they are straight out of science fiction, but lasers are just another way to deploy energy, says Needham & Company laser analyst John Harmon, explaining "a drill removes molecules, a laser vaporizes them."
In other words, the market for lasers is much more down to earth than you might think, and isn't dependent on high-tech customers. Demand for them may grow among companies where traditional machine and manufacturing tools currently are used. "Lasers are a very generic tool for cutting, welding and writing," says Harmon.
Rofin can generate new business by targeting niche uses for laser technology - for example, architectural glass cutting, rather than huge applications - as in the automotive industry, says Murphy. It also helps that Rofin has a history of keeping the customers they sign on, and expanding the relationship by working with customers to find new applications for laser technology.
Since it takes about five years before companies need to replace laser equipment, "you have a big difference between the first purchase and the second," Murphy explains. "So if they can build up a relationship it makes it a whole lot easier for future sales."
Rofin has another thing going for it: cash. With about $9 in cash per share, analysts expect that Rofin will hunt for acquisitions, which could benefit the top and bottom line, protecting them against an economic slowdown. Rofin has and is expected to continue to use acquisitions to help it move into new markets and obtain new applications for its technology.
Wall Street sees little to be skeptical of, with fewer than 800,000 of the 15 million outstanding shares being sold short, which Weed says "heartens me to no end." Weed is projecting 12 percent to 15 percent earnings growth over the next year. With a PE of only 15 based on 2007 earnings compared to peers like Coherent trading at more than 18, Rofin-Sinar Technologies looks like a bright spot in the market.

Anheuser-Busch to launch Bud.TV

In an effort to find young male viewers, brewer is set to debut its own Web-based television network in February.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Web surfers, this Bud.TV is for you.
Brewer Anheuser-Busch (Charts) announced Wednesday that it will launch a Web-based video network, named Bud.TV, in February. The company says it will feature new humorous webisodes, sporting events, consumer-generated content, field news reports, celebrity interviews, music downloads and comedian vignettes.
The company said the network videos will allow users to view the content in full-screen DVD quality.
Content providers will initially include Wild West Picture Show Productions, TriggerStreet.com, LivePlanet, SEED, @radical.media, Omelet and DDB Worldwide, and the company said more providers will be announced in the future.
"We're always looking for new opportunities to connect with adult consumers on a more personal level," said a statement from company president August Busch IV. "With adults spending more time online looking for entertainment to fit their lifestyles, we believe Bud.TV will enable us to reach them in an engaging and fun way."
Anheuser-Busch is already a major advertiser on television and other traditional media, with U.S. ad spending of $606.7 million last year, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing statistics from TNS Media Intelligence. But the brewer's target audience of young male viewers has become more difficult to reach in recent years through traditional television programming.
"Traditional broadcast TV doesn't target to the male 21- to 34-year-olds; it tends to be a broader demographic and a more female draw," Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's vice president of global media and sports marketing, told the Journal. "So we are taking it upon ourselves to provide programming that hits that target base."
In 2007, Anheuser-Busch will dedicate about 10% of its U.S. ad budget to online, according to the Journal, about double the percentage it is spending this year, including online ads on third-party Web sites as well as Bud.TV.

Sony delays European PlayStation 3

Electronics maker postpones launch of video game console in region by four months, but says U.S. and Japan dates still firm.
TOKYO (Reuters) -- Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will delay the European launch of its PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console by about four months to March and cut its target for shipments this year by half.
Sony (Charts) had planned to launch the new version of its blockbuster PlayStation console in November, setting the stage for a three-way showdown with Microsoft Corp. (Charts) and Nintendo Co. Ltd. during the key holiday shopping season.
Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony's game unit and known as the "father of the PlayStation," told reporters Sony would ship 2 million PS3 units this year, half a previously forecast 4 million, but would make up the lost ground to hit a target of 6 million consoles shipped by March.
Sony said it still plans to launch the PS3 on Nov. 11 in Japan and Nov. 17 in the United States.
The game console is the widely awaited successor to the PlayStation 2, of which 100 million units have been sold since its launch in 2000.
Flagging potential problems with the PS3 rollout, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities last month cut by half its shipment forecast to 3 million of the new PlayStations in the current business year to March, citing difficulties in procuring its cutting-edge parts.
The success or failure of the PS3 will have a far-reaching impact on Sony's group earnings.
At stake is more than just pole position in the nearly $30 billion video game industry, but also dominance in next-generation DVDs and the commercial viability of the "cell" microchip co-developed by Toshiba Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. (Charts)
The PlayStation 3 comes with a Blu-ray high-definition optical disc player and is powered by the Cell microchip, dubbed a "supercomputer on a chip".
Sony holds high hopes that the PlayStation 3 will help Blu-ray technology conquer a rival format called HD DVD in becoming the standard for the next-generation DVD. HD DVD is backed by a group of companies lead by Toshiba.

Federated unveils campaign for Macy's relaunch

Operator plans for nationwide special events and community service projects to convert former May department stores.

NEW YORK -- Federated Department Stores Inc. Wednesday unveiled plans for the first national advertising and marketing campaign for the Macy's department store chain.
Federated (down $0.21 to $39.03, Charts) shares fell 1 percent during morning trade in New York.
The plan, which Federated called the largest nationwide campaign in its history, comes as the department store operator gets ready to convert more than 400 former May Department Stores to the Macy's nameplate on Sept. 9.
Federated did not disclose the budget for the campaign, which will include national broadcast and cable television, local newspapers, local and national magazines, radio spots, outdoor boards and online advertising that will center on a new spin to its theme, "Way To Shop."
"Expanding Macy's presence nationwide presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to introduce our brand to new shoppers," said Anne MacDonald, chief marketing officer, in a statement.
Federated is integrating its $11 billion purchase of May Department Stores and is changing hundreds of former May locations into Macy's stores. The conversion will create a nationwide chain of roughly 800 Macy's stores.
While having a nationwide presence gives Macy's more advertising power and sway with its vendors, analysts are waiting to see how well Macy's can attract former May shoppers or bring in new customers.
"When you've got a customer that's been shopping [at a May store] for years and years, you can't change them overnight," said Stacy Turnof, a retail analyst with Merrill Lynch.
Turnof, who said the conversion of former May stores into Macy's is going well, said she will be watching to see how Federated's third-quarter sales shape up and whether Federated is able to make progress at the former May stores, where sales were lagging.
Federated said it expects fiscal year sales to be more than $27 billion, compared with the current Wall Street average target of $27.2 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Federated said the advertising campaign will be supported by hundreds of special events, such as an electronic gift card giveaway at all 800-plus Macy's stores on Sept. 9 and a nationwide program of community service projects.
It also said Macy's advertising through the fall will feature new marketing campaigns.