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LOS ANGELES, Feb 12 (TheWrap.com) - Lionsgate's most recent quarter was hardly cause for celebration -- revenue fell 23 percent at the company -- but its digital and video-on-demand revenue was certainly impressive.

Digital and on demand revenue jumped 80 percent to $62.4 million during its third fiscal quarter. Theatrical brought in only $8.4 million during the period.

Licensing deals for the studio's television programming, particularly the licensing of the first five seasons of "Weeds" to digital platforms, kept the money flowing over the three-month period. Vancouver-based Lionsgate has licensing deals with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.

"We've created a whole new revenue stream for serialized shows," Lionsgate co-chairman and chief executive officer Jon Feltheimer told analysts on Friday.

Overall revenue dropped to $323 million during a period in which the studio released no new films. There was a decrease of nearly $100 million from the same quarter last year. Lionsgate also announced losses of $1.7 million.

"The Hunger Games," its hotly anticipated adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel, cannot come soon enough for the studio. Box-office prognosticators are predicting big things for the movie, but in the short term Lionsgate can comfort itself with having adroitly manipulated emerging home entertainment platforms.

In recent quarters, digital revenue and video-on-demand have actually been more consistent performers than theatrical releases. Revenue from Lionsgate's digital business increased 123 percent in the previous quarter to a record $65 million. Theatrical revenue was $22.3 million during the period, with "Abduction" and "Conan" both failing to hit it big.

In October, Lionsgate released "Margin Call" on video-on-demand at the same time the well-reviewed Wall Street drama debuted in theaters. The Roadside Attractions movie has grossed over $5 million at the domestic box office -- a figure the studio said it expected to match on demand.

It reportedly plans a similar release strategy with its recent Sundance acquisition "Arbitrage," a hedge-fund drama starring Richard Gere.

Here is the original post:
Lionsgate reaps big money from digital distribution of shows

Fees may be a fact of life but that doesn’t mean you have to simply accept them. Fees can easily be overlooked when it’s just a few dollars, but even small fees can really bust your budget.

Here are a few fees that can be avoided:

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1. Gym sign-up fees

Fitness centres are known for pushing this fee on new customers. Initiation fees can run up to $129 or more and are pure profit for the fitness centre. The fitness market is extremely competitive, so shop around for a gym that will waive the sign-up fee.

            —Your own worst investing mistakes
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2. Mortgage life insurance

If you own a home, chances are you were offered mortgage life insurance. This insurance is not required and must not be a prerequisite for qualifying for a mortgage.

Term life insurance is much cheaper and offers greater protection than mortgage life insurance offered by your bank. Mortgage insurance is the one financial product which declines in value as you continue to pay. [More: Why you shouldn’t buy mortgage insurance]

3. Give up your landline

About 2 million Canadian households no longer have a landline, opting for wireless service.

There are some risks — 911 emergency services have a harder time identifying your location, monitored alarms and other services require either a landline or added-cost wireless technology, and during bad weather, call volumes can increase exponentially causing disruptions to cell phone service.

But if the phone is mainly used to receive telemarketing calls at dinner time, consider dropping your landline service to reduce household expenses.

Skype, Google Voice, and Voice Over IP services can often drop phone service costs down to just a few dollars a month.

4. Cellphone roaming fees

Talk to your mobile carrier about a pre-paid long-distance/roaming package before travelling to the U.S. or elsewhere.

Paying a bit up front could save you hundreds of dollars, and they usually last for 30 days so if you don’t use them on a first trip you have them for the remainder of the month. But beware - data and text roaming may not be covered, and there are other pitfalls to avoid.

5. Cellphone cancellation fees

Cancelling a cell phone contract or a cable package before the end of the contract (or “service agreement”) can bring fees of several hundred dollars.

Bell and Rogers both charge up to $400 to cancel a cell phone contract early — plus additional fees if you have a data plan. Be aware of the fine print in your service agreement and choose your time to change contracts wisely, or don’t sign a contract in the first place.

6. Annual credit card fees

Platinum and gold reward cards can carry annual fees of $75 to $120 for features you don’t use, unless you are a high spender or business user.

They offer faster accumulation of reward points like Air Miles or Aeroplan, but if it takes you more than two years to earn enough to fly, you’ve already paid a hefty amount of your reward in fees.

There are no-fee credit cards that offer rewards. They include MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard (3 per cent cash back on groceries and gas, 1 per cent cash back on everything else), or the President’s Choice Financial MasterCard (points toward groceries).

Don’t carry around extra credit cards. You can be hit with fees for forgetting to make a monthly payment on a card you rarely use. [More: Choosing the best reward credit card]

7. Prepaid credit cards

Visa, MasterCard and American Express offer prepaid gift cards that can be used just like credit cards at merchants across the country. Unlike regular gift cards, prepaid credit cards come with a host of unnecessary fees.

There’s a $3.95 fee just for purchasing an RBC Visa gift card. After six months, a $1.50 fee will be charged monthly until the balance reaches zero.

Stick to buying regular store gift cards that come without the fees and expiry dates. [More: Are pre-paid credit cards good for students]

8. Banking fees and ATM fees

Banks and credit unions usually offer accounts that waive monthly fees if you maintain a minimum monthly balance. Online banks like ING Direct and PC Financial offer no-fee chequing accounts and don’t require a minimum balance.

Avoid non-bank cash machines in convenience stores, bars and plazas. You are charged $1.50 to $2.50 at the machine and often another levy by your own bank for a total of up to $4.50 a transaction.

Plan ahead, use a smart-phone app to locate your bank’s own closest machine or be aware of other locations.

CIBC customers, for example, can use President’s Choice machines and ATMs in most Mac’s Milk outlets without fees. Credit unions have their own extensive shared ATM network. [More: How to fight your bank and win]

9. Airline fees

Pack carefully — Air Canada and WestJet charge $20 for checking a 2nd bag, and bags that exceed the maximum weight or size can cost you an additional $50. And book your tickets online to avoid a telephone booking charge. [More: Correcting credit scores takes tons of work]

10. Coin-counting fees

Rolling loose change is a chore. Many people use coin-counting kiosks, found in grocery stores and malls, which quickly convert your loose change into paper currency. This convenience comes at a steep price, however, with companies like Coinstar charging a hefty 11.9 per cent processing fee.

Skip this fee and roll your change at home. You can buy coin wrappers at a discount store, or buy a small coin-counting machine for home use.

If you insist on hauling your loose change out of the house, most banks offer free coin counting to their customers. Bank of Montreal Coin Counters are free to use for both BMO and non-BMO customers.

11. Probate fees

These are charged by provincial governments to prove that a will and executor have been certified by a court, which can help avoid potential disagreements in dealing with an estate.

These fees (really taxes) vary by province and with the size of the estate — in Ontario, the fee on a $500,000 estate amounts to $7,000. But there are ways to reduce the amount of probate fees paid, with some planning. [More: How does probate work?]

12. Credit report

Under Ontario law, you are allowed to check your credit report to see what information financial institutions are sharing about your credit history.

It’s a good idea to make sure the information is correct before you apply for a loan or mortgage. But as Moneyville columnist Ellen Roseman has pointed out, the consumer reporting agencies want you to pay $15, despite the fact it’s your right to get it for free once every 12 months.

Read more from the original source:
12 annoying fees Canadians should avoid

Joe Johnson and Luol Deng (Getty Images)

Can we start off by reintroducing ourselves to the idea of how ridiculous this is? The NBA is hosting an All-Star game in the midst of a 66-game season, with the starters picked after just one month of play and the reserves selected after most teams had played about a third of their season. With every bit of that third being used to get into the sort of shape that the typical month-long training camp and exhibition season only helps to nearly take care of.

Then, the league mandates that coaches select a center, two forwards, two guards and two wild cards. Apparently the "wild cards" must be eligible NBA players, so it's not as if coaches could select a demolitions expert or wacky neighbor. This is silly in itself, because sometimes the centers or guards or even forwards aren't great. So, to force positional categorization in an exhibition game like this … OK, we'll stop.

We are the judging types, though. So click the jump for our take on who the coaches got it right with, and what they fell short on. Our take on the West can be found here.

Eastern Conference

Chris Bosh, Miami Heat

Bosh, really, should be starting this game. It does seem a bit odd the Heat would have three deserved All-Star starters (with Dwyane Wade, Bosh and LeBron James) and only the East's second-best record, but this is what happens when you run a top-heavy outfit. Free from some of the criticism that dogged him last season, Bosh has actually dipped a bit in the rebounding department (per-game and percentage-wise), but his 19-point and eight-rebound averages (with 51 percent shooting) make him the best big forward in the East right now.

Luol Deng, Chicago Bulls

This is a tough one, and I'm pretty sure you know where I'm heading with this.

Luol Deng might be my favorite person in the NBA. That's not throwaway praise, as I dismiss his credibility as an NBA All-Star. Also, in terms of pure aesthetics? I might not have a player I enjoy watching more. He does everything. Absolutely everything. Defends like mad, holds his team together regardless of the four on the court with him, plays through injury, plays through pain, plays and plays and plays.

Topping all those intangibles is the fact that even though it often ranks as an intangible, defense is half the game and Luol is an all-league defender in ways that don't show up in typical box scores. His Chicago Bulls have held up in his absence, and that easy-ish schedule has helped, but he means the world to them. There's a reason for all this fawning.

I don't think he's been amongst the 12 best players in the Eastern Conference this season, even though defense counts for a full 50 percent of how we should be judging things. I don't think he's far off, but I don't think he's been better than Tyson Chandler, perhaps Rajon Rondo, or even at times Luol's polar opposite in Orlando's Ryan Anderson. Toss in the fact that he's missed a quarter of Chicago's games, and this makes his inclusion a dodgy one in my eyes.

Nasty bits, over.

Luol Deng is an All-Star. He contributes in enough ways to make his inclusion a deserved one. At Deng's best (and when he's not tired and has legs to shoot with), his offensive gifts make him a borderline All-Star and his defensive acumen puts him over the top. The idea of rewarding players for being part of a great team (each of Chicago's players, every damn one of them, have a Player Efficiency Rating in double figures) with a great record with All-Star berths is a silly one. You shouldn't be handed a certain amount of All-Star berths for every 100 percentage points you are over .600, but I'm fully on board with the idea that Luol Deng, at his absolute best, does enough on either side of the ball to have earned this selection.

Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers

Hibbert, even to pivot play freaks like us, is not the most thrilling watch in the NBA. He does a lot of stuff correctly, he comes and goes as a game-changing passer and he holds his own on either end while limiting the foul trouble that severely plagued his first few years in the NBA. I wouldn't have taken him over Tyson Chandler, who has just about completely reformed the New York Knicks defensively. Per-minute? Hibbert has played quite well in the middle this year, but he still only churns out 30 minutes a contest. And he needs the rest at times, if you know what I mean.

Don't sleep on the guy as an All-Star game factor, though. Yes, these exhibitions are lob-fests, out of tune with Hibbert's at-times plodding play, but we're just eight years removed from another only-picked-because-we-had-to-pick-a-center choice in Jamaal Magliore dropping 19 points and eight rebounds in the 2004 All-Star Game mainly by just hanging around the paint while everyone else tried to connect on 3-pointers and alley-oop dunks.

Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers

Frankly, 'Dre hasn't deserved an All-Star berth thus far in his career. He's been close more than a few times, essentially a coin flip guy that fell short in most seasons save for 2010-11, but I'm more than OK with leaving him off the roster until now.

Until about Jan. 9 or so, actually. Because Iguodala has been absolutely brilliant on both sides of the ball this season for a surprise Philadelphia team that is on pace to set all sorts of records defensively. If the coaches selected Iguodala because he's the most famous player on what has turned into a great team, that's a shame, because he's more than earned this selection regardless of Philly's sterling record.

And he's going to be great -- GREAT -- in this game.

Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

Johnson, to me, is a dodgy pick only in relation to selecting him over teammate Josh Smith. Smith might turn coaches off with his shot selection at times, but it's a pity that (deserved) reputation covers up the other 90 percent of the game that he plays at an All-Star level on both sides. Choosing Joe (and, to a greater extent, Luol Deng) over Smith is an oversight.

Joe, as usual, is right there. He's scoring 18 points per game on a pretty good team, and that's often enough. It isn't the worst oversight, but the combination of factors that happens to include a more-deserving teammate makes this a tough one. And Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, Ryan Anderson and even Greg Monroe should raise a hackle or two as well.

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

Rajon Rondo has missed eight of his team's games, and Paul Pierce has cobbled together a terrific all-around season in spite of a tough start and heel issue that you know hasn't gone away. I understand that teammates should be judged against each other with these seven spots to fill, but it does make for a tidy column point.

We've spent quite a bit of time discussing Pierce's career and impressive season this week, but it bears repeating this guy continues to find new ways of adding to his overall game. Pierce probably doesn't have many 40-point games left in him, but he's also going to slide over defensively, find someone with the perfect pass and start the break with the needed leak-out lob.

He might have an All-Star game MVP left in him.

Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets

Struggling with a terrible Nets team, Wil
liams has actually played down to their level at times this season. But he's also dribbled around the perimeter, into the paint and back out looking for anyone that remotely resembles not just an NBA starter, but a rotation-worthy teammate. And, by and large save for fleeting moments from Kris Humphries, reserve Jordan Farmar and MarShon Brooks (on offense, at least) they just aren't there.

Williams has forged ahead, though. He's a sound pick over Rajon Rondo even if Rondo had played in more games, and he's on par with Brandon Jennings once you factor in Jennings' marvelous defense. Williams, as a former All-Star, clearly won this coin flip over the much-improved Bucks guard. We'll just have to see who pulls out ahead the next time Milwaukee and New Jersey play.

Or, you'll have to see who wins that one. Because there's no way we're sitting through a Milwaukee-New Jersey game.

More sports news from the Yahoo! Sports Minute:

Read more:
Judging the choices for the Eastern Conference All-Star team reserves

WHEN Ducky the Duck set off a metal detector her owners knew she was in trouble.

The four-year-old mallard had been suffering from a mystery illness and was struggling to walk and eat.

Duck swallowed an american penny Robin Creighton with X Ray

shock: Jack Bussey with Ducky

So when the domesticated duck 'beeped' after being passed under a hand-held metal detector, Kelly Howard and partner Jack Bussey rushed her to the Millennium Veterinary Practice in Braintree.

Cue emergency x-rays, pioneering gizzard surgery and the removal of a one-cent coin – complete with the engraved picture of former US president Abraham Lincoln.

Vet Robin Creighton, 38, said: "I have never done anything like it or even heard of anything like it.

"I did a bit of research in a few anatomy books and just dived in."

The operation took over an hour and required an assistant vet to ventilate Ducky. Robin was amazed to find that the pet had eaten a US coin.

"The duck was having difficulty walking and was anorexic because of zinc poisoning from the coin. Birds don't have teeth so usually they eat stones to help them digest. I must admit I was pretty surprised to find an American penny inside her," Robin said.

But even more surprising was that Kelly and Jack had not visited the States for over a year.

Kelly, 28, said: "We were really worried because Ducky hadn't eaten for two days before Christmas – not even her favourite, cucumber. My partner had a hand-held metal detector and it went off near her stomach.

"We took her to another vet and they said it must be a stuck egg and it would get better.

"I was so terrified for Ducky." But after taking her to Robin for a second opinion, an emergency operation to remove the coin from her pet's gizzard was ordered and Ducky was given a general anaesthetic.

"He just sprang into action," said businesswoman Kelly. "I know he had never dealt with a situation like this before but he was fantastic.

"Every step of the way he was amazing and I can't thank him enough."

Robin, a vet for 16 years, said: "It was tricky. The gizzard is a very muscular area so it's very difficult to get into and to sew up.

"I was pretty relieved when it was all done and dusted."

Ducky's owners had adopted her after Kelly's cousin, 20-year-old Jack Heeney, had rescued her from drowning in a park as a duckling. She lives in a little wooden house in their kitchen.

"She's been living inside so long – she doesn't know she's a duck," Kelly said.

Ducky spent three nights at the Millennium Veterinary Practice, on Millennium Way, Braintree, before making a full recovery at Kelly and Jack's home in Harlow. The owners kept the one-cent coin.

Read more:
Essex Chronicle published Lucky Ducky is saved by vet's quick thinking

by Department of Social Care

The Department of Social Care has published the report of the latest review of the Isle of Man National Insurance Fund (the Fund) which covered the 5-year period to 31st March 2007.  This report will be laid before Tynwald at its February sitting.

The results of the review were not surprising:  the population is living longer, with life expectancy predicted to continue to increase by over one year each decade, and consequently drawing their state pension for longer.  As a result, if no action was taken, the Fund (which is currently valued at £650million) would be exhausted by around 2050.

However this is not a cause for undue concern as Isle of Man Government, like its counterpart in the UK, is already taking action.  The Isle of Man has reciprocal arrangements with the UK on social security including the state pension and therefore, subject to Tynwald approval, will mirror the measures taken to sustain the Fund into the future.

These will raise the state pension age for women to 65 by 2018 and to 66 for both men and women by 2020.  The UK has also announced its intent for a further rise of the state pension age to 67 by 2028 followed by appropriate rises periodically thereafter.  These further rises in state pension age are expected to be in line with rises in life expectancy. 

The Chief Minister recently announced that the Island’s benefits system and pension policy will be reviewed and other options for the future sustainability of the Fund will be further considered as part of these reviews.  The Department of Social Care and the Treasury have commenced this work and will report to Council and Tynwald later this year.

The Department of Social Care and the Treasury are also taking this opportunity to make an announcement concerning pension policy.  The two Departments continually monitor legislative changes in the UK.  One recent legislative change made in the UK compels employers to offer an occupational pension to employees who are then automatically enrolled and must make contributions from earnings.  The Isle of Man does not have the same issues as the UK as more employees have access to such occupational pensions and also the state pension is more generous due to the Manx Pension Supplement.  As a result, the two Departments and Council of Ministers are satisfied the UK policy is not required in the Isle of Man. 
 
The Minister for Social Care Hon Chris Robertshaw MHK said:  “This review of the Manx National Insurance Fund has highlighted the need to review our pension policy and address the fact that people are living longer and therefore should expect to work longer to fund their retirement.  This is fair as it will enable each generation to enjoy the state pension for roughly the same number of years as is the case currently.”

The Treasury Minister Hon Eddie Teare MHK said:  “I believe the policy proposals to raise the state pension age in line with life expectancy are the right way to ensure we can all enjoy an adequate state pension that is sustainable for future generations.  Also I am content that the UK’s policy of auto-enrolment into workplace pension schemes is not right for the Island.  Together, these policies will stand us in good stead.  My Department will work closely with the Department of Social Care on what further policy changes we may need to ensure our state pensions and social security benefits continue to meet the Island’s needs on an affordable basis.”
 
- Ends -

In Other Isle of Man News

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© Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

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Read the rest here:
Report Issued on the Latest Review of the Isle of Man National Insurance Fund