The Wall Street Journal-20080117-In Brief
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In Brief
Au Bon Pain Agrees
To Be Acquired
Fast-casual restaurant chain Au Bon Pain agreed to be acquired by private-equity company LNK Partners in a recapitalization transaction. LNK and Au Bon Pain management will acquire a majority ownership interest in the Boston-based company. LNK and its affiliates will invest more than $100 million of equity. Foodservice company Compass Group PLC, which owned the company from 2000 to 2005, will remain an equity and strategic partner. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. Au Bon Pain operates 226 bakery cafes systemwide, including company owned locations and franchise cafes in the U.S. and internationally.
Ad Revenue Tied
To Streams Rises
Advertising from streaming video and audio totaled about $1.37 billion last year, up 38% from 2006, according to a new report. AccuStream iMedia Research estimated that there were about 2.1 billion to 2.7 billion views of streaming or progressive-download content a month at ad-supported or free content areas on the Web in 2007, excluding user-generated videos. Ads shown before streamed television shows are expected to "grow substantially over the next few years," the research firm said. For the year, pre-roll ads generated about $420 million, with $360 million of that figure placed against short- form content.
'American Idol'
Takes Top Spot
Fox's "American Idol" returned as the nation's most popular TV series but with four million fewer viewers than in the 2007 season premiere. Tuesday's debut was seen by an estimated 33.2 million viewers, down 11% from the 37.4 million who watched the first show, according to preliminary ratings by Nielsen Media Research. That still ranks as the most-watched show of the TV season, excluding sports. The previous high was the 25.4 million who saw the season premiere of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on CBS in the fall. There was a very slight decline in viewership last season, compared with 2006.
-- Associated Press
