Word: profitable
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...doubters. While it's unlikely that a military commander would see any benefit in launching one, there are other possibilities. A rogue general might try some nuclear blackmail for a big payoff. Or a nuclear unit, unpaid for months, might decide to quietly sell off something for a profit. It wouldn't have to be one of the closely guarded strategic weapons either. There are thousands of small ones and tons of fissile material lying around. Such nightmares alone would encourage Clinton and the West to stay engaged. But the Russians are the only people who can repair Russia...
Traditional TV networks have not made a lot of economic sense for years: most of the money generated has a way of going elsewhere. According to Broadcasting & Cable magazine, NBC was the only network among the Big Four to turn a sizable profit last year--$475 million, on revenues of $3.8 billion. CBS lost money; Fox did too after discounting special accounting benefits; ABC turned a small profit. This year they'll do worse...
Program suppliers, on the other hand, reap most of the lucrative back-end revenue from selling syndicated reruns of hit network shows (the nets were forbidden by FCC rules to share in that pool until recently). And local stations have much higher profit margins because they can benefit from network hits, in the form of increased ad revenue, without having to share in the costs; the networks instead pay the stations "compensation" as an inducement to carry their programming. This has put the networks in a squeeze, as license fees for hit shows and major sports events have soared...
...newest nets are focused on owning programming and stations, where the profits are. "This year the six networks are probably going to do $14 billion worth of revenue combined and make no profit," asserts Jeff Sagansky, the former chief of CBS Entertainment who is Pax TV's president and CEO. "The local stations, however, will do about $23 billion in national spot and local ads and make anywhere between 35% and 40% in margins on that...
...companies that sell beepers have been going through a rough spell, according to the Wall Street Journal. Service is getting too cheap, and profit margins are shrinking. Worse, who needs a beeper when most new cell phones come with a built-in pager? My phone, which is by no means extraordinary, even allows people to send me text messages or e-mail. The two-way pager--or enhanced pager--is supposed to save the messaging industry because it turns the once proud but dumb beeper into something that talks back...