Friday morning headlines

How Sony "screwed up": That's Sir Howard Stringer's description of the company's 2004 deal to purchase MGM, along with a group of investors. Those investors have turned out to be a big problem, since Sony only has three seats on a 13-seat MGM board and the folks in control are not happy with Sony - so much so that in May they voted to dismiss Sony Pictures Entertainment as its domestic DVD distributor. That's pretty bad. MGM's chairman also thinks the studio is more valuable as a standalone operation. The LAT's Claudia Eller provides some interesting detail on a deal that was never explained very well when it first came down.

Biotech deal: Nice to see a Monrovia start-up named Xencor getting $45 million in new capital from biotech giant MedImmune. But as a group, Socal biotech remains on the third-tier - not even in the same hemisphere as SF/Silicon Valley, San Diego and Boston. A new report heralding California's biotech industry (second-biggest employer in the state) doesn't offer geographbic breakouts, but L.A. is way behind the really big players. Perhaps it's time for city officials to abandon the "stay the course" mantra in trying to attract biotech business.

NBC follow-ups: The most compelling angle centers on the network's decision to pull expensive dramas and comedies out of the 8-9 slot and replace them with cheap game and reality shows. Former network head Fred Silverman told the WSJ that it was a good move, given that "there's more money later in the night." That's because, the thinking goes, people aren't plopping themselves in front of the TV at 8 p.m. anymore. But if that's the case, how come ABC's "Ugly Betty" is doing so well? From the Journal:

Rival networks, too, say NBC's action is less a visionary insight than a desperate measure. Nina Tassler, president of entertainment of CBS Corp.'s CBS, said at a Hollywood Radio and Television Society luncheon yesterday that NBC's problems in prime time shouldn't suggest an industry trend. She said the age-old template of a network programming 22 hours a week for its stations isn't broken. "If you put good shows in the model," says a CBS spokesman, "the model works."

NBC's feuding execs: That's how the NY Post characterizes the story behind the network's overhaul. Apparently, according to the Post, there's no love lost between soon-to-be-retiring NBC Universal Chairman Bob Wright and CEO Jeff Zucker, who has been the obvious candidate to replace Wright. Here's a juicy snippet about Zucker going directly to Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE, which owns NBC Universal. Again, consider the source:

The acrimony between Wright and Zucker began late last year when Universal Studios lost out to Paramount Pictures on a deal to buy DreamWorks. A key reason for the loss was because GE refused to extend enough money for the deal until NBC Universal showed some operating progress, particularly at the television network. According to a source, it was around that time that Zucker and NBC Universal Television Networks Group President Randy Falco went behind Wright's back and had a closed door meeting with Immelt during which they laid the blame for the unit's poor performance at the 63-year-old Wright's feet. "They said Bob was the problem, that he wasn't organized and they couldn't get anything done with him," this source said.

Hollywood listing: Actually, it's in Bel-Air - Nicholas Cage is putting up for sale his 11,500-square-foot house. Asking price is $35 million, which is five times what he paid for it eight years ago. As noted in the WSJ Private Properties column, it's a 1940 Tudor-style brick mansion, whose previous owners include Dean Martin and Tom Jones. Your neighbors would be Jennifer Lopez, Clint Eastwood and Nancy Reagan. Cage bought a waterfront home in Newport Beach for $25 million.

Dog bites man: Otherwise known as another drop in gas prices. The Auto Club is calling the ninth straight week of declines "unprecedented." The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $2.53, which is 6.5 cents lower than last week, 36 cents lower than last month, and 37 cents lower than last year.

Rodeo Promenade: It's a good bet that the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce will help determine whether the city goes along with a proposal to turn the 200 block of Rodeo Drive into a pedestrian zone. The influential chamber has yet to take a position. In 2005, Rodeo retailers generated $350 million in sales, so there's a lot at stake.

Note: Web sites at the Daily News, Press-Telegram and Pasadena Star-News are all down this morning.