Sony's Seinfeld moment
Can a new Web-only show starring Jerry Seinfeld save the struggling electronics company?
The series won't be on TV. Instead, the show will be a Web series hosted by Crackle, Sony's (SNE) digital network. The show's website has a short, wordless clip showing Seinfeld driving in a small convertible with the comedian Ricky Gervais. There's another promotional video here.
As far as I can tell, the series features Seinfeld driving other comedians around in a bunch of neat vintage cars that may be from his own collection. They'll presumably get coffee. Will the show highlight Starbucks (SBUX) or Dunkin' Brands (DNKN)? The guests include Alec Baldwin and two well-known "Seinfeld" names: Michael Richards and Larry David.
The show, which debuts July 19, will provide a much-needed boost for struggling Sony and its Crackle network. Sony shares are at historic lows, The Wall Street Journal reports, falling more than 80% in the past five years. In the year ending in March, Sony reported the worst loss in its history, plunging $5.7 billion into the red.
Sony's film business is a rare bright spot on the company's books. The company has seen strong results from the recent release of "The Amazing Spider-Man." Some of Sony's movies and TV shows are streaming free on Crackle.com. The new Seinfeld show could help bring new viewers to the site.
Seinfeld's long-running show, by the way, recently made it onto MSN Entertainment's list of "worst TV finales ever." You can see the rest of the list in the following video.
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