Media Stocks Up On Strong Holiday Sales And Hope Of European Debt Solution

Shoppers spent a record $52.4B over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, up 16% from last year, the National Retail Federation says. Add that to reports that European leaders are getting serious about resolving their debt crisis, and it’s easy to see why investors are in such a good mood today. The Dow Jones U.S. Media Index is up 2.8% at mid-day, about the same as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Among Big Media stocks, Time Warner (+4%) leads followed by Sony (+4%), Viacom (+3.7%), Comcast (+3.7%), CBS (+3.4%), News Corp (+3.2%),and Disney (+2%). In the rest of the media universe several companies that have been pummeled in 2011 are taking a breather including Crown Media (+17.7%), Real D (+11.8%), and Netflix (+10.5%). Sinclair Broadcast Group is up 9% after it announced today that it wants to raise its borrowing capacity by $530M, possibly to buy TV stations. Madison Square Garden — which owns the NY Knicks — is up 8.7% after the NBA announced that it will salvage at least part of this year’s basketball season. The short list of companies that are down at midday includes New Frontier Media (-2.8%), Cinedigm (-2.7%) and Westwood One (-1.1%).