Following the sale of YouTube network AwesomenessTV to DreamWorks for $33 million, Barclays' analyst Ryan Ripp said, "…it is clear that YouTube has emerged as a new type of major video content distribution platform, and a major business that adds value for both Google and content creators." Google's ( GOOG) video platform accounted for over 34% of total online US video views, according to last week's earnings report. In new research, Ripp estimated YouTube generates $3.6B and $4.3B for GOOG with operating margins as high as 35%.

With large cap quarterly earnings mostly behind us, Michael Nathanson attempted to make sense of it all. The Nomura media analyst identified two clear trends: 1) strong affiliate fee growth from cable networks and retransmission fees and 2) national TV advertising stalling as cable is beating broadcast pretty soundly. Stock prices growth may be "meteoric" but Nathanson admits earnings revisions are "uninspiring", with only two stocks -- Viacom ( VIAB) and Disney (DIS) — seeing positive 2014 estimate changes. "Investors should concentrate on companies that have mass, premium and nonreplicable live content like our Buy rated News Corp and Disney," the analyst wrote in a research note.

BIA/Kelsey released a report on the impact of online and political ads on local TV stations in 2012. According to the report, the industry generated $20.8 billion in revenues in 2012, +13.2% over 2011 mainly from over-the-air advertising and online properties. BIA/Kelsey also computed that there were 97 stations sold last year for a combined $1.9 billion, nearly doubling the amount in 2011. "We expect the pace to normalize this year, but continue its upward trend to pre-recession numbers, in part, due to online revenues. While stations are part of the advertising mix, they continue to prove themselves for delivering audiences through over-the-air programming and, lately, the growth of quality online video offerings that compete with other services," the report quoted Mark Fratrik, chief economist of BIA/Kelsey, addressing investor expectations for the near future.

Facebook (FB) continues to impress JP Morgan's Doug Anmuth. The social network's 1Q13 results were inline on revenues and slightly ahead on EBITDA. But more importantly for the analyst, monthly and daily user metrics continued to grow in all markets, despite growing investor concerns regarding engagement. Ad revenue growth of 43% hit expectations. Needham's Laura Martin sees FB's social graph as playing a large future role in her Buy thesis. By enabling users to connect deeper and longer, Facebook can "…This allows FB to replicate the best features of the open Internet on its closed platform". She has a $33 price target on the shares.

The media stock multiple expansion train continues to chug along, providing most of the +20% gains this year. And Nomura's Michael Nathanson thinks investors are in for another instant replay of 2012 as earnings revisions have only been in the low-single digits. In a research piece he published this week, he said if investors look back to pre-2009 levels, the runway for further upside may be running out (5-10% left to go). "The recent massive rise in valuation is happening at a time when live TV viewing is eroding at a rapid rate," Nathanson wrote in Have You Heard The One About Media Stocks? On the back of this analysis, he cut estimates his for Disney, Discovery, and CBS, while raising those of Scripps Network.

Remember the structural decline thesis floated late last year regarding Kids 2-11 viewership ratings? Investors in Viacom ( VIAB) should, as it was the topic of a Nomura research piece last October. Analyst Michael Nathanson is back this week with an update on the enormous (and inexplicable) decline in Nick's ratings that occurred near the end of 2011 (-33%). The analyst looks at Nielsen data that shows that K2-11 viewing patterns across all channels the past 2 quarters show a stabilization of overall live viewing of −1% to −2% (compared to −5% last year) -- "in fact, better than the recent −4% decline in Nielsen's K2-11 estimates, which means that TV viewing is increasing in a per capita basis".

Old media and copyrights made the news last week when the Supreme Court ruled that books and other merchandise manufactured overseas can be imported to the U.S. without permission of copyright holders. Janney's Tony Wible published an update shortly after the ruling to say he believes "studios may not get the protection this would have provided by moving manufacturing overseas to block use of discs by cheap rental outlets". Wible also addressed the second screen as part of his Wible's Weekly newsletter to investors. Second screen initiatives are heating up but the analyst observed that business models around the second screen are still a work in progress. To get there, he called for metrics to evolve beyond just audience delivery.

Credit Suisse's Michael Senno thinks News Corp (NWSA) is humming along, "executing the media playbook" and he upgraded the stock this week to Outperform. He raised his US cable EBITDA numbers by 3% for 2014 and expects growth to head upwards to double digits 4 years out

While the sector has been hot, advertising itself is surprisingly soft. Michael Nathanson at Nomura addressed this apparent paradox in a big picture piece this week. Advertising accounts for a smaller role of revenues in many media companies (less than 20% for DIS, for example). So, what's driving stocks higher against a background of 0% aggregate ad growth in 2012? The media analyst emphasized that online advertising is taking share but is also causing CPM deflation. "In effect, the growth of display advertising, with its many structural disadvantages (massive ad unit supply, audience fragmentation, etc.) is limiting system-wide pricing growth," wrote the analyst to his clients. He likes Google (GOOG) and Facebook ( FB) and has a Buy on both stocks, as search and social media present "concentrated categories".