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Andy Goetze, Stockphototalk
There will be a lot of noise later about the company´s evaluation, given that “for the full year 2007, Getty Images expects revenue of approximately $850 million, this implies revenue of approximately $210 million for the fourth quarter of 2007″, and a gloomy future for this industry in general.
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Alan Mekler, CEO Jupitermedia
While the Getty team might be bailing out, management at Jupiterimages remains confident that we have the best chance of the big three in the image industry to come out on top. We are the only company with the right mix in this difficult environment to hopefully create a solid business model for success. The key is understanding and executing in the subscription arena. RF Subscription models combined with strong Rights Managed and microstock offerings is the only way to survive in future years. Only Jupiterimages is doing well in all three of these segments. I will have more to say on this topic if and when Getty Images is sold.
weblogs.jupitermedia.com/meckler/archives/018500.html

Paul Melcher
According to the New York Times, Getty Images is putting itself for sale. Contrary to the nay sayers of this industry, it is no sign of a failure, but rather a clear indication that the owners have decided to cash in and leave. It seems that Mark Getty, and the board, have decided that even by replacing Johnathan Klein as CEO, they would not succeed in achieving more aggressive growth. As written here a while back, they have hit a ceiling and know it.
It would have cost them too much money and effort to go after the mid size and niche agencies that are left in the market. With a company so huge and drowned in perpetual audits, due to its public nature, it is extremely challenging to compete with small, lean, agile companies.
But, it is not because a company is for sale that one, it will find buyers, two, it will disappear. This is not the end of Getty images, so those that rejoice, or those that predict the apocalypse of this industry should tone down and listen. At $850 million a year, Getty Image has proven that this industry has a huge potential. And for a company that started with $30 million, $1,5 Billion is not that bad. In other words, I fail to see where is the failure.
Where does that leave us for the future? not very far. It is even quite possible that the new owners, if ever found, keep the same management team in place. Istockphoto will NOT raise it prices to $300 an image and the web $49 pricing will remain until everyone is forced to follow and comply. In other words, it is not an industry changing event. It is a prophecy being executed. Two guys, Mark and Johnathan, one day, decided to make lots of money. They started Getty Images and now are selling it. blog.melchersystem.com

Jim Pickerell, Selling Stock
If Getty Images is sold, it is expected that operations will continue much the same.It would seem likely that Klein will remain as CEO for the foreseeable future. In order to grow revenue, the new owners will want experienced management to continue to operate the company. They are likely to offer Klein a very attractive package to stay. The company will likely go private, or be absorbed by a much larger company. Thus, it will no longer be required to submit detailed financial reports on a quarterly basis. No longer needing to show increased quarterly profits could enable the company to take a long-range view of the industry that might benefit all involved. On the other hand, the information that Getty has been required to report has been of tremendous value to others in the industry, as an aid to understanding industry trends. That information will disappear.

Alan Smith, CEPIC President
The Getty news, if it happens, will mean very far reaching changes for the industry and our members, in particular who will be their agents overseas and this might well increase numbers at Congress from those who will be in search of new alliances.

(Quelle, Source: CEPIC)