NEW YORK | Electronic Arts plans to cut its work force by 17 percent as it tries to align its business with a transforming video game industry.</p><p> The company announced the layoffs of 1,500 people just hours after it said it is paying at least $275 million to buy Playfish Inc., a maker of social online games popular on Facebook, MySpace and the iPhone.</p><p> &ldquo;We are focusing on what works and what matters,&rdquo; Chief Financial Officer Eric Brown said.</p><p> Digital content makes up about 12 percent of EA&rsquo;s revenue. But it&rsquo;s growing, while industry sales from packaged video games are on the decline.</p><p> On Monday, EA posted a net loss of $391 million, or $1.21 a share, in the fiscal second quarter, wider than the loss of $310 million a year earlier.</p><p> The company behind games such as &ldquo;Madden NFL 10&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Beatles: Rock Band&rdquo; reported net sales of $788 million in the July-September period, down 12 percent from the same time a year earlier.</p><p> These results only paint a partial picture of how EA performed during the quarter. When counting deferred revenue from packaged games with online components and games that are completely digital, EA reported adjusted earnings of $19 million, or 6 cents per share.</p><p> Shares of EA, which is based in Redwood City, Calif., fell 28 cents to $19.25 in after-hours trading, after closing up 53 cents at $19.53 in the regular session.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">Other earnings reports </span></strong><br /> &bull;Proposed merger partners Live Nation Inc. and Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. both said Monday that their earnings were hurt by costs related to the deal, which is expected to drag into 2010 as regulators explore antitrust concerns. </p><p> Live Nation said that its net income fell by half to $69 million, or 78 cents per share. That happened even as better sales of concert tickets sent revenue up 14 percent to $1.81 billion. Ticketmaster&rsquo;s net income increased more than a third to $13 million. Revenue rose 3 percent to $349 million. Combined, the companies spent nearly $12 million in merger expenses in the quarter. </p><p>&bull;Dish Network Corp., the nation&rsquo;s second-largest satellite TV operator, said Monday that net income fell 12 percent in the third quarter on the back of higher costs, including a reserve related to a lawsuit by TiVo Inc. But the company also gained a surprisingly strong 241,000 net subscribers. </p><p>&bull;MBIA Inc. said that it incurred heavier losses in its insurance business than expected, saddling the bond insurer with a third-quarter loss after two straight quarters of profits. The company reported a loss of $727.8 million, or $3.50 per share, for the period ending Sept. 30.</p><p></div>