Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
CBS chief Sumner Redstone and CEO Les Moonves reignited the prospect of a merger between CBS News and CNN at CBS’ annual meeting. Serious talks on such a merger ended years ago. Time Warner spokesman Ed Adler says: “CNN is not for sale.” (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117966143.html?categoryid=2522&cs=1 6/1)
A new CEO to replace former HBO chief Chris Albrecht could be named in the next few days, with the odds favoring an internal exec, according to sources at parent Time Warner. The four frontrunners: HBO’s Bill Nelson, Harold Akselrad, Eric Kessler and Richard Plepler. (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6448507.html 6/1)
Media analysts and observers see News Corp. as ultimately successful in its quest to acquire Dow Jones. A competing bid from a publisher such as Gannett or Washington Post is “unlikely,” especially “considering the state of newspapers.” No white knight “springs to mind.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anQnFEK8JHDE 6/1)
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman warned day-and-date releases of major motion pictures on video on demand will not happen for a “few years” at the All Things Digital conference last week, despite ongoing tests with Comcast.
The Star Wars Legacy Revealed program that aired on The History Channel on Memorial Day not only set a ratings mark for the network, it also drove more traffic to history.com than any other show this year, increasing traffic over the same day last year by 100%.
The March dust-up between DirecTV and cable companies over the rights to broadcast MLB’s “Extra Innings” was just one salvo in a battle between the two to win over sports fans. Cable companies have the ability to offer more on-demand programming, including local high school and college sports contests. (Multichannel News 6/4)
MLB contends that Sling Media doesn’t have the right to transmit its baseball content to fans around the world by using the Internet, but indications are the league is willing to work out some sort of agreement. MLB Advanced Media L.P. CEO and President Bob Bowman said the two sides should work to resolve their differences without going to court. (The Wall Street Journal 6/4)
AT&T is rolling out its U-verse service in San Diego County, where it will compete mainly against Cox Communications and satellite companies for video customers. AT&T hasn’t announced the specific neighborhoods in San Diego County where it will introduce the service, but marketing efforts over the weekend focused on the high-income areas of Eastlake in Chula Vista, northern Scripps Ranch, Rancho Bernardo and Point Loma. (San Diego Union-Tribune 6/4)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Google purchased podcast, blog and content distributor Feedburner for undisclosed amount, seeing the potential to monetize the site by integrating its RSS advertising model with Google’s AdSense network.
Glam Media plans to announce that Google will begin brokering advertisements on Glam’s fashion and lifestyle Web sites and some of the more than 300 blogs and sites affiliated with the company. The agreement is part of Google’s efforts to broker ads for high-end sites. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118092265349123401-nEiiA1z5AK4cnzNhwl7_Vsq9W48_20070611.html 6/4)
Google is making its controversial Book Search engine available to publishers interested in putting it on their Web sites. This co-branded search program will allow Google to broaden its reach. Publishers will benefit by offering an additional service on their sites. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/06/01/Google-Book-Search-available-in-publisher-sites_1.html 6/1)
U.S. book sales will increase less than 4% annually during the next five years as publishers compete with the Internet and other media, says a report by the Book Industry Study Group. Publishers increasingly vie for readers with the Internet, cable television and other media. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601205&sid=a3K0Wiv14iD8 6/1)
Lionsgate is working on creating a movie download service with BestBuy and Blockbuster Video according to a brief comment made CEO Jon Feltheimer during an earnings call last week. Lionsgate films are already available for digital purchase through iTunes, WalMart.com and Amazon’s Unbox service. The company has generated 1.4 million downloads so far, according to President and COO Steve Beeks.
Andrew Michael Baron, who has been publicly opining about new models for monetizing online video, is announcing his pioneering video show Rocketboom is launching a sponsorship system, with YouTube being the first participant. The sponsorships are selling for $3,000 per episode. (http://newteevee.com/2007/06/03/youtube-sponsors-rocketboom/ 6/3)
MSN reactivated its Soapbox video player to the public after integrating digital fingerprinting technology from Audible Magic. The new filtering policy will allow content owners find and remove their own copyrighted materials. YouTube, Daily Motion, Eyespot and Grouper are also using the company’s fingerprinting system.
Federal authorities are charging Chicago resident Jorge Romero, 24, with copyright violations for allegedly uploading episodes of Fox’s “24″ onto LiveDigital.com before the show’s season premiere earlier this year. If convicted, Romero faces a maximum of three years in prison. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070603/ap_on_en_tv/copyright_prosecution 6/3)
Microsoft announces the Ignition program today to promote music acts across the Xbox Live, Zune and MSN online communities. U.K. band Maximo Park is the first band signed to release a single in the program, available as a free exclusive Zune Marketplace download. The video for the song will also be available on Xbox Live Marketplace and streaming online via MSN video.
We all, from time to time, have been looking for music for media spots on the cheap. Here’s a starting ground.
Waxfruit Arts Media launched a music licensing site FlickTracks to help independents artists place songs in movies and shows. The site’s user interface allows producers to input project parameters to help identify artists within their budget and allows them to license, download and pay for the tracks via credit card directly from the site. Artists keep the rights to their music but share a portion of licensing fees to keep the non-profit group running.
Males make up a much larger share of the podcasting audience than females with a split of 63%/37%, according to a comScore study sponsored by Ad Infuse. Younger folks (18-24) make up the largest audience portion at 29%, followed by 35-44 year olds (27%) and 45-54 year olds (23%).
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Apple has set June 29 as the release date for its highly anticipated iPhone multimedia device. Analysts predict the device will be a big hit with consumers, despite its high sticker price and lack of 3G technology. (Reuters 6/4, International Herald Tribune 6/3)
Mobile Virtual Network Operator Amp’d Mobile filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after burning through five rounds of funding, the last one coming in March for a hefty $107 million. Amp’d launched in December 2005 with seed funding from MTV Networks, Universal Music, Qualcomm, Intel and others as a mobile service provider with customizable handsets and an extensive selection of videos, music and games. Demand for advanced mobile entertainment services has lagged in the U.S., leading to the demise of other mobile content ventures such as Mobile ESPN. Amp’d says it has managed to cobble together about 200,000 subscribers to date.
A recent filing with the patent office points to a new PSP-inspired mobile phone from Sony Ericsson. Although still in preliminary stages, the phone touts a gamer-friendly swivel screen, similar to the original PSP. (Pocket-lint.co.uk 6/4)
Filed under: GAMING
Sony Pictures Television launched the Jeopardy! Google Daily Challenge today, a play-at-home game in which users log on to Jeopardy.com and use Google to search for an answer to a new question posted daily. Participants are automatically entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win $100 daily or a $25,000 grand prize.
Stormhawks.com, the web component to the new Nerd Corps Entertainment show premiering on Cartoon Network tonight, allows users to create avatars and collect “crystal” points by playing games and performing assorted tasks on the site. The crystals can be used to buy things for your avatar or be redeemed for real world prizes and merchandise. Bitcasters is producing the casual games.
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Sony announced today that its new BDP-S300 Blu-ray player would ship next week with a price of just $499 — $100 lower than the previously announced $599 list price. Sony said the reduction was made possible by shrinking costs and the growing popularity of the HD format. (The Boston Globe/Associated Press 6/4)
