Filed under: MISC
Day 2 of Digital Hollywood . I have begun counting the number of times anyone mentions the word “convergence”. I’ll give you a tally at the end of the conference.
Digital Hollywood: 6/13
Bridging TV & Broadband: Strategic Relationships - Advertising, Technology & Content
Speakers:
Greg Fawcett: VP Business Development IMG World
Chris Lucas: VP New Media Showtime
Rahul Sonnad: VP Business Development The Platform
Jan Hofmeyr: EVP Business Development Entriq
Charlie Oppenheimer: CEO Digital Fountain
Key Takeways:
Online Distribution vs. Cable Distribution
- In the old model, there were separate content providers and distributors. In the new model, these two now cross paths.
- VOD delivery is quicker and easier to use online than in the cable world: Entriq
- 3 Factors to the New Online Distribution Model
- Monetizationà How do content providers make money online
- Accessibilityà How does a user discover the content
- Quality
Showtime’s New Media Strategy
- Broadband extends reach, increases awareness, and promotes buzz
- Online Distributors: Yahoo!, MSN, & AOL
- Showtime offers full-length episodes online sometimes in advance of the linear TV premiere
- Originally growth exploded in the short-form sector online but now growth is transitioning to the full length episode offerings
- How does Showtime manage relationships with the traditional cable affiliates?
- Showtime provides short form promotional pieces to the cable affiliate
- Online distributors eventually have the ability to overshadow the traditional cable affiliates
New Site (NBC/Fox Joint Online Venture) Strategy
1. Counter success of YouTube
2. Build ad model that advertisers are comfortable buying into alongside professionally-produced content rather than user-gen
YouTube Weigh-In
· Entriq doesn’t believe that walled gardens (i.e. YouTube) will be successful in the future because users will want access to all forms of content rather than just one niche (in this case user-gen).
· Scalabilityàas more and more content becomes available, searching for this content becomes a nightmare
· Originsà Started with short form content with not much value but gave users the freedom to do things with that content not available previously
Online Search
- Google text search is the not the best method for video search. Online search must come up to speed to mimic the TV experience of channel surfing
Online Advertising
- Advertisers can choose to advertise through their own sites OR through other popular web sites such as MySpace, YouTube, etc.
- While advertising on other sites off the brand site produces traffic views, all methods of advertising should point back to the brand site.
- Showtime example
- Majority of revenue for the network comes from subscriptions. Putting full-length episodes online promotes buzz and drives subscriptions.
- Editorial in Yahoo! produces 1 million views a day at NO cost to Showtime
- Online promotion is akin to a barker channel which promotes tune-in (and in this case drives acquisition so that subscribers are able to tune-in)
Movies, TV & Video Programming to the Consumer - All Video all the Time: Broadband, IPTV, DVD & Mobile
Speakers:
Curt Marvis: CEO Cinemanow
Bradford Auerbach: Digital Entertainment Services Hewlett-Packard
Roy Price: Director Digital Video Amazon Digital
Mary Coller Albert: CMO Movielink
Eric Patterson: VP Consumer Services BitTorrent
Jim Funk: Co-Founder & VP Marketing Akimbo
Key Takeways:
Online Movie Services Payment Model
- Rent for 24 hours
- Electronic Sell Thru (download to own)
- Download to Burn to DVD
- HP’s Manufacture and send DVD (See below)
Marketing Online Movie Services
- Expectation of consumers online is that content availability is boundlessà the reality for online movie services is that all of the content is not available on any one site.
- Content availability is based on relationships with studios. As an additional hurdle, when theatrical titles are in premium windows on HBO, Showtime, etc, they must be removed from the electronic sell-thru site (download to own).
- How do you market a site that has content limitations?
- Answer: As best as possible
Hewlett-Packard’s New Online Service
- Allows users to search for titles through Wal-Mart (currently and Sam Goody to come) and either manufacture a DVD to send through the mail or download immediately through electronic sell-thru.
- Some titles were never released on DVD because of space restrictions in big box retailers such as Wal-Mart. This new service offers the consumer an option to purchase a DVD not previously available.
Social Networking Options
- Add social networking features to the existing online movie site OR
- Partner with social networking sites to allow the site to sell their product through top ten movie lists on user’s pages
Window Limitation
- Currently titles available to rent are only available for 24 hours compared to the unlimited time limit available for titles offered through Blockbuster and Netflix
- Sites working with studios to try and extend these windows
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
It’s a rare occurrence when a cable show that’s available to a limited number of viewers is able to trump shows on broadcast TV, but that was largely the case Sunday night during the season finale of “The Sopranos.” According to new Nielsen, the 11.9 million viewers who saw “The Sopranos” was second only to the 13 million viewers who watched the season premiere of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” This number of viewers represented an almost 50% increase over the viewership from the previous week. “Sopranos” creator David Chase has recently emerged in interviews, saying he doubts there will be a movie based on the series. The big response for The Sopranos did not translate to the premiere of John from Cincinnati immediately afterwards as the series opener averaged almost 3.4 million viewers, a 71% drop from the previous hour. (MSNBC/Associated Press 6/12)
In the spirit of all of this Sopranos talk, I thought I would include an SNL parody of The Sopranos from this past season of SNL. Enjoy.
HBO Chairman and CEO Bill Nelson said Tuesday that all 26 of the HBO and Cinemax multiplex channels will soon be available in 1080-line-interlace HDTV. The HD transition will start later this year and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of next year. (Broadcasting & Cable 6/12)
Advertising spending in 2007 is expected to be the weakest since the recession in 2001, says TNS Media Intelligence. Marketers are continuing to move their dollars out of traditional media and toward the Internet. TNS rep Jon Swallen says: “Take two aspirin and wait for 2008.” (http://www.nypost.com/seven/06132007/business/ad_spending_could_be_weakest_since_2001_business_holly_m__sanders.htm 6/13)
ABC Family’s “Kyle XY” made a strong debut in its second season premiere Monday night. The supernatural drama drew 2.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. (Broadcasting & Cable 6/12)
Cablevision received a show of support for trying to build a network DVR solution from several trade and lobby groups including USTelecom, (which represents AT&T and Verizon), the Consumer Electronics Association, CTIA, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The MSO, which had hoped to replace set-top based DVRs with a headend-based stored video solution, lost a court case in March filed jointly by Cartoon Network, Disney Enterprises, NBC, CBS and Turner. The networks argued that the proposed remote storage RS-DVR violated copyright law.
AT&T is working with Hollywood studios and recording companies to develop anti-piracy technologies that would help keep pirated content off its Internet network. AT&T Senior Vice President James W. Cicconi said that once an anti-piracy technology was chosen, the company would examine privacy laws and other legal issues. (Los Angeles Times 6/13)
CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said he expected cable companies to pay up in order to carry his company’s shows. CBS reached retransmission accords with nine smaller cable companies in February whereby those companies now have to pay to carry CBS programming, but renewals loom with larger companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable. “If we don’t get paid, they don’t get the Super Bowl, they don’t get David Letterman,” Moonves said Tuesday at an event in New York. (The Toronto Star 6/13)
Comcast will bow 20 new channels into its programming lineup once it takes over for Time Warner Cable in Houston. The new lineup, which is scheduled to debut Tuesday, will include five HD channels. Comcast will also increase the VOD programming from roughly 1,000 hours of content to 6,000 hours. (Houston Chronicle 6/13)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Blockbuster has launched Blockbuster by Mail, an online movie-rental service that allows subscribers to rent 3 titles at a time for $16.99 a month, a buck cheaper than what Netflix charges. “The price cuts will likely increase the competitive pressure on Netflix and make it significantly more difficult to sustain earnings,” said Tony Wible, a Citigroup analyst. Blockbuster had 3 million subscribers as of April 1, compared to 6.8 million for Netflix. ( ClipSyndicate 6/13, The Dallas Morning News/Associated Press 6/12, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)/Bloomberg 6/12)
It is commonly believed that Google bought YouTube because the wildly popular video-sharing site represented a great way for the search giant to expand into video advertising. It turns out the site may give Google a big advantage in solving the problem of video search. ( http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_6128593?nclick_check=1 6/13)
Google’s privacy general counsel Peter Fleischer has agreed to limit the time the company keeps users’ search records in a written response to the EU’s working party, ahead of a meeting scheduled later this month. Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, at the company’s annual meeting Tuesday, says he is upbeat about the firm’s growth prospects. He adds that advertising remains Yahoo’s core business, although the company is open to both acquisitions and partnerships: “There are many opportunities out there.” ( http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/12/technology/yahoo_stockholders/index.htm?postversion=2007061217 6/12)
Apple is tapping into the popularity of social networking sites, as it announces a deal to embed its iTunes music download service into the Bebo Web site in the U.K. and Ireland. The deal marks the first time Apple has linked iTunes to an online social network. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/104bad26-1925-11dc-a961-000b5df10621.html 6/12)
Check out Justin Timberlake’s new video “Lovestoned”, exclusively available on Bebo.com.
News Corp.-invested MySpace China aims to launch an online messaging service, as the venture fights for a bigger share of the world’s second-largest Internet market. The IM service will need high-end features, such as video, to attract users, says CEO Luo Chuan. ( http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSSHA13296120070613 6/13)
Sony Pictures Television and online entertainment company Grouper are launching an online community inspired by FX’s Denis Leary firefighting drama “Rescue Me.” The Web site will post user-generated videos submitted by real-life firefighters recounting their experiences in the field. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i2d5887633794139add87b28c0cc023fc 6/13)
Ilene Chaiken, creator and executive producer of Showtime Networks’ lesbian drama, “The L Word,” partnered with a group of prominent women from the entertainment and technology worlds to form a new company called OurChart.com. Launched in January, 2007, OurChart.com is a full-featured social network on the Web for lesbians and their friends. The site was built entirely to interconnect and engage this community and features original content as well as user-generated content. OurChart.com is now averaging 550,000 monthly unique visitors and 72,000-plus registered users. That number of registered users may sound small compared to the millions signed up at MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and more but those are meant to be large, umbrella networks with ways to subdivide into various niches. OurChart.com starts as a niche network based on a niche show.
Warner Bros. will trial national VOD releases of The Astronaut Farmer in the U.S. on July 10 and 300 in selected overseas markets this summer, the same day the movies are released on DVD. Local runs with Comcast in Denver and Pittsburgh and Time Warner Cable in other markets convinced the studio that a simultaneous VOD/DVD release wouldn’t hurt sales, which have been slowing in recent months anyway.
Fox Soccer Channel acquired exclusive mobile and internet rights to England’s Barclay Premiere League soccer highlights from the ‘07/’08 season through the ‘09/’10 season. Fox Soccer Channel will begin offering BPL highlights from August on MSN site foxsoccer.com and through additional mobile and internet video syndication partnerships currently in negotiation.
NBC Universal Digital Studios will produce a series of original online webisodes for the Netflix site to help create demand for back catalogue releases. “I Love This Movie” will highlight a different classic movie during each 2-3 minute episode, with new chapters appearing every other week.
AOL Latino launched an online reality show called “Fashionista” in which contestants compete for a chance to design a red carpet gown for former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres. Mercury Milan is the exclusive sponsor.
Online hip-hop portal 88HipHop.com launched a channel on P2P video service Joost. Very much an early mover in the space, the company has produced and retains the rights to hundreds of hours of vintage footage with many of hip-hop’s biggest names before they achieved mainstream success.
Multiplatform video sharing service Kyte.tv scored undisclosed additional investment from Nokia Growth Partners, which joins other investors such as Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Niklas Zennstrom’s Atomico. The site provides tools used to create and share live video content online and through mobile phones. No word on whether or not Nokia would provide distribution of Kyte.tv content. ( http://www.informationweek.com/software/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=199903477 6/12) 
Comedic video site Heavy.com will use IP intelligence technology from Digital Element to “geotarget” advertisements, language and video content based on location of the user. The technology allows businesses to segment their online audience based on their geographic location worldwide as well as set parameters by domain name, connection speed and zip code, based solely on IP addresses.
TV ad spending is expected to increase by just 1.3% this year (up 1.2% for syndication, up 5.9% for cable and down 5.5% for spot TV), while internet ad spending is forecasted to increase by 16%, according to TNS Media Intelligence. That puts the overall advertising growth rate at 1.7% to $152.3 billion, a downward revision from TNS’ earlier estimate of a 2.6% increase.
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Verizon’s V CAST service will begin offering local news, weather and sports video content from a total of 50 markets including ABC, Cox and Gray Television stations. The service, powered by Local Solutions Network, can be accessed through a dedicated channel named Local TV Video, which comes with the standard $15 monthly V CAST subscription.
Porsche has teamed up with mobile handset maker Sagem to produce the company’s first branded mobile device. The P’9521, which will initially be released to overseas markets before making its U.S. debut in 2008, will feature a fingerprint reader for security, a 3.2-megapixel camera and an MP3 player with three stereo speakers. (BusinessWeek 6/13)
Motorola’s new “Crystal Talk” technology offers users improved sound quality while making calls, according to the company. The technology enables Motorola to take a different marketing path, rather than just focusing on screen size and camera quality, one analyst said. (Forbes/Associated Press 6/12)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Cartoon Network New Media has teamed up with AFI’s Digital Content Lab to send its games to video consoles. By early next year, the Mega Series browser application will send Cartoon Network games and interactive videos to broadband-enabled consoles, including Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii, as well as PCs. The application can also be adapted to run on mobile phones. (The Hollywood Reporter 6/13)
Electronic Arts and ID Software will bring some of their popular games to the Macintosh platform, Apple announced Monday. Intel-based Macs and the Core Animation features in the Leopard OS helped attract the developers. EA said it would ship four Mac games in July and two more in August. (InformationWeek 6/12)
FremantleMedia will introduce new interactive platforms for The Price is Right and Family Feud including online games from Ludia and iWin, mobile games from Mobliss and electronic tabletop and handheld games from iToys.
