Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
While the fade-to-black finale of “The Sopranos” may have left some fans feeling cheated, the HBO mob saga is one of the favorites for nomination in the Emmys’best drama series category. The show won that honor in 2004. (The Washington Post/Reuters 7/17)
PBS topped the field with 22 nominations for the 28th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. PBS’“Nature” had five nominations in the noncommercial network category that were announced Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times 7/18)
I know that this is juvenile of me but I may have to cancel my WSJ subscription if this deal goes through. It’s a wait and see game but I must imagine that the fair and balanced perspective will sacrifice the quality of the paper. Cynicism runs rampant at my desk.
News Corp. is likely to cut jobs if it succeeds in buying Dow Jones, says consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Job cuts “can be expected as News Corp. seeks to offset its $5 billion purchase.” Also: Murdoch is predicted to sell off Ottaway Newspapers. (http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Business/2007/07/17/dow_jones_firings_predicted_under_murdoch/7642/ 7/17, http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070718/NEWS/707180343 7/18)
Dow Jones says it is ready to approve a $5 billion deal to give News Corp. control of the parent of the Wall Street Journal — after the controlling Bancroft family signs on. Observers say there’s still a chance the Bancrofts will reject the offer. Family members are to be briefed within a week. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2007-07-17-dow-sale-approved_N.htm 7/18)
“Army Wives” helped propel Lifetime Television to the top of Sunday night’s basic-cable ratings. Lifetime was also aided by the debut of two new dramas, “Side Order of Life” and “State of Mind.” (Yahoo!/Reuters/Hollywood Reporter 7/17)
Comcast, Discovery, NCTA and others have voiced opposition to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s proposed rules for must-carry rights for the digital-TV transition. The cable companies are concerned that local TV stations could be given greater carriage rights on cable systems than they have now once analog signals are cut off on Feb. 17, 2009. (Multichannel News 7/17)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Hollywood disc jockey Samantha Ronson is filing a $20 million libel lawsuit against the people behind PerezHilton.com and CelebrityBabylon.com, accusing the gossipy sites of reporting charges that she left drugs later discovered by police in actress Lindsay Lohan’s car. (http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3385802 7/17)
Perezhilton.com
Celebritybabylon.com
Google is expanding a test program that lets online advertisers buy ad space in newspapers. Publishers including Hearst, the New York Times and Scripps, cautiously optimistic about early results, are increasing the number of dailies involved in the test from 50 to 225. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070718/google_print_advertising.html 7/18)
Almost 75% of U.S. Internet users streamed video online in May, according to a new report by ComScore. Sites run by Google topped the monthly rankings, grabbing 21% of all video streams in May, or 1.8 billion videos — 1.7 billion from Google subsidiary YouTube. (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=16&articleId=9027227 7/17)
An estimated 81 million of the 129 million people who access the Internet via broadband watch TV or movies online, says a new study from Nielsen. The study also finds that broadband viewing does not replace traditional television viewing, which is good news for the networks. (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6461101.html 7/17)
While network and studio execs bristle at the thought of a strike, a work stoppage could fuel the rapid rise of online media, says former Fox Interactive Media head Ross Levinsohn. In the age of YouTube, “there may not be a need for hundreds of [television] shows.” (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117968744.html?categoryid=1066&cs=1 7/17)
Internet television will turn the Web into the world’s largest on-demand video library, says a report by iSuppli. Sports and entertainment programming is forecast to surpass news to dominate Internet video, as online connections are established in living room television sets. (http://www.informationweek.com/internet/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=201001799 7/17)
Online video service JumpTV is buying the broadband network division of XOS Technologies for $60.25 million. The XOS division develops and maintains official Web sites for collegiate and professional sports teams and streams thousands of collegiate games. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN1721897020070717 7/17)
JumpTV
The chances of Yahoo becoming a takeover target are said to be increasing as shares in the struggling Internet group fell sharply on a sixth consecutive year-on-year fall in quarterly profits. Co-founder/CEO Jerry Yang writes on his blog that disposals may come: There will be “no sacred cows.” (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2096456.ece 7/18)
Oh snap! Stringer vs. Jobs. I’d like to see a Celebrity Deathmatch on this one. . .MTV? Are you listening?
Steve Jobs, the father of the iPod, is crowned as the undisputed king of the online music revolution by U.S. music magazine Blender, topping a list of the 25 most influential people in Web music. Also: Sony honcho Howard Stringer describes Steve Jobs as “greedy.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN1140918120070718 7/17, http://www.nypost.com/seven/07182007/gossip/pagesix/lots_of_greed_behind_the_iphone_pagesix_.htm 7/18)
Jupitermedia, an Internet company that sells photos and art, is agreeing to pay $20 million in cash and an additional $3 million over two years for Mediabistro, a Web site for job-seeking media professionals. Jupitermedia also owns Internet.com and Graphics.com. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/18/business/media/18bistro.html 7/18)
Mediabistro
Fox International Channels bought ClickDiario and Directa Network to bolster its online-advertising unit. The two companies cater to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking audiences. (Variety 7/17)
Charter has retooled its Web portal for broadband customers by stocking the shelves with promotional videos from several cable programmers. Charter.net has sneak previews and full episodes from cable programmers that include HBO, Showtime, FX and Comedy Central. (Multichannel News 7/18)
SunRocket’s abrupt closure this week could spell trouble for Vonage Holdings and other VoIP providers, according to this article. With cable companies offering telephony services as part of their triple-play package, it could be difficult for pure VoIP providers to exist with just one service. (BusinessWeek 7/18)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Oberon Media said Tuesday that it was buying PixelPlay as part of its strategy to provide games to PCs, TVs and mobile phones. Oberon currently serves up more than 1,000 games to companies that include Comcast, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and Microsoft. (Red Herring 7/17)
PixelPlay
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
On Tuesday, Bright House Networks started selling mobile-phone service in central Florida through its joint venture with Sprint Nextel. Bright House was the last cable member in the joint venture to launch the Pivot service. (Multichannel News 7/17)
