Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
The CW has renewed America’s Next Top Model thru the 2009-10 season. This fall the series debuts on Wednesday, September 19, and will repeats on Sundays at 9p.
(Below) All I ask is this: Can we move the show back to NYC where it belongs?
NBC has officially rehired The Apprentice for a seventh season. This new season will feature celebrity contestants and the list of who will participate has not been released yet. Instead of getting hired by The Donald for one of his real estate enterprises, the celebrities will raise money for various charities. In addition, Trump’s children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, will appear in several episodes as boardroom advisers. The series is produced by Mark Burnett Productions along with Trump Productions LLC.
NBC will relocate as many as 1,000 people from its New York headquarters in Rockefeller Center, which is squeezed for space, across the Hudson River to a new two-building campus in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. The facilities will house online and station group operations. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07232007/business/nbc_to_move_1_000_to_n_j__business_paul_tharp.htm 7/23)
Comcast is said to be interested in bidding for U.K. television company Virgin Media. Steve Burch, Virgin Media’s CEO, worked at Comcast for 17 years. Virgin Media was put up for sale in early July after it received an unsolicited bid from private equity’s Carlyle Group. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/comcast-reportedly-interested-buying-virgin/story.aspx?guid=%7B8BA090CF-1920-47F3-A807-3945E2FC5BC9%7D 7/23)
There’s a growing disconnect between networks and advertisers when it comes to measuring TV viewership. While CBS’ Leslie Moonves frets that too many viewers are watching shows such as “Jericho” on the Web and via DVRs, some advertisers are more concerned with how shows are being watched across multiple devices. (Advertising Age 7/23)
A&E has signed up Visible World to help it deliver targeted ads on A&E Network and The History Channel. By using Visible World’s “intelliSpot Dashboard,” advertisers will be able to dynamically update their ads to specific geographic zones or demographic groups. (Broadcasting & Cable 7/23)
CNN and YouTube will hold their collective presidential debate tonight for the eight Democratic candidates, which will be followed by a Republican debate Sept. 17. Tonight’s debate features questions from the general public that are posed via homemade videos. (The New York Times 7/23)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Guardian Unlimited is streaming the first episode of acclaimed police drama “The Wire” to UK viewers. The free streaming, a first for the British newspaper’s Web site, started running on a special microsite over the weekend. “The Wire” first aired in the United States in 2002 on HBO. In Britain, the show airs on digital channel FX. (http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,2131241,00.html 7/20)
Virgin Comics and MySpace launched Coalition Comix, an online comic book platform allowing leading comic artists to create interactive comic adventures with the MySpace community. Each digital issue will be put together within a two-week time frame utilizing sketches, artwork and scripts uploaded by contributing users. Mike Carey (Voodoo Child, X-Men), will produce the first title.
In an open letter to Dow Jones shareholders, MySpace founder Brad Greenspan outlines what he claims is a strategy that would push the company’s stock price to the $100 level. He proposes the creation of a Dow Jones cable TV channel and a video Web site called WSJVideo. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/greenspan-outlines-alternate-plan-dow/story.aspx?guid=%7B9FFB2E75%2D92FF%2D4C02%2DAF42%2D4546DE8297D4%7D 7/20)
Purported advance copies of the final “Harry Potter” book posted on the Internet didn’t stop the dead-tree edition from racking up U.S. sales of some 8.3 million in the first 24 hours. The huge sales figure confirms the Scholastic title’s place as the fastest-selling book ever. (http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL2065605320070723 7/23)
Google is hosting potentially copyrighted videos, including full-length movies and broadcast and cable TV programs on Google Video, according to the National Legal and Policy Center. Google Video is said to be hosting films such as “Sicko” and TV shows including NBC’s “The Office.” (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134907-page,1/article.html 7/20)
Google is testing a new homepage design in Taiwan and Hong Kong that takes advantage of faster broadband speeds in those markets, says Sergey Brin, co-founder. The site’s new test design ditches Google’s famously clean homepage look, adding rows of animated icons. (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134854-page,1/article.html 7/20)
Facebook is not for sale, according to Peter Thiel, a director and investor in the growing social-networking site. There is a big gap between what the company and what potential buyers think the site is worth, he says. Also, the “earliest” Facebook would go public is 2009. (http://www.thedeal.com/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1183754902401&pagename=TheDeal%2FTDDArticle%2FTDStandardArticle&c=TDDArticle 7/20)
News Corp.’s MySpace is said to be planning to enter the IPTV market. An unannounced deal with a small group of Hollywood talent may lead the social-networking site to begin broadcasting an original series — not over the air, like traditional television, but online. (http://newsblaze.com/story/20070721084105stra.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html 7/20)
Disney is rolling out several online, mobile and on demand extras for High School Musical 2, premiering on the Disney Channel on Friday, August 17 at 8 pm ET/PT :
Disney.com is featuring music videos, an audio streaming simulcast of the entire HSM2 soundtrack on Disney XD and an interactive supersite offering exclusive online video content. Mobile features include a new interactive mobile WAP site providing users with “insider access” including video, SMS alerts, polls and trivia. Various carriers will offer games, graphics and ringtone tie ins. Sprint TV customers will be able to see HSM1 and 2 in their entirety during August. The film will be available on demand via Cablevision iO Digital Cable and Verizon FiOS TV prior to its premier on the Disney Channel. Music video selections will also be up on iTunes.
NBC Digital Entertainment announced a wealth of new content and social networking tools that will begin appearing on NBC.com this summer:
- MyNBC will enable users to create modular, customizable profiles; gain access to exclusive content and live interactive events; create blogs, photo galleries and video galleries; join groups to discuss their favorite shows; grab widgets for all of their social networking profiles and blogs and keep track of all the games they play and the contests they’ve entered.
- The Heroes 360 initiative continues with YamagatoFellowship.org, a webisode documentary series exploring the legend of Takezo Kensei, the role model of Heroes’ Hiro. On ActivatingEvolution.org , fans can learn about Shanti Suresh, Mohinder’s sister and the mysterious virus that killed her.
- The Office 360 extensions include a Dunder Mifflin corporate site where fans can form new branches and join an online job fair.
- NBC Fantasy Talent Scout allows fans to build their own talent roster from three online talent agencies featuring characters from NBC’s roster of shows. Users earn points if their characters do or say selected actions or phrases, competing for a quarterly top prize of $100,000.
Below are two new NBC site examples.
Heroes: Yamagato Fellowship
From what I can tell, this site does not truly function as a webisode documentary series. There is one video currently live on the site of Kaitoo Nakamura (Hiro’s dad) giving opening remarks to the Yamagato Fellowship in Japanese. No subtitles, just Japanese. Authentic, yes. Utterly unintelligible, oh yeah.
The Office: Dunder Mifflin’s Corporate Web Site
Very fun to look at once but lacking interactivity to inspire viewers to return. Check out the company stock quote in the top left corner of the screen. Priceless.
Nickelodeon debuted Nick Cannon’s Star Camp last night, its first original broadband series produced by Nick Cannon, Quincy Jones and Quincy Jones III. The show will premier new 15-minute segments exclusively on TurboNick each Sunday with the finale airing August 26 at 6 pm ET/PT on the network’s TEENick block.
The New York Times’s subscription-only online service TimesSelect could be nearing its end. A growing chorus of people within the newspaper are said to be lobbying to shut down the service, which charges Web visitors to access columns from Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich and others. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212007/business/times_may_pull_plug_on_pay_site_business_keith_j__kelly.htm 7/21)
The NHL chose NeuLion to power a new Integrated Video Portal that will give fans access to up to 40 live HD games each week as well as behind the scenes footage and highlights viewable on multiple screens. NHL Center Ice Online will offer team channels for all 30 NHL teams next season, enabling fantasy stat tracking, video sharing and playlist building. Prices for premium content have yet to be set.
WCSN and Yahoo! Sports announced a strategic partnership to provide fans with an exclusive sampling of select live events and on-demand coverage of Olympics sports competitions leading up to coverage the 2008 Olympic Games on Yahoo! Sports and Yahoo! Olympics. Events include FIVB World Championships in Gstaad, Switzerland (July 24-29), IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan (Aug. 24 – Sept. 2), FIG Artistic World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany (Sept. 1-9) and UCI RoadWorld Championships in Stuttgart (Sept. 26-30).
Online video reached 81 million people or 63% of US internet users as of March 2007, up from 70 million 6 months ago, according to a broadband study commissioned by CTAM and conducted by Nielsen Entertainment and NielsenConnect. Net video viewing was found to be additive to TV viewing rather than displacing; 33% of those surveyed said watching video online actually led to an increase in TV viewing. Consumers indicated that greater awareness of where to find the videos they’re after, better navigation interfaces and availability of internet video via home television sets could significantly drive future broadband video content use.
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Amp’d Mobile will officially shutter its mobile service tomorrow at midnight. The company filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to hold an auction to sell off its assets, using the proceeds to pay down debt and pay off some of its investors. The good news is that Amp’d users won’t face an early termination fee while they decide which carrier to switch to. (Amp’d operated on Verizon’s network up until now.)
Google said it will bid at least $4.6 billion in the upcoming FCC auction for wireless spectrum in the 700 Mhz band in a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin. Google encouraged the FCC to require the adoption of four types of “open” platforms as part of the licensing conditions it has yet to set, including open applications, open devices, open services and open networks. An article in The Wall Street Journal last week outlined the company’s strategy of currying favor in Washington by offering free tools and tutorials candidates can use to help win elections instead of making cash donations. Google spent only $800,000 last year on outside lobbyists compared to $20 million by AT&T.
Clearwire and Sprint Nextel Corp. are teaming up to create a nationwide WiMax broadband network. The companies will provide roaming services to each other’s customers as they work together to build out the network they hope will reach 100 million customers by the end of next year. The deal will allow Clearwire and Sprint to swap 2.5 Ghz spectrum in key markets and give Clearwire access to Sprint’s EVDO broadband network. The companies also will work jointly on product and service evolution, shared infrastructure, branding, marketing and distribution.
Google says it is prepared to bid billions of dollars in an auction of federal wireless frequencies to create a national broadband network that could compete with the wired networks of AT&T and Comcast. Google could be allowed to sell Internet, telephone and television services. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/21/MNGDFR4M9I1.DTL 7/21)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Electronic Arts, which puts out the wildly popular “Madden NFL” football video game series, is in the midst of an exclusive five-year deal with the NFL to use images of current NFL players. So when rival Take-Two Interactive Software wanted to put out its own football game, it had to get creative by incorporating retired NFL greats and marketing the game using hip-hop stars. (The New York Times 7/23)
Filed under: MISC
MISC
Universal’s “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” opened at No. 1 in U.S. movie theaters this weekend, pushing “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” to second place. “Harry Potter” remains Time Warner’s most lucrative film franchise, with its four movies taking in $3.54 billion. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4DcQ.X_uCPQ 7/22)
