Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

This Just In, a comedy Web site launched in February by Time Warner’s AOL and HBO, will shut down in August, sources say. Aiming to connect advertisers to HBO for the first time in the channel’s history, the site failed to find traction in the crowded world of online entertainment. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i1b2430f5cff9133e8374163411192902 7/27)

(Below) The player is still only available to a VIP few in beta test mode but I’ll report back as soon as I figure out a way to test.

The BBC on Friday launched its long-awaited online television service iPlayer, allowing viewers to download programs from the previous seven days. BBC head Mark Thompson describes the launch as big a milestone as the arrival of color TV. U.K. online TV services are forecast to “explode.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6916164.stm 7/27)

MTV is promoting the premiere of the third season of The Hills with a virtual party on MTV.com. Invitations are available to folks who pre-order the season 2 DVD. Fans can create their own avatar, interact with virtual celebrities and shop for merchandise on the site. The show’s microsite will also feature an interactive talk show this season, streamed live after each episode.  

TBS.com is featuring online recaps from episodes of last season’s My Boys to catch viewers up before the show premieres its second season on July 30 at 10 pm ET/PT. TBS is also hosting a marathon featuring all 13 episodes of the previous season beginning July 29 at 10 am ET/PT. 

Tucson-based Zeop is offering a plug-and-play web server software product that turns any Microsoft web server into a video sharing site. The software suite allows webmasters to serve their own videos without going through a streaming service. Zeop software licenses start at $495 plus $195/year for a 500-video capacity system. 

NBC’s AccessHollywood.com is making hay out of Lindsay Lohan’s latest scrape with the law. Coverage of Billy Bush’s exclusive email exchange with the starlet attracted more than 8 million page views on Wednesday according to Omniture’s tracking figures, the highest volume day in the site’s 11-year history. She swore to Bush that the drugs weren’t hers.  

DailyMotion, a Paris-based video hub, is entering a deal to license programming from production firm RDF USA, best known for TV shows like ABC’s “Shaq’s Big Challenge.” DailyMotion launched officially in the United States just weeks ago with staffers from Viacom and Time Warner. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i22a6a5c76f59986963442aa1a62d2891 7/27)

(Below) Online radio is one of the last free form outlets for expression.  This is crippling for that industry of which includes a heavy set of NPR broadcasters.  I am completely opposed to this.

The NAB has thrown its full support behind the controversial Internet Radio Equality Act introduced in April by Rep. Jay Inslee.  The act sets forth to replace per-performance payments with a transitional rate pegged at 7.5% of revenue, driving up costs significantly for internet broadcasters.

Microsoft acquired the online ad exchange AsECN, its third digital advertising acquisition during the past two months. Like competitor Right Media, AdECN operates real-time auctions for buying and selling internet display ads where ad networks can purchase slots from multiple sites and sell them at higher rates to advertisers. (http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201201464 7/27)
 
A feature in the most recent issue of Wired questions the wisdom of buying ads in virtual worlds. Examining Linden Lab’s “resident” statistics, it claims Second Life’s current 7 million+ residents only translate to 4 million unique users as many visitors create more than one avatar. What’s more, 85% of the avatars created have been abandoned. Much of the traffic to Second Life is from Europe and Asia, according to the article, with little more than 100,000 Americans per week visiting the site.

Animax Entertainment developed a user generated mash-up contest for ice cream maker Dippin’ Dots. Users can go online and utilize a Flash-based tool to create a short featuring the Dippin’ Dots mascot Packy for a chance to win cash and prizes. The deadline to enter is August 14. 

A bit kooky but all the same, mash-ups are one of the most engaging tools online right now.  Now, if only media companies could hurdle past that fear and start using them. . .OK, companies other than MTV.

Sun Microsystems says it will start to release important corporate news first over the Internet, in what is thought to be the first time a U.S. company will use the Web as its main channel for sensitive information. The move could point to a day when companies stop issuing news releases. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/8015b2de-3af2-11dc-8f9e-0000779fd2ac.html 7/25)

Online video ad spending will spike 89% to $775 million this year and sustain a 40% growth rate through 2011 when video ad revenue will reach $4.3 billion, according to a new analysis by eMarketer. Yet several factors hold back the medium; as much as 77% of viewers find online video ads intrusive according to a report from Burst Media. The aspect of online video liked the least was “too many video ads,” according to a Synovate study commissioned by Clipblast.