Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Time Warner, News Corp. and other media conglomerate stocks are being punished severely by the mortgage meltdown, writes Paul La Monica. Many media companies “have a high degree of debt.” If the credit cycle worsens, media stocks could be at “the beginning of a prolonged slump.” (http://mediabiz.blogs.cnnmoney.com/2007/08/27/media-stocks-and-the-credit-crunch/ 8/27)
Starz and Advanced Micro Devices have made final a marketing deal to promote Vongo, Starz’s movie and video-download offering. Consumers who buy selected products from the PC-processor manufacturer through Sept. 9 will get a free 30-day subscription to Vongo, which serves up more than 2,500 video selections.
(Multichannel News 8/27)
MTV Networks International division Viacom Brand Solutions International and European online travel agency Shoestring inked a multi-platform marketing partnership rolling out first in the U.K. in September, and then in Germany, Italy, and Spain in the following months. It includes a short-form travel and music festival guide series dubbed MTV SoundTrip (10×3), across television, web and mobile platforms debuting on MTV in the U.K. on September 1. Additionally, a MTV & Shoestring Music Passport competition will send two folks to five MTV award shows around the globe.
Nielsen Media Research began producing Hispanic ratings through its National People Meter sample (the same sample used for the general market), putting an end to the separate National Hispanic People Meter panel once and for all. The newly integrated sample includes some 1,400 Hispanic homes and is expected to put Hispanic network ratings on a more level playing field with the general market. (Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 8/28)
College students still prefer to watch television content on a traditional set vs. other digital devices including PCs, MP3 players or cell phones according to a new CTAM report The Hookup: Media Use in the College Environment. Students reported that 70% of their viewing time was spent on a TV set while 21% was spent watching TV content on a computer. Yet 89% of students reported sharing video content via computer, cell phone and portable media device. (Cartt News Service 8/28)
Child star Scott Baio has signed on for another season of VH1’s “Scott Baio Is 45 … and Single.” This season, which begins production in the fall, may require a title change. The title character asked his now-pregnant girlfriend to marry him in the finale of Season 1. (The Hollywood Reporter 8/28)
Comcast will offer subscribers Notre Dame on Demand, which promises wall-to-wall coverage of the Fighting Irish football team’s upcoming season, at no extra charge. Notre Dame on Demand will feature exclusive programming such as interviews with coaches and players. (Detroit Free Press 8/28)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Google released a Facebook application that lets users search the web and share results with friends in their network. Created with Google’s AJAX Search API engine, the application utilizes users’ search history to personalize the results.
Many consumer Web sites took a dive in June as Webizens embarked on their traditional flight away from their computer keyboards. News wilted most significantly: Time.com (-52.54% page views versus May). Time.com is said to be planning its own user-generated community. (http://www.minonline.com/topstory2.htm 8/27)
Comcast’s E! Entertainment Television is expanding its online news offerings with E! News Now, featuring video news segments produced specifically for digital platforms. E! News reporters Valery Ortiz (star of The N’s South of Nowhere) and Ashlan Gorse (editor-at-large for Life & Style Weekly) will file at least 12 videos per day available on E! online broadband network The Vine as well as other distribution partners. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117970950.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1 8/27)
Celebrity blogs are no threat to celeb magazines, says Sarah Ivens, editor of the U.S. edition of the weekly OK! “Women want this magazine to read on the subway. You can’t do that online.” She admits that competition from Web sites is forcing OK! to get better photos and bigger interviews. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2326874.ece 8/26)
On Aug. 28, MySpace launches a fashion community just in time for the spring 2008 runway shows taking place during New York’s Fashion Week, Sept. 5 to 12. Content from big-media partners such as Time Inc.’s InStyle magazine will be positioned near videos submitted by users. (http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2007/id20070827_614871.htm 8/27)
Digg, the community-based news Web site, is going live with a redesign that allows users to see both news and videos on a single page. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that the videos are entertaining but people miss them because they’re isolated,” says Daniel Burka, creative director. (http://blog.digg.com/?p=92 8/27)
TorrentSpy.com, the site facing a copyright lawsuit from Hollywood, is shutting down access to users in the United States. The move comes as a U.S. district judge is expected to rule any day on whether TorrentSpy must turn over user data to the Motion Picture Association of America. (http://news.com.com/TorrentSpy+shuts+down+in+the+U.S./2100-1030_3-6204618.html 8/27)
Could just be a fluke but worked just fine for me. . .
CBS News and the Washington Post are forging an alliance to share news video and stories for their Web sites during the 2008 presidential campaign. Readers will be able to engage reporters from both CBS’s news division and the Post in live chats and other online interactions. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070827/cbs_washington_post.html 8/27)
Fox O&Os launched a hyper-local online video sharing network targeting high schoolers in 23 major markets including LA, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. FoxHilites.com, developed with Fox Interactive Media, encourages students to create user profiles and upload their own personal news stories shot via camcorders or cell phones. Local visitors can rate and comment on what’s posted, and parents, teachers and administrators can use the platform to share information with the students. Fox Television Stations says it will even incorporate some of the best clips on their local newscasts. (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003631719 8/27)
Social networking Web sites could heat up the market for initial public offerings. Classmates.com recently registered for an IPO; Facebook is likely to eye an IPO during the next year or two, with the company’s overall value estimated to be in the billions of dollars. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i91d2dee1c83c3ea35d698a65ef82e107 8/28)
French Web-site publisher Hi-Media Group plans to acquire Fotolog in a deal valued at approximately $90 million. Launched in May 2002, Fotolog is a social networking site that provides a platform for members to share experiences through daily photo postings. (http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=26476 8/27)
Sample Fotolog Member Profile
French-language Canadian online ad network NetWorldMedia signed an alliance with Gorilla Nation to aggregate the online ad inventories of both companies’ properties. Gorilla Nation represents more than 500 independent English language content sites while NetWorldMedia services more than 200 French Canadian sites and search engines.
Online video search and contextual advertising platform Pluggd secured $6 million in Series A financing from Intel Capital, DFJ Frontier, Band of Angels and others. The company plans to use the cash to ramp up its video ad placing system that dynamically places clickable overlay ads within relevant online video content.
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESSMobile content-focused website MyxerTones launched a new web-to-mobile advertising program with music marketing firm C3 Presents enabling advertisers to deliver single unified ad campaigns to PCs, mobile phone SMS inboxes and mobile web browsers. Ads can be targeted to reach users by geographical area or music preference based on songs and ringtones they have downloaded.
LOVE this site. This morning, I uploaded my most recent song obsession, “Wonce Again Long Island” by De La Soul and now I can annoy companions with it every time I receive a call. Not only that, I can also sell the ringtones that I make through the site or through my own site using an embedded tag to link viewers to Myxer. The only hitch? The song can’t have any DRM protection on it (aka uploaded from a CD in mp3 format); no iTunes purchases allowed. Why do we need DRM? For situations like this. That said, if record and media companies would learn how to work with sites like this, I’d be willing to bet that users would be more than willing to pay for their personalized ringtones and mash-ups. Key word here: personalized. 
Mobile software and technology firm Emdigo introduced a new series of interactive 3D content for mobile handsets featuring LEGO characters. Developed in partnership with Hands-On Mobile, the Action Screens can be customized to provide branded dialing skins users can see and interact with each time they open their phones. Marvel Comics characters are also available.
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Gaming publisher Take-Two Interactive has won approval from the U.S. Entertainment Software Ratings Board to release a reworked edition of its controversial “Manhunt 2″ title. The game will now carry a “mature” rating, which means it is meant for players 17 and older. (MSNBC/Reuters 8/27)
I’m not going to lie. Even the game trailer scares me.
Game Trailer
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Sony Electronics will begin shipping in October its Vaio LT PC/TV, one of the PC industry’s first computers that can access premium cable content via a CableCARD slot. Users will be able to watch and record cable shows in either analog or digital, including high-definition, formats. (Multichannel News 8/27)
SanDisk is the latest company to take on Apple’s industry-leading iPod with its Sansa Clip device. The player, which is designed to clip onto users in a fashion similar to the iPod Shuffle, will come in 1GB and 2GB versions and also feature an OLED screen for navigating tracks and controlling functions. (Yahoo!/PC Magazine 8/27)
Nokia will deliver its first personal-navigation device to U.S. retailers by the end of 2007. The Nokia 500 will assist hands-free calling and offer turn-by-turn directions, with the European version also tacking on real-time traffic information. (TWICE 8/27)
Venzero will introduce a new Wi-Fi personal media player in the U.S. in September. The device, called the LINQ, will play file formats such as MP3, WMA and MPEG4, and it will stream content directly from Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. (Dealerscope 8/27)
Filed under: MISC
MISC
Sony’s “Superbad” pushed Hollywood’s U.S. summer box-office sales to a record $4 billion this past weekend, surpassing the previous high of $3.95 billion in 2004. Sony’s “Spider-Man 3″ and DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek the Third,” both sequels, are the top-grossing films of the summer. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a80LK8pUiBDo 8/27)
