Launch Day Madness: Halo 3 Comes to a Store Near You
So, the day that gamers everywhere have been drooling over has finally come. Halo 3 will be released tonight at midnight in over 10,000 stores in the US. Microsoft is backing its game with a marketing blitz that includes celebrity-studded midnight sales events at several retail locations. Your Marauder will be on hand at the Microsoft Midnight Madness party at the NYC Best Buy location (5th Avenue/44th Street) tonight at midnight to attempt and chronicle the nightly events via video. For more midnight locations near you, click the Halo 3 logo above.
To put this event in perspective, the 2004 release of Halo2 racked up $124 million in its first 24 hours of sales surpassing the top one-day sales for a theatrical release by a mere $63 million. (Spiderman 3 grossed 60 million in one-day revenue in May ’07) For more, check out the gaming section below.
I set out to scope the location earlier today. Here’s what I saw:
In Store Signage in Full Effect
Line Formation (around 12:30 PM EST)
There were approximately 15 people in line at the time.
The Line
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Some people in the banking business say Time Warner is preparing to spin off Time Inc., probably in the next few weeks. “Quite likely we are seeing a prelude to an IPO.” Last week Time Warner chief Dick Parsons said the media giant has no plans to sell the magazine publishing unit. (http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/09/24/time-piece-is-time-inc-ready-for-a-spin-out 9/24
)Steve Forbes and minority owner Bono and Elevation Partners appear to be dressing up the Forbes media dynasty for a sale or a public offering, observers say. “The word inside is that there will be a liquidity event in the next two years,” says one former company exec. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/09232007/business/forbes_turns_page.htm 9/23)
Satellite-television service DirecTV will air the Smithsonian Channel, produced in cooperation with Showtime Networks. Several groups are objecting because the Smithsonian signed over to Showtime semi-exclusive rights to produce films built around the institution’s resources. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/23/AR2007092301104.html 9/24)
John Malone’s Discovery Holding, the parent of Discovery Communications, is in early talks to buy out shareholder Advance/Newhouse, another step toward taking the cable television firm public. Discovery plans to lay off some 25% of its workforce as it retools for digital delivery. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/21/AR2007092102127.html 9/22)
My Name is Earl is scheduled for off-net syndication in the fall of 2009, distributed by Twentieth TV. With that said, TBS has picked up the so-called pre-syndication window which begins a full 18 months ahead of station syndication, set to debut on April 1, 2008. TBS will have two primetime airings starting in the spring, and then in the fall of 2009 when the show becomes available to local stations, the airings on TBS will move to daytime. (Variety 9/23)
NBC has ordered up another season of The Biggest Loser and will schedule it for some time midseason. NBC ordered an additional 14 episodes and in this rendition, the contestants will be in pairs, teamed up with a family member or significant other. The Biggest Loser is from 3Ball Prods and Reveille.
Time Warner Cable has started offering a new overseas telephone service called International OnePrice, which allows the company’s digital phone subscribers to make landline-to-landline calls to 100 countries. The service includes 3,000 international minutes for $19.95 a month. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 9/23)
Comcast will launch a breast-cancer-awareness initiative today via video-on-demand and online platforms. The effort, inspired by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts’ wife, Aileen, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2006, is a partnership between Comcast’s Style network, Lifetime, Discovery Health Channel, Exercise TV and breastcancer.org. (Multichannel News 9/23)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Huge possible deal alert.
Microsoft is in talks with Facebook about acquiring a stake of up to 5% in the social-networking site, in a move that could value Facebook at $10 billion or more, according to people familiar with the matter. Google has also expressed strong interest in a possible Facebook investment, and the talks could set up a face-off between the tech titans.
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119065193646437586.html 9/24)
Google is rumored to be on the verge of acquiring Sirius Satellite Radio. The talk is seen as a “really hot rumor” or “mischief making.” Also, Shares of Google hit an all-time high of $560.79 on Friday. Finally, Google is in early talks to lay a high-speed, trans-Pacific undersea cable. (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/09/24/sirius-googles-satellite-of-love 9/24)
(Below) Available in stores 10/2 – 10/7 at a participating Starbucks locations near you.
Starbucks plans to give away 50 million free digital songs to customers in all of its U.S. coffee houses to promote a new wireless iTunes music service. about 1.5 million “Song of the Day” cards will be handed out, redeemable at Apple’s online iTunes Store. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070924/ap_on_hi_te/starbucks_itunes 9/24)
Sling Media is working with DirecTV on its SuperCast service, offering live, online streaming of NFL games to DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers. Sling Media, makers of the controversial SlingBox, is managing back end operations determining which streams are delivered to which households, according to NewTeeVee.
ABC is placing a high priority on building its brand name on the Web, according to Disney-ABC digital exec Albert Cheng. Much of ABC’s online video advertising strategy is built into its video player, which inserts commercial breaks in full-length episode programming. (http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/21/internet-television-cheng-biz-media-cx_lh_0924abc.html 9/24)
The Walt Disney Co., despite being known for aggressively protecting its copyrights, has yet to crack down on YouTube video mash-ups that feature its animated characters singing to Soulja Boy’s rap tune “Crank That.” Disney declined to comment on the videos, this article says. (The New York Times 9/24)
Personally, I think this is hysterical. Thank you Disney for keeping this up. I may be inclined to now go rent Bambi.
ABCNews.com is ending its experiment with former Rocketboom anchor Amanda Congdon, who hosted a weekly videoblog since December. The blog made headlines when it was announced, but failed to make much of an impact, as her followers didn’t seem to follow her to the site. Her fans shouldn’t worry though – Amanda still has plenty to keep her busy including those online infomercials for DuPont and her own product-placement supported show starringamandacongdon .
The new season of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother is being promoted across an array of platforms and sites. Condensed 3 minute versions of the first two seasons (remember that Sopranos remix?) are available on MySpace, YouTube and the CBS Audience Network. Facebook users can create their own recap, in hopes of being selected to air in a November episode. Meanwhile the slapcountdown is keeping track of how long it will be until Marshall fulfills his promise to slap Barney.
Season 1 & 2 Catch-Up Video
Richard Reinhardt, a former drummer from the 1980s punk band The Ramones, is suing Apple, Wal-Mart and others for copyright infringement, claiming the companies lacked permission to sell downloads of six songs he authored. Reinhardt is seeking at least $900,000 in damages. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2132929020070921 9/21)
Los Altos, CA start-up MooWee.tv launched an application that enables internet video content to be viewed on television using an internet-connected Nintendo Wii console. The user interface, optimized for the Wii controller, enables users to search for videos, share favorites and access most viewed or even editor’s picks. The software also keeps track of users’ history and reveals where each video clip was pulled from.
Online advertising spending is predicted to continue its strong growth even if a U.S. economic downturn squeezes the ad sector as a whole. “If marketing budgets shrink, digital will still continue to grow,” says Eric Bader, managing director of digital at MediaVest. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3bd95d94-69f7-11dc-a571-0000779fd2ac.html 9/23)
Online video watching has officially become an obsession, according to comScore’s July online video viewing results with nearly 75% of all U.S. internet users watching online video. Online viewers watched an average of 68 videos during the month, consuming more than three hours of viewing time. The average clip spanned 2.7 minutes in length.
Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Unique Video Viewers July 2007
Property Unique Viewers(000) U.S. Internet Reach
Google Sites 67,782 37.6%
Fox Interactive Media 35,834 19.9%
Yahoo! Sites 35,325 19.6%
Time Warner Network 26,571 14.8%
Viacom Digital 22,652 12.6%
Microsoft Sites 18,847 10.5%
Disney Online 13,907 7.7%
ESPN 7,733 4.3%
MLB.com 7,671 4.3%
Photobucket.com 6,684 3.7%
Source: comScore Video Metrix
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
(Below) I like the idea of an ad-supported free mobile site rather than a paid for application. The new mobile MySpace will be available across all service providers as compared to the paid monthly subscription model offered by AT&T & Helio. I imagine this will do very well.
MySpace is launching a free, advertising-supported cell phone version. Parent News Corp. also plans to roll out versions of FoxSports.com, Photobucket, IGN, AskMen and its local television affiliates in the coming months that will work on cell phones that can access the Internet. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070924/ap_on_hi_te/myspace_mobile 9/24)
Designer Giorgio Armani is teaming up with Samsung to jointly develop mobile phones, flat-screen televisions and other electronic products. The “Giorgio Armani-Samsung luxury mobile,” the first of the products, will be unveiled during an Armani fashion show in Milan on Monday. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070923/tc_afp/lifestylefashionskoreaitalysamsungarmani 9/23)
While major cities around the world rush to offer free wireless Internet access, critics are questioning the long-term health impact from exposure to electromagnetic waves. Studies on mobile-phone users to be released next year will focus on people with brain and neck tumors. Paying $500 for an iPhone will seem even sillier when I develop a brain tumor. . .(http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/23/news/wireless24.php 9/23)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Early reviews of the much-anticipated third “Halo” title have been overwhelming positive. The news bodes well for Microsoft officials, who have placed high sales expectations on the game. (CNET/Reuters 9/23)
Microsoft’s exclusive rights to “Halo 3″ may help the corporation turn a profit in its entertainment and devices division, but some analysts doubt the game will knock out Nintendo’s Wii. (Financial Times 9/23)
SCi Entertainment, the British computer games company behind Lara Croft, has had two other bid approaches since disclosing that it had received a “possible offer” at the beginning of the month. Time Warner and an unnamed Chinese company are said to be showing interest. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2518039.ece 9/24)
