Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Looking to complete the video component of its triple-play menu of services, AT&T has offered about $25 billion for Echostar, according to a report at TheStreet.com. The news hit the street just days after Echostar said it was considering the spinoff of its Dish Network unit. (Forbes 9/27, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)/The Denver Post 9/28)
Takeover speculation is boosting the trading of options in both EchoStar and the New York Times Co. Analysts say it may be “a matter of when, not if” AT&T acquires satellite-television provider EchoStar. But takeover rumors about newspaper publisher New York Times are “pretty far-fetched.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGDSqNYy2nGg 9/27)
NBC’s debut of “Bionic Woman” on Wednesday scored the highest ratings among viewers ages 18 to 49, the network’s best showing in four years. “Bionic” beat out the premieres of ABC’s “Private Practice” and Fox’s “Kitchen Nightmares, as well as CBS’s returning “Criminal Minds.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9IvbPUVQt4o 9/27)
Bionic Woman Intro
Warner Bros. and NBC Universal are finalizing deals, including one that foreshadows the launch of a daytime talk show next year starring comedienne Bonnie Hunt. The show will run on NBC-owned TV stations. Hunt’s “quirky charm” is expected to make her a hit in daytime. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-warner28sep28,1,1889040.story?ctrack=5&cset=true 9/28)
Bravo’s fourth season of Project Runway is back starting November 14 at 10p and returning is host and supermodel Heidi Klum along with judges Michael Kors and Nina Garcia and mentor Tim Gunn. Fifteen aspiring fashion designers will compete to be the final winner and take home the prize package which includes $100,000.
Comedy Central has ordered up 10 episodes of the Canadian series Kenny vs. Spenny, and has purchased 10 libraried episodes, per Hollywood Reporter. The show stars its creators Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice, who engage in a variety of battles. Joining Kenny and Spenny in producing the new episodes will be South Park’s own Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Comedy Central will begin airing the show on November 14.
Daytime talk show host Oprah Winfrey earned $260 million between June 2006 and June 2007, four times more than other U.S. television stars, according to a new list from Forbes magazine. No. 2 on the list is Jerry Seinfeld, earning $60 million mostly from reruns of “Seinfeld.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN2736255120070928 9/27)
Al Jazeera English is stepping up efforts to gain U.S. cable or satellite television distribution, and talks are going well with “one of the majors.” The 10-month-old news spinoff of the Arabic-language channel has had problems securing U.S. carriage from fears of a backlash. (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6484102.html 9/27)
Viacom-owned Spike TV is developing a new slate of unscripted programming that, according to this story, will revolve around factual content while being produced to appeal to the channel’s young male demographic. Two such projects in the works are “Declassified,” which will analyze dangerous U.S. special military operations, and “Deadliest Warrior,” a look at some of the most feared killers in history. Variety (9/27)
Cablevision will begin offering TBS in high-definition early next week, just in time for the start of Major League Baseball post-season games. The deal with TBS extends Cablevision’s HD offerings to 41 networks. (Multichannel News 9/27)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Microsoft says Google is attempting to unfairly corner the online advertising market and placing consumer data at risk. The charges came during a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday on antitrust concerns about Google’s proposed acquisition of advertising firm DoubleClick. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092701191.html 9/28)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was spotted this week in Seattle, headed for meetings with execs at Microsoft. His appearance lends credence to several recent unattributed reports that Microsoft is contemplating a major investment in the fast-growing social network. (http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/27/magazines/fortune/fastforward_facebook.fortune/index.htm 9/27)
Yahoo is planning some wholesale changes to its entertainment offerings, promising more synergies between its music, games, movies, TV and celebrity gossip omg! properties, according to a blog posting by Head of Entertainment and Video Vince Broady. Expect more portability, social functionality and user-generated features.
CBS is launching CBS EyeLab, a digital-production studio that will create and distribute short clips cut together from the network’s most popular shows. The content will look something like the videos found on YouTube. The network plans to embed advertising in the clips. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119094721013842325.html 9/28)
With events like MTV/MySpace presidential dialogues underway, the folks at Endemol USA’s Joe Cartoon thought they’d get into the spirit of the proceedings. Users are asked to visit blenderpoll.com to cast their votes on who they do NOT want to see in the White House (the reward being they get to see them blended.) Hillary Clinton is the most pureed candidate so far.
Stop what you’re doing right now and play this. My selection for who I do NOT want to see in the White House: Newt Gingrich. For those who know, we have very similar last names. . .it could ruin my social life.
Social music site Imeem inked a licensing deal with Sony-BMG to offer its music on an ad-supported basis. Imeem allows users to create and share playlists of music, videos and photos in exchange for sitting through embedded ads, revenue from which is shared with content providers. Warner Music (after suing the company for copyright violation) is also supplying the site with tracks and videos while EMI is also reportedly in talks to do so.
I like the idea of imeem but can find very similar functionality in Facebook which begs the question: who wants to construct yet another user profile? [sigh] I have user profile fatigue.
Sample Imeem Profile
Joost signed a licensing deal with MLB to offer on-demand games and highlights from the 2007 postseason for any users of the P2P service residing outside of the U.S. and Japan.
Joost User Interface
Many execs attending the fourth annual Advertising Week conference admit that they have misjudged exactly what consumers want these days. Figuring that out may be the media industry’s top challenge, they say. One exec sees user-generated content as “a big thing that is here to stay.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2621809620070927 9/27)
Fox News selected Cambridge, MA-based Maven Networks to power a newly-enhanced video platform across FoxNews.com, the planned Fox Business channel site and its affiliate web sites. The Maven system will enable Fox to syndicate ad-supported clips and build an archive of branded news clips that can have local ads dynamically added. Fox News plans to double its video offerings as well as add interactive features.
A new breed of interactive studio called Deca.tv was founded in Santa Monica by Sony Pictures veterans Michael Wayne and Chris Kimbell, with $5 million in funding from Mayfield Fund, General Catalyst Partners and Atomico Investments. Rather than serve as a destination for content, Deca aims to develop, finance, market and distribute quality digital entertainment projects across multiple platforms, hoping hit properties will help fund losing propositions.
U.S. venture-capital investment in the first six months of the year jumped 9% from the previous year, says a study from VentureOne and Ernst & Young. The biggest chunk went to the San Francisco area. “Silicon Valley is back to its usual self,” says Matt Marshall, editor of the VentureBeat blog. (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-09-27-boom-2_N.htm 9/27)
The Motion Picture Association of America is suing two Web sites, Cinematube.net, Ssupload.com, claiming they illegally post copyrighted movies like “The Bourne Ultimatum.” The Hollywood trade group says: “We will continue to scour the Internet for these illegal sites.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adHTvnhK01gI 9/27)
NBC Universal’s Digital Insights and Innovations team and online video site Veoh shared some interesting research this week at the Carat Digital Exchange regarding online viewing’s affect on TV consumption, as reported in Mediapost.
- Heroes, NBC’s most popular show online, attracted 48% of all users who went to NBC.com to watch video
- Black Donnellys, including episodes which never aired on NBC, was the second most popular series seen by 25% of viewers
- The heaviest NBC.com viewing occurs at night, although there is also a spike during lunchtime
- Click rates on personalized recommended clips were 2.4%, compared to .3% for all clips, according to Veoh
Here are some responses to the above research:
- Think about the target demo for a show like Heroes. Still having trouble figuring out why this audience has a higher propensity for online viewing?
- For the Black Donnelly fan base, if you offer episodes of their favorite show anywhere, they will find it. This statistic proves that the fan base moves where the supply is.
- So, what you’re saying is, people watch when they’re not working or at school? Shocking! I’m sorry. Should I have used the sarcasm tags on this one?
- Wow. . .so people watch recommended clips more than they would watch a random video. Again. . .shocking!
Disney.com drew in a record 23.3 million unique visitors in August, in part because of the launch of new online games and interactive features. Future enhancements for the site include user-generated content and more international versions, Disney said. (Internet Retailer 9/26)
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Apple released a security patch Thursday for the iPhone, fixing bugs related to Web browsing, e-mail and Bluetooth networking. The security patch has also been found to disable unlocked iPhones and wipe out any unsupported applications. (InfoWorld/IDG News Service 9/27, Yahoo!/Macworld/IDG News Service 9/27)
Marauder’s Favorite New iPhone Features:
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Increased alert volume. I would still like the ability to change my text message to a sound outside of the six options allotted. The basic iPhone ringtones are freakishly awful. Marimba this.
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iTunes store functionality on your phone. Next time someone asks what Ayo Technology sounds like, I can say. . .hold on, I’ll play you the preview. Hot.
Apple Update Video
ESPN couldn’t make a go of the branded mobile handset business and neither could Disney. Walt Disney Internet Group announced it would discontinue its Disney Mobile offering, deciding instead to explore a new model that may include offering its Family Center bundle through partner carriers. The company promised to reimburse eligible customers and support existing phones until the end of this year. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070927/disney_mobile.html 9/27)
Google plans to acquire a mobile social networking startup called Zingku, which lets users share photos, send invitations or conduct polls via mobile phone. It also provides a way for businesses to send “mobile flyers” to customers advertising products and services. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/28/Google-buys-Zingku-mobile-social-networking-service_1.html 9/28)
Palm unveiled its Centro smartphone Thursday, which the company hopes will attract a younger clientele. “It’s small enough that it competes with the standard feature phone, and it gives the full power of essentially a Treo,” said Ed Colligan, Palm’s president and CEO. (InfoWorld/IDG News Service 9/27)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Newly acquired Sling Media introduced a new Slingbox Solo unit that connects to both standard and Hi-def set tops, retailing for $179.99. Slingbox allows users to view recordings remotely through a variety of connected devices. The company also released a new suite of SlingPlayer mobile software compatible with Nokia’s Symbian OS platform. (Multichannel News 9/27)
Slingbox Solo
Microsoft is looking to take on Apple TV by working with four hardware suppliers to deliver extender devices for the Microsoft Windows Media Center. The software giant says the devices will facilitate the delivery of streaming of multimedia content from Windows Vista PCs to HDTVs. (MediaPost Communications 9/28)
