Filed under: MISC
SONY BRAVIA’S TAKE ON PYRAMIDS
Earlier this week, I posted the new Sony Bravia Play-doh commercial shot here in NYC. This spot was sent to me earlier today, as devised by Y&R Asia. Shot in Egypt, colored thread pours down the face of a pyramid until completely covering the outer face. Yup, it’s hot.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Top media execs Bob Iger, Jeff Zucker, Peter Chernin and Les Moonves are urging U.S. regulators to reject a push by Microsoft and Google to free some television airwaves for mobile Internet access. Use of the airwaves may interfere with TV reception, they claim. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWO1dEaNJswU 10/10)
General Electric will decide on the fate of its NBC Universal unit after the Beijing Olympics, according to sources. NBC, whose value is estimated at about $40 billion, has been the subject of sale rumors because of its lagging performance and awkward fit within GE. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ebdbbdfe-776c-11dc-9de8-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 10/10)
Wall Streeters are lowering earnings expectations for CBS as they anticipate the worst for the advertising-dependent broadcaster. The network’s current strategy “threatens its core revenues.” Google’s automated advertising-buying system “will be especially profound” for CBS. (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=68985 10/11)
The Office Convention, Oct. 26-28, aims to attract actual cast members of NBC’s “The Office” to Scranton, Pa., the locale of the hit sitcom. Organizers describe the confab as “like a ‘Star Trek’ convention, but with nerds wearing Dwight Schrute glasses instead of Spock ears.” (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6488801.html 10/10)
While The CW is the only network so far to order up a second season of a freshman series (Gossip Girl), several other new shows have received additional script orders: Cane, Bionic Woman, Chuck, Life and Journeyman. And the additional script orders now will also give these shows plenty in their coffers in the event of a writers strike at the end of this month.
Picking up the off-net strip rights and weekly repurposing rights to NBC’s Heroes are G4 and hi-def net Mojo, starting in 2010, reports Variety. Both networks will begin airing the repurposed episodes the weekend of October 27, and G4 will produce an accompanying 30m recap series - The Post Show - that will follow the repurposed Heroes, scheduled for Saturday nights at 10p. G4 is currently in 65 million homes; Mojo is in 10 million.
MTV’s hour-long premiere of A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila Tuesday night (10p) delivered a 2.0 rating among P12-34 and averaged more than 1.8 million total viewers. The debut episode soared even higher with W18-24 viewers at a 4.0 rating and with female teens at a 3.3 rating.
Episode 1
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Couldn’t agree more on this one. Now, if only Apple would change it’s stance on open source, the world would be a better place.
The open platform concept is really catching on. MySpace is planning to launch the MySpace Platform in the coming weeks, according to the blog TechCrunch, which heard the news from a number of third party developers the social network has reached out to. Like Facebook, MySpace would like freelance developers to create cool new applications to enhance MySpace users’ experience. Developers would be able to serve their own ads within their own applications and keep 100% of the proceeds generated from them. Not be left out, Google is also planning to entice third party app writers to create for iGoogle, Orkut and eventually Google Apps. The marketplace is realizing that open source environments incubate creativity and ultimately drive usage. More than 5,000 third-party applications have been developed for Facebook so far this year.
Antitrust experts predict that Google’s purchase of online advertising firm DoubleClick will be approved by U.S. regulators despite opposition from rivals Microsoft and Yahoo. The field of Internet advertising is “too open, and there are too many competitors.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0923724220071010 10/10)
“TMZ,” the new television show based on the entertainment-gossip Web site backed by AOL, is leading the way among the freshman crowd of syndicated programs, with its first official listing from Nielsen. The series entered the charts with a solid 1.7 national rating. (http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/10/tmz_tops_rookie_syndie_shows.php 10/10)
Wall Street is gearing up for the first major initial public offering in the social networking business. Classmates filed for an IPO in August. “There clearly is an appetite among IPO investors for fast-growing online advertising models,” says Tolman Geffs of Jordan, Edmiston Group. (http://mediabiz.blogs.cnnmoney.cnn.com/2007/10/10/investors-gear-up-for-social-networkings-first-ipo/ 10/10)
Madonna’s potential new $120 million deal to leave her longtime label Warner Bros. for concert-promotion giant Live Nation is seen as a textbook example of how the Internet is disrupting an industry. The Internet beats out record labels as “the world’s most efficient distribution channel.” (http://blogs.wsj.com/biztech/2007/10/10/madonna-and-the-internet-disrupts-another-business/ 10/10)
CBS Interactive is acquiring Dotspotter, a celebrity gossip Web site with social-networking features, for a reported $10 million. The 1-year-old site has a team with a background in media, tech and consumer products from companies such as Yahoo, Conde Nast and The Gap. (http://valleywag.com/tech/acquisitions/cbs-eyes-gossip-site-for-10-million-309047.php 10/10)
George Harrison became the final Beatle to make his solo albums available digitally on iTunes, Amazon.com, and the Zune Marketplace. The world is still waiting for the Beatles catalog to become available after Paul McCartney was quoted saying a deal was imminent in May.
New content providers including CondeNet, Sports Illustrated and blip.tv will add a total of eight new internet channels to Sony Electronics’ Bravia Internet Video Link service. Sony will also begin offering “Minisodes” (TV episode condensed into 5-6 minutes) and a Funny Bone channel on the service, comprised of sitcoms, shorts and cancelled pilots from the past. Logos that link to the content appear on Bravia TV menu screens, accessible with a click of the remote. New partners join Yahoo!, AOL and Crackle, operating on the service since it launched in August.
CBS Interactive unveiled a new horror-themed interactive series in the form of mock-training films teaching users “How To Survive A Horror Movie: All the Skills to Dodge the Kills”. Based on book of the same title by Seth Grahame-Smith, the two-minute webisodes will be available on dodgethekills.com and through the CBS Audience Network from now through October 25.
Today’s Episode: How to Defeat a Killer Doll
MtvU’s RateMyProfessors.com launched a new Facebook widget allowing college students to search for and view RateMyProfessors’ ratings right from their Facebook profiles.
Love this idea actually. I did a search on my favorite philiosphy professor from college and found him to be highly rated (most ratings are on a range to 5). I also appreciate the hotness ranking because frankly, the man is hot. Now, does anyone have a Ratemyemployer application for Facebook?
Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Websites (Week ending October 6, 2007)
Rank Network Website Market Share of Visits
1 NBC Deal or No Deal 13.60%
2 ABC Dancing With The Stars 10.63%
3 NBC Heroes 6.23%
4 FOX America’s Most Wanted 3.29%
5 ABC Grey’s Anatomy 3.26%
6 NBC The Office 3.15%
7 ABC The Bachelor 2.32%
8 ABC Lost 2.24%
9 NBC The Biggest Loser 2.08%
10 ABC Desperate Housewives 1.96%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Sprint may soon be forced to give up on launching WiMax networks in major cities according to CNET, as shareholders view it too risky a venture for a company already on shaky footing. Sprint announced a partnership earlier this year with Craig McCaw-led start-up Clearwire to help hasten its plans.
Devices such as the AT&T Tilt are blurring the lines between phones and laptop computers. The Tilt is a phone with a sliding keyboard, 2.8-inch touch screen and a 400-megahertz processor. Its screen allows it to sit on a desk like a laptop, but it weighs just 7 ounces. (International Herald Tribune 10/11)
AT&T Tilt
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Sony’s redesigned PSP was the top seller in Japan in September, according to Famitsu Marketing Data Service. Sony sold 529,297 PSP units, which helped boost the hardware market 22.9%. Meanwhile, sales of the Nintendo DS Lite remained strong with 391,752 units sold in September. (GameDaily BIZ 10/10)
