Filed under: MISC
NEON BIBLE: MUSIC VIDEOS GONE INTERACTIVE
This video from Arcade Fire’s latest album Neon Bible re-defines the interactive environment. Click on the image above to watch and make sure you click around to check out all of the witty little bits. . .
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
BROADCAST/CABLE
Once dismissed, Verizon is forcing people to take its TV initiatives seriously. The company announced yesterday that its IPTV service FiOS TV had signed up 500,000 subscribers (release), and as the WSJ reports, it’s causing increasing consternation in the cable industry. You can see it in Comcast’s stock price, which has been steadily declining ever since executives acknowledged that telco operators are taking away customers. (The Wall Street Journal (free content) 10/24,
, http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-cable-increasingly-worried-about-fios 10/24 )
During the first six months of 2007, video-on-demand transactions jumped 44%, to 1.44 billion orders, according to a study of orders processed by Rentrak, a company that offers transactional media measurement. The report says VOD orders by year’s end could double the 2.6 billion placed in 2006. (Multichannel News 10/24)
Shareholders of U.S. cable operator Cablevision are rejecting the controlling Dolan family’s $22 billion bid to take the company private, saying the offer is too low. Chief James Dolan is expressing disappointment about the vote but insists he sees it as “a very positive event.” (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-bzcabl255430620oct25,0,3017014.story 10/25)
Comcast, the largest U.S. cable-television company, added fewer phone and high-speed Internet subscribers than analysts estimated in the third quarter, causing the stock to drop the most in five years. Comcast says it is seeing a “more competitive environment.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYYIN4z1X3MI 10/25)
A star-studded music roster is on board for the first Movies Rock concert, to be taped Dec. 2 in Los Angeles for broadcast on CBS. A supplemental magazine dubbed “Movies Rock” will be included with 14 Conde Nast titles. Proceeds will benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation. (http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003662265 10/24)
Fox has given a full season pick up to the Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton comedy Back to You, with an order for the back 11 episodes, a total of 24. Back to You has averaged a 2.6/8 A18-49 ratings since its debut.
Over at ABC, Pushing Daisies has received an order for its back nine to bring it to a full 22 episode season. And if that’s not enough … the network has ordered six more scripts of Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate, and which follows the Monday edition of Dancing with the Stars at 930p; and for Carpoolers, ABC ordered 3 more scripts. No word on Cavemen.
HBO will televise “The Deal,” a telepic about former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. The pay cable channel will debut the movie Nov. 8, and it will be available on DVD in 2008. (Variety 10/24)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Google CEO Eric Schmidt says his company’s multiyear deal with MySpace is performing better than originally planned. But he declines to comment on details of the deal, and whether the arrangement to provide advertising alongside MySpace member profiles has turned profitable yet. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2437268920071024 10/24)
MySpace and Facebook are not a fad, writes Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield on his password-protected blog. “While AOL is attempting to morph into an ad network, its fundamental problem is that it does not know a lot about its users compared to social networks.” (http://paliresearch.com/blog/2007/10/25/aol-becoming-less-and-less-relevant-and-lowering-numbers-due-to-twc 10/25)
(Below) I just vomited a little bit.
More than half of U.S. residents want the government to regulate Internet video just like television content, according to a poll from 463 Communications, a public relations firm that specializes in tech issues. Some people see online video as “spiraling out of control.” (http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/24/Poll-Internet-video-should-be-regulated_1.html 10/24)
When it comes to the disruptive power of the Internet, most incumbent media companies still “don’t get it,” says Barry Diller, CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp, at the Forbes MEET II conference. However, he does praise News Corp. for MySpace and Time Warner for TMZ.com. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i0c6a315db8be49afbb100b388986bfcd 10/25)
Disney CEO Bob Iger, speaking at the Forbes MEET II conference, says the best way to fight digital piracy is to go on the offensive. But Disney doesn’t sell via BitTorrent, he adds, because “we don’t want to put a Disney movie on a digital platform with ‘Best Breasts on the Web.’ ” (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i67186c6df1899184b341293c37d2a145 10/25)
Apple’s Steve Jobs is facing resistance from content creators that are unhappy with the pricing structure for television shows carried on the iPod. NBC, in a feud over pricing, recently pulled all current shows from iTunes. All major networks have begun rerunning shows on their own Web sites. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102402410.html 10/25)
News Corp.’s U.K. publishing arm News International is taking a stake in Globrix.com, a soon-to-launch property search engine. “We see our model as more like a Google,” says Globrix CEO Daniel Lee. “We make our money by reserving part of the search page for advertising.” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bc401968-824e-11dc-8a8f-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 10/25)
Ex-Google employees Bismarck Lepe and Sean Knapp have teamed up to start their own interactive-video firm Ooyala, and they will soon roll out a Web-based platform that allows content owners to upload and manage multiple videos and get reports on online viewership. The “Backlot” software will also enable viewers to interact with the videos. (Forbes 10/24)
JibJab, the online video/animation firm based in Santa Monica, has raised another $3 million in funding, reports PEHub. The round was from its existing investor Polaris Venture Partners. The company raised a first round of about $6.4 million last year. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-jibjab-gets-anothe-3-million-funding 10/24)
Filed under: WIRELESS
WIRELESS
Consumers are, for the most part, unaware of the opportunities of watching TV on their mobile phones, and the industry needs to do more to facilitate widespread use of the platform, according to a panel of executives from cable companies and other content distributors. “I don’t think mobile TV is necessarily a substitute for watching TV at home on the couch, but it can be complementary,” said Douglas Craig, senior vice president of digital media operations at Discovery Communications. (RCR Wireless News (Denver, Colo.) 10/24)
Palm officials have announced that the company will soon begin shipping GPS units equipped with Gamin’s Mobile XT software. Palm smartphones equipped with the software will offer users turn-by-turn, voice-prompted directions and information on points of interest. (Mobilemag.com 10/23)
Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone are teaming together to launch a new low-cost mobile brand called Talkmobile. The new service will cater to users looking to upgrade from prepaid plans, without incurring long contracts and high fees. (The Independent (London) 10/25)
Filed under: GAMING
GAMING
Nintendo is reporting a strong surge in income for the half ended Sept. 30, thanks in large part to strong software and Wii console sales. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 13.17 million Wii units worldwide, and it has raised its sales forecast for this fiscal year to 17.5 million because of continued strong demand. (The Wall Street Journal 10/25)
The evolution of the gaming-industry business model is detailed in this article from GameDaily Biz. The writer maintains that the era of Gaming 3.0 — which began with the Xbox 360 and involves broadband connectivity, community involvement and viral content — is currently the prevailing model, much to the chagrin of gaming publishers who traditionally look to retail outlets for profits. (GameDaily BIZ 10/24)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
Sony has raised its full-year forecast by 2%, largely because of strong PC and digital-camera sales. To spur its LCD business, Sony is gearing up to launch value-added new models with full high-definition panels, according to Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda. (The Washington Post/Reuters 10/25)
