Daily Marauder

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: SORDID GUILTY PLEASURES OF THE DEMO

BROADCAST/CABLE

The AMPTP offered a new contract to the WGA containing clauses covering several areas of new media including streaming, content made for new media and programming delivered over digital broadcast channels. The AMPTP claims the entire value of the “New Economic Partnership” will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation, though it’s unclear whether that’s per year or over the 3-year life of the contract. WGA is taking a close look at the proposal. Meanwhile, WGA also presented the justification for their economic proposal on Wednesday which could cost the industry $151 million over three years, representing what WGA says is a 3% increase. More on all this when the talks resume on Tuesday. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=acdLDwOe1AHI 11/30)

A tentative deal has been struck between the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) and ABC concerning approximately 250 ABC news writing employees who have been working under an expired contract since January 31, 2005. The deal the WGAE/ABC negotiating committee came up with will be voted on by members during meetings in New York and Washington, D.C. December 13.

Conan O’Brien will pay the salaries of his nearly 80 non-writing staff members of his show for the immediate future out of his own bank account. David Letterman’s company Worldwide Pants likewise is paying the non-writing staffers of The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Staffers at NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, however, will be laid off as of today. NBC had agreed to pay Tonight Show non-writing production staff through the end of November. As to the production staff of Saturday Night Live were laid off in the third week of the strike.

CNN’s YouTube Republican debate delivered remarkable ratings for the network, drawing 4.49 million viewers Wednesday night, making it the most-watched primary scuffle in cable news history. The debate also notched the largest demo audience, averaging 1.54 million adults 25-54. (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003679272 11/29)

MSNBC will close out November within firing distance of CNN, averaging 230,000 viewers in the key adults 25-54 demo versus CNN’s 232,000. In a memo to staffers, NBC News senior VP Phil Griffin notes that MSNBC actually snuck past CNN in so-called “sales prime.” (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/cabletv/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003678708 11/28)

Middle Eastern investors are looking to break into the U.S. media arena. Blumberg Capital Partners is planning to launch its first fund to invest in newspapers, movie studios, online outfits and other U.S. media, and its investor base will consist of Middle East-based entities. (http://www.thestreet.com/s/middle-easterners-eye-media-buys/newsanalysis/businessinsurance/10392306.html 11/30)

While many media companies depend on ads, the worst hit in a possible U.S. economic recession will likely be print media and broadcaster CBS, where advertising accounts for over 70% of revenue, says Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto. Media ad revenue could drop 10% in 2008. (http://www.reuters.com/article/MediaandCommunications07/idUSN2921008520071130 11/30)

(Below) AMEN brother. How does a viewer successfully navigate over 8,000 hours of content on demand without search functionality akin to what is available online? Not only should this search functionality enable users to search across the on demand spectrum but simultaneously across linear TV programming as well. Hell, ideally, I would rather have a search function that allows me to search across all available platforms simultaneously including linear TV, on demand, mobile, online, and electronic sell-thru sites. Now THAT would be one kick ass search engine.

Disney CEO Bob Iger says that cable television companies need a Google-like search mechanism if video on demand is to reach its full potential. Type in “rat DVD” at Google and you’ll easily find “Ratatouille,” he says. But using a TV remote control to find video is: “Oh, my God!” (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3ida9c9ba3e6e83a93c42592270b3787dc 11/30)

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has no support for a proposed rule that would limit the growth of Comcast, the U.S. cable-television provider says. “The record in front of the FCC provides little support for a cable ownership cap,” Comcast says. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=abu2b7PLbC6Y 11/29)

Cablevision added HGTV HD and Food Network HD to its High-Def iO TV line up for no additional charge. The service now includes 44 HD channels.

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Faced with its second mass protest by members in its short life span, Facebook, the enormously popular social networking Web site, is reining in some aspects of Beacon. Within the last 10 days, more than 50,000 Facebook members have signed a petition objecting to the new program, which sends messages to users’ friends about what they are buying on Web sites like Travelocity.com, TheKnot.com and Fandango. The members want to be able to opt out of the program completely with one click, but Facebook won’t let them. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/technology/30face.html?_r=1&oref=slogin11/30)

It was only a matter of time before Facebook responded. In September of last year, users similarly revolted when Facebook launched the News Feed. I applaud Facebook for bringing new features and functionalities to their site. There is no love lost there. This simple change makes me much happier and shows that Facebook is more malleable to their users’ concerns than just about every other corporation in the corporate American wasteland.

Facebook is filing legal motions to force 02138 magazine to remove lawsuit documents from its Web site concerning Connect U’s legal battle with Facebook. These documents which include Zuckerberg’s application to Harvard, his e-mail to Harvard’s Administrative Board, testimony, and Facebook cash flow from 2005, are all available for the moment online here.

NBC Universal began offering prime time shows through online video subscription service Netflix, offering previously aired episodes of Heroes for streaming the day after they premiere on air. The deal makes the DVD online rental giant the exclusive SVOD outlet for the show, after G4 and Mojo picked up its off-net syndication rights. Past seasons of 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights and The Office will also be available on the service.

So let me get this straight. I can stream episodes from season 2 of Heroes on nbc.com for free, stream for free on Hulu.com, now stream for free on Netflix.com, download on NBC direct for free, or watch an episode for $1.99 on Amazon Unbox? [sigh] The only difference between watching for free and watching for $$ is whether or not advertising is inserted into the episode. With so many different places to watch NBC content, it seems more and more blatant that I can’t watch on Apple’s iTunes. NBC’s current online distribution model seems to put the power in the viewer’s choice. Offer every possible online viewing option and see how the chips fall. In essence, we have a major broadcast network allowing viewers to decide how they want to watch. Let’s see if others decide to follow.

The “next big thing on the Internet” is disconnecting, according to Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post. “Everybody’s so overloaded,” she says. Our “inner lives” are failing to be nourished in the digital age. “We are incredibly sleep deprived.” (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=71870 11/30

Time spent watching traditional television will continue to rise, while a major audience for Internet video could take many years to develop, according to new data from consultancy Bain & Co. Internet video sites will confront “capacity constraints.” Plus, “the technology isn’t quite there.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSGOR96992320071129 11/29)

Amazon.com is launching in public beta a question-and-answer Web site that lets users share knowledge with each other, and offers rewards to those who consistently provide quality information. The concept behind the new Askville.com is to have users respond to each other’s questions. (http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=204301262 11/29)

U.S. domain-name registrar Go Daddy, known for its racy ads, plans to advertise during the 2008 Super Bowl. However, the Fox network has already shot down two proposed commercials, deeming them “in poor taste.” Go Daddy says it still plans to buy “at least one” game spot. (http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1128biz-godaddy1128.html 11/28)

2007 Go Daddy SuperBowl Ad

Comcast Chief Technology Officer Tony Werner says the company will have a Docsis 3.0 framework ready in 20% of its national service area by the close of next year. The 3.0 infrastructure can offer Internet users download speeds of 100 Mbps or greater. (Light Reading 11/29)

WIRELESS

AT&T Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson has confirmed that a 3G iPhone will hit the U.S. market next year. Stephenson did not reveal pricing plans, and Apple is not commenting on its possible plans. (Forbes/Associated Press 11/30, Bloomberg 11/28)

Google is said to be planning to bid for wireless spectrum in a January auction by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. If it wins a wireless license, the Internet giant would be in a position to become a provider of mobile phone and Internet services. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119639272899509119.html 11/30)

Motorola says that Ed Zander will step down as CEO of the troubled cell phone maker on Jan. 1. Zander, 60, will be replaced by president and COO Greg Brown. Motorola has slipped to third place in the cell phone market behind Samsung and remains far behind leader Nokia. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_on_hi_te/motorola_zander 11/30)