Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Top executives from the NFL, its new NFL Network cable TV channel and Time Warner Cable are expected to meet this week with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in hopes of working out a carriage deal that will bring the potentially historic game between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants on Dec. 29 to a wider audience. Executives from Comcast, which carries the NFL Network on its sports tier and sued the NFL last week, have said they will not participate in the talks. (Broadcasting & Cable 12/14)
ESPN’s freshman season with “Monday Night Football” has been a huge success among national cable audiences. It’s also been a hit on the local level: During the November sweeps, “MNF” was in the top 10 programs in Tampa, Fla.; Philadelphia; Atlanta; and Washington, according to Nielsen Media Research’s average live program ratings for adults 18 to 49. (Mediaweek 12/17)
Fed up with the lack of progress made with the AMPTP, the WGA is determined to negotiate directly with individual studios on a case-by-case basis to find a solution for the new media bypass. The writer’s guild will begin to approach individual producers from today, according to letter sent to its members over the weekend. An AMPTP spokesman responded to the plan on its site: “WGA organizers are grasping for straws and have never had a coherent strategy for engaging in serious negotiations.”
Peter Chernin, Les Moonves, Bob Iger and other Hollywood chieftains are signing a statement of unity, after striking screenwriters signaled they would try to negotiate individually with the studios. The statement reads: “Different assets … Different businesses … Different companies.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1535771320071217 12/16)
Dozens of striking film and television writers in talks with venture capitalists to set up companies to bypass the Hollywood studio system and reach consumers with video entertainment on the Web. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-webwriters17dec17,1,299083.story 12/17)
MOVING TO NEW MEDIA: Aaron Mendelsohn, a Writers Guild board member known for the “Air Bud” franchise, is in a group that plans to produce programming for the Internet independently of Hollywood studios at odds with the union. “It’s in development and rapidly incubating,” he says.
Showtime has bought 20 episodes of British TV hit “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” the first of which will premiere in the summer of 2008. It’s the first deal brokered by former HBO executive Chris Albrecht since he joined IMG. (Variety 12/16)
LOVE it. Hannah chats frankly with the camera in a manner unseen by me since Ferris Beuller’s Day Off. Yes, yes. MUCH different subject matter. I’ll put a prediction down on this one right now. It’s a hit.
Check out the first 7 minutes below and tell me that’s not some damn fine television. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.
New Frontier Media President Ken Boenish says his company has struck a deal with an unidentified “top five” cable company to distribute high-definition adult programming from Penthouse magazine. Boenish said Penthouse On Demand was available to 2 million subscribers. (Multichannel News 12/14)
Food Network, which last week taped its last episode of “Emeril Live,” is in the middle of a major transformation as it faces heightened competition in the celebrity-chef genre that it created, according to this report. Looking toward the future, the network has signed its biggest star, Rachael Ray, to a new contract. The (New York Times 12/17)
Michael Eisner, Disney’s former CEO, wants to transform Topps, the sports card and confectionery company he bought recently, into a fully-fledged media company. Bazooka Joe, the eye-patch wearing comic hero of Topps’ bubble gum, is Eisner’s new “Mickey Mouse.” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22287026/ 12/17)
Hartmut Ostrowski, who takes over as CEO of Bertelsmann on Jan. 1, is vowing to restore the German owner of Random House and Gruner + Jahr to the top ranks of global media. He says he won’t be afraid to sell off floundering assets: “You’re not going to turn a lamb into a lion.” (http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2007/gb20071214_094161.htm 12/14)
The steady erosion of primetime television is about to change the fundamental structure and financial clout of broadcast TV’s perennial cash cow, warn advertisers. The three-hour primetime window could shrink to just two hours a night; the standard TV season may “disappear.” (http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162007/business/past_its_prime_559177.htm 12/16)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
MTV will premiere pop and tabloid diva Britney Spears’ new music video, “Piece of Me,” on its Web site before running the video on MTV Networks’ linear cable channels. On Thursday, MTV and Paramount Pictures announced that the new “Jackass” movie would premiere online. (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6513057.html 12/14)
Today, Ads-Click launched a private beta called MicroSocialAds that will let you get in on the advertising frenzy by inserting targeted, contextual text ads into your Facebook page. Every time your friends click through to that Dell laptop or natural Viagra ad, you will get paid 80 percent of the ad. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/17/ads-click-introduces-microsocialads-in-beta-now-get-paid-to-spam-your-friends-on-facebook/ 12/17)
This undoubtedly will make the DON’T list on my Facespace list of rules. If you spam your friends, you are a tool. Why not just become a door-to-door salesperson? At least then your friends could call you a tool to your face rather than via Facebook mail.
Media execs from around the world are converging at Harvard Business School to learn more about Google’s unstated mission which, as Harvard professor Thomas Eisenmann puts it, is to “sell targeted advertising in every medium.” Google’s secret, he says, is its “positive feedback loop.” (http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/12/16/old_media_seek_to_know_google_not_just_fear_it/ 12/16)
The common consensus in the media is that Google’s new “knol” tool will be aimed at Wikipedia. But other features suggest Google’s target is less Wikipedia than it is the New York Times Co.’s About.com, which has built an extensive network of topical advertising-supported channels. (http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=101009A601IS 12/14)
Google, Yahoo and YouTube are “much more nimble” than the Hollywood studios that are now at odds with their writers, observes Jonathan Handel, entertainment lawyer at TroyGould in Los Angeles. “There’s an enormous fear, because the studios have not had much success countering that.” (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/online-video-revenue-key-battleground-writers/story.aspx?guid=%7B1A5303EE%2DB23C%2D4BD1%2DB720%2D7BF2A882EB6D%7D 12/14)
Webisodes from the Internet series “quarterlife” will be edited together into hour-long episodes to air on NBC, debuting Feb. 18. The network-quality drama, which uses union actors and writers, is able to continue production because the WGA’s reach doesn’t extend to online shows. (http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2007/12/internet-show-q.html 12/16)
Matt Drudge’s one-man, one-page mix of gossip, hard news and random esoterica is a top-ranked Web site. Media bankers at DeSilva & Phillips offer a wide range of valuations for the influential blog. Bottom line: “If you want to buy the Drudge Report, offer him $10 million.” (http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/12/17/Matt-Drudge-Valuation 1/08)
The Producers Guild of America will present YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen with the 2008 Vanguard Award, recognizing outstanding achievement in new media and technology. Previous recipients of the honor include industry heavyweights like George Lucas. (http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117977806.html 12/16)
The title of most-visited online news site continues to be hotly contested, with CNN, Yahoo News and MSNBC all vying for the throne. Nielsen says CNN had 33 million unique visitors in November. But ComScore says CNN had 26 million visitors, ranking it behind Yahoo News’s 35 million. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i3cdf1678360ce3ee1cf5833d94001320 12/15)
Msnbc.com unveiled the beta version of a new Flash-based video player, part of a redesign to make the site easier to navigate. Thumbnails are stacked up to the left to form a video playlist, customizable by the user. Highlights from sister broadcasts can be viewed from sources such as the NBC Nightly News, The Today Show and Countdown with Keith Oberman. Embeddable video and a new search tools are also in the works.
Advances in the filtering, monitoring and targeting of online video are beginning to make user-generated content a less fearful proposition for advertisers, or so says Lehman Brothers analyst Doug Anmuth in his Internet Inside Weekly report (PDF only, not online). Anmuth’s take: in addition to those protections, the audience-size thresholds imposed by sites like YouTube and Metacafe will help provide a more “well lit” and appealing environment for advertisers. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-encouraging-higher-standards-with-revenue-sharing-user-gen-ad-spend-exp 12/14)
GoFish, the online video entertainment site which unsuccessfully tried to buy Bolt.com earlier this year, has now done a couple of strategic tie-ups, both resulting in the company allotting its shares (it is an OTC-trade company), according to an SEC filing. The first is UK-based MiniClip, where GoFish will sell ads on MiniClip site for U.S. territory, in return for certain shares and guaranteed revenue payments. The second deal is with MTV Networks, under which GoFish has a non-exclusive license to distribute and market some MTVN video content, and will do revenue share on the content. In return, MTVN gets 1 million shares of GoFish, and certain participation rights in future financings. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-mtv-networks-takes-stake-on-online-video-site-gofish-in-return-for-dist 12/15)
SocialPicks, a site for retail investors to exchange investing strategies, has raised a $500,000 first round from Bay Partners, reports PE Hub. The Mountain View, CA-based site lets users create and share virtual online portfolios, while connecting with others that share a similar investing profile. It also has a Digg-like section for voting on stock ideas. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-stock-market-social-net-socialpicks-gets-500k-first-round 12/14)
The social networking craze will expand from involving 37% of US internet users in 2007 to 49% by 2011, according to new estimates from eMarketer. Those numbers, assuming usage of a network at least once a month, increase to 70% and 84% respectively when talking about the 12-17 year old teen demo. Worldwide online social network advertising is estimated to increase from $1.22 billion in 2007 to $4.1 billion in 2011.
Social-networking sites are forecast to haul in billions of advertising dollars in the next few years, according to a report from eMarketer. Worldwide spending is expected to top $4 billion by 2011. However, analysts at Gartner are warning companies not to rush into social networking. (http://www.redherring.com/Home/23315 12/14, http://www.news.com/Companies-warned-not-to-rush-into-social-networking/2100-1032_3-6223009.html 12/15)
Online advertising raked in $20 billion this year, but Internet execs say that figure could have been higher if advertisers had reliable and consistent ways to measure online audiences. Says Disney Internet group head Steve Wadsworth: “This industry looks like it can’t get out of its own way.” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_hi_te/ye_media 12/14)
Filed under: GAMING
Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime recently announced that the company would offer “rain checks” to GameStop shoppers looking for out-of-stock Wii units on Dec. 20 and 21. “We expect this to be a very strong program and … a great way for consumers who desperately want a Wii to be able to have something to put under the tree — a certificate that guarantees their family will be able to get a system in January,” he said. (Reuters 12/16)
Nintendo’s Wii sold almost 1 million units in November and spurred a 49% boost in sales of game consoles as price cuts also helped spark interest in Micorosoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3, The NPD Group reported. Revenue from games jumped 62%, led by Activision’s “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” which sold 1.57 million copies. (The Seattle Times/Bloomberg/Associated Press 12/17)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
About two years into its splashy CES 2006 debut, Intel is scaling back on its digital living room brand Viiv. This was Intel’s attempt at branding entertainment/multimedia-heavy computers, with content deals with major content providers to stream in content onto these PCs. It included Intel-developed media software and joint work with content companies to certify that movies and other video fare delivered over the Internet worked well with a remote control and looked good on a TV screen. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-intel-scales-back-on-viiv-digital-living-room-branding 12/14)
Toshiba is said to be the first company to include an HD DVD-RW drive in a laptop. The 10.6-pound Qosmio G40 also comes equipped with two terrestrial HDTV tuners with HDMI outs. (EngadgetHD 12/17)
