Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Jamie Lynn Spears’s pregnancy prompted Viacom to issue a statement saying it respected her “decision to take responsibility.” However, the media giant is likely to eventually sever ties with the 16-year-old Nickelodeon star. (http://www.thestreet.com/_tscnav/video/index.html#1348315277 12/19)
The Writers Guild of America is pursuing agreements with several small independent producers that would allow at least some of its members to begin returning to work. The agreements would address writers’ demands to be compensated for work that appears on the Internet. (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iE0uIqtrdPXiNMr1qniAIsCAa0fwD8TKN7N81 12/19)
Despite a growing cadre of viewing alternatives like the Web, people are still watching television, according to a new survey by Integrated Media Measurement. The 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. block retained its audience in recent weeks, despite the loss of the late-night talk shows. (http://www.forbes.com/business/media/2007/12/19/television-writers-strike-biz-media-cx_lr_1219viewers.html 12/19)
AMC, which received several Golden Globe nominations for its “Mad Men” series, is pursuing an aggressive dramatic slate, but will not push too many new series at one time. “We’re not in the volume business,” said Christina Wayne, vice president of scripted series and miniseries for the network. “At most, three series at a time will be on our channel. We’re purposely not doing five shows at once so that we can really get involved in the production of the shows.” (Variety 12/19)
CBS says it will broadcast the People’s Choice Awards as scheduled on Jan. 8 but will change the format because of the strike by Hollywood writers. Instead of a live ceremony with presenters giving statuettes out to honorees, the show will consist of taped pieces. (http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/env-peoplechoicecancelled-19dec19,0,7478304.story 12/20)
MTV is launching a “Street Team” of 51 young amateur journalists to cover the 2008 election and emphasize issues important to the younger generation. Reports will appear on digital venues including a new mobile site and the Associated Press online video network. (http://www.news.com/the-social/8301-13577_3-9836325-36.html 12/19)
Domenico Nesci, one of the suitors on MTV’s “A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila,” is getting his own show. In a rare spinoff of a competition series, 15 women will vie for Nesci’s attention in “That’s Amore,” scheduled to premiere in March. (The Hollywood Reporter 12/20)
Cox and Gemstar-TV International have agreed to a contract extension that gives the cable company access to Gemstar’s Passport interactive program guide and its My TV Guide, which allows viewers to access their DVRs. The deal also allows Cox to use the Open Cable Applications Platform version of the Passport IPG. (Multichannel News 12/19)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Can Google succeed where Facebook fell flat on its face? It’s been chasing Facebook with OpenSocial, its own platform for social networking applications (which still has a long way to go). But now, we’ve learned, it might be trying to incorporate parts of Facebook’s controversial Beacon program into OpenSocial. Remember, that’s the one that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had to apologize for the way it was initially rolled out because of privacy concerns. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/19/google-poaching-beacon-partners-for-universal-activity-stream 12/19)
MySpace is launching a channel called PrimeTime, a hub that will integrate Hulu content with offerings from MySpace TV. The page will present episodes and movies that also are available on the stand-alone site for Hulu, the joint online video venture between NBC Universal and News Corp. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i791a7e20e195349c0320001873b04cc7 12/20)
IAC signed a wide-ranging agreement with Brightcove making it the video provider for a range of IAC sites including Ticketmaster.com and Citysearch. IAC sites will use the Brightcove platform to power, syndicate and distribute video as well as integrate advertising and promotional campaigns. IAC has been a minority shareholder in Brightcove since 2006.
Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! were fined a combined $31.5 million to resolve claims they promoted illegal online gambling. Microsoft and Yahoo have both agreed to fund a campaign to educate younger people on the illegality of online gambling. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-microsoft-google-and-yahoo-to-pay-315-million-fine-over-gambling-ads 12/19)
Apple Computer has been in a long battle with ThinkSecret.com, a site that discloses details about unreleased company products. Apple is now settling its lawsuit with site founder/college student Nick Ciarelli. “As part of the confidential settlement, ThinkSecret will no longer be published.” (http://www.crunchgear.com/2007/12/20/think-secret-settles-apple-lawsuit-shuts-down 12/20)
Veoh Networks announced its online audience grew from 2.5 million to 21.5 million unique monthly users in 2007. Users viewed a total of 30 million hours of content in November with each viewer averaging more than 80 minutes of usage per month. Veoh also reported its beta VeohTV application has been downloaded an average of 900,000 times per month over the past two months.
The newly announced advertising and content deal between media conglomerate Viacom and Microsoft signifies the intent of both companies to aggressively compete with Google, according to this article. Under the deal, Viacom will end its relationship with Doubleclick — whose acquisition by Google is expected to close soon — and turn to Microsoft-owned Atlas to handle most of its online ad serving. (The Wall Street Journal 12/20)
Despite opposition from Microsoft and AT&T, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is approving Google’s $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, clearing the way for a formidable combination in online advertising. The transaction still faces substantial antitrust scrutiny in Europe. (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gChCbzOCKyZbb0qHjKzOFGw1DHcgD8TL7I780 12/20)
BSkyB, the British satellite broadcaster controlled by News Corp., should cut its stake in broadcaster ITV to below 7.5% because it reduces competition in television, says the British Competition Commission. The recommendation is seen as a blow to BSkyB’s strategy. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3076956.ece 12/20)
The Motion Picture Association of America won a lawsuit against the operators of TorrentSpy.com, with the judge ruling in favor of the MPAA because the Web site operators tampered with evidence. TorrentSpy “is a one-stop shop for copyright infringement, the MPAA asserts. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/18/MPAA-wins-copyright-case-against-TorrentSpy_1.html 12/18)
MP2P Technologies unveiled a new P2P file sharing service named Omemo, which creates a virtual hard drive in which users may save files on remote-based servers instead of their own computers. Founded by file sharing guru Pablo Soto, the ad supported system cobbles together a network by borrowing unused portions of anonymous users’ hard drives.
I’ll share my pen, my notebook, some shoes, even my iPod, but my hard drive space?!! Not likely.
Turner signed a deal with Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder to produce a 20-webisode original series to debut on comedy portal SuperDeluxe.com. The series, dubbed The Super Rumble Mixshow, will premiere in January and have a little of every format thrown in, including short skits, mocumentaries, lectures and music performances.
Ticketmaster signed an agreement to power an online ticket resale service for the NHL. The service will serve as StubHub-type platform for fans to buy and sell seats to hockey games, accessible from both Ticketmaster.com and NHL.com.
Web videos are now twice as likely to be uploaded by teen boys as teen girls, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The finding surprised researchers because teen girls are more active users of other social media: Girls are much more likely to be bloggers. (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=73083&Nid=37609&p=918739 12/20)
Filed under: GAMING
Nintendo’s gaming rivals are starting to introduce controllers that are supposedly simpler to use than traditional ones. Sony and Microsoft have released new devices, for PlayStation 2/PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 respectively, that can be used with a handful of software and are modeled after television remotes, much as the Nintendo Wii was. (The New York Times 12/20)
