Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

If the Hollywood writers strike continues for another 60 to 90 days, the amount of lost spending on television and film production could reach $3 billion, according to an industry study. The strike to date is estimated to have cost Los Angeles County about $1.5 billion. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979534.html?categoryid=10&cs=1 1/23)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has enlisted the help of HP to deliver copies of its films and TV shows to customers. “We’re hoping this provides another option to make available products that wouldn’t necessarily garner widespread retail shelf space,” said Jason Spivak, senior vice president of strategic development at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. (CNET/Reuters 1/23, Los Angeles Times 1/24)

Starz has sewn up long-term movie deals with five studios, according to this article. The pay-cable network extended by three years its film deals with Sony and Disney and signed fresh accords for about 1,200 theatricals with Warner Bros., MGM and Universal Pictures. (The Hollywood Reporter 1/24)

For the third week in a row, USA is on top of the cable ratings heap, according to data from Nielsen. The network attracted an average of 2.79 million viewers in prime time for the week ended Jan. 20 and also finished No. 1 in the 18-to-49 and 25-to-54 demos. (Mediaweek 1/23)

Verizon’s FiOS television offering has signed a carriage agreement with Metro-Goldwyn Mayer’s high-definition TV channel. The deal, expected to start in late 2008, gives Verizon customers access to MGM’s film library. (Broadcasting & Cable 1/23)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Private-equity firms are said to be reaching out to Yahoo since the Internet company’s stock started trading below $24. One of the strategic buyers that has kicked the tires on the company in the past — a list that includes AOL, CBS, Viacom and News Corp. — might make a move. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/01242008/business/sharks_circle_yahoo__978070.htm 1/24)

Yahoo! reportedly is negotiating with major record companies to develop a music service that would offer MP3 downloads without digital rights management. The music could be distributed for a fee, or at no-cost to users under an ad-driven model, according to this article. Yahoo! spokeswoman Carrie Davis denied such a deal is pending, and the labels had no comment. (The Boston Globe/Associated Press 1/23)

Digital-music sales grew by less than 40% in 2007 after nearly doubling the previous year, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which said revenues rose from $2.1 billion to $2.9 billion. Sales from music distributed online or via mobile devices made up 15% of total revenues compared with 11% in 2006. (International Herald Tribune 1/24)

CBS’s Last.fm Web site is starting a free streaming music service supported by advertising. Last.fm has deals with the four-biggest record companies to offer about 3.5 million tracks free of charge to listeners. The site plans to expand beyond music into sports, news and television. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/23/goodbye-30-second-song-clips-lastfm-offers-limited-full-track-streaming-and-moves-towards-subscriptions  1/23)

Sample Search on Last.FM for Beck

Not a huge selection of music as seen here but a nice add-on none the less.

Microsoft is developing a method of using personal data such as credit-card information to target Internet users with advertising once they connect to the Web, according to a patent application. Google is currently facing questions in Europe about its own collection of user data. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/microsoft-ponders-offline-profiling-web/story.aspx?guid=%7BF0D7FACF%2D0072%2D43C6%2DB341%2DB934D7E84635%7D 1/23)

News Corp.’s MySpace and the BBC’s commercial arm are announcing an agreement that will see clips from popular programs distributed on the social-networking site. BBC Worldwide will be MySpace’s first broadcasting partner, as the site seeks to increase its video content. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d792b73c-c9ea-11dc-b5dc-000077b07658.html 1/24) 

The Hollywood writers strike is beginning to take a toll on television viewing behavior, suggests a poll by MindShare. Almost half of those surveyed in the poll say they are spending more time online as a result of the repeat programming they encounter because of the strike. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i70209203cc8683219c7b296574299b52 1/24)

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is entitled to nearly $85,000 to pay his legal costs in a defamation lawsuit brought by Samantha Ronson, a friend of actress Lindsay Lohan, a judge says. Ronson sued Hilton last year for posting on his Web site that she planted cocaine in Lohan’s car. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080124/ap_en_mo/people_perez_hilton 1/23)

WIRELESS

Google’s YouTube is extending its service from a handful of phones to a broader range of devices used by 100 million consumers worldwide that rely on high-speed links to stream videos to mobile screens. “It’s basically the YouTube experience you get on the desktop — on the phone.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2316792220080124 1/24)

DoCoMo, the Japanese mobile-phone operator, will put Google’s search box on its i-mode Web portal with the Internet giant’s advertising software linked to search results. DoCoMo and Google also plan to make it easier for users to watch YouTube videos or check Google’s e-mail service. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a3TcbPTdad7Y 1/24) 

Cable firms and telecommunications companies will be among those opening the bidding in today’s FCC auction of radio-airwave licenses. The auction of the 700-megahertz spectrum, which is expected to raise about $10 billion, involves enough capacity to create an ultrafast national broadband network. (The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires 1/24,  San Francisco Chronicle 1/24)

TECHNOLOGY

Analysts point to Warner Home Video’s decision to solely support Blu-ray technology beginning in May as a major swinging point in market sales, with Blu-ray players garnering a 93% lead in hardware sales for the week ended Jan. 12, which was the first full week after the Warner announcement. HD DVD-backer Toshiba recently dropped the price of its high-definition player, which may help HD DVD wrestle back some of its market shares. (The Hollywood Reporter 1/24)