Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
IAC boss Barry Diller’s already frigid relationship with Liberty Media chief John Malone is showing further signs of a deep freeze as the Internet company discloses that the two firms will no longer file joint regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/01312008/business/dislocated_joint_238024.htm 1/31)
Media stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by a half a percentage point to 3% to help revive the sagging U.S. economy. Most media stocks are largely dependent on advertising spending. Disney rose 2.1%; News Corp. dropped 2%. (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/media-shares-close-mixed-following/story.aspx?guid=%7B06722959%2D9D44%2D416A%2D9C19%2D8BC6F3160918%7D 1/31)
MTV’s Making the Band 4, Season 2 premiere on Monday (10p) delivered a 2.2 rating among P12-34 and averaged 2.2 million total viewers.
Episode 1 (Click the image below to watch the full episode.)
The Hollywood writers strike is taking a heavy toll on prime-time viewership with the major networks airing more repeats, game shows and reality shows. The five top broadcast networks are down a collective 17% for the week ending Jan. 27 in ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49. (http://www.reuters.com/article/PBLSHG/idUSN3021119420080130 1/30)
With the writers strike dragging dangerously close to the ABC Feb. 24 Academy Awards telecast, the film academy is planning two Oscar shows. A contingency plan calls for the use of Oscar history, film clips and other out-of-the-ordinary concepts, says academy president Sid Ganis. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_en_mo/hollywood_labor 1/30)
In a move to save money and, apparently, the environment, Showtime has inked a deal with Brightcove to put full seasons of its top series on a special Web site for Emmy Awards judges. “I think the Academy members are ready for this,” said Richard Licata, executive vice president of corporate communications at the channel. “This will eliminate the enormous amount of packaging that has inundated members and ultimately ends up in our landfills.” (Variety 1/30)
TiVo is entering into a research partnership with CBS to examine viewing behavior of consumers who use digital video recorders. The partnership will allow CBS to “develop and measure new strategies for its advertising clients, and develop new and improved promotional strategies.” (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/01/28/daily53.html 1/31)
An influential stock analyst who had predicted that Cablevision would see a subscriber decrease in the fourth quarter now says the company actually will add hundreds of new customers. The news sent Cablevision shares up 8% earlier in the week. (CED Magazine 1/30)
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said he believed the cable industry could be moving toward an a la carte model, but cautioned against the commission’s moving too aggressively on the issue. McDowell called cable pricing a “fragile economic ecosystem” and added that the FCC should be “very, very careful” in unbundling cable offerings. (Broadcasting & Cable 1/30)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Amazon.com is entering an agreement to buy Audible, a provider of digital audiobooks, in a deal valued at about $300 million. Audible’s 80,000 programs, including audiobooks from authors such as Stephen King, are expected to complement Amazon’s growing digital music store. (http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSN3129158120080131 1/31)
Amazon earnings just came out. The company had a strong fourth quarter, with revenues up 42 percent to $5.7 billion, net income doubling to $207 million, and free cash flow doubling as well to $1.4 billion. On the earnings call, there is a lot of concern among analysts about margin pressure next year. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/30/amazon-earnings-call-details-web-services-use-up-more-bandwidth-than-amazoncom-the-kindle-is-a-hit 1/30)
Yahoo, which is losing market share to Google, may be ripe for takeover following a 38% drop in its stock price in the past three months, analysts say. An acquisition by Microsoft would create “a formidable second player.” Also, “a traditional media company may want to take a shot.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aT3UbTUn_0Os 1/30)
Sci Fi Channel has ordered 13 episodes of “Sanctuary,” a drama series starring Amanda Tapping. The show began as a high-definition Web series and, according to this report, will become the first TV program to use live actors with virtual, computer-generated sets. (The Hollywood Reporter 1/31)
Click the image below to watch the webisodes.
MGM launched an American Gladiators broadband site today featuring sparkling new re-digitized footage from the original competition show that aired in syndication from 1989-1996. Clips from the camp classic like this interview with the Jeff Spicoliesque “Malibu” have been racking up thousands of views on YouTube.
I forgot how much I dig muscular dudes in star-covered spandex shorts. Good times.
Local station technology solutions provider TitanTV has transformed itself into a full service online video platform, offering stations daily video content affiliates can stream and sell to on their local sites. Stations can link to a VOD portal featuring short-form original shows like Titan Greens, offering environmental news with a pop cultural twist or RevYou, a weekly man-on-the street movie commentary show that interviews moviegoers as they come out of the theater. TitanTV also relaunched its listings grid, adding daily video recommendations.
Several Web properties are experiencing growth in unique visitors. Craigslist is continuing to build on the shift from newspaper to online classifieds. Only Wikipedia, Facebook, Glam Media, and a pair of broadband providers outdrew Craigslist’s 24.4 million uniques in December. (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/01/30/facebook-craigslist-gained-big-in-2007 1/30)
Filed under: WIRELESS
LG’s Voyager mobile phone gets put through the paces in this write-up from BusinessWeek. The device scores high marks for its tactile-response touch screen, although some feel its lack of multitouch capability make Web browsing a hassle. (BusinessWeek 1/30)
NBC.com announced it is launching a full roster of WAP-based mobile sites in the coming weeks for most of NBC’s shows, including nearly 40 mobile sites and three mobile video channels. NBC.com will also introduce widgets to allow mobile users to access content directly from the applications. Both NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker and NBCU Cable Entertainment/Digital President spoke yesterday at NATPE of trying to covert analog dollars to digital pennies. Even small CPMs across 40 mobile sites should help.
Nokia reported a 44 percent rise in net profit for the fourth quarter, on sales that increased 34 percent. The company estimates 1.14 billion phones were sold in 2007, 40 percent of them bearing the Nokia
brand. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/01/24/Nokia-claims-40-percent-of-phone-market_1.html?source=NLC-WIRELESS&cgd=2008-01-31 1/24)
Filed under: GAMING
Brash Entertainment, Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures are collaborating on an online game based on the gory Saw horror franchise. The game will feature a unique storyline that will answer questions left unanswered by the Saw films.
The video game “Rock Band” continues to post impressive sales numbers for developer Harmonix, as the title’s high level of social interactivity has garnered it a fan base outside the typical male demographic. “This is exactly the kind of title that has great potential to continue to grow sales since it’s a social experience. Once someone tries it out with their friends, they’re more likely to want to go purchase it for themselves. It didn’t unseat ‘Guitar Hero,’but it certainly held its own,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said. (GameDaily BIZ 1/30)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
Sony officials have introduced the company’s new Vaio TP Home Theater PC, scheduled to begin selling in February. The circular PC comes with a Blu-ray disc player, HDTV recorder and a full Windows Vista Home Premium system. It also features a 500GB hard drive, Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 processor and wireless keyboard. (The New York Times 1/31)
Dual-format high-definition DVD players may still attract consumers wanting to enter the HD market now, according to this article in The New York Times. A growing number of analysts are now predicting that Blu-ray will triumph over the rival HD DVD format, although new HD DVD movie releases and marketing efforts may keep the format alive for now. (The New York Times 1/31)
