Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Yahoo is seeking to restart merger talks with Time Warner’s AOL as a means of defending itself against the hostile bid approach from Microsoft. Tie-ups with Google or Disney are also being considered. Also: Yahoo’s previously announced mass layoff of employees is expected Tuesday. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3346356.ece  2/11,  http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9868112-7.html  2/8)

Shares of CNET Networks, currently battling dissident shareholders, soared more than 7% on Friday, on speculation that Google might be interested in acquiring a stake in it. Google is declining to comment on the rumor. But, according to one analyst, Google’s interest in CNET is “highly unlikely.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0848093020080208  2/8)

U.S. Internet users watched more than 10 billion videos in December, says ComScore. Google’s sites, led by YouTube, captured the largest audience with 43% of market share in terms of viewers. Google’s sites were followed by Fox Interactive Media and Yahoo sites, at 23.9% and 20.8%. (http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206107165  2/8)

Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Unique Video Viewers – December 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Property                       Unique             % of all U.S.
                                Viewers (000)     Internet Users
Google Sites                 79,041                   43.0
Fox Interactive Media    43,915                   23.9
Yahoo! Sites                 38,214                   20.8
Time Warner Network    27,168                   14.8
Viacom Digital               24,504                   13.3
Microsoft Sites              20,096                    10.9
Disney Online                12,256                     6.7
ESPN                            10,004                     5.4
Apple Inc.                       9,455                     5.1
Amazon Sites                  7,734                     4.2
Total Internet             140,926                    76.7
Rankings based on video content sites; excludes video server networks.  Online video includes both streaming and progressive download video. Source: comScore Video Metrix

January U.S. Comscore stats for MySpace are released on Monday, but we’re hearing they’ll show a big surge in a number of key areas. Average time spent on the site increased to 204 minutes (up 14%), the highest it has been since August 2007. Unique visitors are supposedly up 13%, with Facebook showing a decline of 800,000 or so unique visitors in the same period. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/10/myspace-reportedly-had-a-surge-in-january  2/11)

Time Warner’s CNN is entering YouTube territory with the launch of iReport.com, a new site built entirely on user-produced news. Unlike CNN’s own properties, the new site will allow users to post whatever content they choose. Wanna-be Anderson Coopers can upload their own videos. (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003708936  2/11)

NBCU/News Corp. online video joint venture Hulu.com is widening its trial to allow private beta users to invite 10 of their friends to begin testing the service, according to the company blog. Hulu is expected to officially launch later this quarter.

HarperCollins will begin offering free digital copies of some of its books on harpercollins.com today for one month only to try to drum up sales and interest in new platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle reader, according to The New York Times. 

Amazon.com’s new MP3 download site is growing as an alternative to using Apple’s online music store with 3.3 million songs, which are free of digital-rights-management software. The (Oregonian (Portland) 2/11)

Both Hearst and former Time Warner boss Dick Parsons are acquiring stakes in First30Days.com, a self-help site that is expected to “appeal to the Oprah crowd.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/11/self-help-site-first30dayscom-launches-with-5-million-from-hearst-and-dick-parsons  2/11)

Comcast customers in the San Francisco area now can upgrade to Blast, a high-speed Internet service that promises download speeds of 16 Mbps and uploads of 2 Mbps. By itself, Blast is being offered for $66.95 a month as a stand-alone service, but for Comcast triple-play subscribers, the service can be had as an upgrade for an additional $10 per month. (San Francisco Chronicle 2/11)

Insight has begun offering subscribers in Kentucky and Indiana super-speedy Internet download speeds of up to 20 Mbps. Insight’s Broadband 20.0 offers upload speeds of 1.5 Mbps and, according to Paul Meltzer, senior vice president of product management at Insight, “confers extra bragging rights on Internet enthusiasts.” (CED Magazine 2/8)