Daily Marauder

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: PANTSLESS WINTER SUBWAY RIDE

My favorite improv prank troupe causes a scene yet again with their annual pantsless subway ride.  I originally fell in love with Improv Everywhere with their Frozen Grand Central video in which 207 actors froze in place in Grand Central at the exact same moment.  On Saturday January 12^th 2008, nearly 2,000 people took their pants off in 10 cities around the world including NYC.  Being that this was January, let’s just say it was a bit chilly.  For more video on the event, click here.

BROADCAST/CABLE

U.S. media employment in December fell to a 15-year low (886,900), slammed by the slumping newspaper industry, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Newspapers, television and radio all cut staffing last year. Media companies have eliminated one in six jobs (167,600) since 2000. (http://adage.com/article?article_id=125141 2/18)

Media companies that depend on advertising are looking with trepidation at 2008. Newspapers are seen as the most vulnerable; radio, local television are also expected to be hit hard. Also: Digital is regarded as the least vulnerable because it is inherently more measurable than other media. (http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080217/FREE/36637424/1008 2/16, http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=125128 2/18)

The BBC is considering plans for the partial sale or stock-market flotation of BBC Worldwide, its commercial division, by 2012. Patel, The BBC says the idea is a “tempting” way of pulling more money into its coffers. Analysts value BBC Worldwide at more than £2 billion. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3380887.ece 2/17)

Showtime is expected to announce a major deal Tuesday with Sheraton Hotels that will get the cable channel in 74,000 rooms beginning next month. The deal puts Showtime squarely in competition with HBO, which has been considered a dominant force in hotel TV for years. (The New York Times 2/18)

Tudors on Showtime

NBC set a date of Feb. 18 (tonight) at 9 pm ET for the on air premiere of Quarterlife, the 36 chapter web drama developed by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick currently in its 12th chapter on MySpace and other web outlets. A number of 8-10 webisodes will be spliced together into 1-hour episodes, which will also stream on NBC.com.

ABC has picked up a new comedy pilot project from Warner Bros. TV and David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, the folks behind Will & Grace. Thus far untitled, the project is about two business partners - one straight and one gay - who both find their significant others around the same time and attempt to balance work and love.

TNT’s coverage of the NBA All-Star game Sunday night was the coming-out party for a new TV innovation called the “backboard slideout.” The slideout makes it appear as though a graphics screen — which contains pertinent game information — is sliding out of the backboard during free-throw attempts. (Multichannel News 2/17)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Time Warner’s AOL is said to be holding talks with Yahoo in an attempt to put together a deal to help the search engine evade the clutches of Microsoft. However, Google’s minor stake in AOL could be a sticking point. News Corp., another potential white night, is also in talks with Yahoo. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/money/2008/02/17/cnaol117.xml 2/17)

Momentum appears to be shifting toward Microsoft in its bid to buy Yahoo. Nearly 90% of Yahoo’s institutional shareholders, including most of the top 20, hold Microsoft stakes. Other options — including a tie-up with Time Warner’s AOL — aren’t viable, analysts say. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-yahoo16feb16,1,1708448.story?ctrack=2&cset=true 2/16)

(Below) As a big supporter of Hulu, primarily for its video search capabilities and less for its content partners, I’m a big fan of this idea.

paidContent has learned that News Corp is pursuing a music joint venture for MySpace-similar to Hulu, its video joint venture with NBC Universal, but with variations on the theme. The constant in both instances is content for equity. Under this scheme, MySpace would be the operator with the major music labels-Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI-as content providers and equity partners. MySpace would be a distributer but, like Hulu, the idea would be a mixed portal-distribution experience. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-draft-news-corp-working-on-music-hulu-for-myspace 2/15)

HBO has launched its own channel on YouTube. Featuring full episodes from In Treatment, short clips from Flight of the Conchords, The Wire, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Extras, Real Time with Bill Maher, comedy, documentaries, sports, and bonus content, the channel currently contains 53 videos from the HBO library.

Press coverage of the Hollywood writers strike was seen as particularly bitter, fueled by blogs. Blogger Nikki Finke, initially regarded as a hero by the many of the striking writers, came to be viewed “with suspicion.” Blogs are seen as a “new tool in the arsenal of media manipulation.” (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-et-channel18feb18,1,3877316.story?ctrack=1&cset=true 2/18)

On AOL News, the focus is increasingly on blogs, widgets, user interaction and search engine optimization. AOL’s new content approach has a big advantage: lower costs. Blogs and user generated content come at much lower price than the high-quality original content AOL used to produce. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981028.html?categoryid=1019&cs=1 2/15)

MTV Networks is acquiring Babunga.com, a network of niche Web sites aimed at expectant mothers, aiming to expand the Nickelodeon/MTVN kids and family group’s footprint in the parenting category. Nick plans to use the acquisition to establish a parents-centric advertising network. (http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003711792 2/18)

With cellphone service jammed at much of the Northern Illinois University after the campus shooting last week, many students turned to Facebook to let friends and loved ones know they were all right. A special Facebook page linked to online news reports, with photos taken by students. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-facebook_15feb15,0,7425145.story 2/15)

A group of eBay activists have organized a boycott of the site this week to protest the rollout of new pricing policies and a revamping of the site’s feedback system that makes it impossible to leave negative feedback about buyers.

The Oprah touch doesn’t just work for traditional books. More than 1 million copies of Suze Orman’s “Women & Money” were downloaded after the announcement last week on Oprah Winfrey’s television show that the e-book would be available free on Oprah.com for a period of 33 hours. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080216/ap_on_hi_te/books_free_download 2/16)

Google, Yahoo and several media companies are signing up to a new code of conduct designed to give parents more information about the suitability for children of audiovisual content on the Internet and mobile phones. The guidelines will not cover user-generated content. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/18/news 2/18)

Yahoo search attracts more 18-to-24 year old users than Google, according to research firm Hitwise. Yahoo attracts a higher percentage of the 25-to-34 year old group as well. Google receives more 45-to-54 year olds. Also, Google users are “more likely to be big online spenders.” (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/02/15/yahoo-attracts-younger-users-google-has-bigger-spenders 2/15)

Google is testing a new web search feature, adding video ads on some pages of search results. Ads with accompanying videos contain a small plus icon that users must click on to view the video.

Shares of online content providers, including CNET and TheStreet.com, are mostly in decline after wedding site TheKnot.com reported that its fourth-quarter profit fell 82%. JPMorgan analyst Barton Crockett says that the TheKnot’s new 2008 guidance “implies limited earnings growth.” (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080214/sector_glance_internet.html 2/14)

Interactive ad platform Project Canoe will receive $50 million to $70 million in funding from Comcast, the cable company confirmed. Project Canoe is a collaborative project by cable and multiservice firms to create a one-stop portal for placing ads across the U.S. or in select designated market areas. (Mediaweek 2/18)

Top 10 Online Video Destinations ranked by Total Video Streams for December 2007
Video Web Brand Total Streams (000) Unique Viewers (000)
YouTube 2,635,408 67,157
Yahoo! 371,922 26,596
Fox Interactive Media 364,113 18,650
Nick Kids & Family Network 177,461 6,966
MSN/Windows Live 111,700 7,174
ESPN 110,480 6,824
Disney Online 104,799 8,999
Turner Ent New Media Network 74,798 4,865
Google 60,113 10,656
Veoh 57,919 2,131
Source: Nielsen Online, VideoCensus, U.S. Home & Work

GAMING

Disney is launching a major expansion of its Utah video game development business and expects to hire as many as 500 new employees over the next 10 years. The state of Utah is approving a 10-year incentive package to rebate up to 30% of the new tax revenue generated by the expansion. (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_8278309  2/15)

Activision will roll out a special edition of its “Guitar Hero” video game featuring Aerosmith. “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” will hit store shelves in June. (NewsFactor Network 2/15)