Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Activist investor Carl Icahn, in an interview on CBS “60 Minutes” this Sunday, says his 2006 quest to break up Time Warner may have been in error. But despite his “mistake,” he had the last laugh by making $300 million on the company. “So I guess I was wrong,” he jokes. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/06/60minutes/main3915473.shtml 3/6)
Liberty Media Corp. Interactive’s stock may gain as much as 15% from chief John Malone’s coming court faceoff to halt Barry Diller’s plan to break up IAC/InteractiveCorp. A settlement could include a tax-free stake swap that would benefit Liberty Interactive. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=a5zl52GGf6oc 3/6)
Disney CEO Bob Iger possesses “a great knowledge base of all aspects of the business,” crows News Corp. president Peter Chernin. Despite worries about a slowing economy, Disney’s operating profit in most of its divisions grew by double digits in the recent quarter. (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disney7mar07,1,6085636.story 3/7)
Bravo’s “Project Runway” wrapped up its fourth season Wednesday with an average 3.75 million adults 18 to 49, a record for the NBC network. The final episode pulled in 5.18 million total viewers that night. (Variety 3/6)
Jerry Seinfeld is reportedly in talks with NBC for a new series. The show is being pitched as “just like ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ but with Jerry, instead of Larry.” The series, which is aiming for a June premiere, will be set in New York and will feature Seinfeld playing himself. (http://www.pagesix.com/story/seinfeld+plans+nbc+comeback 3/6)
NBC has given a script commitment to a new comedy project called My Problem with Women, based on a show that launched in Peru last July and in 20 other countries, reports THR. Starring in the project is Justin Timberlake as a bachelor in his 30s who goes to a therapist to try to identify why he has trouble in his relationships with women. The project comes from Reveille, who will co-produce with UK based Power and Frecuencia Latina International.
Fox Sports announced it will produce its entire line up of Major League Baseball games this season in HD, beginning with its first Saturday Baseball Game of the Week on April 5.
AT&T’s U-verse TV service launched a VOD recommendation service with online movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. U-verse customers can help make their movie selection by searching for the site’s “Certified Fresh” accolade.
Cablevision and Scripps announced a deal in which the cable company will begin offering shows such as “30 Minute Meals With Rachael Ray” and “House Hunters” from Scripps-owned cable channels Food Network and HGTV. The series will be offered free to subscribers of Cablevision’s iO: Interactive Optimum digital-cable service. (Broadcasting & Cable 3/6)
Price, according to a new report from Bear Stearns, is the primary driver when people are deciding on bundling video, voice and broadband services. Despite the fact that consumers view the so-called “triple play” as somewhat commoditylike, Spencer Wang, the report’s author, said cable companies were better positioned than their rivals: “Net-net, our work continues to support our view that cable has an intermediate-term advantage due to its ability to bundle and its faster and more reliable broadband service.” (Multichannel News 3/6)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Microsoft made a bid to acquire Yahoo in order to compete effectively against Google in online advertising, says CEO Steve Ballmer. He describes search as the “killer app” for online ads, and that advertising and the Internet — already a “big thing” — is poised to be the next “super-big thing.” (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/06/Ballmer-grilled-on-Yahoo-deal-in-quirky-QA_1.html 3/6)
Yahoo introduced two new online video advertising formats this week. One contains a clickable ad that appears as a semi-transparent message over the video. The other contains a 3-second interactive “bumper” that expands into a banner ad above the viewer. Yahoo also announced it would soon offer overlay ads through recently acquired subsidiary Maven Networks.
Google top advertising exec Tim Armstrong is taking the wraps off a “top secret strategy” for helping ad agencies manage and buy online, print and television. The new “dashboard” approach, which is still being developed, “takes a mix of different media types and puts them together.” (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=78035 3/7)
Top music managers are claiming that their clients haven’t seen any money from the licensing deals the four largest music labels have signed with YouTube over the past 18 months. “I don’t know any artist who has gotten a royalty statement,” gripes music attorney Chris Castle. (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9887167-7.html 3/6)
Disney will begin showing classic television shows on the Web, says CEO Bob Iger. “In the near future, you’ll see more of that product available on Disney.com, either for free or through some sort of subscription. Providing physical goods on DVD is tougher and tougher these days.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/business/07disney.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 3/7)
Last year, about 140 million episodes of ABC primetime shows were viewed on ABC.com, reports Anne Sweeney, president of Disney-ABC Television. Last fall, people watched 124 million episodes online — a 178% increase over the same period the previous year. “We were floored, really.” (http://promomagazine.com/news/live_aaaa_digital_world_disney_content_0307 3/7)
Digg, the user-driven social content site, is working with investment bank Allen & Co. to pitch big tech and media companies on a sale. Four companies are believed to be in due diligence with Digg — two media/news companies, and two big Internet companies: Google and Microsoft. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/07/google-microsoft-bidding-for-digg 3/7)
Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 this week that would ensure that taxes are collected on regulated internet gambling activities. The legislation follows a bill introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) that would license online gambling operations under the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
CBS Radio is teaming up with Time Warner’s AOL to provide online streams from all 140 of its stations to AOL’s online radio service. The deal will bring news, sports and music programming from big CBS stations to AOL, including WFAN-AM and 1010 WINS in New York. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080307/ap_en_ot/aol_cbs_radio 3/7)
Quincy Smith, the head of CBS’ interactive operations, is poaching top tech companies for talent, he says. Recent CBS hires have come from eBay, Google, Yahoo, Apple, Oracle, Netscape, Sun, and Microsoft, among others. “Media is finally starting to hire real tech people,” he says. (http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/03/07/sweet-on-silicon-valley-cbs 3/7)
While some 54% of Americans say they do not trust the news media in general, 46% say they do not trust television, while 41% say the do trust Web news, says a poll from HarrisInteractive. Also, Baby Boomers are the generation most likely to use the Web sites of traditional media. (http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/03/06/americans-trust-online-news-more-than-tv 3/6)
Associated Content gives writers an up-front payment based on a Google-like algorithm to assess the potential popularity of submission. CEO Geoff Reiss cautions that Associated’s business is geared toward casual bloggers and is not (yet) seen as a replacement for mainstream media. (http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/06/technology/siklos_paidcontent.fortune/index.htm 3/7)
Professionally produced and user generated video views are forecast to grow by a combined 43.4% in 2008, according to a new report from AccuStream iMedia Research, following 55.8 billion views and a 57.6% increase in 2007. Entertainment captured a combined 17.1 billion views, for a 33.1% share (professional sites 52.4%/UGV sites 47.6%.) Partner channels on YouTube accounted for a 10.6% share of total video views in 2006 – 2007 and are forecast at 15.4% in 2008. Comedians/Directors captured 8.9% total viewing share on YouTube in 2006 – 2007 and is forecast at 11.1% in 2008. Universal Music Group claimed the top channel partner position, with a 29.1% share of the category.
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
At UltimatePC.com, Microsoft is touting how its Windows Vista Ultimate system can act as the hub of a home-entertainment system. The new site also features a real-life “ideal” home setup. (CE Pro 3/6)
Pioneer Corp. will procure its plasma display panels from other manufacturers, the company said, a major turnaround from the days when Pioneer was an industry leader in making the PDPs used in flat-screen TVs. The company said the move would help it return to profitability within two years. (The Boston Globe/Associated Press 3/7)
