Filed under: Feature, ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Bob Iger, Club Penguin, Digital Hollywood, Disney, Media Summit, New York City
DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD: THE IGER SPEAKS
Robert Iger (President & CEO of Disney), as interviewed by Business Week executive editor John Byrne, was asked if he had a Facebook profile. The answer: indeed he does. Of course, this prompted me to search for him on Facebook only to find a page dedicated to petitioning Iger as commencement speaker at USC. After reading the lengthy ,albeit articulate petition, I decided that whoever formed this page has got it all wrong.
USC Iger Petition in Facebook
Here’s one word to sum up Bob Iger as he articulated himself today: humble.
If I had to additionally capture how he communicated his thoughts on new media today:
Consumer Experience
- It’s important not only to focus on the product but how the consumer experiences that product. It seems a strategy he shares with business partner Steve Jobs.
Here’s some of the other highlights from today’s keynote.
Social Media
· Social media isn’t an engaging medium for solely generations X/Y. The audience extends out to include younger audiences as well. Disney believed in this value to the extent that they acquired Club Penguin, a virtual world for children to engage in.
· Other virtual communities to come include one to support the movie Cars called Radiator Springs
Technology’s Impact on Disney
- Most media companies look at technology as a challenge. Contrary to this strategy, Disney looks at technology as an enabler of content while still a challenge to figure out.
- When asked how Iger sees deals such as the Google/Doubleclick affecting his business, his answer was not much. Strengthening the platforms empowers the content provider and therefore is good for Disney.
The Blu-Ray Smackdown to HD DVD
- Sees the Blu-Ray win as good for DVD sales but says the real innovation will be the coming interactive features to be available on DVDs.
Global Success
- Because of cultural distinctions internationally, product cannot simply be exported for consumption abroad. The product must be created globally to bring these cultural differences to light.
- When designing the Disneyland experience in Hong Kong, the park was built to support the same amount of dining time typically demonstrated by American audiences: 20 minutes. After the Hong Kong park was opened, however, park go-ers were typically eating for 40 minutes on average. The accommodations that were allotted in the dining locations were found to be inadequate in this case and changes were quickly made to adjust to this.
Mobile
- Disney established two MVNO’s (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) for the Disney and ESPN brand. An MVNO is a company which provides mobile service by leasing spectrum from one of the major service providers such as Verizon, AT&T, etc. Both enterprises failed.
- Iger acknowledges that these models failed and says that he does not believe in the MVNO model going forward. ESPN created a licensing relationship with a 3rd party and Disney plans to do the same. In essence, Disney will provide the content on mobile phones without acting like the mobile company part. I mean, who wants to run a billing department anyway?
New Media Cannibalizing Traditional Media
· Consumption of content on new platforms has been seen as incremental, not cannibalistic.
· Long term, film content will shift a bit in consumption on new platforms but the physical medium will never be eradicated completely.
Gaming
- Disney is self-publishing games at this point. The strategy will be to buy development talent rather than a publisher to succeed in the space.
Acqusitions
- Don’t feel the need to acquire companies to be successful. That said, free cash flow strong if a suitable partner comes along.
Iger seems to lead with a humility that is simply refreshing in a media CEO. I imagine the guy doing yoga in his office with a Jamba Juice ready to go post work-out.
Namaste Mr. Mouse. Namaste.
A colleague introduced me to the extremely well designed XO Laptop in
the subway. Technology is best served on the fly.Waterproof and sand proof keyboard.
Web cam and wi-fi support built right in.
Mobile post sent by Marauder using Utterz. Replies.
Reserved for. . .people more important than me surely. Waiting for Bob Iger to take the stage during this morning’s keynote at Digital Hollywood in NYC.
For more of the Daily Marauder photo stream, click here.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Jeff Immelt, the CEO of NBC parent General Electric, will answer questions live on the Web on Thursday in a first-of-its kind Webcast. Anyone can log in and pose a question. The forum will be available at several sites, including ge.com, cnbc.com and msnbc.com. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=aYLyMp2kfHnE 3/11)
Go here from 2:30 – 3:00PM (guessing this is EST but unconfirmed) to ask Immelt whatever you wish. I’m impressed by his openness to this interview style. This says quite a bit about his management style. Impressive.
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei used his turn in Delaware court Tuesday to hit the “lagging” performance of IAC and his unhappiness with Barry Diller’s management of the Internet holding company. Most of the fireworks are expected today, however, when Diller may take the stand. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/03122008/business/libertys_maffei_rips_lagging_iac_perform_101624.htm 3/12)
Barry Diller
CBS is looking for acquisitions in content and new media in the next couple of years, according to CEO Les Moonves. The company has no plans to sell radio or television stations unless prices go up. “There might be some terrific deals that are out there,” says Moonves. (http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN1163945620080312 3/11)
TiVo will begin delivering online videos from YouTube directly to television screens via its digital video recorders. The service will be available for high-speed Internet subscribers. Users would be able to log onto their YouTube accounts directly from their TiVo boxes. (http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSWNAS451820080312 3/12)
Nielsen will offer a new service that uses cable set-top boxes to shed light on people’s television-viewing habits. Nielsen expects to merge its second-by-second data with information from its panels and other Nielsen data, such as consumer-purchasing information. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120528948535329547.html 3/12)
President Bill Clinton will participate in mtvU‘s first-ever Editorial Board on March 16, a series featuring student journalists interviewing key national figures.
Scripps Networks’ HGTV HD and Food Network HD will launch simulcasts of their respective standard definition feeds beginning March 31 to a combined footprint of more than 25 million homes.
Starz Entertainment licensed a five-film package from Yari Film Group, set to premier later this year on Starz, Encore, Starz on Demand and the Vongo broadband service.
Time Warner, which owns an 84% stake in Time Warner Cable, is leaning toward significantly selling down its position in the second-largest cable company in the country or spinning it off all together. “It might be better if it were able to live as a separate ownership position for us as well as for all of you as shareholders,” said Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who previously told investors a decision could come by April 30. (The Wall Street Journal (free content) 3/12)
Time Warner Cable has hired Rentrak of Portland, Ore., to help measure the success of its video-on-demand and analytical services. With the deal, Rentrak now keeps tabs on more than 36 billion transactions from more than 45 million set-top boxes and other platforms for 23 cable providers and more than 90 cable networks and broadcasters. (Broadcasting & Cable 3/11)
After more than a year of negotiations, Comcast and the Big Ten Network may finally be close to announcing a carriage agreement, according to this report. While issues remain, including video-on-demand and online distribution, one source said optimism was running extremely high that a deal would be worked out. (Chicago Tribune 3/11)
According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Charter Chairman Paul Allen has received inquiries from possible investors about transactions with the company. It was unclear from the filings whether the inquiries were related to a small investment or an outright sale. (Multichannel News 3/11)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
In case there was still any doubt that Google wants to use YouTube to host all the video on the Web, it’s announcement earlier today to broaden its APIs makes it clear that is its goal. Once again, instead of making it easier to search videos elsewhere, Google is making it easier to host videos on YouTube. Except that the new APis allow people to upload, watch, search, and comment on the videos on other Websites. The key here is that the videos themselves are hosted on Youtube’s servers. This brings Google back full circle to the initial strategy for Google Video, which originally required videos to be uploaded directly to Google in order to become indexed. YouTube is gradually replacing Google Video—that is where most people upload videos anyway—but getting as much video from the rest of the Web onto its servers allows it to do many more things with it than if it simply indexed the videos elsewhere. It can search them better and throw up ads against them. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/youtube-the-platform 3/12)
Click the image below for more information on YouTube open fun.
The NBC Universal/New Corp. online video joint venture Hulu launches to the public today after an 18-week beta trial that resulted in some impressive viewing numbers. In the past 30 days, more than 5 million viewers have streamed programming from Hulu.com or distributor sites such as AOL, MSN, Comcast’s Fancast.com, MySpace and Yahoo. And more than 50,000 Flash 9-capable Hulu video players have been embedded on over 5,000 independent sites. New programming partnerships with Warner Bros. Television, Lionsgate, the NBA, NHL, NCAA, Vuguru and the Onion News Network make it the closest thing yet to a one-stop shop for free online premium programming. (Hulu launches with 250 TV series and 100 feature length films). Advertisers can utilize a cool new “select an ad” feature, enabling users to pick among a selection of spots. Movie studios can choose to stream a 2-minute trailer as an exclusive single program sponsorship. However, questions remain on just how viable the venture will be. Hulu, which relies on its network owners and partners for content, will bear all of the streaming and server costs for less than half of the revenue generated from video views. (Some reports say Hulu’s share is as low as 30%).
Shortly after Google completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of the online advertising firm DoubleClick on Tuesday, CEO Eric Schmidt announced that layoffs are to be expected. “As with most mergers, there may be reductions in headcount,” he says. “We’ll strive to minimize the impact.” (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/weve-officially-acquired-doubleclick.html 3/11)
Time Warner Chief Executive Jeffrey Bewkes has said that Time Warner is open for a deal on AOL. Bewkes acknowledged weakness in the AOL business and told the Bear Stearns media conference Tuesday that Time Warner was open to combining AOL with another company “whatever configuration makes it the strongest and the most valuable.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/11/official-aol-on-the-table-for-a-deal 3/11)
Yahoo is in late stage discussions with Google to join their OpenSocial platform, says a NYTimes story from earlier this evening. Multiple sources at both Yahoo and Google confirm to us that discussions are happening, but won’t say when an announcement might be made or even that a final decision has been made. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/11/yahoo-in-discussions-to-join-google-opensocial 3/11)
Viacom is being dealt a slight setback in its $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube. As two media titans are go toe-to-toe in a New York courtroom, the judge is ruling that Viacom cannot seek punitive damages against YouTube. Massive statutory damages, however, remain on the table. (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080311-judge-to-viacom-no-punitive-damages-in-youtube-case.html 3/11)
Web video is still several years away from profitability, says former Disney CEO and current Web video entrepreneur Michael Eisner, during an interview by Mark Cuban at the SXSWi festival. Still, one day, “professionally driven content for the Internet is going to explode.” (http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9891017-36.html 3/11)
MyLoki is a service offered by Boston-based SkyHook Wireless, the same company behind the GPS-like, WiFi-locating technology in the iPhone. Skyhook can determine your location based on the nearest WiFi routers that it picks up through your laptop or other computing device. After first downloading the Loki toolbar for your browser, whenever you are in the vicinity of a WiFi hotspot it should be able to triangulate your location. You can then broadcast this information in a number of ways. You get your own MyLoki page that shows people your exact location, or you can embed a constantly updated map with your position on your blog. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/myloki-lets-you-tell-the-world-that-you-are-here 3/12)
I really dig this service but at the same time find it a bit creepy that my every move will be tracked even when I want to be “invisible.” I wonder if there’s a way to turn this thing off when you want to or. . .maybe even. . .tell it to lie. Here’s the example. I go to San Francisco for one day. I don’t tell a couple of good friends there because I won’t have the time to catch up even if I wanted to. They see my status on Loki and hence. . .angry text messaging ensues. Yup, I can already see the problems.
CBS Sports.com got permission from local affiliates to remove blackout restrictions on NCAA March Madness On Demand games previously prohibiting local market games from being viewed online. Meanwhile, a new developers platform put together with CBS College Sports Network, and the NCAA will give third party sites such as Facebook, ESPN.com, SI.Com and Yahoo! Sports a single-click link to direct video coverage of the tournament. CBS is also featuring a newly enhanced video player supporting a 16×9 aspect ratio. The network counted 1.38 million unique visitors who watched 2,598,889 total hours of live March Madness video last year.
The Sundance Channel will kick off the online and on demand components of its second annual multiplatform “The Green” initiative on March 25, a week prior to its TV debut. Cable affiliates will offer premieres of shows such as Big Ideas for a Small Planet & EcoBiz on demand and as broadband offerings on their local web portals.
Video portal Dailymotion will stream the exclusive premiere of Comedy site My Damn Channel‘s latest original series Bedtime Stories to kick off a new branded MDC channel on the site.
P2P online TV service Babelgum launched a newly-designed interface incorporating the usual web 2.0 features, including the ability to create and manage communities as well as share, rate and embed content. The new Babelgum client is also Mac compatible.
The Associated Press is launching its own channel on YouTube. Editors are uploading about 250 videos a week. “We’re monitoring our foray into social media closely,” says AP exec Kevin Roach. Reuters also has a YouTube channel, and is uploading three-to-five clips per day. (http://www.beet.tv/2008/03/the-associated.html 3/11)
Filed under: WIRELESS
NBC Universal launched a new interactive mobile game, Law & Order: Celebrity Betrayal, with mobile developer LimeLife, inviting players to solve a complex murder mystery utilizing clues and advice from L&O characters. Users will be charged a $6.99 one-time download fee as well as a $2.99/month subscription fee to play.
Why oh why would I pay a monthly subscription cost to play a mobile game? One-time charge seems a bit more reasonable given that this isn’t a game a consumer will instantly be familiar with.
As mobile broadband takes off, Wi-Fi hotspots will become as irrelevant as telephone booths, Ericsson chief marketing officer Johan Bergendahl said Monday. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/10/Ericsson-predicts-demise-of-hotspots_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-03-12 3/10)
Filed under: MISC
The increasingly aggressive move by the country’s theater owners to update their screens to accommodate digital 3-D films can largely be attributed to one young woman: Disney’s Hannah Montana. “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour” made box-office history last month with a $31.1 million opening. (Variety 3/11)
Screen Media Films devised a new distribution model for Super High Me, a pot-themed take off of the documentary Super Size Me. Beginning on 4/20, stoners who lack the motivation to go and see it at their local multiplex are asked to log on to the film’s website and order a free DVD screener so that they can host a free screening for their friends.
Super High Me Trailer
Lionsgate became the second studio to allow its films to be copied directly from DVD to iPod, beginning with the latest Rambo release due out on standard DVD and Blu-ray on May 27.
