Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

CBS benefited from Nielsen’s new out-of-home measurement tracking service during the first rounds of the NCAA tournament, according to Ad Age, showing ratings 23% higher than the overnight figures in one instance. This should help make up for downward trend in the tourney’s conventional household ratings. (Cynopsis 4/3)

NBC announced its upfront slate yesterday with a theme to each hour of primetime - 8p is the family hour; 9p is the blockbuster hour; and 10p are adult dramas.  Also the amount of reality shows is fairly limited from the fall thru into spring 2009, though we have yet to see what next summer will bring. (Cynopsis 4/3, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i958f1f23dbbf0f0119b1978233f40b59  4/2)

 
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama will make an appearance on HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” and talk about the influence basketball has had on his life. The episode will run April 15 at 10 p.m. on the pay-cable channel. (Multichannel News 4/2)

 
Sundance Channel also had their upfront press briefing yesterday and introduced a lengthy slate of new, returning, in development and acquired series.  The mix tho remains the same with 70% of the schedule feature films and documentaries, 25% series and 5% talk and shorts.  And despite chatter about a potential sale, the Channel is continuing with business as usual having been thru this process a couple of times before. (Cynopsis 4/3)

 
Tribune boss Sam Zell will have to sell assets besides the Chicago Cubs baseball team and its Newsday newspaper to pay off its $1.85 billion debt, according to bond research firm Gimme Credit. Tribune will need to look at selling other assets, such as its 31% stake in the Food Network. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aAxHuFRP2A0U  4/3)

 
Rhode Island’s top cable TV regulator has ruled that the state’s three multichannel-TV providers — Cox, Full Channel TV and Verizon – do not have to release subscriber information because it would give competitors an unfair advantage. Additionally, Cox has asked that other financial information, such as balance sheets and income statements, not be made public. (The Providence Journal (R.I.) 4/3)

 
Time Warner Cable will announce today that it is increasing the availability of enhanced VOD services in the New York metro region, including parts of New Jersey. The move means that more area residents will gain access to the company’s Start Over service, in which viewers can rewind to the beginning of a show in progress without a DVR. (New York Post 4/3)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA  

Google is reporting the biggest workforce reduction in its nine-year history, cutting 300 jobs at DoubleClick, the online advertising company it bought last month for $3.24 billion. Also: DoubleClick plans to sell off its search marketing arm, Performics, which employs 200 staffers. (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aHPI8hip9Zr8  4/2)

 
A major change Google made last month to its AdWords algorithm is resulting in a double whammy for some advertisers: The rates they are paying for ads are skyrocketing while conversion rates for those ads are dropping. Disgruntled advertisers dub the move the “Google slap.” (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/04/march-google-sl.html  4/2)

 
Thirty-second commercials on YouTube perform just as well as ads on television, says a study commissioned by Google. Online ads are better at “communicating the brand.” (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/04/video_ads_as_effective_as_tv_a.php  4/2)

 
MySpace settled its copyright spat with Universal Music Group, clearing the way for Universal to join the social network’s planned online music shop, expected to launch in the coming days. The service is positioning itself to be a one-stop-shop for music fans, offering music streaming, MP3 downloads, concert tickets, ringtones and merchandise. Participating labels Universal, Warner Bros. Music and Sony-BMG will retain a small piece of the venture, as well as a revenue share of sales. (Cynopsis 4/3, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-myspace3apr03,1,6270782.story  4/3)

Singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson of NYC distributed her music on MySpace before it appeared on an Old Navy commercial and Grey’s Anatomy.

 
Craigslist could “easily” rake in $100 million with a few minor changes to improve service, according to a report by research firm Classified Intelligence. The firm estimates Craigslist’s 2008 revenue will be about $81 million this year, a figure described as “amazing.” (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3628994  4/3)

 
After Perez Hilton posted streams of songs by Britney Spears on his gossip site, Sony/BMG and its subsidiary Zomba filed a lawsuit against the blogger. In response, Perez says that Sony/BGM artists will no longer appear on his site: “Why should we help the company suing us make money????” (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/04/perez-hilton-an.html  4/1)

 
NBC Digital Entertainment is preparing a bevy of new original online content to complement NBC’s new summer and fall line-up. Look for new original webisodes built around Heroes, Chuck, The Office and 30 Rock. Web original Fears, Secrets and Lies will be the division’s first user-driven interactive series, inviting users to submit their deepest, darkest secrets via video blogs which the hosts of the show and celebrity guests will play upon. New NBC shows will also feature plenty of digital extensions, including an interactive adventure game built around Crusoe and interactive mobile events synched to the live broadcast of XIII. Many of the new shows will be streamed in their entirety on NBC.com. (Cynopsis 4/3)

 
Don’t forget to check out the 8-minute catch up reel of Battlestar Galactica on SciFi.com before the final season begins on Sc Fi on Friday night at 10 pm ET. It’s inspired, of course, by the 7 minute Sopranos. (Cynopsis 4/3)

Battlestar Galactica Recap

 
Jessica Rose, no doubt lonely since her stint as LonelyGirl15 ended, landed another acting gig on a web thriller on the way from 60Frames called Blood Cell. It looks like what the Blair Witch Project might have been if David Cronenberg directed it. (Cynopsis 4/3)

The webisodes aren’t yet live but you can watch the trailer by clicking the image below.  Looks fairly Ring-esque but interesting none the less.  Would be interesting if they played with the cell storyline on the mobile platform as well.

 
As Al Gore’s Current Media gets ready for its IPO, the cable channel is drawing more on its Website audience for TV content. Today, it is launching Current News, a three-minute wrap-up culled from audience submissions on the Web that will play every hour on Current TV. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/02/current-news-an-even-easier-way-for-web-audiences-to-get-on-tv  4/2)

Check out the computerized female voice which narrates the user-submitted news stories creating these videos for all to watch.  The robot voice is a bit creepy.  Perhaps, use this video to scare your neighbors.  I’m not sure how applicable this random assortment of news is but an innovative idea none the less.

 
DailyMotion is out to superserve cinema buffs with a new section of film-related content. Cinema Dailymotion features full-length indie films and documentaries, clips, interviews, trailers and related content from partners including Magnolia Pictures, IFC Films, Film Independent and Strand Releasing. (Cynopsis 4/3)

 
Comcast rolls out its first DOCSIS 3.0 “wideband” internet service this week in Minneapolis-St. Paul, offering download speeds of up to 50 Mbps and uploads of 5 Mbps. A wideband connection requires a fatter wallet, however. It’s priced at $150/month. Comcast is offering lesser speeds in the market for less: 8 Mbps down runs $53/mo. and 6 Mbps down goes for $43/mo. (Cynopsis 4/3, http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6547304  4/2)

 
(Below) Yet another news aggregator site.  YEAH!!  At this point, we’ll need an aggregator site to aggregate the aggregators. [sigh]  I know.  I know.  Pot.  It’s kettle calling.

Former magazine editor Tina Brown is teaming up with InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller to launch her own news aggregator Web site. The site will be edited by Edward Felsenthal, a former Wall Street Journal deputy managing editor. Brown promises the site will offer “a new take” on aggregation. (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2008/04/tina-brown-to-partner-with-barry-diller-on-news-aggregation.php  4/2)

 
Streaming video and music delivered online, over IPTV network and via mobile handsets will generate $70 billion in revenue over the next six years, according to a new report from Insight Research. That’s a compound annual growth rate of over 28%. (Cynopsis 4/3)

WIRELESS

Yahoo unveiled a souped-up version of its mobile search service, speeding up text searches with improved relevancy results. The new oneSearch feature, now adopted by 29 carriers worldwide, also adds predictive text completion, contextual recommendations and personalized voice-enacted search, powered by voice recognition specialist Vlingo. Vlingo received a second round of funding this week led by Yahoo to go along with the deal. (Cynopsis 4/3, http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0233178220080402  4/2)

 
LG Electronics announced Tuesday at CTIA Wireless 2008 the availability of the new Vu™ by LG (the Prada phone), a sleek and stunning touch screen handset with a view into mobile entertainment’s newest offering, AT&T Mobile TV. (http://gizmodo.com/374456/lg-vu-for-att-finally-gets-all-official  4/1)

 
Fox Business Network has inked a content-licensing agreement with MobiTV, a provider of mobile-TV services. Under the deal, full-length linear versions of Fox Business shows, such as “Fox Business Morning” and “Money for Breakfast,” will be available to MobiTV subscribers. (Mediaweek 4/2)

 
Verizon Wireless added a couple of new MTVN networks to its on demand V Cast mobile video service – video game-themed GameTrailers and tween targeted The N. GameTrailers features video game trailers, interviews and reviews of new games. The N channel offers clips of shows such as Degrassi and Instant Star. MTVN streamed more than 26 million on demand videos to V Cast video customers in 2007, according to Verizon. Verizon also picked up a TMZ TV offering, featuring commercial free video segments from the WBTG’s syndicated TMZ show. (Cynopsis 4/3)

GAMING

Nickelodeon is expected to announce that it is developing an entire virtual world based on the network hit “SpongeBob SquarePants,” among other social-networking and game projects. The company is in an eyeballs race with Disney, which also targets kids with virtual worlds. (Iwantmedia.com 4/3, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i7aed7c9e9139df55c51bef3a1d409714  4/3)