Filed under: Feature | Tags: 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, Content, Satacracy 88, User-generated content
ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: SATACRACY 88
At first I thought this web series was a bit cheesy but I must admit, I love the concept. The audience is posed a question at the end of every episode. Based on their votes, the plot for the following episode is shot and produced. There is user generated content and then there is professionally produced user-participated content. Very cool strategy. Plus, the series did win the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Broadband Drama. I have always struggled with how a web series can generate a returning audience and allowing the audience to participate in content development seems a novel approach.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Cable television, Cablevision, Comcast, Disney Channel, NBC Universal, NFL Network, Rainbow Media, Sundance Channel
Yesterday, the NFL Network filed a discrimination complaint to the FCC against the Comcast Corp. NFL Network alleges Comcast violated federal law pertaining to equal treatment requirements. More specifically, the NFL Network says the Comcast-owned sports networks are more widely distributed on Comcast cable systems than the NFL Network. The NFL Network would like to move off the sports programming tier, which reaches about 1 million subscribers, to the broadest cable tier which reaches approximately 24 million households. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Cablevision plans to pay $496 million to acquire the Sundance Channel from NBC Universal. Once the deal is complete, the channel will become fully owned by Cablevision’s Rainbow Media unit. (Reuters 5/7)
Subscriber growth and increased ad revenue paced a strong fiscal second quarter for Walt Disney Co. cable channels. Overall, cable nets such as ESPN and Disney Channel added 9% in revenue and 14% in operating income during the period. (OneTRAK 5/6)
CMT renewed the series Gone Country with John Rich as host for a sophomore season. Gone Country 2 will follow seven new celebrities from various entertainment sectors, giving them each a chance to become a country music star. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Season four of Bravo’s Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List kicks off on June 12 at 9p and a week later on June 19 moves to its regular time period of 10p. Over nine new episodes, Kathy is involved in different antics from performing a wedding in Queens to opening the Kathy Griffin Leadership Academy in Mexico. (Cynopsis 5/7)
It is likely ABC will pick up the David E. Kelley pilot Life on Mars taking it to series, tho rumors abound whether or not Kelley will chose to be a part. Reportedly, financial considerations are making him think twice. ABC Studios and 20th TV may jointly produce and October Road creators Josh Appelbaum, Andrew Nemec and Scott Rosenberg are also in talks about executive producing. However, the deciding factor of where Life on Mars ends up is Kelley’s decision as he created the U.S. version and owns the rights to it. Life on Mars is based on a British series about a 21st century detective working in the 1970s. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Comedy Central will pay $2.7 million to the Weinstein Co. for the cable rights to theatricals “Superhero Movie,” “Fanboys” and “The Promotion.” The Viacom-owned cable network can premiere “Superhero” in September 2010, “Fanboys” in December of that year and “Promotion” the following March. (Variety 5/6)
Dan Rather is firing another round against his former network, charging in an amended lawsuit that CBS labeled the anchor “too hot to handle.” Rather claims that CNN, ABC, NBC and others mulled possible employment but eventually declined because he had “too much baggage.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i00cf1beb205423cd0abd1ec0d118e154 5/7)
Ryan Seacrest is in “serious negotiations” to take over CNN’s “Larry King Live” around the end of the year, according to a source at the news network. King has said that Seacrest would be his first choice to take over the show when the time came: “He’s the classic generalist.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24487723 5/7)
Um. . .really?
DirecTV reupped its reality series Supreme Court of Comedy for a second season, per Variety. The series looks at real life small claims cases but with comics portraying attorneys. (Cynopsis 5/7)
DirecTV is posting a higher quarterly profit as the U.S. satellite television service provider adds more subscribers than expected. The John Malone-controlled company added 275,000 net subscribers during the quarter; analysts had forecast subscriber additions at 202,000. (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0650751020080507 5/7)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Google, Jerry Yang, Microsoft, News Corp, News Corporation, Yahoo, Yahoo Microsoft
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
The backlash against Jerry Yang continued after Yahoo publically admitted it would have been willing to sell to Microsoft below $37 a share. Portfolio manager Gordon Crawford, whose Capital Research owns over 6% of Yahoo, expressed out-and-out disgust at Mr. Yang for what he characterized in the WSJ as “overplaying a weak hand.” (Cynopsis 5/7, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-yahoo7-2008may07,0,264309.story 5/7)
Yahoo expects to sell out 50% of its video ad inventory during its “upfront” meetings with advertisers this year, according to Silicon Alley Insider including inventory on partner sites such as Comcast, Forbes, MobiTV and MLB.com. That’s up from 30% presales achieved last year. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Microsoft won’t be pursuing tie-ups or takeovers to replace its failed Yahoo bid, says chairman Bill Gates. Microsoft dropped its three-month pursuit of Yahoo on Saturday. The software giant had “put a lot of effort into talking to Yahoo” and is now “focused on its independent strategy.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145574/microsoft_wont_pursue_other_partnerships_says_gates.html 5/7)
If MySpace were to lose its top spot among social networks, it would have a long way to fall. Though U.S. visits to the powerhouse are down 5% since last year, the News Corp. site still commands nearly 74% of the social networking market, according to Hitwise. (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/06/myspace-facebook-still-on-top 5/6)
Web video startups like MyDamnChannel.com are vying for attention at Digital Hollywood, the annual conference in Los Angeles. However, one observer notes that a destination site may be “antithetical to the nature of the Web, where the point is to bounce around.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-05-06-digital-hollywood_N.htm 5/6)
Coolspotters, a new site from Connecticut based startup Fanzter, will launch later today. It’s an eye-candy celebrity-focused site that shows users the products celebrities are wearing in various photos. Users can then talk about and, of course, purchase those items. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/07/want-to-dress-just-like-celebrities-youll-like-coolspotters 5/7)
Pope Benedict will text message thousands of young Catholics on their mobile phones during World Youth Day in Sydney in July, hoping going digital will help him connect better with younger audiences. The church also will set up a social networking site akin to a “Catholic Facebook.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSSYD19071020080507 5/7)
Let’s call it a battle of the religious social networking sites. God’s Social Network launched late last week allowing users to meet other Christians, post prayers, post blessings, upload/download sermons, get inspiration, etc. Just to refresh your memory, Godtube launched in August of ’07 and has peaked at just under a million users as of this posting.
Cartoon Network is inviting kids to play along with Ben 10 using a new online tool allowing web savvy kids to construct their own games around the show. Prepackaged Ben 10 games currently dominate the top 10 most popular games at CartoonNetwork.com, according to the network, holding five of the top ten spots. (Cynopsis 5/7)
MSNBC.com introduced a new online toolbox called NewsWare to serve as a storehouse and incubator for in house and user generated apps and widgets. A selection of customizable news tickers, visualization tools and the Facebook app NewsBlaster are up there now. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Entertainment Rights inked deals with YouTube, Joost and Babelgum to provide all three digital platforms with a selection of its kid/family-targeted animated content with the launch of the Retro Heroes channel. Under the deal, YouTube debuts a version of Retro Heroes featuring short-form webisodes from ER’s library, while Joost and Babelgum will also feature selected long-form programming. Entertainment Rights programming includes He-Man, She-Ra, Felix the Cat, Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Archies, Fat Albert and Casper the Friendly Ghost. (Cynopsis 5/7)
CBS Radio will launch an Internet radio network in June that will provide access to all 140 CBS stations, as well as the AOL Radio network, through a single media player. Later in the summer, CBS will introduce Play.it, an online portal allowing users to create their own radio stations. (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/FREE/607707191/1084 5/6)
Accenture’s annual Global Media Content Survey indicated media executives are determined to focus on new platforms to drive growth in advertising, film, music, publishing, radio, the internet, videogames and television. When asked to identify the largest drivers of revenue growth over the next five years, two-thirds (66%) of respondents cited new platforms or new ways of delivering content. And nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said they will pursue a “multi-screen” distribution strategy, which includes television, online and mobile delivery. (Cynopsis 5/7)
- A leading 38% cited short-form video as the genre with the most potential, followed by online portal/publishing second (23%) and video games (18%).
- Social media and user-generated content are high-growth opportunities. Two-thirds of respondents also identified social media and user-generated content as a high-growth opportunities.
- When asked to identify what they believe will be the number one business model in five years, nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents selected advertising-supported business models, compared with 25% who cited subscription-based services and 11% who cited pay-per-play services.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Apple, High Tech Computer Corporation, HTC, HTC Touch Diamond, iPhone, Smartphones, Touch Diamond, Windows Mobile
High Tech Computer, whose Touch smartphone was a surprise hit after its June 2007 introduction, on Tuesday followed up with the more powerful Touch Diamond, a touch-screen device aimed at competing with Apple’s iPhone and other larger competitors. The Taiwanese company will launch the phone in Europe next month and plans a U.S. rollout for later this year. (The Wall Street Journal 5/7, InformationWeek 5/6)
T-Mobile launched its first 3G network, in New York, but customers can’t yet use the fastest speeds that the network offers. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/05/T-Mobile-launches-3G-in-NYC_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-05-07 5/5)
Sprint and Clearwire are close to announcing a $12 billion joint venture that will bring true WiMax broadband to computers and mobile devices in the coming years, reports the WSJ. More than $3 billion has been raised from other players including Comcast ($1.05 billion), Intel ($1 billion), Time Warner Cable ($550 million) and Google ($500 million). One of the sticking points of the deal was the concern that Sprint would use its position to limit the offering only to Sprint customers. Instead the service will be available to all comers, retaining the Seattle-based Clearwire name and boss, wireless pioneer Craig McCaw. (Cynopsis 5/7)
The iPhone lined up Vodafone as a distribution partner in 10 international markets including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Czech Republic and India. The deal may be significant because it seems to indicate Apple is willing to give up offering exclusivity in each market, as Vodafone is a distant third player in Australia with limited coverage and only a 16% market share. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Electronic Arts, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto IV, GTA IV, Take-Two, Take-Two Interactive, The New York Times, Video game
Take-Two Interactive, the maker of the “Grand Theft Auto IV” video game, received a huge boost in its fight against a takeover attempt from rival Electronic Arts when “GTA IV” blew through analysts’ expectations and grossed $500 million in sales in its first week in release, according to reports. The company is expected to disclose today that it sold 6 million copies of the game. If sales continue to outstrip predictions, analysts say, EA might be forced to increase its bid for Take-Two beyond its initial offer of $25.74 a share. (The New York Times 5/7)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: CinemaNow, Hardware, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Core 2, MediaSmart TVs, Nvidia, Personal computer, YouTube
If traditional art imitates life imagine what art on computers can do. That’s what Dell will find out with a new series of special-edition Inspiron 1525 laptops bearing the work of artist Mike Ming. (SlashGear 5/6)
Gateway’s new FX7026 might just be an online gamer’s dream come true. The PC comes with an Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q9300, Nvidia 8800GT graphics, 4GB of memory, 64-bit processor and a 640GB hard drive … all of which boils down to exciting 3-D effects and smooth video delivery, according to this article. (Electronic House 5/6)
HP scored a major content integration deal. Devices running on HP’s MediaSmart platform now have access to YouTube videos via remote control, including MediaSmart TVs, remotely-accessible servers and the soon-to-be-released HP digital media receiver. Other MediaSmart integrations include CinemaNow movies, Snapfish photos and Live365 radio stations. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Panasonic is gearing up to introduce in the U.S. the $700 DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player featuring BD-Live, a Web interactivity function that allows users to download additional content such as games with newer movie titles. The DMP-BD50 also includes embedded decoders for all the optional BD surround-sound formats, according to the company. (Electronic House 5/6, Smarthouse 5/6)
Filed under: MISC | Tags: 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, AFTRA, Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AMPTP, DvdResiduals, SAG, Screen Actors Guild
Hollywood producers are temporarily breaking off contract talks with the Screen Actors Guild, calling its demands regarding DVD sales and online content “unreasonable.” Both sides say they want to avoid a repeat of the 100-day writers strike. The union’s contract expires June 30. (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080507/hollywood_labor.html 5/7)
