Filed under: Feature | Tags: YouTube, Arts, Video, Video clip, Cease and desist, Gerd Leonhard, Entertainment, End of Control
THE END OF CONTROL
In the above video, Ask a Ninja discusses the future of online video and more importantly why the availability of online video is so important in this 2.5 world (I’m tired of 2.0). Every second, 10 minutes of online video are uploaded to the internet. In a week, more people in the US watch YouTube videos than the top 10 network shows. These statistics may not mean much to you now but maybe more when the ninja drops it. Check it.
All jokes aside, this video caused me to think more about the distribution of content and the loss of control media companies are experiencing in this regard.
That’s when I came across the book and online blog entitled The End of Control by Gerd Leonhard. In the past, content publishers controlled distribution of their content primarily to the television and DVD platforms. That control and limited distribution has been terrorized by the consumer’s desire for content anywhere they go. Based on this consumer desire, the availability of content has been ripped from the content publisher by way of uploads to a global audience almost immediately after release on linear television.
Don’t Make Me Angry
Most media companies choose to fight this loss of control using their extensive legal teams and incessant cease and desist letters. While this does address the larger issues, the scale of the internet is most difficult to contain by any company no matter how large the legal team. It’s like being in a relationship. One person tells the other it’s not working out and the other ignores it. Even ignoring the situation or fighting back doesn’t make the relationship any stronger.
Paying for Content
DVD sales were and continue to be a huge driver of revenue for media companies. That said, paying for content does not only include a transfer of $$. As a user, I can pay for content either with $$ receiving an ad-free product or pay with my time and sit through the pre-roll. The video above illustrates Leonhard’s three methods for payment of online video.
Where To Go From Here
I wouldn’t dare say that I have all of the answers but what I do know is that controlling the internet is a futile exercise. If consumers have demanded a new product and forced that product to come to fruition, media companies should pool as many resources as possible to discover how to re-package that product in a form the consumer is willing to pay for. I truly believe that most people will pay for a product if provided a high quality video and seamless user experience (cough iTunes cough cough). And for those experiences that consumers are not willing to pay for, concentration should be placed on other methods of payment: attention and engagement.
And I Leave You With This
And OK, This Too
The rapid rate at which broadband is being adopted around the world will lead the number of Web video viewers to quadruple by 2013, according to a report by ABI Research. The study also says that Web video sites are increasingly finding more efficient ways to distribute their content. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9952659-7.html 5/27)
Filed under: Feature
D6 CONFERENCE 2008: BILL GATES AND STEVE BALLMER FROM MICROSOFT
The Microsoft Comedy Duo
Part 1
Above and below are two highlights from Steve Ballmer (right) and Bill Gates’ (left) interview at D6 yesterday. In part 1 above, Bill and Steve speak about their original partnership and the origins of the company.
Part 2
The main highlight for me comes in part 2 (above) when Ballmer explains the online advertising chain on a white board. He also references the Yahoo acquisition attempt as Microsoft’s mission to increase their scale in the search advertising sector.
Was Vista a mistake? Ballmer responds, definitely not, but admits that there certainly are things that they would change if given the option to do it all again. In the next version, Microsoft will definitely make improvements in compatibility, security, and ability to upgrade.
I heart crazy Ballmer.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Andromeda Strain, Benjamin Bratt, Fox News, Michael Crichton, MSNBC, Nashville Star, Ricky Schroder, Viola Davis
A&E’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s “Andromeda Strain” was a real thriller Monday night. Part One of the four-hour movie averaged 4.8 million total viewers and 2.7 million adults 25 to 54, the second-highest rating for that demographic on A&E. (Variety 5/27)
NBC’s “Nashville Star,” the country music version of “American Idol,” is coming to CMT. Beginning June 14, the cable channel will televise episodes of the show just a few days after they premiere on NBC. (Broadcasting & Cable 5/27)
MSNBC, which bills itself as “the place for politics,” is being pummeled by political practitioners. The focus of the attacks is the evening lineup, where the channel appears to be gravitating to the left and often seems to regard itself as the antithesis of Fox News. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/27/AR2008052703047.html 5/28)
New York Times Magazine’s cover story this Sunday focuses on efforts by former model Tyra Banks to turn herself into a brand. The host of “America’s Next Top Model” and “The Tyra Banks Show” aims to become “like her hero, Martha Stewart,” according to the profile. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.wwd.com/memopad/article/125239 5/28)
Media and entertainment companies are likely to feel a pinch from a sluggish U.S. economy all year long, based on the results of the just-ended quarterly earnings season. News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch puts it most bluntly: “There’s no doubt the consumer economy is stressed.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ied2fbcd4ab52837325e1faf122a8ea61 5/27)
News Corp. and CBS are more at risk than their peers to advertising weakness because of their higher exposure to auto and financial ads amid a sluggish economy, says a new UBS analysis. Viacom is “best positioned,” due to its mix of “more economically resilient advertising.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i92f29f82847baa4126c5c41d70c5d35e 5/27)
Time Warner Cable may target Charter Communications after it splits from Time Warner, says Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield. Troubled Charter, which is majority owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is a “logical target,” with its shares facing “a questionable future.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2008/05/will_time_warner_cable_acquire.php 5/27)
Six of the country’s largest cable providers — Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House — have agreed to work together with Sony to develop digital TV sets that do not require set-top boxes. The TVs, using tru2way technology, are expected to make installation easier and cut costs. (The Wall Street Journal 5/28, MarketWatch 5/27)
Next February’s transition to all-digital TV signals represents a great opportunity for the cable industry to attract new customers. A study from SNL Kagan reports that 10% of households currently relying on analog signals will switch to a pay-TV service and that most of those will opt for cable. (
ClipSyndicate 5/26, PC Magazine/Reuters 5/19)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: CNET Networks, CrunchGear, Kevin Johnson, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Steven Sinofsky, Windows 7, Windows Vista
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
If you’ve been waiting to see what Windows 7 will look like then you may want to head over to CrunchGear to check out a bevy of screen shots that hit Techcrunch earlier today. Of course, the release is a couple years out, but Techcrunch confirmed that this is what the current build of Windows 7 looks like. Coincidentally, Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky was interviewed by CNET about Windows 7, but gave very little, if any, details on the subject. As the saying goes, though, a picture is worth a thousand words. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/27/leaked-screen-shots-of-windows-7-hit-crunchgears-inbox 5/27)
Online advertising is a “very, very” significant growth opportunity for Microsoft, says Kevin Johnson, the exec who is leading the software giant’s effort in the area. Johnson is prepping an “engagement mapping” system to scrutinize all the ads a user sees before clicking on a search ad. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/26/magazines/fortune/tech/kirkpatrick_johnson.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008052805 5/26)
Microsoft’s Kevin Johnson
Shares in Yell Group rose as much as 5.4% early on Tuesday as traders cited market talk of bid interest from Microsoft. The British-based Yell declines to comment on the talk. Yell is a classified advertising directories company, operating both in print and online. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSL2760450620080527 5/27)
Yahoo plans to offer real-time stock quotes to users of its finance Web pages. Data will be provided by Kansas City, Mo.-based Bats Trading. Google and rival Web sites from Microsoft and AOL provide quotes with more than a 10-minute delay and charge users for real-time data. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aEyPi1i2yMVI 5/28)
Facebook has announced it will make its third-party developer platform open source which could be a huge step toward breaking down the wall between its site and the rest of the web. (http://www.halflifesource.com/052808/facebook_launches_open_source_initiative/article2456.htm 5/27)
Comcast-owned G4 is making some of its programming — including “Code Monkeys” and “Attack of the Show!” — available on Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace. “G4 is a natural fit to be part of the Xbox Live community,” said Neal Tiles, G4’s president. “Our young, male audience spends more time interfacing with technology than any other network.” (Broadcasting & Cable 5/27, GameDaily BIZ 5/27)
Premium movie channel Starz has announced that it will soon enter a distribution deal with Verizon Communications. The deal brings the Starz Play online video offering to the telecom’s 8.5 million high-speed Internet subscribers for $5.99 a month. (Los Angeles Times 5/28, Reuters 5/27, Light Reading 5/27)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Myspace, iPhone, Steve Jobs, Google, Searching, News and Media, Eric E. Schmidt
In preparation for what Apple watchers expect to be the introduction of the second-generation iPhone, the company’s CEO Steve Jobs has apparently learned from his past mistakes, say analysts and company watchers. Meanwhile, these same observers are scratching their heads over what Jobs will say in an anticipated keynote speech next month. (The New York Times 5/28)
Steve Jobs
The next big wave in advertising will be the mobile Internet, says Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Everyone “has a mobile phone.” Web 2.0 “is not where the money is.” MySpace is yet to “monetize.” Also, Google’s focus is on the end-user. “We are not looking at it from the publisher perspective.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://faz-community.faz.net/blogs/netzkonom/archive/2008/05/26/eric-schmidt.aspx 5/26)
Eric Schmidt
The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District is negotiating with a startup for a Wi-Fi network that would provide fast Internet access to riders throughout its 104-mile regional rail system. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/05/23/SF-BART-in-talks-for-full-Wi-Fi-rollout_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-05-28 5/23)
Monsoon Multimedia will produce a beta version of its HAVA Mobile Player that allows users to watch their home TV on select Nokia phones. The device will give people on the go many DVR-like features as well as schedule DVR recordings from the phone. (mocoNews.net 5/27)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Television, Blu-ray Disc, Video, DVD, Amazon.com, DVD player, Chicago Tribune, TiVo
Amazon.com is cutting $40 off the price of its Kindle e-book reader. The $399 Kindle launched last November and sold out in hours. Amazon says the cost of manufacturing the Kindles dropped as the Web retailer increased the number of the devices produced. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_hi_te/amazon_kindle_price 5/27)
In another move to differentiate itself from the more generic digital video recorders, TiVo has created a service that will allow users who sign up the ability to automatically record the picks of Chicago Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan, the companies are expected to announce today. TiVo’s deal with the Tribune follows other feature expansions that include the ability to download videos from YouTube and other Internet sites. (The New York Times 5/28)
LG has brought to market a home-theater system with rear wireless speakers and a champagne-flute design priced at $649. The LHT888 lacks a Blu-ray player, but it includes a DVD receiver that packs a 700W 5.1-channel receiver and a DVD player that features 1080p upscaling through HDMI. (ElectronicHouse.com 5/27)
The truly connected home still is more myth than reality, writes Boston Globe writer Carolyn Y. Johnson, noting companies are “inching toward the most basic level of connection.” Phone and cable companies such as Verizon and Comcast are racing to seamlessly deliver new content to multiple TVs, but “[f]or all their good intentions all these services are full of seams,” according to one industry analyst. Meanwhile, smaller companies such as ZeeVee and Sling Media are betting consumers care more about a connected Internet experience instead of a “closed network” such as cable. (The Boston Globe 5/26)
