Filed under: Feature | Tags: Adult, Arts, Business, Dark Knight, Image Galleries, New York City, Staples Center, Ticket
ONLINE SITE OF THE WEEK: THE DARK KNIGHT REMIXED
Above is a pic from my friend’s birthday last night. Good times.
This is that same picture imposed onto a video to promote The Dark Knight premiering in theatres this Friday. Click the image above to watch the full video. This promotion was sent to me by my good friends at Oddcast who tell me they worked with Moxie Interactive to shoot this video exclusively for this promotion.
Personalization. Check.
Sharing. Check.
Fun factor. Check.
Easy breezy. Check and check.
Marauder like.
Correction: (Updated 7.17.08) I had attributed Elf Yourself‘s creation in error. The site was created by Toy, New York with EVB.
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Carol Burnett, Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America: A Cit
The fourth season premiere of TNT’s “The Closer” on Monday night pulled in a total of 7.81 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-same-day figures. The episode reached 3.29 million viewers in the 25-to-54 demographic and 2.48 million 18- to 49-year-olds. Mediaweek (7/15)
Last Sunday’s series premiere of Brooke Knows Best on VH1 at 10p posted a 1.3 rating and averaged 1.4 million viewers among A18-49. The opening episode also averaged 2.0 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Billy Crystal signed on to host the six-hour documentary series Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America produced by Thirteen/WNET New York and Ghost Light Films. The documentary, which is slated to air next January, will look at the various forms of American comedy and its evolution as it relates to social issues, political change and its commentary on American life. It will also look at some of the top comedic talents from the past and present such as Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, George Carlin, Jon Stewart and more. (Cynopsis 7/16)
FX has ordered 19 new episodes of “Nip/Tuck” and announced that those would be the last new installments of the show, which will come to an end in 2011. Meanwhile, the network also announced plans for a second comedy — “Testees” — about two pals who become professional guinea pigs. Broadcasting & Cable (7/15) , The Hollywood Reporter (7/15)
Comcast will offer on its video-on-demand service exclusive content tied to the release of Warner Bros.’ “The Dark Knight,” the latest installment in the Batman movies. As part of the deal, Comcast customers will gain access to behind-the-scenes footage, cast interviews and movie trailers. World Screen News (7/15)
Thanks to the additions in 2007 of Fox Sports en Espanol and Mun2, ad revenue on Spanish-language cable networks soared 76%, to $220.7 million, last year, according to data just released by Nielsen. Excluding the two new networks, the sector still rose 32.3% from 2006 to 2007. Multichannel News (7/15)
The National Geographic Channel led all cable networks with 12 nominations in the 29th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards. Also receiving nods were cablers HBO/Cinemax (with 10); the History Channel (7); CNN (5); Current TV, Discovery Channel and Smithsonian Channel (3 each); HDNet, HDNet/PBS, MSNBC and VH1 (2 apiece); and Animal Planet, Discovery Times Channel and Oxygen (1 each). Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter (7/15) , Broadcasting & Cable (7/15)
In an example of Walt Disney Co.’s corporate synergy, ESPN has started offering short-form video clips to the Web sites of ABC’s 10 owned-and-operated TV stations. Programming involved in the move includes “SportsCenter Right Now,” “Mike and Mike in the Morning,” “Pardon the Interruption” and “Around the Horn.” Mediaweek (7/15)
A small group of leaders from SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers will convene today for a “sidebar meeting” at the AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks. AMPTP made it clear that they are willing to meet with SAG, but only to listen. AMPTP leaders continue to urge SAG to take its final offer from June 30, saying the deal cannot be negotiated further. If the studio’s offer is ratified by August 15, the terms will be retroactive to July 1. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Google, Jerry Yang, KateModern, Microsoft, Time Warner, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Time Warner, which recently announced plans to spin off its Time Warner Cable unit, now is in talks with Microsoft and Yahoo! about AOL, according to a source quoted by Reuters. Microsoft ostensibly would acquire AOL outright, while Yahoo! would merge the online service with its own operations. The New York Times/Reuters (7/16)
MTV Networks is continuing its effort to tie programming with music with the debut of Soundtrack.mtv.com, an online music guide that also acts as an archive and a preview of what songs to expect in shows over the next 24-hour period. The Hollywood Reporter/Billboard (7/16)
Time Warner’s AOL is launching two new sites as part of its bid to grow advertising opportunities by serving niche audiences. The new WalletPop.com offers information on personal finance; Pixcetera.com, meanwhile, is devoted to high-quality professional photography. (Iwantmedia 7/16, http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080715/aol_web_sites.html 7/15)
The storyline of long enduring web show LonelyGirl15 will come to an end on August 1 more than two years after Bree first peaked online viewers curiosity. Creators Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, who also wrote KateModern, are working on a new story and cast of characters and felt the need to put the original yarn to bed once and for all. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Online film portal Jaman signed its first major studio deal with Paramount per Variety, offering new and library titles such as Cloverfield and The Hours for rental at $2.99-$3.99 per movie. (Cynopsis 7/16)
BlogHer
, an online network of female bloggers, has announced a partnership with iVillage and Women@NBCU, a new content and marketing intiative by NBC Universal. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/16/blogher-inks-deal-with-nbc-universal-raises-5-million 7/16)
Digital entertainment studio Deca launched a new website and online show dedicated to massive multiplayer gaming beginning with World of Warcraft, dubbed Project Lore. Alex Albrecht will host the daily show, clueing in fans to tips, cheats and tricks. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Project Lore Introduction
Samsung is sponsoring a new 3-part web series on Break.com called Ballpark Invasion, featuring insider tours of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and San Francisco’s Giants Park. The gist is to demonstrate how useful Samsung’s multimedia Instinct phone is at capturing memorable moments at the ballpark. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Cox Communications, in the process of building its own broadband backbone, expects to finish the work by the end of the year. The completion of the 13,000-mile route will connect most of the company’s major systems and is expected to give it far more autonomy to handle its capacity needs. Light Reading (7/15)
Microsoft’s estimate that a combined Google and Yahoo search engine would control 90% of the search market is pretty spot on, according to the latest Hitwise search market share analysis. Google and Yahoo combined for 88.79% of the search market last month. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Percentage of U.S. Searches Among Leading Search Engine Providers
Domain June-08 May-08 June-07
Google 69.17% 68.29% 63.92%
Yahoo 19.62% 19.95% 21.31%
MSN 5.46%* 5.89%* 9.85%*
Ask.com 4.17% 4.23% 3.42%
Note: Data is based on four week rolling periods (ending 6/28/08, 5/31/08, 6/30/07 from the Hitwise sample of 10 million U.S. Internet users. * – includes executed searches on Live.com and MSN Search but does not include searches on Club.Live.com.
Source: Hitwise
Top 10 Parent Companies/Divisions for June 2008 (U.S., Home and Work)
Parent Unique Audience (000) Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)
1. Google 128,029 1:50:16
2. Microsoft 123,021 2:12:38
3. Yahoo! 113,439 3:07:47
4. Time Warner* 99,494 3:23:24
5. News Corp. Online 80,606 1:55:40
6. InterActiveCorp 63,935 0:20:22
7. eBay 62,767 1:47:53
8. Wikimedia 52,836 0:21:09
9. Amazon 52,060 0:28:03
10.Apple Computer 49,911 1:08:33
*Time Warner division excludes Turner Network’s audience
Source: Nielsen Online
Average U.S. Internet Usage, Combined Home & Work, Month of June 2008
Home & Work,June Home & Work,May % Change
Sessions/Visits per Person 58 59 -1.7
Domains Visited per Person 107 105 1.9
Web Pages per Person 2,373 2,335 1.6
Duration of a Web Page Viewed 0:00:53 0:00:53 -1.1
PC Time per Person 65:58:23 66:02:45 -0.1
Active Digital Media Universe 164 million 166.5 million -1.5
Current Digital Media Universe 223.1 million 222.3 million 0.4
Source: Nielsen Online
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Facebook, iPhone, LinkedIn, Myspace, Social network service, TechCrunch, United States
Facebook and MySpace, the two largest social networks, eagerly launched new iPhone applications last Friday. Both quickly shot up the top apps list. Apple has since turned off the download count feature, but Facebook is no. 7 on the free list, MySpace is no. 11. But while both applications are useful for heavy users, they won’t drive new users to the services because they failed to leverage the killer iPhone feature – location awareness. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/16/facebook-myspace-ignore-location-on-iphone-at-their-peril 7/16)
Completely agree with Techcrunch on this one. The location awareness feature is the killer piece of information especially in a social networking environment.
Mobile phones in the United States will surpass the popularity of desktops for teens, according to a report presented by marketing agency Fuse at the YPulse 2008 National Mashup, a conference on teens and technology. Also: “technology platforms will save, not kill, TV networks.” (Iwantmedia 7/16, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-9991979-93.html 7/15)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto IV, GTA, Nintendo, Playstation 3, Wii, Wii MotionPlus, Xbox 360
The Xbox Live environment is taking on more of a social role. The platform’s 12 million registered members will now be able to create their own avatar (a la the Wii,) and host virtual parties to jointly play games, watch movies and chat with friends. Hardcore gamers need not fear; The Xbox will have a number of exclusive titles shipping later this year including Resident Evil 5, Gears of War 2 and Fallout 3, each with more online play emphasized. (Cynopsis 7/16)
The exclusivity that game platforms have enjoyed from certain game studios are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Two announcements stirred up the crowds at E3 this week: The latest edition of Sony’s perennial favorite Final Fantasy XIII will come out simultaneously for the Xbox 360 as well as the PS3 when it launches later this year. Equally surprising was the news that Rockstar is developing a version of its Grand Theft Auto game for Nintendo’s handheld DS platform for release next year as Nintendo is trying hard to woo more of the traditional gaming demo. GTA should help – more than 8.5 million units of Grand Theft Auto IV have already sold this year. (Cynopsis 7/16)
Final Fantasy XIII Trailer
Nintendo debuted Tuesday the Wii MotionPlus, a device that plugs into the base of the Wii remote and provides more sensitive motion control. The new add-on will be released this spring along with “Wii Sports Resort,” a beach-themed game with activities such as Frisbee throwing and jet-ski riding. 
ClipSyndicate/WNYW-TV (New York) (7/7) , The Washington Post/Associated Press (7/16)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Apple, Apple iPod, Hardware, iPhone, iPod Touch, MacBook Air, Macintosh, Peripherals
TECHNOLOGY
While some forward-thinking individuals were dropping US$10 to purchase the iPod touch 2.0 software update , Apple quietly issued a free iPod touch 1.1.5 update. If you own an iPod touch that hasn’t been updated to version 2.0 and would like the update, just plug your iPod touch into your Mac and decline the 2.0 update. iTunes will then inform you that the 1.1.5 update is available for download and installation. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/07/15/Apple_quietly_releases_iPod_touch_115_update-Macworld_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-07-16 7/15)
Lenovo introduced two ultramobile laptops on Monday, including the ThinkPad X200 ultrathin laptop, which joins Apple’s MacBook Air as one of the lightest fully functional laptops available today. (http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/07/15/Lenovo_launches_ultramobile_ThinkPad_laptops_1.html?source=NLC-MOBILEHARDWARE&cgd=2008-07-16 7/15)
Belkin plans to introduce its FlyWire, a wireless HD streamer, in 2009. The high-definition hardware, which comes with a $999.99 price tag, is said to offer “whole home” coverage, which, according to this review, means several TVs should be able to access the same transmitter. Digital Trends (7/15)
McIntosh’s new TM2 AM/FM HD Radio Tuner Module includes easy plug-and-play capabilities for McIntosh’s recently launched MA6600 integrated amplifier. The AM/FM HD radio tuner costs $800 and features a dual-differential AM antenna and Blend to choose from auto, digital-only or analog-only modes. ElectronicHouse.com (7/15)
Warner Home Video will offer retailers beginning in September a point-of-sale rebate program on Blu-ray versions of classic films such as “The Shining,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “The Fugitive” and “Road Warrior.” The program will bring the per-disc price to retailers down to about $11 and will, theoretically, help lower the cost for consumers as well. ElectronicHouse.com (7/15)
