Daily Marauder


BROADCAST/CABLE

BROADCAST/CABLE

Republican National Convention coverage began Monday night (although the GOP truncated RNC events due to Hurricane Gustav) and will continue through Thursday night (check listings for networks/times). (Cynopsis 9/2)

According to Nielsen, the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention last Thursday, which featured Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, drew in a combined total of 38.4 million total viewers from ten networks offering live coverage from approximately 10-11p: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo. The combined total from the ten networks among A18-49 viewers was 16.0 million. PBS got a bump in total viewers for its coverage Thursday night between 8-11p to 3.5 million. (Cynopsis 9/2)

IFC will offer its viewers a series of six news segments surrounding the 2008 Presidential election. The weekly segments begin tonight with highlights from the recent Democratic National Convention in Denver and future segments will follow on Tuesday nights with coverage from the Republican National Convention, ending with a segment in October that takes a look inside both Senators Obama and McCain’s political campaigns. (Cynopsis 9/2)

A new programming strategy for Viacom’s TV Land will target younger baby boomers by scheduling new programming and updating its reruns with shows such as “Friends,” according to this report. In the place of golden-oldie reruns during prime time, the channel will televise a new 40-something reality dating show called “The Cougar” and will test a new series called “First Love/Second Chance,” which reunites couples. The Wall Street Journal (9/2)

TV Land’s pilot ‘First Love/Second Chance,’ which reconnects old flames, is aimed at younger boomers.

September usually is when the broadcast networks introduce their latest programming options with little or no competition from the cable industry. Not so this year: TNT debuted “Raising the Bar” Monday night, FX rolls out “Sons of Anarchy” on Wednesday night and HBO goes for the jugular with “True Blood” on Sunday. Variety (8/29)

As the CW Network prepares to launch the first of its new fall shows tonight, Tribune owned CW affiliates in some cities have been busy stripping “CW” out of its marketing plan.  In Houston, KHCW has received new call letters - KAIH; in Dallas CW33 is now known as The 33; and Washington DC’s CW50 is now referred to as DC50, reports Variety.  These changes follow the San Diego Tribune station which switched affiliations from The CW to Fox a few months ago.  Tribune’s WPIX in New York City is still known as CW11, at least online, as Variety points out. (Cynopsis 9/2)

Next Monday, when Wilmington, N.C., flips the switch to all-digital TV signals, the city will serve as a test kitchen of sorts for the nationwide digital transition. In this Q&A interview, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that he planned to be in Wilmington for the big event and that he wouldn’t mind flipping the switch personally: “Sure. I am going to get blamed for it anyway. Good or bad, I’m going to get blamed, so I might as well get to do that,” he said. The Wall Street Journal (9/2) , Broadcasting & Cable (8/30)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s persistent quest for a la carte programming by cable companies now appears to be shifting to wholesalers, a move that will make independent cable networks subject to government regulation for the first time, according to this report. “I do not believe for one minute anything the chairman has to say about this issue being dead because he has kept it alive his entire tenure,” said Adam Thierer, senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation. Multichannel News (8/30)

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]


ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
September 2, 2008, 6:33 pm
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: , , , , , , ,

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Google will let Windows users begin tooling around today with its new Google Chrome Web browser, a product for the video age and a test for rivals who designed their products for a time when text and graphics were king. Google, which has versions for Apple and Linux systems in the works, said it would open all of Chrome’s code to third-party developers. International Herald Tribune/Reuters (9/2)

Yesterday Google launched Google Video for business, a customized video platform aimed at businesses for internal use. Think training vides, HR videos, etc. (anything that isn’t outside facing). The product is included in Google Apps Premier Edition for free, with 3 GB of storage per user account. (Iwantmedia 9/2, http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/01/google-launches-video-for-businesses 9/1)

Hulu unveils its Fall TV Premiere Line-up today featuring full episode streaming of a number of new shows such as Knight Rider, Lipstick Jungle and Chuck and Life a week before they premiere on air. (Cynopsis 9/2)

In the anticipated release of Google’s new and improved Picasa, the company will offer facial recognition technology to help you identify friends and family in your pictures without requiring you to tag them by-hand each time you see them. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/02/picasa-refresh-brings-facial-recognition 9/2)

Apple will release an application next month that will provide users with interactive albums, which will include lyrics, behind-the-scenes images, and exclusive artwork.  According to Music Week, Apple will make the app available to users in tandem with the release of Snow Patrol’s upcoming album, A Hundred Million Suns. The app will add the extra features to more iTunes albums over time, but because it will be made available through the company’s App Store, it will only provide the extra content on the iPhone and iPod touch. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/01/apple-puts-one-more-nail-into-the-cd-coffin 9/1)

Microsoft is acquiring a Munich-based Web comparison shopping site and its parent company for about $486 million in cash. The software giant says the acquisition of Greenfield.com, which owns Ciao, a collection of European price-comparison sites, will boost its search presence. (Iwantmedia 9/2, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/microsoft_greenfield_online 8/29)

Long form web TV show The B-Cast (which makes a home on Federated Media’s Breitbart.tv portal) will be broadcasting live from the Republican National Convention this week showcasing the new RayV livecasting platform. The B-Cast, which streams daily at 4 pm M-F ET, is co-hosted by Breitbart.tv editors Scott Baker and Liz Stephans and produced by Hot Metal Media. (Cynopsis 9/2)

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]


WIRELESS

WIRELESS

Microsoft is also working on its own app store for phones that run on the Windows Mobile operating system, according to company job posting sourced by AppleInsider. “Skymarket” is slated for release in late 2009, given the dozens of handsets and devices it would have to integrate with. (Cynopsis 9/2)

Text messaging was the preferred medium of communications for AT&T Wireless customers during the DNC last week, according to the company with more than 244 million messages being sent - a 48% increase in activity compared to the prior week. Other findings include:

  • There was a 57% weekly increase in wireless calls over the AT&T network
  • AT&T experienced a 21% text messaging traffic spike inside the Pepsi Center, Invesco Field and immediate surrounding areas on Thursday compared to an average day
  • AT&T saw a 101% increase in call volume during the convention compared with the 2007 World Series traffic in Denver
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]


GAMING
September 2, 2008, 6:28 pm
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: , , , , , , ,

GAMING

A revamped PlayStation Portable, with an improved liquid crystal display and a built-in microphone, will go on sale Oct. 16 in Japan. The machine, called PSP-3000, is also being promised for the United States and Europe. (Iwantmedia 9/2, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080902/ap_on_hi_te/japan_sony_playstation 9/2)Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Shawn Layden shows ...

Nintendo has increased its sales estimates on its Wii console from earlier predictions of 25 million, saying it now expects to sell 26.5 million units this year. The firm did the same for its DS handheld unit, upping its outlook from 28 million to 30.5 million. The higher sales and the improving dollar enabled Nintendo to raise its profit forecast 26% to $3.8 billion, a 60% increase from a year earlier. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (8/29) , The New York Times/Associated Press (8/29)

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]