Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA by Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

The Hollywood Reporter says Netflix is expected to announce Starz Entertainment as a streaming partner today, having already paired with Disney and CBS. Netflix users will be able to select from 1,000 movies over the Web and 1,500 more soon. The Hollywood Reporter (10/1)

Microsoft is trying anything to get you to use Live Search. And now it’s time to add another to its attempts to try to pay you to use its service.  Dubbed SearchPerks, Microsoft’s latest scheme gives users points when they use Live Search, which can be redeemed for prizes. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/01/microsoft-throws-prizes-at-you-for-searching 10/1)

Slide hopes to attract more advertising revenue with the launch of a new service Thursday that allows users of social-networking sites to view clips offered by Time Warner‘s Warner Bros., CBS and Comcast’s E! Entertainment channel. The Wall Street Journal (10/1)

GSN has teamed up with Imagination Entertainment to offer more than 1,000 DVD-based games via GSNshop.com. The site will include titles based on the network’s shows such as “Bingo America.” TVWeek.com (9/30)

YouTube has launched a new feature as part of its Insight tool for content creators that allows members to visually examine exactly where in their videos their viewers gain and lose interest. The new feature, called Hot Spots, displays the dropoff data in a dynamic graph that can be viewed alongside the original video. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/30/youtube-hot-spots-shows-publishers-when-their-viewers-jump-ship 9/30)

Google has just launched a new homepage for its blog search that bears a strong resemblance to Techmeme, Memeorandum and their “memetracker” counterparts. The site displays a listing of the top stories from across a variety of topics including business, politics, technology, and entertainment. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/01/google-launches-its-own-memetracker 10/1)

TBS throws out the first pitch on its MLB baseball playoffs coverage today with a full complement of broadband coverage. The recently re-launched TBS Hot Corner on MLB.com will feature live and on-demand segments (not full games) from multiple on-field camera angles and provide live statistics tracking individual teams and players. The Live Game Streaming application is designed to complement the TBS telecasts, where users submit questions to the booth to be answered on air, participate in polls and interact with other fans in the chat room. (Cynopsis 10/1)

Michael Eisner-backed web studio Vuguru signed a deal with online ad network Adconion to syndicate its latest original series Back on Topps, which debuted yesterday. (Back on Topps is goofy behind-the-scenes look at the Topps trading card company starring Jason and Randy Sklar, which Eisner’s Tornante Co. happened to purchase for $385m last year.) The show will be the first to take advantage of Adconion’s AMG-TV distribution service designed to increase distribution of video content and improve monetization by introducing partner Omnicon Media Group Digital’s (OMG Digital) client brands to media buying opportunities. However the twice-a-week Vuguru series will be featured initially on MSN-powered FoxSports.com, which negotiated for a 12-hour exclusive window. (Cynopsis 10/1)

Programmers are finding that comedy and sports go well together given the demographic crossover (male 18-49). ESPN.com set a launch date of Nov. 11 for Mayne Street, its first original web series from P3 Entertainment hosted by the deadpan Kenny Mayne. Kenny (who creates those ironic Mayne Event segments for Sunday NFL Countdown) will tool around locations in Bristol and New York City interacting with fictional crew members and real life ESPN personalities. Meanwhile GolTV debuts The Art of Football today at 8pm ET, a comic variety show all about the funny side of soccer hosted by Monty Python veteran John Cleese. (Cynopsis 10/1)

Freshly redesigned video sharing site Veoh, also supported with Eisner funds, added a selection of shows from the new digital theWB.com including TV products The O.C. and Smallville as well as web series Sorority Forever and A Boy Wearing Makeup. (Cynopsis 10/1)

Taking advantage of Korea’s world-leading 94% broadband penetration rate, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution announced it will release a number of movie titles in the territory through VOD or IPTV services two weeks before they are made available on DVD as a test case. Recent research from the Korean Film Council indicates more than 47% of people in Korea have downloaded movies from the internet at least once. (Cynopsis 10/1)

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