Filed under: WIRELESS
Earlier this morning, Nokia
released a public beta version of its Mail on Ovi service, which enables users to sign up for a free e-mail account directly from their Series 40 handsets. The new service is available worldwide and available in a dozen languages, after a test period of one month during which users in India, Malaysia and the Philippines were able to try out the service. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/22/nokia-debuts-worldwide-mail-on-ovi-beta-service 12/22)
Google has announced improvements that provide for speedier searches on the Apple iPhone and T-Mobile G1, as well as several additional enhancements to its Android mobile platform. Bug fixes affecting e-mail and other functions and new features such as the ability to save MMS attachments are among the improvements scheduled to be completed by January. CNET (12/19) , CNET (12/19)
Best Buy has rolled out a new iPhone 3G promotion in its stores that offers shoppers a $10 discount, bringing the cost of the 8GB model to $190 and the 16GB version to $290. The discount will be offered through Dec. 31 and will be packaged with a free “walk-out-working” service, which includes e-mail setup, contact transfers and information on how to use the phone’s features. InformationWeek (12/19)
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Filed under: GAMING
Looking for ways to expand its Xbox game franchise while maintaining its original focus, Microsoft is adding family-friendly options and more pay-per-view movies through its new strategic partnership with Netflix. The company also is considering adding a music service and other content through Microsoft and outside partnerships. “We are just beginning to scratch the surface,” said Microsoft’s Shane Kim. The New York Times (12/19)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
Now through Jan. 31, customers who buy a select Sharp AQUOS TV model will also get a free Blu-ray player, compliments of Sharp. Shoppers can choose the free Blu-ray BD-HP21U or receive $300 off the BD-HP50U. Both units offer profile 1.1 features and JPEG viewing and an AQUOS link. ElectronicHouse.com (12/19)
Whether it is because of the recession or a desire for simplicity, consumers have been gravitating to less expensive electronics with fewer bells and whistles. One defensive strategy is for marketers to offer new products with more features at the same price as older products. Another, as seen with the iPhone, is to offer a more expensive device that is versatile yet simple to operate. International Herald Tribune (12/21)
Sanyo signed off on Panasonic‘s offer to acquire the company for $9 billion after Panasonic raised its offer by 1 yen/share. The deal is expected to give Panasonic a huge advantage in the rechargeable and solar battery markets. (Cynopsis 12/22)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Doug Allen, Ghost Hunter, Ghost Hunters International, Gordon Ramsay, Paranormal, Sci Fi, Television, United States
SCI FI Channel will scare up more paranormal activity with Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Films and Television, as the network approved a sixth season of Ghost Hunters, a second season of spin-off series Ghost Hunters International and a six-episode series order for Ghost Hunters: New Generation (wt) about college kids tracking down haunted spots around the globe led by experienced investigators. (Cynopsis 12/19)
BBC America will dish out more of Chef Gordon Ramsay as a third U.S. season of Gordon Ramsay’s F Word debuts January 14 at 3p. Rather than getting hot-headed, this series shows Ramsay sharing his love of food and cooking to special guests as well as his take on issues pertaining to the food industry. (Cynopsis 12/19)
Comedy Central revealed it is readying a new six-episode comedy series called Secret Girlfriend for mid-2009. The format is in first-person making the audience a character in the show and it will feature two back-to-back 11-minute scripted mini-sodes. The story is about a playboy, his friends and the various girlfriends he juggles. (Cynopsis 12/19)
Wednesday night’s West Coast town meeting of the Screen Actors Guild came off in a more civil manner than Monday’s catcall-filled gathering in New York, reported THR. SAG President Alan Rosenberg and chief negotiator Doug Allen presented their case for strike authorization to some 570 attending members. The sticking point for SAG continues to be compensation over productions made for new media formats; the studio’s current deal does not allow for new media residual payments nor for product integration revenue sharing. Ballots to authorize the strike go out to active SAG members on Jan. 2 and are due back on Jan. 23 – two days before the annual SAG awards ceremony. (Cynopsis 12/19)
Macrovision has forged a deal, valued as high as $300 million, with Allen Shapiro and JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s One Equity Partners to sell its TV Guide cable
network. Shapiro expects to push the network to move beyond its TV-listing scroll: “Over time, the scroll will essentially be less and less relevant until it’s gone, and then we’ll have a fully distributed entertainment network.” The New York Times (12/18) , The Wall Street Journal (12/18)
The year’s biggest advertisers on television, radio and in newspapers were the media companies themselves, according to the Media Monitors Special Report 2008. The top two cable advertisers were TNT with 1.3 million spots, followed by TBS with 1.2 million. Advertising Age (12/18)
NBC Universal‘s 9,000-square-foot CES booth in Las Vegas Jan. 8 to 11 will host live programming for CNBC’s “Power Lunch” and “Closing Bell” and MSNBC’s “Your Business” while industry bloggers emphasize how content can be downloaded. Al Roker, Maria Bartiromo, Nancy O’Dell and Jimmy Fallon will be featured in other live shows. Multichannel News (12/18)
Time Warner Cable has expanded its high-definition cable offerings in northern Manhattan by more than two dozen channels and also added premium versions of HBO, Showtime and other outlets. In April, the cable provider said its goal was to offer 100 HD channels and 250 HD on-demand options in the New York City borough. Multichannel News (12/18)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Copyright infringement, European Union, Google, Microsoft, Patric Verrone, Web search engine, Yahoo, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry, which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since 2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122966038836021137.html 12/19)
A group of 15 episodic comedy writers including WGA West president Patric Verrone (Futurama) and Bill Oakley (The Simpsons) are working on creating original shows for gaming-themed video sharing site Machinima.com. (Machinima (Machine + Cinema) is the name for the genre of online video consisting of stories old using video game characters.) 15 pilots are currently underway and seeking sponsorship. The Machinima Comedy Lab Network shows will also be distributed on Machinima.com’s popular YouTube channel. (Cynopsis 12/19)
Yahoo upped the ante in the battle to win the hearts and minds of customers concerned with their online privacy. The company announced a new data retention policy promising to hold customer search engine data for only 90 days to help protect the privacy of its 500 million worldwide users. The move comes a week after Microsoft announced its support for the 6-month deadline legislated earlier this year by the European Union. Google, which facilitates about 75% of the world’s searches, said in September it would cut its search retention period in half from 18 months to 9 months. (Cynopsis 12/19)
The MPAA filed suit against three U.S.-based movie download sites on Wednesday alleging copyright infringement – campusist.com, movies-on-demand.tv and sswarez.com, per Wired. The studio group has filed a total of 13 lawsuits against P2P download sites since 2007. (Cynopsis 12/19)
ActiveVideo Networks plans to introduce a platform to “seamlessly” deliver both traditional and Web-based programming at next month’s 2009 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas. “For Web-infused television to succeed on a macro level, it needs to be as accessible to consumers as the television programming they already enjoy,” said Jeff Miller, the company’s president and CEO. TVNewsday (12/18)
Hulu jumped to the #3 spot in total video streams for October according Nielsen Online‘s most recent VideoCensus numbers, increasing an amazing 45% from 142k streams in September. NBC Universal also broke into the top 10 in October, replacing Disney Online. (Cynopsis 12/19)
Top Online Brands ranked by Video Streams for October 2008
Brand Total Streams (000) Unique Viewers (000)
YouTube 5,077,720 82,553
Fox Interactive Media 244,216 18,481
Hulu 206,068 9,069
MSN/Windows Live 183,858 13,394
Nickelodeon Kids and Family 181,084 6,565
NBC Universal 175,183 9,649
Yahoo! 169,331 18,826
ESPN 134,337 7,775
CNN Digital Network 133,643 8,263
MTV Networks Music 99,787 4,417
Source: Nielsen Online, VideoCensus
Note: Includes progressive downloads and excludes video advertising.
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Eartha Kitt, Handhelds, iPhone, iPod, Mariah Carey, Smartphones, Sony Music Entertainment
The iBreath accessory transforms the Apple iPod into a breathalyzer that measures the user’s blood-alcohol level and sounds an alarm if it is over the acceptable legal limit. The $79 device, which uses a retractable “blow wand,” is one of many such products designed to combat drunken driving. Los Angeles Times (12/19)
Last minute Christmas gift idea for your favorite alcoholic. . .
Starting Dec. 30, BlackBerry users will be able to download SlingPlayer Mobile as part of a public beta for software that links with users’ set-top boxes to let them watch programs playing on their home TV set or DVR on their BlackBerry. Sling Media already sells software for phones based on other operating systems. TWICE (12/18)
I can’t WAIT to see this in action on my BlackBerry.
Eartha Kitt’s sultry “Santa Baby” Master Ringtone/Ringback was certified Gold by the RIAA with sales of over 500,00 units to date, according to Sony Music Entertainment. The ringtone was taken from her original 1953 recording. Mariah Carey’s holiday themed, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is currently #2 among all ringtones and is topping the holiday ringtone charts for the third year in a row with cumulative sales to-date of more than 1.8 million copies. (Cynopsis 12/19)
CBS Mobile launched a pair of new mobile web sites for its CNET and CHOW properties. The tech news site iphone.cnet.com is optimized for the Apple iPhone and iTouch, with additional mobile handsets to follow in the coming months. Food blog CHOW is currently available as a WAP-based site. (Cynopsis 12/19)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Arts, Cable television, General Electric, Immelt Jeffrey R, NBC, NBC Universal, Television, Time Warner
NBC Universal will post a $3 billion profit in 2008 and has “a fighting chance” to turn in flat earnings next year, according to Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of NBCU parent General Electric. Immelt told investors that TV stations are feeling the recession but that his corporation has been successful, in part, because it has aggressively diversified into cable TV programming. 
ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (12/16) , Adweek (12/17)
Looking to replicate NBC Universal’s ratings success with the 2008 Olympic Games, Time Warner and CBS are in preliminary talks about combining their cable and broadcast assets in a bid to win TV rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, according to this report. If successful, the combo would include TV platforms such as TNT, TBS and CNN. USA TODAY/The Associated Press (12/17)
HBO promoted the pilot “Hung” to full-series status with a premiere date expected in June. The show is described as a dark comedy about a high-school basketball coach who finds a way to leverage his below-the-belt asset. The Hollywood Reporter (12/18)
Production is underway in Los Angeles on Party Down the new original series from Starz Entertainment and television production unit Starz Media. The 30m comedy is about a six-person catering team working in L.A. with each hoping for their big break. (Cynopsis 12/18)
ABC Family brings back its summer series The Secret Life of the American Teenager with twelve new one-hour episodes. Moving to Mondays this season, the series will debut January 5 at 8p and is produced by Prodco, Inc. in association with Brendavision. (Cynopsis 12/18)
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