Filed under: GAMING
Video game sales in the U.S. climbed to $1.33 billion in the first month of the year, a 13% gain over 2008. The Nintendo Wii was the industry’s top product, selling at double the pace of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation. InformationWeek (2/13)
Dawdle
, an online market for resold games, consoles and accessories, relaunched this past Fall as a niche eBay competitor of sorts. It’s a place where gamers can get some money back on their old supplies, albeit not through auctions but a straightforward price listing and “buy it now” process. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/16/dawdle-invites-game-resellers-to-set-up-shop 2/16)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
The next generation of high-definition video technologies — with advancements such as stereoscopic 3-D imaging and MPEG-4 compression systems — gives the cable TV industry a prime opportunity to stand apart from its rivals, according to Dick Green, president and CEO of CableLabs. “You can get video from a lot of sources — satellite, telephone companies, over the Internet,” he said. “So it is important for us to look at how the cable industry can enhance the video product and differentiate ourselves from our competitors … .” Broadcasting & Cable (2/16)
Sony has announced that it will close its decade-old PlayStation store at the Metreon shopping center in San Francisco by this summer. The 350,000-square-foot shop is Sony’s only PlayStation-specific store in the U.S. VentureBeat (2/13)
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY: FROM DAILY MARAUDER
Before it’s too late and you’re sleeping on the couch, check out Kate Spade’s collection of e-cards and send one straight away. It may not be flowers but if you’re waiting till now, it’s all you’ve got.
Here’s some bike pedicab love from Union Square, NYC earlier today. Now go get some love on and call us in the morning.
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Filed under: Feature
Mobile post sent by Marauder using Utterli. Replies.
ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: SMARTPHONE DEATHMATCH
If you’re an iPhone hater, this video should make you feel better about your phone…and maybe even yourself.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE
Thanks to cable networks such as Nickelodeon and video games such as “Rock Band,” Viacom reported fourth-quarter revenue of $4.2 billion, which was essentially flat from the comparable period in 2007. The company’s results in a time of economic uncertainty prompted one analyst, Anthony DiClemente of Barclays Capital, to comment on “the resiliency inherent” in Viacom’s performance. 
ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (2/12) , The New York Times (2/12) , OneTRAK (2/12) , The Wall Street Journal 2/12)
Sumner M. Redstone is chairman of Viacom and CBS.
USA Network canceled The Starter Wife starring Debra Messing, per Entertainment Weekly, who reports the reason is poor ratings. The original six-hour miniseries in 2007 attracted around 5 million viewers yet paced much lower at 2.4 million viewers during its second season last fall. (Cynopsis 2/13)
Comedy Central’s premiere of Important Things with Demetri Martin on Wednesday at 1030p posted a 1.5 rating among A18-49 viewers, a 3.6 rating/1 million viewers with M18-34 and a 6.6 rating/800,000 viewers with M18-24 as well as 2.4 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 2/13)
The Disney Channel has the tween girl market cornered, thanks to hits like “Hannah Montana.” Now the company wants to do the same with boys with the new Disney XD cable channel and Web site, debuting Friday. Corporate cousin ESPN will help develop programming. (Iwantmedia 2/13, http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/12/disney-rich-ross-business-media_0212_disney_xd.html 2/12)
In a preliminary fourth-quarter earnings report, Charter Communications said it expected pro forma revenue of $1.65 billion during the period. The country’s fourth-largest cable provider, however, also announced it would enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on or before April 1 in a bid to reduce overall debt by $8 billion. OneTRAK (2/12) , Reuters (2/12) , The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (2/13)
Cable provider Mediacom has a deal for those who are not yet subscribers: switch now and get basic cable for free until June 12, the new date for the DTV transition. The novel offer has earned Mediacom plenty of media attention, and the company has set up a toll-free telephone number to handle requests for free service. Multichannel News (2/12)
Cable operator Charter Communications, controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, says it will file for Chapter 11 by April 1, after it reached a deal with some of its creditors helping to reduce its debt by around $8 billion. It had a debt load of around $21 billion as of Sept 30. (Iwantmedia 2/13, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE51B5OX20090212 2/12)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Netflix, the service that delivers movies and TV shows via mail and the Internet, has passed the 10-million-subscriber mark. Analysts say the company is flourishing in a time when many people are looking to spend less on entertainment. ClipSyndicate/New York Financial Press (2/12) , Reuters (2/12)
Some free and paid video downloads are now available from Google unit YouTube under a pilot program. The free clips for the time-being are from Stanford, Duke, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCTV, while paid clips are available from YouTube partners Khan Academy, Household Hacker and Pogobat. The New York Times/GigaOm (2/12) , InformationWeek (2/12)
Sony Music is renewing a licensing deal with YouTube, allowing the site to continue showing the company’s music videos. The deal is important in light of a decision by Warner Music to walk away from similar renewal talks with YouTube last December in a dispute over licensing fees. (Iwantmedia 2/13, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE51C0NR20090213 2/12)
When President Obama was sworn in last month, analysts believe the Internet had its greatest traffic ever. CNN.com provided 21.3 million streams over a nine-hour span. People now expect major events — particularly those that are live — to simultaneously appear across platforms. (Iwantmedia 2/13, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090213/ap_en_tv/on_the_net_raised_expectations 2/12)
The Weinstein Co.’s Dimension Films is developing an untitled feature-film thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie‘s “Ten Little Indians” that involves a teen social-networking site. “Online social networking is a phenomenon that interests me greatly,” says co-chief Bob Weinstein. (Iwantmedia 2/13, http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/02/12/Teen_Web_networking_thriller_in_the_works/UPI-55301234468944 2/12)
The adult entertainment industry is being devastated by Internet piracy, and what happens could be a harbinger for Hollywood. As Web sites like RedTube allow users to view illegal adult videos for free, industry professionals are scrambling to find ways to fight back. (http://www.thewrap.com/article/1394 2/12)
Live Nation’s largest shareholder, Shapiro Capital, may oppose the proposed merger with Ticketmaster if Barry Diller has a leadership role, says chairman Sam Shapiro. “I’m very much against going into business with Mr. Diller” because of poor returns from companies he leads. (Iwantmedia 2/13, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aXh.HcrYR6lM 2/12)
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