Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: EricIdle, Friday Night Lights, John Cleese, Michael Palin, MontyPython, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, Terry Gilliam
Nickelodeon‘s “2009 Kids’ Choice Awards” attracted 7.7 million viewers Saturday night, the largest audience ever for the annual franchise. After the awards show, Nick debuted “The Penguins of Madagascar,” which pulled in 6.1 million viewers, a record for a premiere on the network. TVWeek.com (3/30) , Mediaweek (3/30)
MTV has ordered four more seasons of its long-running “The Real World” series. The current iteration, “The Real World: Brooklyn,” will wrap up Wednesday night, and producers already are at work on the show’s next stop: Cancun, Mexico. The Hollywood Reporter (3/30)
Haven’t we had enough? The Real World would be more interesting if we could periodically vote people off.
NBC invested two more seasons into high school football drama series Friday Night Lights. NBC and DirecTV have completed a 26-episode order agreement (13 eps per season) for the series produced by Universal Media Studios. The deal also allows Friday Night Lights to premiere on DirecTV with a second window on NBC. (Cynopsis 3/31)
Monty Python fans get ready for a new six-part, original documentary series, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut) is set to air on IFC this October from Eagle Rock Entertainment. Coinciding with the comedy troupe’s 40th anniversary, surviving members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin will participate in this retrospective anthology taking viewers from the beginning through the end. (Cynopsis 3/31)
ABC barely got the new baby changed and diapered when it announced it cut the episode order for new midseason comedy In the Motherhood, per Variety. ABC will air just six episodes this season including the pilot, despite the network originally ordering 13 episodes. This news comes directly after ABC premiered the series last Thursday night to lukewarm reviews and ratings results: a 2.1/6 among A18-49 and 6.7 million viewers. ABC, though, says there isn’t room on the schedule for all 13 episodes as Ugly Betty returns in the time slot it has temporarily left open as of May 7. (Cynopsis 3/31)
ABC and Mark Burnett are working on a reality series Shark Tank, an adaptation of the British hit Dragon’s Den where ambitious entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to five multimillion tycoons in hopes of receiving investment money. ABC ordered seven episodes and this marks the first time the network partners with Burnett who has successful shows on the three other major broadcast networks. The format originated in Japan and is now a global hit with Dragon’s Den airing on BBC Two in the UK for six seasons and here in the US on BBC America. ABC has not yet set a premiere date for Shark Tank though sometime next season is probable. The five “sharks” have been tapped: Robert Herjavec (internet security systems), Kevin Harrington (infomercials), Barbara Corcoran (real estate), Kevin O’Leary (top Canadian investor) and Daymond John (FUBU sportswear). (Cynopsis 3/31)
The BBC version is so intriguing to me. To anyone who counts themselves as an entrepreneur, you will deeply appreciate this series.
Fox is said to be planning to launch a Saturday late-night show featuring comedienne/actress Wanda Sykes. The show is believed to be more in the mold of Bill Maher’s show on HBO than a typical talk show. It will air Saturdays at 11 p.m. ET and will be an hour long. (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/191000-EXCLUSIVE_Fox_Eyes_Wanda_Sykes_For_Saturday_Late_Night.php 3/31)
FOX is getting back into the reality dating/competition genre on a new series titled More to Love, reports THR. FOX along with partner Mike Fleiss, producer of The Bachelor, will focus on “average looking” people who are overweight and looking for love. The series will copy the format of The Bachelor as a group of real women compete for the attention of one guy who, according to producers, looks more like a Kevin James-type. (Cynopsis 3/31)
Starz Media tapped UK-born actor Andy Whitfield to portray the warrior hero Spartacus in the new action series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. In addition, Lucy Lawless was cast as Lucretia, who along with her husband Batiatus, own the Ludus or gladiator camp and thus Spartacus. Production on the series begins Wednesday in New Zealand and will open on Starz next January. Starz Media produces with Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi and Joshua Donen as executive producers. (Cynopsis 3/31)
Time Warner and Time Warner Cable began trading independently Monday, marking what Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes called “a new era for Time Warner.” Bewkes went on to say that his company is “committed to investing more money than last year in the top-notch content that defines our brands — while we run our businesses more efficiently than ever.” The Hollywood Reporter (3/30)
Time Warner’s spinoff of its cable division dropped the owner of Time magazine and Warner Bros. to third place among U.S. media companies, behind Disney and News Corp. Analysts say: “It’s better to be Disney than a company that’s a third of the size like Viacom.” (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6m8W1j7WL9g 3/31)
(Below) The problem isn’t “supporting the infrastructure.” The problem is figuring out how to maneuver in a world with new entry-level competition encroaching in markets where your audience generally despises you. This shouldn’t help that problem.
The newly spun-off Time Warner Cable will impose premium rates on big users of broadband in Web markets in Texas, New York and North Carolina. “We need a viable model to be able to support the infrastructure of the broadband business,” says CEO Glenn Britt. (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2009/tc20090331_726397.htm 3/31)
News Corp.’s Fox Soccer Channel is beating out Disney’s ESPN for the rights to show European Champions League soccer games next season. ESPN held the right since the 1994-95 season. ESPN shares Major League Soccer rights with Fox and other networks. (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fox-wins-US-TV-rights-to-apf-14796331.html 3/31)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: ABC News, Citysearch, Facebook, Gideon Yu, Los Angeles Times, Myspace, Yelp, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
MySpace and Citysearch are jointly announcing a new MySpace property this morning called MySpace Local. The site combines Citysearch business listings (including address, photos, menus, videos, maps and hours of location) from a thousand cities with the MySpace community. The site is launching into private beta this week, with a general U.S. launch next month. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/myspace-citysearch-partner-to-create-myspace-local/ 3/31)
Click the image below for a demo of the site. I dig the marriage of Citysearch rating’s style and social networking partner. My ideal scenario (if I could configure my own universe) would be Yelp and Facebook in the study with the candlestick.
Disney, looking to extend its presence in the online video space, has announced a deal with YouTube that will put a wide range of its content on the popular Web site best known for user-generated videos. The deal includes ESPN sports highlights, ABC News updates and snippets from the company’s cable and broadcast shows. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (3/31) , The New York Times (3/30)
Netflix says it will raise the rental price of its Blu-ray discs about 20%, effective April 27, but that customers who rent standard-format DVDs will not be affected by the change. The company said the higher fee on Blu-ray movies would enable it to offer a wider variety of the high-definition discs. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (3/31) , The Wall Street Journal (3/31)
Facebook will soon have its third chief financial officer in less than two years, the company announced today via a leak to the Wall Street Journal. Gideon Yu, the man who came back from Dubai empty handed, is out. The hunt for his successor is starting now. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/facebook-sure-does-have-trouble-keeping-execs/ 3/31)
Techcrunch has confirmed that hi5, the third largest social network in the world, is laying off employees today. hi5’s VP of Marketing, Mike Trigg, wouldn’t say how many employees were being let go but Techcrunch received multiple independent tips that the social network laid off 50% of its staff. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/more-layoffs-hit-hi5/ 3/31)
U.S. teenagers, a bellwether customer for the record industry, bought 19% less music last year and instead turned to free alternatives like Pandora and MySpace, according to NPD Group. The music industry is “being challenged anew by slowing digital sales among teens.” (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=acDHi80XI3nQ 3/31)
Newspapers should be using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to engage their readers and boost online revenue, says a survey by Gartner. Readers must become “brand stewards.” Few newspapers allow users to “tweet” stories directly from their Web sites.
(Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/03/31/newspapers-not-effectively-using-social-media 3/31)
Completely agree on this one. Had this discussion on Twitter no less just last week. Twitter’s news-breaking abilities out-pace any newspaper sponsored community. The newspaper’s concern: fact vs. fiction. Unfortunately, it seems like that distinction would be difficult to control on Twitter unless you allow the audience to self-regulate and call posers out. Still, the line has blurred and there is no going back.
Paramount Digital Entertainment and French producer-distributor Gaumont are teaming up to produce a 12-episode online series in the vein of LG15 that will premiere exclusively on MySpace in the fall. Another elimination whodunit, “Section 8,” is a supernatural thriller whose characters are knocked off one by one as viewers try to guess who is trying to kill them and why. MySpace will also serve as the social hub of the series, offering users the chance to interact with characters and participate in the storyline. (Cynopsis 3/31)
Wikia is closing down its Wikia Search product. The service was intended to be a user-generated search engine, through which users could influence the rankings of results. Founder Jimmy Wales says Wikia needs to “do what we need to do to get to profitability.” (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10207896-2.html 3/31)
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Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Momentum, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Playstation 3, PS3, Public relations, Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony has denied rumors that it is planning to announce a price reduction for its PlayStation 3 gaming console. “As we have stated previously, we do not have plans for a PS3 price drop, and any rumors to that effect are false and are the result of speculation. SCEA remains focused on the long-term momentum of PS3,” said Sony PR Manager Al De Leon. Electronista (3/30)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Blackberry, Electronic Arts, Facebook, Microsoft, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Windows, Nokia, Symbian OS
AT&T unveiled 6 new text and email-focused devices at CTIA yesterday built around some of the best in class communications apps. The super slim Nokia E71x, based on S60 on Symbian OS, looks to be the most powerful offering 3G, a 3.2 MP camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, Microsoft Exchange synching and access to AT&T’s video sharing service. It also supports AT&T’s CV video service as well as XM satellite radio. Other new models slated for release in the coming weeks include the Samsung Propel Pro, the Samsung Impression, the LG Xenon, the LG Neon and the Samsung Magnet. (Cynopsis 3/31)
Microsoft has signed online music service Pandora, video game developer Electronic Arts and the social network Facebook, among others, for its new Windows Marketplace for Mobile applications store, the company said today. Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s head of entertainment and devices, is expected to discuss and demonstrate its mobile-software plans at a CTIA WIRELESS® keynote speech Thursday. Reuters (3/31) , mocoNews.net (3/30) , CNET (3/30)
In news that seems to indicate that Blackberry’s App World is indeed launching tomorrow, we’ve learned that Networks In Motion (NIM) will be releasing a GPS application for the BlackBerry on Wednesday, which would make it the first (or at least, tied for first) GPS app available on the new storefront. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/31/networks-in-motion-announces-first-gps-app-for-blackberry-app-world/ 3/31)
A new partnership between Microsoft and MySpace will bring the social-network application to Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 smartphones this year and give MySpace developers access to Silverlight, Microsoft’s rival to Flash technology. InformationWeek (3/30)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, Consumer electronics, DVD, Hewlett-Packard, High-definition television, High-definition video, Sony, Television
High-definition products for the home-entertainment market are poised to triple by 2012 compared with 2008 numbers. “The high-tech industry’s efforts to provide HD service to every home now are finally coming to fruition. This has resulted in an explosion of shipments of consumer-electronics devices that support HD video, from new Blu-ray DVD players to ultrathin LCD HD Televisions (HDTVs) — and even some portable media players,” said Randy Lawson, senior analyst for iSuppli. Dealerscope (3/31)
Global information technology spending will fare worse in 2009 than during the dotcom bubble collapse of 2001, says industry research firm Gartner. A worsening global recession is discouraging corporations and consumers from spending to get the latest in technology. (Iwantmedia 3/31, http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE52U6B820090331 3/31)
Intel, as expected, on Monday unveiled its Xeon product, a new chip line designed for server systems that is said to double computing performance when compared with existing models. Several server makers are already making plans for the new chip line, with Hewlett-Packard developing 11 machines based on the Xeon 5500 chip. eChannelLine USA Daily News (3/30) , The Wall Street Journal (3/31)
Sony is offering two new Blu-ray recorders that include support for the acTVila video-delivery service for digital TVs. The 500GB BDZ-A950 and 320GB BDZ-A750 are both available in Japan. Electronista (3/30)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CNN, Fox News Channel, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, MSNBC, Prime time, Television, Time Warner, Viacom
The NBC drama “ER” will air its series finale Thursday after 15 seasons, leaving behind a splintered prime-time landscape as the networks struggle to compete in a digital world. Executive producer Neal Baer admits: “I doubt we will ever see the likes of a show like ‘ER’ again.” (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-er28-2009mar28,0,1083134.story 3/28)
Time Warner’s CNN is set to finish March third in prime-time ratings behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, the first time this has ever happened for the channel that pioneered the cable news genre. CNN is suffering more audience erosion than its rivals. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090328/ap_on_en_tv/tv_cnn_in_third 3/27)
NBC sliced the cooking competition series Chopping Block from its primetime schedule after airing episodes for only three weeks. NBC told affiliates last Thursday night the series will be off Wednesday nights as of next week, replaced with reruns of Law & Order: Criminal Intent previously seen on NBC. Chopping Block, featuring Chef Marco Pierre premiered March 12 and NBC will likely air the remaining episodes at a later date. (Cynopsis 3/30)
MTV is adding more music videos to its schedule — at 3 a.m. The Viacom network is launching “AMTV,” a six-hour block for music videos and related programming, harking back to MTV’s origins as a 24-hour home for music videos. The new schedule gives MTV a “palette to experiment.” (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/business/media/30mtv.html 3/29)
Tiffany “New York” Pollard returns to reality TV in a new series for VH1 titled New York Goes to Work opening May 4 at 10p. Viewers will vote via their mobile phones each week on three possible job opportunities for Tiffany. If she does well and impresses her employers, she gets a $5,000 weekly bonus, but if she quits, gets fired or messes up, she gets nothing. Episodes will be available at VH1.com the day after each air on the network. (Cynopsis 3/30)
CBS dropped the most in four months in New York trading Monday after UBS analyst Michael Morris recommended selling the shares because the advertising slump may be deeper and longer than expected. Industry-wide ad sales in 2010 will be “very similar” to this year. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=awY0atdMmecA 3/30)
As expected, Charter Communications has filed for bankruptcy as a way of restructuring its debt. As a result of the move, the country’s fourth-largest cable company will gain about $3 billion through refinancing and new equity investment and pare back its debt load by about $8 billion. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (3/28) , Light Reading (3/27)
Comcast is reconfiguring its video-on-demand architecture and, according to this article, is developing two centralized libraries for its VOD assets, one in West Chester, Pa., and the other in Denver. The initiative apparently will enable the cable firm to offer more than 100,000 VOD titles and a platform for serving personalized ads on a national basis. Comcast officials declined to comment. Multichannel News (3/30)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Digital media, Fox Interactive Media, Google, Hulu, Interactive Advertising Bureau, NBC Universal, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Jonathan Miller
, the former CEO of AOL, is taking over the digital assets of News Corp., we’ve confirmed – his new title will be CEO of Digital Media. This will include Fox Interactive Media and other duties. Peter Levinsohn, the current president of Fox Interactive, will be leaving his current position but will remain at News Corp. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/27/breaking-former-aol-chief-jonathn-miller-new-fox-interactive-chief/ 3/27)
Disney is entering a deal to put video clips from ABC and ESPN on Google’s YouTube video site in an advertising-revenue sharing arrangement. Disney also is near an agreement to take a stake in rival video portal Hulu, whose owners include NBC Universal and News Corp. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afGDz3LXeq8I 3/30)
YouTube will soon unveil a redesign that separates its professional content from amateur videos. YouTube is also redesigning its video player to resemble the video experience on NBC Universal-News Corp.’s increasingly popular Hulu. “It’s totally a Hulu approach.” (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.clickz.com/3633218 3/30)
Time Warner Cable has started testing a subscription service in Milwaukee that enables viewers to watch shows on cable networks such as HBO on their computers. According to these reports, the test could lead to a dramatic game-changer for the TV landscape. The New York Times (3/29) , The Hollywood Reporter (3/27)
In an upbeat report this morning, the Interactive Advertising Bureau reported that internet advertising in the U.S. grew 10.6 percent to $23.4 billion. And the $6.1 billion fourth quarter (up 2.6 percent) was the first time Internet advertising surpassed the $6 billion mark. That said, the rate of growth declined both on an annual and quarterly basis. Even the 4.5 percent sequential growth over the third quarter was the lowest since 2002 (as was the annual growth rate). But the sequential growth showed a promising uptick in the fourth quarter compared to the previous three quarters, as the chart above shows. This rebound is also in line with what the four big Web advertising companies (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL) saw in the fourth quarter. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/30/iab-reports-internet-advertising-grew-10-percent-last-year-outpacing-tv/ 3/30)
Two Microsoft-related announcements coming from social networking giant MySpace today: the portal is adding support for Windows Mobile-run phones to its new mobile application, due this summer, and bringing the Silverlight runtime to its developer program thanks to a jointly developed Open Source kit. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/30/myspace-embraces-microsoft-platforms-for-mobile-and-web-applications/ 3/30)
All you Twitter addicts stuck in traffic, some good news. You might not have to risk your life any longer sending out one-handed Tweets on your Blackberry or iPhone, while trying to hide the fact that you are doing so under the dashboard. If you have OnStar in your car, you may soon be able to send and receive hands-free Tweets through OnStar’s voice-activated calling system. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/27/omg-onstar-may-soon-let-you-twitter-from-your-car/ 3/27)
Online music may be a treacherous space right now, but there are still a handful of music startups that may be coming close to getting it right. One of our favorites is Lala, a streaming music site that allows users to put their digital music library in the cloud, which can then be accessed from any computer. And soon, they’ll be able to access every song they own from their iPhones too, without having to worry about storage capacity or syncing. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/28/an-exclusive-first-look-at-lalas-iphone-app/ 3/28)
Google is launching a music search service in China that offers free downloads of songs supported by advertising. Through a partnership with China’s Top100.cn, Google is offering more than 1.1 million songs from record labels including Warner, Sony, Universal and EMI. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090330/ennew_afp/lifestylechinausinternetmusiccopyright 3/30)
Fox News Channel hopes to leverage its conservative news brand online with The Fox Nation, a new Web site built around its on-air personalities. The site will emulate parent News Corp.’s MySpace by encouraging readers to post comments and argue with one another. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/29/AR2009032902102.html 3/30)
Flickr founder Caterina Fake revealed her latest creation, Hunch, a new ad supported social networking/decision making engine that allows users to pose questions that are answered using data culled from like-minded users. (Cynopsis 3/30)
IAC property CollegeHumor is acquiring the sports satire site SportsPickle for an undisclosed sum. The purchase puts the popular CollegeHumor portfolio of comedy content into the sports vertical. Barry Diller’s IAC already encompasses 35 Internet businesses. (Iwantmedia 3/30, http://www.minonline.com/news/10458.html 3/27)
In a world where everything is being jammed into 140 characters or less, shorter is better. That goes double (or is it half?) for lengthy URLs. So-called URL shortening services are increasingly becoming indispensable to anyone who uses Twitter. It is the only practical way to share links on the service. Today, one of these URL shortening services, bit.ly, raised $2 million, sparking the question: How much are these things actually worth? ) (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/30/if-bitly-is-worth-8-million-tinyurl-is-worth-at-least-46-million/ 3/30)
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