Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Anne Thomopoulos, Jonas Brothers, Madea Goes to Jail, NBC Universal, Tyler Perry, United States, us, Veronis Suhler Stevenson
“Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” debuted at No. 2 in U.S. movie theaters this weekend, bested by “Tyler Perry‘s Madea Goes to Jail,” which held the top spot for the second straight week, surprising analysts. Perry’s film is a hit among audiences “Hollywood ignores.” (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-03-01-boxoffice01_N.htm 3/1)
Broadcast networks are facing a deep advertising recession that is hitting both them and their local stations, while cable rivals are propped up by subscriber fees. NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker warns that broadcast TV is “in danger of becoming” like the newspaper industry. (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/business/media/28network.html?_r=1 2/28)
Former HBO head Chris Albrecht has brought in Tom Fontana to write a 12-episode historical drama – The Borgias – for the US audience and abroad, reports Variety. Based on the notorious Borgia clan, known for numerous dastardly deeds and terror across Europe, dating back to the 15th century, the production of The Borgias will be shot in Europe beginning this fall. Albrecht has teamed up with another former HBO exec, Anne Thomopoulos who will serve as Exec Producer on the project. Albrecht and Thomopoulos were brought into the project by Helion topper Steven Bawol and Atlantique CEO Takis Candilis. (Cynopsis 3/2)
Viacom, Lionsgate and MGM plan to premiere Epix, a new premium television service, on the Internet in May, followed by a launch as a cable-TV channel in October. The service will run movies about nine months after they first appear in theaters — earlier than other premium channels. (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2009-03-01-viacom-lionsgate-mgm-epix-channel_N.htm 3/1)
PricewaterhouseCoopers is issuing a report gauging how the economic downturn will affect media business fundamentals. Companies are expected to continue to divest non-core assets. Veronis Suhler Stevenson is forecasting spending on media to drop 0.4% in 2009. (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2009/02/reports_illustrate_medias_decl.php 2/27)
General Electric is slashing its quarterly dividend by nearly 68%, a move expected to save about $9 billion a year. The parent of NBC Universal has been paying a regular dividend for more than 100 years. Shares of GE have fallen nearly 70% since mid-September. (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/GE-slashes-quarterly-dividend-save/story.aspx?guid=%7B618EAEEE%2DE61D%2D4522%2DA8B3%2D21D8DE89E8FE%7D 2/27)
Sumner Redstone is entering a deal with bankers to restructure his family company’s huge debt. The agreement still requires that the $1.46 billion debt be paid by the end of next year. (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-redstone28-2009feb28,0,7540054.story 2/28)
Time Warner is developing an initiative dubbed TV Everywhere that will allow viewers to watch networks such as CNN, Cartoon Network and TNT online — as long as they can prove they subscribe to cable, satellite or a telecom TV service. “If you want to watch your favorite TV network or shows through broadband on any device — PCs or mobile — you can do it as long as you subscribe to any multichannel provider,” said Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes, adding that TV Everywhere could be ready for testing sometime this year. “It’s a natural extension of the existing model.” Advertising Age (3/2) , TVWeek.com (3/1)
Univision has undergone layoffs of 6% of its staff base, resulting in the loss of approximately 300 staff positions. While Univision is not reporting the specific of those cuts, they have said it reaches across all areas including the television network, affiliated stations, radio and in the company’s corporate offices. (Cynopsis 3/2)
Heading into the upfront selling season, NBC Universal’s Bravo cable network is hoping that the value of its upscale, educated, trendy and engaged audience will translate into value in the marketplace. The network has been a bright spot for NBCU, and first-quarter ad sales are 20% ahead of last year. TVWeek.com (3/1)
Scripps Interactive’s Food Network experienced a 44% increase in online revenue in January, as recipe lovers search out just the right ingredients at FoodNetwork.com and Recipezaar.com. “Being in tune with the consumer palette allows us to think smartly about what people are thinking about on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis,” said Deanna Brown, president of Scripps Networks Interactive. Advertising Age (3/2)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6bce586e-6904-474c-9827-928549493624)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Facebook, Flash Gordon, HBO, Myspace, Sex and the City, Twitter, Video clip, YouTube
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
HBO just launched a sweepstakes leading up to the premiere of Sex and the City The Movie on HBO. Get your Manolo on all over again with Sex and the City: The Movie Girls Night In Cross-Platform Sweepstakes. The grand prize is a $10,000 ultimate shopping spree plus daily instant win prizes. Create your Sex and the City Fashionista and post her to your Facebook page. Unlock new must-have accessories by watching short Sex and the City videos on HBO on Demand, HBO.com, HBO on Broadband, Comcast.net, Fancast, Road Runner.com, Cox.net and various other sites. Or join the Facebook fan page and upload a pic of your Fashionista there.
To rev up for the premiere of The Watchmen, Joost has put together a compendium of comics-themed video clips dating back to the original Flash Gordon shorts from the 1930s. (Cynopsis 3/2)
Many U.S. Christians are swearing off Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other new technologies for Lent. Thousands of Facebook users are signing up for “Giving up Facebook for Lent” groups on the site, posting notices that they will be gone for the next six weeks. (Iwantmedia 3/2, http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/most_days_you_can_find.html 3/1)
After a couple of false starts, 2009 just might be the year that interactive television begins to fulfill its potential for the cable TV industry. According to this report, the country’s largest cable firms have upgraded about 20 million set-top boxes to make them more amenable to interactive applications and, as Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke said, “Clearly, there is a huge, huge business out there if you can get the interactivity that you currently get when you advertise on the Internet married with television spots.” Multichannel News (3/2)
Nielsen released its January Video Census numbers revealing that total video streams topped 10 billion in the U.S. for the first time. Live streaming of President Obama’s inauguration helped increase the overall internet video audience increased to 135 million. After a basically flat Dec., YouTube increased its traffic by a measurable clip to 5.8 billion streams from 92 million unique users, up from 5.5 billion streams/84 million users in Dec. Following its Superbowl ad campaign, the aliens at Hulu rolled past Fox Interactive Media to the #3 ranking in terms of total streams while ABC nearly doubled its video viewer base from 3.5 million to 6.2 million. CNN also saw a huge boost from its Facebook inauguration integration, delivering 152 million streams to 5.6 million unique viewers in Jan., up from 95 million streams/8.3 million uniques in Dec. (Cynopsis 3/2)
Overall Online Video Usage (U.S.)
Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Percent Change
Unique Viewers (000) 124,262 124,611 135,617 +8.8%
Total Streams (000) 9,548,267 9,593,320 10,457,785 +9.0%
Streams per Viewer 76.8 77 77.1 +0%
Time per Viewer (min) 177.9 170.7 178.6 +4.6%
Source: Nielsen Online VideoCensus, Includes progressive downloads, excludes video advertising
Top Online Brands ranked by Video Streams for December 2008 (U.S.)
Brand Total Streams (000) Unique Viewers (000)
YouTube 5,810,271 92,563
Yahoo! 273,968 24,518
Hulu 232,444 7,238
Fox Interactive Media 213,351 16,318
Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network 204,212 6,268
MSN/Windows Live 171,909 14,468
ABC.com 163,503 6,221
CNN 152,780 11,444
Turner Sports and Ent. Digital Network 143,481 5,698
Megavideo 90,952 4,439
Source: Nielsen Online VideoCensus, Includes progressive downloads, excludes video advertising
Top 10 Parent Companies/Divisions for January 2009
Parent Unique Audience (000) Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)
1. Google 140,202 2:13:20
2. Microsoft 128,870 2:35:34
3. Yahoo! 120,032 3:32:25
4. AOL LLC 88,989 3:52:12
5. News Corp. Online 82,746 1:26:10
6. InterActiveCorp 67,670 0:17:25
7. eBay 66,942 1:51:31
8. Amazon 65,374 0:28:08
9. Facebook 62,459 2:50:02
10. Wikimedia Foundation 60,852 0:19:28
Source: Nielsen Online
Top 10 Web Brands for January 2009
Brand Unique Audience (000) Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)
1. Google 135,613 1:31:58
2 Yahoo! 118,824 3:33:04
3. MSN/Windows Live 105,900 2:24:41
4. Microsoft 99,169 0:46:59
5. AOL Media Network 88,989 3:52:12
6. YouTube 84,240 1:02:19
7. Fox Interactive Media 71,244 1:26:05
8. Facebook 62,444 2:50:04
9. Wikipedia 60,382 0:19:26
10. Apple 59,482 1:24:16
Source: Nielsen Online
Average U.S. Internet Usage, Combined Home & Work, Month of January 2009
Sessions/Visits per Person 62
Domains Visited per Person 115
Web Pages per Person 2,580
Duration of a Web Page Viewed 0:00:55
PC Time per Person 74:45:35
Active Digital Media Universe 168,734,519
Current Digital Media 229,254,813
Universe Estimate
Source: Nielsen Online
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7de6e1e6-4db0-4329-8dba-97f0a02c2d87)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Handhelds, InformationWeek, iPhone, Laptop, Netbook, Smartphone, Touchscreen
Sparked by the introduction of the iPhone, mobile touch-screen technology has achieved widespread popularity such that the number of equipped devices sold is expected to grow from 30 million in 2007 to 230 million by 2012, according to IMS research. But smartphones are just the start: Laptops, netbooks, traditional telephones and other devices are adopting the touch screen as well. InformationWeek (2/28)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=96ca3d9d-6b64-46e4-b052-17d5807e61c2)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: Kaz Hirai, Kazuo Hirai, Microsoft, Playstation 3, PlayStation Network, Sony Computer Entertainment, Video game, XBox
Although some developers have complained that designing for the PlayStation 3 is difficult, Sony says that is its intention. “We don’t provide the ‘easy to program for’console that (developers) want, because ‘easy to program for’means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is, what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?” said Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment. CNET (2/28)
Sony’s PlayStation Network has attracted more than 20 million subscribers and hopes to attract more by offering compelling downloadable movie content. Other consoles, including Microsoft‘s Xbox, see offering movies via download as a way to bring movie studios and consumers into the digital age. Variety (2/27)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2e66bfa8-39b2-4f3b-a243-c76d1c87e30c)
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Amazon, Amazon.com, AmazonKindle, Audiobook, Michael Dell, Speech synthesis, The New York Times Company, WIRELESS
Amazon has given ground on the experimental text-to-speech function of the new Kindle, following a chorus of criticism from authors and publishers including Author’s Guild President Ray Blount, Jr. Rather than offer the feature across its entire library, Amazon will offer authors and publishers the choice whether or not they would like to enable text-to-speech on title-by-title basis. (Cynopsis 3/2)
Dell wants to leverage its netbooks as a way of selling wireless 3G data plans by essentially giving away the hardware in a business model similar to the one cell phone carriers have long employed. CEO Michael Dell told analysts last week: “We want to get a larger share of the profit streams embedded in our growing installed base of the hundreds of millions of products we deliver. … Opportunities like search services, 3G originations and other telecom opportunities.” The New York Times (2/27)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=509a1e64-0f19-4cb2-8f0f-075a126c2b48)
