Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

NBC Universal has agreed to provide downloads of movies and TV shows for purchase or rental via Sony Computer Entertainment America‘s PlayStation Network. TV episodes will become available for downloads 24 hours after their original network airings. Reuters (3/11) , Variety (3/10)

New media studio EQAL has launched HarpersGlobe.com, the social companion site to CBS‘s new who’s-gong-to-die-next mystery series Harper’s Island premiering April 9. Hoping to stoke the interest of fans of other successful EQAL franchises like LonelyGirl15 and Kate Modern (Harpers Globe stars LG15′s Melanie Merkosky,) the 17-episode web show begins on Mar. 18 and will incorporate videos, photos, and blogs from its accompanying social network – enabling users to speak directly with the characters, solve puzzles and feel as the rush of participating in the characters’ lives. (Cynopsis 3/11)

It reminds me a bit of the Saw series complete with creepy childlike mask.  I’ll have to see an episode to make any decisions on this one.

The rap-rock band Hollywood Undead could have been MySpace Records’ breakthrough act, but the record label arm of the social-networking site missed out after trying to censor the group’s music. News Corp. officials “made a stink” about the group’s controversial lyrics. (Iwantmedia 3/11, http://www.nypost.com/seven/03112009/business/myspace_gets_scared_off_by_the_undead_158966.htm 3/11)

See…this is what happens when Murdoch owns you.  Snarky?  I know.

Disney is launching a Web site billed as the “premier online destination for Disney fans.” The new site, called D23, offers breaking Disney news and video clips from classic Disney films. A $75 membership fee gives subscribers an online magazine and other perks. (Iwantmedia 3/11, http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090310/tc_afp/entertainmentuscompanyinternetdisney 3/10)

AOL is executing its second major round of layoffs in two years amid a weakening online advertising market. The company says it plans to reduce its domestic headcount by 700. AOL is no longer leading-edge, say analysts. AOL is “saddled with an old business.” (Iwantmedia 3/11, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031003307.html 3/11)

Google is wading into behavioral ad targeting in a big way today. It will start placing cookies on consumer’s browsers to collect information about their interests whenever they visit sites that show AdSense contextual ads. Then it will show ads targeted to those interests to the same person as he or she browses the Web on other sites that also serve AdSense ads (which is a large portion of all commercial sites). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/11/google-now-lets-you-target-ads-at-yourself 3/11)

Facebook is launching in Arabic, tapping into a potentially huge market in the Middle East and beyond. The world’s most successful social network already has many users in the Arab world. In Egypt, the site boasts 900,000 users. Some 60 more languages are in development. (Iwantmedia 3/11, http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/10/facebook-launches-arabic-version 3/10)

The dispute between YouTube and the U.K.’s Performing Rights Society for Music that prompted the site to remove music videos could spread to MySpace, say industry sources. MySpace U.K. and other sites are struggling to renegotiate their own licenses with the agency. (Iwantmedia 3/11, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/10/youtube-performing-rights-society-music 3/10)

Despite shuttering its TimesSelect option in 2007 – a premium service that attracted some 200,000 subscribers and $10 million in annual revenue – NYTimes.com continues to mull over a variety of paid content options including subscriptions, micro-payments and membership tiers, says Martin Nisenholtz, SVP/Digital Operations in the site’s interactive Talk to the Times feature. (Cynopsis 3/11)

The U.S. should be cut some slack for not keeping up with denser countries such as Japan and South Korea in the areas of broadband speed, availability and affordability according to an analysis piece in The NYTimes. Nations with large concentrations of apartment buildings or other multi-dwelling units have been able to roll out high-speed DSL services with relatively little capital investment. (Cynopsis 3/11)