Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Warner Home Video plans to sync Facebook with the interactive features of its Blu-ray discs, starting with the release of "Watchmen Director’s Cut" in July. Purchasers of "Watchmen" will be allowed to share comments with their Facebook friends as they watch the film. (Iwantmedia 5/13, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i4b5caa365ad73b3a32b7e201b5eae9c0  5/11)

Sounds nice but I would love to see it in action…

A few years ago, old-media companies from ABC to Viacom, aiming to show that they had a clue when it came to the Internet, created the position of chief digital strategist. Today some media incumbents are dropping the role altogether, as deals fall by the wayside. (Iwantmedia 5/13, http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/11/technology/lashinsky_cio.fortune/  5/11)

Quincy Smith, the head of CBS Interactive since November 2006, is said to be planning to leave to start his own consultancy, possibly as soon as this summer. His departure isn’t believed to be imminent. CBS says it declines to comment on rumor and speculation. (Iwantmedia 5/13, http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090511/cbs-digital-boss-quincy-smith-plans-his-next-deal-his-own-ma-shop/  5/11)

Longtime Time Warner Cable exec Andrew Heller is being named vice chairman of Turner Broadcasting System, where he will act as coordinator for Time Warner’s "TV Everywhere." The initiative aims to make cable TV content available online for verified subscribers. (Iwantmedia 5/13, http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=136593  5/12)

The four co-founders of the file-sharing site The Pirate Bay aim to sabotage the $3.6 million fine owned to media giants for breaking copyright laws. The quartet is asking supporters to make minuscule online payments on their behalf, in hopes that tiny submissions will wreck the system. (Iwantmedia 5/13, http://www.nypost.com/seven/05132009/business/swedish_phish__web_pirates_wont_pay_boot_168941.htm  5/13)

iLike, the popular music discovery site with a huge presence on social networks, is launching a set of new syndication services for musicians. Beginning tonight, iLike now offers extensive integration with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, allowing artists to distribute content to each of their online presences from a single control panel. In addition to these, the company is also launching a new self-serve platform for building customized iPhone applications for artists, allowing them to establish themselves on the App Store with a minimum amount of effort and resources. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/13/ilike-launches-custom-iphone-apps-syndication-platform-to-help-artists-cast-a-wide-net/  5/13)

Entertainment Weekly and YouTube are teaming up to capitalize on ABC’s "Lost," as scores of fans await the season finale. The Time Inc. title is "guest-editing" YouTube’s home-page spotlighted video section, marking the first time a consumer magazine has curated the module. (Iwantmedia 5/13, http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/national-broadcast/e3i641dc7e691e8df84bac0ada8e62eb50b  5/13)

Ashton Kutcher got his start on the small screen. His roles in That 70s Show and development of the MTV show Punk’d (which is being kind of reborn with Ustream) allowed him to become a movie star. But these days he seems more interested in using the web to further his career. His recent race with CNN to be the first user with a million Twitter followers was just one facet of what he’s doing online. He also has his own web-based show Blah Girls. But now he’s sending that the opposite way: Back to television. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/13/blah-girls-jumps-from-the-web-to-tv-as-kutcher-does-the-opposite/  5/13)

AOL is said to be firing a large number of employees in its Platform-A sales unit. Remaining sales reps are being told the fired staffers will be replaced with new ones — "most likely from Google." New AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and sales boss Jeff Levick are veterans of Google.

(Iwantmedia 5/13, http://www.businessinsider.com/aol-fires-17-in-ad-sales-will-replace-them-with-googlers-2009-5  5/13)

After coming under increasing scrutiny from various state attorney generals for the open prostitution listings in its “erotic services” category, Craigslist is now folding in the face of criminal charges.The company said in a blog post that it will replace the erotic services category with a new “Adult services” category where each ad will be individually reviewed before posting. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/13/hookers-no-longer-welcome-on-craigslist/  5/13)

Production company Gotham City Films has founded a new non-profit charity production division and the company dreamed up a web series to launch it. Nights At The Round Table, (think Jon Favreu’s Dinner for Five without the film focus) will premiere on multiple portals, feature a different celebrity and tackle a different cause each week. Gotham principle Beth Beasley has already lined up Hilary Duff, Shane Black and others and will host each dinner at her West Hollywood abode. (Cynopsis 5/13)

Broadcast Network Websites – Unique Viewers – April ’09   
Name                                                                             Unique Viewers
ABC.com                                                                         5.0 million
CBS Television                                                                3.4 million
NBC.com                                                                         3.3 million
Fox Broadcasting                                                            2.1 million
Cwtv.com                                                                         549,000

Top 10 Programs – Unique Viewers – April ’09 
Program                                   Net                             Unique Viewers
Dancing with the Stars               ABC                                 1.711 million
Lost                                        ABC                                 1.708 million
The Unusuals                            ABC                                1.069 million
Desperate Housewives                ABC                                1.053 million
Grey’s Anatomy                         ABC                                  998,000
Ugly Betty                                ABC                                  721,000
Saturday Night Live                    NBC                                  672,000
Survivor                                   CBS                                  561,000
Castle                                      ABC                                  537,000
NCIS                                        CBS                                  528,000

Top 10 Programs – Total Streams – April ’09   
Program                                   Net                              Unique Viewers
Lost                                        ABC                                36.7 million
The Office                                NBC                                16.9 million
Heroes                                     NBC                                14.3 million
Dancing with the Stars               ABC                                 13.7 million
Young and the Restless              CBS                                 12.3 million
Grey’s Anatomy                         ABC                                11.7 million
NCIS                                       CBS                                9.82 million
Desperate Housewives               ABC                                9.79 million
Castle                                     ABC                                 8.27 million
House                                     FOX                                  7.7 million
Source: Nielsen Online