DAILY MARAUDER GOES AWOL

Photo Credit: Thomas Hawke

Hey there loyal Marauderists,

Daily Marauder will be on hiatus from tomorrow through the end of June. We will begin posting again Aug 1st. Being that this is such a large swath of time, I thought it would be worth mentioning a few reasons why we are going dark for so long. Take a deep breathe and deal with the abandonment issues. The purpose of this hiatus is to re-brand the site, re-define the user experience, and add what the movie Office Space refers to as a little bit more flair.

Daily Marauder has been a passion project of mine for the past 3 years. My mission for this site has always been to learn while assessing the digital landscape and speaking to companies about their strategies in this space. This, is still my mission. However, to continue to progress while maintaining some sense of sanity, I need some time to breathe, to re-create, and hopefully to produce a product you like even better than the one before it. During this hiatus, I will be doing a few things:

1) Beginning this Sunday, I and 2,000 other riders, will be biking from San Francisco to Los Angeles in the AIDS Lifecycle in support of the AIDS Foundation. If you would like to donate to the AIDS Foundation, click here. If you are interested in the journey, click on the image below or head to either of two places: www.twitter.com/dailymarauder or www.sftolaonbike.com

2) Re-brand and re-define: In the month of June, I plan to redefine my user flow and redesign the site to support that flow. The intention is to create a site which flows a bit easier and provides a more seamless user experience. More yay! and less nay. In addition, I will be consolidating my e-mail lists. You may receive an opt-in message during that time. I hope you decide to stick with us and continue to get your digital/TV/tech news on with us.

Till then. Try not to run me over on the road and I’ll catch you on the flipside of a few more Real Housewives of NJ episodes,

Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

The continued popularity of the National Basketball Association was good news for TNT, which on Sunday night attracted 8.97 million viewers to the playoff matchup between the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. For the week ending May 24, TNT averaged 3.32 million total viewers, including four of the top 10 shows of the week. Mediaweek (5/27)

Classic rock fans will have a front row seat to VH1 Classic’s 100 Concerts in 100 Days beginning July 6. The network will air concerts performed by such rock legends as Led Zepplin: The Song Remains the Same, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in NYC, Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon, Iron Maiden: Somewhere Back in Time and Live Aid: The Day the Music Changed the World. (Cynopsis 5/28)

I had to go with a seventies shot of Led Zeppelin.  Mc Lovin it.

John Lithgow will play a serial killer, joining the cast of Showtime’s Dexter. Lithgow’s character, Walter Simmons (aka the Trinity Killer), will appear in all 12 episodes of the drama’s fourth season set to open in September. (Cynopsis 5/28)

Sister cable networks TBS and TNT have signed a major rights deal with Warner Bros. for a total of 13 titles, including three upcoming releases. The recent films covered by the deal include “Terminator Salvation,” which could run on TNT as early as late 2011, as well as “Watchmen” and “Gran Torino.” The Hollywood Reporter (5/27)

Bravo sizzles in South Beach this summer as it debuts Miami Social on July 14 at 10p. The series follows four friends who are successful young professionals by day and party hounds at night. Pink Sneakers produces the series for Bravo. (Cynopsis 5/28)

NBC is setting a low-water mark of historic proportions for television viewership. Last week the network averaged 4.4 million prime-time viewers, the smallest-ever audience outside of the summer doldrums. NBC hasn’t had such a small audience since the early days of TV. (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NBC-makes-history-in-the-apf-15363388.html 5/27)

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman says that the company’s MTV network is lagging in ratings because it largely lost touch with young male audiences as it pursued programming for young women, such as “Laguna Beach.” Says Dauman: “We expect to see results” at MTV. (http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20090527-000813-1456 5/27)

Media companies are joining forces with unions to lobby for tougher action against piracy, as rising unemployment focuses their attention on the threat to jobs from copyright infringement. Fighting piracy “is a jobs issue,” says NBC Universal general counsel Rick Cotton. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d52152fa-4ae6-11de-87c2-00144feabdc0.html 5/27)

ESPN is shedding around 100 positions in a cost-reduction move as a result of the slumping economy. The job cuts are expected to be across a wide variety of levels, from production assistants up to executive roles. ESPN says: “Most of the jobs are being repurposed.” (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/277167-ESPN_Goes_Forward_With_Restructuring_Plans.php 5/27)

Despite the depressed economic conditions, Standard & Poor’s has upgraded its outlook on Comcast from “stable” to “positive.” The credit agency said that Comcast will remain the top cable, broadband and telecommunications provider in most of its service areas for some time. The Wall Street Journal (5/27)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Since launching in late 2007, Hulu has done one one thing very well: it lets you watch your favorite TV shows and movies from your computer, free of charge. But aside from improving the user experience with assorted niceties like smart thumbnails and a few social features, the site hasn’t really done much to expand its functionality. That changes today. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/28/so-long-cable-hulu-desktop-lets-you-browse-the-site-from-the-comfort-of-your-couch 5/28)

Today, Microsoft publicly unveiled its soon-to-launch search engine Bing. It will become available over the next few days, and be fully launched by June 3. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/28/bing-microsoft-prepares-for-war-with-a-revamped-search-engine-screenshots 5/28)

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz says she would sell the company’s Internet-search business to Microsoft for “boatloads of money.” She adds that she would agree to sell the entire company as well, though only for “big boatloads of money.” Yahoo is in talks with Microsoft now, she says. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=auVKgc4EweDY 5/27)

News Corp. hopes to sell Google access to a greater swathe of its media properties, say senior execs Jon Miller and Owen Van Natta. An advertising deal between Google and News Corp.’s MySpace is coming up for renewal. News Corp. assets encompass television, print and online. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE54R0EY20090528 5/28)

HDNet chief Mark Cuban says that despite the growth of YouTube, the Internet video market is a disappointment. The problem, he says, is that when Google bought YouTube it focused on ubiquity rather than making money. The result is that the market “can’t sustain itself.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10250739-56.html 5/27)

Internet-based content providers cannot make sufficient revenues from advertising, says Liberty Media chief John Malone, and they must find novel approaches to get consumers to pay. “The world is evolving. Whether it’s fast enough or big enough to save CBS, I don’t know.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/27/john-malone-media-technology-enterprise-tech-malone.html 5/27)

U.K. royalties collection agency PRS for Music is cutting the rates it charges music sites for artists’ music, potentially paving the way for YouTube to start carrying premium music videos again. YouTube pulled thousands of music videos in March after failing to agree terms with PRS. (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/908802/YouTube-restore-music-videos-following-royalties-cut/ 5/27)

Best Buy is creating an investment fund that will concentrate on digital media opportunities. The fund, managed by existing and former News Corp. employees, is expected to help the retailer delve more deeply into the digital business world in sectors such as music, video and games. Financial Times (free registration) (5/28) , Dealerscope (5/28)

WIRELESS

Fox, “American Idol” producers and AT&T are defending themselves against charges of voting irregularities during the finale of the singing competition. Fox and “Idol” producers say in a statement that they are “absolutely certain” that Kris Allen is, “without a doubt, the American Idol.” (Iwantmedia 5/28, http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/05/fox-idol-att-voting-controversy.html 5/27)

Sirius XM is developing an application for the iPhone that will allow users to stream music from the satellite radio service directly to their handset, according to this report. The app will require listeners to sign up for a subscription to Sirius XM at a cost of $12.95 a month. The New York Times/VentureBeat (5/27)

GAMING

Microsoft just announced sales of Xbox 360 consoles have passed the 30 million mark globally, up 28 percent over last year, which it claims is the highest percentage growth in hardware sales of any console so far in 2009. In addition, the Xbox LIVE community has grown to over 20 million users, coming from 26 countries. (http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/28/xbox-360-sales-top-30-million-with-20-million-live-subscribers/ 5/28)

TECHNOLOGY

In early 2010, Plastic Logic is hoping to introduce a new e-reader that will challenge the dominance of Amazon’s Kindle. Plastic Logic’s entry into the field would be marketed to business professionals and feature an E Ink reading screen with touch capabilities, a very thin body and Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity. The New York Times/Bits blog (5/27)

Despite the economic conditions, Apple is setting out on an aggressive strategy to remodel 100 of its existing stores this year and open new ones in New York City, Paris, Italy and Germany, according to Ron Johnson, senior vice president of retail for the company. “We know that a lot of people are cutting back, but we’re doing the opposite,” he said. “We’re investing in the downturn.” USA TODAY (5/27)

Comcast will tap TiVo as the primary DVR option for subscribers in a yet-to-be-announced tru2way market in the near future, according to Tom Rogers, president and chief executive officer of TiVo. Comcast this summer also is expected to allow TiVo users in its New England service area to record programs from any Internet connection. Multichannel News (5/27)

Hitachi Home Electronics rolled out new LCD HDTV models in its UltraVision and Alpha series. The features-heavy UltraVision tops out with a 55-inch model that retails at a suggested price of $1,800, while the value-priced Alpha line has a 32-inch version for $500. TWICE (5/27)

Samsung and SanDisk have agreed to a patent licensing deal in an effort to avoid litigation and forge a new partnership in the crowded memory chip market. Although financial details of the agreement were not revealed, the pact is expected to keep the two companies out of the courtroom. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (5/27) , The Wall Street Journal (5/28)

BROADCAST/CABLE

TLC’s widely popular “Jon and Kate Plus 8” opened its fifth season Monday with a whopping 9.8 million viewers. The show, about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight children, was the most-watched show that night on cable or broadcast TV. TVWeek.com (5/26)

“The Link,” a two-hour special on History that focused on a 47-million-year-old fossil that could have been a missing link in the human evolutionary chain, attracted 2 million viewers to its May 25 premiere. The much-hyped show scored well in all demos, averaging 904,000 between the ages of 25 and 54 and 756,000 between the ages of 18 and 49. Multichannel News (5/26)

A&E Network opened season seven of Intervention on Monday at 9p with 2 million viewers. Then at 10p, A&E debuted the new original series Obsessed which attracted 1.8 million viewers. (Cynopsis 5/27)

Also on Monday, E! aired the season three finale of Keeping Up with the Kardashians at 1030p, delivering a 1.93 HH rating among metered markets. In E!’s newest reality series, Kendra Wilkinson, former star of The Girls Next Door, headlines her own show, Kendra opening June 7 at 10p with limited commercial breaks. (Cynopsis 5/27)

ABC is said to be preparing for “executive shuffling and pinkslipping,” as Steve McPherson consolidates his power as head of ABC Entertainment Group overseeing both ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios. Layoffs are expected in business affairs, publicity, legal and other areas. (Iwantmedia 5/27, http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/abc-network-studio-shakeup-coming 5/26)

With international TV buyers spending the week in Hollywood, HBO has decided to enter the global distribution fray. The pay-cable channel screened three of its upcoming shows — “Hung,” “Bored to Death” and “How to Make It in America” — for international buyers looking to cut licensing deals. The Hollywood Reporter (5/26)

Bravo announced Tuesday that it would spin off a new version of its “Real Housewives” franchise — this time in the nation’s capital. The news about “The Real Housewives of Washington, D.C.” closely follows the May 12 premiere of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” which attracted 1.72 million viewers. Mediaweek (5/26)