Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Ali Landry, Desperate Housewives, Grey, Grey's Anatomy, Hulu, Television, Television program, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ABC had nine out of the top ten most viewed television series for the month of February according to Nielsen VideoCensus (Which, it’s important to note, doesn’t track visits to Hulu.) Lost proved to be a juggernaut with 2.5 million unique viewers, up 41% over January. Lost also ranked number one in total streams with 48 million - up 20% from January. Dancing with the Stars (1.5 million unique viewers), Grey’s Anatomy (1.3 million), The Bachelor (962,000), Brothers & Sisters (801,000), Desperate Housewives (793,000) and Scrubs (655,000) ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, respectively. (Cynopsis 3/16)
Yahoo is abandoning its forays into television-style online productions. Instead, the Internet company is focusing on producing brief, niche Web shows. Yahoo execs say they have found a sustainable model for making original video online, in part by not competing with TV. (Iwantmedia 3/16, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/technology/internet/16yahoo.html?_r=1 3/16)
Ali Landry is the hostess of “Spotlight to Nightlight,” a series on celebrity mothers.
Analysis: More television viewers are flocking to Web streaming, but the broadcast networks aren’t getting anywhere near the revenues that they would earn from traditional TV commercials. If too many people switch to services like Hulu, TV’s business model “could collapse.” (Iwantmedia 3/16, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001234.html?categoryid=2522&cs=1 3/13)
Facebook unveiled some new targeting filters on its ad platform last week allowing advertisers to now target users by language and geographical location including individual metro areas made up of multiple cities. Previously in order to target based on language, advertisers were forced to specify countries they wanted to target. (Cynopsis 3/16)
A panel of comedians and tech execs at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas, contend that online video is still a long way from destroying traditional television. “Everyone is still trying to figure out” webisodes, says B.J. Novak of NBC’s “The Office.” (Iwantmedia 3/16, http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/03/15/sxsw-web-video-isnt-killing-tv/ 3/15)
B.J. Novak, who plays Ryan Howard on NBC
Steven Johnson, author of “Everything Bad is Good for You,” says during an appearance at SXSW that he sees a bright future for news. Consumers will benefit from the new “ecosystem of news” — encompassing Digg, Twitter, Facebook, as well as professional journalists. (Iwantmedia 3/16, http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10196386-93.html 3/13)
Tim Armstrong’s jump from Google to AOL could create a challenge for the Internet search giant in its effort to win big advertisers. Google’s exiting top ad exec has a rep for building strong client relationships. His sales team at Google will find their jobs “more difficult without him.” (Iwantmedia 3/16, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123715363111434391.html 3/16)
The hiring of Google’s Tim Armstrong to run AOL is prompting speculation that a long-awaited separation of the troubled Internet unit from Time Warner is finally near. An announcement is expected “in the next 12 months.” Ultimately, Armstrong will “run a public company.” (Iwantmedia 3/16, http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20090313-000813-1348&hpadref=1 3/13)
AOL’s People Networks division has today announced the launch of social networking site Bebo, which it acquired almost exactly one year ago, in several key European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/16/aol-rolls-out-bebo-in-several-european-countries/ 3/16)
Vancouver-based web 2.0 movie fan site MovieSet, a portal that allows users to track the development and creation of feature films, is gearing up for its first live streaming event. MovieSet will be streaming live from the set of mixed martial arts movie Death Warrior beginning today providing embeddable interviews with the filmmakers and actual footage from the set. (Cynopsis 3/16)
If you can’t beat ‘em (Hulu, that is), turn to other content providers. Socially-oriented online entertainment platform Boxee has added Blip.tv shows to its line up. (Cynopsis 3/16)
U.S. visits to Facebook grew 149% in February compared with the same month a year earlier, according to Hitwise. That pushed Facebook’s market share among users in the United States visiting social networking sites to 36% last month – still behind MySpace, which enjoys a 52% market share despite a 28% percentage drop. MySpace also continues to lead in time spent among the top 5 social networking sites with an average 29:38 per users per month. (Cynopsis 3/16)
Market share of U.S. Internet visits to top five social networking Web sites
Rank Name Feb. 2008 Jan. 2009 Feb. 2009 Y/Y percent change
1 MySpace 72.92% 57.08% 52.21% -28%
2 Facebook 14.46% 31.15% 36.03% 149%
3 Tagged 0.65% 2.33% 2.47% 280%
4 MyYearbook 1.17% 1.67% 1.63% 39%
5 Classmates 1.03% 0.80% 0.82% -20%
Source: Hitwise
Average U.S. time spent among top five social networking Web sites
Rank Name February 2008 February 2009 Y/Y percent change
1 MySpace 30:07 29:38 -2%
2 Facebook 21:00 22:12 6%
3 Tagged 24:56 26:22 6%
4 MyYearbook 31:35 25:22 -20%
5 Classmates 10:19 11:14 9%
Source: Hitwise
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Arts, Desperate Housewives, North America, SK Telecom, South Korea, Television program, The Walt Disney Company, WALL-E
In its first mobile-content deal cut outside North America, Disney-ABC International Television will distribute full-length films and TV episodes for mobiles to South Korea’s SK Telecom on an on-demand basis, Disney said. The deal, which will take effect in March, will give SK customers access to such films as “WALL-E” and “National Treasure,” as well as the hit TV series “Desperate Housewives.” Variety (2/20)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Apple, Desperate Housewives, Disney-ABC Television Group, iPhone, LG, LG Electronics, Mobile phone, Nokia
LG Electronics is expected to introduce this month a touch-screen phone with fewer features, but at what it terms an affordable price “never offered before.” The KP500 will feature a 3.2-megapixel camera, 3-inch screen with Bluetooth, the ability to read PDFs and Office documents, and some multimedia capabilities: EDGE connectivity instead of Wi-Fi or 3G. InformationWeek (9/30)
MobiTV reached an agreement with Disney-ABC Television Group to offer full-length episodes of many ABC prime time shows including Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy and Samantha Who?, in addition to a selection of content from ABC Daytime, ABC Family and ABC News. MobiTV has 4 million+ subscribers on multiple carriers including Sprint, AT&T and Alltell. (Cynopsis 10/1)
The number of touch-screen phones will reach 90 million worldwide by next year and account for 7% of all mobile phones sold, according to a study from Strategy Analytics, which said that Nokia and Apple would drive price cuts by ramping up production. cellular-news (U.K.) (9/30)
Cell phones are no longer primarily a business-driven product, according to a study from Artificial Life that finds almost half of all U.S. users depend on their handsets for entertainment, mainly multimedia content such as videos, music and games. Another finding: One-third of the 200 respondents said that entertainment was more important to them than other services, including e-mail, GPS and Web browsing. TMCnet.com (9/30)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: ABC, American Broadcasting Company, Desperate Housewives, Facebook, Grey, Grey's Anatomy, Time Warner, Ugly Betty
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
ABC.com is expanding its widget offerings adding new embeddable widgets around primetime shows such as The Bachelor: London Calling, Brother’s & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Samantha Who?? and Ugly Betty. The applications, which have been averaging 170,000 views/day for previously launched Lost and Dancing with the Stars versions according to ABC, allow viewers to embed and share video clips, photos, news alerts and mobile-optimized content. ABC also has a widget as part of the Start Fresh campaign, promising to plant one tree sapling for every ten videos viewed on the apps. (Cynopsis 4/9)
I’d like to take a moment to call a moratorium on the word “widget.” Let’s just accept the fact that, apart from a rare few, senior executives have no idea what a widget is. The problem is in the pudding. . .or in the name in this case. Try this. Google the word “widget.” In general, widget (pronounced WIH-jit) is a term used to refer to any discrete object, usually of some mechanical nature and relatively small size, when it doesn’t have a name, when you can’t remember the name, or when you’re talking about a class of certain unknown objects in general. So, whose bright idea was it to name these applications widgets? Let’s revolt. Moving on, I commend ABC for devising a widget strategy. That said, as a blogger myself, what I really want is a video application that allows me to play my favorites across content providers. A personalized video player if you will.
Desperate Housewives Widget
Time Warner‘s struggling AOL online unit could be the big loser if Facebook‘s new instant-messaging chat feature takes off. Facebook users may become “addicted to Facebook chat and begin to decrease their usage of AIM,” according to Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.nypost.com/seven/04092008/business/im_chat_not_just_domain_of_aol_105671.htm 4/9)
I definitely agree with this article. In fact I already did agree. See my post below from Monday:
Let’s just say I was more than just a bit excited to try out Facebook Chat which as I see it, stands to blow AOL IM right out of the water. Here’s why: It’s always on whenever you connect to Facebook. It’s easier to use and functionality free. If you want to turn it out and stop receiving messages, you can change to offline mode. The only con is that I only receive notification that I have a new message if the window is still open. Perhaps, adding some sound when new messages are received would help.
Yahoo’s photo sharing site Flickr added an option to upload short videos up to 90 seconds long and 150 MB in size. (Cynopsis 4/9, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080409/ap_on_hi_te/flickr_video 4/9)
Did Flickr just become a YouTube competitor on the sly? No, not really. Video uploads are only available to Pro members (as opposed to everyone can upload on YouTube) and really seem to represent a compliment to the photostream rather than stand alone video.
Tanzania School Choir
Disney CEO Bob Iger says he expects primetime TV shows to be simulcast online, runs ABC like a content studio given that its distribution brand value is diminished, and regards media concentration rules as “irrelevant” in the digital age. “I laugh at it. It’s old world,” he says. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3id751287ff1c2313e1282c0878b5f1b6a 4/8)
CBS saw its television ratings for the NCAA basketball championship game fall this year. But the network made up some of the TV audience shortfall on the Internet, where its Webcast during the tournament lured 4.33 million users, more than double last year’s 1.75 million. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=at2Ujy1guJbg 4/8)
(Below) This would all but STUNT creative growth on the internet. Sites like MySpace and Facebook already face external pressure to maintain a safe environment for their users. This added legal weight will provide more trouble than its worth to these online giants in essence limiting the amount of functionality available to users at the experience level.
Recent U.S. court rulings may change the broad legal shield Web sites have enjoyed against lawsuits filed over material posted by their users, which has allowed the likes of YouTube and MySpace to flourish. The decisions could “inspire a wave” of new lawsuits and “create a chilling effect.” (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9911501-7.html 4/8)
Hulu’s ambition is to bring global content to America and the rest of the world, says CEO Jason Kilar. The online video joint venture between News Corp. and NBC Universal is available for the moment only in the United States. “We have an ambition to be global.” (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=38154 4/8)
The EU’s Article 29 data privacy group has determined that search engines should destroy users’ IP addresses after no longer than six months. Google routinely keeps users’ identities based on IP clicks for 24 months. (Cynopsis 4/9)
Yahoo plans to acquire of the assets of Tensa Kft, more commonly known as IndexTools. The company’s technology will be used by Yahoo to analyze its clients’ online marketing efforts. IndexTools will deliver metrics for online campaigns that run across Yahoo’s entire network. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/144313/yahoo_acquire_indextools_analytics_business.html 4/9)
The hip-hop parade continues in the online video world. New York DJ Funkmaster Flex stars in Funk Flex TV, a new channel on Ripe Digital’s Flow TV service available on demand on Time Warner, Comcast and Cablevision and online via flow.tv. (Cynopsis 4/9)
In this episode, Flex interviews Chris Brown. I have nothing but love for Flex but there’s something less than interesting about watching a video-taped radio interview.
Unknown Vector unveiled a new interface for sharing video collections across social networks called uvLayer. The browser-based application, based on a downloadable version released earlier, allows users to drag and drop videos, create playlists and push thumbnail stacks of content to friends’ profile pages in 13 different languages. (Cynopsis 4/9)
I like this drag and drop philosophy a whole lot. I don’t know how well this works as a stand alone product but as incorporated into existing social networking spaces, this seems like an obvious ease-of-use upgrade.
C-SPAN, the U.S. private nonprofit cable public affairs network, is launching its own channel on YouTube, focused on the upcoming Pennsylvania primary. Users will be able to upload their videos and share what they believe is the most important issue in the election. (Iwantmedia 4/9, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/04/08/c-span-launches-channel-on-youtube 4/8)
Adobe has launched Adobe Media Player 1.0 and a Adobe TV. Adobe Media Player offers playback of streamed, downloaded or locally-stored video in Adobe Flash and can be viewed in 1080p, 720p or 480i resolutions. iTunes style the player allows users to subscribe to television shows and other content and automatically receive new episodes when they are available. Adobe TV is available at tv.adobe.com or as a network in Adobe Media Player and offers “expert instruction and original series programming” about Adobe products. Adobe TV offers four channels targeted at Photographers, Designers, Video Professionals, and Developers. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/08/adobe-launches-media-player-adobe-tv 4/8)
The NHL launched a new ad supported broadband video service today, just in time for the hockey playoffs. NHL Network Online, accessible from NHL.com, features 7 channels of on demand multimedia programming, viewable through a newly revamped video player powered by NeuLion.
Online retailers are planning to invest more in social networks and Web video to reach customers as they continue to rely on paid searches and e-mail marketing, according to a Shop.org survey conducted by Forrester. About 65% of the 125 retailers polled said they would increase their use of social network ads in 2008, while 67% plan to place greater emphasis on online video. (Advertising Age 4/8)
