Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

MLB.com continues to set the standard for live online streaming delivering between 1 and 1.5 million games over the internet each day and racking up between 50-60 million unique visitors a month during baseball season, per Variety. More than a third of all MLB tickets sold online, more than any other sport. (Cynopsis 6/23)

Google has just introduced Google Trends For Websites, a new tool that lets users take a peek at the traffic data from sites around the web. The new feature pits Google against a number of well-established players in the traffic data space, including Compete, Comscore, Alexa, and a host of others. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/20/google-faces-off-with-compete-alexa-comscore-quantcast-brings-nothing-new 6/20)

ESPN launched its latest online exclusive series giving fans an “all access” look at Kansas State basketball star Michael Beasley, expected to be one of the top 2 picks in the NBA draft on June 26. Ten 3-5 minute webisodes will premiere on ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile TV throughout the summer. (Cynopsis 6/23)

YouTube is said to be paying creators a fee to license films for its new indie short-film destination. A YouTube spokesperson says: “We are experimenting with a variety of limited promotional sponsorship programs.” Still, YouTube is “not getting into the acquisitions business.” (Iwantmedia 6/23, http://newteevee.com/2008/06/21/youtube-paying-upfront-for-content 6/21)

Disney’s ABC is expected to announce that episodes of prime time shows like “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives,” along with short clips and game highlights from ESPN, will be accessible through indie video site Veoh.com. Veoh is backed by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. (Iwantmedia 6/23, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/business/media/23veoh.html 6/23)

Disney is selling Movies.com to Comcast’s Fandango.com, the online ticketing service. Disney once envisioned Movies.com as a video-on-demand platform, but the joint venture with Fox never got off the ground, and the site remained an entertainment news repository. (Iwantmedia 6/23, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987926.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1 6/22)

While Barry Diller’s IAC plans to divide its myriad Internet outfits into five separate public business units, the company is pooling them with an advertising-sales and targeting system that will marry data from across all its assets to sell “audience cubes.” (Iwantmedia 6/23, http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=127899 6/23)

PBS announced it is streaming the entire 11-part Election Day series on the P.O.V. website, beginning at 11:30 pm ET on July 1 – the night it airs on PBS. The series, shot from dawn until the wee hours of Nov. 2, 2004, examines the political process through the eyes of group of citizens who struggle to get their voices heard. (Cynopsis 6/23)

Efforts by television networks to make their programs available for free on the Internet are “absurd,” says Liberty Media boss John Malone. NBC’s online coverage of the Beijing Olympics will be a “flop.” Expensive events won’t “have adequate underwriting through advertising.” (Iwantmedia 6/23, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67e0a1e2-3eed-11dd-8fd9-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 6/20)

(Below) Now, here’s an interesting theory.  This is like blaming the retail store because you’re product just isn’t selling.  Lame at best.

The Apple iPod is partly to blame for the collapse of the music industry, according to a report from eMarketer. The Mac maker helped set the tone for a “rat’s nest of restrictions and incompatibilities” that led to consumer confusion and stalled the growth of digital music. (Iwantmedia 6/23, http://www.redherring.com/Home/24370 6/20)

Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Websites (Week ending June 14, 2008)
Rank Network Website Market Share of Visits
1 ABC www.abc.com 27.92%
2 FOX* www.fox.com 26.03%
3 CBS www.cbs.com 23.97%
4 NBC www.nbc.com 15.07%
5 The CW www.cwtv.com 6.73%
6 MyNetworkTV www.mynetworktv.com .27%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise, *includes traffic aggregated from stand alone websites americanidol.com, amw.com, familyguy.com, thelot.com and thesimpsons.com.

Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Sites (Week ending June 14, 2008)
Rank   Network       Website                      Market Share of Visits
1          FOX          American Idol                     11.00%
2          NBC          Deal or No Deal                     8.64%
3          FOX          American’s Most Wanted         7.35%
4          FOX          So You Think You Can Dance? 6.54%
5          ABC          The Bachelorette                    5.78%
6          NBC          Last Comic Standing               2.97%
7          CBS          NCIS                                     2.87%
8          NBC          The Office                              2.01%
9          ABC          The Mole                                1.94%
10         ABC          Lost                                       1.91%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise