Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Google, Jerry Yang, Microsoft, News Corp, News Corporation, Yahoo, Yahoo Microsoft
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
The backlash against Jerry Yang continued after Yahoo publically admitted it would have been willing to sell to Microsoft below $37 a share. Portfolio manager Gordon Crawford, whose Capital Research owns over 6% of Yahoo, expressed out-and-out disgust at Mr. Yang for what he characterized in the WSJ as “overplaying a weak hand.” (Cynopsis 5/7, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-yahoo7-2008may07,0,264309.story 5/7)
Yahoo expects to sell out 50% of its video ad inventory during its “upfront” meetings with advertisers this year, according to Silicon Alley Insider including inventory on partner sites such as Comcast, Forbes, MobiTV and MLB.com. That’s up from 30% presales achieved last year. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Microsoft won’t be pursuing tie-ups or takeovers to replace its failed Yahoo bid, says chairman Bill Gates. Microsoft dropped its three-month pursuit of Yahoo on Saturday. The software giant had “put a lot of effort into talking to Yahoo” and is now “focused on its independent strategy.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145574/microsoft_wont_pursue_other_partnerships_says_gates.html 5/7)
If MySpace were to lose its top spot among social networks, it would have a long way to fall. Though U.S. visits to the powerhouse are down 5% since last year, the News Corp. site still commands nearly 74% of the social networking market, according to Hitwise. (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/05/06/myspace-facebook-still-on-top 5/6)
Web video startups like MyDamnChannel.com are vying for attention at Digital Hollywood, the annual conference in Los Angeles. However, one observer notes that a destination site may be “antithetical to the nature of the Web, where the point is to bounce around.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-05-06-digital-hollywood_N.htm 5/6)
Coolspotters, a new site from Connecticut based startup Fanzter, will launch later today. It’s an eye-candy celebrity-focused site that shows users the products celebrities are wearing in various photos. Users can then talk about and, of course, purchase those items. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/07/want-to-dress-just-like-celebrities-youll-like-coolspotters 5/7)
Pope Benedict will text message thousands of young Catholics on their mobile phones during World Youth Day in Sydney in July, hoping going digital will help him connect better with younger audiences. The church also will set up a social networking site akin to a “Catholic Facebook.” (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSSYD19071020080507 5/7)
Let’s call it a battle of the religious social networking sites. God’s Social Network launched late last week allowing users to meet other Christians, post prayers, post blessings, upload/download sermons, get inspiration, etc. Just to refresh your memory, Godtube launched in August of ’07 and has peaked at just under a million users as of this posting.
Cartoon Network is inviting kids to play along with Ben 10 using a new online tool allowing web savvy kids to construct their own games around the show. Prepackaged Ben 10 games currently dominate the top 10 most popular games at CartoonNetwork.com, according to the network, holding five of the top ten spots. (Cynopsis 5/7)
MSNBC.com introduced a new online toolbox called NewsWare to serve as a storehouse and incubator for in house and user generated apps and widgets. A selection of customizable news tickers, visualization tools and the Facebook app NewsBlaster are up there now. (Cynopsis 5/7)
Entertainment Rights inked deals with YouTube, Joost and Babelgum to provide all three digital platforms with a selection of its kid/family-targeted animated content with the launch of the Retro Heroes channel. Under the deal, YouTube debuts a version of Retro Heroes featuring short-form webisodes from ER’s library, while Joost and Babelgum will also feature selected long-form programming. Entertainment Rights programming includes He-Man, She-Ra, Felix the Cat, Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Archies, Fat Albert and Casper the Friendly Ghost. (Cynopsis 5/7)
CBS Radio will launch an Internet radio network in June that will provide access to all 140 CBS stations, as well as the AOL Radio network, through a single media player. Later in the summer, CBS will introduce Play.it, an online portal allowing users to create their own radio stations. (Iwantmedia 5/7, http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/FREE/607707191/1084 5/6)
Accenture’s annual Global Media Content Survey indicated media executives are determined to focus on new platforms to drive growth in advertising, film, music, publishing, radio, the internet, videogames and television. When asked to identify the largest drivers of revenue growth over the next five years, two-thirds (66%) of respondents cited new platforms or new ways of delivering content. And nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said they will pursue a “multi-screen” distribution strategy, which includes television, online and mobile delivery. (Cynopsis 5/7)
- A leading 38% cited short-form video as the genre with the most potential, followed by online portal/publishing second (23%) and video games (18%).
- Social media and user-generated content are high-growth opportunities. Two-thirds of respondents also identified social media and user-generated content as a high-growth opportunities.
- When asked to identify what they believe will be the number one business model in five years, nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents selected advertising-supported business models, compared with 25% who cited subscription-based services and 11% who cited pay-per-play services.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CBS, Jeff Bewkes, Jeffrey Bewkes, News Corp, News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, Television, Time Warner Inc
Several media conglomerates are set to report earnings in the coming weeks. Deal talk will be a hot topic as Time Warner and News Corp. look at plays for Yahoo, Rupert Murdoch closes in on Newsday, and Viacom unveils its plans for a premium television offering. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i820fd1a4c711cf225dfb4817cfe2d496 4/28)
CBS says its Q1 profit rose 14% as the company sold its “CSI” series abroad and a 100-day writers’ strike temporarily lowered production costs. The radio division’s operating profit fell 27%. Outdoor advertising may surpass radio as CBS’s second-biggest profit center after TV. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a754MV3h7fyk 4/29)
Shareholders of Time Warner are urging CEO Jeff Bewkes to get rid of the cable-television unit and buy back shares after the stock fell 30% from a 2007 high. Bewkes could announce plans to unload the unit when Time Warner reports Q1 earnings on Wednesday. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aaEEOfY0Uj5s 4/29)
Jeffrey Bewkes, president and then chief operating officer of Time Warner Inc., takes a lunch break during the annual Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 11, 2007. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg News
U.S. media companies are expected to shrug off the economy’s woes in the first quarter, but “growth will slow as the year progresses,” analysts say. Media giants buoyed by strength in their “maturing” cable networks might find bigger pay-offs in faster-growing areas like the Internet. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2540910320080428 4/28)
Blockbuster is reportedly considering taking an ownership role in a new pay-TV service being developed by Paramount, MGM and Lions Gate that would compete against entrenched cable networks such as HBO, Showtime and Starz, according to this article. Executives for the joint venture, expected to launch in fall 2009, also are in talks with cable companies about distributing the still-unnamed channel. (The Wall Street Journal (free content) 4/29)
Boosting its image across all platforms, A&E will introduce new branding that includes a fresh logo and look both on-air and online centered on the tagline “Real Life. Drama.” The re-branding campaign, utilizing national and local television commercials, online, print and out-of-home in key markets, kicks off this Memorial Day during the miniseries premiere of The Andromeda Strain and then will continue throughout the summer, coinciding with the network’s debut of its first scripted series, The Cleaner starring Benjamin Bratt. (Cynopsis 4/29)
Season five of Reno 911! on Comedy Central opens with all-new episodes May 22 at 1030p. (Cynopsis 4/29)
For the 15th and final season of NBC’s ER, THR reports producers have added Angela Bassett as a regular cast member and one of the original cast members Noah Wyle will return for at least four of the 19 schedule episodes. (Cynopsis 4/29)
The Republican National Committee is calling on CNN and MSNBC to yank a new commercial from the Democratic National Committee about John McCain. The RNC says the ad, which suggests McCain would maintain a U.S. military presence in Iraq for up to 100 years, is a “gross distortion.” (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/04/republicans_want_cnn_msnbc_to.php 4/28)
Viacom-owned Spike plans to launch its first original comedy June 29, an improvised series titled “Factory.” Spike’s Bill McGoldrick, vice president of original programming, said “Factory” would capture the lives of four regular guys who work in a small factory town. (TVWeek.com 4/28)
Cox Enterprises, the parent of Cox Communications, will buy online-advertising company Adify Corp. for $300 million. Adify’s technology helps companies build ad networks that allow advertisers to more efficiently target niche audiences. (The Washington Post/paidContent.org 4/29, Google/Associated Press 4/29)
Verizon added 263,000 net new FiOS TV subscribers in Q1, bringing its subscriber base up to 1.2 million customers. Such success is bringing out attack ads from cable providers, points out WSJ. Verizon earned $1.64 billion during the quarter – up 9.8% from a year ago – attracting more higher end wireless customers with its all-you-can-gab $99/month plan. (Cynopsis 4/29)
Cablevision appears poised to make a bid for Newsday with an offer expected to top two competing $580-million bids by Rupert Murdoch and Mort Zuckerman. Meanwhile, Murdoch is said to be employing former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato to smooth the Newsday purchase with politicians. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bznews0429,0,1089746.story 4/28)
Cablevision in the next month or two will stop offering cable nets such as A&E, TLC, Animal Planet, E!, the Sci-Fi Channel and Travel Channel in analog. With the change, the company’s analog-only customers will receive one free digital set-top box and its digital subscribers may have to buy additional set-top boxes. (Multichannel News 4/28)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Apple, Arts, Facebook, Karaoke, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Music, Myspace, News Corp
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
By 2012, digital music is projected to account for 40% of all music sold worldwide, according to InStat, with Apple‘s iTunes responsible for more than one-quarter of all music sales. Apple’s iTunes software is believed to be installed on nearly 30% of the world’s computers. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2008/04/itunes_birthday 4/27)
Visitors to Viacom’s VMTV.com can enter online “playgrounds” for properties such as “The Hills,” where they will be able to create speaking avatars to interact with others. MTV is hoping users will embed their avatars on their Facebook pages, blogs or any other social media. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3629281 4/28)
MySpace‘s new karaoke service, launching Tuesday, allows users to upload their own audio recordings singing hit songs. The new MySpace Karaoke debuts nearly two years after News Corp.’s Fox Interactive, the parent of MySpace, purchased the karaoke site kSolo.com. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_en_mu/on_the_net_myspace_karaoke 4/28)
Here I am. . .sitting at my desk. . .singing Britney Spears ‘Oops, I Did It Again’. Nothing weird here. Nothing at all. I like this idea but I really wish someone could build a user interface that doesn’t look like someone vomited all over my screen. Note to Apple: Please just go ahead and add this feature to iTunes so I have the fun of karaoke without the ick of this website. Gracias.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is expanding its weddings franchise by taking a 40% stake in WeddingWire.com, an online wedding-planning company that combines a Web-based marketplace with a social community. The deal is part of MSLO’s strategy to expand in digital. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2008/4/prweb891864.htm 4/28)
(Below) Hollywood execs should continue to think about how to create quality content and monetize that content wherever it should live, less about how to ‘monitor’ usage. If we all just took a step back and learned how to innovate rather than control, we would all be better off. I continue to fume when I think of this issue considering that the broadband speeds offered in this country are laughable and extremely expensive when compared to the rest of the world. Grrrrrrrrr. . . .
Lawmakers and tech companies are pushing for federal rules to prevent ISPs from blocking or slowing content flowing through their high-speed lines. But Hollywood execs are concerned that “net neutrality” could eliminate a potential tool for fighting online piracy. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neutral29apr29,1,4892242.story 4/29)
Warner Bros.’s new PeoplesCourtRaw.com is a YouTube-style site that allows users to post pairs of videos articulating both sides of an argument, and then invites site visitors to vote on the verdict. TMZ.com mastermind Harvey Levin appears as a guide on the yet-to-launch site. (Iwantmedia 4/29, http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/04/29/tmzs-levin-in-new-user-gen-site-launch 4/29)
LOVE it. If only I could post every argument my ex-boyfriend and I have ever had, I would be a happy camper. . .
VOIP provider JAJAH has just got a welcome boost via a deal with Yahoo that will see JAJAH power premium voice on Yahoo Messenger. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/28/jajah-lands-97-million-yahoo-users 4/28)
Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Hulu, Jason Kilar, Mobile phone, National Association of Broadcasters, NBC Universal, News and Media, News Corp, News Corporation
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters convention, suggests that the video site co-founded by NBC Universal and News Corp. could find its way onto mobile phones. He adds: “Media is not like oxygen — you don’t need it. You need to make it easy.” (Iwantmedia 4/17, http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6552218.html 4/17)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Google, Google Map, Microsoft, News Corp, Search Engines, Searching, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Today (4/15), AOL will announce the acquisition of San Francisco-based Sphere
, a blog content engine that launched in 2006. The price is not being disclosed, but sources are suggesting it’s in the $25 million range, or possibly a little more. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/14/aol-buys-sphere-content-engine 4/14)
Microsoft is said to be wanting to stick with its original takeover offer for Yahoo, but is not ruling out News Corp. joining its bid or other options. Separately, a source familiar with the matter says News Corp. continues to talk directly with Yahoo on reaching a deal without Microsoft. (Iwantmedia 4/15, http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1142716320080413 4/13)
Google has long been using Google Maps as a way to show local business listings. When you search for hotels in a given city, for instance, each digital pushpin that appears on the map can be clicked on to reveal more information, including photos, reviews, and Web links. Now YouTube videos associated with each listing will also appear. For instance here is a video that is embedded in the Google Map listing of a San Francisco bakery called I Dream of Cake (screen shot below). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/14/google-maps-youtube-videos-local-video-white-pages 4/14)
Peter Gabriel, the musician, is a partner in TheFilter.com, a new “recommendation engine” for music, movies and Web videos. The site plans to combine purchase, consumption and browsing data to create an “experience map.” The next level will be to meld user profiles. (Iwantmedia 4/15, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/interactive/la-et-filterapr15,1,3508364.story 4/15)
The site is still in beta but here’s a sample screen grab to whet the appetite.
A study by In-Stat reveals that high-speed Internet and digital players are driving online music sales to new highs. The research firm says digital sales should account for 40% of all music sales by 2012. (TheRetailBRIDGE.com 4/10, Electronista 4/9)
Bertelsmann book publisher Random House plans to offer users a widget to browse its titles. The widget will let users flick through pages of over 500 books as they would in a real life bookstore, reading parts of text and browsing images. Users can then click through to buy. (Iwantmedia 4/15, http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/37623/Random+House+launches+book+browsing+widget.html 4/14)
New York blog czar Nick Denton, founder and publisher of Gawker Media, is selling three of the new-media company’s properties: Idolator, Gridskipper, and Wonkette. In an internal e-mail, Denton explains: “Someone else will have better luck selling the advertising than we did.” (Iwantmedia 4/15, http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9917959-36.html 4/14)
After turning down a $100 million buyout offer, Federated Media Publishing has opted instead to raise $50 million in a C round led by Oak Investment Partners. As was reported two weeks ago, the rumored valuation is $200 million. While the company is not confirming that number, publisher Chas Edwards quips, “We have to be worth at least $101 million.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/15/federated-medias-50-million-c-round-confirmed%e2%80%94no-plans-to-buy-up-blog-partners 4/15)
No wonder Rupert Murdoch is in no hurry to do away with the Wall Street Journal’s online pay wall. Even with it still in place around much of the site, traffic is growing. According to internal numbers, WSJ.com hosted 15 million unique visitors in March, a 175% increase over March 2007. (Iwantmedia 4/15, http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/04/11/whoah-wsjcom-quietly-makes-big-traffic-strides 4/11)
Blurb, the on-demand print service with a specialization in photographic layouts, is expanding its “crowd sourcing” strategy onto, where else, but Facebook with a new app that brings people together to create professional quality books. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/15/build-a-book-on-facebook-with-blurb 4/15)
A wave of additional content companies announced support for Microsoft’s Silverlight video platform including Madison Square Garden Interactive, Tencent, Abertis Telecom, Terra Networks Operations, SBSi, MNet and Yahoo! JAPAN. Microsoft also unveiled the specs of Silverlight’s DRM solution PlayReady, supporting live and on-demand streaming and progressive video downloads. (Cynopsis 4/15)
Online media company CNET Networks is digging deeper into business coverage with plans to debut in-depth news and information on 11 industry sectors on its business manager Web site BNET.com. BNET will cover subjects such as health care, financial services, food, and media. (Iwantmedia 4/15, http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN1439881220080415 4/15)
A federal judge in Illinois has dismissed a $21.6 million lawsuit against Comcast that was filed by an e-marketing company called e360Insight. At issue was whether Comcast unfairly blocked online sales pitches, which attorneys for e360Insight said were legitimate, but Comcast — and Judge James Zagel — viewed as spam. (Multichannel News 4/14)
Users are visiting online video sites slightly less often but are spending more time on them once they get there, Hitwise’s latest panel results suggest. The Hitwise Online Video category accounted for 1.09% of U.S. internet visits in March 2008, a decline of 7% compared to March of 2007, with YouTube increasing its share to over 73% of all online video traffic. Yet time spent on video sites increased 7% for the week ending April 5, 2008 from a year earlier. Hulu ranked #22 on this list, despite being available to the public for only half the month. (Cynopsis 4/15)
Top 5 Online Video Websites ranked by Market Share of U.S. Visits
Rank Site Mar. 08 Mar. 07 % Change
1 YouTube 73.18% 55.28% 32%
2 MySpaceTV 9.21% 17.18% -48%
3 Google Video 4.06% 8.42% -52%
4 Yahoo! Video 2.16% 2.63% -18%
5 Break.com 1.82% 1.57% 16%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
Top 5 Independent Online Video Websites ranked by Market Share of U.S. Visits
Rank Site Mar. 08 Mar. 07 % Change
1 Break.com 1.82% 1.57% 16%
2 MetaCafe .98% 1.13% -13%
3 Daily Motion .96% 1.03% -7%
4 Veoh .93% .38% 145%
5 Blinkx .58% .08% 625%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
Top 10 Online Brands, Combined Home & Work (U.S.). March 2008
Brand Unique Audience (000) Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)
Google 119,674 1:15:40
Yahoo! 114,551 3:12:38
Microsoft 99,672 0:44:46
MSN/Windows Live 96,993 2:13:44
AOL Media Network 90,644 3:59:59
YouTube 71,273 0:50:34
Fox Interactive Media 70,389 2:07:30
eBay 57,220 1:58:31
Wikipedia 54,301 0:18:36
Apple 47,516 1:13:23
Source: Nielsen Online
New figures released by comScore show that AOL’s Platform A advertising network is the top advertising network in the United States by reach (unique visitors). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/14/not-a-misprint-aols-platform-a-is-the-top-advertising-network-by-reach 4/14)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: AOL, Google, Microsoft, News Corp, News Corporation, Time Warner, Yahoo, Yahoo Inc
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Yahoo is suddenly the target of two warring camps of tech and media titans. Yahoo and Time Warner are close to a deal to merge Yahoo with AOL, while News Corp. is in talks with Microsoft about joining its bid for Yahoo. One observer says: “The whole situation seems very unstable.” (Iwantmedia 4/10, http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN0942900520080410 4/10, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/technology/10google.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 4/10, http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0929033920080410 4/9)
In its latest effort to drive a harder bargain with Microsoft, Yahoo agreed to carry a selection of AdSense search ads from Google in a two-week trial limited to 3% of all search queries made through the Yahoo portal. Redmond called balderdash almost immediately, pointing out that a definitive agreement between the two companies would give Google over 90% of the search market. Therefore, a larger integration would never pass muster with regulators. Yahoo gets points for creativity here nonetheless. (Cynopsis 4/10, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080409/ap_on_hi_te/yahoo_google 4/9)
AOL’s Advertising.com is launching self-service tool, located at PubAccess.com, allowing small Web publishers to sell and manage ads on their sites. AOL is under pressure to improve its lackluster performance, as Time Warner mulls a possible sale or spinoff of the unit. (Iwantmedia 4/10, http://www.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20080409-000697-0944 4/9)
AOL launched what they’re calling the AOL Tech Network this evening. It’s a grouping of existing blogs – the Engadget sites, Switched, TUAW and Download Squad, under a new tech content group. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/09/aol-regroups-blogs-launches-aol-tech-network 4/9)
MySpace plans to sell more merchandise and add a check-out feature following its deals with record companies to offer music downloads, says CEO Chris DeWolfe. Partnerships with Web retailers will allow MySpace to enter online retail, which is dominated by eBay and Amazon.com. (Iwantmedia 4/10, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abSTtHUcVxdI 4/9)
Barry Diller’s IAC is planning a slate of start-up Web sites, including sites aimed at African-Americans and kids. IAC’s news-aggregation site in partnership with Tina Brown will have a staff of about 20, including journalist Michael Kinsley, and will target news-savvy professionals. (Iwantmedia 4/10, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120777669866002881.html?mod=googlenews_wsj 4/10)
RushmoreDrive.com, IAC’s new search engine and Web site for African Americans, launched today.
The BBC is launching a version of its popular full-episode iPlayer that will stream programming through Nintendo’s Wii gaming console in the UK, the company announced at MIP TV. BBC says the iPlayer delivered 17.2 million streams & downloads in March and over 42 million views since launching late last year. For Nintendo, the deal is the latest in a series to bring more content to the Wii platform; next up are third party web-based “WiiWare” games and applications scheduled to launch next month. (Cynopsis 4/10)
Cinemax has launched a YouTube channel filled with a variety of short promo pieces.
Nat Geo has launched a new practical site to help viewers calculate the impact they will likely have on the Earth, based on their consumption habits. NGCHumanFootprint.com, built to promote an NGC special airing on Sunday night at 9 pm ET/PT, features a cool flash-based interface that queries users on tendencies such as how many miles they drive each day, then compares the totals to US, UK and Japan averages. (Cynopsis 4/10)
Last.fm said the free on-demand music-streaming service it debuted in January has caused its Amazon.com sales to more than double, adding that the results proved the value of giving listeners no-cost access to music. Users bought 66% more CDs and singles on Amazon since January, according to the CBS-owned site, which features a catalog of about 5 million full-length songs. (The Guardian (London) 4/9)
Pando Networks announced that its new peer-to-peer file-sharing technology, dubbed P4P, increased download speeds of video-based files over U.S. cable networks by 235% in recent tests. Tony Werner, Comcast’s chief technology officer, called the tests promising and said the company “[looks] forward to continuing our mutual efforts with P2P companies distributing legitimate content in order to improve the efficiency of their applications on our network.” (Multichannel News 4/9)
The U.S. improved its standings in terms of broadband infrastructure, climbing from 7th to 4th in the latest Global Information Technology report conducted on behalf of The World Economic Forum, despite lagging considerably in broadband speeds and penetration rates. Cisco Systems sponsored the report. (Cynopsis 4/10)
The State Privacy and Security Coalition, a trade group of Internet companies that includes Google and Yahoo!, have labeled a New York state bill that seeks to impose limits on collecting personal user information for targeted advertising as “unnecessary” and “most likely unconstitutional.” (The Wall Street Journal 4/10)
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: CBS, CNN, Fox News, Fox News Channel, News Corp, News Corporation, Nielsen, Time Warner
The political season continues to be very good to Time Warner’s CNN, which will officially announce on Tuesday that for the first time since 2001, it managed to beat News Corp.’s Fox News Channel in prime time for one quarter of the year for viewers age 25 to 54, according to Nielsen. (Iwantmedia.com 4/1, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/arts/01arts-POLITICSBENE_BRF.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 4/1)
The stocks of major media companies tumbled during the first quarter, with nearly all sector biggies — Time Warner, News Corp., CBS — hitting new 52-week lows amid weaker overall markets and concerns about the advertising market outlook fueled by fear of a U.S. recession. (Iwantmedia.com 4/1, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3i37a2ec580927b4288621c1bd19136cae 3/31)
Disney, with its eye on a new potential franchise, is using its television, radio and Internet properties to boost exposure of the Jonas Brothers. Last week, the boy band appeared on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards. Coming soon: the Jonases’ first movie. (Iwantmedia.com 4/1, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nudisney1apr01,1,6516887.story 4/1)
The Jonas Brothers
A familiar face returns to daytime television as Kathie Lee Gifford joins NBC News’ Today as co-host of the fourth hour with Hoda Kotb. Kathie Lee starts next Monday at 10a. (Cynopsis 4/1, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/31/AR2008033102797.html 4/1)
Fans of the daytime drama Passions will have the chance to buy props, clothing, furniture and more used on the Universal Media Studios’ soap at a live auction April 5 and 6. NBC Universal Television DVD, Music and Consumer Products Group is teaming with Premiere Props for this two-day public estate sale which consists of several thousands of Passions items. The sale will be at the CBS Radford studio lot in Studio City, CA this Saturday and Sunday from 8a to 4p PST. Passions, currently airing on DIRECTV, will end this August after nine years. (Cynopsis 4/1)
MTV’s Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew finale last Thursday posted a 4.34 A12-34 rating and attracted 7.9 million total viewers. (Cynopsis 4/1)
The Finale
MTV premieres its latest series The Paper from MTV News & Docs April 14 at 1030p. The Paper is about the student-run newspaper The Circuit at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, FL.
The first installment of “The Capture of the Green River Killer,” Lifetime’s first original miniseries, averaged 2 million viewers Sunday from 8 to 10 p.m., a record for the channel. Part 1 also delivered strong numbers in key demos: 989,000 25- to 54-year-olds tuned in and 832,000 viewers 18 to 49 watched, according to Nielsen. (The Hollywood Reporter 3/31)
The NFL season opens on NBC September 4 at 7p as the Super Bowl champs New York Giants host the Washington Redskins. The NBC primetime game on September 7 begins at 815p with the Indianapolis Colts versus the Chicago Bears. (Cynopsis 4/1)
ESPN’s 39th season of Monday Night Football opens September 8 with a doubleheader: Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers at 7p followed by Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders at 1015p. (Cynopsis 4/1)
Ray Romano may be returning to primetime TV. Romano and Everybody Loves Raymond’s writer/producer Mike Royce, are working on a new one-hour dramedy called Men of a Certain Age for TNT. Ray will also star in the pilot about three 40-something men who have been friends since college and now find themselves going through different midlife crises. (Cynopsis 4/1)
