Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Blu-ray Disc, DVD, HD DVD, Microsoft, Time Warner Cable, Video game console, XBox, Xbox 360
Microsoft has no plans to redesign its Xbox 360 video game console to include a Blu-ray player, according to a company spokesman. The software giant, which supported Toshiba’s HD DVD platform in the high-definition format battle with Blu-ray, has been bulking up the VOD capabilities of its console through the Xbox Live service. Digital Trends (10/23)
Time Warner Cable’s Internet customers could be vulnerable to an attack due to a “serious security hole” in the provider’s cable modem and Wi-Fi router, according to blogger Brian Chen. Days after Time Warner promised a fix, Chen says the devices are still vulnerable. http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10383543-245.html
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Arts, Cable television, Carol Bartz, Comcast, Google, Television, Time Warner Cable, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Google will partner with iLike and LaLa for their new music service, Techcrunch has learned. And the announcement date is Wednesday, October 28, 2009. (Techcrunch10/21)
Yahoo announced third quarter earnings today, showing net income more than tripling to $186 million, or $0.13 a share, nearly double analysts estimates of $0.07 a share. This was definitely a financial achievement for Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, but it was done almost entirely through cost cutting. (Techcrunch10/20)
Comcast will become the first cable television operator to unlock online access to cable shows and movies. Subscribers can initially watch programs only on their home computers after verification. Time Warner Cable and other cable providers plan to follow with similar programs. (Iwantmedia 10/21, AP, 10/20)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Business, NBC, News Corporation, Philippe Dauman, Sumner Redstone, Time Warner Cable, Viacom, Weather Channel
TV viewers will see more of Al Roker on weekday mornings as he signed on to host a new program for The Weather Channel called Wake Up With Al. The 60m program, with TWC’s Stephanie Abrams as co-host, will begin each weekday at 6a starting this summer. Wake Up With Al will offer an in-depth look at the day’s weather and Roker will appear in the studio, chatting with guests and viewers as well as in the field, reporting on weather where it happens. (Cynopsis 4/30)
NBC picked up another season of The Celebrity Apprentice slated for Spring 2010 from Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Currently, this season The Celebrity Apprentice is averaging a 3.5/9 among A18-49 with 8.6 million overall viewers. (Cynopsis 4/30)
Viacom says its first-quarter profit fell 34%, hurt by falling advertising and entertainment revenue. But CEO Philippe Dauman is pointing to signs of an ad turnaround, a critical factor for the company’s cable assets. “Over the past few weeks we have seen the ad market stabilize.” (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090430/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_viacom 4/30)
Sumner Redstone says he has no plans to step down anytime soon or give up his controlling positions in CBS or Viacom. “I have no intention of dying.” Also, newspapers are one business “I’d never be in.” (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE53S9C520090429 4/29)
Peter Chernin is keeping his cards close to his vest about his post-News Corp. plans, but dismisses talk that he is being wooed by Viacom. “Nothing, no conversations,” says News Corp.’s president and COO. (Iwantmedia 4/30, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/04/panel.html 4/29)
Time Warner Cable during the first quarter beat analysts’ expectations by adding 36,000 basic-video subscribers, 121,000 digital-video customers, 225,000 high-speed Internet subscribers and 166,000 phone lines. The country’s second-largest cable provider reported that revenue was up 5%, to $4.4 billion, but net profit fell to $164 million. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (4/30) , OneTRAK (4/29) , Reuters (4/29)
Powered by its “Waking the Baby Mammoth” special, National Geographic Channel recorded its best April performance during prime time. From March 30 to April 26, the network averaged 445,000 total viewers as well as a 0.28 rating in the 25-to-54 demographic group, the latter of which was a 17% gain. Multichannel News (4/29)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Google, Google Earth, Microsoft, Search Engines, Searching, Time Warner Cable, Web browser, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Earlier this week the Google Earth team released a new plugin
that allows users to view Google Earth tours directly from their web browsers. These tours, which were introduced in the 5.0 release of Google Earth in February, allow users to create virtual flythroughs through any location on Google Earth, which can lead to some pretty impressive results. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/10/google-earth-flythroughs-come-to-the-browser/ 4/10)
Portal rivals Microsoft and Yahoo have once again resumed their search partnership talks, reports the WSJ. The two companies are also discussing content-sharing agreements with Demand Media, which operates niche web sites and publishes and syndicates online content. (Cynopsis 4/13)
Time Warner Cable is receiving some backlash over it’s recently announced tiered pricing structure for broadband access. Users are up in arms over the new plans priced from $22.95 to $54.90 a month for 5GB, 10GB, or 40GB of data. To put this in perspective, stream 9 HD movies per month and you will exceed the 40GB cap. That may not sound like a big deal to you know but as availability increases, so will your usage.
ESPN chose the day of the Cubs home opener to launch its first hyper-local site, ESPN Chicago. A collaboration between multiple divisions including ESPN Digital Media, ESPN production, ESPN Radio and local and regional sales teams, the site is the company’s first attempt to super-serve the interests of a single city’s sports fans with localized content including streaming audio feeds from Chicago’s ESPN Radio 1000, local blog posts and a daily video news report ESPN Chicago SportsCenter. (Cynopsis 4/13)
The online video industry pulled in more than $80 million in venture capital funding in the first three months of 2009, about the same as the last quarter of 2008, according to a report from VideoNuze. “People realize that video on the Internet is going to happen, and you know in four years that’s how people will be watching content,” said Neil Sequeira of General Catalyst, a VC firm that has closed four online video deals so far this year. TVWeek.com (4/12)
Google continues to increase its share of the U.S. search marketplace capturing 64% of all searches increasing its market share by 16% over the past year, according to Nielsen Online. (Cynopsis 4/13)
Top 10 Search Providers for March 2009, Ranked by Searches (U.S.)
Provider Searches (000) YOY Growth Share of Searches
All Search 9,522,853 16.7% 100.0%
Google Search 6,113,906 27.6% 64.2%
Yahoo! Search 1,505,426 1.7% 15.8%
MSN/Windows Live Search 982,661 0.3% 10.3%
AOL Search 356,569 6.6% 3.7%
Ask.com Search 197,957 -0.7% 2.1%
My Web Search Search 59,597 -15.1% 0.6%
Comcast Search 57,605 30.2% 0.6%
Yellow Pages Search 37,295 N/A* 0.4%
NexTag Search 22,432 -23.7% 0.2%
Dogpile.com Search 19,461 0.7% 0.2%
Source: Nielsen Online
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Disney Channel, DisneyXd, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Lee Adama, NBC Universal, Time Warner Cable, Toon Disney
Bravo offers viewers a glimpse into the lives of rich, privileged teenagers residing in Manhattan with its new docu-series NYC Prep opening June 16 at 11p. NYC Prep chronicles the lives of six wealthy high school students who lead sophisticated yet pressure-filled lifestyles. Under the surface of exclusive parties, luxurious vacations and shopping sprees, there are college applications and high expectations for each of these teens. (Cynopsis 4/10)
Gossip Girl The Reality Show.
Wednesday’s season premiere of Real World/Road Rules: The Duel 2 on MTV posted a 1.76 rating with P12-34 and averaged 1.78 million viewers. (Cynopsis 4/10)
Kids cable nets Cartoon Network and Disney XD, formerly Toon Disney, are adding more live-action fare to their production slates in hopes of attracting a larger audience of boys between the ages of 6 and 14, according to this report. “Animation as a genre channel seemed to be very limiting,” said Rich Ross, chief of Disney Channel Worldwide. “We had an opportunity to broaden our voice to get more kids, and certainly boys, by re-engineering what Toon Disney was.” USA TODAY (4/9)
MLB Network on Saturday night will add a new wrinkle to its programming strategy: live Saturday evening games. The move will allow the network, which already had scheduled 26 Thursday night telecasts, to double the number of games it will carry in its freshman season. TVWeek.com (4/9)
SCI FI Channel Battlestar Galactica fans and collectors will have one last chance to buy a piece of show memorabilia during a live auction weekend May 8-10. NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music and Consumer Products Group is partnering with Propworx to again offer more than 900 items from the show. Some of the items include: Admiral Adama’s desk chair, a full-size Viper Mark II ship and Lee Adama’s bomber jacket. The auction, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting United Way, will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center and a preview will be open to the public on May 7. The auction will also stream live at the Auction Network site at www.auctionnetwork.com , allowing fans to watch and bid in real time. For more information and to view the auction catalog, please visit www.battlestarprops.com. (Cynopsis 4/10)
Cable stocks rallied Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 246 points. Cablevision shares led the charge with an 8.6% increase, while Mediacom posted a 7.9% gain, Time Warner Cable rose 3.2% and Comcast increased 2.5%. Multichannel News (4/9)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: April Fools' Day, Digital video recorder, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Personal computer, Time Warner Cable, Tru2way, us
April Fools Day arrives with fear of the latest superworm, dubbed Conflicker or alternatively Downup or Kido. The worm, which is believed to have burrowed its way into more than 3 million Windows-based PCs in the U.S. and another 10 million internationally, is expected to manifest itself in some way today, possibly causing massive network outtages. Microsoft has been concerned enough about the malware to organize a task force to combat the effects of Conflicker and offer a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the hackers who cooked it up. (Cynopsis 4/1)
Panasonic plans to launch new 3-D Blu-ray players and 3-D HDTVs by 2010. The company hopes the new technology will allow it to charge more for products that have been slipping in value lately, even as competitors eye similar strategies. The Boston Globe/The Associated Press (3/31)
(Below) Not sure of the purpose of this one but OK. When have you thought to yourself…I’m going to start watching in the living room…and finish in the den! Or maybe it’s because I live in a cramped NYC apt?
Time Warner Cable and Motorola have announced that they are partnering on a multiroom DVR system that is based on tru2way technology. The system, to be called Follow Me TV, is expected to launch later this year and will give users the flexibility to begin watching a show or movie in one room and finish watching it on another set in the house. Multichannel News (3/31)
Samsung Vice President Jonas Tanenbaum says the company is making a play to “take an ownership position” in three out of four ranges of the LED HDTV market. The company is relying on side-fired LED HDTVs to give it a competitive edge, saying the new technology is more cost-effective and allows the devices to be even slimmer. Dealerscope (4/1) , TWICE (3/31) , ElectronicHouse.com (3/31)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Cable television, Charter Communications, Microsoft, MTV Networks, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, United States, Wall Street Journal
Despite industry assurances to the contrary, federal regulators are expressing concern about whether there will be enough set-top digital-converter boxes for viewers who will need them after the transition to all-digital TV signals in mid-June. “I do share the concern about whether inventory levels will be sufficient to get us through June 12 and also after June 12,” said Anna Gomez, the acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The Wall Street Journal (3/26) , Reuters (3/26)
I love that the WSJ chose to use this photo of a balding old guy in their representation of those still using bunny ears to capture a signal. Dear grandparents, just get digital cable already.
This summer, NBC will roll out a new alternative series I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, based on a successful international series, about celebrities who exchange their posh lifestyles to try their hand at surviving in a challenging, snake-infested jungle environment. The series will premiere as a two-hour event June 1 at 8p, followed by one-hour episodes stripped Monday through Thursday over the first three weeks in June, then during the fourth week episodes will air Monday through Wednesday with the finale slated for June 24 at 8p. (Cynopsis 3/27)
MTV will use its global promotional muscle on April 24, when it exclusively presents a new single from megaband Green Day on 66 TV channels and 200 Web sites in 162 countries. The initiative is the first salvo in MTV Networks‘ bid to promote new music worldwide. Variety (3/26)
Charter Communications, controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is filing for bankruptcy to get relief from its creditors, as the fourth largest U.S. cable operator strives to keep its head above water and still compete with phone companies and satellite TV providers. (Iwantmedia 3/27, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_on_bi_ge/charter_bankruptcy_filing 3/27)
Time Warner’s spinoff of Time Warner Cable is expected to be wrapped up later today, according to this article. Time Warner received $9.25 billion in the split and paid down $2 billion in debt. Analysts expect the company will use the rest of the cash to improve its balance sheet, make targeted acquisitions to boost its global reach and return money to shareholders. The Hollywood Reporter (3/26)
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