Manager of Digital Media, WWJ-TV
Detroit
Read the full post September 12th, 2006
Archive for September 12th, 2006
New York TV Festival kicks off
New York Television Festival 2006 opened tonight and continues through September 17th. If you happen to find yourself in New York City this week, definitely stop by to watch some of the most innovation television programming you’ll find anywhere. I’ll be blogging at the festival later in the week. In addition to screenings there are several industry panel discussions. For the LR crowd, there’s “Television on the Web” on Saturday at 3pm at New World Stages (343 West 49th Street). It’s $20, but you can get in for free when you use the promo code word: “tech meetup”
24 comments September 12th, 2006
NY Times Co. to sell its nine TV stations
The New York Times Company is selling its nine local television stations “to focus on its print newspapers and digital properties,” according to a report on the Times website. The article quotes NYT President Janet L. Robinson as saying the company is making the move “to sharpen our focus on developing our newspaper and rapidly growing digital businesses, and the synergies between them.” (You know to raise an eyebrow whenever you hear about “focusing on core businesses” and “synergies.”) NYT Co. has nine stations: two in Oklahoma City and one each in Des Moines, Ft. Smith, Ark., Huntsville, Ala., Memphis, Moline, Ill., Norfolk, Va., and Scranton, Pa. Also today, Time Inc. said it’s selling 18 of its magazine properties, including Popular Science, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Parenting and Babytalk.
4 comments September 12th, 2006
Digital ad boom not just online
The new out-of-home networks, a subset of the outdoor media industry that is sometimes referred to as place-based television, are growing at a rate of about 10 new per month. A new report from Profitable Channels estimates that the 700 digital out-of-home networks launched since 2002 will account for $1.2 billion in national ad spending this year, making it the size of a major network TV daypart.
1 comment September 12th, 2006
Blogging under the tent
Once dismissed by big fashion as small-time, bloggers are now getting some respect. IMG, the company that runs fashion week, issued credentials to about 40 bloggers this year. Snarky indie sites like PerezHilton.com, which averages 40 million views monthly, are becoming too hard to ignore. An exclusive site-wide advertisement on PerezHilton.com now costs $25,000, up from $1,000 just a year ago.
Add comment September 12th, 2006
News Corp buys stake in Jamba
Jamba is a mobile content company, which is best known for its popular ringtones. News Corp will use the acquisition — $188 million for a 51 percent stake — to beef up Mobizzo, its mobile content store. Mobizzo already sells webisodes of 24, but News Corp is planning to sell clips of The Simpson’s through the Jamba service.
Add comment September 12th, 2006
TiVo Series 3 arrives with HD, really steep price
You can finally get an HD TiVo. The long-awaited TiVo Series 3 HD is out, and it will hold 32 hours of HD programming or 300 hours of standard programming. You can record two digital cable shows at once. All nice features. BUT… the box costs $800, and there’s still the matter of the $155 a year subscription fee. Zowee.
4 comments September 12th, 2006
Apple to release box to stream video on TV
For me, the most exciting new product that Steve Jobs unveiled today is called iTV. It’s a $299 box that will allow you to wirelessly stream video and audio from your PC (via iTunes) to your TV and stereo, all with a remote control. “Apple’s in your living room”, Jobs says. It has all the juicy stuff, from HDMI and optical audio to 802.11 “wireless component video.” The release date is set for the first quarter of next year. I’ll be buying one, as I have a lot of video podcasts that I would love to watch seamlessly on TV.
5 comments September 12th, 2006
Roo to deliver online video for The Sun
ROO will provide the backbone to deliver thousands of free, on-demand videos and original content from The Sun. News Corporation’s London-based tabloid claims to be “the most-widely read newspaper in the English-speaking world.”
2 comments September 12th, 2006
iTunes movie store now live
Steve Jobs took the wraps off the much-anticipated iTunes movie store today, and it’s up and running with prices ranging between $12.99 (instead of $14.99 as initially reported) and $9.99. For example, The Incredibles is $12.99 and The Sixth Sense is $9.99. The first studios on board are Disney, Pixar and Lionsgate. Screen grab…
Both Gizmodo and Engadget blogged the event live, complete with photos.
25 comments September 12th, 2006
NAB recommends second term for FCC chairman
The NAB has written a letter to Sen. Ted “Tubes” Stevens recommending a second term confirmation for FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin. Writes NAB President and CEO David Rehr: “Chairman Martin deserves all of our thanks and support for his in-depth understanding of complex issues and his ability to communicate those issues to the American people.” Yes, he’s soft on regulation. But what good is deregulation when you could lose your license because one wacko complains about a dirty word?
3 comments September 12th, 2006
NBC’s digital video marketplace launches
NBC’s digital video syndication service, nbbc, has launched. Jointly funded by NBC Digital and NBC affiliates, it allows website owners to add video to their sites by embedding a customizable nbbc player. For content owners, it’s a syndication play. Both get a rev share of the advertising. “As we assessed the rapidly changing media environment, it became evident that NBC Universal and its affiliates are uniquely positioned to help all content companies unlock the value of their digital assets in a new way,” said Randy Falco, President and COO of NBCU’s Television Group. Participating partners, besides NBC affiliates who opted in, are Access Hollywood, Break.com, CSTV, About, SNL, Forbes.com, WashingtonPost, A&E and CNET, to name a few. And for local TV sites, it’s not just for NBC affiliates. “Nbbc welcomes all content licensors and web publishers,” reads the FAQ. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. (thanks, Rafat)
Click “read more” to see the press release…
Read the full post 12 comments September 12th, 2006
TV Guide relaunches with new features
Check out TV Guide’s new site. So much video goodness. The site has also enhanced its search to provide about 50 years of TV history, and allows you to create a list of your fave actors, shows, etc. to get easy access to the latest news on them. There are open discussion groups and blogs on the front page. And in addition to - yes - TV listings, there are online video listings. We’d recommend more social networking and user-generated-content as a next step.
3 comments September 12th, 2006
I’m at BCFM seminar in NYC Wednesday
If you happen to find yourself at the Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association seminar in NYC Wednesday, come on by and say hello. The seminar, “Business Modeling the Internet,” is from 12-5 at the Williams Club at 24 E. 39th St. I am on the panel, “Real Stories from Companies Making it Work,” from 1-2:45 pm, along with Dan Halyburton, SVP Market Manage, Emmis NY; Beth Higbee, SVP, Interactive - Food Network, Fine Living, & GAC; Jonathan Leess, President and GM for CBS Television Stations Digital Media Group; and Bill Fitzsimmons, VP Accounting & Financial Planning, Cox Communications Inc. Obviously, I am woefully outgunned.
6 comments September 12th, 2006
AT&T launching live broadband TV service
Just a couple years ago, media execs scoffed at the idea of anyone watching TV on a computer. Now all the networks and the portals are streaming full shows online, and AT&T is announcing today that it’s launching AT&T Broadband TV, a live TV service with programming from Fox News, The Weather Channel, Food Network, History Channel, Bloomberg TV and 15 other channels. The service is powered by MobiTV and costs $19.99 a month (not cheap), and it’s available to anyone who wants to sign up. It’ll be interesting to see how well it does. Any predictions?
3 comments September 12th, 2006
YouTube updates its video player
YouTube’s control bar has a new look, which in my humble opinion is the best media player out there. First, there’s the version you see on the site:
And the version you see if it’s shared on a blog, with the bug:
I love the idea that a shared media player has different properties than one inside the site’s environment. Great idea. And remember, embedded players are completely resizable. For example, check out a Diggnation outtake on a mega-sized player.
6 comments September 12th, 2006
Two Portland TV sites relaunch
Folks in Portland, OR are seeing a lot of changes on the web with the relaunch of both Fisher-owned KATU.com and WorldNow affiliate KOIN.com.
5 comments September 12th, 2006
