Archive for September 28th, 2006
Charlie Gibson invites Jeff Jarvis to file a video essay on the “ABC World News” webcast. True to form, Jarvis does so by shooting the video right on his computer. And truer to form, ABC News then overproduces it anyway. Readers of Buzzmachine will find Jeff’s points familiar - how online has changed the production and distribution of media. But maybe this is a sign that the older media is now willing to listen to Jeff’s teachings instead of writing him off. Well done, Jeff. UPDATE: Jarvis discusses experience, invitation to speak on CBS Evening News “Free Speech,” how bloated process of network production is.
September 28th, 2006
An update on last night’s post that big news was coming with Mobile ESPN. Sure enough, Disney has decided to shut down the service later this year and license the brand to existing mobile providers. Subscribers will receive full refunds. The mobile virtual network, or MVNO, was likely the most ambitious ever launched by a media company. “As the business developed, we confronted a very competitive sales environment for our MVNO while at the same time attracting significant interest from others to license distribution of Mobile ESPN,” wrote ESPN head George Bodenheimer in a staff memo. Mobile ESPN had been criticized for analysts for not meeting subscriber goals. Press release announcing the change…
Read the full post September 28th, 2006
PC World takes Microsoft’s Soapbox for a spin and finds it pretty easy to use, but a little light on content so far. Not terribly surprising, given the massive head start YouTube has. What makes me nuts is the whole process of having to sign up for the waiting list, which involves a Passport/WindowsLive account and MSN or Hotmail. Whaaa?
September 28th, 2006
Get this: I have two different Citibank credit cards. I have always been able to check my accounts online. Recently, Citibank decided to change one of my cards from a regular account to a business account. (Keep that in mind: they decided.) All of a sudden, I can’t access that changed account from a Mac. A call to Citibank refers me to their tech support. Their tech support says they don’t support Safari browsers. (Even though it works on their other card and worked on the old card.) They suggest I contact my ISP, Comcast - which is obviously not the problem. They suggest I use IE or Firefox. Neither work. So, I have to cancel my card because I can’t bank with them online anymore. One card works, one doesn’t. Same company and nobody seems to care about keeping me. Think of all the money they spend getting customers, and all the money they earn from our transactions. Think how easy it is to keep us. They had to actively change to lose me. And they did.
September 28th, 2006
On Monday, we criticized FoxNews.com for not making the Bill Clinton interview video linkable and shareable. Clips of the interview were exploding in traffic on YouTube, in part due to a Drudge link, and some of the Fox News talent were even referencing the YouTube clips instead of FoxNews.com on the air. Then we learned that FoxNews.com demanded that YouTube pull the clips down. And then today, Fox News admitted it was all just a big mistake. “Our Internet division used poor judgment in asking this to be taken down,” reads a statement from Fox News. “We’re thrilled the Wallace-Clinton clip has received so many hits on YouTube.” And all the clips are back. Good grief.
September 28th, 2006
JupiterResearch predicts that broadcast and cable TV will pick up $5 billion in revenue from new ad platforms by 2011. That’s the good news. The bad news is TV will lose $12 billion in traditional revenue over the same period, thanks to ad-skipping and other disruptive technologies. “We advise media planners not to cave in to TV and Nielsen’s talk about new live-plus ratings. If stuff is time-shifted, a lot of the ads will definitely be skipped,” says Jupiter VP David Card. Ah, finally someone who’s not fooled by the fuzzy math the network research gurus are spinning. (Via Pomo Blog)
September 28th, 2006
CNet reviews the new flavors of Slingbox, including one that works with HDTV. The verdict? A good product made better. CNet gives Slingbox an 8.3. At a recent seminar I attended, cable MSO execs pooh-poohed “placeshifting.” Just like they dismissed timeshifting. At what point does old media get tired of being wrong? Ever?
September 28th, 2006
Microsoft has announced that its Zune portable media player will be sold at a price 99 cents higher than an iPod. (Why would you price something 99 cents higher than a market leader? Why not 99 cents lower?) The 30-gig Zune will retail for $249.99. Songs at Zune Marketplace, the iTunes Music Store equivalent, will match the iTMS price of 99 cents. To start, Zune Marketplace won’t be selling video.
September 28th, 2006