Archive for October 16th, 2006
Comcast has brought its gaming cable channel G4 (formerly TechTV) under the management of E! Networks, and sources tell TV Week that G4 layoffs are likely. G4 is currently ranked 57th out of 64 basic cable networks. “I do agree with the vision of going after young men more than just going after gaming,” said E! chief Ted Harbert. “Gaming has been demonstrated as being too narrow.” On TV perhaps, but gaming on the internet is HUGE. Need I remind anyone, but video gaming is bigger than the movie industry, and the gap is widening. Perhaps Comcast should redirect G4 into an internet property — it’s video podcasts (a favorite of mine) are great start. Just a thought.
October 16th, 2006
By subscribing to a KML feed, you can add CBS video into Google Earth, pinpointed by location. CBSNews.com explains how to do it from this page:
Click the KML button to the left and copy the URL from your browser’s address bar. Open Google Earth and click on the “Network Link” option under the “Add” menu and paste the feed URL into the “Link” field. Fill in the “Name” field with “CBS News” and click “OK”.
A lot of work (and hence a big hurdle for users), but very cool nonetheless…
October 16th, 2006
The industry has been watching Fox News’ negotiations with Cablevision very carefully, and today there’s word of a deal. A source tells Broadcasting & Cable that both sides have agreed to “an average of more than 75 cents” in subscriber fees — a big hike compared to Fox News’ current take of 25 cents per sub and a less than the cable network’s demands for $1.
October 16th, 2006
MSNBC.com says it served up a record-breaking 88 million video streams in September. Users watched 33 million streams from the Today Show, thanks to the debut of Meredith Veiera, the first pictures of Suri Cruise and the death of Steve Irwin. “The fact that the largest video month ever on MSNBC.com happened in a month without a major news event speaks volumes for the growth in popularity of online video,” said Charlie Tillinghast, president of MSNBC.com. MSNBC.com also came out on top of September’s Nielsen/Netratings stats for the top TV news sites. More in the press release…
Read the full post October 16th, 2006
By Stephen Colbert’s math, Google-YouTube owes him $700 million. “You put my name into YouTube, and you pull up more than 2,600 videos,” he said. “Woo hoo! I am RICH!”
October 16th, 2006
Viacom’s MTV Networks is buying the teen social networking and user generated site Quizilla.com for an undisclosed amount. “The acquisition of Quizilla combined with The-N.com and NeoPets will further deepen our already strong connection with our audience,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group. Teens on Quizilla upload and share stories, poetry, quizzes and other original content. The site is a top five destination for female teens. Press release…
Read the full post October 16th, 2006
Reuters is opening a virtual news bureau in the popular online game, Second Life. Starting Wednesday, characters inside the game will get news from the Second Life world and the real world (First Life?) from the in-game Reuters News Center. If you’re not a Second Lifer, you can see the news at secondlife.reuters.com. Reuters joins a bunch of companies looking for space in the game which is closing in on 1,000,000 members.
October 16th, 2006
If politics makes for strange bedfellows, money makes for even stranger ones. A bunch of big media heavyweights are working together to study the copyright issues surrounding YouTube. According to the Wall Street Journal, News Corp., General Electric’s NBC Universal and Viacom are among the companies looking into the matter. Meanwhile, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is in New York this week meeting with top media execs to reassure them that Google will not turn into a content competitor. (Via Fimoculous)
Broadcasting & Cable: YouTube deal to shake up broadcasting industry
October 16th, 2006
The 16 CBS O&Os have made a deal to syndicate 10 to 20 local news clips to Yahoo on a daily basis. The clips will appear on the Yahoo News local pages in each of the 16 markets, and CBS and Yahoo will share the associated ad revenue. This is the first deal of its kind between the locals and a national portal, and Yahoo is still talking with potential video partners in other markets. The overhaul of the CBS O/O sites - lauded here at LR - has quadrupled overall video views to an estimated 50 million this year. But consultant Terry Heaton sounds a cautionary note. “This deal exposes these 16 markets to further encroachment by Yahoo (or any of the other portals) as THE local go-to media entity for those markets,” he writes. “I don’t see this as anything other than a short-term win and a long-term loss.” More details of the deal in the press release…
Read the full post October 16th, 2006
A study by Edison Media Research finds that 12-24 year-olds, unsurprisingly, aren’t listening to as much radio as they did in 1996. Listenership has gone from 15.75 hours per week in 1996 to 12.75 hours per week in 2006. In addition to the usual suspects - iPod, computers, video games, television, etc. - the study finds that, except for Radio Disney, radio isn’t even targeting the kids (NYT free sub req)
October 16th, 2006
