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MSNBC.com’s new player will sniff your system’s settings and play either a Windows Media or Flash file, which means it now works in Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari. Thank you, Microsoft (and NBC). Press release…
Read the full post 9 comments November 16th, 2006
Whoa, this is cool. Go to Google Local or Google Maps and search for something, say, “Seattle pizza.” In the left column, you’ll see “Pagliacci Pizza” with a phone number and a small “call” link. Click the link and you’ll be prompted to enter your phone number. Click connect and within two seconds (yes, that fast) your phone will ring and you’ll be connected instantly to Pagliacci Pizza. The service is free, both for callers and the businesses. It doesn’t take a genius to see the upside here: Google can now track the number of phone leads it generates for companies without having to get them to sign up for it. They don’t have to launch any ad campaigns. And no messy go-between phone numbers to track the leads. Once Google builds up an audience of callers — and gets businesses hooked — they can start charging for each lead. Smart.
11 comments November 16th, 2006
Let’s recap all the major industry moves over the last few days:
NBCU’s Randy Falco to AOL CEO
NBCU’s David Zaslav to Discovery CEO
FIM’s Ross Levinsohn steps down, replaced by Peter Levinsohn
CBS Digital’s Larry Kramer out, replaced by Quincy Smith
Fox News TV’s Ken LaCorte to FoxNews.com VP
Some of these are traditional media guys (and an investment banker) moving into the interactive space. Om Malik makes this point: “It seems to me that the old media companies are putting old media guys in charge of their new media empires, a move as risky as skating on a lake. You just don’t know where the ice is thin!” Adds Steve Safran in comments below, “This is why there is no innovation from old media companies…. When you put a former network television person in charge of a network website, you get a network television website, not an innovative destination.” Thoughts?
2 comments November 16th, 2006
Yet another big industry move. Ross Levinsohn is stepping down as head of Fox Interactive Media. Peter Levinsohn, president of digital media for the Fox Entertainment Group and an 18-year veteran of the company, will replace him. “Launching Fox Interactive Media has been one of the most energizing and fulfilling experiences of my career,” Ross Levinsohn said in the statement. “I realize there are incredible opportunities in the marketplace and I look forward to my next venture.” Adds Staci Kramer over at PaidContent, “From what I hear, this was Ross Levinsohn’s decision…. Ross got the chance to build the division from scratch and, I think, would rather create something again than be the hands-on, long-term operator of FIM.”
Add comment November 16th, 2006
It’s self intuitive, but CBS now has some numbers to back it up. More than half (53 percent) of users who first watched streams of a CBS show online subsequently became fans of the shows on TV. “It’s all about getting sampling,” said CBS Corp. Chief Research Officer David Poltrack. “We’re looking at this as a key change in direction for us now and looking at our programming as dual distribution programming, over the air and on the Internet.” I got sucked into Jericho online (CBS’ most popular streamed show) and then proceeded set my DVR. Yet, honestly, I probably would’ve kept watching it on my computer if InnerTube wouldn’t buffer so often.
17 comments November 16th, 2006
Jason Calcanis joined AOL a year ago when the company acquired Weblogs Inc., and now TechCrunch is reporting that he’s resigned. Calcanis writes in his blog that the departure of AOL CEO Jon Miller, who was replaced by NBCU’s Randy Falco, was a “very sad day” because Miller is “one of the few mentors I’ve had in my life.” So far, no official comment from Calcanis.
2 comments November 16th, 2006
Updated: Two big moves in two days. NBCU Cable President David Zaslav has taken the CEO post at Discovery Communications. Yesterday NBCU Television Group President Randy Falco left to take over as CEO of AOL. “There’s an amazing team in place at NBC Universal, so leaving was not an easy decision,” Zaslav said. “I want to thank John Hendricks and Discovery’s shareholders for the opportunity to lead this great company. Simply put: this is a dream job.” These two departures combined with the NBCU 2.0 layoffs is adding up to tremendous change for the network right now.
4 comments November 16th, 2006
Coming next month, Nielsen will offer a new service to measure cable video on demand ratings. Upwards of two billion VOD programs will be viewed this year, projects Rentrak, a company that’s already tracking VOD consumption. And the number of programs available on VOD increased by 60 percent in the first half of 2006 alone.
2 comments November 16th, 2006
The largest radio group in the country has agreed to be acquired by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital. In a separate announcement, Clear Channel said it would put its 42 television stations and smaller-market radio stations up for sale. CEO Mark Mays says the management team “looks forward to working with Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners to continue our business plan.” Clear Channel had announced back in October that it was evaluating strategic options.
3 comments November 16th, 2006
It’s ridiculous that the new Al-Jazeera English channel will not get much carriage in America. The fact is that cable MSOs would get a ton of complaints (and probably cancellations) from customers who don’t want to get news from a differing point of view. The fact is that Al-Jazeera isn’t nearly as anti-American as people think. And if you only hear from people who agree with you, how do you ever get your own notions challenged? Here ends the rant. And here is the first six minutes of the launch of Al-Jazeera English. (Thanks, Max.)
14 comments November 16th, 2006
Following up on the NHL/YouTube story, the Toronto Star interviewed me and Streaming Media’s Dan Rayburn for an article on What It All Means. My opinion - not much. PR move. Rayburn says the deal is of minimal value to the NHL. Thanks to Star reporter Rick Westhead for asking.
Add comment November 16th, 2006
A quick out-of-the gate for the NBC Nightly News video podcast. A look at the list of top podcasts finds it at #1 right now. NBC just launched the video podcast on November 14th, (it had been previously available as audio-onlly) and makes the show available for download every night at 10 pm Eastern.
3 comments November 16th, 2006
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