CNN.com is covering the breaking news in Scotland using the new look that had been in beta until recently. We first believed the new look would launch Sunday, but it would appear that the breaking news prompted them to launch the homepage early. There is a great show-and-tell video touring the site for users, something that I complimented in an earlier post about Google.
Congratulations to the team at CNN.com for the successful launch. (Thanks to “Anonymous” for the heads-up in our comments!)
A crazy video, and a reminder for us how dangerous a live shot can be. This Fox News reporter was on the street of New York adding hype for the new iPhone when a man grabs the network’s microphone and runs off. No one was hurt.
When Google added traffic to their maps, they became a direct competitor to TV websites, as we have always tried to be the news, weather and traffic source. Well, Google has now added another nail in the coffin for anyone trying to compete. You know when you map a route and you turn on the traffic info to see it wants you to drive right through a Red zone? Well, now you can drag your route to another road. You can even add stops to the route and drag/drop the order.
Another cool thing on the link above is the way Google is showing consumers the new feature. It’s really smart to produce a video in which you talk to your users about how it works. How often do you launch a new product and just expect people to figure it out? Take note.
If you haven’t read Time Magazine’s in-depth story on (and interview with) Rupert Murdoch yet - it’s a must read. The story covers a lot of ground, from Dow Jones to MySpace. The story also susses out a key detail - one that might be helping drive all the concern over News Corp’s bid for the Wall Street Journal:
In 1976 he bought the failing, family-owned liberal New York Post and solemnly pledged to “maintain its present policies and traditions.” Then he yanked it hard right and down-market.
I took a gander at the page we teased earlier today that allows you to check to see if Apple stores still have the iPhone in stock. Methodically clicking through each state, I didn’t find a single “red light.” The page notes that it is updated each night at 9pm. So either a) it hasn’t been updated, or b) every single Apple store still has the gadget in stock. CNet News.com reports that there haven’t been any real supply woes as of yet.
LR’s been following Google’s efforts to sell advertising on traditional media outlets for quite some time - since the company bought an outfit that specializes in giving advertisers a way to purchase airtime online. Now the CEO of one of the nation’s top broadcasters is speaking out. “That is further commoditizing our product. I think it is a fundamentally flawed model. It says we cannot sell all of our inventory,” Citadel Communications chief Farid Suleman told a radio symposium Thursday. Radio & Records says Suleman told the crowd that he worries what happens when Google makes a deal for a chunk of station’s inventory - and can’t sell it.
The Apple PR control freaks could only watch helplessly as Meredith Viera fumbled with an iPhone on NBC’s Today on Friday morning. She couldn’t get some features to work, and said “Mine refuses to work for me - this is why gadgets drive me crazy.” Then a bid to stage an incoming call from Matt Lauer in London went even worse. In total, the glorified advertisement of a news segment turned out to be a disaster. Somehow, I don’t think the debacle will hurt sales… Watch.
A new web only video is being produced by foxnews.com called “Dotcom Daily.” Anchored by Courtney Friel, the webcast is a fast overview of the top stories on the site, with the traditional Fox flash. Strangely, the video is not easy to find on the site, and it looks like it was only produced four days this week. TVNewser found the video on the AOL Video site. (By the way, when did Fox News start hiring so many beautiful newscasters?)
Stopped by the Apple store in Chestnut Hill, MA (just outside Boston) to see how the line for the iPhone looked. As of 12:35 ET, there were 42 people in a surprisingly quiet line. Many of them were in lawn chairs, and at least one was someone’s kid who clearly wasn’t there to buy an iPhone. Still, he quietly played his PSP. A few security guards stood around looking a bit too imposing. There is a giant iPhone mockup in the window of the store. I asked a clerk “When does the craziness start?” “It already has,” he said. Sales begin at 6 tonight.
Apple store, Chestnut Hill, MA. (Taken with my decidedly non-iPhone cameraphone.)
Update from Cory: Apple has been very reluctant to hand out devices in advance. Look, here are the Digg guys in line, and Stephen Colbert even resorted to begging on the air.
Update:Did you see this? Fox reporter’s microphone swiped during iPhone line live shot.
In a 170 page report, the FTC has effectively said no to Net Neutrality. “In the absence of significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm, policy makers should be particularly hesitant to enact new regulation in this area,” FTC Chair Deborah Platt Majoras wrote in the official statement (pdf). FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz issued a separate concurring statement that supported the FTC’s position with regards to consumer protection, but said that reactive antitrust actions might not work as well to protect consumers as enacting net neutrality into law. The complicated issue here is that consumers are also enabled as publishers in the evolving world of the Fifth Estate, and it is not completely clear that the FTC is appreciating that the Internet is not simply another broadcasting medium, but a communications platform.
(This column originally appeared in the June 27 edition of the AR&D Media 2.0 Intel Report.) Forget, right away, the many times you’ll read “Is the iPhone the next iPod?” It isn’t. It can’t be. It won’t be. The iPhone, even if it is a runaway hit that everyone wants, can’t be universal. That’s because Steve Jobs threw in his lot with AT&T. To use the iPhone, you need AT&T (the former Cingular, as you are no doubt sick of hearing from the ads) as the wireless provider. The deal is exclusive for three years. So right away, everyone who isn’t an AT&T customer - you’re out of the iPhone potential market pool.
Isn’t this crazy? Someone updated Chris Benoit’s Wikipedia page announcing the death of his wife Nancy 13 hours before police discovered their bodies.
UPDATE: Some excellent snooping by Corey Spring at Newsvine unveils a possible culprit and explanation - a strange prank and very strange coincidence. (via fimoc)
Dateline NBC’s popular “To Catch a Predator” series suffered a major setback when a Texas prosecutor refused to press charges on 24 men caught in the sting because the operation was “tainted by amateurs.” In 16 of the cases, the prosecutor said he didn’t have jurisdiction because the men who were involved — along with the decoys — where not in the county at the time of the chats. When residents discovered that the majority of the would-be sex predators were driving in from out of town — and the house was two blocks away from an elementary school — they were outraged. As for the rest of the cases, the prosecutor said neither police or NBC were able to guarantee the chat logs were authentic and complete. Responds Dateline’s Chris Hansen, “I don’t want to get involved in the DA’s business or the police business,” he said. “I can tell you in the other locations, these issues did not come up.” But that’s not all. One of the men committed suicide when police moved in to arrest him. The city manager who approved the sting has been fired.
So I ask, is this the end of “To Catch a Predator?” Should it be? (Thanks, Chris R.!)
Update: NBC Universal and News Corp. have named a former Amazon.com SVP Jason Kilar as the CEO of their upcoming joint video venture. Kilar oversaw Amazon’s entry into the video and DVD business. NBCU and News Corp. revealed on the conference call today that the launch date has been pushed back to September at the earliest. “We’ll launch when we’re prepared to launch with a world-class product,” said News Corp. COO Peter Chernin. This comes as no surprise as a summer launch date would seem next to impossible given the fact the management team is just being assembled. A name has also yet to be finalized. Press release on Kilar’s hiring follows below…
Adds Staci in comments: “NBCU told analysts earlier this month it would be September. When I asked today, September was still held out as a possibility but not as a definite.”
MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski decided to have a little fun with the Paris Hilton story on Morning Joe Tuesday morning. After refusing to read the story - she (at various times) tore up the script, threatened to burn the script, wadded up the script - and shredded the script. MSNBC.com gave the video big play - and it is still lingering at #2 on the site’s list of most viewed video. With more than 9700 diggs, the video is also one of the ten most dugg stories ever to appear on Digg (based on numbers from May 27, 2007) - no doubt helping the video views.
In case you hadn’t noticed, online video is kind of a big deal. Mashable put together an exhaustive list of applications and websites centered on video - from editing, to sharing, to organization and hosting. There are a few tools you’ve seen - and dozens more you haven’t. Check out Moguls - a site that promises a live broadcasting solution. Plus - have you heard of GodTube - a Christian version of YouTube? There’s even RealPeopleRealStuff - what craigslist and YouTube would be if they mated.
Get ready to fire up that cell phone and watch the (really, really) tiny ball bounce back and forth on centre court at the All England Tennis Club. NBC2Go will pump out live coverage on Verizon’ V Cast service over a span of ten days - starting this Saturday. Press release after the jump
NBC2GO TO AIR LIVE MOBILE STREAMING OF NBC SPORTS’ COVERAGE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON BEGINNING SATURDAY, JUNE 30
Verizon Wireless V CAST Mobile TV Viewers Will Have On-The-Go Access To The World’s Most Prestigious Tournament Including Live Coverage of Men’s and Women’s Finals
New York, New York – June 27, 2007 - For the first time ever tennis fans can feel like they are centre court whether they’re at home or on the go as NBC2Go provides live mobile coverage of The Championships, Wimbledon. Starting Saturday, June 30 (12:00-3:00 p.m., ET) and extending until the end of the tournament, subscribers to mobile channel NBC2Go, offered by Verizon Wireless V CAST Mobile TV, along with thousands live at the All England Club and millions watching on NBC, will be able to catch NBC Sports’ live mobile coverage Wimbledon including every exciting point of the Men’s and Ladies Finals.
“NBC Sports is committed to delivering the tradition and excitement of Wimbledon to our audience on all of our platforms,” said Perkins Miller, Senior VP, Digital Media, NBC Sports & Olympics. “Now tennis fans will be able to watch Wimbledon wherever they are with our live broadcasts on NBC2Go.”
“V CAST Mobile TV is the best of television programmed specifically for the mobile customer, and that includes great live coverage that NBC Sports brings to tennis fans across the country,” said Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital media programming for Verizon. “Customers who are at the beach or a barbecue this holiday week can still see every serve, volley or break point from the best tennis players in the world – live on V CAST Mobile TV.”
“Nothing compares to the excitement of a tense fifth set at Wimbledon. Now tennis fans can watch every point live on their cell phones even when they’re out and about,” said Dan Novak, senior vice president of programming and advertising, MediaFLO USA. “We are thrilled to deliver this exciting sports programming on FLO TV, our revolutionary new mobile TV service currently available through Verizon Wireless.”
NBC2Go, part of the FLO TV TM service from MediaFLO USA, Inc., is currently available to Verizon Wireless V CAST Mobile TV customers in 30 markets, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Atlanta. For a complete market map, check out www.verizonwireless.com/mobiletv. With FLO TV TM, MediaFLO USA delivers high-quality, full-length television programming on V CAST Mobile TV capable cell phones.
Coverage of the The Championships at Wimbledon is scheduled on NBC2Go as a live network simulcast as follows:
Sat, June 30 12:00p-3:00 pm ET / 9a - 12n PT
Sun, July 1 12:00p-3:00 pm ET / 9a - 12n PT
Mon, July 2 11:00a-2:00pm ET & 10:00a-1:00 pm PT
Tue, July 3 11:00a-2:00pm ET & 10:00a-1:00 pm PT
Wed, July 4 11:00a-2:00pm ET & 10:00a-1:00 pm PT
Thu, July 5 1:00p-6:00pm ET & 12:00p-5:00 pm PT
Fri, July 6 1:00p-6:00pm ET & 12:00p-5:00 pm PT
Sat, July 7 9:00a-2:00 pm ET / 6a - 11a PT
Sun, July 8 9:00a-3:00 pm ET / 6a - 11a PT
About NBC Sports Digital:
NBC Sports Digital drives NBC Sports’ development of digital content including NBCSports.com and NBC Sports Mobile.
NBCSports.com is one of the fastest growing sports content websites on the Internet. It provides comprehensive sports coverage, including scores, stats and analysis for all the major sports. With live pre-game programming for Notre Dame Football and the NHL combined with live streaming webcasts including the U.S. Open, FIS World Ski Championships and the NYC Marathon and the daily sports issues show Sidelines, has placed NBCSports.com at the forefront of original broadband sports programming. The site’s fantasy sports are powered by AllStarStats and Rotoworld. Rotoworld.com is the highest-trafficked, fantasy sports content site on the Internet.
NBC Sports Mobile provides mobile users with on-the-go access to top NBC Sports and NBCSports.com content, including news, scores, and video. News offerings are available on the NBC Sports Mobile Web site and NBCSports.com/mobile. NBC Sports on NBC2Go provided users with live NBC Sports broadcasts from the Preakness Stakes, the NHL Stanley Cup Final, and the U.S. Open. The NBC Sports Mobile channel on MobiTV provides mobile users with news, scores, live coverage, and highlights from NBC Sports broadcasts, including the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and the NFL, among others.
About NBC Universal Digital Distribution
NBC Universal Digital Distribution, a division of NBC Universal, drives the company’s development of digital content and distribution in the areas of digital sales, digital platforms and wireless products. NBC Universal Digital Distribution manages product strategy and development for NBCU’s content efforts by deploying it across multiple digital platforms including mobile, Internet portals, wireless carriers, emerging digital companies and nontraditional customers. In addition, NBCU Digital Distribution spearheads the company’s development of industry leading technologies such as interactive television, on demand, electronic sell-through and IPTV. NBCU Digital Distribution also directs and manages the company’s cable investments including A&E, The History Channel, History Channel International, The Biography Channel and the Sundance Channel.
A new web only video is being produced by 
MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski decided to have a little fun with the Paris Hilton story on Morning Joe Tuesday morning. After refusing to read the story - she (at various times) tore up the script, threatened to burn the script, wadded up the script - and shredded the script. MSNBC.com gave the video big play - and it is 
