Archive for June 14th, 2007
Two of MSNBC-TV’s top shows now have their own interactive games and ringtones. Now you too can hear Chris Matthews yell “Let’s play Hardball!” every time your phone rings. Hardball fans can also play “Race to the White House,” featuring Donny the Democrat and Eli the Republican. Countdown with Keith Olbermann watchers can practice throwing crumpled up paper at the camera with “Camera Smash” (screen grab below), or hear the MSNBC version of the famous scherzo from Beethoven’s Ninth on their cell.
Wow, a wind gust of 10 m.p.h. in the MSNBC studio.
June 14th, 2007
That’s right, billion. In a presentation to analysts on Thursday, NBC Universal says the digital revenue this year is forecast to hit $1B and next year that number is expected to grow an additional 50 percent, a year ahead of forecast. NBC.com is only credited for $20 million of that $1B. Interestingly, the site did report 41 million video streams, up 250 percent. “The media pie is definitely getting bigger,” NBC Universal Integrated Media President Beth Comstock told Reuters. “We’re ahead of plan in terms of the profitability and the revenue we’re able to bring about in digital.”
June 14th, 2007
Also in today’s presentation, NBC Sports gave a preview of some of the digital efforts they will roll out for the Beijing Olympics. It sounds like it may be the most extensive digital plan ever for the Olympics. Here’s what NBC Sports’ Dick Ebersol previewed:
- On-Air: NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Universal HD, USA HD and Telemundo
- Online: Over 1,200 hours or live streaming of 24 sports
- On Demand: Daily highlight videos of all sports and “full rewind” of key events
- Mobile: Wireless coverage, constant stream of highlights, and live streaming
June 14th, 2007
The maker of Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks said it will stop advertising products that don’t meet nutritional guidelines to kids under 12. Kellogg, Inc. also will limit use of its websites for such products to fifteen minutes. The company will also slash viral and interactive ads intended for young audiences. The new pledge also affects traditional advertising. Kellogg promised not to market the non-compliant foods in place where at least fifty percent of the audience is in the under-12 age group.
June 14th, 2007
So whatever happened to that T-Shirt contest of ours? Cory and I talk about that, plus what we mean by “The Web is Not TV” and how web sales are different from TV sales. Also - beer. Welcome to episode 3 of “Get Lost.”
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Archives:
Episode 1
Episode 2
June 14th, 2007
LivePDX.com is a brand new Meredith Corporation site that launched quietly in beta in Portland, OR. The site is an entertainment and events directory that encourages business to add their own listings for free. LivePDX.com also features a number of video clips (powered by Brightcove) ranging from restaurant tours to an interview with a local band. Similar to recent launches like DigPhilly.com, the site’s affiliation with Meredith or its local station, KPTV, is absent from the site.
You may remember, Meredith recently launched Better.TV, a national lifestyles video site.
June 14th, 2007
Calling it the “first-ever voter-generated presidential debates,” CNN announced today it will host two debates that will feature video questions submitted by users through YouTube. Select YouTube users will also be part of the audience. After the debate, the questions will be edited together with the answers and posted on YouTube. “For the first time in the history of presidential debates, voters from around the country will be able to ask the future president of the United States a question in video form and hear the answer,” said YouTube CEO Chad Hurley. The debates — which are scheduled for July 23rd and September 17th — will also be streamed live and archived on CNN.com. YouTube users can start submitting questions today right here. Press release link after the grab…
Read the full post June 14th, 2007
Called iCue, the site will highlight video archives from NBC News as a supplement to Advanced Placement high school courses in American history, government and English. “We recognize when we look at our broadcast platforms that teenagers don’t get their news from there,” said Adam Jones, chief financial officer for NBC News, who has helped lead the project. “They’re either online or they watch Jon Stewart or ‘The Colbert Report.’ We’ve always talked about trying to find new ways to reach our future audience.” The site will be free to start, but ultimately iCue will charge an annual subscription fee for high schools. And advertising will appear, but only outside school hours.
June 14th, 2007
Those of us on the West Coast had the first five minutes or so of the 8 a.m. Today Show interrupted with the U.S. Open. (On the East Coast, it interrupted 11 a.m. programming.) Matt Lauer called it “an unprecedented broadcast” to kick off the event, and the announcers plugged USOpen.com to continue to follow the Woods-Ogilvy-Ramsay group live. So I punched up USOpen.com — which loaded slowly at first — and played the live “HD” stream. It started off with four pre-roll ads in a row, but it was worth the wait. The quality is terrific. During TV programming periods, users will also be able to watch a simulcast of the broadcast. Screen grab…
Meanwhile, NBCSports.com will stream live coverage from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET today and tomorrow. Also, golf fans will be able to watch live coverage on their cell phones on NBCU’s new sports channel on MobiTV.
Updates Terry in comments below: “Cory: I don’t know whether they read your post or just came to their senses, but there’s only one preroll ad now when you access the HD feed. You’re right - quality is very good, but the loading time (even with a lot of bandwidth) is awfully long.”
June 14th, 2007
