Archive for July 24th, 2007
New NBC owned-and-operated stations chief John Wallace is urging his GMs to take a niche approach to their local markets. “You’ll see a big change in the focus on local, in terms of our digital strategy,” he says. “It’s our intent to have a bigger presence in niche communities and get away from general news.” Wallace praised WCAU’s recent site launch, DigPhilly.com. There are a lot of unique qualities in each marketplace,” Wallace says. “There’ll be a very different look and feel to how we present content in that marketplace. There’ll be major reliance on [general managers’] local expertise.”
Wallace is right on the mark, as Lost Remote readers know from my previous posts.
July 24th, 2007
I was wondering why Craigslist was down. And Technorati, Yelp, LiveJournal and many more, thanks to six back-to-back power outages in the SOMA neighborhood of SF. Brutal.
July 24th, 2007
Online ad spending for sports will hit $727 million this year, including paid search. And it will top $1 billion by 2011, predicts a report from eMarketer. The only challenge is sports video, which is riddled with restrictions and relatively unpopular — only 11 percent of users are “likely” to watch sports video online compared to 50 percent with news video. “Video quality does matter with sports,” said Paul Verna, senior analyst, eMarketer. “And there’s also the social aspect of watching a football or baseball game.”
July 24th, 2007
First, Campbell Brown leaves NBC for CNN. Now Paula Zahn is leaving CNN.
July 24th, 2007
As promised, ABC.com has launched its high-definition video player in beta — the first for a network TV site. It includes a single episode each of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty to get you started before the new fall season. ABC.com says there are a few system recommendations including a “late model, fast computer,” screen resolution of 1300×770 and minimum bandwidth of 2 Mbps. Screen grab from Grey’s Anatomy inside the full-screen player…
I gave it a swing on my home DSL connection — which is not 2 Mbps — and the video stuttered frequently, but the quality was excellent. (Anyone else try it on a higher-speed connection?) You may remember ABC.com won an Emmy for the first player they built, and this new addition just reaffirms the site’s technological leadership in video playback.
Adds ChickenEye in comments: “I have a 10 Mbps Cable connection and a Core 2 MacBook Pro. It’s gorgeous and stutter free (and the little HD bandwidth meter on the bottom right lights up at full quality - which you’re not quite at in your screenshot). Definitely a sign of things to come!”
July 24th, 2007
Yes, I know, I know, I’m way behind updating jobs. It was getting too much to handle manually, so I’m doing a deal with a vendor to power a new jobs board, coming ASAP.
And yes, my real job has been busy lately. Cool new stuff coming soon.
July 24th, 2007
As you probably know, the NFL has a new rule that will require sideline photographers to wear a red NFL vest with Canon and Reebok logos plastered on it. Photo District News has photos of what it will look like here. (Thanks, Allen!)
Adds Jeri in comments: “I think the vests could’ve been a hell of a lot worse. The logos are actually pretty small. I was expecting CANON across my back.”
July 24th, 2007
