Here’s looking at you, invitedmedia, discreet_chaos and Flotsam
The NY Times has an article on the concept of blog commenters as their own shtick. It seems there are even blogs out there where people will fight to see who can come up with the most smart-assy of smart-ass comments. Imagine! (No need for that here, what with me being the Managing Editor of [...]
Beta allows users to embed ESPN video
Check out the new ESPN.com video beta – they’ve stopped the popup page and put the video onto an easier-to-navigate (and whitespace-aplenty) page. They’re also making videos available for embedding, a la YouTube, by proving the embed code right next to the video. Locals: you need to do this. Demand that your vendors start developing [...]
Enough with the new social networks
Mashable reports that iWon is about to add a social network to its site. This raises two points: 1. iWon is still around and 2. Mathematically, adding an iWon social network will officially mean that every frickin’ site now thinks it has to have one. This is getting silly. I now have more social networks than I have actual friends.
Study: Ads out of context are effective
This is fascinating. Yahoo and MediaVest just released a study that found that “ads displayed out of context had roughly the same impact on brand preference as identical placements shown next to related content.” So for example, they measured consumer reaction to the gourmet coffee product Tassimo. The ads ran in Yahoo’s food section as [...]
Chevron to air 150-second commercial
The spot will consume an entire commercial break during 60 Minutes this Sunday. The subject is energy, which is “hard to get across in a 30-second spot,” said Chevron. Seems to me that 60 Minutes is a good venue for this kind of ad, because if it aired in Heroes, it would just make it [...]
CBS creates Corporate Mashup Division named ‘Eyelab’
Imagined boardroom conversation at CBS: Executive One: You know that clip that person did of David Caruso saying all those dumb lines from CSI:Miami? Executive Two: I didn’t think those were dumb at all. I didn’t find it funny. Executive Three: You mean the thing I wanted pulled down from YouTube? Executive One: That’s the [...]
Interesting nuggets from online video study
NBCU and Veoh introduced some useful stats during the Carat Digital Exchange: Most of NBC.com’s video viewing is at night, but there’s also a bump at lunchtime 48% of people who used NBC Rewind on NBC.com watched Heroes 35% sampled Heroes for the first time, and 96% of them continued to watch the show either [...]
Sling Media debuts ‘Sling Solo’ in HD
For $180 bucks, you can now get an HD-compatible Slingbox called the “Sling Solo.”
Study offers surprising numbers on Yahoo-newspaper deal
It’s rare these days that you see much good news associated with newspapers, but a new report by Deutsche Bank offers some insight on the revenue upside of the Yahoo newspaper consortium. Analysts project that newspapers that have partnered with Yahoo could see a jump in year-over-year online revenue growth by as much as 20 [...]
NAB releases first digital deadline PSAs
As of February 17, 2009, that non-digital TV of yours won’t work, at least not without a converter box. (And pray to God you’re not working at a TV station that day and taking phone calls.) The NAB is rolling out its first PSAs to educate the public about the upcoming digital deadline. It sent [...]
New MSN Video cuts back on pre-roll ads
I was wondering when I was putting the new MSN Video through its paces why I saw so few pre-roll ads, and it turns out that MSN is limiting pre-rolls to one per three minutes users spend on the site. “It’s definitely a long term bet,†said Rob Bennett, MSN’s general manager, explaining he hopes [...]
NBC on demand (sort of) on Cox cable
Cox Communications subscribers will be able to watch five NBC fall shows for free, including 30 Rock and Bionic Woman, a day after they air on the network. But here’s the catch: fast-forward will be disabled throughout the shows so you can’t skip through the ads. So, it’s on demand — until you play it.
Blip.tv ties up with Rocketboom
Blip.tv is starting to get some traction among videobloggers, signing a deal to host and distribute Rocketboom this week. Blip.tv can now dynamically insert overlay ads into Quicktime files, which is believed to be a first, reports Beet.tv.
Bud.tv is back on tap for another year
If you can believe it, Anheuser-Busch has decided to stick with Bud.tv through 2008.
FoxNews.com expanding video with Maven deal
Maven Networks’ technology will power video on FoxNews.com and the upcoming Fox Business Network site. Video will be in embedded players instead of pop-ups, and users will be able to rate and recommend clips. Also, bloggers will be able to embed players on their own sites. “If you go to FOXNews.com, it is mostly text [...]
Echostar to buy Sling Media
The parent company of the Dish Network, Echostar has announced it’s buying Sling Media for $380 million. As you probably know, Sling Media makes the Slingbox, a nifty place-shifting device that allows you to watch your TV’s programming anywhere on your laptop or mobile device. Sling Media says having Echostar as a parent company won’t [...]
Live-blogging Halo 3 launch event
Update: After spending six and a half hours in line — and live-blogging it all — I now have my hands on a copy of Halo 3. Bill Gates was among the surprise guests. And of course, the Master Chief. What a crazy event (1,000 people were there), and right after I finish this post [...]
MSNBC putting Abrams back on the air
Big changes at MSNBC announced today (and rumored for weeks). MSNBC GM Dan Abrams will return to MSNBC’s air with a primetime show, “Live with Dan Abrams.” NBC News senior VP Phil Griffin will take over Abrams’ management responsibilities when MSNBC moves from Secaucus into 30 Rock next month. Press release…
