Archive for November 2nd, 2007
Both AOL and CBS are backing away from plans to offer high definition video online, reports NewTeeVee. “We are finding, generally speaking, people don’t care as much about the video quality. Right now, it damn well better work quick and fast,” said Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive. The HD players would’ve required an app download. “From our perspective, does it suck for the user? If it sucks for the user, then we got a problem. Last thing you want to do is put another hurdle against people watching network television online.” There’s a quote for you.
November 2nd, 2007
Looks like the internet is about to claim another old school victim. Blockbuster just came out with its third quarter earnings: down 5.7 percent with a net loss of $35 million, despite closing 526 stores in the last year. Writes Don Reisinger on CNET, “Much like the print media and retail stores refusing to change, Blockbuster has been a victim on an online company finding new and inventive ways of bringing a product to a customer. And due to its size and outdated corporate culture, there really is no salvation for Blockbuster at this point. Try as it might, the future of Blockbuster is bleak, at best.”
I can’t say I’m going to feel any sense of loss. The writing has been on the wall for years, and Blockbuster only recently decided to try to do something about it.
November 2nd, 2007
AP CEO Tom Curley hits the nail on the head with a speech last night that urged news executives to leave their “institutional ignorance” behind and step up to the new realities of the web. “Editors need to stop pining for the old world and intensify the leading to the new one,” he said. “The first thing that has to go is the attitude…. Readers and viewers are demanding to captain their information ships. Let them.”
Absolutely. Bravo. But here’s where it gets interesting. “The portals are running off with our best stuff, and we’re afraid or unable to make or enforce deals that drive fair value,” he said. “Revenue lines in a good month are flat. In other months, they inspire the merchants of debt to imagine how they might take us over and show us how much smarter they are.” PaidContent has some analysis on Curley’s portal remarks, which are certainly interesting in light of AP’s recent deal with Google and the massive newspaper consortium that has signed with Yahoo.
Finally, while Curley urges the news industry to change, he also has a huge job on his hands to evolve AP before the internet makes his own company irrelevant. I’ve written before how the web is challenging AP’s core model, and a recent pricing structure change appears to be AP’s first efforts to adjust to the tides of change. So stay tuned…
November 2nd, 2007
The queen of media is joining the fun on YouTube with her own channel that launched today. The channel will feature primarily behind-the-scenes clips about the show, including video from the green room. According to Winfrey, the branded channel will feature “exclusive video including video I made myself just for YouTube, what’s coming up on my show from time to time we are going to be telling you, and also what happens backstage and during commercials and more,” she said in a YouTube video announcing the channel. (Via Broadcasting & Cable)
November 2nd, 2007
