The two cable giants may help fund a national wireless network that would be run by Sprint and Clearwire, reports the WSJ (free AP version here). Google could also provide some funding. Sprint and Clearwire have been working for months in an effort to build a national WiMax network, and they’re trying to raise $3 billion to fund the venture. But what would the cable companies do with the network? “The companies are likely to try to distinguish themselves with advanced mobile data and video services that take advantage of the stockpiles of content they are already adept at licensing,” reports the Journal.
Because my Comcast Motorola DVR is crap. First, it cut off the end of the Super Bowl (how does that happen?) And now its latency issue is out of control. We were watching American Idol — watching it slightly delayed to skip the commercials — and it locked up and fast-forwarded all the way to live. Then we hit the back button a few times, which kicked in THREE MINUTES LATER, replaying the same commercial over and over again (the Apple Mac Book Air spot). Then it locked up. So we turned the power off and back on again, and it ate the recording, bouncing us back to live right when Randy said it was the best performance he’s ever heard. My pregnant wife, um, none so happy. It seems we’re not the only ones with this problem (or otherproblems). So which DVR would you recommend? We’re throwing this one away.
PS: If TiVo had these problems, the company would collapse. But because it’s Comcast and they’re almost giving away their DVRs, nothing happens.
Radio is having a tough time these days. More people are plugging their iPods into their cars (or playing mix CDs), and the radio audience is shrinking. But public radio station KEXP in Seattle is a great study on how to jump the curve. Beginning today, it’s simulcasting in New York, and KEXP’s morning show host will split his time between the two cities. So how did a local station in Seattle suddenly move into the nation’s largest market? First, KEXP is a “discovery engine” for new music. They scour MySpace, music blogs, just about everywhere for new original bands. (Like Vampire Weekend, which KEXP played first, and now the band is blowing up.) Their playlists rarely repeat. In short, you listen to KEXP to find new music to buy, right from KEXP.org (or elsewhere, if you prefer). Second, KEXP.org has simulcast the radio station for years, building up a massive national audience online (bigger than its local audience). It gave away free music podcasts before anyone was doing it. This is how KEXP got noticed in NYC and why WNYE-FM did the deal. Third, KEXP is listener supported. No ads (well, there are sponsor messages that run :05). But during their sponsor drives, people donate money from all over the country.
No KEXP isn’t perfect, and many in Seattle wonder how the station will balance the Seattle music scene with its expanding national footprint. (Last time I checked, NYC has a decent music scene, too.) But I love the “blue ocean” idea of redefining the purpose and market of a radio station — thinking that can be applied to local TV, too.
“Better reporting and writing. Simple as that,” writes Harry Jessell in TVNewsday, who points out the obvious that nearly all local TV sites lack the depth and breadth of newspaper sites. But what about video? “That’s fine. But unless the news clips contain some really compelling video, I just as soon read about it on the newspaper website. A still photo of a fire or accident is sometimes just as good as video—sometimes better,” he writes.
He’s right. A vast majority of a local TV site’s visitors are still reading text and looking at slide shows, not watching video — 80% or more, in my own experience. Strategically, video is still critically important, but TV sites will never compete with newspapers (on average) unless the quality and quantity of text coverage and photos improve… (click below)
You have Topix. Outside.in. And now Examiner.com in 59 cities…
But instead of just aggregation and AP, some Examiner.com sites have hired their own local reporters. “We are not another online newspaper,” explains an Examiner.com job posting. “(We’re) re-creating online news venues from the ground up — in terms of both technology and content delivery — to establish a national brand that is the destination of choice for local information.” StateofLocal has more on the new local news network. (Thanks, Z!)
Wow, this is big. One of the fears of online advertising is that it’s becoming commoditized. In other words, an impression is an impression, a click is a click, regardless of where the user sees the ad. But ESPN.com believes that its premium branded content offers an audience and advertising experience that’s worth more than what the market will bear. So ESPN.com is cutting ties with its ad networks and reportedly trying to get other big publishers to do the same, reports MediaWeek. This quote sums up the argument well: “We haven’t even established the value of our medium, and all of a sudden it’s about price,” said Living Omnimedia media president Wenda Harris Millard. “That is very bothersome to people who are brand stewards.” Online ad networks have been an efficient way for publishers to generate some cash on unsold inventory, but the fear is as these networks grow, they’re devaluing the best content by offering advertisers an inexpensive way in. So will ESPN’s revolt make a difference? Most experts believe, probably not.
Google says it has a plan for Americans everywhere to be able to surf the web on handheld devices at WiFi 2.0 speeds by the 2009 holiday season. How? By tapping unused “white spaces” in TV signals, but the FCC still has to sign off on it. And that’s not a slam dunk, because some are worried that Google’s plan would result in signal interference.
But if Google can pull this off, imagine the ramifications. Anyone with Google Android software on their smart phones will be able to navigate the web just about anywhere in the country at gigabits-per-second speeds. Suddenly, the mobile web will EXPLODE. In many respects, it’s already beginning to explode. Just look at these new iPhone stats: 85% of iPhone users accessed news and information websites in January, compared to 58.2% of smart phone users and 13.1% of the overall market. And that’s at a slower speed that Google promises with its “WiFi on steriods.”
Arianna Huffington’s politics and news blog The Huffington Post has topped Matt Drudge’s DrudgeReport according to the February comScore and Nielsen NetRatings, points out AllThingsDigital. The Huffington Post is a relative newcomer to the online media landscape, launching in May 2005. The site is made up of various news sources and columnists. According to an article by the New Yorker, Huffington Post generates $11 million each year and has 46 full-time employees.
Surrounding the news articles are the highly opinionated posts of an apparently endless army of both celebrity (Nora Ephron, Larry David) and non-celebrity bloggers - more than eighteen hundred so far. The bloggers are not paid.
Forbes is rolling out a financial ad network for up to 400 blogs, the latest in a string of media companies to launch online ad networks. Also, Viacom plans to launch targeted networks this spring around music and men’s lifestyles.
A couple weeks ago, we blogged about Google’s new inline search feature. For example, search for SeattleTimes.com, and you’ll see this:
Now search for “jobs” in the box (SeattleTimes.com is hosted on NWSource.com), and you’ll see the SeattleTimes.com’s job results surrounded by Google ads for competing Seattle jobs sites. In other words, a user’s intent is to find SeattleTimes.com’s jobs, but Google is luring the user to Times’ competitors. Not to mention, this is allowing users to skip around the Times’ home page and search feature. Says one analyst, “(Users) will really like this because it’s probably a better way to search a site than going to the sites themselves.” And that’s especially true when many sites’ search funtionality is inferior to just searching it on Google in the first place.
As you can imagine, some publishers and online retailers aren’t so happy about this, and apparently Amazon.com has successfully asked for the feature to be removed. Google says it’s done this in “a couple” cases when asked.
Scripps’ WXYZ.com in Detroit is live streaming today’s coverage of their city’s mayoral text-message scandal. The web stream started at 8 a.m. and had more than 10,000 views as of 10:15 a.m., IM’d website manager Seth Myers.
Update: As of noon, WXYZ.com has served 85,000 live video streams!
TVWeek says CBS has dropped Jericho from its lineup — again. The network previously jettisoned the show, but brought it back after fans bombarded the Tiffany Networks’ mail system with peanuts — a plot device from the show. “Without question, there are passionate viewers watching this program,” CBS’ Nina Tasler said. “We simply wish there were more.”
While the Wall Street Journal charges for access to much of its content - it is pretty easy to get around the pay wall to read your story of choice. Salon outlines how simple it is to get to the WSJ’s content - including a simple Google News search, to a Firefox add-on that helps you exploit the paper’s relationship with Digg. Salon: “The Journal no longer really has a pay wall. It’s a pay curtain, useless and flimsy, and you’re committing no transgression in dancing around it.”
The Associated Press is adding a total of 21 new people to cover entertainment for the organization, according to Nikki Finke. From an AP internal Q&A memo:
he entertainment vertical is not about gossip, unnamed sources and innuendo or about “peephole” journalism with AP photographers becoming paparazzi. It’s about recognizing an opportunity to use our journalistic talent and unmatched network of resources to produce high quality, multimedia coverage in an area of growing interest. AP’s high editorial standards and news values will continue to be observed, honored and practiced.
The Chicago Sun-Times ran a contest called “Zell No!”, a video contest to protest the possible selling of naming right for Wrigley Field by new owner of Tribune Co., Sam Zell. The winner of the UGC video contest would slide into home with $1,000. Well, pranksters over at the Chicago Tribune entered the contest under the name of one of their interns, and their video won. The Chicago Tribune’s site proudly declares, “Zell yeah! The winner of the Sun-Times’ Wrigley Field name music video contest is… the Chicago Tribune.” And the Sun-Times presents a much smaller announcement that “The Sun-Times has been punk’d.” The prize is being donated to the Chicago Tribune Charities.
The Tribune intern and a reporter proudly show off the front page of the Sun-Times in this video:
Radio is having a tough time these days. More people are plugging their iPods into their cars (or playing mix CDs), and the radio audience is shrinking. But public radio station KEXP in Seattle is a great study on how to jump the curve. 
