Michael Gay
Yahoo joins CBS Audience Network
CBS has reached a deal with Yahoo that will bring the web giant access to CBS Primetime shows. The deal would have Yahoo join the CBS Audience Network, which already includes major outlets like Google Inc’s YouTube, Time Warner Inc’s AOL and Microsoft Corp’s MSN, as well as sites like Joost, Veoh, and Bebo, according [...]
NBCU reportedly wins bid for Weather Channel
NBCU has unofficially won the bid for the Weather Channel at $3.5 billion, according to NewsBlues. That’s well under the $5 billion that Landmark had hoped to earn. NBCU was part of a consortium that included Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. The offer of $3.5 billion, roughly half of which, or $1.8 billion, is equity, [...]
Award-Winning Show, Weak Website
An RFK Memorial Journalism Award is being given to HDNet’s news program World Report for their story titled “A Silent War, A Violent Peace,” about Uganda’s civil war. The award is a great honor for the program seen on a network many people can’t watch. But I pose this question: If your show can’t be [...]
What to call abandoned blogs?
In today’s B&C Station to Station blog, Mike Malone challenges Lost Remote to come up with a term for an abandoned blog. We’re not ones to shy away from a challenge, so loyal readers what would be a catchy term for an abandoned blog? (And no, “Local TV Site Blogs” might indeed be mostly abandoned [...]
YouTube keeps growing
April usage numbers for YouTube show another month of growth, hitting 4 billion streams. That’s up from 3.6 billion in March. YouTube’s closest competitor is Fox Interactive Media, at just 329 million streams. (Via TV Week)
CBS to buy CNET for $1.8 billion
CBS Interactive is making its largest digital acquisition ever, buying CNET Networks for $1.8 billion, according to the NY Times. This price tops the $1.6 billion that YouTube sold for to Google. “There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks,†he said in a press release Thursday. [...]
Grand Theft Auto IV earns $500M in first week
Grand Theft Auto IV sold 3.6 million copies on the first day, and earned $500 million in the first week. To give you some context, the largest opening weekend for a movie worldwide was Spider-Man 3 at $381.6 million. I’ll post this so Cory doesn’t have to say, I told you so, “As I’ve written [...]
WNBC overhauling local news operation
NBC Local Media is starting a 24-hour local news channel in New York, and rebranding WNBC as a “content center,” according to the NY Times. NBC’s plan calls for rebuilding Channel 4’s newsroom and melding its content closely with the coming news channel, the existing local Web site, and out-of-home video displayed in locations like [...]
ABC.com considers more ads
Web streaming could be turning more into TV if ABC goes forward with adding more commercials to online show streaming. ABC will begin testing multiple commercials in the breaks of episode streams as soon as next week, according to THR.com. The executive vp digital media of Disney-ABC told the paper, “It would be premature for [...]
Ohio newspapers partner, bypassing AP
In an interesting announcement, Ohio’s largest newspapers will be sharing their stories with each other’s websites. The newspapers from Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Youngstown will share their best stories every day. In explaining the partnership, the Plain Dealer admits how papers keep the best stories from the AP for as long [...]
Report: 3G iPhone for $199
If Fortune is right, there could be a game-changing move coming this summer that will bring the iPhone into the mainstream for many more consumers. While still tied to AT&T, Fortune says the 3G iPhone will come with a $200 discount from the wireless company that will bring the price down to $199 for the [...]
WashingtonPost.com providing embedded videos
We keep pushing for more sites to allow their videos to be embedded. Well, another one is, but it’s not a TV station. The WashingtonPost.com now allows their video to be embedded, and offers two sizes you can choose from depending on your site’s design. Very smart.
‘KARE OnLIVE’ dead
We posted about this show about a year ago when it launched, but KARE OnLIVE is dead. The show promised to be interactive and live on-air and online, at 4PM. I never really understood how a TV show aimed at stay-at-home moms would attract an online audience at 4PM. I often saw segments that were [...]
The CW pulls back on ‘Gossip Girl’ streaming
LostRemote has blogged before about how popular ‘Gossip Girl’ is online, buoying the audience of the show despite the low on-air ratings: …it’s wildly popular online, even outpacing The Office on iTunes. Fans sites are everywhere. And when you add DVR ratings to the mix, it’s the most-watched show by teenagers. So, the latest announcement [...]
ABC News debate reactions
Watching the debate tonight I was wondering why there weren’t more teases for abcnews.com. It seemed Hillary “pimped” her site more than ABC News. Then I went to the site and saw the comments about the debate. Ouch. Did you see the debate? What did you think?
Media General offers buyouts in Tampa
The Tampa market has long been an example to those in the industry as a market where true convergence has been achieved through the combined properties of the Tampa Tribune, WFLA and tbo.com. Today the Florida Communications Group, a Media General-owned company, offered voluntary buyouts to half of the 1,326 employees, including those employees from [...]
Drudge reports CBS News in talks with CNN
If the news flash on Drudge Report is right, there could be a major story coming about CBS News contracting out reporting to CNN. This comes following major budget cuts at CBS and their O&O stations. UPDATE: Drudge is now linking to an article from the NY Times that says the focus of the talks [...]
CBS now testing HD video streaming
CBS Labs has begun streaming select HD video clips on their site at http://labs.cbs.com/HD_video/. The video quality is impressive, streaming with H.264/AVC format at 480p, according to TechCrunch. The player itself reminds me a lot of Hulu, with a clean page that dims when the video starts. I appreciated not having to install a plugin, [...]
