Cynopsis: DIGITAL

04/08/11

Good morning, it’s Friday, April 8, 2011, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.  If you would like to read this or any other Cynopsis edition online, click here. 

Exhibitors are ramping up their plans to fight the launch of studios’ new Premium VOD window soon to launch on DirecTV, according to several reports. Cinemark is refusing to carry trailers or put up signage for Warner Bros., Fox, Universal and Sony releases until it knows whether or not the film will be made available 60-days after its theatrical release, per THR, which also notes opposition from AMC Entertainment and Regal Cinemas. What’s more, James Cameron and others are getting ready to come out against the service in a public way, according to the report.
 

ESPN has extended its TV Everywhere service to iOS devices, launching the free WatchESPN app on Apple’s App Store providing live feeds of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and broadband network ESPN3.com for authenticated Verizon FiOS, Time Warner Cable Bright House Networks subscribers. Use the app to watch early round coverage of the Masters, the NBA Playoffs and Joe Morgan-less Major League Baseball from wherever you are (it doesn’t require you to stay at home). The initial version works on the iPad but an app customized for the larger-screen tablet is due out in May, followed by versions for other smartphones and tablets.
 
Cool Music Network signed an affiliation agreement with Newport Television, for the carriage of its music video-themed THECOOLTV digital multiplex channel in 10 of the broadcaster’s 22 TV markets. THECOOLTV partners with local radio stations to tap into the local music scene of each city it broadcasts in, featuring live concerts and telecasts from local music venues and festivals.

 
Multiplatform network Current TV is launching a new pro-social program dubbed “The Current Cause,” which invites both amateur and professional filmmakers to create promotional spots focusing on pro-social themes and organizations. Focusing on a different theme each quarter, viewers are encouraged to create 30-second spots to support the cause by raising money and awareness or recruiting volunteers. (The “Earth Fights Back” initiative is the first cause to spotlighted in honor of Earth Day on April 22.) Up to 5 “best spots” will be selected to be featured on air and online and to earn cash prizes.
 
LeBron James’ new 10-episode animated web show, “The LeBrons,” premiered Wed. on YouTube as the Miami Heat dropped to third in the Eastern Conference standings with HP & Intel as the lead sponsors. LeBron, his company Spring Hill Productions and Believe Entertainment Group financed and sold the show. 

 
PubMatic has launched its Audience Data on Demand solution, providing publishers with a bridge to 3rd party audience data from providers such as eXelate, Quantcast and Proximic. Part of PubMatic’s Sell Side Platform for Premium Publishers, the offering is designed to enable publishers to respond to more requests for proposals that require specific audience targeting.
 

 
Facebook introduced its Open Compute Project to share the company’s server designs and data center innovations with Intel, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., HP and Dell.
 
Google is reportedly close to reaching a settlement with the U.S. Justice Dept. to prevent the agency from filing an antitrust lawsuit to block Google’s $700-million purchase of ITA Software.
 
Steve Jobs initially met with cable executives a year ago to discuss the idea of live cable TV iPad apps, recently launched by Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, according to a WSJ report. The latter is currently the tenth most popular iPad app on Apple’s App Store, despite being only available to Cablevision subscribers in the greater New York area.
 
Expway and Broadcast Interactive Media have united to offer a turn-key solution for broadcasters seeking to generate revenues from ATSC-MH Mobile Digital Television handhelds. The new system enables stations to oversee content delivery to mobile DTV receivers and obtain audience metrics they can use to manage ad campaigns.
 

 
Facebook management system Buddy Media released a strategy report sampling Facebook wall posts from two weeks in Feb. to analyze best practices for brand advertisers and agencies. Key takeaways include:

• On average, posts between one and 80 characters had a 27% higher engagement rate than posts with more than 80 characters, yet accounted for only 19% of all posts
• Engagement rates are three times higher for posts that used a full-length URL, rather than a URL shortener
• Brands that posted outside of normal business hours had 20% higher engagement rates on their posts
• Engagement rates on Thursday and Friday are 18% higher than other days of the week
• “Events” and “winning” were the keywords associated with promotions that had the highest engagement, while “buy,” and “shop” had low engagement

 
History has come up with a straightforward Facebook game based on its top-rated series Pawn Star. Create your own pawn shop and line your shelves with new inventory by haggling with your customers for their treasures. The game, which racked up some 150k daily users during its beta phase, is the first AETN game to take advantage of the Facebook Credits platform.
 
Fox International Channels has launched its first Facebook game – a narrative-driven game called “The Deal” developed by UK-based Two Way Media and based on Vuguru-produced psychological TV drama, The Booth at the End. Players must complete tasks to earn rewards and are encouraged to message and chat with one another to solve the game’s “moral dilemmas.” 
 
NBA Digital announced that its NBA Legend game launched on Facebook in Feb. has surpassed 1 million active users.
 

 
TidalTV has hired former Forbes Media VP Aleck Schleider as VP/New Product Development, effective immediately.  Aleck will focus on platform extension, targeting and ROI reporting, brand engagement reporting, mobile audience data and cross-media solutions.
 

 A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

 
Five-year-old Swedish virtual dress-up site Stardoll has a reason to put on its best gown and celebrate. The site, which has come up with a potent mix of fashion, celebrity, shopping and social networking to keep young girls engaged, has announced 100 million users worldwide, doubling its user base over the past year. Stardoll has grown far beyond its virtual dress up core. It has used virtual currency, “StarDollars,” to great aplomb, for instance, enabling girls to utilize the currency to buy real world clothes, bags and other accessories. About a quarter of its users reside in the U.S., where licensing partnership with Mattel and JCPenney have provided new revenue streams; (both are launching new Stardoll-branded product lines this year.) But much of the site’s recent gains have come in developing markets including Russia and the Middle East. The site now publishes in 21 languages.
 
Correction: The name of the company that developed the Flirtmaps app is Zodiak Active, part of the Zodiak Media Group.

Later – Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
04.08.11

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