Cynopsis: DIGITAL
02/13/09
Good morning, it’s Friday, February 13, 2009, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a strongly-worded report detailing its ongoing examination of online behavioral advertising practices as a last chance olive branch to encourage the industry to step up and insure the protection of users’ privacy. The report sets forth four revised principles: Transparency and Consumer Control; Reasonable Security, and Limited Data Retention for Consumer Data; Affirmative Express Consent for Material Changes to Existing Privacy Promises; and Affirmative Express Consent to (or Prohibition Against) Using Sensitive Data for Behavioral Advertising. A cross section of interactive advertising trade groups quickly formed a task force to respond to the FTC’s challenge: The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) also joined the effort.
Ever angling for ways to dig up some more revenue, YouTube has begun offering some videos for free or paid download, delivered in DRM-free MP4 format using the H.264 codec. The transactions, the cash from which will be shared with the content provider, will be handled through Google Checkout, Google’s version of PayPay. So far a few Universities and a few small publishers are testing the service.
If YouTube enters the downloading business then Apple should expand into streaming, right? The next version of iTunes will offer users the option to stream videos they purchase directly from the company’s servers for playback anywhere anytime – thus not taking up hard drive space, according to a report in AppleInsider. An iTunes Replay service could potentially make video streaming on various Apple devices such as Apple TV, iPhone and iPod Touch more viable because video takes up a ton of storage space.
Fox is promoting today’s premiere of Joss Whedon’s new linear show Dollhouse with an interactive components on Fox.com and rprimelab.com. Through Hazel’s video blog of real-time captivity, fans are encouraged to post clips, view other fan video responses and offer Hazel advice. In return, she will respond to the audience, challenging them to help her uncover clues and discover secrets about the Dollhouse’s early defining days.
Intercasting, the company that powers the Anthem social connectivity mobile platform, unveiled a new cloud-based mobile platform that will allow carriers to embed more sophisticated applications such as email, IM and social networking functionality directly on their handsets. Spurred on by the popularity of the iPhone app store, the solution is geared toward enabling mid-range 2G phones to adopt advanced content and social networking integrations, according to Intercasting President Derrick Oien. “Operators want to preload the popular apps that are moving the needle for other platforms,” he said.
Facebook, now the top social network in the world according to comScore, has been negotiating with Nokia to go directly to the source and embed components of its network directly into Nokia phones, reports the WSJ. Integrations might include synching Facebook friends lists with the phone’s address book, allowing users to be able to send them messages and post comments on their profile pages. Also, the AP has turned up some more details about Facebook’s settlement with ConnectU, despite apparent attempts to keep them confidential. ConnectU’s founders will receive $20 million in cash and $45 million in Facebook stock, but this is based on Microsoft’s Oct. ’07 valuation of the company of $3.7 billion. Under Facebook’s current internal appraisal the 1,253,326 shares of common stock are only worth about $11 million.
You win some you lose some. Google announced it is officially giving up on its attempt to develop AdWords advertising for radio, the second traditional ad market it has exited this year (along with the closure of its Print Ads program). The company initially had trouble getting radio stations to devote airtime to the program, then saw little interest from advertisers once it struck deals with Clear Channel and others. The remnants of Google Audio Ads, which launched in 2006 after the acquisition of dMarc Broadcasting, will be used to develop audio streaming applications for the web.
The FCC rejected about a quarter of the 491 local TV stations who had applied to make the originally-scheduled transition to digital on Feb. 17 – including major stations in Dayton, Ohio; Eugene, Oregon; Billings, Mt.; Madison, Wi.; and Providence, R.I. The commission is worried about markets in which all of the major network affiliates switch to digital, leaving unprepared households with no way to receive local news or emergency alerts. The FCC did say that stations may go ahead with the switch right away if at least one station in that market remained analog.
Paul Allen’s cable MSO Charter Communications reached an agreement in principle with major debt holders to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The debt-laden cable operator, which serves more than 5.5 customers nationwide, said it still has more than $800 million in cash on its balance sheet – which when combined with operating revenue- should be enough to meet its obligations, including an overdue interest payment of $74 million due before Feb. 15.
Midway Games, which Sumner Redstone recently sold off a majority stake in, also filed for Chapter 11 status to give the Mortal Kombat publisher a chance to reorganizes its finances.
Nielsen Online has released its first public rankings of individual TV show rankings, counting views from programs streamed on network web sites as well as via embedded video players. Going a long way toward justifying the decision to forgo Hulu and remain independent, ABC scored the top watched TV network program in Dec. in Lost, racking up 1.425 million viewers and beating out NBC’s SNL by more than 3 million users. (Note that Hulu views are not counted here, as this only measures network site traffic and embeds made directly from them.) In fact ABC was responsible for 6 of the top 10 shows. The CW’s Privileged triumphed in terms of time spent as its 29,000 loyal fans spend 214 minutes on average watching the show online in Dec.
Top 10 Online Broadcast TV Network Entertainment Programs for Dec. 2008 Unique
Program Network Unique Viewers (000)
Lost ABC.com 1,425
Saturday Night Live NBC.com 1,111
Grey’s Anatomy ABC.com 879
Desperate Housewives ABC.com 723
Heroes NBC.com 685
Ugly Betty ABC.com 631
Samantha Who? ABC.com 560
Scrubs ABC.com 519
Survivor CBS Television 496
True Beauty ABC.com 462
Source: Nielsen Online, VideoCensus
Reflects video content on ABC.com, CBS Television, CWTV.com, FOX Broadcasting, and NBC.com, along with their respective embedded video players. Programs are client-defined.
Top 10 Online Broadcast TV Network Ent. Programs for Dec. 2008 by Time Spent Viewing (U.S.)
Program Network Minutes per Viewer Unique Viewers (000)
Privileged CWTV.com 214.6 29
Chuck NBC.com 162.5 226
Lipstick Jungle NBC.com 153.2 152
Gossip Girl CWTV.com 140.0 165
The Simpsons FOX Broadcasting 138.8 41
Life NBC.com 137.4 133
Kitchen Nightmares FOX 124.9 40
Private Practice ABC.com 123.1 350
Young & Restless CBS 115.6 323
The Office NBC.com 111.8 374
Source: Nielsen Online, VideoCensus
Reflects video content on ABC.com, CBS Television, CWTV.com, FOX Broadcasting, and NBC.com, along with their respective embedded video players. Programs are client-defined.
Video search engines may be improving but they’re still not responsible for much online discovery, according to a new analysis from online video tracking and analysis firm TubeMogul. The company analyzed a sample of 35 million+ streams over the period of 2 months and found that direct navigation to sites such as YouTube was still the most common way users find videos, responsible for over 45% of all views. Site referrals proved to be long tail of mostly blogs, which sourced some 80% of all referred traffic, but the top referral sites were as follows:
Site Share of Video Referrals
Google 7.19%
Yahoo 2.12%
Facebook 1.93%
Myspace 1.55%
Digg 1.49%
Stumbleupon 1.13%
msn/live 0.92%
blogspot 0.78%
aol 0.43%
reddit 0.29%
truveo 0.22%
flurl 0.21%
blinkx 0.19%
ask 0.19%
Comcast 0.16%
Twitter 0.15%
WordPress 0.15%
CN 0.12%
Wikipedia 0.11%
Ovguide 0.06%
Search Referrals by Category
Search engines 11.18%
Social networks 3.66%
Social bookmarking sites: 3.19%
Video search engines: 0.63%
Email/IM: 0.05%
blogs, etc. 80.88%
Source: TubeMogul
Bloomingdale’s and Brides.com have launched a Set Your Table wedding registry online tool allowing couples to combine different styles and patterns from a variety of designer’s dinnerware, drinkware and flatware collections to create and view their own uniquely styled table top setting. Users will be able to see close-up images, get additional information about an item and immediately register for their table top selections on Bloomingdales.com.
Lewis Henderson, the longtime William Morris executive who has headed the agency’s Digital Media group since its inception in 2006, is leaving the company at the end of the month to pursue other interests, per paidcontent.org.
LA-based Paragon Pictures has formed Osiris Entertainment, an in-house distribution arm that will specialize in broadcast and home entertainment distribution for the company’s feature films. The company has appointed Heidi Meier as VP/Distribution for Osiris.
Social media tech firm Ludic Labs announced it raised $5 million in funding from Accel Partners, KPG Ventures and a number of private investors. The San Mateo, CA-based start-up also launched a new community site called Diddit to give us an idea of what they’re up to (as in “been there, did it.”) Diddit allows users to share their experiences with communities of interested parties including everything from trying new restaurants to visiting national monuments to snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. There are 23 categories of things to do. It’s not a bad idea for an online recommendation engine and the interface is fun and easy to use. If it catches on we can see a number of integrations that can be baked in to the experience.
Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
02.13.09
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