Good morning, it’s Friday, October 15, 2010, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.  If you would like to read this or any other Cynopsis edition online, click here. 

Shares of Yahoo traded higher on Wall Street yesterday after a late Wed. WSJ report claimed that AOL and a group of private equity firms were considering making an acquisition run at the troubled portal. Several deals are being discussed involving media companies and other partners; a deal would likely hinge upon Yahoo selling off its much-desired Asian internet assets, including its 40% stake in China’s Alibaba Group and a 34.5% share of Masayoshi Son’s Yahoo Japan. Reports have also surfaced that News Corp. has approached Yahoo regarding a possible acquisition deal. Yahoo rebuked a generous $47 billion buyout offer from Microsoft in 2008 under the leadership of previous CEO Jerry Yang, but his successor Carol Bartz has seemed much more amenable to liquidating at least some of the company’s assets.
 

 
The Chilean Miner rescue has become one the online breaking news stories of the year, with online viewers around the world glued to video coverage of the dramatic turn of events:

• CNN.com says it delivered 5.2 million live video streams and 109 million page views related to its coverage in the hours after the story broke, sourcing Omniture numbers. CNN Mobile video streams increased by 278% over the prior 4-week ave., according to Bango Mobile Analytics
• The live stream on BBC.com‘s new North American-facing site launched just 3 months ago attracted some 778,000 views following the rescue
• UnivisionNoticias.com‘s coverage yielded 2.6 million page views, a 22% spike over the previous record set in Sept. of this year, according to Univision Interactive Media

 
The NBA and IPTV specialist NeuLion, Inc. announced a number of enhancements to the NBA League Pass International subscription product for the 2010-11 NBA season. The HDTV service will distribute live feeds of up to 40 games/week to over 200 countries, supporting multiple simultaneous game viewing and other features. The service will be available to view on select mobile devices as well for the first time.
 
MTV has recruited heartthrob Justin Bieber to host special digital coverage of the 2010 EMA awards in Madrid held in conjunction with the show. Justin will be tweeting and interacting live through a number of new, exclusive features added to the web simulcast. AttracTV will power interactive overlays, which can be switched on over the EMA live-stream exclusively.
 

 
Facebook completed another key integration, this time with web-based communications platform Skype. Users of the recently updated Skype 5.0 can utilize Facebook Connect to log in, view news feeds, make status updates and “like” or comment on Facebook posts without leaving Skype’s client software. They can also place free Skype-to-Skype voice or video calls to any of their Facebook friends if they’re also Skype users, with multiple conversations supported. Skype says video calls accounted for approximately 40% of all Skype-to-Skype minutes during the first half of the year.
 
Babelgum struck a partnership with Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) to distribute its unique brand of sketch comedy. Babelgum is commissioning UCBcomedy to create original videos that will air each month exclusively on Babelgum’s online and on air Comedy Channel, beginning Monday, Oct. 18.
 
CSI creator Anthony Zuiker lent the villain from his digi-novel Level 26: Dark Origins to CSI last night as a way to promote the launch of the second book in his series, Level 26: Dark Prophecy. A total of 10 “cyber-bridges” are also being released this week on YouTube to tease viewers.
 
Realtime Q&A online and mobile service ChaCha has closed on a $20 million round of financing from new investors VantagePoint Venture Partners and Rho Ventures.
 

 
In case you weren’t convinced that the online ad market is back, Google reporting earnings of $7.67/share and revenues of $5.48 billion, exceeding analysts expectations by a healthy margin. Net income in the quarter ending Sept. 30 rose 32% to $2.17 billion, or $6.72 cents a share, from a year earlier. The company finally gave same guidance on display ads on sites such as YouTube, predicting $2.5 billion in revenue from this category this year with mobile ads contributing another $1 billion in 2010.
 
Yahoo has teamed with Dodge’s Ram Truck line to produce a new country music themed channel, the first time the company has developed a genre-specific music channel for a single advertiser. The site features music, blogs, news coverage, and original video programming.
 

 
As expected, the FCC proposed a set of new rules aimed at preventing wireless carriers from hitting customers with unexpected charges. The proposed rules would require providers to inform users when they reach their voice, text or data limits or are about to be hit with “shocking” international roaming charges. At its monthly meeting the FCC also proposed the creation of a mobility fund to spur 3G and 4G development in rural areas and once again tried to resurrect the CableCARD effort by trying to insure that all programming is supported and that extra fees are transparent on consumer bills.
 

 
American’s love affair with gadgets continues, despite the economic downturn, according to a new report from the Pew Interent & American Life Project.  85% of Americans now own a cell phone with that number jumping to 96% for the 18-29 year old demo. Three quarters (76%) of Americans own either a desktop or laptop computer, with laptop ownership spiking from 30% to 52% in the past 4 years. Other findings include:

• Some 47% of adults own an mp3 player such as an iPod, a nearly five-fold increase from the 11% who owned this type of device in early 2005
• 42% of Americans own a console gaming device (PlayStation, Xbox) with parents nearly twice as likely as non-parents to own one
• E-book readers (such as the Kindle) and tablet computers (such as the iPad) are still owned by a relatively modest number of Americans but are popular with traditional early adopter groups such as the affluent and highly educated

 
Apple‘s iPad is about to be a little easier to get a hold of, appearing at both AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores from Oct. 28. The deal is the first tie-up between Apple and Verizon in the U.S. and is believed to be a precursor to the release of the iPhone on Verizon next year. (Neither company has yet officially announced its launch.)
 

 
Open source web browser provider Mozilla named former Sybase executive Gary Kovacs as its new CEO, beginning work Nov. 8. The company announced a shakeup last May, when John Lilly stepped down as CEO.
 
Screenvision today has announced the closing of its acquisition by Shamrock Capital Growth Fund and the appointment of Travis Reid as the company’s new CEO.
 
Brand consultancy Brand Central LLC has upped Andrea Brent to VP/Consumer Product. She continues to report to Ross Misher, CEO.
 
Jerome Holbus, formerly of i2 Technologies, will be joining Marketron as VP/Professional Services and Pre-Sales.
 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

 
Playing off of all the media attention given to state-level Marijuana legalization efforts, TV Guide Network launched a new Weeds Awareness website to promote “National Weeds Awareness Week” and the launch of the Showtime Emmy-winning show on its air next week in syndication. Weeds, recently picked up for a 7th season on Showtime, has been an underground hit for years but its best night yet (the Season 6 premiere) attracted less than 2 million viewers. The campaign promises to “give concerned citizens a comprehensive opportunity to make-up for their lack of “Weeds” and to recognize the benefits of regular “Weeds” consumption.” Take a quiz to figure out which character you most closely relate to, view some classic anti-drug PSA’s or print Weeds bumper stickers to show your support. Sorry, no integrations with real pot sites like WeBeHigh.com, but TV Guide probably figures this crowd is already well aware of the show. Now, if they can only remember what channel its on.

Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis Digital
wayne@cynopsis.com
10.15.10

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ATTENTION JOB RECRUITERS FOR THE TELEVISION AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRY – send us your contact information so we can begin to build a database for referrals.  We get people all the time around the country asking us for names of local recruiters.  Help us out – send us your contact information, name, company, address, phone, email and fax.  NY and LA are great, but we also need names of firms in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, DC, and elsewhere.  We have people to send you!   Email your info to Trish@cynopsis.com.

JOB OPENING:  DIGITAL RSRCH MGR/DISNEY/CA: Min 4 yrs exp digital research, apt at media analytics tools, strong analytical & written skills, BA/BS req. Apply at: www.disneycareers.com (ID250326) (10/22)

JOB OPENING:  FREELANCE PROMO SCHEDULER/VH1 TV/NYC: Schedule daily promo logs, fulfill commitments, ensure accurate timings. Previous sked experience desired, exp w/ PTS/Gabriel/VCI a plus. Assignment up to 9 months. Resumes: vh1tempscheduler@vh1.com (10/22)

JOB OPENING:    DIRECTOR AD SALES MARKETING/Tennis Channel/NY: Liaison to Ad team providing Mktg support/solutions. Min 5yrs Agency/TV client services. Presentations, travel req, strong initiative. Res: HR@TheTennisChannel.com (10/22)

JOB OPENING: ON-AIR TV TRAFFIC ANCHOR LIVE TV/Various Markets: Join morning team at top TV station! Prior on-air exp is pref’d. Strong comm skills.  Exp w/ computers &  multitasker. Traffic demo & resume ASAP:  talent@traffic.com  (10/21)

JOB OPENING: TELEVISION AD SALES MANAGER/NYC or LA OFFICE: 10yrs+ TV Ad Agency or Sales exp. Minimum 5 yrs DRTV & Per Inquiry Sales Exp. Send resume & salary req’s to: adsalesmanagementexec@gmail.com (10/21)

JOB OPENING:  MKT/LOG COORDS (3) Tribune Creative Group/NYC: Motivated & positive attitudes a must. Fill daily promo logs for mult stations. Traffic dept ops & knwlg of Wide Orbit a +. BA deg pref’d. Resumes: apitchenik@tribune.com (10/20)

JOB OPENING: SR MNG EDITOR ONLINE/Current TV, LLC/San Fran: Generate content & mng efforts of online writing & video prod.  teams.  5 yrs exp media editing/producing in digital cont. Some travel. Info/apply: http://www.current.com (10/20)

JOB OPENING: DIR ONLINE PROD/Current TV, LLC/San Fran: Sprvs/dvlp projects, guiding efforts of digital content team. 7-10 yrs exp interactive media & video prod. More info/apply: http://www.current.com (10/20)

JOB OPENING: SOC MEDIA/PRGM CONTENT SPEC/ATL: Provide soc ntwking/on-line content support for on-air prog.1-3 yrs in online com & soc media in TV req. Exp w/ MS Excel/Word req.Drupal content mgt sys a + Res: recruiting@gmctv.tv (10/20)

JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ANALYST/HGTVAD SALES/NY:2 + yrs media research. Strong analytical/data interpretation skills. Media Research/team player. Apply, http://www.scrippsnetworks.com/careers.aspx?code=careers (10/20)

JOB OPENING: BIZ DEV EXEC/Established Animation/VFX/Graphics Studio/NYC. 4+yr Exp. Media/Post-Prod sales in Corp./Pharma, strong presentation skills, well connected, solid references Employment@MechanismDigital.com (10/19)

JOB OPENING: SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST/ESPN/NY: 2-3 Yrs in media/market research. Candidate must have strong analytical and problem solving ability. Send resumes to sara.e.corcoran@espn.com (10/19)

JOB OPENING: SR MGR AD SALES RESEARCH/MTVN: Enter Group/LA: 5+yrs media rsrch cable tv. expr.prof; media math, Nielsen, mri, starmedia. strong analytic & inter-personal Skills. EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (10/19)

JOB OPENING: PROMOTIONS PRODUCER/MUSIC CHOICE/NY: Exp Producer/FCP Editor needed to create effective & engaging On-Air promo content. 3+ yrs network exp, preferably in Creative Services. http://musicchoicecareers.iapplicants.com/ (10/16)

JOB OPENING: EXEC DIRECTOR OF PRICING AND PLANNING/Fox Cable Networks/NY: 8+yrs Pric/Plan exp + mgmt exp. Mission critical analysis of inventory/pricing. Expert w/Ad sales systems/ Excel. Apply: www.foxcareers.com , Ref FNG0000051 (10/16)

JOB OPENING: GRAPHICS OPERATOR/NESN/MA: Utilize Chyron Duet in fast-paced live studio operations to design,& implement graphics for the purpose of advancing the creativity & complexity of program graphic presentation www.nesn.com (10/16)

JOB OPENING: COUNSEL, WE tv&WEDDING CENTRAL,RAINBOW/NY: Draft & negotiate contracts & handle diverse entertainment legal issues. Must have JD, 3+ yrs relevant inhouse and/or law firm experience. Apply: execrec@cablevision.com (10/16)

INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free , and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at trish@cynopsis.com.

INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY.  START ASAP.  RESEARCH INTERNS/TWO CATS PRODUCTIONS/NYC: Interns wanted to research and develop new TV show ideas. Please send resumes robyn@twocatstv.com (10/22)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED …  There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad … for more information contact Trish Pihonak at trish@cynopsis.com

SITUATION WANTED: MEDIA SALES/MARKETING STRATEGIST/NY: Extensive exp in all forms of media.  print/OOH/digital. Smart consultative seller. Can identify new niche markets and profitably re-purpose content. Contact: slehman@optonline.net (10/22)

SITUATION WANTED:  EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT position film/tv (NY) 10 years experience: Interned for a President, Executive Assistant to SVP/VP/film director/celebrity petermichael0809@hotmail.com (10/22)

SITUATION WANTED:  EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT: experienced script writer/educational consultant seeking projects in children’s programming. Ph.D. in English, literacy emphasis. Preschool/lower elementary experience. LM@smelserwriting.com (10/21)

SITUATION WANTED:  RIGHTS CLEARANCE PROFESSIONAL(NY) 20+yrs exp. researcher & contract negotiator Intellectual Property commercial licensing: Music/Clips/Photos/People/etc. Copyright/TM/PD research specialist nycsalto1@yahoo.com (10/21)

SITUATION WANTED:  TELEVISION AND CORPORATE VIDEO PRODUCER. Field produce, interview subjects, supervise crew and editing.Can travel anywhere. callingmartha@yahoo.com (10/20)

SITUATION WANTED: MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS(CHI/Virtual)20+ years marketing and communications for major media brands, a best-selling book, corporate events, websites, more. email diane@rebootthemedia.com (10/20)

SITUATION WANTED: UNSCRIPTED PROD/WRITER/DIR: 10+ yrs. Network/cable/net credits; docu-soap/competition/talk; 3 Emmy noms; wears many hats. LA based, will travel. ophelial@earthlink.net (10/20)

SITUATION WANTED:  Part/almost full time ASS’T /west side LA for writ/dir/prod as I finish book. 15yrs exp as ass’t,VP Dev&Prod. Double Ivy! Discrete, phenom problem solver, good taste, skills,& humor—usually. thewomencomeandgo@gmail.com (10/20)

SITUATION WANTED: MEDIA SALES EXECUTIVE (Atl) with 10 yrs exp. & proven revenue growth track record seeks Account Manager position in the field of media sales (TV/Radio), merch licensing,or online ad sales. Contact: ExpAccMan@yahoo.com (10/19)

SITUATION WANTED: MEDIA SALES/MARKETING MANAGER/LA: 15+ years experience in educational, documentary, advertising media sales,product,biz development True Closer!!!!! vroom526@aol.com (10/19)

SITUATION WANTED: Dedicated & Experienced ADV. SALES PLANNER (NY) Sales proposals, resolving client discrepancies, quarterly post analysis, special sales service projects, expert computer skills. Contact- runelyon@aol.com (10/19)

SITUATION WANTED: PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER Accredited, award-winning PR professional w/ 7 yrs exp. Successful track record in managing integrated marketing campaigns. Seeking communications mgr position. Contact: jppublicist@gmail.com (10/16)

E-mail Trish@cynopsis.com or call Trish Pihonak at 203.381.9096 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

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