Cynopsis: DIGITAL
10/03/08
Good morning, it’s Friday, October 3, 2008, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.
It looks as though the iTunes store will stay open after all. The three-member Copyright Royalty Board voted yesterday to freeze the rate that digital music stores are required to pay to music publishers. The decision keeps royalty rates at 9.1 cents/track instead of raising it to 15 cents/track, a 66% increase. With an estimated 70 cents of every 99 cents song going to music labels the increase would have decimated the already razor thin profit margin Apple makes off the sales of online music.
~ MULTIPLATFORM CONTENT NEWS ~
Nokia‘s all you can listen to “Comes with Music” bundle added EMI tracks to its offering. The service, which will sell for 130 pounds ($230) 12 months in the UK from Oct. 16, allows subscribers to download unlimited Universal, Sony BMG and Warner Music tracks and allows customers to store the songs on their phone during the subscription period. Nokia also unveiled a new phone that will work with the service, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – its first touchscreen model. The handset, not expected to be available in the U.S. until next year, will ship with an 8GB microSD card, surround sound speakers, Wi-Fi capabilities, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a 3.2 megapixel camera.
TheWB.com will debut three new original series this month beginning with High Drama: Against All Oz on Oct. 6, a behind-the-scenes look at a high school production of The Wizard of Oz. Rich Girl, Poor Girl, a new unscripted series from the creators of Laguna Beach, will also debut October 20, along with small town soap Downers Grove premiering in mid-October.
Missing the Olympics already? UniversalSports, the jv between NBC Sports and InterMedia (formerly known as WCSN), has added some new content from the 2008 Beijing games including an 8-part spread dedicated to Michael Phelps. The site’s business model, formerly subscription based, is still under discussion but as right now everything is available for free. Upcoming live events include the FINA Swimming World Cup and the Chicago and New York Marathons.
U.S. Hispanic service V-me launched a mobile service designed to complement the channel’s linear programming. Planned services include SMS voting and polling, subscription content services, ringtones and video. Up-Mobile is powering the offering.
~ INNOVATORS & START-UPS ~
EchoStar’s Sling Media is getting ready to test its Sling.com video portal. The site will provide access to a library of TV shows, movies and made-for-the-web videos, along with social functionality and live television feeds via a connected Slingbox. The company sent out an email yesterday to those who signed up as beta testers One of the cooler features expected here will be the ability to create customized playlists and mashups to share with friends.
Interactive video tool provider Ved.io is putting its two-screen video & text solution to work providing additional facts, analysis, quotes and historical perspective to the presidential debates. The supplemental information box loads alongside the video stream. The service itself is in closed beta but anyone can check out the debate content.
~ GADGETS & APPS ~
A version of EA’s Spore Origins created for the iPhone is getting rave reviews for its playability and relative affordability (it’s $10 instead of $50 – what the PC game is going for.) Tilt, turn, and twist your way through the primordial ooze with your motion-sensing accelerometer. The game features customizable skins, two modes (Evolution and Survival) and 30 different levels. Games continue to dominate paid Apps on the platform, particularly ones that utilize the accelerometer.
Top 10 Paid Apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch (As of Oct. 2.)
- Cro-mag Rally (games)
- 300 Bowl (games)
- Solebon Solitarie (games)
- The Stone of Destiny (games)
- Line Rider iRide (games)
- PocketGuitar (music)
- Koi Pond (entertainment)
- Crash Banidcoot Nitro Kart 3D (games)
- Air Hockey (games)
- Jewel Quest II (games)
Source: Apple
Broadband-based movie service Vudu unveiled a new higher quality format that will deliver a selection of HD-quality movies to the Vudu set top. HDX movies, which can be ordered on an a la carte basis online or from the Vudu box, will play back in 1080p at 24/frames per second but will require a 3-4 hour download.
~ TECHNOLOGY DEALS, MERGERS AND SKIRMISHES ~
Eastman Kodak is the first digital cinema vendor to (indirectly) benefit from the multi-studio financing pact struck this week as Paramount now turns its attention toward smaller theaters. The studio signed an agreement with the Rochester, NY-based company to pay for digital upgrades in theaters not covered under the DCIP agreement. Paramount will pay a virtual print fee (about $1,000/film) every time one of its movies screens on a Kodak system.
~ DIGITAL ADVERTISING ~
Msnbc.com is adding self-service online display advertising to the mix via a partnership with AdReady. The service offers local retailers and business a way to design their own customized ads to run on the msnbc.com within a limited geographical footprint for as little as $50 per day. Seattle-based AdReady provides tools to build effective creative and measure performance of the campaigns.
Avowed supporter of overlay video ads, YouTube is succumbing to an industry trend by testing post-roll video ads, notes NewTeeVee.
~ TRENDS, RESEARCH, ETC. ~
ABC took the top spot this week among Hitwise‘s ad supported broadcast network website rankings, edging out NBC and easily besting CBS, which held the top spot most of the summer. Hitwise also factored in PBS Online in a separate ranking for the first time and the site drew a 36% share of the broadcast-related traffic for the week – nearly double that of its closest competitor ABC – as Americans turned to site for news on the political race and the financial crisis. Dancing with the Stars was the #1 ranked TV show site following its premiere while NBC’s Heroes jumped up to the #3 spot from #10. On the cable side CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight was tops among the cable networks (adult only) moving up from #7 the previous week.
Top Visited US Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Sites (Week ending Sept. 27 2008)
Rank Network Website Market Share of Visits
1 ABC www.abc.com 28.77%
2 NBC www.nbc.com 28.62%
3 CBS www.cbs.com 21.52%
4 FOX* www.fox.com 13.13%
5 The CW www.cwtv.com 6.85%
6 MNTV www.mynetworktv.com 1.11%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise, *includes traffic aggregated from stand alone websites americanidol.com, amw.com, familyguy.com, thelot.com and thesimpsons.com.
Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Sites (Week ending Sept. 27, 2008)
Rank Network Website Market Share of Visits
1 ABC Dancing With The Stars 15.01%
2 NBC American’s Got Talent 8.84%
3 NBC Heroes 6.37%
4 NBC The Biggest Loser 4.26%
5 ABC Grey’s Anatomy 3.32%
6 FOX Terminator: Sarah Connor 3.30%
7 FOX America’s Most Wanted 3.25%
8 NBC The Office 3.15%
9 NBC Deal or No Deal 2.39%
10 CBS NCIS 2.30%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
Top Visited US Cable Network TV Show Sites – Excluding Children’s Programming (Week ending Sept. 27, 2008)
Rank Network Website Market Share of Visits
1 CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight 5.06%
2 Comedy Central South Park 4.97%
3 Fox News O’Reilly Factor 4.30%
4 Comedy Central The Daily Show 3.66%
5 BET 106 & Park 3.64%
6 MTV The Hills 2.97%
7 Food Network Paula’s Home Cooking 2.36%
8 Fox News Hannity & Colmes 2.21%
9 MSNBC Countdown w/Keith O. 2.07%
10 Bravo Project Runway 1.96%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
~ WEBSITE OF THE DAY ~
With the incredible amount of content now available online, discovering new sources and deciding what to watch is becoming paramount for web users. TVGuide.com’s Online Video Guide has put together a wonderfully visual interface to identify shows that originate from TV networks. Sites like Hulu and Joost are great portals for professionally produced fare and increasing selection of indie web shows. But what about all the other stuff? Check out OVGuide.com for the web’s most comprehensive database of video sites and services from all around the globe, sortable by type, genre, popularity, rating, etc. Interested in finding a new politically-themed site? There are over 50 to choose from here. OVGuide also indexes various aggregators such as Streamick, a user-built website that provides links and direct feeds to free English language web TV services available on the internet with 238 currently active feeds listed. OVGuide currently indexes more than 2,500 destinations and that number is growing daily.
Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
10.03.08
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JOB OPENING: MANAGER, DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TELEVISION / Washington, DC: 5 yrs exp in Giant Screen Film Industry. EOE. Apply to JOB ID 3651 at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/jobs (10/10)
JOB OPENING: SR RSRCH ANLYST-ASST/Lifetime / NY: Analyze & prdce reprts, suppt Ad Sales & Finance, daily & compet rtgs reprt; incl lght admin wrk. Exp TV Rsrch/data anlyst/StarTrak/Galax Expl; http://www.mylifetime.com/about-us/jobs (10/10)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH DIRECTOR/Lifetime/NY: Support Digital, VOD & Ad Sales plus perform Primary Rsrch;Primary contact for all Digital Ad Sales request. Trck wkly/mntly data for VOD, Apply: http://www.mylifetime.com/about-us/jobs (10/10)
JOB OPENING: ANALYST DIGITAL NETWORK MEDIA/Sony Pictures/CA: Assist in sales activities involved in developing proposals & supporting AE sales activities for RFPs. Media exp required. Apply: www.sonypicturesjobs.com Req# 700795 (10/10)
JOB OPENING: MGR PARTNERSHIPS/Lifetime/NY: Dev integrated ad sales proposals for advertisers int in partnering w/ Lifetime brand on TV, online, VOD & wireless. Bckgd in media, prod & mktg a plus: www.mylifetime.com/about-us/jobs (10/10)
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JOB OPENING: VP BUS AFFRS/LA: Acq/dist/mktg wrk for prg & dist actvties. Strct/neg/drft/serv-deals/agrmt, mtkg/promo, dom/intl licns, acquis & biz affrs. 7+ yr lwyer @ firm, 4+ yr TV & mem of CA or NY Bar. Res: [email protected] (10/9)
JOB OPENING: BUS AFFRS ATTRNEY/LA: Prod deals w/ dev & acq. Advse execs/clients on bus strctres/labr/guild/intell prp. Rview bdgts & licns. 5yrs lwyer @ firm & 3 yrs in TV. Membr of CA or NY Bars. Res: [email protected] (10/9)
JOB OPENING: AFFILIATE RELATIONS: Input clearances in Station Clearance System for region stations. Negot make goods for netwrk distribut. Day-to-day contact w/stations . Apply: www.disneycareers.com Req 179259 EOE (10/9)
JOB OPENING: EXPERIENCED PRODUCER AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Wanted for animated pre-school properties based in New York City. Animation production experience required. Email [email protected] (10/9)
JOB OPENING: NYC ENTERTAINMENT CO INVESTMENT FUND ACCOUNTANT: 3yrs exp Fund/investment/endowment a+ Day2day acctg for funds 1/4ly reports-wk/w fund mgrs/banks- Deg nec. [email protected] 60-70K (10/8)
JOB OPENING: AD SALES MKTG MGR, DIGITAL/Zoom Media NY: Develop advertising & mktg solutions for clients; produce proposals illustrating Zoom’s Digital media offerings; assist in client mtgs. 2-4 yrs. media mktg exp. Send resume & cover ltr: [email protected] (10/8)
JOB OPENING: PROMOTIONS PRODUCER/FINAL CUT EDITORS/LX.TV/NY: Promotions producer / editor needed immediately for LX.TV prods. 3 yrs exp. in producing, writing & editing promos w/ Final Cut pref’d. Resumes to [email protected] (10/8)
JOB OPENING: MGR AFFILIATE MKT/ION/NY: develop plans/implement campaigns for IMN properties bachelors required, 5-7 yrs. in Mrkt, 3-5 yrs in cable affiliate sales and mkt./must multitask [email protected]. EOE (10/8)
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JOB OPENING: PRODUCTION MANAGER /NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL/Washington, DC: 2+ yrs exp in long form documentary. EOE. Apply to JOB ID 3601 at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/jobs (10/7)
JOB OPENING: RESRCH MGR/PRGM AND MKTG/Lifetime/LA: TV/Data Anlys in Prgming, Mktg Affil Distr. Prep reprts for ratings/comp perform. Est prgm/sched chges. Star Trak/Nielsen sys, and strng math. Res: [email protected] (10/7)
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JOB OPENING: MANAGER PRODUCTION /ABC-Burbank: Support Disney XD/SOAPnet, BA/BS, 6-8 year’s series, post supvsr/producer or production mgr. Movie Magic/Excel, Network & Union/Guild knowledge, www.disneycareers.com Req. #178476 (10/7)
JOB OPENING: VP, OXYGEN AD SALES RESEARCH/NBCU/NY: Resp for research-based strategic direction of Oxygen. BA. Min 8 yrs exp in sales research at ntwrk. Apply: www.nbcunicareers.com (#849618) (10/4)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/ION/NY: Entry level, Nielsen/MRI, 1 yr broadcast or cable/media buying agency exp, College Degree req’d, Business Degree a +, proficient in media math/MSOffice. [email protected]. EOE (10/4)
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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: The Chamber Group is a full service PR firm seeking passionate interns! Internship is for credit only, w/compensation for travel/meals (min of 15 hrs/wk). Contact: Damali Elliott 212.366.5801/ [email protected] (10/7)
FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: MEDIA RESEARCH INTERN: Provides reporting & strategic insights & supports internal functions, incl. prgrmng, mktg, & sales. Provide reporting & analysis. Semester-long, unpaid. [email protected] (10/4)
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