Cynopsis: DIGITAL
09/10/10
Good morning, it’s Friday, September 10, 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.
Long frustrated by seemingly random App Store rules and regulations, developers will be happy to learn that Apple says it is easing restrictions on new apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad. Specifically, developers will be able to create apps using previously restricted programs such as Adobe‘s Flash or Google’s ad technology, as long as the apps they build don’t require Flash code to run within them. This should be a shot in the arm for Adobe as well as a big time saver for developers, who can more easily develop apps for multiple smartphone platforms from a single a program.
Netflix reached another streaming media deal securing first-run movies during the Pay TV window, this time with Nu Image/Millennium Films, per the WSJ. The studio will supply Netflix with between 5-10 titles per year, some months after they are released on DVD.
ContentFilm’s Fireworks International has struck a deal with Rainbow Media, giving the London-based company distribution rights to a wide range of original web series from Sundance Channel and IFC. Titles include Sundance’s “Dream States,” Webby Award winner “The Captive,” environmental-themed “Yung Yeti” and IFC’s “Dead and Lonely.”
Cinemax‘s HD TV Everywhere site MAXGO.com officially launched to Verizon FiOS customers offering online access to some 700 hours of movies and original shows from the network’s adult-oriented Max After Dark category.
Hyperlocal online news technology provider DataSphere has landed $10 million in a series C round of funding led by OVP Venture Partners with existing investors Ignition Partners and Fisher Communications also participating. DataSphere is now working to build out hyperlocal sites with station groups Gannett, Raycom Media, Fisher and Hubbard Broadcasting.
Fast growing online video platform Ooyala raised a fourth round of funding that more than doubles its previous rounds, landing an additional $22 million from new and existing investors. The CID Group and Tokyo-based Itochu led the round. Ooyala, which currently has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Sydney and Guadalajara, will use part of the funds to expand into Asia.
Further building out its reach among the other gender, Glam Media acquired Germany-based Men’s vertical Fantastic Zero from owners Holtzbrinck Digital GmbH and Publigroupe S.A. Fantastic Zero’s network of sites specializes in lifestyle, sports, technology entertainment and gaming.
Online ad services firm PubMatic pushes into the mobile space in a new partnership with mobile ad optimization platform Smaato. The deal will give publishers who work with PubMatic at the premiere level ad network optimization help for multiple mobile platforms including iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows.
Online video entertainment site Metacafe saw a chance to jumpstart its Sports vertical, acquiring Action Sport Inc., purveyor of extreme sports site Go211.com with an ave. monthly audience of 4.5 million unique users. Metacafe will keep the site in place and plans to mine clips from Go211’s live coverage of BMX, snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding events to build out its upcoming Metacafe Sports category, according to Metacafe CEO Erick Hachenburg, who did not rule out further acquisitions.
CDN Akamai says it has simplified the streaming standards used to deliver HD video to the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. New “in network” packaging will enable content providers to leverage their existing H.264 and MPEG4 video workflows to seamlessly package content to the format required for playback on iOS devices.
Those corny glasses, the high cost of equipment and the limited availability of 3D content will limit the adoption of 3D television for years to come, according to a new study jointly released by Nielsen and The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM.) Conducted at the Las Vegas-based “CBS TV City Media Lab,” the study did turn up some positives for the emerging technology, which many participants had already been exposed to in movies or at theme parks. Findings included:
- 57% of viewers agreed 3DTV made them feel like they were “part of the action” and 48% felt it made them more engaged with what they were watching
- 47% said 3DTV would make them watch programs they wouldn’t normally watch
- 77% perceived 3DTV viewing to be better suited to special events, such as movies or sporting events, as opposed to everyday viewing
- the top genres consumers are interested in viewing in 3D ranged from broadly appealing genres (sports, movies, action/adventure programming) to niche genres (nature/animal shows, travel, sci-fi and music concerts)
- 42% of respondents cited interest in playing video games in 3D, with seven-out-of-ten (71%) hardcore or regular gamers interested in 3D video games
The average number of apps that smartphone app downloaders have on their phones is now 27, up from 22 in December 2009, according to Nielsen‘s August App Playbook survey. Games continue to be the most popular category by far, with 61% of smartphone owners and 52% of feature phone owners reporting using a games app in the past 30 days. Weather apps are next (55%/39%), followed by Maps (50%/30%) and Social Networking (49%/32%). Not surprisingly, Facebook is the most popular individual app on all of the major operating systems.
Signaling their acceptance into the mainstream, popular eBook readers such as the Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook will soon be available at your local Best Buy, the company announced. Office supply store Staples was the first brick-and-mortar outlet to stock the Kindle earlier this year.
HD video platform Zixi announced a new 1080p, 60 frames per second-quality Over-the-Top video TV platform with hardware provider Netgear. The system allows synchronization of multiple video and audio inputs during broadcasting, enabling Zixi to integrate live video feeds to and from different geographic locations in the world. Netgear plans to sell the NeoTV 550 HD OTT set-top beginning next month in North American for $220 and Europe for 200 euros.
Managed file delivery service Smartjog launched a free iPhone app enabling tracking of incoming and outgoing digital files.
Gordon McLeod announced he is stepping down as President of the Wall Street Journal Digital Network, effective Oct. 1. His colleague Ann Sarnoff, President of Dow Jones Ventures, is also departing to join BBC Worldwide America as COO under new chief Herb Scannell.
Former Action Sports CEO Sean Aruda will join Metacafe as Chief Revenue Officer as part of Metacafe’s acquisition of the company.
Online audience management service provider Demdex announced a quartet of new hires: Chris Robison joins as SVP/Product & Strategy; Nick Jordan as VP/Partner Solutions, Chris Rogers as VP/Sales and Paul Mackles as VP/Data Architecture. The company raised $6 million in Series A funding earlier this year, led by Shasta Ventures.
Discovery’s production studio Discovery Studios named Jocelyn Shearer as VP/Footage Sales. She comes over from National Geographic where she was VP/Video Products and Archive Management.
Digital music and video distributor The Orchard hired Jakob Kuznicki, former GM of Musiwave and VP at Jamba, to run its Berlin office as VP of Germany and Austria.
Don Gabriel was named VP/Sales for Encompass Digital Media, Inc., succeeding Vince Matherne, who has been promoted to VP/Strategic Development.
The competition to woo leagues to major fantasy football online platforms such as ESPN, CBS and Yahoo has become as competitive as the gridiron sport itself. (For instance, Yahoo was forced to break down and give its live stat-tracker away for free, a $10 per player upgrade that was long the portal’s most consistent revenue generator.) NFL.com is utilizing the resources of its broadcast network to raise the bar on the Fantasy Football roundtable show. NFL.com’s Fantasy Football division kicks off a new 90-minute interactive rundown studio show this weekend dubbed NFL Fantasy Live, streaming 11:30 am – 1 pm ET every Sunday morning (in other words, leading right up to the kick off of each week’s slate of games.) NFL Network reporters will provide live updates from around the country and hosts will field questions on air from NFL.com fantasy players to try and help you decide who to start and who to sit. Viewers may send questions to @nflfantasy for a chance to have their questions discussed on the show or responded to via Twitter. If a player on your roster is mentioned as inactive on-air, that player will appear on the “inactives module” on a viewer’s screen as well as being highlighted in the user’s “team section.” The video quality should be superb, particularly if you choose to download Akamai’s NetSession client to view the show. Next up for Fantasy programmers is to figure out how to get around office firewalls that try to keep their employees at least somewhat on task.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM ROVI CORPORATION
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With DVRs, on-demand, and online video, people are spending a lot less time watching live TV:
- Only 52% of Americans’ viewing time is spent on live TV.
- 86% of time-shifting viewers always fast-forward through ads.
(Morpace, 8/10)
(Deloitte, 7/10)
Rovi TV guides give you a DVR-proof way to reach engaged viewers in up to 15.8MM households … before they make their viewing choice.
Download our media kit today: http://www.roviadvertising.com.
Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
[email protected]
09.10.10
Cynopsis Ad Sales:
Mike Farina – VP/Business Development & Sales – 203-218-6480 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-381-9096 / [email protected]
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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 [email protected].
JOB OPENING: VP, BRAVO SALES RSRCH NEW POSITION FOR BRAVO RESEARCH! Mng team of 3 to support Bravo nat’l TV, online, & new media ad sales & mktg staff w/rsrch-based strategic direction. Apply@ www.nbcunicareers.com (Job #1242517) (9/17)
JOB OPENING: VP, STRATEGIC INSIGHTS/Women@ NBCU NEW POSITION FOR WOMEN@ NBCU! Lead insights producer for research-driven, Women-focused sales initiative within NBCU. Apply@ www.nbcunicareers.com (Job #1242508) (9/17)
JOB OPENING: MGR, STANDRD PRACTICES/DISNEY/BURBANK -work in multiple databases, analyze & code spots, some comm. clear., promo review. www.disneycareers.com Req 257954 (9/17)
JOB OPENING: RSRCH MGR/TELEMUNDO: Responsible for design & implementation of sales rsrch strategies for Telemundo across all platforms includ new media. 5 yrs exp media rsrch field. Apply@ www.nbcunicareers.com (Job # 1252455) (9/17)
JOB OPENING: DIG. SALES RSRCH ANALYST/CNBC/ Englewood Cliffs, NJ: craft stories about CNBC’s dig. media aud. Dvlp persuasive insights & analysis. Strategically position CNBC’s portfolio of dig properties. NBCCareers.com req#1257193 (9/17)
JOB OPENING: VP, DIG. VIDEO/VOD/PORT WASH NY: Help grow VOD & Dig. Dist div. 5yrs+ exp dig. video & TV-VOD mktplace. Execute mktg campaigns for release TV & film releases on VOD & Dig. platforms. Resume to: [email protected] (9/17)
JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC COORDINATOR/The Hotel Networks/NY: 1+ yrs traffic exp; Load & schedule multi-network commercial logs, maintain commercial library, log recon; Detail-oriented; Team-Player; resumes to [email protected] (9/16)
JOB OPENING: MGR-SYFY, USA & EMERGING NETS PRIMARY RSRCH/NYC: Plan, design, analyze & report consumer rsrch projects. Min 5yrs exp in surveys, focus groups & data analysis desired. BA/BS Req. www.nbcunicareers.com (job #1241336) (9/16)
JOB OPENING: MANAGER, CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS/DAILYMOTION US/NY: oversee content acquisition strategy; responsible for partnerships/negotiations; financial modeling/licensing skills. Resume to [email protected] (9/16)
JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ANALYST/Sony Pictures Television Latin America / Miami FL: 4+ yrs of mrkt rsrch stats analysis exp req, fully bilingual, entertainment/TV Industry exp. To learn more visit www.sonypicscareers.com (9/15)
JOB OPENING: SR RESEARCH DIRECTOR/Turner Sports/NY: 8+yrs TV /other media rsrch. Profic. media math & analyzing TV measurement data. High proficiency MS EXCEL PP Word. Bachelors req. Res: [email protected] (9/15)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLICITY/The Hub/LA: Must strong publicity and corp comm exp, preferably for broadcast net and/or major cable net. Apply at http://thehub.catsone.com/careers (9/15)
JOB OPENING: ACCT. SUPERVISOR/FerenComm/NYC: 5-7 yrs exp. in TV PR, strong contacts w/trade & consumer press a must.Apply to [email protected] (9/15)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH MGR/GSN/NY: 5+ yrs in TV/Digital research. Tracking Advertising Sales with Nielsen data software. BA req. Please send res and c/l with salary history to [email protected] (9/14)
JOB OPENING: DIR, INTERACTIVE SALES/Proven Digital Sales & Sales Mgmt exp w/ relevant rolodex of relationships @ Client/Agency Direct/Exp matrix org pref’d/Ability to commute to Long Island a must: Res: [email protected] (9/14)
JOB OPENING: DIR, BRAND MARKETING/MULTI-MEDIA COMPANY/NY: Reinvigorate iconic brand; transform advertising, promo/publicity, vendors and budget. Digital experience req; flex to be strategic and hands-on. [email protected] (9/14)
JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC COORD/CABLEVISION/WOODBURY NY: 1 yr Ad Traffic exp. w/ major ad serving system. Interest in new digital media. DART, HTML a plus. See full posting and apply to www.cablevision.jobs req 12024BR (9/14)
JOB OPENING: DIGITAL RESEARCH ANALYST/Scripps Networks/NY: 3+ Yrs in digital media research. Must have web analytics tools, Omniture, WebTrends, & syndicated research products. Apply, http://www.scrippsnetworks.com (9/11)
JOB OPENING: COORD SALES DEV & PROMOTIONS/NICK/Viacom Consumer Products/NYC: 1+yrs Marketing/Cons Prod exp, Strng Comm/Org/Detail skills, Strng knwlege NICK brand, popculture, MS Office skills Apply www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (9/11)
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 [email protected].
FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: TWO INTERNS/Reality TV company/LA: Students interested in development from beginning to end. Must be Mac & Powerpoint proficient; prefer Photoshop & video editing. Email resume: [email protected] (9/15)
FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Reality TV company seeks two interns fall semester. Students interested in development from beginning to end. Must be Mac & Powerpoint proficient; prefer Photoshop & video editing. Email resume: [email protected] (9/11)
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 [email protected]
SITUATION WANTED: EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT position film/tv (NY) 10 years experience: Interned for a President, Executive Assistant to SVP/VP/film director/celebrity [email protected] (9/17)
SITUATION WANTED: EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/LA. TV/commercials. 2 years experience. Office and production abilities, excellent with digital media and social networking. Looking to join agency or management company. [email protected] (9/17)
SITUATION WANTED: Focused and results-oriented professional experienced in leading and operating Digital and Online marketing organizations in dynamic, competitive environments. Contact [email protected] (9/17)
SITUATION WANTED: ADMIN OR ASST POSITION WANTED/NYC: 3+ yrs admin exp at well-known companies in exec assistance, licensing, prod development, marketing, with specialization in children’s TV. Creative & professional. [email protected] (9/17)
SITUATION WANTED: Jr. Prod/Casting Assoc: Experience Casting (host/personality/expert/comedy/reality/doc), news/research, TV/Web video w/FCP, coord. skills + live TV. Creative w/great sense of humor. [email protected] (9/15)
SITUATION WANTED: DIGITAL MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY/CABLE ATTORNEY: Broad in-house exp incontent distribution, digital media, technology licensing,affiliate & ad sales. Avail for project/consultant/FT. Contact [email protected] (9/15)
SITUATION WANTED: Former PA to ABC’s THE VIEW looking to help Talent dept facilitate non-press requests for TV/Film talent. Handle logistics fortalent appearances at charity & VIP events, and award shows. Skerlee (at) hotmail.com (9/15)
SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION MGR . 20+ yr NYC exp-live ent/news/sports/talk/mag/docs: studio/remote-Casual strng style hands-on-gr8 at bld/guide team.Cap & op bdgt/rept/ fcast. Fmr CAM/LD/TD/P-D. Contact: [email protected] (9/11)
SITUATION WANTED: Dedicated & Experienced ADV. SALES PLANNER (NY) Sales proposals, resolving client discrepancies, quarterly post analysis, special sales service projects, expert computer skills. Contact- [email protected] (9/11)
SITUATION WANTED: POWERHOUSE ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC MKT EXEC (LA):15 YRS EXP IN PARTNERSHIPS, MKT, DIGITAL, INT’L, etc.FORMER VP WALT DISNEY CO. RESPONSIBLE FOR HIGHEST GROSSING ENT PROPERTIES WORLDWIDE. [email protected] (9/11)
E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203.381.9096 for rates and specs for Job Openings.
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