A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM GSN
WHICH GSN ORIGINALS HAVE CROSS-PLATFORM CONTENT?
A. BINGO AMERICA
B. GSN LIVE
C. CATCH 21
D. ALL OF THE ABOVE
And the answer is … D! ALL GSN ORIGINALS enable our audience to participate with cross-platform content like BINGO AMERICA receiving over 13 million card downloads to date, GSN LIVE with its 2.5 million monthly contest entries and CATCH 21 , one of the most popular games on GSN.com! PLAY EVERY DAY.
Cyn opsis: DIGITAL
04/13/09
Good morning, it’s Monday, April 13, 2009, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.
Time Warner Cable COO Landel Hobbs addressed reports (and complaints) about the controversial consumption-based tiered broadband pricing scheme the company is testing in select markets in a macro-blog posting. Using a lunch date as an analogy in which your friend orders a steak and you get a salad, he defends the practice of charging heavy users more to connect to the internet, claiming that costs are rising to accommodate rapidly growing consumption (increasing at a rate of 40% a year). Accordingly, the company is developing a range of options from a super slow 768 KB/128 KB (1GB) service for $15/month to a 50 MB speed tier offered at $99/month. A 100 GB Road Runner Turbo package will go for $75 per month offering speeds of 10 MB down/1 MB up. Overage charges will be priced at $1 per GB per month if you go over your allotted download amounts, with fees capped at an additional $75. The plan has been taken to task for exorbitant pricing given the relatively low cost of rolling out DOCSIS 3.0 headend and modem upgrades.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM SOAPnet
SOAPnet Posts Double-Digit Growth Year Over Year
*-Prime +12%
-Total Day +21%
#1 in Viewer Loyalty
^Source: The Nielsen Company, Prime=M-S, 7p-12a.
*Galaxy Explorer, 12/29/08-3/22/09 vs. 12/31/07-3/23/08. % growth based on W18-49 Live + SD 000s.
^NPower, February 2009. 6 min. qualifier for Average Minutes Viewed and Frequency of Viewing among W18-49.
ESPN chose the day of the Cubs home opener to launch its first hyper-local site, ESPN Chicago. A collaboration between multiple divisions including ESPN Digital Media, ESPN production, ESPN Radio and local and regional sales teams, the site is the company’s first attempt to super-serve the interests of a single city’s sports fans with localized content including streaming audio feeds from Chicago’s ESPN Radio 1000, local blog posts and a daily video news report ESPN Chicago SportsCenter. The site also marks the debut of a new technology developed in house that allows for dynamic, geo-targeted content and ad insertion in both live audio streaming and downloadable audio.
Dish Network reached a multiyear carriage agreement with the NFL to carry the NFL Network as part of its Classic Silver 200 programming package. The deal was struck just in time for the NFL draft on April 25-26.
New media video distributor Koldcast TV signed its latest web series, Valley Peaks, an ensemble show spoofing overwrought shows like Beverly Hills: 90210 that revolve around beautiful people in all-too-dramatic situations. Young Kayvon Esmaili, Tanner Beard, Phil Jessen and Phil Donahue, founders of LA-based Chicken Cobra Productions, will produce and star in the series. A new episode will appear every Thursday for 24 weeks on Koldcast TV.com with a variety of extras including video blog entries and music videos.
Sundance Channel struck a multiplatform sponsorship deal with Subaru centered around eight-part original short-form series profiling active citizens who participate in environmental efforts and make smart, fun and responsible choices for themselves in their daily lives. A new episode of “Traction for Life” will premiere each week during the network’s “Eco Trip” programming block and will also be available on sundancechannel.com and Sundance Channel On Demand. iTVX research will measure the quality and impact of Subaru’s sponsorship and brand integration campaign.
It turns out that Bono’s experience as negotiator – he has prodding world leaders for years to tackle hunger issues more directly – proved instrumental in bringing Universal Music and Google together in their YouTube venture Vevo, according to the LA Times. Over dinner in Paris with UMG Chairman Doug Morris, Bono suggested he meet with Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt. Later Schmidt received an e-mail from Bono urging him to meet Morris. That spurred a trip to New York, where Schmidt says he was impressed by Morris’ ideas for new advertising and sponsorship models.
Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are in talks to buy back the VOIP service from eBay, per the NYTimes.
Portal rivals Microsoft and Yahoo have once again resumed their search partnership talks, reports the WSJ. The two companies are also discussing content-sharing agreements with Demand Media, which operates niche web sites and publishes and syndicates online content.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM THE WEATHER CHANNEL
New programming events are generating powerful results! Why I Love Spring Week – Mar 22-28
A25-54 Audience Grew +34% in Prime (M-Su 8p-11p) vs. prior 4 week average*
Let us show you how our multiplatform events can work for you!
Go to: www.twcmediakit.com Powerful Connections. Powerful Results.
*Source: Nielsen Media Research using Star MultiTrak; 3/22/09-3/28/09 vs. prior 4 week average
(2/22/09-3/21/09), Live, P25-54 (000), Mon-Sun 8p-11p, Subject to Qualifications
~ TRENDS, RESEARCH, ETC. ~
Google continues to increase its share of the U.S. search marketplace capturing 64% of all searches increasing its market share by 16% over the past year, according to Nielsen Online.
Top 10 Search Providers for March 2009, Ranked by Searches (U.S.)
Provider Searches (000) YOY Growth Share of Searches
All Search 9,522,853 16.7% 100.0%
Google Search 6,113,906 27.6% 64.2%
Yahoo! Search 1,505,426 1.7% 15.8%
MSN/Windows Live Search 982,661 0.3% 10.3%
AOL Search 356,569 6.6% 3.7%
Ask.com Search 197,957 -0.7% 2.1%
My Web Search Search 59,597 -15.1% 0.6%
Comcast Search 57,605 30.2% 0.6%
Yellow Pages Search 37,295 N/A* 0.4%
NexTag Search 22,432 -23.7% 0.2%
Dogpile.com Search 19,461 0.7% 0.2%
Source: Nielsen Online
Nielsen Online also identified an interesting new online category: Power Moms, a group of Moms who collectively make up 19% of the total online population who increasingly turn to the web to network, learn and provide information and advice to other parents. Among the top 10 sites ranked by unique viewer composition percent in Feb., eight featured predominantly children’s programming, indicating that moms are keeping up on what their kids watch online. PBS Kids was the number one online destination for “Power Moms,” with a composition percentage of 24.5, while Noggin and NickJr took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, with compositions of 22.2% and 21.7%, respectively.
Top 10 Online Destinations for “Power Moms by Unique Viewer Composition Percent
Site Unique Viewer Unique Viewers
Composition Percent
PBS Kids 24.5% 241,000
Noggin 22.2% 121,000
Nick Jr. 21.7% 492,000
Playhouse Disney 20.7% 199,000
Kohl’s 18.3% 203,000
Disney.com 17.8% 710,000
PBS 17.4% 125,000
DisneyChannel.com 17.2% 689,000
Nick 16.2% 415,000
Source: Nielsen Online VideoCensus, Feb. 2009
Women 24-54 with at least one child in the household, sites with a min. of 100k unique visitors
Amazon released a free app for trackball BlackBerrys such as the Bold or Curve 8900, enabling users to search, browse, purchase products, view customer reviews, track packages and access their wish lists.
The original App Store is gearing up for a major milestone of the 1 billionth downloaded app with a sweepstakes; register to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod Touch, a Time Capsule or a MacBook Pro.
Heavy.com has reappointed Joey Jodar as Director of East Coast Sales and is announcing the hiring of Judah Weidre and Tony Calega as Senior Director of West Coast Sales and Senior Media Strategic Planner, respectively. Joey and Tony will be based out of Heavy’s New York office while Judah will work from the Los Angeles office. Mr. Jodar comes to Heavy from Ripe Digital, where he served as SVP, Managing Director of Ripe’s New York office.
Former Executive Creative Director at Frankel Colleen Fahey returned to digital shop VerveLife as Chief Strategy Officer. She will be based in the Chicago office.
Apple investors should rest assured that Chairman and CEO Steve Jobs is still actively involved in overseeing key decisions of the company despite his leave of absence for health reasons, according to WSJ report.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM IAB
Position Yourself as a Digital Video Innovator
Major brands tell all: Pepsi, Unilever, Sprint
Canoe CEO David Verklin, boxee Founder Avner Ronin, Hulu VP Kevin McGurn
Network with an estimated $2 billion-plus in combined
advertising spend in the audience. Ensure your organization offers solutions marketers need. Drive your digital video
revenue. Leverage for success in tough economic times.
This event is filling up fast so don’t delay.
Cynopsis readers save $100 Register now with the code CYNOP
Web video writer-producer Hayden Black of Goodnight Burbank and Abigail’s Teen Dairy fame is hitting his stride in a new 20-episode spinoff of the former mock newscast show, Goodnight Burbank, Hollywood Report, currently featured exclusively on Babelgum. The not-ready-for-the 11-o’clock-hour Burbank news crew turns its dysfunction toward Tinseltown, parodying, among other issues, celebrity journalists’ irresponsible desire to revel in the star quality of their subjects. The writing, comic timing and multi layered satire represent an important next step in the maturation of web video for adults. The challenge will be to attract the kind of viewership the widely-distributed original Goodnight Burbank has enjoyed, given Babelgum’s limited exposure in the U.S. Black has received a “small amount” of upfront cash in return for giving Babelgum exclusive access for a year. The video sharing site, wholly owned and funded by Italian media mogul Silvio Scaglia whose content operations are based in the UK and Ireland, is making a valiant effort to attract quality original content. One approach is to host and partnering with a number of respected international film festivals. Babelgum’s P2P-structured video streaming technology delivers excellent quality video with relatively modest speed and processor requirements. And the platform sports a decent iPhone app in the US, UK, Italy, France, Germany and Spain with a Google Android app on the way. Yet the site’s user interface is utterly lacking in discovery and personalization features. Content appears to be thrown up randomly in just a few broad genres, making it extremely difficult to navigate. Good stuff like GNB:Hollywood Report, which receives little attention on the home page despite its exclusive status, unfortunately gets lost in the shuffle.
Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
04.13.09
Cynopsis Ad Sales:
Chuck Bolkcom, Pres/COO – 646-468-6180 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-926-9878 / [email protected]
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JOB OPENING: DIR, BUS AFFAIRS/ABC Daytime/SOAPNet/LA: Structure, negotiate, oversee wide variety of deals/prods; top analytic skills. JD+ min 5yrs exp in TV. Netwk/cable strongly pref’d. Apply www.disneycareers.com , Req ID# 188120 (4/18)
JOB OPENING: AD SALES ASST/Hallmark Channel/NY: Work w/ AE’s & Plan’rs to srvc/maintain agencies & clients daily. Entry level. Good for college grad. Full posting & apply: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/publish/consumer/home/jobs.html (4/18)
JOB OPENING: SR MGR PRICING & PLAN’G/AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions Nat’l Sales/NY: Dvlpmnt of IPTV advrtsng inv definition & pricing plan.Create process to interact w/ trafficking to fulfill orders & dvlp rate card. Res to: [email protected] (4/25)
JOB OPENING: AE-DIRECT RESPONSE/Hallmark Channel/NY: Min 3 yrs sales. See full posting and apply at www.hallmarkchannel.com (4/16)
JOB OPENING: MGR, SPON PLAN & ON AIR/IFC/NY: Temp role 3-5 yr (2-3 supr) traff/sched/media plan’g w/ cable net.dev promo plan’g & strat, fulfill sponsorship obligations& improve brand awareness. res: www.cablevision.jobs ref #8199BR (4/16)
JOB OPENING: SPECIALIST/ON DEMAND CONTENT/BETHPAGE NY: Mng data & publishing systems that enable daily op of Cablevision’s On Demand srvcs. 5yrs exp field of process/proj/database mngmnt req’d. Resume to: [email protected] (8/15)
JOB OPENING: MGR TALENT BUS. AFFAIRS/Discovery/LA: Neg. talent agreements, voice over deals etc. Liaise w/internal bus. units i.e. networks. Ex. writing/interpersonal skills. Knwlg of union/guild. Apply: www.discovery.com #8860 (8/15)
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE from ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES
Thursday, April 30, 2009
“David Attenborough said, before we can ask people to save the world, we have to make them fall in love with
the world.” — Jeffrey Hasler, accepting for Planet Earth, 2008 Television Academy Honors
Television has the power to enlighten, create awareness and encourage positive change.
CELEBRATE THIS YEAR’S HONOREES; CELEBRATE TELEVISION WITH A CONSCIENCE
For more information or to buy tickets, click here .
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] .
SUMMER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: TV AD SALES/ Katz Media, a leading rep firm, is seeking go-getter interns for 8 week NYC summer program. Learn TV Ad Sales working with Sales Assistants and Account Execs. Please contact [email protected] (4/14)
SUMMER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: TV SALES RSRCH/ Katz Media, a leading rep firm, is seeking go-getter interns for 8 wk NYC summer program.Analyze & interpret TV sales research, create rsrch materials. contact [email protected] (4/14)
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: Seeking asst work to a prod or exec in Scripted TV/Film Prod Co/Studio. Prior agency exp, exec assistant, & set PA work for major players/companies in LA & NY.Contact Jennifer @ [email protected] 323-496-1976 (4/17)
SITUATION WANTED: Local spot TV/RADIO buyer (NYC) Reliable experienced individual seeking FT or Freelance position at an advertising agency or buying service: immediate start. Please contact [email protected] (4/17)
SITUATION WANTED: Recent Harvard grad and FREELANCE WRITER will do pretty much anything involving words and writing them. Currently writing for a Gawker blog. Hard worker, strong writer, great bargain. (NYC) [email protected] (4/17)
SITUATION WANTED: AD SALES MKTG CONSULTANT: 20 yrs exp CBS, A&E, History, Comcast. Copywriter, producer, concept guy, strategist. Agency Skills/Ad Sales Expertise. All jobs considered. Reasonable rates. [email protected] (4/17)
SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE POST-PRODUCTION PRODUCER/NY. Years of experience with Broadcast Promos and Agency Commercials. Available for Editorial and Graphic Design projects. For resume & references email [email protected] (4/16)
SITUATION WANTED: PROJ/OPS MGR/NYC: Seeking the opp to work in on-air promos again, but open to other opps as well. Sev yrs cable on-air promo/new media & adops exp. Mang day-to-day ops of projs & campgs. [email protected] (4/16)
SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE VIDEO EDITING (LA) Valley artist with 5 years web video experience, has MAC with Final Cut Suite. For resume and more information, email Steve Porus at [email protected] (8/15)
SITUATION WANTED: CREATIVE SCRIPT DOCTOR with 16 yrs as Broadcast Exec/Network Story Editor can consult/edit/polish your TV or film pitch/bible/screenplay. Credits include DeGrassi, DaVinci & Dragon Boys. [email protected] (4/14)
SITUATION WANTED: 20+ yrs. experience in TV Broadcasting & Cable FINANCE/ACCOUNTING. Seeking FT, PT or Temporary position: immediate start. Please contact: [email protected] (4/14)
SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCER with A-list ent. ind. relations, offering consulting services to prod., PR, Ad agencies, writrs, & dirs, seeking Hwd connections, proj. superv & expertise on selling/pkgng. 310-994-3258 [email protected] (4/14)
E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203.926.9878 for rates and specs for Job Openings.
Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.
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