Cynopsis: DIGITAL

11/23/09

Good morning, it’s Monday, November 23, 2009, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

The next “Twilight” installment “New Moon” racked up $140.7 million at the box office in the U.S. over the weekend with an additional $118 million coming from foreign territories, making it the 3rd biggest (domestic) opening of all-time. (A lion’s share of the female-skewing audience went on Friday, buying a record-breaking $72 million in tickets including midnight shows the night before.) The success of the vampire-themed romance will likely be attributed to topless boys and the huge buzz it generated in social media and online video circles. (The critics certainly didn’t like it – “New Moon” scored a horrible 29 out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.) Views of the “Twilight Saga: New Moon” trailer reached nearly 20 million viewers including blog and social reposts, according to Visible Measures – a 9% uptick from last week. MySpace’s live webcast of the New Moon premiere powered by Ustream attracted 2 million uniques and 3 nearly million viewers, according to MySpace. The movie also generated 81,000 Tweets per day heading into the weekend, according to a Trendrr report drawn up for Mashable. It even achieved a 93% positive rating among moviegoers at social movie/mobile site Flixster.
                                                         

 
Channel 4 in the UK is considering charging viewers to view programs online before they air on television despite the fear of undermining on air CPMs, according to Broadcast. Kevin Lygo, the network’s Director of Content and Television, noted that more viewers tuned in online for the premiere of Misfits last week than watched on air.
 
Hispanic network V-me has extended it carriage agreement with overbuilder RCN. V-me, which is already available across RCN’s Washington, D.C. footprint, launched last week on RCN systems in Boston, Chicago, New York City and Philadelphia.
 
Non-fiction TV production company Authentic Entertainment, Inc. announced that Detroit Tigers leadoff man Curtis Granderson has entered into an exclusive agreement to develop and host original non-fiction video content for TV, the internet and mobile.  Under that agreement,
Granderson will host Authentic’s new 1-hour TV and online series “Stadium Secrets”, taking sports fans on insider tours of both historic and new venues across the country.
 

 
Online video entertainment producer Babelgum is cutting back on expenses by shutting down its Dublin headquarters and its Nice office, reports paidcontent.org. Also, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer Michael Rosen has apparently left Bablegum’s New York office. Operations from Dublin and Nice will be consolidated across Babelgum’s remaining London, Milan and New York offices.
 
Online textbook rental start-up Chegg.com has closed on a $57 million Series D round of equity funding, led by Insight Venture Partners. Insight also led a syndicate that has provided a $25 million credit facility, adding to the $30 million in debt facility recently secured from Pinnacle Ventures and TriplePoint Capital. Chegg.com rents textbooks to students online for 60 to 75% off of hardcopy prices.
 
If you’re stuck inside this week, check out TV database site TV Tango‘s comprehensive Thanksgiving viewing guide.
 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CYNOPSIS MEDIA

 
In a major step forward for the in-game advertising space, Microsoft’s Xbox Live advertising group has teamed with Nielsen to launch a pilot system to measure uptake of ads within the 14-week Season 2 run of the live 1 vs.100 interactive game. The game, which combines massive multiplayer game functionality with a TV game show format, attracted over 100,000 players at once during season 1 earlier this year. This is the first time content delivered through a console network will be capable of being measured by a third party metering service, providing a measure of reliability for advertisers on measurements of demographic data, Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and ultimately Targeted Rating Points (TRPs). Microsoft and Nielsen plan to collect data across the entire Xbox Live network.
 

 
eBay announced that it has finally completed its sale of Skype after a long and contentious battle with its founders on intellectual property issues. The group of investors buying the online communications firm, led by Silver Lake, paid approximately $1.9 billion in cash for 70% of Skype, with the remaining 30% being retained by eBay. The deal values Skype at $2.75 billion.
 
Comcast‘s bid to acquire a majority share of NBC Universal, expected to be announced last week, remains stalled over the valuation of Vivendi‘s holdings in the company. Both GE and Comcast are eager to the get the deal done before Thanksgiving, but recent reports make this appear unlikely.
 

 
Traffic to Twitter continues to decline as the microblogging site seems to have passed its peak in popularity, according to data aggregated by eMarketer. Nielsen has traffic to Twitter.com down by a dramatic 27.8% between September and October 2009, falling to 18.9 million unique visitors. comScore claims unique visitors to the site are down by 8.1% in October. Compete reports a 2.1% decline during the month.
 
The Most-Watched Film Trailers of the Week 
Rank Prev.Rank    Film Title                    Distributor     Genre               True Reach*
1             1  Twilight Saga: New Moon      Summit       Drama/Fantasy 19,940,801 (+9%)
2             2           2012                          Sony           Action              13,077,347 (+42%)
3             3           Avatar               20th Century Fox  Action                1,217,971 (-7%)
4             5   Alvin And The Chipmunks:     Fox           Animation             856,818  (+144%)
                        The Squeakquel             
5             4     Ninja Assassin               Warner Bros.  Action                   425,223   (+5%)
6             8     Brothers                       Lionsgate       Drama                   209,582    (39%)
7        New      Old Dogs                      Disney           Comedy                 202,433  (+75%)
8            7      The Road                  Weinstein Co.     Adventure              195,649   (+25%)
9            9      Planet 51                  Sony                 Family                    193,325   (+36%)
10          6     The Blind Side            Warner Bros.     Drama                     174,591   (-5%)
Source: Visible Measures,  True Reach, encompasses views generated by studio-syndicated clips (the trailers and cast interviews uploaded by the studios or their agencies) as well as audience-generated content (video reviews, user tributes, and reposts).
 

 
Twitter client application Seesmic has launched mobile version for both the BlackBerry and Android platforms. Seesmic for BlackBerry groups your Twitter timelines into a single interface, allowing you to create and view saved searches, view Twitter lists that you’ve created on twitter.com, shorten urls and send photos. The Android version allows you to Share photos with your choice of image service, post videos to YouTube and share links connected with your Bit.ly account.
 
Neese Products has launched another mobile couponing app. The “Red Box Free Rental Promo Codes” iPhone app serves up money-saving promo codes for Redbox DVD rental self-service kiosks. Codes are updated twice daily and also feature a ranking system to help determine validity and usefulness.
 

 
Former AKQA Client Partner Frank Pedersen has been named by Global digital marketing and technology agency LBi to the newly created position of U.S. COO. Frank, who comes to New York City from London, will be based out of LBi’s Manhattan office, where he will help direct and manage the integration of LBi’s US operations.
 

 
Oprah’s decision to leave daytime TV in two years has more to do with the TV’s changing dynamics than anything else, as financially stressed local TV owners are having trouble coming up with the fees that the dominant show commands. The writing seemed to be on the wall as new mediums such as internet and mobile slowly chip away at local TV audiences. In the U.S. alone her show is viewed by an aggregate 30 million people/week, but that audience has fallen by half over the past 10 years. It will be fascinating to watch what the new Oprah/Discovery joint venture does with the talk show queen’s digital network, Oprah.com after OWN replaces the Discovery Health Channel in Jan 2011. Placing Oprah behind the pay wall of cable should provide a huge opportunity for the website. The venture is going to seek top dollar for OWN in terms of carriage fees from cable operators, which could slow its distribution. In the meantime, the site will be the place to turn for classic interviews, merchandise, social networking and support of that Oprah fix for millions of viewers.
 

Later — Wayne
 Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
11.23.09

Cynopsis Media Facebook Page here – all of our Job Listings and Top Stories reported here first!

Cynopsis Ad Sales:
Chuck Bolkcom, Pres/COO – 646-468-6180 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-926-9878 / [email protected]

Member of Interactive Advertising Bureau (iab)

To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here . 
To unsubscribe , click here or click the button at the end of this email.

Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here    .

JOB OPENING: PREDITOR: LI based media co seeks Preditor with extensive promo exp within the cable/network news, sports or music arena. Must be a Final Cut Pro MASTER. Send resume and link to your reel to: [email protected] (12/2)

JOB OPENING: DIR PROMOTIONS/GSN/Santa Monica: Exp in TV/media  securing partnerships and promotions, strategy planning and executing cross platform initiatives. Email Res & CL to [email protected] (12/2)

JOB OPENING: ART DIRECTOR/truTv/NYC:  5yrs in tv/cable ntwk. Design & A/D projects for on-air, originals, & ad sales promos. Well versed in broadcast design & mng a team & agencies. Resume: [email protected] (12/1)

JOB OPENING: AFFILIATE MRKTG, INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS MGR/Univision/NYC:  Develop/Execute distributor marketing and media partnerships/exp in media and consumer marketing/Spanish fluent a plus. EOE Send resumes: [email protected] (12/1)

JOB OPENING:  AFFL MRKTG, MRKTG COORD/Univision/NYC: Provide admin, creative & campaign Dept support: Arrange mtgs, process T&E, invoices, billing. Maintain website & shared drive. EOE Send resumes to: [email protected] (12/1)

JOB OPENING: SYNDICATION PROFESSIONAL/Danny Lipford Media: Exp placing nationally syndicated tv show. Must have established contacts w stations/groups. Some travel. No ad sales. Benefits/Salary/Commission. [email protected] (11/25)

JOB OPENING: SR. COUNSEL, PROGRAMMING, CABLEVISION/NY:Negotiate draft transactions, handle diverse legal programming issues. Needs JD, 6+ yrs relevant inhouse or law firm experience. Apply: [email protected] (11/24)

JOB OPENING: NETWORK SALES/ION Media Networks/NY: Highly motivated and creative network sales acct exec w/ established relationships and proven track record. EOE. Apply to [email protected] (11/24)

JOB OPENING: EP OF DEVELOPMENT/NYC to lead new dev dep’t for cable/non-fict/reality. Big ideas, attaching talent, pitching, lots of showrun/EP exprnce a must. We’re moving from docus to reality/non-fiction. [email protected] (11/24)

JOB OPENING: DIR PRGRMNG/HGTV/NY: Mng all aspects of commiss’d shows. Maintains & evolves ongoing series. Showrunning Exp req’d along w/6 yrs cable nets exp in program prod or mngmnt w/sig creative input. www.scrippsnetworks.com #1241 (11/24)

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] .

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:EVENT PROD/MGMNT: Small Elite Event Co. NYC; Needs energetic person;Exc organizational/computer skills,admin support; Flex sched 2/3 days/wk. JR/SR. [email protected] (12/2)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  TV/Film Development: Superb Entertainment/NBC Universal: looking for an excellent writer to provide administrative support and also contribute to projects as its a small company 2-3 days a week [email protected] (12/1)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: MKTG INTERN/Smithsonian Channel/NYC: Min 12-15 hrs/wk, Must be JR/SR, Projects incl Copywriting, Rsrch, Sales Support, Social Mktg. Mgrs provide guidance. http://www.sho.com/site/about/careers.do . The Job ID is 2556BR (11/24)

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: PERSONAL ASSISTANT POSITION. Organized, diligent, and reliable with background in writing, PR, event planning, and Web management. English/French fluent w/ written comprehension of Dutch. Contact: [email protected] (12/2)

SITUATION WANTED:  DESIGN, ILLUSTRATION & ART DIRECTION (NYC):   20 years experience working concept through completion. Portfolio: www.baerdavis.com Email: [email protected] (12/2)

SITUATION WANTED:  SCRIPT DOCTOR/PROD w/ 16 yrs as Brdcst exec can consult/edit/polish your TV/film/web pitch/bible/screenplay. Credits inc. DeGrassi, DaVinci, Dragon Boys. Exp w/ convergence models No freebies. Contact: [email protected] (12/1)

SITUATION WANTED: Productions requiring an experienced composer for high energy/high impact movie trailers. Compensation negotiable based on project. Visit www.BenKopec.com for credits & reel or e-mail me: [email protected] (12/1)

SITUATION WANTED:  DIRECTOR/VIDEOGRAPHER who luvs beauty, fashion. Directs TV shows, spots, Web BTS etc worked wt Jessica Simpson, Ken Paves, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Beckwith, P!nk.. http://hepburn.la; [email protected] 310.430.1362 (11/26)

SITUATION WANTED: CASTING DIRECTOR/PRODUCER 13+yrs exp. reality TV casting & producing. Intelligent, hardworking and great sense of humor! Available immediately, link to resume: http://realitystaff.com/?id=625, [email protected] (11/26)

SITUATION WANTED:  MEDIA/MARKETING/DIGITAL/ON-LINE/NYC :  Entry Level Position for recent College Grad. Comm Major. Exc Organizational Skills, and Computer Skills. [email protected] (11/26)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR (NY) Ultra-creative, award winning, all formats, all genres, all major networks and major cable. Fast, frugal and fun! [email protected] (11/25)

SITUATION WANTED: MARKETING, SALES, BUS DEV, STRATEGY, REV GEN, ROI, CHANNELS, MATRIX MGT., BRANDING, ADVERTS, COMM (NYC)+25 yrs mgt/hands-on. LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/ellencrich Email: [email protected] (11/24)

SITUATION WANTED: EIC/LINE PRODUCER with 10+ yrs exp. Variety, Docu-Reality, Game Show, Scripted, Live, Competition- Mngd biz of Prod. Co’s. for major TV & cable nets. MM/EPB budgets, union&non [email protected] (11/24)

SITUATION WANTED: RESEARCH DIR/STRATEGIST – See what 20+ yrs media, Nielsen, Hisp, research, sales, presentation experience can do for you.Email: [email protected] (11/24)

SITUATION WANTED: 20+ yrs. experience in TV Broadcasting & Cable ACCOUNTING/FINANCE. Seeking FT/PT or Temp-to-Perm position: [email protected] (11/24)

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.

Cynopsis Media LLC
One Corporate Drive, Suite 724
Shelton, CT 06484
203.926.9878

All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2009