Cynopsis: DIGITAL

11/09/09

Good morning, it’s Monday, November 9, 2009, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

Ebay reached a legal settlement with the co-founders of Skype on Friday, clearing the way for a planned $2 billion deal to sell a majority share in the online communications company to a group of investors led by venture capital firm Silver Lake. As part of the settlement agreement, Joltid and Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis will join the investor group, contributing Joltid software and a “significant” capital investment in exchange for a 14% stake in Skype. Silver Lake and other investors will end up with a controlling 56% of Skype, with eBay retaining the remaining 30%. (Former investor Index Ventures has withdrawn.) The deal, which values Skype at $2.75 billion, is expected to close during the current quarter.
                                                         

 
Favorite satire newspaper and website The Onion is joining with Comedy Central to develop a new show based on the Onion Sports Network‘s online videos. The half-hour scripted series, to be executive produced by OSN producer Julie Smith and director Will Graham, will send up teams, players, leagues, sycophantic fans, ridiculous products and over-hyped sports coverage, according to the companies.
 
John Mayer will be next artist to be featured in a “Live on Letterman” webcast concert, presented exclusively by American Express at the CBS.com Late Show web site from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Thursday, Nov. 19. Live and on-demand video of the concert will also be available at Last.fm, mp3.com, TV.com, etonline.com and theinsider.com, as well as the CBS Television Station websites.
 

 
Abbey Road Live is music label EMI’s new instant live recording service built upon the Live Here Now initiative developed by EMI subsidiary Mute Records, which has produced instant recordings for bands such as the Pixies, Depeche Mode and Blu. Headquartered at Abbey Road Studios in London, the service will make live recordings from North American and Europe shows available shortly after a concert wraps in a range of formats including CD, DVD and secured digital download, delivered via PC or mobile handsets.
 
Widget technology platform Gigya says more than 2,500 companies and sites have signed on to use the company’s Socialize technology, including Turner Sports for their NBA, NASCAR & PGA webcasts and Simon & Schuster for their local author appearances. The authentication and social platform streamlines the process of joining sites with social networking services including  Facebook Connect, MySpaceID, Twitter Connect, and Y!OS, as well as OpenID providers like AOL Mail and Gmail.
 
Role-playing-game themed web series Gold has launched a Character Card Game based on the show. Players build teams and do battle with other teams using damage cards and ten-sided dice. The game costs $20 with all profits going directly into the production of future episodes of Gold, the Series.
 

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Cisco’s Flip Video division is launching a new multi-million dollar national marketing campaign this week with BIRD Design, Urgent Content and Media Storm, utilizing both everyday users and celebrities to communicate how empowering the little handheld cameras can be. Famous Flip users including Tony Hawk, Dwayne Wade and Stevie Wonder will appear in 10-30 sec. spots with the content they shoot for personal are charitable reasons. The spots will appear on broadcast and cable, select websites and via outdoor digital advertising platforms. From Jan- Aug. 2009 Flip captured 75% of the handheld “shoot and share” camcorder market and 26% of the HD Camcorder unit market in the US, according to the NPD Group.
 
European ad sales house Orange Advertising Network announced it is expanding into the US and Latin America offering a complete portfolio of online marketing solutions. The Orange online ad network includes a roster of more than 20 Hispanic publishers including News Web site El Mundo online and online gaming Web site Spil Games, reaching a US/Latam audience of 21 million unique monthly users.
 

 
Theatres equipped with RealD‘s 3D cinema technology brought in over half of the total box office or nearly $16 million for “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” shot in Disney Digital 3D, according to the company. The movie, which stars Jim Carrey as Scrooge, earned an estimated $31 million during its opening weekend.
 

 
This should make the poor PC guy feel a little better. Initial sales of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system are going much better than those of Vista during its initial release, according to research from The NPD Group. Windows 7 software unit sales in the U.S. were 234% higher than Vista’s first few days of sales, although revenue growth wasn’t as strong. Also, PC sales growth was higher than any week during the high volume back-to-school third quarter, but again weren’t as strong as growth during the Vista launch.
 
The professional video encoding industry will experience an estimated 19% annual increase in worldwide shipments during 2010, representing an 11% annual increase in revenues over 2009 according to a new IMS Research report. The estimate includes all broadcast encoders serving the ingest, transcode, distribution and contribution (fixed & mobile) markets. At the end of 2008, cable comprised the majority of distribution shipments followed by IPTV.
 

 
Nokia is partnering with Island Def Jam Music and UMG International artist Rihanna to promote its new X6 handset, which ships with Nokia’s Comes With Music unlimited streaming service. Rihanna will perform select tracks from her new album “Rated R” in London on Nov. 16, and the show will be broadcast live at nokia.com/rihanna and streamed to Nokia handsets. The site will also feature UGC-uploaded videos shot by attendees via their Nokia X6 phones. Nokia will make an exclusive Rihanna application and exclusive footage from her London gig available at the Ovi Store and in selected territories, as well as an exclusive window to the track, ‘Wait Your Turn’ from the album before its release.
 

 
Seattle-based online advertising service provider Lion New Media hired interactive media veteran Greg Griffin as Executive Partner/VP of Sales. Greg will lead the company’s revenue, growth and strategic vision, reporting to Conrad Jungmann, President and Founder.
 

 
Facebook app maker Zynga, the developer behind the wildly popular Farmville Facebook app, has a new virtual social networking app set in a fish bowl. (It may be tough to get into but keep trying – the app was overloaded over the weekend.) Instead of planting and harvesting crops, FishVille has users raise and feed colorful tropical fish. Earn money as you go along to buy more fish eggs, decorations and eventually a bigger tank. Zynga’s applications are successful because they provide addictive goals to results-oriented users and incorporate social aspects such as gifting that create such viral explosions on the platform.  Zynga’s Farmville app is currently tops by a mile among Facebook apps, according to Inside Facebook’s independent metrics firm AppData.
 
Top 10 Applications on Facebook by Registered Users
Rank  App                    Developer   Category        Users
  1     Farmville             Zynga        Games         63,543,438
  2     Causes                Causes       Education    35,222,871
  3     Café World          Zynga        Games         28,378,477
  4     Mafia Wars          Zynga        Games         26,269,933
  5     Happy Aquarium  CrowdStar  Games         24,741,376
  6     Pet Society          PlayFish     Games          21,503,624
  7     FamilyLink.com   FamilyLink  Friends/Fam.20,119,046
  8     YoVille                Zynga        Games         19,765,144
  9     Texas HoldEm     Zynga        Games       18,825,441
 10    Farm Town         Slashkey     Games         18,430,454
Source: Appdata
 
Later — Wayne
 Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
11.09.09

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JOB OPENING:  VP BIZ AFFAIRS METRO TV/ATLANTA: 7+ yrs Exp’d Media Exec. Work on Budgets, Acctng, Potential Partnerships/Acquisitions, Extensive Margin Analysis & Back Office Ops. Apply/Details: www.westwoodone.com   (11/14)

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JOB OPENING: RESEARCH DIR/MSG VARSITY/LI: Lead research for network functions incl. Programming, Digital Media, Outreach, Branding & Audience Measurement. 7+ yrs network research, 10+ yrs total www.cablevision.jobs req 9431BR  (11/12)

JOB OPENING: ASSOCIATE, MEDIA STRATEGY & PLANNING/Nat’l Geo, WILD Channel/DC:  Responsible for the planning and execution of on-air strategies.  BA & 5 yrs on air planning exp req. Apply www.FoxCareers.com job# FNG17607 (11/12)

JOB OPENING: MGR PRGRMG & SCHED/Nat’l Geo, WILD Channel/DC: Strategic creation of the Channel’s sched; mgt of day to day relationship w/Ad Sales, listings & titles. BA 5 yrs prgrmng exp & rsrch. Apply www.FoxCareers.com job# FNG17610 (11/12)

JOB OPENING:  RESEARCH ANALYST/DISNEY ABC/CA: min 1 yrs exp in TV research, apt at Nielsen, strong written & analytical skills, college degree pref. Apply at: www.disneyabcjobs.com (ID 207697)   (11/12)

JOB OPENING: MEDIA AS’T/PLUM TV/NYC: Organized, detailed admin to assist CRO/sales team of lifestyle media org (tv, web, social) focused on upscale market. 2+ yrs prev exp, Excel, Sales force exp req’d. See full post plumtv.com   (11/11)

JOB OPENING:  VP EAST COAST SALES – IFC & SUNDANCE /NY:Mng east coast sales team to drive ad rev. Great relationships w/ media clients, proven sales record & exp mngng team a must. 10+yrs in TV/agency. Apply: [email protected] (11/10)

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SITUATION WANTED:  +5 yrs exp Media and Film Prod with exp in Marketing & Digital Film Sales, NBC reality tv, NYC MOFTB. Seeking on location/office Prod Coordinator position. email [email protected] (11/11)

SITUATION WANTED: Extremely detail oriented PRODUCTION MANAGER with 18+ years experience able to handle several projects simultaneously in a fast paced environment. Possess strong interpersonal skills. Email: [email protected]  (11/10)

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