A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM FX

Cynopsis: DIGITAL

05/29/08

Good morning, it’s Thursday, May 29, 2008, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.
 
One deal down, one left to go. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists agreed to a tentative three-year contract with the studios establishing higher new residual structures for paid downloads and ad-supported streaming. Perhaps more importantly from the actors’ point of view, the deal also preserves performers’ consent for all non-promotional use of TV clips on digital platforms. The agreement goes before the AFTRA board on June 6, then it will be submitted to members for ratification.
 

 
Amazon is getting ready to launch an a la carte PPV video streaming service as an add on to its download to own/rent Unbox service, according to Jeff Bezos at the D6 conference. When asked about the Kindle he refused to disclose how many the company has sold, but he did say Kindle downloads account for about 6% of Amazon’s book sales.
 
Blockbuster will begin testing in-store kiosks in the coming month that will allow customers to download movies onto portable devices in a matter of minutes.
 
Better late than never, I suppose. Borders severed its relationship with Amazon and launched its own retail site after outsourcing ebusiness operations to its rival for the past 7 years. The Borders Media division has been fast at work developing original shows such as Borders Kitchen and Live at 01 (featuring readings taped at its flagship Ann Arbor store,) which the company hopes will differentiate it a bit from its dominant rival. A new flash-based app called Magic Shelf gives customers a virtual bookshelf through which to discover new titles. 
 
G4 will begin offering several of its original shows such as Code Monkeys, The Block and Attack of the Show on Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace.
 
NBC Universal and MTV Networks are teaming up to create and distribute content around the growing Action Sports Tour, which organizes three annual events: the AST Dew Tour, the AST Winter Dew Tour and the amateur Free Flow Tour.
 

 
A new social media platform creator called Exit Reality has launched a cool new interface for burger chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, enabling online visitors to explore and interact in a 3D environment. Downloading the Exit Reality browser enhancement will allow users to convert their MySpace, Facebook, bebo, Friendster, Orkut or hi5 profile pages into 3D environments where they become photorealistic avatars who can decorate their space, watch media or play games.
 
Google announced it is opening the API and browser plug in of Google Earth to third-party developers, allowing them to create 3D map apps outside sites. The Google Maps API has been a runway success with over 150,000 sites utilizing the toolset.
 
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences created a one-stop shop on YouTube for this year’s Daytime Entertainment Emmy nominees, all 57 of them. The channel features clips from dramas, lead and supporting performances as well as talkshow hosts.
 

 
This may be one way to keep TV Critics from becoming extinct. Tivo is partnering with The Chicago Tribune to allow subscribers to automatically record the on air recommendations of Trib critic Maureen Ryan. Maureen will also produce a podcast that will end up on their playlists. Tivo also announced a new partnership with Disney and CinemaNow allowing Series2 and later Series3 Tivo subscribers to download and watch movies that will be expire from the hard drive after 24 hours, including a selection of titles in HD. This essentially fills the hole in its Unbox partnership, which doesn’t include Disney releases. The company picked yesterday to announce the news to help counter a less-than-stellar earnings report – Tivo lost 145,000 net subscribers during the first quarter.
 
Welshman Sir Howard Stringer, Sony’s first gaijin chairman, talked about next generation monitors, the DVD format wars and digital music with Walt Mossberg at D6.

• Sony is working on an OLED TV with a contrast ration of 1 million to one and a screen that is .3 mm wide and a hundred times brighter than an LCD screen
• Don’t write off physical media like the Blu-ray DVD yet, he said. Digital downloads are still a long way from delivering the image quality home viewers can get on Blu-ray
• Sony has sold about 170 million music-enabled phones in 2 years, beginning with the Walkman phone in Europe. Sir Howard ripped the iTunes model, complaining it undervalues the album by focusing only on singles.

 
The IAB released a set of Interactive Campaign Setup Best Practices outlining recommendations for web publishers and agencies on how to reduce inefficiencies and discrepancies. Key recommendations include:

• Translation of ambivalent contract language into terms that both agency and publishers understand and can input into an ad server
• Clear communication of billing methods between agency and publisher
• Education of media buyers by publishers on the intricacies of rich media fees
• Specifics on information exchanged between parties at the commencement of the advertising campaign

 
ComScore acquired mobile measurement firm M:Metrics for $44.3 million in cash and options, making it an instant player in the mobile metrics space. M:Metrics principal products include: MobiLens, a syndicated monthly online survey measuring overall mobile phone usage; MeterDirect, an on-device meter that passively measures mobile internet behavior and media consumption; and M:Ad, a competitive tracking service for mobile advertising.
 
 
Nielsen and Interactive Market Systems launched a new software suite for media buyers and sellers enabling agencies to pinpoint markets, channels and target groups. Clear Decisions is based on the latest Microsoft.NET platform.
 
In a week when the American Idol site climbed to a nearly 40% market share, two new shows cracked the Hitwise TV show website top 10 to fight over the scraps: Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance and CBS’s Moonlight.
 
Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Show Sites (Week ending May 24, 2008)
Rank     Network     Website                          Market Share of Visits
 1          FOX         American Idol                              39.28%
 2          ABC         Dancing with the Stars                   9.30%
 3          NBC         Deal or No Deal                             3.69%
 4          CBS         NCIS                                             3.39%
 5          FOX         America’s Most Wanted                   2.57%
 6          ABC         Grey’s Anatomy                              2.35%
 7          CBS         CSI: Miami                                     2.21%
 8        The CW      One Tree Hill                                  2.00%
 9          FOX         So You Think You Can Dance?          1.98%
10          CBS        Moonlight                                       1.88%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise
 
Top Visited US Broadcast Network TV Websites (Week ending May 24, 2008)
Rank     Network     Website                          Market Share of Visits
 1          FOX*     www.fox.com                              30.34%
 2          ABC       www.abc.com                             27.81%
 3          CBS       www.cbs.com                             24.12%  
 4          NBC       www.nbc.com                             11.60%
 5        The CW   www.cwtv.com                             5.95%
 6          MNT      www.mynetworktv.com                    .19%
Source: Custom report from Hitwise, *includes traffic aggregated from stand alone websites americanidol.com, amw.com, familyguy.com, thelot.com and thesimpsons.com.
 

 
Veteran auto marketer Steve Wilhite will join auto publisher rep firm Jumpstart Automotive Media as President. He will be based in San Francisco and report to Mitch Lowe, CEO.
 
Out-of-home ad firm Titan Worldwide hired Ellen Schovanec as VP and GM of its Southern California Region.
 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM NATPE’S LATVFest

 
Getting an audience hooked on a show practically requires an immersive website these days. And when the show is Sci Fi-themed, the site better be good. Check out the Wildfire Lab game portal on the Andromeda Strain minisite on aetv.com, created by the creative team at Pod Digital Design. Like the 4-hour miniseries that aired to huge numbers on A&E this week, the multilevel lab-themed games don’t dumb down the science. Rather they give the geeks a number of levels and jargon to chew on, helping to give the project credibility in the blogosphere and beyond.
 
Clarification: The carbon calculator tool mentioned yesterday is called Clear Sky Digital Media. The agency behind it is Dallas-based imc2.

Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
05.29.08

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