Cynopsis: DIGITAL

08/26/08

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, August 26, 2008, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

New media outlets are descending on the mile high city this week for the Democratic National Convention. This year bloggers (and traditional media folks) have their own facility in which to work: Big Tent Denver, hosted by Daily Kos, Progress Now and the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado and sponsored by Google and Digg. A broad selection of publishers and tool providers will also be there to offer online coverage of the big political dance:

• The DNC itself is streaming the festivities live in HD quality video on DemConvention.com, powered by Move Networks and Microsoft’s Silverlight
• Ustream.tv is providing live streaming coverage from The Big Tent
• HuffingtonPost.com is utilizing digital media platform Kyte.tv to cover the event
• Dailymotion will stream a half hour of political content each night from 9pm including webcam videos uploaded from programming partners Good, Remix America, JibJab, Barely Political and 23/6
• The DNC accredited 14 bloggers from Lifecasting and microblogging service Zannel who will contribute to Zannel’s Politics Blue channel from the convention through election day

 
FX, one of cable’s the most acclaimed producers of original programming on the web, is finally bringing full length episodes of its shows to its web site, reports B&C, including Hulu hit It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and new biker drama Sons of Anarchy. Meanwhile a full redesign is set to launch Sept. 2, in time for the launch of the final season of The Shield. (Unfortunately FX has streaming rights for every other show it produces except for The Shield.) The move is an attempt to reach viewers on additional platforms and provide advertisers with a digital component to their buys. Until now FX shows have appeared digitally on Hulu, Fancast and for purchase on iTunes. Full episode streaming is set to begin on FXNetworks.com by Sept 22 with a window 8 days after an episode airs on the network.
 
Sister broadcast network Fox will narrow the window gap considerably for the premiere episodes of season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the new J.J. Abrams thriller Fringe. College students will be able to watch a simulcast of both shows on Fox.com the night they air on the network (Sept. 8 & 9 respectively) if they log on from a .edu account. The “simul-streams” will be complemented with behind-the-scenes footage and music videos as well as cast and producer interviews.
 
DirecTV will provide access to more than 400 hours of interactive US Open Tennis coverage this year, extending the on air offerings provided by CBS and USA Network. The US Open Mix Channel will provide 6 separate feeds that can be viewed on a single screen, as well as interactive features including real-time scoring and match schedules.
 
Grandaddy of all variety shows Sabado Gigante will add some interactive features of its own beginning this fall. The Univision show, into its fifth decade, is getting a digitally-enhanced makeover allowing Don Francisco to invite audiences to play along at home with a variety of interactive games and skits calling for phone, mobile or online responses. Univision.com is also revamping the “ Sabado Gigante” microsite, adding video clips from each episode, behind-the-scenes extras and exclusive interviews with the “Artist of the Week.”
 
College sports network ESPNU HD will launch on Thursday, Aug. 28 on select Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV, RCN, Atlantic Broadband and Broadstripe systems, kicking off with the Vanderbilt/Miami of Ohio football game at 7:30 pm ET.
 
Multiplatform amateur sports broadcaster Universal Sports announced an agreement to cover the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games for the first time. Online coverage of sports spanning 5 different disability groups will appear Sept. 6-17, followed by coverage of the games on Universal Sports TV in October.
 
From Prizemo comes a new interactive mobile-to-TV gameshow Show You The Money. Avatar and celebrity hosts will appear on-air with call-outs to text correct answers to trivia questions. Participants log on to Prizemo.com or text using the short code 99799 to answer then enter their mobile phone numbers to receive a free ringtone and chance at a cash prize. (Players are charged 99 cents for each text message, so it’s not really free.) Prizemo is currently seeking a broadcast partner in the U.S. and will launch a viral marketing campaign to promote the show on Facebook, MySpace and BET sites in addition to TV spots on selected cable networks.
 

 
ESPN will rely on the offbeat talents of Kenny Mayne for its first 15-episode scripted web series. In Mayne Street, premiering Oct. 2 on ESPN.com, Kenny plays an irreverent roaming sports reporter trying to wing it through tapings. The show is created by Josh Shelov and Todd Pellegrino and features a seasoned cast including MTV and VH1 regular Allison Becker and Ben Schwartz (creator of Bronx World Travelers.)
 
Video entertainment site Metacafe’s crowdsourcing initiative to improve metadata for online video comes out of beta today. Wikicafe asks users who enjoyed a clip on the site to contribute title info, new tags or correct erroneous entries to the database to assist others in finding the clip in video search engines.
 
Live internet video streaming provider Conviva raised $20 million in second round financing led by UV Partners with additional backing from previous contributors New Enterprises Associates and Foundation Capital.
 
Online brand advertising start-up Brand.net received $10 million in series B funding led by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) with reinvestment from InterWest Partners. Brand.net’s proprietary technology promises to improve inventory quality, value and scale to online advertisers.
 

 
Yahoo introduced a useful online search tool optimized for the iPhone that bundles together time-saving features such as Search Assist (which suggests terms and topics before you finish typing the entry) and the open source developer tool SearchMonkey. It saves a bundle of time, whether you’re looking for news, movie times, background info or restaurant addresses.
 

 
Microsoft became a strategic investor in Move Networks in a series C funding round. Microsoft has been working with Move Networks to integrate the Silverlight video platform with Move’s HTTP-based web delivery services, on display this week at demconvention.com. Move Networks also announced it will support Windows Server-based encoding, Microsoft codecs and Silverlight Digital Rights Management (DRM).
 
Regent Media acquired online and book publisher PlanetOut including the company’s two flagship brands: leading LGBT news source The Advocate and Out, a popular LGBT fashion and style source. Regent operates here! Networks, heretv.com, here! Films and here! Home Entertainment.
 
Lifetime Networks signed a deal with TVN Entertainment to utilize its suite of custom VOD services, enabling flexible schedule modifications, metadata updates and other customization options.

 
Social media utility SocialVibe, entered into a strategic partnership with the Interpublic (IPG) Emerging Media Lab. Through the partnership, the Lab will introduce SocialVibe‘s interactive services to IPG’s media services and advertising agencies. IPG agencies will have preferred partner status, should they decide to utilize SocialVibe as part of their social media campaigns.
 

 
NBCU’s Telemundo is reorganizing its digital media assets under a new Digital Media & Emerging Business Division, led by Peter Blacker as EVP/Digital Media and Emerging Businesses, who reports to Jacqueline Hernandez, COO/Telemundo. Under Peter’s wing comes Yahoo! Telemundo, holamun2.com, International Digital Media and Telemundo Emerging Platforms.
 
Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group has named Jane Gould to the position of VP/Consumer Insights, responsible for coordinating consumer insights research for all Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group assets including Nick Jr., Noggin, The N, Nicktoons Network, Nick at Nite, AddictingGames, Shockwave and Nick.com. She will be based in New York and report to Ron Geraci, SVP/Research and Planning.
 

 
Microsoft went live with its nifty Photosynth application, one of the most promising innovations yet to come out of the company’s well-funded Live Labs division. Combining wide-angle horizontal photography with 3D functionality, Photosynth allows you take a bunch of pictures of a scene then create a layered mesh out of the photos you can navigate and zoom through. There are several cool demos of the site but the only way to really appreciate this is to make your own Synth. You’ll have to download the app from the site to do so and unfortunately it’s only available (so far) for Windows XP and Vista users. 
 
Correction : NGC’s Spore documentary How to Build a Better Being premieres next Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 10 p ET/PT.

Later — Wayne
 Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
08.26.08

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JOB OPENING:  DIR MKTG COMM/The Golf Channel: Lead development of consumer comm. Dev strategic comm.  Plans to meet marketing goals. 7+yrs mktg exp. Resume:  [email protected]   (9/2)

JOB OPENING:  WRITER/PROD/EDITOR/ON-AIR PROMO/WCIU-TV/Chicago:TV 5+ yrs exp in on-air promos; highly creative, team player; write/prod all aspects from concept to on-air. Non-linear editing/AVID exp a must Apply: www.wciu.com (9/2)

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JOB OPENING: ANALYST, PROGRAMMING RESEARCH/TV Land/MTV Networks/NYC: Ratings analysis, 1+yrs TV research exp. Analytical/numeric/detail/data interpretation skills/knowledge Nielsen systems. EOE/M/F/D/AAP www.mtvncareers.com (8/30)

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JOB OPENING: MANAGER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/LOGO/NYC: 4+yrs wk exp w/n mngmt firm/investmt bnking/bus dev field. Prvn financial/org skills. Knwldg of LGBT ent and MBA A+. Apply www.mtvncareers.com EOE/M/F/D/AAP (8/27)

JOB OPENING: DESIGNER/ VH1.Com/NYC: 3+yrs flash design/animation skills. Prvn knwldg of VH1/design sftware & standards. Strng multi task/time mgmt skills. Create web sites/ exp dir to flash dev. www.mtvncareers.com EOE/M/F/D/AAP (8/27)

JOB OPENING: AD SLS TRAINER/Fox/NY: Create, document & train Sales Asst/Planners and P&P on business process curriculum and user information. BA/BS, 1-2 yrs exp in cable ad sales or P&P. www.foxcareers.com. (FNG13510) (8/27)

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JOB OPENING: AUCTION OPS MGR/Auction Network/Tulsa-OK: Managing & coordinating of live auction event broadcasts. 50% travel. 2-5 yrs’ PM exp + deg. Rez to: [email protected] (8/27)

JOB OPENING: DIR. AUCTION OPS/Auction Network/Tulsa-OK: Manage auction ops resources/staff; create/execute ops plans for live on-air events. 50% travel; deg + 5 yrs mgt exp/equiv ind. exp. Rez to: [email protected] (8/27)

JOB OPENING: ONLINE CLERK/Auction Network/Tulsa-OK: Clerical/technical suppt of online auctions, incl bidders; synch online w/live auctions; reporting. 50% travel; deg + 2-5 yrs ind. Exp. Rez to: [email protected] (8/27)

JOB OPENING: VIDEO EDITOR/Auction Network/Tulsa-OK: need 3 yrs prev exp, + extensive exp w/Final Cut Pro. Rez & demo reel to: [email protected] (8/27)

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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  Casting Intern for its HGTV series “Carter Can”:  Opp to assist in rsrch & outreach to newspapers and appropriate orgnztns & on-line blogs. Also assist Exec. Producer as needed. Res/cover to:  [email protected] (9/2)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  POST PROD/World Series of Poker: 3-5 days/wk/Soho NY: Log, transcribe & rsrch &  full involvement in every aspect of post prod for a critically acclaimed series! Be a part of pop culture & apply: [email protected]   (9/2)

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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: INTERNS (2) Montel Media Group: Passion for TV/Film a must and interest in mngmnt/dvlpmnt/production. Hands on experience. Must be energetic and reliable with strong comm. skills. Res/cover to: [email protected] (8/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Thirteen/WNET/NY: Daily animated kids’ series seeks interns w/ interest in production & project development. Must be available 2 days/week. Email resume & cover letter w/ availability to:   [email protected]     (8/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: PUBLIC RELATIONS INTERN/IFC/NYC:  The Intern will learn the fundamentals of the inner workings of TV and event publicity. For more info/submit a resume, visit www.cablevision.jobs Enter Requisition ID: 6910BR (8/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: DIGITAL & NEW MEDIA INTERN/Oxygen: Assist w/ production and promotion of digital initiatives, research, and admin tasks. Excel, PP & fast learner desired. 10-20 hrs/wk. Send res/cover to:  [email protected]   (8/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: PT Intern- CityListen Audio Tours. Online marketing, digital word of mouth. Flexible schedule/Work remotely. Passion for travel, enthusiastic, creative, web savvy; your own computer/access. Contact: [email protected] (8/29)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: AD SALES, MKTG & BUS./FINANCE INTERNS/V-me (Nat’l Spanish-language ntwrk): Students send letters of interest/resumes: [email protected]. Pref given to bi-lingual candidates w/a working knwldg of Spanish. www.vmeTV.com (8/27)

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SITUATION WANTED:  Need creative, effective traditional/nontraditional visibility? Indie PR/marketing company available for print, broadcast, online campaigns. Budget, brand conscious. 323.467.7633 or [email protected]  (8/29)

SITUATION WANTED:  PRODUCER (L.A.): 10+yrs MTV VH1 Fuse. Expertise: celebrity, lifestyle, entertainment news, bio, clip, doc, reality. Strong creative, field, showrunning, pop culture bkgrd.   [email protected]      www.markmarraccini.com (8/29)

SITUATION WANTED: RESEARCHER, WRITER w/ 20 yrs. of promo & marketing exp. seeks part/FT projects. Former researcher for ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT & WARNER BROS. Excellent communications, organization & people skills. [email protected] (8/27)

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