A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM NATPE ’09

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Cynopsis: DIGITAL

12/16/08

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, December 16, 2008, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

Companies that have been staunch supporters of Net Neutrality are shifting positions on the eve of the Obama presidency including the all-important Google, reports the WSJ. Citing documents reviewed by the paper, Google is negotiating with cable and telecom ISPs to insure preferential treatment for its data, an arrangement that flies directly in the face of the Net Neutrality principle that all data should be treated equally. Google counsel Richard Whitt described the Journal as “confused” in a blog post yesterday. (He assumes the report is based on Google’s offer to implement “edge caching” servers directly with ISPs to cut down on response times.) Microsoft and Yahoo, which are beginning to strike deals with network providers, have also dialed back their support of the policy according to the piece.
 

Despite layoffs and cutbacks the digital divisions of NBC and CBS are planning a full complement of original web shows for 2009, per TV Week. NBC is developing 4 shows that have already been sold to advertisers and is currently seeking sponsors for another 5, including a late-night talk show targeted to female viewers. CBS has at least two new web shows planned for next year including a companion to the midseason replacement show Harper’s Island.

HBO will debut the season premiere of its comedy Flight of the Conchords on video sharing site FunnyorDie.com on Wednesday before its Sunday premiere. HBO has been fairly savvy at reaching out to fans of “Flight” online. Check out this cool Lip Dub Video mashup site, allowing you to lip synch to the tune “Hippopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros”.
 
Travel Channel announced a redesign of Its travel site World Hum featuring a much cleaner look and a fun compendium of the top 40 travel videos of all time. The Guthries are well represented: Woody made it in with the #8 song while Arlo’s “City of New Orleans” ranked #2.
 
Digital agency Studiocom partnered with Paws, Inc., which manages the Garfield comic strip, on MiniEgo, a virtual community developed by Studiocom.  Under the agreement, MiniEgo users will be able to interact with Garfield characters and create avatars with Garfield-like characteristics. 
 
Famed Olympian Michael Phelps and global videogame publisher 505 Games announced a partnership to develop a series of next generation videogames for consoles and the iPhone.  The first title is scheduled to be released in spring 2010 and will be developed by 505 Games’ newly formed U.S. studio in Los Angeles.
 

Political website upstart Policio .com signed a deal with Reuters to add political, government and business articles and photos from the news service to its free Politico Network. Reuters has also agreed to add Politico stories to its subscription-based wire service. Some 60 newspapers and 46 broadcast partners have signed up to receive a regular feed articles from Politico during the 3 months since it has launched, which they can publish in exchange for a share of the ad revenue they generate. (Politico’s ad sales team secures advertising deals and uses the Adify platform to offer clients vertical and geotargeted buys.)
 
Twitter has integrated its micro-blogging service into Google’s Friend Connect service, allowing Twitter users to login to participating third party sites using their Twitter login ID.
 
Video streaming site Crunchyroll signed a distribution deal to offer several titles from anime publisher Pony Canyon to its viewers on an ad supported basis, including mad scientist yarn Steel Angel Kurumi – first released in the U.S by ADV Films. 
Call for Content: The We Media Miami conference is offering up $50,000 in seed capital to help launch two new media start-ups in 2009. Submit your ideas on the We Media site by Jan. 21st to enter the Pitch It Challenge.
 

Zodiac Interactive announced the release of an ETV/EBIF (Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format) player for PowerTV and tru2way. Canoe Ventures, the joint venture among six cable operators to develop advanced advertising services and technologies, has adopted EBIF as the initial platform for the rollout of addressable and interactive TV advertising.
 

Citing the bad economy, more than 130 prominent stars signed a letter addressed to the Screen Actors Guild Board counseling against a strike. (Digital media law specialist Jonathan Handel has a copy of the letter on his blog.) Handel says SAG has been forced to cancel an emergency meeting of the board scheduled for this Friday after SAG activists complained there was no legal precedence for requiring members to attend in person. The guild could not be reached for comment.
 
Amazon’s movie database IMDb.com has acquired independent online box office site Box Office Mojo for an undisclosed amount. The two sites will share content by allowing users to access one another databases but LA-based Box Office Mojo will continue to operate as a standalone site.
 
UK-based ISP Virgin Media launched its own wideband service across the pond yesterday, offering speeds up of to 50 Mbps down for 51 pounds/month or 35 pounds/month for Virgin Phone subscribers.
 

Despite setting a record of $887 million in sales for Tuesday, Dec. 9 E-commerce spending has settled in to roughly the same level it was last year, according to comScore. Spending from Nov. 1 – Dec. 12 totaled $19.44 billion, just $50,000 less than the total through Dec. 12 in 2007.
 
Online readers trust online sources for news about as much as they trust Television or Newspapers, according to a new international TNS study entitled Digital World, Digital Life. Only 1% point separated each with 41% of users claiming they trusted TV, 40% trusting online news and 39% trusting newspapers. However blogs were almost universally mistrusted; only 9% of U.S. users responded with a favorable rating toward them.
 

Break.com has put together a little Recession-Proof Gift Guide to help guys feed their need for gadgets during these troubled times.
 

Former Director of Brand Strategy at NBC Universal Digital Studio Suhaila Suhimi joins My Damn Channel as VP/Advertising Strategy & Partnerships reporting directly to CEO Rob Barnett. She will work on co-creating digital campaigns and branded content relationships with major advertisers.
 
Douglas C. Jeffries, who previously served as Chief Accounting Officer at eBay, will join Sunnyvale, CA-based Palm, Inc. in January 2009 as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Andy Brown will transition out of the CFO role and stay with the company through January.
 

Here’s an example of taking two concepts that work relatively well on their own and combining them to see what sticks. Crowdsourced search engine Mahalo launched a new twist on Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers introducing virtual payments into the mix. When you submit a question on Mahalo Answers you can offer a “tip” of a few dollars to help provide an incentive to the community. The best answer to your question wins the Mahalo dough. (Each Mahalo dollar is worth .75 to the account holder and can be redeemed when your account reaches $40, with the site keeping the other quarter for itself.) Dozens of categories make it easy to drill down and find what interests you. Unlike Google’s now abandoned pay-for-play Q&A site, which relied on experts in their field to answer the questions, Mahalo opens Answers to the entire community. This could be an amazing tool for marketers and biz dev folks who want to gage interest in new products. For instance Mahalo CTO Mark Jeffrey used the site to ping the crowd on whether or not they’d be interested in reading an ebook on an iPhone. He received more than 30 responses within an hour, one of which elicited a response from Mark himself.

Correction: FEARNet’s new web series starring Whoopi Goldberg is entitled “Stream” not “Strange.” We regret the error.

Later — Wayne
 Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
12.16.08

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JOB OPENING: SR MGR PROG PUBLICITY/A&E TV/NY: Dev History PR strategies on print/electronic & internet props. Mng Public Affairs & Mktg prtnships & talent. BA & 5+ yrs TV publ cable/b’cast/news. Apply: www.aetn.com/careers.html (12/20)

JOB OPENING: RSRCH ANLYST/Lifetime (LA): Analyze & prdce reprts- daily ratings & compet perfmnce to guide Prgm, Mktg, & Aff Mktg strat. Exp TV Rsrch/data anlyst/Star Trak/Nielsen/math/stats. Res: [email protected] (12/20)

JOB OPENING: RESCH MGR/TLC/MD: Work w/Dir/Int clients to design/manage Net resch efforts, utilizing Nielsen data, other consumer data to develop programming, scheduling, and mktg strats. Apply: www.discovery.com #8255 (12/19)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH STRATEGIST/TLC/MD: Analyzes & reports on Nielsen TV ratings data and market research statistics to support the programming, scheduling and marketing depts. Apply: www.discovery.com #8254 (12/19)

JOB OPENING: SR MANAGER/TV SALES & DIST/BBC/NYC: hit sales targets, ID new clients, pitch and conclude deals w/ cbl ntwrks. Scripted & nonscripted programs. To apply, www.bbcamerica.com/employment.jsp (12/18)

JOB OPENING: SR MANAGER AUD DEV/BBC/NYC: Grow Mrkt for BBC.Com, drive traffic, manage syndication relationships w/ 3rd party partners. Create mrktng & aud dev strat. To Apply, www.bbcamerica.com/employment.jsp (12/18)

JOB OPENING:  EXEC/ADMIN ASST/Comcast Networks/NY: Asst Sr execs w/ daily admin duties.3-5 yrs exp asst Sr execs.Strong writ/verbal comms skills; det-oriented. MS Off. knwlg a must. Must Apply @ www.comcast.com . EEO/AA/Drug free (12/17)

JOB OPENING: STRATEGIC PLANNING ANALYST/NY: Resp for digital avail rpts, contracted/billed rev rpts, support VP/Mgr on ad hocs. Finance exp preferred, strong excel. TimeWarner.com  # 99308. Cover/resume: [email protected] (12/17)

JOB OPENING:  NATIONAL TV Supervisor & Buyer/LA: Top Agency, Excellent Group ,need negotiating experience with National TV& Cable Networks. Excel Benefits, will relocate – pls send resume to [email protected]   (12/17)

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WINTER SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: HR INTERN POST-PROD CO/Burbank, CA: Gain exp. in all facets of HR: Benefits, Recruiting, Employee Relations, Compensation, Training. Submit resume: [email protected] , with HR Intern in subject line. (12/20)

WINTER SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: MKTG INTERN POST-PROD CO/Burbank CA: Gain exp. in all facets of Marketing: PR, Online, Graphic Design, Copyrighting, Advertising. Submit resume to [email protected] , with Marketing Intern in subject line. (12/20)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: IN SESSION INTERNS/truTV/NY: Assist in production of daytime trial coverage and booking department. Skills: Writing, Computer, Research. Apply online: www.turnerjobs.com Req#109741BR (12/19)

WINTER SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: COMEDY TALENT MANAGEMENT INTERN/ LA: Assist w/ office duties, covering shows, helping run live monthly show. For more info/submit resume, email [email protected] (12/19)

WINTER SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Thirteen/ WNET/NY:Daily animated kids’ series seeks interns w/ interest in online educational media and web analytics. Must be available 12-20 hrs/wk. Stipend offered. Res/cvr lttr w/ availability to [email protected] (12/19)

WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Fuel TV music dept: INTERNS interested in learning about music sprvsn for TV/film. Will learn about licensing, placement, rights & all aspects of how music fits into prod. Resume to: [email protected] (12/18)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: IN SESSION INTERNS/truTV/NY: Assist in production of daytime trial coverage and booking department. Skills: Writing, Computer, Research. Apply online: www.turnerjobs.com Req#109741BR (12/18)

WINTER SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  EDITORIAL VIDEO INTERN/NY, NY:  Assist Editorial Director w/ writer paperwork, assignments, photo gallery production & copywriting and editing. For more info/submit resume, visit www.cablevision.jobs req ID 6886BR (12/17)

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SITUATION WANTED: Facing staff or budget cuts? Freelance MKTG STRATEGIST & PROMOTIONS guru available to supplement your staff. Specialties: branding, promo partnerships, & breakthrough biz dev strategies. Email: [email protected] (1/3)

SITUATION WANTED: DOCUMENTARY PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, WRITER in L.A. Five prime time Emmy Awards. National Geographic on NBC and PBS. Discovery, History Channel and MSNBC. Contact email: [email protected] (1/3)

SITUATION WANTED: FIELD PRODUCER/ DIRECTOR:LA/ Docusoap, Lifestyle, Infotainment,Feature Doc + more. Resonant leader,` keen director/ writer, strong storyteller + showrunner. 8+ yrs. Will travel. [email protected] 917.716.7277 (1/3)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR (NY) Ultra creative, vast experience, all genres, all networks, reality, major cable, award winning and fun! [email protected] (1/3)

SITUATION WANTED: NATIONAL ACCOUNT SALES MANAGER: Top performing sales professional; Expertise in Business Development/Marketing/Media; Adept at strategy, project management & implementation. CONTACT: [email protected] (1/3)

SITUATION WANTED: Results oriented ACCT MGR DIST/SYND (19 yrs) seeks opp. w/ agency/network/studio/prod. co. Worked@ Disney, Ascent & Visual Data- Resume & client references avail. LA Based [email protected] (12/20)

SITUATION WANTED: TV/ONLINE CFO or VP FINANCE, LA/NYC: Experience spans Financial Analysis, Strategy,M&A and Accounting in cable networks and online. Over 10 years with Disney and MTVN. Contact: [email protected] (12/19)

SITUATION WANTED: BROADCAST DESIGNER..Multiple BDA/ Promax award winner. Art Direction/Motion Graphics/ print / webdesign.  See site at www.eqdesign.com – [email protected] (12/18)

SITUATION WANTED: ASSOCIATE PRODUCER or ASSOCIATE STORY PRODUCER (L.A.), 9+ yrs in all aspects of production, exp. in reality, inc. game, & scripted. Valid passport – willing to travel. [email protected] (12/18)

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