Cynopsis: DIGITAL
12/01/09
Good morning, it’s Tuesday, December 1, 2009, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.
The hiring of former Google ad executive Tim Armstrong is starting to make sense. In an effort to cut down on production costs, AOL plans to deploy algorithms and other automations to assign freelance stories, images and videos on Seed.com that are pre-packaged with a sponsor, per the WSJ. The system is designed to track breaking news and trends and to identify peak times to write about seasonal events. Producers will get paid based on what the search-sourced system projects demand for advertising will be. AOL is also planning to let advertisers commission stories for its ads to run around. (The line between journalism and advertorial blurs yet again …)
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is teaming with Amazon’s CreateSpace division to distribute made-to-order DVDs of classic MGM films and TV shows, similar to the Warner Archive Collection initiative launched earlier this year. Titles, the first batch of which are due out on Dec. 15 on Amazon.com, include Sidney Lumet’s “The Group,” Sam Shepard’s “Far North” and the 1997 Season 2 of Poltergeist, the series. Director/cinephile Peter Bogdanovich will film an online video introduction for each manufactured-on-demand title.
As part of the non-stop build up for James Cameron’s “Avatar,” MTV News will stream a live roundtable with Cameron, producer Jon Landau and actors Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington on Thur., Dec. 3 at 3 pm ET. The 30-minute discussion, which will stream in HD simultaneously on MTV.com and Facebook, will feature unseen footage from the film and enable live fan interaction. LG Mobile Phones is sponsoring the event.
Shopoholic.com is Oxygen Media‘s new e-tail portal, combining shopping guides, social networking components, casual gaming and e-commerce elements with the celebrity presence of Oxygen personalities. A Holiday Gift Guide allows users to browse for gifts for each relationship in their life, including mother, sister, boyfriend and BFF (best friend for, like, EVER.)
ABCNEWS.com will stream live coverage of President Obama’s speech regarding his strategy in Afghanistan from West Point tomorrow evening at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT, combining it with reporting from ABC’s political and national security correspondents embedded in Afghanistan. The site features a special section on the war in Afghanistan encouraging users to share their thoughts live via Facebook Connect.
Hulu introduced new advanced search functionality to help users drill down and filter searches by show title, network, air date, or metadata phrases associated with the video. Parents may also implement the filter to weed out TVMA, R or NC-17 titles.
As part of the Independent Digital Distribution Lab, ITVS and PBS are launching a new library of indie films on Apple’s iTunes portal, available for purchase at $9.99 each. Titles include “Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green,” “Banished,” “Lakshmi and Me,” “Milking the Rhino,” “Estilo Hip Hop” and Oscar-nominated “Daughter From Danang.”
The shooting of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” has been delayed again until the middle of next year but Tolkien fans can quench their thirst for the time being with “Born of Hope,” a new prequal spin off premiering exclusively on Dailymotion from today. The labor of love, created in a web-based collaboration and funded entirely by private donations, tells the story of Aragorn’s parents, Arathorn and Gilraen, along with the characters who sacrificed to keep Aragorn safe.
Univision Interactive Media has launched the Univision Partner Group, a new unit targeting U.S. Hispanics with an advertising and publisher network comprised of pre-screened, brand-approved Spanish-language online and mobile websites. The ad network offers targeted buys assembled by geography, category and behavior-targeted inventory. Publisher content ranges across several categories, including entertainment (Caracol Television, Revista Caras), news (Perfil.com), sports (TyC Sports) and business & finance (Ambito Financiero).
The online gambling industry doubled down once again as both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board postponed the implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act by 6 months until June 1, 2010. The act would have made it illegal for U.S. banks and credit card companies to process internet gambling transactions.
One dollar kiosk-based DVD retailer Redbox President Mitch Lowe defended his company’s effect on the DVD industry in a Q&A with the WSJ, saying that he is opening up new avenues of profit for the studios. “What we’re doing – and I think some of the studios recognize this, some don’t – we’re expanding the ability for more people to watch more movies. This is really just a model change that they need to get on board with.”
Sirius XM Radio could team up with Liberty Media Corp to take its satellite radio offerings global through a partnership with WorldSpace Inc, Chief Executive Mel Karmazin told Reuters. The debt-laden company also said it is prepared to engineer a reverse stock split to lift its stock price and avoid delisting from Nasdaq if its stock price fails to cross the $1 barrier by March 15.
The beleaguered gaming industry received a boost over the holiday weekend. Internal tracking numbers at Nintendo showed that the company sold more than 1.5 million Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi video game systems combined in the U.S. during Thanksgiving Week, including more than 550,000 Wii home consoles – which were recently lowered by $50 to $199.99. More than 1 million Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi portable systems were also sold.
Online video media center software maker Boxee will preview the Beta version of its popular app on Dec. 7 at an event at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in NYC. (Sign up for early Beta access here.) The new version won’t actually be released to the public until Dec. 7 during CES. New features include a re-designed look and feel, improved navigation and search – including the ability to access TV shows and movies online or on local hard drives and networks – and a queuing functionality enabling you to save web shows for later viewing.
AT&T and Samsung introduced the first smartphone to feature a 1 GHz processor, an integrated mobile projector and, for the security conscious, a fingerprint recognition sensor. The LG eXpo, which runs on the latest Windows Mobile OS, projects video from as far away as 8 feet and will be compatible with AT&T’s High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology.
Oceanhouse Media unveiled the first series of officially-licensed iPhone apps based on Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! “Grinchmas” is a snowball and present-throwing game, retailing for $1.99 and “Dr. Seuss Camera – The Grinch Edition” is a greeting card maker enabling you insert photos of you and yours, priced at $2.99.
Popular IM iPhone app eBuddy launched a premium $4.99 sans-ads version allowing users to chat with friends across multiple messaging services including Facebook Chat, ICQ, Gtalk, AIM, MySpace, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. New features include push notifications for incoming messages and picture sharing.
Social network hi5 has named Alex St. John, founder and former CEO of casual gaming company WildTangent, as its new President and CTO.
New York-based online video ad network Tremor Media has hired Mukund Ramachandran for the newly created position of Senior Director of Product Marketing. Mukund, former Director of Product Marketing at Yahoo, is responsible for product positioning, go-to-market strategies and sales enablement efforts.
Pixorial.com is new collaborative video sharing site that allows you to upload or snail mail video in virtually any format (VHS, VHS-C, Betamax, MiniDV, Super 8 – you name it,) digitize it, then make it available to friends and family. Send a link to potential collaborators to allow them to write goofy comments, create their own mash-ups or add their own footage to the mix. The online software is intuitive and idiot-proof, allowing you to easily drag-and-drop scenes, insert titles or even add fades into the video. It’s also a perfect platform for e-cards. Now, the folks at the Denver-based start-up are testing a cool new app to the multitudes on Facebook. Pixorial’s Screening Room allows you to upload videos to your wall, which friends can watch and comment on while the video is playing. O.K., we’ve seen this before. But as you watch, you get to see the comments friends made at the exact moment of the video they’re talking about. Social networking is all about immediacy and relevancy and this tool should make video a much richer part of the experience. If you want to check out the preview of the app, simply create a free account on Pixorial.com (which can do through Facebook Connect), then friend “preview pixorial” on Facebook.
Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
12.01.09
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JOB OPENING: SR CLIENT ANALYST/MSA Media/NY: Manage cable nets on Gabriel/other SW. Perform biz svcs, issue resolution, training, Jr acct mgmt duties, prod planning. Tech knowledge preferred. Send res/$ to [email protected] (12/8)
JOB OPENING: VP, CREATIVE SVCS/Disney ABC Domestic TV/LA: Min 8 yrs in broadcast advertising; lead all aspects creative production (a/v, trade, consumer, print). Solid leader/mgmt skills. Apply www.disneycareers.com #215363 (12/8)
JOB OPENING: VP, BUS & LEGAL AFFAIRS/MTVN/NYC: 6+ yrs in antipiracy/litigation related to protection of copyrighted content; Exp in tech related investigations/IP related transactions; JD/NY Bar Req’d www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (12/8)
JOB OPENING: SR ACCT EXEC/ElectricArtists/NY: Online mktg, PR, social media & promo initiatives. Expert ideation & project mgt 5-8+ yrs mktg, project mgt, PR. Online media, TV, or major consum brand. [email protected] (12/5)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/ION/NY: Entry level, Nielsen/MRI, quantitative analysis exp required, College Degree req’d, Business Degree a +, proficient in MS Office. Apply to [email protected] (12/5)
JOB OPENING: FREELANCE MARKETING/RETAIL MANAGER/ Nickelodeon Publishing/NYC. 3+yrs Marketing exp, Retail or publishing exp A+, Knowledge of Children’s publishing A+, Strong Org Skills EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Resumes to [email protected] (12/5)
JOB OPENING: MGR, RESEARCH/ANALYTICS/Hulu/LA: 5+ yrs media/mktg rsrch exp. Strong analytical/data interpretation/preso skills. Nielsen/comScore systems and proj. mgmt exp. req’d. Job description. EOE. Send resumes: hulu.com (12/4)
JOB OPENING: NEWS SERVICES SALES: National distributor seeking experienced station sales representative to sell news services. Candidate must have local news and syndication sales experience. [email protected] (12/3)
JOB OPENING: SALES SERVICE EXEC/National Football League/NY: Work closely with the Acct Exec selling and servicing new and existing national & corp sponsorships to direct clients & advertising agencies. Apply@ www.nfl.apply2jobs.com (12/3)
JOB OPENING: ACCT EXEC/NFL/NY: Exp’d media sales professional to provide mktg/media solutions to new & existing nat’l advrtsrs. Pckg/sell media across NFL.com & NFL Wireless. Work w/ TV sales team. Apply@ www.nfl.apply2jobs.com (12/3)
JOB OPENING: ADV PLATFORM SALES MGR/NY/Cablevision: Exp’d Sales Prof to drive ad rev. & new biz.Excel rels w/ media clients & proven sales record. www.cablevision.jobs ref#9563BR (12/3)
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)
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SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: NYC doc prod. co. seeks exp’d, orgnzd & energetic JRS/SRS. Fast-paced envir. Pls specify “dvlpmnt” “accting” or “prod” in app. Office, shoot, post-prod & dvlpmnt work.. Email: [email protected] (12/8)
SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: NYC Boutique TV Syndication Co. seeks diligent undergrad to assist in daily operations. Duties include creation of mktg/promo materials,contracts, etc. MS Office & strong comm skill required. Email [email protected] (12/5)
SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: MARKETING INTERN/truTV, NY: Support marketing department (consumer, affiliate, & ad sales). Majors: Comm., Mktg, Adv. Skills: Writing, Computer, Phone, Rsrch. Apply Online: www.turnerjobs.com – Requisition # 107860BR (12/5)
SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Electric MKTG INTERN:Research, analytical reporting, admin tasks. Excel, PPT & Twitter-savvy. Undergrad,3 days per week. Reply: [email protected] w/ res/cover (12/4)
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)
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SITUATION WANTED: TRAFFIC MANAGER with 13 years exp seeks position in Radio/TV/Online or traffic software in NY/NJ. [email protected] (12/5)
SITUATION WANTED: 5 PRIME TIME EMMYS/ DOC. PROD, DIR., WRITER in L.A. Credits: National Geo, PBS, Discovery, History CH, TLC and MSNBC. Contact email: [email protected] (12/5)
SITUATION WANTED: MARKETING POSITION: 10+ years of account management experience. Trustworthy, intelligent and hardworking. Email me for a resume: [email protected] (12/5)
SITUATION WANTED: Available LOGGER seeking transcription work. Can transcribe interviews, B-roll and various types of footage. Onsite or Virtual. Email: [email protected] (12/3)
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)
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