Cynopsis: DIGITAL

08/18/10

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, August 18, 2010, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.  If you would like to read this or any other Cynopsis edition online, click here. 

Netflix, which just signed an attractive deal with EPIX to sew up streaming rights to Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM movies a mere 90 days after their initial DVD release, is unlikely to get such access to Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal titles, according to HBO Co-President Eric Kessler in a Bloomberg interview. HBO acquired both the cable and internet rights to the studios’ new releases and is apparently sticking with its plan to serve online and Over-the-top audiences with its own HBO Go service, which requires a Comcast or Verizon FiOS HBO subscription.
 

 
TVGuide.com is supplementing TV Guide Network’s coverage of the Emmys on Sunday, Aug. 29 with online coverage of the stars arriving on the Red Carpet. Fans can dish on what the stars or wearing using the site’s Facebook app or Twitter integration. Celebrity interviews and “Fashion Wrap” programming will be distributed by TV Guide Broadband to third party sites such as YouTube, Hulu and Fancast.
 

 
Crave Online’s MMA-focused site Sherdog.com has launched a new Mixed Martial Arts original online video series “Fight Week” featuring news, athlete interviews, celebrity spotlights and fight previews and reviews. IP-based network iBN Sports is co-producing the show and also featuring it on their iBN Fight site.
 

 
U.S. advertisers will increase their spending on social networks by a robust 20% this year to $1.7 billion, according to a new eMarketer report, amounting to 6.7% of all online ad spending in the U.S. This is up from the company’s $1.3 billion 2010 forecast issued in Dec. 2009.
 
Palo Alto, CA-based social media services company AdGent 007 has launched its America’s Video Ad Network (AVAN). The platform’s full screen video player provides pre-stitial video ads that are viewed when a user clicks through to a site. The ad unit, which can be opted out of, expands to fill out the whole screen when clicked.
 
Social media management company Vitrue released a free Agency API from its Vitrue SRM Platform to enable agency clients to create and deploy creative social networking apps in house. The company says its SRM solution s currently being used by more than 50 agencies, managing nearly 200 million Facebook fans over 47 countries.
 

 
After receiving complaints from the U.S., Japan and Taipei, a new WTO ruling found that the EU has violated a global trade law by slapping import tariffs on high tech electronic goods. WTO judges have asked the EU to drop the import duties on cable set-tops, multifunction printers and flat-panel monitors, which could total up to 300 million euros ($386 million) a year. The EU has 60 days to appeal the ruling.
 
The South Korean government is stepping up efforts to tackle internet addiction among its citizens, who enjoy the fastest and cheapest broadband connections in the word, per the Washington Post. Proposals include limiting the hours that multiplayer games are available online.
 
HP announced it will acquire Fortify Software, a privately held software security company based in San Mateo, CA that helps protect companies against malicious attacks.
 
Ross Video entered into an agreement to acquire Nielsen encoders and Closed Captioning Inserter maker Norpak Corp., which is majority owned by Rovi Corporation.
 
Local online media vendor Broadcast Interactive Media (BIM) signed a multi-year contract extension with Granite Broadcasting to manage sites in its local markets including Binghamton, NY, Buffalo, NY, Detroit, MI, Duluth, MN, Fort Wayne, IN, Fresno, CA, Peoria, IL and San Francisco, CA.
 

 
Like it or not, the time-shifting phenomenon continues to ramp up across the U.S. Comcast‘s annual TV Pulse survey found that 62% of TV viewers have used time-shifting technologies including a DVR, VOD or the internet, with roughly the same percentage saying they have increased their usage over the past year. The survey, conducted by International Communications Research, queried 1,000 viewers – both Comcast and non-Comcast subscribers. Comcast customers under-indexed in their plans to watch prime-time shows on their DVRs (Comcast recently raised its DVR rental price to over $17/mo.) and over-index vs. national consumers when planning to watch shows on demand, 30% vs. 16% for the general population. Other findings included:

• Nationally, 80% plan to watch live this fall and two-thirds plan to use the DVR nationally (41%) for recording and watching the new fall TV season. Online (17%) and On Demand (16%) will also be primary viewing methods
• Top reasons consumers are using time-shifting technologies include personal schedules (79%) and programming conflicts (63%)
• Dramas are the most eagerly anticipated fall TV shows (75%), followed by Comedies (68%), Movies (57%), News/Educational (50%) and Sports (45%)
• CBS’s Hawaii Five-O redux was found to be creating the most buzz (40%) with CBS’ The Good Wife the most-anticipated returning show (21%)

 
Thanks to the proliferation of connected devices and the expansion of broadband households, OTT content is finally going to be properly monetized in the coming years. Revenue associated with web-to-TV video content, including subscription, PPV and ad revenue, will grow from $2 billion to $17 billion in the U.S. by 2014, according to a new report from In-Stat. Contributing factors include:

• The installed base of web-enabled consumer electronics video devices will grow from 70 million in 2009 to 237 million in 2014
• The total number of US broadband households that own web-enabled CE video devices will nearly triple to 98 million by 2014
• The over 11 million operator-provisioned hybrid Set-tops that will be delivering online video content directly to the TV by 2014

 
Out to prove it can exist without Apple, thank you very much, Adobe announced that the Adobe AIR app creation platform has been successfully integrated with Android as part of its 2.5 release and that we can expect to see AIR-built apps on the phones by the end of the year.
 
Panasonic, whose VIERA CAST broadband platform already features Netflix, Pandora, Amazon Video on Demand and Skype voice and video calling, has added a Twitter app the its Plasma HDTVs. Twitter will also be made available on VIERA CAST-enabled Blu-ray Disc Players later this year.
 
Netherlands-based Universal Electronics plans to unveil a new next-generation point-and-click wireless universal remote called the Dolphin at the upcoming IBC 2010 show in Amsterdam. Utilizing Hillcrest Labs’ “Freespace” motion-detection technology (used in its donut shaped Loop Pointer,) the remote allows users to manipulate the interface by waving the controller in the air.
 
China Unicom, the country’s #2 mobile operator, plans to launch Apple‘s iPhone 4 in China next month and in talks to also sell the iPad, per AFP.
 

 
White label video ad platform AdGenesis LLC, tapped Michael Kelley, longtime Partner of PwC’s digital media practice, as Chief Marketing Officer, a newly created position. He will also continue to run his own venture, Unconventional Partners with partner Mark Berryhill.
 
Tony Platt has been promoted to Chief Creative Officer for Meredith Integrated Marketing‘s CRM and Custom Publishing practice. He will oversee creative output across custom publishing, customer relationship management (CRM) and content development for all MIM clients.
 
Bruce Tyroler will lead the digital team of the newly renamed CNN Research and Analytics center as VP/Digital Research & Analytics, based in New York and charged with leading the creation, unification and development of CNN Digital’s research and analytics. Ann Harris will serve as the new Director of Digital Analytics, based in Atlanta. She will be joined by Devora Olin, as Research Analyst. Meanwhile Jill Dowless was named VP/Television Research to head CNN and HLN television research groups, joined by Maureen Lynch, as Director of CNN Research.
 
Multiplatform network Current TV hired of trio of new ad sales people, including Ryan Forbell as Director, Ad Sales; Jessica Kleiner as Account Executive, Ad Sales and Kathryn McCarthy as Account Executive, Ad Sales. Each will be based in Current’s New York office.
 
Online media verification firm DoubleVerify has hired Paul Audino as VP/National Sales and Debbie Sorich as West Coast Sales Director.
 
Former Microsoft VP Sanjay Parthasarathy has joined semantic web platform OpenAmplify‘s executive board.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM WESTDOC

 
The rapid proliferation of broadband-enabled televisions is quickly drawing a line in the sand between content aggregators like Netflix and cable operators (see today’s top story.) But Netflix is an 800-pound gorilla that is attracting savvy audiences with a wide breadth of offerings, a better user interface and a recommendation engine that gets to know your preferences and operators are finally realizing they need some of that. Web-based TV technology platform Clearleap is coming forth to bridge the gap with a new solution designed with Related Content Database, Inc. (RCDb) that allows operators offer up their entire VOD libraries or other supplementary content through an internet-connected Blu-ray player. (Clearleap also introduced a similar partnership with Roku in June to provide an integrated solution for that company’s wildly successful over-the-top box.) Get a few drinks in them and operators will admit that their VOD interface is, well, bad. “There’s a whole generation of new people coming out of college used to a good UI who will take one look at (the traditional VOD interfaces) and just turn away,” noted Braxton Jarratt, CEO of Clearleap. But look what they have to work with – legacy set-tops from a couple of companies that had no incentive to innovate, ever. The Clearleap solution is a here and now workaround that will enable functionality such as advanced search, sharing, playlist creation and other features media consumers under 50 have come to expect. It will be fascinating to see how Clearleap deployments, expected to begin during Q4 of this year, will be utilized by operators to compete. One way operators are looking to utilize IP-delivered fare is as a bonus add on to get subscribers to sign up for a higher tier of data service, says Mr. Jarratt.
 
Later — Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
[email protected]
08.18.10

Cynopsis Ad Sales:
Mike Farina – Sr. Dir/Business Development & Sales – 203-218-6480 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-381-9096 / [email protected]

Member of Interactive Advertising Bureau (iab)

To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here .
To unsubscribe , click the button at the end of this email.

Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here  .

ATTENTION JOB RECRUITERS FOR THE TELEVISION AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRY – send us your contact information so we can begin to build a database for referrals.  We get people all the time around the country asking us for names of local recruiters.  Help us out – send us your contact information, name, company, address, phone, email and fax.  NY and LA are great, but we also need names of firms in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, DC, and elsewhere.  We have people to send you!   Email your info to [email protected].

JOB OPENING:   SR MANAGED AD SALES RESEARCH/DIRECTV NYC:  5+ yrs in national TV research working w/ sales, pricing & planning. Strong relationship with Nielsen. Apply online www.directv.com/careers   search for req#1001150  (8/25)

JOB OPENING:  PRODUCTION COORD/Gameshow Network/Santa Monica:  Production Coord. 3+ yrs exp in Production, Finance, Studio and Field operations. Send Res & CL to [email protected] (8/25)

JOB OPENING:  MGR, SPONSORSHIP SOLUTIONS/TBS/TNT/ATL: Manages strategic dev of innovative, custom, multi-platform sponsorships. Excellent mktg skills/communication/proj mgmt required. Resumes: [email protected] (8/25)

JOB OPENING:  ASST. DRTV MEDIA BUYER/Lockard & Wechsler, Irvington , NY:  Entry level, data entry, self motivated , must like numbers. DRTV agency or sales experience a major plus. Send resume to [email protected] (8/25)

JOB OPENING:  ASSOC MGR/MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT/NYC: Work w/ Consumer Products team, providing business support to category Dirs. 3+ yrs exp.  Excellent communication and analytic skills.  E-mail resumes to [email protected]  (8/25)

JOB OPENING:  EXEC PRODUCER, MKTG, CREATIVE SERVICE/NAT GEO CHANNEL/DC: Creates, produces mktg & promo campaigns. Strong conceptual ideas & mgmt exp. 7+ yrs creative svs exp. Apply: www.foxcareers.com FNG20613 (8/25)

JOB OPENING:  MEDIA ANALYST/Billetts America/NYC: Analyze media plans on both a cost & quality basis. 4-8 Yrs Media Buying/Planning Exp Req; Strong Excel and analytical skills reqd; resume: [email protected] (8/25)

JOB OPENING: DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER/DC: Develop, research, and write concepts and treatments for Event Series & Specials programming to be produced by NGT. Apply: www.nationalgeographic.com . Search job ID #4301. EOE (8/24)

JOB OPENING: EXECUTIVE EDITOR/NYC: Mng licensing editorial staff. 5 yr + editorial & licensing experience. Leadership qualifications, excellent editorial skills a must. Cover letter and resume to: [email protected] (8/24)

JOB OPENING: VP, MVIE PROG/AETN/Los Angeles: VP to dev/execute orig prog fr LT mvies; ptchs/rvw subs/dev projects; 8+ yrs TV network/stdio/cbl prgmr/exp. https://www.abso.com/jobboard/Default.aspx?JOBBOARDID=618&JobDetail=77539 (8/24)

JOB OPENING: MERCHANDISER /MH USA/NY: Mngs negotiations w/ Creative Agencies, Adv & Promo co’s, Events firms, PR co’s. Also source POS material, VAP pckgng for luxury wines & spirits co. 5yrs+ rel. exp. Rez to [email protected] (8/21)

JOB OPENING: INTEGRATED SALES & MKTG PLNR/FOX HISPANIC MEDIA GROUP/NY: Design, create & execute Integrated Sales proposals for Ad Sales dept utilizing TV, on-line, wireless & print. 2+ yrs exp. Apply: www.foxcareers.com ref FNG20612 (8/21)

JOB OPENING: SVP, SALES/FOX Sports Interactive/NY: Be an integral player who will drive high-growth sales & build high-level relationships. View job/apply: http://bit.ly/b0yOyh (8/21)

JOB OPENING:  RES ANALYST/Comcast Networks/NYC: Provide support to Advertising Sales, prior exp in media pref. MRI, Simmons, Nielsen, strong computer & interpersonal skills req. http://www.ecentralmetrics.com/url/?u=2685237271|5 (8/20)

JOB OPENING:  3D ANIMATOR/DESIGNER & GRAPHIC ARTIST/CHICAGO: Tribune’s groundbreaking show “Eye Candy” has FT/graveyard shift positions in Chicago.Send us a link w/ your reel. Apply: https://careers-tribune.icims.com/jobs/15172/job (8/20)

JOB OPENING:   FREELANCE REPORTERS:  New TV mag. show seeks reporters nationwide to produce original stories. Req. 5+ years exp. producing for television. Energy, science exp. essential. Send resumes, links to [email protected] (8/20)

JOB OPENING: NEWS DIRECTOR WANTED SW medium market. 5 yrs minimum News management. Successful ratings growth, budget & new media exp; hiring & teaching skills. Resume, philosophy, refs & salary to [email protected] (8/19)

JOB OPENING: SR. DIGITAL RESEARCH ANALYST/VH1/NYC: 1+ yrs media research; Exp w/web analytics such as Omniture, comScore, Media Metrix, Nielsen//NetRatings, @Plan, Forrester, eMarketer; EOE/M/F/D/AAP www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (8/19)

JOB OPENING:  WEB PRODUCER/Eco science non-profit org/NYC-area:  Edit, post multimedia content to Web; 7+ yrs online prod, reporting. Exp w/social media outreach, SEO, site traffic analysis. Apply: [email protected] (8/19)

JOB OPENING: DIR, OXYGEN NEW MEDIA RSRCH/NY: NEW RSRCH POSITION. The Rsrch team for Oxygen is growing! Produce insights to help drive new media decisions & overall content & rev. strategies.Apply: www.nbcunicareers.com job #1239782 (8/19)

JOB OPENING: SR. ANALYST, OXYGEN NEW MEDIA RSRCH/NY: NEW RESEARCH POSITION. The Rsrch team for Oxygen is growing! Handle prod/analysis of web, mobile, social & interactive consumer data.  Apply:  www.nbcunicareers.com job #1195467 (8/19)

JOB OPENING: SR. RSRCH ANALYST, WOMEN @NBCU/NY: NEW RSRCH POSITION FOR NEW VERTICAL! Support VP & SVP generating new insights to engage NBCU advertisers & their agencies. Apply @ www.nbcunicareers.com job # 1242719 (8/19)

JOB OPENING:  DIGITAL MEDIA/Sesame Workshop/NY: Seeking freelance game producers, production assistants,and a QA manager to work on various digital platform projects. [email protected] (8/19)

JOB OPENING: SR ACCT EXEC(5)/Disney Interactive/SF/Chi/LA/NY/ATL: Online media, branded ent & mobile sales. Over 20 sites incl. Disney.com & Disney Mom’s & Women’s Ntwrk of sites. online Ad Sales exp a must. [email protected] (8/19)

JOB OPENING:  NEWS DIRECTOR/San Diego: 6 News seeks qualified candidate to oversee all aspects of News programming. Previous experience at medium-small market CW, IND or Fox affiliate preferred. Email [email protected] (8/19)

INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free , and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected].

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED …  There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad … for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected]

SITUATION WANTED: Dedicated & Experienced ADV. SALES PLANNER (NY) Sales proposals, resolving client discrepancies, quarterly post analysis, special sales service projects, expert computer skills. Contact- [email protected]  (8/25)

SITUATION WANTED: MEDIA SALES/MARKETING MANAGER/LA: 15+ years experience in educational, documentary, advertising media sales,product,biz development True Closer!!!!! [email protected] (8/24)

SITUATION WANTED: VO TALENT Rebecca Michaels available for freelance and in-house projects. Delivers high-quality VO from home studio for all lengths of corporate and commercial gigs. Visit www.LoveThatRebecca.com for complete info (8/24)

SITUATION WANTED: ART DIRECTOR & ILLUSTRATOR (NYC) -Outstanding from concept to final. Portfolio: www.baerdavis.com Email: [email protected] (8/24)

SITUATION WANTED: RESEARCH DIR/SALES STRATEGIST – Nielsen, Hisp, Research, Sales, and Presentation experience. Any assignments? Email: [email protected] (8/24)

SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE TALENT ESCORT/TALENT PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: available for celebrity events, red carpet, award shows, film premieres, etc. Experience greeting and escorting A-list celebrities. Contact [email protected] (8/24)

SITUATION WANTED: ADVERTISING/BRAND MARKETING EXECUTIVE: 20+ years experience in media, entertainment, technology & CPG on both client & agency side looking for full-time or freelance projects. [email protected] (8/24)

SITUATION WANTED:  NYC MARKETER : Brand advocate and protector. NBC Universal & Warner Bros. experience. Holds M.B.A. in Marketing and Brand Management. Contact [email protected] (8/21)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION MANAGER: 10+ Yrs of industry experience. Worked for Bravo, Discovery, Animal Planet, TRU & Playboy.Travel exp, multiple crews, cool under fire, on-time & under budget. Please contact [email protected] (8/21)

SITUATION WANTED: FIELD/STORY PRODUCER  Exceptional and fast writer. Diplomatic producer. Skilled at creating emotional stories from set thru post. Budget conscious, client-friendly. Fun. 10+ years exp. [email protected] (8/21)

SITUATION WANTED: FORMER CAA AGT (10 yrs.) Deep rolodex. Repped A list music & tv talent. Negotiated multi-million $ contracts worldwide & entertainment marketing support/business dev to Fortune 500 companies. [email protected] (8/21)

SITUATION WANTED: WRITER’S ASSISTANT – FILM/TV (LA). 6+ yrs. experience as an Executive/Legal Assistant. Former Feature Development Intern at Participant Media. Final Cut Pro. MFA, MA, and BA degrees. [email protected] (8/21)

SITUATION WANTED: ONLINE ACCOUNT EXEC/NY: -5yrs digital Media exp/goal oriented, customer service driven/top agency list/exp. with display,video, sponsorships, newsletter, integrated custom content. Contact: [email protected] (8/21)

SITUATION WANTED:  SALES/BIZ DEV EXECUTIVE w/10+ years experience is looking for position in sales, biz development, licensing, project management, and media sales/planning.Contact: [email protected] (8/19)

E-mail [email protected]  or call Trish Pihonak at 203.381.9096 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.

Cynopsis Media LLC
One Corporate Drive, Suite 724
Shelton, CT 06484
203.926.9878

All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2010