Good morning, it’s Wednesday, February 10, 2010, and this is your first early morning digital briefing.

Revenues increased a shade but profits dipped slightly at Walt Disney Corp. due to some restructuring costs as the entertainment giant ended the FY Q1 with a reported net income of $844 million, down about $1 million from a year ago. Higher affiliate fees from Disney’s cable networks and increased revenue from the broadcasting group helped line the company’s coffers while the interactive media group also saw modest gains. Disney CEO Bob Iger gave analysts a peek at what the company is planning around the iPad during a conference call. He mentioned that native apps are either being developed or adapted around ABC’s Lost, ABC News and ESPN’s Sportcenter app, with digital book applications for Disney and Marvel Comics also in the works.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM MUSIC CHOICE

 
After rolling back prices a bit last season, Major League Baseball is increasing the price of its 2010 MLB.tv streaming video package to $99.95 this year, with the premium service priced $20 more at $119.95. The good news is that the standard package will include HD quality streaming this year if you’ve got enough bandwidth. (MLB recommends 3 Mbps but 5 is a better bet.) Premium subscribers get DVR functionality, a choice of home or away broadcast feeds of each game and the multi-game view option, offering up to 4 live streams at once.
 
The CBS Interactive Music Group is putting together another “Live on Letterman” webcast of a Mary J. Blige concert on Feb. 16, following the taping of her performance on The Late Show. The concert will be offered on CBS Radio stations and streamed at CBS.com from 8pm ET with live and on demand access also available across multiple CBS properties including CBS Television Station web site, Last.fm, TV.com and ETOnline.com.
 
Cox Communications signed a carriage agreement with ABS-CBN International to add the Filipino On Demand service across its entire digital footprint.
 
As part of its Big Comedy Week starting Mar. 8, CMT is partnering with Rooftop Comedy to host the user-determined Next Big Comic competition. Twelve up-and-comers battle for a spot at the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival in June.
 
DIY Network is bringing its dual platform interactive Blog Cabin series back from a fourth season beginning Monday, Feb. 15. This season focuses on the renovation of a 70’s ranch-style home in upstate New York, minutes from the site of Woodstock. DIY says nearly 4 million votes were cast on last year’s designs.
 

Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Andrew Steele have been given 30 minutes a week on HBO to bring their Funny or Die creations to the bigger screen in Funny or Die Presents, premiering this Friday at midnight. Ferrell and Don Cheadle star in Drunk History: Douglass and Lincoln in the premiere episode, which took home the Sundance Jury Prize in short filmmaking this year. Ed Haligan (VP/Sales and Marketing for Funny Or Die) hosts the shorts show.
 
Web studio Revision3 is trying out live streaming by re-launching CO-OP Live as live weekly show, featuring reviews and profiles of the latest computer and console games and guest appearances from gaming industry pros. Produced by the creators of Revision3’s The 1 UP Show, CO-OP Live will solicit comments and commentary from the audience during the show via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. New episodes unspool each Tues. night at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT with the archived edition available the next morning.
 
Software-as-a-Service platform provider IVT has closed a $5.5 million series B funding round led by Syncom Venture Partners with Barshop Ventures also participating.
 
Fitz Roy Media has signed an agreement with Honest Entertainment to handle all rights to the Fido Dido intellectual property worldwide. As a result of the agreement, FRM, together with Glendale, CA-based Renegade Animation and Graphiti India Limited, will begin development and production on a new series of short form animated episodes for distribution across multiple platforms.
 

 
E*Trade Financial, the company that has gotten so much mileage out of those baby ads, is launching a mobile video campaign to promote Mobile Pro, a new integrated mobile software solution offering wireless access to their E*Trade accounts via smartphones including BlackBerry and iPhone. Transpera will serve 15-second pre-rolls across its platform for the campaign, targeted based on content usage and demographics.
 
The Funny Truth About Credit is a new star-studded branded web series from Experian designed to attach some digital hipness to the traditional button-down world of financial management. Vignettes starring such notables as Danny Glover, Vivica Fox, Michael Madsen and Jon Lovitz teach practical lessons with Experian’s Maribel Aber playing the voice of reason. The 6-episode series was produced by Matter, Edelman’s Sports & Entertainment Marketing division with Swift River Prod.
 

 
Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActive Corp. reported a Q4 loss of $1 billion due to $991 million in write downs on the value of businesses such as Ask.com and Match.com. However, the company actually beat street forecasts thanks to a late-year surge in ad revenues. Fourth-quarter revenue at new media businesses including CollegeHumor and The Daily Beast rose 6% to $63.5 million.
 

 
As bad as 2009 was for most industries, the digital advertising world fared pretty well according to ComScore‘s annual benchmark Digital Year in Review report. Despite softness in some sectors, many of the core businesses continued to grow. Trends included:

• The U.S. core search market grew 16% in 2009, driven by a 6% gain in unique searchers and a 10% gain in search queries per searcher. With the rollout of Bing, Microsoft sites grew from 8.3% to 10.7% share of all search queries
• Nearly 4 out of 5 Internet users visiting a social networking site on a monthly basis with Facebook and Twitter propelling much of the growth in the category
• Display ad impressions grew 21% in 2009 winning a larger share of media budgets, with an 8% uptick in ad reach and 1 12% increase in average frequency
• Total (retail and travel) U.S. e-commerce spending reached $209.6 billion in 2009, down 2% y/y for the first time ever but experienced growth as a percentage of overall spending
• Total online video views more than doubled from 14.8 billion in Jan ’09 to 33.2 billion in Dec ’09 as YouTube and Hulu made huge audience gains
• Smartphone ownership increase from 11% to 17% of all mobile users in the U.S., while 3G phone ownership increased from 32% to 43%

 
Experian announced it is bringing its Hitwise web measurement service to France.
 

 
Panasonic unveiled the industry’s first two 3D plasma HDTVs, due to be released in Japan in late April (a U.S. release hasn’t been set.) The 50″ ($4,800) and 54″ ($5,900) Viera VT2 series sets rely on 3D active shutter glasses that use battery power to block out light alternately from each lens. For 5 grand you also get a built in analog and digital tuners.
 
Similar to location-based services such as Foursquare, Google Buzz for mobile (see WOTD), soon to be available as a web-based app for Android or the iPhone, allows users to check and update their status, integrating with Google Maps to reveal the location of you and your friends. There’s also a Yelp-like component. Within Google Maps for Mobile, public Buzz content will appear as you scroll around a given location, allowing you to read quick restaurant or bar reviews.
 
Cult comic classic Bizzaro from Dan Piraro is coming to the iPhone with a new subscription-based app offered by King Features Syndicate, priced at a bargain $1.99/year. The app enables users to access a one-year archive of the Bizzaro strip as well as leave their own comments.
 

 
London-based Zodiak Entertainment named Marco Ferrari as Group-wide Chief Digital Officer across its unscripted and formats business. Marco will report to the Group’s SVP of Entertainment, Giorgio Gori.
 
Former TV Guide Network President Ryan O’Hara has been named President and CEO of trading card and digital media player Topps, owned by Michael Eisner and Madison Dearborn Partners. He replaces Scott Silverstein on March 1, who will remain on the company board.
 
Krista Jansen has been named Interactive Marketing Director at THA.i, the newly-formed digital agency (pronounced “Tie” as in “Can I tie you up with some our ties, Ty?”) headed by former Warner Bros. head of interactive marketing Don Buckley. She will be based in THA.i’s New York office.
 
TV promo start-up Simulmedia has hired Time Warner and AOL veteran Jon Werther as Chief Revenue Officer. He reports to founder Dave Morgan.
 
Comcast Entertainment Group has realigned its internal creative agency and expanded the roles of three marketing executives: Bear Fisher has been named SVP, Creative Director, E! Entertainment and The Style Network, overseeing the creative advertising team for the networks across all platforms. Leigh Anne Gardner has been upped to SVP/Print & Online Design, Comcast Entertainment Group, reporting to Bear, while Mark Scheider has been promoted to VP/Print and Online Design, under Leigh.
 
New York-based Film Movement, LLC has upped Meghan Wurtz to Vice President of the company. She will continue to report to Film Movement’s CEO and President, Adley Gartenstein.
 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM BATTLE OF THE BANDS: ROCK OF THE DECADES

 
As expected, Google introduced a new social networking tool to its free Gmail web-based email service enabling users to share status updates, images and videos. Google Buzz will also be available as a web-based app on Android-based devices and on the iPhone. Core features include the ability to tag and follow favorite contacts and an ingenious ability to filter out noise. The system allows you to, in Facebook parlance, “like” or “dislike” status updates as they come in then will learn to ignore posts from folks who like to share info that is too trivial. Another cool feature is the ability to tag your updates as public, going out to all of your followers, or private, which only your inner circle will see. It also recommends dialogues outside of your direct group of followers and adds them to your feed as it sees fit. Rather than boring old tiny URLs, photos from Flickr or Picasa or videos from YouTube appear with thumbnail images that play inline. Google Buzz integrates with Twitter, allowing you to pull in tweets from folks you follow, but not Facebook updates. Nor can you publish to Twitter or Facebook from the interface – Google wants to keep you where it can monetize you. The service will begin rolling out slowly to Gmail users this week.
 
Later – Wayne
Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
wayne@cynopsis.com
02.10.10

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JOB OPENING: MGR RSRCH temp /ABCTV/NY:  Execute Sr level stats analysis, excellent written verbal presentation skills in exec environment. Min of 4 yrs exp w/Nielsen ratings, MS Office www.disneyabcjobs.com #228492 (2/18)

JOB OPENING: NBCU RESEARCH ANALYST (Yoh)/NY:  Support cross network positioning & provide analyses/reports covering NBCU entertainment.Must have a BA/BS and 1-yr exp. in media research. Send resume to Cary.Meyers@nbcuni.com (2/18)

JOB OPENING: DIR, NATIONAL ACCTS/Los Angeles: Drive dist svcs & acct mgmt-neg contract renewals, dist relationships, ovrsee maint & complnce mid-sze corp deals. https://www.abso.com/jobboard/Default.aspx?JOBBOARDID=507&JobDetail=68543 (2/18)

JOB OPENING: MKTG COORD/Ad Sales/DIY/NY: 1+ yrs Sales/MKTG exp. Support development of Upfront & Trade show materials, upkeep DIY site & materials. Full details: http://www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com/careers & select req 1331 (2/18)

JOB OPENING: SENIOR PRINT DESIGNER/(BRAVO)/NBCU/NY: Creative lead in off-air advertising, promotion and marketing, from concept to development, of Bravo projects.BA, 6 yrs exp in print design. www.nbcjobs.com , #1142233(2/17)

JOB OPENING: SR RES ANALYST/AMC/NYC: Prep & maintain network analysis to support Ad Sales, Affil Sales & Mktg. 2+ years exp & related systems (MRI, Simmons). res to www.cablevision.jobs ref# 10513BR (2/17)

JOB OPENING: COORD, ANIMATION DVLPMNT & PROD/MANHATTAN BEACH CA: Entry-level. Support dvlpmnt & prod across all shows & supports dept personnel in all functions- licensing, mktg, & dist.Resume to: marvelanimationcv@gmail.com (2/13)

JOB OPENING: MGR, ANIMATION, DVLPMNT & PROD/MANHATTAN BEACH CA: Support dev, prod & dist w/day2day coord of assets/scheds/vendors. Emphasis co-prod & intl prod. 3+yrs exp animation prod is req’d. Res to: marvelanimationcv@gmail.com (2/13)

JOB OPENING: DIR & ACCT EXEC/RMG NETWORKS AD Sales/NY: Join the leading away-from home TV ent sales team.Dvlp/grow new & existing AD Sales across our platforms. 5-8 yrs TV and/or dig/OOH ad sales exp. Resume: jobs@rmgnetworks.com (2/13)

JOB OPENING: LEGAL ASSISTANT/Hallmark Channels/Los Angeles: Great opp. for exp’d Admin Asst with legal bkgrnd. Will support 3 Attorneys in Studio City. View full job posting & apply: www.hallmarkchannel.com “Jobs” (2/13)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/CABLEVISION/Hoboken, NJ:   Seeks AE for local ad sales.2+ yrs ad sales exp. pref cable TV, radio, e-media adv.  Valid NJ DL.  See full posting and apply to www.cablevision.jobs req 9453BR (2/12)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/CABLEVISION/OAKLAND NJ:   Seeks AE for local ad sales.2+ yrs ad sales exp. pref cable TV, radio, e-media adv.  Valid NJ DL.  See full posting and apply to www.cablevision.jobs req 9446BR (2/12)

JOB OPENING:  IPC CONTENT MGR/NY/MTVN International: Req: Program scheduling, programming acquisitions & budgeting exp. Attention to detail. Production mgmt exp. Apply: www.mtvnetworkscareers.com . An EOE/M/F/D/AAP  (2/12)

JOB OPENING:  DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING/Nickelodeon/NYC: 8+yrs Integ Mrktg/Sales exp @ a TV Network, Strng Packged Goods exp, Strng Ideation/Acct Mgmt exp, Stng Projct Mgmt skills EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvnetworkscareers.com (2/12)

JOB OPENING: SR WRITER/PROD/EDITOR/WSFL-TV/Miami: Seasoned creative team player to create on-air mktg campaigns for ent, sports & untradit’l morn newscast. Res/reel: cnandrade@sunsentinel.com    Info:  www.sunsentinel.com/employment (2/11)

JOB OPENING: RECRUITER : NYC Entertainment Executive Search Firm/media or recruiting experience req’d/motivated/research skills/excellent communication skills/computer proficiency/self-starter/BA email: apply.nycmedia@gmail.com (2/11)

JOB OPENING: NBCU/NY: USA and Syfy have four open RESEARCH positions supporting Sales, Primary and Digital efforts. Visit www.nbcunicareers.com for more info and to apply (2/11)

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 trish@cynopsis.com .

SPRING/SUMMER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: TV PRODUCTION COMPANY INTERN Learn story development, digital media & biz. dev. for a primetime network show production company in LA. Apply to interns@fbwmedia.com (2/18)

SPRING/SUMMER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  INTERACTIVE SALES INTERN Assist Rainbow Advertising Sales team. Woodbury NY Pref. Majors Ad./Comm./Film/Tv/Mktg./Bus. Apply to www.cablevision.jobs req 10523BR (2/12)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: PRODUCTION INTERN/NYC: Looking for motivated intern to assist producers @radical.media w/ all aspects of prod. for science/tech docu-series. 2-3 days/wk. Paid MetroCard. Cover/resume to kamencodeinternship@gmail.com (2/12)

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: EDITING/DEVEL INTERNSHIP LA- spring sem for credit/written commitment of 2-3 days. Edit and development unscripted/docs/promo at small production company. Edit on FCP a must. Email: dancingpictures2010@yahoo.com  (2/12)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

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 trish@cynopsis.com

SITUATION WANTED:  Talented non-fiction PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR/SHOOTER; network credits; Field and Post; Emmy nominee; reality and development.  ophelial@earthlink.net. LA based (2/18)

SITUATION WANTED:  Need a Video or Spot? Need to engage an audience? See my Reel DIRECTOR /CREATIVE STORYTELLER Seeks Representation, freelance/staff gig. Major Credits, Effectiveness/Awards. SeeSpotRunOnTV@Yahoo.com (2/18)

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: adam_oconnor@mac.com  (2/18)

SITUATION WANTED:  Seeking any ENTRY LEVEL WORK in the TV industry in the greater NYC area. Close to 2 years of video and new media freelance experience in NYC + an internship at VH1. joseph.violette@gmail.com (2/18)

SITUATION WANTED:  EXPERIENCED TURNAROUND EXECUTIVE/NYC (20+ years)seeks media or broadcast company needing restructuring of finances and/or operations. stevenstone345@aol.com (2/18)

SITUATION WANTED: “BIG Ideas” MARKETING SPECIALIST/NY:5 yrs exp. creating and executing integrated print and digital platform programs across multiple categories, presentation writing & event management. Contact: ligermhm@hotmail.com (2/17)

SITUATION WANTED:   ART DIRECTOR (NYC) Highly experienced working concept through completion. Portfolio: www.baerdavis.com Email: scott@baerdavis.com  (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED:   PRODUCTION ASSISTANT/ENTRY-LEVEL POSITION/NY or LA:’09 Hampshire College Grad, 4+ Years Exp Producing, Writing, Directing, Editing. Extremely Hard-Working, Optimistic and Dedicated. Contact: jawiya@gmail.com  (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED:  Dedicated & Experienced ADV. SALES PLANNER. Sales proposals, resolving client discrepancies, quarterly post analysis, special sales service projects, expert computer skills. Contact- runelyon@aol.com (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED:  WRITERS/RESEARCH ASST/LA: WIF Mentee in Screenwriting. Hands-on, web/print research, 1 on 1 interviews, & structured investigation of issues/historic events. Experience in prod/screenwriting. ria@prizefightfilms.com (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED:   Female VOICEOVER ARTIST with full studio. Versatile sound & styles. Experience in TV, film, radio, games, phone systems, websites, narration, promos, more… Contact marci@marciheit.com or visit www.marciheit.com (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED:   SALES/RESEARCH DIR/STRATEGIST: 20+ yrs media, Nielsen, Hisp, research, sales, and presentation experience. How can I help you? Email: ericadlerresearch@gmail.com (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED:   20+ yrs. experience in TV Broadcasting & Cable ACCOUNTING/FINANCE. Seeking FT/PT or Temp-to-Perm position:   e_simicich@yahoo.com (2/13)

SITUATION WANTED: SENIOR ADV SALES/MARKETING EXEC experienced in Domestic cable/syn and International cable. Successful track record in Biz Dev and Strategic Media Implementation- refs/contacts available. 890srr@gmail.com (2/12)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION ASSISTANT/DEVELOPMENT/ENTRY-LEVEL/NY : Intern exp. in development & post production. Past Assoc. Prod. for A&E Biography. Creative, passionate, fast-learner. Willing to relocate. joa_abad@yahoo.com (2/12)

SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE ACCOUNTING/BOOKKEEPING/LA:set-up, rebuild or update on QuickBooks and Excel on a ‘per project’ basis. Email: pclange@unlaccess.com (2/12)

SITUATION WANTED: DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER/LA: to dive in, develop, and create presentation materials for your unscripted/factually based ideas-from concept to pitch on a ‘per project’ basis. Email: hbtvdev@gmail.com (2/11)

SITUATION WANTED: Creative COPYWRITER . Award-winning, all media, affordable. betsy.aaron@gmail.com. To choose your FREE samples, visit https://freebeaaron.wordpress.com (2/11)

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