A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM NATPE ’09

Cynopsis: DIGITAL

01/07/09

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, January 7, 2009, and this is your first early morning digital briefing .

Apple opened the Macworld conference by finally budging on the draconian pricing policy of the iTunes store that has long frustrated music companies. Instead of a one price fits all approach, beginning April 2009 single tracks will range in price – 69 cents, 99 cents or $1.29 – depending on desirability. Also all 4 major labels – Universal Music, Sony BMG, Warner Music and EMI – have now agreed to sell DRM free tracks on the store with higher-quality 256 kbps AAC encoding. There are now 8 million DRM-free tracks to choose from on iTunes – 4 times the offering on Amazon’s DRM-free outlet. Further, Apple completed new integration with the iPhone allowing users to download tracks directly to their phones over AT&T’s 3G network (a feature previously only available using WiFi.) Apple marketing executive Phil Schiller, filling in for ailing Steve Jobs, also showed off a new 6.6 lbs, .98 inch thick 17″ MacBook Pro as well as updated versions of Apple’s iLife and iWork software suites. A widely-expected upgrade to the Mac Mini was missing in action.
 

 
Call it Camelot for the digital age. President-elect Barack Obama‘s inaugural committee announced that this year’s inaugural ball will be webcast for the first time on Jan. 20 as part of the effort to include as many as possible in the celebration. The first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball will feature “a robust interactive component,” according to the committee, including webcasting and text messaging options to allow neighborhoods across the country to interact with President and the First Lady.
 
To promote its new reinterpretation of the show scheduled to premiere in Nov. 2009, AMC is streaming the original 1960s drama series, The Prisoner, in full screen at amctv.com. This marks the online debut of all seventeen episodes of the classic British series starring Patrick McGoohan, which originally aired in England from 1967-1968.
 
Weather Channel Interactive partnered with agricultural products manufacturer Monsanto Co. to launch a new minisite dedicated to providing weather conditions and forecasts to farmers. Weather.com is coming off its best month in Dec. after all those winter storms hit when it exceeded 1 billion page views for the first time according to internal reporting.
 
MSNBC unveiled the new website for its news show Morning Joe headlined by Joe Scarborough featuring select embeddable show clips, access to the daily Morning Joe podcast and additional materials not featured on air.

 
Online video distributor blip.tv completed an integration with ActiveVideo Networks to enable blip.tv content to be featured in the web-infused television environment created by the ActiveVideo Distribution Network. ActiveVideo (formerly known as ICTV) streams traditional programming and web-based content to digital set-top boxes and web-connected consumer electronic devices.
 
Video sharing site Metacafe launched a new NBA Channel offering daily highlights, top plays and weekly roundups. The offering marks Metacafe’s first licensing deal with a major sports league.
 
Anime site Crunchyroll signed a deal with YA Entertainment (YAE) to stream 3 hit Korean TV drama series to North American users. Alone in Love, Someday and Freeze will be offered for free with ads complete with English subtitles.
 

 
Self service ad creation tool SpotMixer, which has been providing its software to help companies create commercials for the Dish Network-powered Google TV platform, is transitioning to the online video space. The SpotMixer service has been named an authorized reseller for the Google AdWords platform, which means small companies will now have a low cost way to create their own online video ads and distribute them across the contextual Google AdWords platform. “We’ve taken a lot of the complexity out of running a video ad, said John Love, co-founder and CEO of SpotMixer’s parent company One True Media. “Figuring out all the knobs and buttons of the Google platform is difficult for the uninitiated.” One True Media also announced it has closed on a series B round of financing from DAG Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and NTT Finance to help promote and expand the offering to other platforms.
 

 
Wireless internet service provider Clearwire initiated its newly-branded 4G Clear internet service in Portland, OR yesterday – the second major market in the U.S. to offer true WiMAX broadband following the launch of Sprint’s Xohm service in Baltimore last Oct. Clear, the result of a new joint venture between Clearwire and Sprint with cash investments from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Intel and Google, is offering download speeds of up to 6 Mbps for about $50/month for unlimited downloads. The service can be used on the go by PC users by connecting via Clear’s USB modem powered by Motorola, on sale for $49.99.
 
The march to bring web-based video to the television set continues. Intel is working with Adobe Systems to adapt Adobe’s Flash technology for playback on TVs and other consumer electronics devices. The two companies are currently tweaking the Flash Player and Flash Lite to work with Intel CE 3100 Media Processor with hopes of rolling out Flash support by the middle of 2009.
 
Broadcom and Adobe Systems also announced a partnership to place Adobe’s Flash platform into Broadcom’s latest digital television and set-top box system-on-a-chip platforms. Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash is the standard for delivering online video to websites including YouTube and Hulu.
 
Comcast completed work on its “protocol agnostic” platform to replace its legacy system that was widely criticized for discriminating against users of P2P networks. The company had promised the FCC it would complete the switch by the end of 2008.
 

 
VOD measurement firm Rentrak signed a multi-year deal with NBC Universal to use its Mobile Essentials service it has been trialing since early 2008. The mobile measurement tools analyze trends and track massive amounts of data in hard-to-aggregate formats including video clips, SMS messaging, ring tones, video games, wallpapers and other mobile content. Media giants have struggled to count and adequately monetize audiences on multiple screens due to the challenges associated with defining and combining separate measurement services. 
 
Viewing of HD television content online increased exponentially last year according to data released from HD-focused CDN Move Networks. Move, which handles content delivery for Fox, ABC and the CW, streamed more than 100 million hours of high definition content in 2008 and over 180 million total hours of content overall. Move’s unique viewers more than doubled from 25 million in 2007 to 55 million in 2008. The company’s next goal is to enable high quality streaming and time shifting across multiple devices. Move Networks will showcase examples of the Move Media Player being embedded on CE and mobile devices at CES in Las Vegas this week.
 

                                                                                    
Sling Media unveiled a new version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the IPhone as well as a prototype of the new SlingPlayer for Mac HD, which allows Slingbox PRO-HD users to stream HD content to their Mac desktop or laptop computer. SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone will be submitted to Apple for testing and approval in Q1. SlingPlayer for Mac HD will be also available for free via the web-based SlingPlayer within Sling.com later in Q1.
 
Fitness video publisher PumpOne has packaged 20 popular interactive fitness programs for the iPhone covering multiple disciplines including Strength, Cardio, Flexibility, Sports, Yoga, Pilates and Physical Therapy. Prices for the “iPump 20” range from free to $2.99/each.
 

 
National Geographic Global Media (NGGM) announced the formation of the National Geographic Interactive Platforms Group, uniting National Geographic’s Games, Mobile and Maps businesses into a single unit. Interactive Platforms will leverage the company’s content, cartography, creative resources and brands to create new interactive consumer experiences and franchises across multiple platforms. Paul Levine, NGV’s SVP/Corporate Strategy and Development, will serve as SVP of the Interactive Platforms Group and lead the new global division.
 
The Slate Group, publisher of Slate, The Root, The Big Money and Foreign Policy, named Matthew Turck as VP of Advertising Sales. Matthew joins from Time Inc., where he worked in various capacities for nearly 20 years.
 
Multimedia ad firm Empower MediaMarketing announced that Brian McHale, who has served as President at Empower for the past nine years, has resigned. 
 
Susan Leiterstein, previously of Incisive Media’s ClickZ, SearchEngineWatch and SES Events, has joined ContentNext as Head of Sales.  Her role will be to manage and build the sales 
team while also driving revenue at the growing organization.
 

CYNOPSIS EVENTS AT NATPE 2009

 
Video sharing site Veoh has prevailed in another important legal battle with Universal Music Group just before the New Year that should help insure the survival of video entertainment services in the future. UMG sued Veoh in 2007 to try and prevent it from utilizing the “safe harbor” provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act as a defense against charges of copyright infringement. The ruling found that activities related to making content accessible on the web, including the transcoding of uploaded video files and the creation of copies of those files, do in fact fall under the DMCA safe harbor rules. “If providing access could trigger liability without the possibility of DMCA immunity,” the judge ruled, “service providers would be greatly deterred from performing their basic, vital and salutary function­namely, providing access to information and material for the public.” In his blog posting on the EFF website Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann finds it ironic that smaller legal battles are beginning to define the online video space as the high profile Viacom vs. YouTube battle drags on endlessly.

Later — Wayne
 Wayne Karrfalt for Cynopsis: Digital
01.07.09

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JOB OPENING: PRODUCER/EDITOR : Univ. of Albany seeks a creative and experienced Producer/Editor to create entertaining and engaging youth-oriented content. Details http://albany.interviewexchange.com/candapply.jsp?JOBID=12291 (1/10)

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SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE COPYWRITER/MARKETING CONSULTANT: 14 yrs exp. in ad sales marketing and copywriting w/ B2B focus. Upfront scripts/presentations, media kits, brochures, web content, program descrips etc. [email protected] (1/13)

SITUATION WANTED: Recent Harvard grad and FREELANCE WRITER will do pretty much anything involving words and writing them. Currently writing for a Gawker blog. Hard worker, strong writer, great bargain. [email protected] (1/10)

SITUATION WANTED: EXCEPTIONAL EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/PROJECT MANAGER 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRY. HAS ALSO WORKED IN THE LEGAL ARENA AND WILLING TO WORK VIA TELECOMMUTING. NY BASED PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] (1/10)

SITUATION WANTED: FILM/TV/ENT PR/NYC: Seeking F/T or Freelance opps. Write press releases/pitch to targeted print/online & brdcst media, track news clips, editorial calendar opps, build press lists w/Cision [email protected] (1/10)

SITUATION WANTED: NON-FICTION DEVELOPMENT PRODUCER. I will write and develop your pitch & produce and direct a winning sales tape.  3 Emmy noms; unscripted or narrative formats; LA based, will travel. [email protected] (1/10)

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