NBC officially unveiled “NBC Everywhere” and expanded the digital out-of-home network to include two new platforms. Ideacast will now carry NBC@TheGym, which will bring MSNBC and CNBC content to over 900 fitness centers. University Network will add NBC on Campus, bringing NBC content to “high traffic areas” on 181 college campuses. Existing platforms include screens in gas stations, supermarket checkout lines, taxi cabs and the Newborn Channel at your local maternity ward. Advertisers have the option of purchasing time across all platforms, allowing them to reach a wide selection of captive audiences.
DISNEY has indefinitely postponed the February launch of Stage 9, a unit that was supposed to create original online programming. Stage 9 was never officially announced but had been in operation since last February and planned four short-form episodic shows for the web. Sources say Disney is putting the launch on hold to avoid a new media release during the web-focused WGA strike.
THE NBA and TURNER SPORTS will officially announce a deal today that will give Turner control of NBA TV and the league’s digital offerings. The league will maintain ownership but let Turner manage operations. Turner also manages Nascar.com and PGATour.com.
AD REVENUE from streaming increased 38% to $1.37 billion during 2007, according to Accustream iMedia Research. The report says between 2.1 billion and 2.7 billion streams were viewed every month – excluding user-generated content. Pre-roll ads generated $420 million.
HASBRO and MATTEL have asked Facebook to pull down Scrabulus, a Scrabble knock-off application that claims to earn $25,000 per month. The game is one of the top 10 Facebook apps and draws over 500,000 daily players. Both Hasbro and Mattel have claims to the Scrabble rights – but neither has a top 10 Facebook application used by half a million users every single day. The two companies should be able to find a more creative solution to this “problem” than a simple cease-and-desist letter.