SHELLY PALMER discusses the impact of newsclipper.org, a site that repackages video feeds from major content owners while stripping out the advertising. Read his analysis to learn more about this RSS-fueled challenge to the monetization of online content.
THE OSCARS were dominated by “No Country for Old Men,” which received awards for best supporting actor, best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. The night featured two Cinderella stories, as stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody won best screenplay for “Juno” and two indie musicians won for best original song from the modern musical “Once.” Host Jon Stewart provided comic relief, taking a jab at New Media by pretending to watch “Lawrence of Arabia” on an iPhone.
ABC and COX are expected to announce a new VOD service for top ABC shows including “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” The service will allow viewers to watch an episode within four weeks of its initial broadcast. Fast-forwarding will be disabled to prevent commercial skipping and ads will be sold by both the network and local affiliate. Affiliates and advertisers may be appeased by this setup but the service could be a hard-sell for DVR-owners who already have complete freedom to fast-forward and rewind.
THE IAB has approved 5 privacy principles that its members will be expected to follow when advertising online. The principles call for informing users when data is being collected for advertising purposes, establishing data security and more.
EA made an offer to acquire TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto and other popular video games. The $2 billion bid included a 50% premium over Friday’s share price and yet Take Two promptly rejected it as “woefully undervalued.” Rumors of a pending Take Two bid started circulating soon after Vivendi announced plans to merge with Activision and the industry seemed poised for a round of consolidations. In other video game news, SONY is planning to announce an open in-game advertising system that will allow Double Fusion, IGA and Google to all sell and serve ads in PS3 games.
YAHOO and ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP will offer pay-per-view fights online. The first match will cost $44.95 and include 24 hours of archived playback. Last year, Yahoo Sports began distributing UFC news and coverage.
THE NEW YORK TIMES CO. will launch a beta of ShifD, an online service that allows users to sync notes, links and articles between a mobile phone and a computer. ShifD comes out of the company’s R&D labs. It is a free service but may eventually become ad-supported.