Blog

By definition, summer blockbusters attract blockbuster-sized crowds — especially on opening weekends. By the time the commercials start, the theater is typically SRO. Commercials? Yes, about eight of them taking over ten minutes to get through. Then, after a short promo for the concession stand and a Cingular commercial altruistically dressed as a “please turn Continue Reading →

EMI struck a licensing deal with YOUTUBE. EMI recordings and videos will be available on the site, and users will be able to include content in their own videos. All four major labels have now signed deals with YouTube. REALNETWORKS announced a new version of RealPlayer that will “rip” and save video from multiple internet Continue Reading →

APPLE is bringing YouTube support to AppleTV in June. Select videos will be added at first, with the entire YouTube catalog available by fall. No advertising will be seen initially. THE OXYGEN NETWORK is planning to sell ad time via the THE ONLINE MEDIA EXCHANGE. Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Home Depot will purchase time through the Continue Reading →

NBC UNIVERSAL appointed co-chairmen Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff to oversee the network. Graboff will focus on business matters, while Silverman will be the top creative executive. Silverman pledged to focus on content that can succeed in both prime time and on the web. ABC will launch a news show built on user-generated content. “i-Caught” Continue Reading →

NBC Universal will replace its top programming executive, Kevin Reilly. Negotiations are in progress to fill the position with “The Office” producer Ben Silverman. THE FTC has begun its preliminary antitrust investigation of GOOGLE’s Doubleclick purchase. TURNER BROADCASTING‘s TNT and TBS will stream all episodes from original summer series online. The episodes will be available Continue Reading →

FACEBOOK officially announced an impressive list of application partners. 65 companies, from Amazon to Microsoft, are creating widgets that users can install on their pages. Facebook is encouraging the use of widgets for transactions and advertising. FACEBOOK also launched a video application that will allow users to create and share videos with other Facebook users. Continue Reading →

GOOGLE has begun a trial of in-stream video ads, with a group of undisclosed video publishers. Ads will be skippable and limited to 30 seconds or less. Publishers will choose when the ads are inserted into their videos. EU lawmakers have endorsed caps on mobile roaming charges. The legislation, which is expected to become binding Continue Reading →

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com recently announced that the company will offer DRM-Free music from EMI and other labels. Eric Nicoli, EMI CEO is quoted in the official press release saying, “We think having a trusted destination like Amazon.com offer a high-quality digital music product that will play across a number of devices Continue Reading →

UNIVERSAL MUSIC‘s purchase of BMG Music Publishing was approved by the European Union. Universal will become the world’s largest music publisher. JOOST signed with Creative Artists Agency. The partnership will give Joost greater access to programming, due to CAA’s relationships with content creators and owners. SoundExchange, which collects royalties from Webcasters on behalf of the Continue Reading →

CNN has signed a deal with Internet Broadcasting, the publisher of 70 local TV station web sites. The deal will allow CNN to syndicate local news from the stations, increasing its ability to capitalize on the growing market for local online ads. GOOGLE submitted a proposal to the FCC suggesting that companies be allowed to Continue Reading →