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November 8, 2006 — It’s about 1:30am on the East Coast. Election coverage is winding down. The Democrats took control of the House and everyone is still waiting to see what will happen with the Senate. Of course today’s really big news is that Verizon will be offering YouTube content on its Vcast and FIOS Continue Reading →

“Like our peers in the media industry, we are focused on finding the right business model for professionally created content to be legally distributed on the Internet. We want our audiences to be able to access our programming on every platform and we’re interested in having it live on all forms of distribution in ways Continue Reading →

“Is There an Ad Supported Internet Video Business?” There are only three business models: I pay, you pay or someone else pays. In the media distribution business this is well understood. Networks and stations are ad supported (someone else pays). Premium networks charge a monthly subscription fee (you pay), etc. And, in case you are Continue Reading →

According to Bloomberg News, recorded music sales in the U.S. fell 6.1 percent (to $4.9 billion) in the first half of 2006, led by a 14 percent drop in CD sales. Declines in demand for CDs, tapes and other traditional formats far exceeded the 86.6 percent jump (to $945 million) in digital sales that now Continue Reading →

THERE WAS AN INTERESTING NEWS item this week in the Wall Street Journal that quoted a sharply worded letter from Target President Gregg Steinhafel, who said that the chain had become aware that “some movie studios have made new-release movies available to download service providers at lower cost” than DVDs, allowing the downloaded movies to Continue Reading →

As you undoubtedly know, Google has purchased YouTube. This is very good news for Google shareholders, YouTube stakeholders and advertisers. However, it is not great news for every other short-form video distribution site on earth. The hyper-efficient integration of video serving and Internet advertiser sales is going to be very, very hard to compete with. Continue Reading →

On its Web site, ESPN Mobile says that it has “decided to change the direction of Mobile ESPN.” This is, of course, a euphemism for “sorry we tanked, your new phone may now be used as a paperweight or a very stylish tree ornament.” All kidding aside, the massive failure of ESPN Mobile provides a Continue Reading →

We live in a world of democratized production. Anyone with a compelling idea can use ubiquitously available hardware and software to create remarkably popular content. Funtwo, for example, has enjoyed over 7 million views of a video he created with a home video camera (one camera position, very few edits). The subject of this video Continue Reading →

I JUST RECEIVED AN E-MAIL from a casual acquaintance. It is the end; she is desperate, helpless, with dignity gone. She writes: “ALL MY DATA IS GONE. Yes, it does hurt. Everything from the last 2 years. I cannot even put my head into it, because I would just go around and drink every single Continue Reading →

ACCORDING TO THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, the TSA says the recent terrorist scare has not affected its Registered Traveler program. That is truly too bad. For those of you who are not up on your airport security technology, Registered Traveler or “fast pass” is a catchall phrase for a group of security protocols that will Continue Reading →