MediaBytes

AT&T continues to rollout U-verse. The IPTV service is now available in Ohio, the eighth state to gain coverage. U-verse currently has fewer than 50,000 subscribers, but At&T expects to sign up 10,000 new customers per week by the end of the year. ABC plans to fight commercial-skipping with a “Tease ‘n’ Reveal” strategy. At Continue Reading →

sharedVideo(1027011853) OGILVY & MATHER‘s Internet ad for Dove took the top prize at the 54th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. The 60-second spot was widely distributed on the web via blogs and YouTube, and the award is being called a “milestone” for web advertising. The ad can be viewed here. NIELSEN and NETRATINGS have officially Continue Reading →

BLINKX is planning to launch a new online video ad platform. The system is called AdHoc, and it will use audio recognition to place targeted ads inside and next to online video. AdHoc is expected to be announced on Monday. VERIZON‘s FiOS TV service will fail to comply with the FCC mandate to offer CableCARD-ready Continue Reading →

APPLE issued two YOUTUBE announcements yesterday. AppleTV’s were sent a software update that added YouTube functionality, and the forthcoming iPhone will feature a special Apple-designed YouTube application. YouTube is re-encoding its entire video library in the H.264 format to reduce battery usage on the iPhone and other mobile devices. 10,000 videos will be ready in Continue Reading →

VEOH has launched VeohTV, an application that aggregates video from thousands of video sources on the web. VeohTV pulls video feeds from all the major network sites, MySpace, Google, YouTube and “thousands of others.” It even allows recording of content and offers personalized recommendations based on viewing habits. IMEEM officially launched its social-networking, ad-supported music Continue Reading →

YAHOO CEO Terry Semel has resigned from the company’s top position, and will be succeeded by Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. The transition occurs after a year of steadily declining stock value and failure to effectively compete with GOOGLE in the online advertising space. HBO is consolidating digital operations in its New York headquarters, and disbanding Continue Reading →

BLOCKBUSTER has decided to back the Blu-ray high-def standard over the HD DVD standard for its retail locations. A trial run of both formats in 250 stores found that 70% of rentals were Blu-ray. As a result, Blockbuster has decided to stock only Blu-ray titles in 1,450 stores. HD DVD discs will be available online Continue Reading →

SONY PICTURES TELEVISION will launch The Minisode Network next week on MySpace. The network will feature 4 to 6 minute condensed versions of classic Sony-owned TV shows, such as “Charlie’s Angels.” Honda has signed on as the sole sponsor. Each minisode will feature an 8 second pre-roll, split into a 3-second billboard and a 5-second Continue Reading →

FCC CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN is scheduled to speak today in support of The Family Choice Act of 2007. The proposed legislation will suggest several ways to protect children from viewing indecent and violent material on TV. One such measure, which Martin supports, is to allow consumers to purchase programming on an a la carte basis. Continue Reading →

GOOGLE has added Placement Performance reports to AdWords, allowing advertisers to track the success of campaigns on specific sites in the Google Content Network. The addition came in response to advertiser requests for transparency and control over ad placement, and will allow advertisers to easily identify responsive audiences. BLOCKBUSTER has cut prices for its online Continue Reading →