Disney

APPLE unveiled an impressive suite of iPhone developer tools and demoed iPhone applications created by major software companies. EA showed the game Spore running on an iPhone, displaying impressive graphics. Salesforce.com, Sega and AOL also showed off new iPhone applications. Starting in June, iPhone apps will be sold through iTunes as well as through a Continue Reading →

APPLE will host its iPhone special event this morning at the company’s Town Hall. Steve Jobs is expected to reveal plans for allowing third-party applications to be installed on the iPhone. Apple’s invitations for the event also promised “some exciting new enterprise features.” MICROSOFT has decided to use the video player of MOVE NETWORKS in Continue Reading →

THE DISNEY-ABC TELEVISION GROUP has officially announced Stage 9, a new digital media studio. The studio’s first project is “Squeegees,” an online comedy show about a group of bumbling window washers. The 5-minute episodes will be released on Mondays and Fridays on both YouTube and ABC.com. However, this “new media” studio made a decidedly “old Continue Reading →

Scott Boyarsky, Director of Program Management at the Walt Disney Internet Group called me to chat about an extraordinary website called newsclipper.org. It’s extraordinary for a bunch of reasons (which I shall explain) but the most interesting part of our conversation centered around a simple, unavoidable truth: newsclipper.org does exactly what you or I might Continue Reading →

NBC has announced its plans for a modified upfront. In April the network will release a 52-week schedule of staggered show premieres and then hold small presentations for advertisers in New York, LA and Chicago. On May 12 it will host a “spotlight event” in New York to present the full range of advertising opportunities Continue Reading →

JEFF ZUCKER delivered the NATPE keynote yesterday, warning that the television industry is undergoing a “forest fire.” He discussed his decision to reduce pilot season and possibly curtail upfront expenditures as necessary steps toward “making less waste.” Zucker’s goal is to make NBC everywhere – from NBC.com to Hulu and beyond. He said the industry’s Continue Reading →

HBO will soon begin testing HBO on Broadband, a service that will allow current subscribers to watch the channel’s content online. The service requires a PC application that offers both automatic downloads and live streams of HBO channels. The service will enter a trial period this week in Green Bay and Milwaukee before spreading to Continue Reading →

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 Continue Reading →

BILL GATES opened CES with a clear statement of purpose, declaring that “All media will be software driven.” Gates handed the stage over to Microsoft president of Entertainment & Devices Robbie Bach to describe the company’s digital media initiatives. Bach announced that Xbox Live will gain content from MGM, Showtime, The Disney Channel and ABC. Continue Reading →

NBC has decided to use reruns from USA Network and internationally-produced shows to help fill the void created by the writers strike. The network will air the “Monk” and “Psych” reruns on Sunday during prime-time. According to Ben Silverman, two shows are currently being produced for NBC outside the US using foreign writers not bound Continue Reading →