MediaBytes

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 →

WARNER BROS. will begin a trial-run of releasing movies to VOD and DVD on the same day. The experiment begins on July 10th with “The Astronaut Farmer,” which underperformed at the box office. YOUTUBE will soon begin testing home-grown video fingerprinting to identify copyrighted material. Content owners of identified clips will have the option of Continue Reading →

 APPLE is in advanced talks with Hollywood studios about offering downloadable movie rentals. Apple is said to be “aggressively pursuing” the idea, and wishes to launch the service in the fall. A downloadable Apple VOD system would compete heavily with cable company offerings.NBC has begun a unique online show that targets a new “prime Continue Reading →

THE FCC has issued almost $3 million in fines to companies that are still shipping TV sets without digital tuners. As of March 1st, all TV’s that are shipped must be capable of receiving a digital TV signal. The Commission has also been warning retailers that they must display proper Consumer Alerts on sets that Continue Reading →

NAB unveiled prototypes of two digital-to-analog convertors made by LG and Thomson. The association also announced an upcoming public service campaign intended to educate consumers about the rapidly-approaching shutdown of the analog spectrum. NBCU will release widgets for its major news and entertainment properties, enabling users to syndicate its content across blogs and social-networking sites. Continue Reading →

TNS MEDIA INTELLIGENCE reports that advertising spending in the U.S. fell 0.3% in the first quarter. Network TV spending was down 7.2% (to $6.1 billion). National newspaper advertising fell 5.3% (to $810 million). Internet display advertising jumped 16.7% (to $2.7 billion). EBAY will begin auctioning radio ads today via its Media Marketplace. Advertisers will create Continue Reading →

ROCKETBOOM has adopted a sponsorship model. For $3000 per show, a sponsor will receive a 7 second post roll and a personalized blog entry. Quicktime versions of Rocketboom will also include an embedded link to the sponsor’s web site. Andrew Michael Baron, the CEO and founder of Rocketboom, recently discussed the challenges of finding advertising Continue Reading →