Video Games

  If you are having trouble viewing our video player, check out MediaBytes on YouTube. VERIZON and AT&T were the big winners in the FCC’s 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction. Verizon Wireless will pay $9.4 billion for 109 licenses while AT&T will spend $6.6 billion for 227 licenses. Both companies are expected to use their 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 →

THE TVB announced that ePort is now live, allowing media-buying agencies to place electronic orders with TV stations. 644 stations are participating in 186 markets, reaching 97.8 percent of the country. The system can currently handle orders, confirmations and makegoods. A full range of features will be rolled out in the coming months. THE NTIA Continue Reading →

VIACOM and MICROSOFT have signed an extensive multi-platform partnership. Viacom content will be distributed on Xbox Live and MSN with the two companies splitting revenue. Microsoft will sell and serve display advertising for Viacom sites and purchase advertising on Viacom’s TV and web properties. Lastly, Viacom will produce casual games for MSN and Windows and Continue Reading →

THE WGA began its strike at midnight after Sunday’s 10-hour marathon negotiation broke down. Writers are expected to begin picketing at 9 AM this morning outside high-profile locations, including major studios on the West Coast and Rockefeller Center in New York. The Guild issued a memo telling its writers to spend at least 20 hours Continue Reading →

Do you know how fast your Internet connection is? If you believe the hype on TV, DSL is a zillion times faster than dial-up and FiOS is a zillion times faster than DSL and Cable modems rock because of the triple play, blah, blah, blah. But what do you really know about your broadband connection to the outside world? Does is take all night to upload a big flash memory card's worth of photos to Kodak Easy Share? Do you have a static IP address? Can you access the files on your desktop computer from off premises? How quickly can you upload your files to an online back-up service? Continue Reading →

GOOGLE will announce a new service that turns the AdSense network into a video distribution tool. Web sites will be allowed to embed ad-supported YouTube content that is contextually relevant to their site, similar to how they currently embed relevant ads. The move will give video creators a distribution channel that extends beyond YouTube.com, as Continue Reading →

GOOGLE‘s entry into the mobile phone market will come purely as a software provider, according to the NY Times. The search-giant has been working for two years on a mobile Linux-based operating system, which it will offer to handset makers for free. The company is seeking to extend its advertising dominance into the mobile market, Continue Reading →

IAG has done a study of over 1,000 “hybrid” ads, which closely merge advertising with content to combat ad-skipping. The ads generated 30% higher brand recall than traditional ads. The study found that Jay Leno’s recent live-to-air ad for Garmin doubled that company’s usual viewer recall numbers, and CW’s “content wraps” were among the highest-scoring Continue Reading →

CW NETWORK will launch a newsmagazine-style show this Sunday that will not break for traditional commercials. Instead, “CW Now” will seamlessly present entertaining, paid segments as part of the regular program. The first episode will feature a celebrity-filled segment pitching a new Xbox game’s availability at Wal-Mart. UNIVERSAL STUDIOS will launch its own mobile website Continue Reading →