Media For the Masses

Sky News To Launch Arabic Service In 2012

2010-11-29T13:13:00.002+01:00

The owner of Sky News announced a joint venture with investment firm Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp (ADMIC) to bring a new, free-to-air Arabic-language news channel to viewers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from 2012.
ADMIC is owned by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed al Nahyan, who also owns Manchester City football club.

BSkyB says the new company, based in Abu Dhabi, will operate under the Sky News brand and also offer consumers a "video-rich website and mobile applications".
John Ryley, head of Sky News, said: "This venture is a significant step in the development of Sky News.

"We intend to bring viewers a distinctive approach to Arabic news, building on Sky News' strong reputation for independent, impartial and innovative coverage."

The Man City owner also owns ADMIC, which signed the deal with Sky News
Chief executive Jeremy Darroch added: "Sky News is already one of the world's leading news services and now we're looking forward to bringing a new voice to Arabic audiences.

"The Middle East and North Africa is undergoing rapid development and our partnership with ADMIC means we are able to enter this dynamic marketplace with the support and expertise of a strong local partner."

Dr Sultan al Jaber, chairman of ADMIC and the new venture, said the channel would "set a new standard for broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa".
He added: "The new channel will be an important, independent voice for the Arab world, providing accurate and in-depth reporting of all the interesting developments in the region."

Adrian Wells, previously head of international news at Sky News, has been appointed to work with the ADMIC team to launch the new channel.
A director of news will be appointed in due course to lead the venture on a permanent basis.

News content will be created and delivered by more than 180 multimedia journalists from new studios to be developed at Abu Dhabi's twofour54 media zone.

The channel will have a network of newsgathering bureaux across the region, in London and Washington DC - as well as access to Sky News' wider network of international bureaux.

Digital Advertising is Driving Growth of Traditional Media

2010-11-24T17:00:00.005+01:00

Traditional advertising investments in television, print, radio and out-of-home are projected to grow only 1.8% but digital advertising investments in these media will grow by an estimated 28%, spurring total 3.6% growth in traditional media categories, according to Jack Myers Media Business Report's Media Vision 2020: Media, Advertising and Marketing Economic Health Report 2010-2020. The Report projects total 2010 U.S. marketing communications and advertising investments will grow 3.2% to $601.5 billion. The full report is available to Jack Myers subscribers. The newly recalibrated data includes 57 media and marketing categories and, for the first time in any advertising analysis, breaks down digital and traditional investments for 14 traditional media and marketing categories.

Consumer print magazine advertising is projected to increase 1.0%, but magazine publishers' digital advertising is estimated to increase 8.5% to nearly one billion dollars, driving magazine publishers' combined growth to 1.4%.

The new Myers Report includes detailed data on advertiser investments in Online Originated Display Advertising, Online Originated Video Content & Advertising, Mobile & Apps Advertising, Satellite/Internet Radio Advertising, Interactive/VOD/Addressable TV Advertising, Point-of-Influence/GPS Advertising, Videogame Advertising, Social Media/Word-of-Mouth/Conversational Marketing, Offline Public Relations, Branded Entertainment/Product Placement, Search Marketing (Online/Mobile), Experiential/Event Marketing, Cinema Advertising and Out-of-Home/Place-Based Advertising.

The report eliminates the traditional barriers between above and below-the-line marketing budgets. Marketers are integrating their budget allocations to reflect the increasing cross-over between their marketing and sales functions, which have historically been separated. This trend is especially apparent in social media, which is growing 50% to $1.2 billion in 2010. (Most Facebook advertising is accounted for within the new Online Originated Display Advertising category, is which increasing 9.2%.)

In early December, Jack Myers Media Business Report will release forecasts for 2011 and 2012, with long-term forecasts for both traditional and digital investments through 2020. While the data has been aggregated from multiple sources, the digital spending estimates for traditional media are based on primary research and input from industry experts. Since this is the first effort to develop such detailed insights, readers are encouraged to share insights and comments on the accuracy of this data.

Viacom Blocks Google TV

2010-11-24T04:07:00.000+01:00

NEW YORK: Viacom joins ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX on the roster of broadcast groups that have blocked access to users of Google TV.

Full-length episodes of shows from such Viacom-owned channels as MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and BET are no longer available on the search engine's new Internet TV platform. Internet users can still access Viacom shows on its websites through desktop computers. Users of Google TV, however, are unable to find those Internet shows through the new service.

"We’re blocking access to our full episode content from Google TV’s web browser," the company said in a statement. "We continue to evaluate Google TV to identify opportunities where it may make sense to optimize our web content for the platform."

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes: Era of Media Moguls Is Over

2010-11-19T02:02:00.003+01:00

NEW YORK - The era of media moguls is over, Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said here Wednesday.

Nowadays, big companies are the stars, and firms from the traditional and new media worlds act on the same stage, he said on the opening day of the 2010 International Council Meeting at The Paley Center for Media in a session that was webcast.
In the old media business world, people spoke of moguls who were often self-promoting guys and undisciplined when it came to deals and the like. "We're not moguls anymore," Bewkes said later. "We're reasonable people" who try to make the right decisions.

Asked about Netflix, which has given industry players headaches as they try to figure out whether it is friend or foe, Bewkes lauded the convenience and "great interface" of its online streaming service.

“We don’t worry about antagonizing Netflix,” he said. “But what you don’t want to do is undervalue the content”

Bewkes also showed no concern about other big tech players, such as Steve Jobs' Apple. If they tried to interfere with content companies' subscriptions, "it wouldn’t be good,” Bewkes warned. “But it’s not going to happen." After all, a tech company that doesn't support the company's popular content only "will degrade the value of their product.”

Asked about his personal media consumption, Bewkes said he reads the major newspapers - whether in paper or tablet form. And he likes to watch all news channels to see how they each cover key news items. Plus, "I watch a little Family Guy" because of his 13 year-old son, and the show is "pretty funny," although he wonders whether a 13-year old should watch that kind of show, Bewkes shared.

The TW CEO also once again signalled that the first half of 2011 will bring the launch of premium VOD films at price points of$20-plus. Asked whether a $50 price could make sense, he said that "seems high."

Discussing CNN, Bewkes said the main challenges is that "we have to do a better job at programming the news" and making it more accessible, understandable and interesting. He reiterated a point his team has often made that CNN attracts more viewers, but ratings overall are lower that those of Fox News, because busy people get news and leave quickly. "Or we bore the hell out of them," he quipped. "We are trying to fix that."

Mecom investor sells 14% stake

2010-11-18T01:48:00.002+01:00

Mecom investor Invesco, which joined a shareholder rebellion to oust chief executive David Montgomery, has sold its 14% stake in the pan-European newspaper group.

Invesco's exit will fuel speculation that Montgomery may look to engineer a way to stay on at the company he founded a decade ago in a different role.

In September Invesco, the investment fund manager and Mecom's second-largest shareholder, supported a move by Aviva and Legal & General to try and replace Montgomery with Patrick Tillieux, a former senior executive at broadcasters SBS and ProSiebenSat.1, and introduce a new strategy to focus on its flagship Netherlands operation.

The rebel shareholders, which at the time jointly controlled more than 50% of Mecom, succeeded in forcing Montgomery into what was called a "planned retirement" after the company's pre-close trading statement in January. Plans to install Tillieux and change strategy were dropped as a result.

Invesco's sale of its stake in trading yesterday, which one source said was to a number of "blue chip institutions", leaves the rebels with less than 30% and in a weakened position to force any further changes in Mecom strategy.

Aviva, thought to be the most dissatisfied of the investors and leader of the rebellion, is the largest shareholder with 17.5%. L&G is third largest with 10%.

Invesco has been decreasing its stake since around early July, when it controlled more than 18%. The sale of its remaining stake is thought to be the single biggest trade in Mecom shares in at least three years.

At the time of his planned departure Montgomery said he still had the "complete confidence" of the board, which subsequently said it would start a process to "find the person best qualified to succeed" him.

Montgomery is currently battling unrest at Dutch subsidiary Wegener, which accounts for more than 40% of Mecom's total revenues and 88% of operating profit, over the sudden departure of chief executive Joop Munsterman.

Senior executives at the company have claimed that at several meetings Montgomery has said he will remain at the company. Mecom declined to comment.

In Mecom's most recent results, for the first six months of the year, the company showed signs of an improved financial performance, beating analyst expectations with pre-tax profits of £24.6m.

It is thought that Mecom's performance has shown continued improvement, which Montgomery is likely to use as evidence that the strategy is working and he should stay at the company.

A group called Governance for Owners, which controls a stake of about 14% in Wegener, requested an extraordinary general meeting, which is due to take place on 22 December.

BBC to Sell Discovery Its Stake in Joint Venture

2010-11-17T01:52:00.002+01:00

PARIS — Discovery Communications, the U.S. operator of science and entertainment television channels, stepped up its expansion plans Monday, saying it had agreed to buy out the BBC’s 50 percent stake in their international joint venture.

Discovery said it would pay $156 million to BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the publicly financed BBC, for its half ownership in the venture, which operates the Animal Planet channel in Europe, Asia and Latin America and the Liv network in Latin America.

At home in Britain, the BBC has come under pressure from commercial rivals and some politicians over the breadth of its ambitions in areas ranging from magazine publishing to the Internet. The BBC Trust, which oversees the broadcaster, last year urged the BBC to focus on developing channels that bear the broadcaster’s own brand name, like BBC America.

John Smith, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, said the talks with Discovery on the sale of the stake predated the BBC Trust report, but said the proceeds would be spent on marketing and distribution of its own branded channels, as well as programming for them.

The BBC and Discovery extended one part of their partnership, under which Discovery invests in BBC science and nature programs like “Life” and “Planet Earth,” and acquires the U.S. rights to them. The BBC previously sold its 20 percent stake in the U.S. Animal Planet channel to Discovery.

For Discovery, full ownership of Animal Planet and Liv will provide greater latitude to revamp their programming, said Mark Hollinger, chief executive of Discovery Networks International. Discovery has been trying to broaden the audience for channels like Liv, previously known as People+Arts, by adding more entertainment shows.

“The BBC has been a great partner, but when you own something 100 percent you can do things that you can’t if you are in a partnership,” he said.

Discovery has struggled to develop “flagship” networks that could help generate more lucrative advertising and distribution deals internationally, Mr. Hollinger said. In an effort to build audiences, Discovery introduced its TLC channel, which is popular with women in the United States, in dozens of other countries this year.

Following the review by the BBC Trust, BBC Worldwide is also moving to sell a stake in its magazine business, as well as its 50 percent share in UKTV, a group of British channels that are available on cable, satellite and other digital TV systems. BBC Worldwide’s commercial activities contributed £73.6 million, or $118.6 million, to the BBC’s budget in its latest financial year.

Mr. Hollinger is one of several candidates to buy the stake in UKTV, which the BBC jointly owns with Virgin Media, the biggest British cable company.

“We are looking at that portfolio; it’s a great portfolio,” he said. “It’s hard to know how it will turn out.”

Forbes Goes Outside the Family for President, CEO

2010-11-16T02:17:00.003+01:00

In a major break with tradition, Forbes Media named publishing vet Mike Perlis as its new president/CEO—marking the first time a non-Forbes family member is running the 93-year-old company.

Steve Forbes, the chairman and editor in chief of Forbes Media, will give up the CEO title. His brother, Tim Forbes, will relinquish the COO title while remaining chairman of Forbes Digital, a member of the Forbes Media Board and what Steve Forbes called “one of the company’s chief strategists.”

Perlis most recently was a general partner at SoftBank Capital, a venture cap firm focused on digital businesses after a traditional print media publishing career that included stints as president, CEO of Ziff-Davis Publishing and president of the Playboy Publishing Group. His appointment begins Dec. 1.

The brothers reportedly started looking for new leadership early this year.

“This is an unprecedented time in the media business that demands bold moves,” Steve Forbes said in an announcement.

It’s been a year of major changes for Forbes during turbulent times for its print business. Earlier this year, the company bought True/Slant and hired its founder Lewis D’Vorkin to overhaul the namesake magazine and Web site by giving advertisers and unpaid contributors a bigger voice.

What to Expect as News Corp. Dives Into Business of Education

2010-11-15T13:33:00.001+01:00

Hearst Magazines Chairman Cathie Black got most of the attention last week when she was named the next New York City schools chancellor, succeeding Joel Klein as the head of a $23 billion public-education system with 1.1 million students. But Mr. Klein's new job at News Corp., advising Chairman-CEO Rupert Murdoch on getting into the education industry, may eventually prove more captivating, both for education and the media business.

Ms. Black, after all, is going to build on eight years of work by Mr. Klein and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will still make the big calls on public education. But Mr. Klein is going to seek opportunities in education, an occasionally polarizing area where some people don't like to see private companies tread, for News. Corp., an occasionally polarizing media behemoth whose assets include Fox Broadcasting, Fox News, 20th Century Fox and The Wall Street Journal.

Hearst's Cathie Black Named New York City Schools Chancellor

Succeeds Joel Klein, Who Jumps to News Corp. as Special Adviser to Murdoch
Although the Washington Post Co. set a precedent for a big media outfit getting involved with education, News Corp. is likely to do it very differently. The Washington Post Co. makes most of its revenue, 62%, from its Kaplan education division, and most of its education revenue from higher education programs offering bachelor's, master's and other degrees and certificates.

But the higher-education business is poised to contract as a result of government regulations focusing on excessive student debt loads, said Ariel Sokol, an analyst covering the Washington Post Co. for UBS. "I sincerely doubt that you're going to see new entrants in this space any time soon," he said.

And, of course, Mr. Klein has spent his tenure as schools chancellor working on education from kindergarten through 12th grade. So it's most likely that Mr. Murdoch and News Corp. are eying the same turf, where the business opportunities include charter schools, virtual schools and technology-based teaching and learning aids.

The immediate best bet is that News Corp. will seek possible investments in technology platforms that schools, public or private, can adopt to help students learn -- a kind of paid-content business, which is one of Mr. Murdoch's big media priorities.

Mr. Klein referred to those kinds of products last week during the press conference introducing Ms. Black as his successor. "As recently as yesterday I was in Brooklyn, looking at a really great learning platform that our kids are engaged with and that our teachers love," he said. He was visiting a kindergarten in Brooklyn that uses Time to Know, a digital curriculum system offered by a private company of the same name.

"To me that's the future and I want to be at the center of it," Mr. Klein said. "That's why I've accepted an offer from News Corp. to become an executive vice president in the chairman's office and a member of their board of directors."

Whether outsiders will welcome News Corp. into the education business is another question. "There is a reasonable debate to have on education, about what we need to do, about the federal government's role in the process," said Ari Rabin-Havt, VP-research and communications at Media Matters, so relentless a critic of Fox News that George Soros gave it $1 million last month explicitly for that reason. "Fox News as an entity gets in the way of those debates."

Fox News host Glenn Beck has certainly criticized the school system. "Sell a car if you have to," he told viewers earlier this year. "Get your kids out of this indoctrination or our republic will be lost."

European Broadcasters Channeling Fear

2010-11-15T07:05:00.001+01:00

PARIS — If there is one thing that European commercial television broadcasters like less than a recession, it is that other “R” word — regulation.

The industry has rebounded from the economic downturn, with advertising revenue recovering to prerecession levels, according to the Association of Commercial Television in Europe, an industry group based in Brussels.

As other media reel from technological changes, television keeps going strong. Yes, the traditional broadcasters — commercial and publicly financed networks — now have to share audiences with hundreds of new digital channels, but overall viewership keeps climbing. It has crept up to an average of more than three and a half hours a day across Europe, according to the television association. More and more viewers pay, too: British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite broadcaster, recently reported that it had reached its long-term goal of 10 million subscribers.

“For more than 10 years, people have been saying television will lose, and that is just not the case,” said Philippe Delusinne, president of the broadcasters’ association.

Yet few high-fives were exchanged last week as members of the association gathered in Brussels for an annual conference. That is because of their fear, justified or not, of regulators and lawmakers at the European Commission in Brussels and in national capitals across the 27-country bloc.

Perhaps their biggest worry is a pending overhaul of European copyright rules. Lawmakers want to make it easier to license television shows and other media for use by online video services, which remain meager across Europe. Some commercial broadcasters fear that a greater availability of online services would weaken one of their biggest selling points — exclusive rights to sports, movies and other popular programming.

The doyenne of Brussels regulators, Neelie Kroes, who is now in charge of the E.U.’s digital agenda, visited the broadcasters’ conference last week, where she made it clear that she took a dim view of complacency.

“The truth is that technological revolutions always pose challenges for gatekeepers,” she said in a speech. “The pattern is the same for the digital revolution as it was with the industrial revolution and the printing press. It is only the scale and pace that is different today.”

Despite their fear of regulators, commercial television companies have not fared all that badly in Brussels of late. Among other things, they have secured a requirement that their archrivals, public broadcasters like the BBC, must demonstrate the “public value” of investments in digital services that could compete with private-sector offerings.

At the national level, commercial broadcasters have had a harder time. Lawmakers in Spain and France, for example, have imposed new taxes on commercial broadcasters to help finance public broadcasting. At the same time, France appears to be backtracking on a pledge to remove ads from public TV, which was expected to direct more ad revenue to the commercial channels.

“When the economy gets difficult it is easy politically to make decisions like this,” Mr. Delusinne said.

But public broadcasters can no longer take their political protection for granted. With austerity the order of the day in European capitals, their financing suddenly looks a lot more precarious than it did two years ago when commercial rivals, reeling from the ad slump, envied their steady revenue.

In Britain, for example, the BBC has agreed to absorb hundreds of millions of pounds in costs previously covered by the government, including the budget for the World Service. The license fee that finances the BBC is set to be frozen at the current level for six years. The broadcaster’s management and journalists have been caught up in a nasty dispute over pensions.

In some other countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, public broadcasters are facing bigger cuts.

Against that backdrop, European commercial channels have a fair amount to celebrate — as long as they keep the volume turned down.

Twitter links users to Apple music social network

2010-11-14T04:41:00.002+01:00

Apple announced the Ping social network in September. It works within Apple's iTunes music program and lets users follow artists and recommend songs to their chosen circle of friends.

Twitter said its more than 175 million registered users can now connect their accounts to Ping, allowing them to put song previews and links to buy music from the iTunes store directly in their messages, which are known as "tweets."

Twitter's deal comes after Apple failed to strike a Ping partnership with social networking leader Facebook, which has more than 500 million users.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs told the All Things Digital blog in September that Apple had held talks with Facebook about a deal related to Ping, but the discussions did not produce an agreement.

Facebook declined to comment on Thursday.

Newsweek Site to Shut Down

2010-11-14T04:37:00.002+01:00

There apparently isn’t room for two sites at the Newsweek Daily Beast Company. The new joint venture will kill off Newsweek.com, even though its audience is larger than the Beast’s.

Newsweek.com, the offshoot of a 77-year-old brand, has 3.8 million monthly unique visitors to the two-year-old Beast’s 1.5 million, according to Compete.com.

The Beast is the survivor, said Stephen Colvin, the company’s new CEO, “Because the Daily Beast is a very credible and successful news and opinion Web site. And with great vitality and distinct voice.”

The site will publish Newsweek.com-branded content, and Newsweek.com traffic will be directed there.

As expected, Newsweek CEO Tom Ascheim (who, ironically, was brought on to pump up Newsweek digitally) is leaving the company.

The Newsweek, Newsweek.com and Daily Beast staffs will be combined under Tina Brown, the Beast founder who was named the company’s new chief editor. The combined staff will work out of the financial district, where Newsweek was already planning to relocate after its sale to Sidney Harman three months ago. The move is scheduled to take place in a few weeks.

Skepticism about Newsweek and The Daily Beast merger is running high, but Colvin said the two could make more money as a combined entity.

“We’re providing a much bigger platform and access to a very sought-after audience for marketers in the various platforms they want,” he said in a phone call a few hours after the merger was announced. “And that will definitely lead to all kinds of incremental revenue opportunities. And Tina Brown is a very talented editor. There’s no doubt that will lead to circulation growth.”

Jitters about layoffs are running high at Newsweek, whose staff has already been diminished by layoffs and defections since its sale to Harman. Colvin was noncommittal about further cuts. He said while many Newsweek staffers would fit the kinds of hires the Beast was looking to make, adding, “Obviously there will be efficiencies.”

News Corp.'s James Murdoch Bets on Paid Model

2010-11-13T03:56:00.002+01:00

James Murdoch has no use for the Internet-is-free crowd. The CEO of News Corp. Europe and Asia said finding a business model for news in the digital era isn't all that complicated.

"If you're going to monetize something, you should probably not give it away for free," he said during a Q&A at the Monaco Media Forum. "I think digital newspapers' economics will look a lot more like cable channels."

It's a long road to get there. The Wall Street Journal has been able to charge for access because most of its subscribers are using corporate credit cards. But the jury is out on subscriptions elsewhere in the empire. The Times and Sunday Times were put behind a pay wall in July. News Corp. last week crowed it has sold 105,000 digital products, a roll-up that doesn't break out monthly subscriptions. Some estimates put that figure at just 10,000 per month at the expense of most of its Web traffic.

Murdoch said publishers need to be willing to sacrifice wide reach in the process. The upside is those that pay tend to spend much more time with the publication, he added.

"We're happy to invest more and price it fairly and accept the fact that not everyone will pay," he said.

The belief in free is an article of faith for the tech world. Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired, even wrote an entire book on the economics of business models based around technology enabling free services. Those views aren't in tune with reality when it comes to media, Murdoch said. They rarely, for example, take into account the chain of professionals that need to get paid along the way for the production of quality content.

"There's no new technology that makes athletes less greedy," he said.

The invitation-only Monaco Media Forum, which continues through Nov. 12, gathers approximately 300 global leaders in traditional and new media for discussions about the future of online, broadcast and print.

Yuri Milner: New-Style Oligarch?

2010-11-12T04:17:00.004+01:00

He sees himself as a 'servant' of the digital marketplace

Digital Sky Technologies CEO Yuri Milner is a big investor in the hottest Internet companies of the day, but the Russian businessman isn't keen on the idea he's an "oligarch."

Instead, Milner prefers to think of himself in the services business, bringing his knowledge of East and West to his investments in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon.

"I'm a servant," he said in a wide-ranging interview with AdweekMedia editorial director Michael Wolff at the Monaco Media Forum today. "I'm trying to align our interests with them."

DST became the talk of Silicon Valley when it invested $200 million in Facebook in May.

Since then, it has led a $180 million round for Zynga and $135 million financing for Groupon.

It is reportedly interested in a big new round of funding for Twitter.

DST's Russian business, Mail.ru, went public on the London Stock Exchange this week.

The positive reception for the collection of e-mailing, social networking and gaming properties can be seen as a barometer to the reception Facebook would get if it decides to go public.

"There is a significant momentum behind the social Internet, a wide range of public investors were very enthusiastic about that," he said.

Milner, a theoretical physicist by training, believes large-scale connectivity is giving rise to the "era of mathematicians," in which algorithms can tap into huge pools of social data to inform people of everything from new friends to new products. Every 12-18 months, people double the amount of information they share, further improving the ability of a social platform like Facebook to deploy artificial intelligence, he said.

"There's a huge demand for that sort of intelligence just because of this unprecedented sharing," Milner said.

Milner was mum on a possible Facebook IPO, saying the company's executives will decide when and if that's a right move. He anticipates Facebook will further diversify its business model to complement its advertising business with more direct payments from users, which is more popular with Chinese social networks.

"I'm trying to learn from various corners of the world," Milner said. He noted a Chinese entrepreneur recently jokingly told him, "We can talk as communist to communist."

The invitation-only Monaco Media Forum, which continues through Nov. 12, gathers approximately 300 global leaders in traditional and new media for discussions about the future of online, broadcast and print.

Fox Joins Broadcasters in Blocking Google TV

2010-11-11T14:55:00.001+01:00

NBC, CBS and ABC have already said no to Google TV, and now Fox is making it unanimous.
Fox is the last of the broadcast networks to block episodes of its shows from appearing
on Google's video platform. Google's "footprint was too small."

Newsweek & Daily Beast said to resume merger talks after 3-week cooling off period

2010-11-11T14:43:00.004+01:00

Big-name principals behind Newsweek and the Daily Beast have resumed merger talks, insiders said late today.

Talks between the online news firm, owned by media mogul Barry Diller and led by Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown, and Newsweek’s new owner, Sidney Harman, broke down Oct. 18 amid reports Harman didn’t want to cede power as an opinion leader.

Sources at the time said Brown had insisted upon full editorial control of the combined newsroom.

Now sources say that after a three-week cooling off period, talks are back on.
Neither Brown nor Harman could be reached for comment at presstime.
Harman, a 92-year-old stereo tycoon, bought the struggling magazine from the Washington Post Co. in August for $1 and the assumption of up to $40 million in liabilities.

Hulu Brings in the Dough: $240M of Revenue in 2010

2010-11-11T05:33:00.002+01:00

Hulu is going to make more than $240 million in revenue in 2010, the company’s CEO Jason Kilar revealed at GigaOM’s NewTeeVee Live conference today. Kilar added that Hulu generated $108 million in revenue in 2009. Hulu had 30 million users in October 2010, who watched some 260 million content streams as well as 800 million ad streams during that month. Kilar said that Hulu now has 235 content partners. The company had 352 advertising clients in Q3.

“The leading source of revenue is through advertising,” said Kilar, adding that more than 40 percent of money generated with content in this industry is generated through advertising. This has led Hulu to optimize its ad experience, and Kilar showed a few new features that the company will roll out in the future.

Hulu will introduce personalized advertising, addressing users by name. Kilar said that this type of personalized advertising is getting a 10 percent response rate. The company is also comparing users’ viewing history to develop more exact profiles. For example, it can with a 99 percent certainty tell whether a viewer is male or female just by looking at his video viewing history.

Another feature the company will roll out is the ability to swap out commercials, so that users who don’t want to watch a car commercial can switch to a commercial for dog food instead, for instance. Kilar said that the advertisier of the ad that gets swapped out doesn’t get charged a cent. Kilar said that ads on Hulu are 55 percent more effective than ads displayed on traditional channels.

Kilar didn’t want to comment on plans for an IPO when quizzed by Om Malik during the fireside chat following his keynote speech. Asked why Hulu Plus is showing its users commercials, he reiterated that advertising will always be a core component on Hulu. Om questioned whether more accountability in advertising will lead to a much smaller cake for everyone. Kilar responded that accountability is essential to move ad dollars online. “That’s the way the world should be,” he said.

So what’s Kilar’s take on cord cutting? “To call it today, it’s premature,” he said, adding that this doesn’t mean cord cutting won’t happen in the future. However, he doesn’t believe that Hulu is an enabler of cord cutting, simply because sports and other forms of content are missing. That’s not an accident, Kilar explained: “Hulu, Hulu Plus and Netflix have all been consciously designed… not to be a substitute for pay TV services in the living room.”

CBS, ABC Aim to Stop Online TV Site FilmOn

2010-11-10T16:48:00.004+01:00

Reuters reports that CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox are asking a federal court to stop the   Internet video service FilmOn from offering TV channels over the web and on   Apple's iPad for free. "I'm not a  thief," says founder Alki David. "We're a bona   fide business. We're not pirates." ABC's 'Dancing' Attracts Tea Party Viewers.

Quadrangle's Media Pow-Wow Gets Underway

2010-11-10T16:02:00.003+01:00

Media moguls and financiers are gathering at New York's Plaza Hotel for Foursquare, the annual invitation-only media conference held by private-equity firm Quadrangle. At Wednesday's "pitch panel," startups will be grilled by old-time media execs

Ads key as publishers move online

2007-11-15T10:22:00.000+01:00

Magazine publishers are still trying to figure out how to monetise their digital content. The solutions are still fairly traditional, however. Five years from now, cost-per-thousand impressions will still be the norm, according to 39 per cent of top-level media executives who responded to a survey by Accenture in the first quarter of 2007.

Cost-per-action, or cost-per-transaction, was the second choice, favored by 21 per cent. Cost-per-click, a model that has come under much more scrutiny in 2007 in light of advertisers’ concerns about click fraud on the major search engines, was still anticipated as a viable business model by 12 per cent of respondents.

Exposure time, also known as stickiness, was proposed by nine per cent of the media executives, indicating that they took online content seriously enough to make it the basis of their business model.

When it comes to advertising online, these respondents overwhelmingly chose the mainstream media portals (86 per cent) as one of the top three areas on which they will spend the majority of their digital ad budgets.

The next two choices, user-generated content and social networking sites (41 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively) indicate these executives grasp what it means to be on the internet and that interaction with content is key for visitors.

Emerging platforms such as mobile and video gaming received stronger votes of confidence in this survey than in ones taken in other industries.

Xbox Live to sport ESPN content

2007-11-05T18:19:00.000+01:00

ESPN is the latest media company bringing its content to the mostly young male aud of Microsoft's Xbox Live.

Disney-owned sports net is bringing a broad array of sporting events and programming to the service, through which users can download video onto the Xbox 360 vidgame console.

Content going to Xbox Live includes college football and basketball games, Summer X Games, "The World Series of Poker" and videogame reality show "Madden Nation."

All of the programming also is available for download on Apple's iTunes. A small portion of the video, including NCAA games, will be available to download in high definition via Xbox Live, which is the only digital download service with high-def content.

"Establishing this relationship with Microsoft on Xbox 360 provides an innovative way to reach our target demographic," said Matt Murphy, senior veep of digital video distribution for Disney and ESPN Media Networks.

ESPN sibling the Walt Disney Studios started making its movies available for digital rental on Xbox Live this summer. Other media companies on the service include CBS, MTV Networks, New Line, Paramount and Warner Bros.

ESPN, Nielsen Make Foray into Cross-Media Measurement

2007-10-17T19:16:00.000+01:00

ESPN and Nielsen have joined to work on a measurement system that tracks audiences across platforms, reports Advertising Age.

The program builds a snapshot of how audiences move between media platforms, and how exposure to ads on one drive people to others.

How a call-to-action on TV drives traffic to the internet, how ads on mobile platforms push people to the internet, and other engagement factors, are all going to go under the microscope.

ESPN is Nielsen's test case in building the total-audience measurement offering.

The sports media brand has a vested interest in that sort of data since it has embraced the idea of offering its content in a variety of places, based on the multiplicity of media consumed by sports fans.

The program will also give advertisers a glimpse at unduplicated audience figures, providing a more accurate snapshot of how many people are being exposed to content and ads.

Time Warner Creates UK Advertising "Council" For Media Units

2007-10-09T18:03:00.000+01:00

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. media giant Time Warner Inc. Tuesday announced plans to set up a "council", to make it easier for advertisers to negotiate with all its U.K. media properties.

Time Warner's U.K. media businesses include AOL U.K., IPC Media, the U.K.'s largest consumer magazines publisher, Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros.

The company said the U.K. council would mirror an earlier system in operation in the U.S., with clients including Unilever and Mercedes.

The Time Warner U.K. Advertising Council includes Michael Steckler, managing director of AOL U.K., Caroline McDevitt, managing director of IPC Advertising, and Simon Cox, vice president of Turner Media Innovations.

The council will meet on a monthly basis, Time Warner said, to consider ideas and proposals.

Google's Market Value Surpasses Media Giants

2007-10-09T17:34:00.000+01:00

Google's stock price on Monday passed $600 for the first time, giving the company a market cap greater than the three biggest traditional media companies -- Time Warner, Disney and News Corp. -- combined.

IAB: First-Half Internet Ad Revenues Of $10B Up 27%

2007-10-05T14:35:00.000+01:00

IAB President/CEO Randall Rothenberg calls it the "Oh my God, it happened" year for major marketers as the shift of marketing budgets to online channels marches on. Search continued to account for the highest dollar spending, at 41% of the total. Still, Rothenberg says, more efficiency and simplicity are needed for spending to really take off.

Read the whole story...

Clear Channel Unveils Spectacolor HD Billboard — with Free WiFi, Ad Ops Galore

2007-10-04T19:15:00.000+01:00

CNN is joining the ranks of Reuters, breaking ground with a giant Times Square-based digital display.

This isn't just any billboard. CNN, now the content provider for Clear Channel's new Spectacolor HD billboard, will not only boast the highest quality of any digital billboard in the US; it's also packed with outdoor advertising options galore.

Going up on the corner of 47th and Broadway, the billboard will run multiple ad spots in conjunction with streaming news, weather forecasts and HD broadcasts from CNN.

Advertisers can buy Bluetooth downloads that allow visitors to bring "a piece of the billboard with them home," as well as interactive content via short code that will turn people's phones into a remote controls.

Finally, the board will serve as Time Square's first free public Wi-Fi spot.

Nielsen Chief: Media Landscape is Changing

2007-10-04T15:59:00.000+01:00

Conventional wisdom these days has it that television is dying. Like most conventional wisdom, it's dead wrong.

By almost any measure, television is alive and well. The number of TV households keeps growing - particularly among Latino, African American and Asian Pacific American audiences. Household viewing remains near an all-time high of more than eight hours a day. And television consumption continues to eclipse any other medium by a wide margin; with 90 percent of it still done at home where, on average, there now are more TV sets than people to watch them.

People will continue to watch more television in the future, not less, writes Nielsen Media Research chief Susan Whiting. "But they will do it in new and different ways." Still, "the opportunity to target specific audiences and truly engage them will be unprecedented."

SFGate has the story.

Microsoft Plans to Become a Media Company

2007-10-03T20:49:00.000+01:00

Within the next four to 10 years, says Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer, as much as 25% of the software giant's revenues are likely to come from advertising. Microsoft can already deliver advertising to new platforms such as in-game promotions and mobile-phone campaigns.

Business Week has more.

Nokia signs video deals with CNN, Sony and others

2007-10-02T16:46:00.000+01:00

HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top cellphone maker Nokia ( has signed partnership deals with seven companies including CNN and Sony Pictures to bring video content to its top-of-the-range multimedia phones.

"Consumer desire to watch Internet videos on mobile devices is growing all the time and we want to help users discover and access the best content in the simplest way possible," Harri Mannisto, director at Nokia's multimedia unit, said on Tuesday.

Nokia said it would also bring video content from India's IBN news channel and videos from Jamba, RooftopComedy, ROK and Versaly Entertainment to its N95 models.

It has previously signed similar deals with Google's YouTube and Reuters.

ESPN STAR Sports to Air Special Olympic World Summer Games

2007-10-02T10:33:00.000+01:00

SINGAPORE, October 1: ESPN Star Sports will broadcast the 2007 Special Olympic World Summer Games in Shanghai, China, across the Asian region, beginning tomorrow.

It will be the first time the summer games will be held in Asia, and only the second time outside the U.S., and more than 30,000 athletes and officials from 175 countries are expected to take part.

ESPN STAR Sports will feature highlights of the Games on its ESPN and STAR Sports channels throughout Asia, including a ‘live’ broadcast of the Opening Ceremony on October 2 on STAR Sports. Daily highlights of personal triumphs will be shown every weekday on SportsCenter Asia news bulletins at 10 p.m. HKT on ESPN and a one-hour post-Games highlight special will air on October 18 on STAR Sports. ESPN, in the U.S. will provide coverage of the 2007 Special Olympic World Summer Games across various platforms, including its television channel, ESPN360.com and ESPN.com.

Special Olympics is the international non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics athletes of all ability levels will compete in 25 different Olympic-type and demonstration sports. Since 2006, ESPN STAR Sports has been closely involved with Special Olympics as part of its “Engage with ESPN STAR Sports” corporate social responsibility efforts. Over the last year, ESPN STAR Sports has organized various initiatives such the production and broadcast of the first Special Olympics International Cricket Cup in Mumbai last year, in which 272 athletes and more than 600 volunteers, coaches and officials from nine countries participated. In addition, ESPN STAR Sports staff has been working actively with Special Olympics athletes through volunteer coaching programs, fundraising activities and family days. The network has also run public service announcements to increase awareness of people with intellectual disabilities.

Manu Sawhney, the managing director of ESPN STAR Sports, said: “ESPN STAR Sports has shared a unique relationship with Special Olympics and we are pleased to continue our support and commitment to this cause. The dedication and commitment of Special Olympics teams and athletes is a story that needs to be told. With 17 networks across 24 countries, ESPN STAR Sports is well-positioned to deliver the Special Olympics’ message of acceptance and inclusion of its athletes and bring greater awareness across markets in Asia."

Murdoch: Internet Is Bigger Than News Corp

2007-10-01T19:31:00.000+01:00

Despite its vast media holdings, News Corp. is dwarfed by the enormity of the Internet, says chief Rupert Murdoch. "We don't dominate anywhere," says the media mogul. News Corp. remains "a tiny fraction" of the media universe, with the public well able to find differing opinions elsewhere.

Marketwatch has the story.

A Sign of Things to Come?

2007-10-01T19:16:00.001+01:00

São Paulo's Billboard Ban Made History. Now Other Markets Could Be Next

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AdAge.com) -- São Paulo made history by banning ads on billboards, neon signs and electronic panels, and now Rio de Janeiro is considering a similar measure. Outdoor giant JCDecaux has been garnering street-furniture contracts in markets such as Paris by cleaning up billboards in exchange for bicycles, and made headlines with a similar offer in Moscow. In the U.S., Vermont, Maine, Hawaii and Alaska all have long-standing policies forbidding outdoor ads, and legislators in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco have explored similar bans. The backlash comes despite (or maybe because of) the growth of outdoor advertising.

Read the full article on Adage.com

EuroNews partner of Euro Effie Awards 2007

2007-09-28T13:10:00.000+01:00

EuroNews, Europe’s leading PETV news channel*, is delighted to announce its sponsorship of the 2007 Euro Effie Awards. Organised by the European Association of Communications (EACA), the Euro Effies are awarded to advertisers and agencies whose advertising campaigns have proven their effectiveness by increasing sales.

The 11th edition of the Euro Effie 2007 Awards ceremony took place on September 26th in Brussels. Over 300 key people from Europe’s leading agencies and advertisers were present to see the winners of three of the coveted Gold Euro Effies collect their prizes: Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam received the Euro Effie Grand Prix and Gold Euro Effie for NIKE’s Women’s Dance Campaign 2006 “Tell Me I’m Not an Athlete”, 180 amsterdam with ‘adidas +10’ and kempertrautmann GmbH for Audi’s Audi Q7 Launch campaign.

For the third year in a row GREY emea has landed the coveted Agency Network of the Year Award.

The Long-term Effectiveness Award was given to Callegari Berville Grey for Procter & Gamble’s Boss Bottled ‘Dressing Ritual’.

As official broadcast partner of the Euro Effie for five years, EuroNews produced all the on screen interviews and reports shown during the awards ceremony.

Olivier de Montchenu, Sales and Marketing Director of EuroNews said: "Partnership with Euro Effie 2007 is a perfect fit for EuroNews, Europe’s most accountable and effective PETV news channel."

Oprah earns four times more than other TV stars

2007-09-28T08:05:00.000+01:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When it comes to what pays on U.S. television, talk doesn't come cheap -- nor apparently does a loud mouth.

Financial magazine Forbes on Thursday published a list of the highest-paid TV celebrities, with daytime talk show host Oprah Winfrey leading the way by earning an $260 million between June 2006 and June 2007. Nobody else came close.

Second in the list was Jerry Seinfeld earning $60 million.

Winfrey was joined at the top of the list by another talk show host, David Letterman, who landed at No. 4 by raking in $40 million in the same period from his "Late Night with David Letterman."

Simon Cowell, the arrogant and harshly critical judge on top-rated talent show "American Idol" earned $45 million to land at No. 3, and Donald Trump, whose boisterous exclamation "You're Fired" from reality show "The Apprentice" became part of the pop culture lexicon, was No. 5 with $32 million.

The list shows that in the media arena, it pays to own and produce either all or part of your shows, like Oprah.

That notion becomes abundantly clear in the No. 2 slot, where Jerry Seinfeld sits with $60 million earned mostly from reruns of his co-owned 1990's sitcom "Seinfeld."

Despite the fact that prime-time TV shows win awards and critical acclaim, Forbes Senior Editor Lea Goldman noted that daytime TV and news is where stars rake in the dough.

"Daytime personalities dominate our list of TV's top earners, with most competition among morning and afternoon talk show hosts," said Goldman.

Barbara Walters, another star who owns and co-produces her daytime show "The View," landed at No. 18 with $12 million.

The remaining top 20 is as follows;

6. Jay Leno, $32 million

7. Dr. Phil McGraw, $30 million

8. "Judge" Judy Sheindlin, $30 million

9. George Lopez, $26 million

10. Kiefer Sutherland, $22 million

11. Regis Philbin, $21 million

12. Tyra Banks, $18 million

13. Rachael Ray, $16 million,

14. Katie Couric, $15 million

15. Ellen DeGeneres, $15 million

16. Ryan Seacrest, $14 million

17. Matt Lauer, $13 million

18, Barbara Walters, $12 million

19. Diane Sawyer, $12 million

20. Meredith Vieira, $10 million

Microsoft to Battle Google in Advertising

2007-09-26T18:24:00.000+01:00

Brian McAndrews, the head of Microsoft's recently acquired Internet advertising company aQuantive, says he intends to beat Google's DoubleClick. Microsoft aims to provide advertisers with a log of all the online locations where people see ads before going to advertisers' Web sites.

New York Times has more.

Trump Magazine back in print

2007-09-24T17:54:00.000+01:00

New York Business reports that Donald Trump and Ocean Drive magazine Chairman Jerry Powers will announce a new partnership and the relaunch of the eponymous title at a press conference on Sept. 25 at the Trump Tower. The luxury quarterly will make its comeback in late November and will focus on fashion and home design.

The Donald has been down this road before--first with the short-lived Trump Style, which was distributed in Mr. Trump's hotels, then with Trump World, which was later relaunched as Trump Magazine.

That title ceased publication in the spring. According to an industry insider, Trump Publisher Michael Jacobson had gone to Mr. Powers with a plan to revive the title, but was forced out of the arrangement.

Messrs. Jacobson and Trump could not be reached. Mr. Powers declined to comment.

One former Trump executive says that, despite being a billionaire, The Donald has too much of a nouveau riche image for the magazine to succeed. "Luxury advertisers just avoid him like the plague," he says.

'We will crush the FT' says News Corp

2007-09-24T17:39:00.000+01:00

PETER Chernin, the president of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, promised the media giant will "crush" the Financial Times after acquiring its big rival in America, reports The Scotsman.

In his first public comments since agreeing to spend $5bn (£2.5bn) on Dow Jones, the owner of the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch's right-hand man fired the first round in the battle to establish the Wall Street Journal as a global financial-news brand. His comments pitch News Corp squarely against Pearson, owner of the Financial Times.
Click to learn more...

After addressing the biennial conference of the Royal Television Society at Cambridge University last week, Chernin told Scotland on Sunday that Murdoch had no ambition to buy the FT or collaborate with it to accelerate his goal to create a global brand.

The Financial Times dominates the European market and the Wall Street Journal is stronger in North America.

Chernin said: "We don't want to buy the FT. News Corp will crush it."

He dismissed the notion that even a crushed FT would be attractive at a discounted price. "We don't want it," he said.

He also said there was space within the media giant for both the Fox Business Channel, which launches next month, and CNBC, owned by NBC Universal, which has a contract with the Wall Street Journal until 2012.

"The two will compete against each other," he said. "In many ways competition among News Corp businesses has proven to be a healthy thing."

During the conference Chernin told broadcasting delegates that there were big rewards for those that innovate, and that those who did not would be "toast".

He said media groups with established brands were best-placed to guide viewers through the maze of content.

He said: "No one else has the power and no one has as much experience in packaging content to appeal to consumers."

Journal Starts Monthly Magazine

2007-09-17T20:49:00.000+01:00

The Wall Street Journal will announce today that it is launching a monthly glossy magazine called Pursuits, designed to explore "the world of wealth," according to the Journal's publisher, Dow Jones & Co.

Aimed at building the Journal's consumer advertising revenue, including from luxury-goods and travel advertisers, the new magazine is expected to launch next September, distributed with the Journal's Saturday edition. Its content will be made available free online, outside the Journal's paid subscription wall.

Plans for the new magazine were completed last week at a meeting between Dow Jones executives and Rupert Murdoch, chief executive and chairman of News Corp., which has agreed to buy Dow Jones for more than $5 billion.

The Journal has used the Pursuits name as the title of the lifestyle section of its Saturday edition since launching the Saturday paper two years ago, but it dropped the name this past weekend. The name Weekend Journal now appears on the lifestyle section of the Saturday paper, in addition to the Friday edition.

The Journal didn't name an editor for the magazine, but Robert Frank, the paper's wealth reporter and author of the book "Richistan," about lifestyles of rich people, has been heavily involved in its conception and is expected to play a senior role in the magazine.

Innovate or die says News Corp. chief

2007-09-17T20:28:00.000+01:00

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. — News Corp. topper Peter Chernin has urged British TV chiefs to adopt innovative, risk-taking strategies and embrace new media -- or risk extinction.

Speaking at the Royal Television Society’s Cambridge Convention, president and chief operating officer of News Corp., said that traditional media companies must embrace digital media or risk extinction

News Corp. No. 2 exec Peter Chernin added that, "To dismiss user-generated content as crap and blogs as unauthoritative is not only unproductive, but a waste of time."

Chernin said the world of multi-platforms had created a truly Darwinian entertainment industry where only those fleet of foot would thrive.“There are huge rewards for those who innovate and death to those who do not,” he said.

“There has been a fundamental shift that has completely democratized our business,” he said. The News Corp. chief said there was a “golden opportunity” for media companies to make money from this new consumer-driven model.

“We possess the world’s most recognized and loved brands, and have the opportunity to leverage them in new ways.”

He added, “To dismiss user-generated content as crap and blogs as unauthoritative is not only unproductive, but a waste of time.”

Nokia to acquire Enpocket to create a global mobile advertising leader

2007-09-17T09:49:00.001+01:00

Enpocket to provide Nokia with a platform to accelerate scaling of its mobile advertising businessEspoo, Finland - Nokia and Enpocket today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Nokia to acquire Enpocket (www.enpocket.com). Enpocket is a global leader in mobile advertising; providing technology and services that allow brands to plan, create, execute, measure and optimize mobile advertising campaigns around the world. By acquiring Enpocket, Nokia will accelerate the scaling of its mobile advertising business, leveraging Enpocket's platform and strong partnerships with advertisers, publishers and operators. In addition to key assets, through this transaction Nokia is gaining a team with strong expertise in global mobile advertising across disciplines.

"Nokia has already announced its intention to be a leading company in consumer Internet services and we believe that mobile advertising will be an important element in monetizing those services for our customers and partners. Enpocket's mature leading edge platform and people expertise are a strong fit with Nokia existing capabilities in the mobile advertising market," said Tero Ojanperä, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia. "This acquisition is a game changing move to bring the reach and depth of Nokia to organize the market across the world, and make it easier for an ecosystem to develop."

Enpocket is a privately-owned company, established in 2001 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The innovative technology that drives the Enpocket platform is a mobile advertising campaign management and delivery system distinguished by advanced consumer insight, targeting, and measurement. The platform can deliver mobile advertising across multiple formats including SMS, MMS, mobile Internet advertising, and video. Enpocket is powering mobile advertising for leading mobile operators and publishers across the globe and has an ad sales force that is working with large brands.

"Effective interactive advertising on the mobile device can create tremendous value for the mobile industry while bringing new Internet services to people around the world," said Enpocket President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Baker. "Enpocket and Nokia are combining to provide the leadership needed to define, build and standardize globally the business of mobile advertising so that brands can easily and efficiently engage consumers on their personal devices."

The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Ericsson and Endemol sign global partnership

2007-09-06T09:57:00.000+01:00

Ericsson and Endemol International B.V. today announced a global partnership agreement to develop interactive TV and user-generated content via Ericsson's 'Me-On-TV' solution.

The Ericsson 'Me-On-TV' solution was developed in partnership with Endemol, a global leader in TV and digital entertainment, and Dutch technology company Triple IT.

'Me-On-TV' is a network and device-independent technology, allowing consumers to upload, publish and share live or pre-recorded video content via any mobile device, from anywhere to any screen around the world. Consumers can transmit to websites, TV broadcasts, or stay in contact with friends in a community. It also allows broadcasters, internet sites, and mobile network operators to directly manage live and on demand content via state-of-the-are editorial management tools.

Jan Wäreby, Senior Vice President and Head of Ericsson's multimedia business, says: "This global partnership flags Ericsson's commitment to establish a leading position in multimedia. It shows our partnership approach with innovators in complementary fields to develop consumer solutions for multiple screens that can benefit media companies and operators alike."

William Linders, Executive Director of Digital Media at Endemol International, says: "We're delighted to be working with Ericsson on this exciting new technology. The market for digital content is rapidly evolving and 'Me-On-TV' could have a significant impact on the way consumers interact with TV and digital media."

'Me-On-TV' will be offered as a white-label service to content aggregators such as broadcasters, internet sites, and network operators. It will be delivered as an end-to-end service, fully integrated, hosted and managed by Ericsson.

Endemol will act as a distributor for 'Me-On-TV', licensing the technology as an integrated service in existing and newly developed TV and multimedia formats. 'Me-On-TV' is already being used by Endemol in the Netherlands. Last season's Big Brother TV series saw ex-housemates using the technology to communicate with the house, and this week Endemol in the Netherlands launched the "Ik op TV" format on TV and the internet, in which 'Me-On-TV' is used by citizens to broadcast live and recorded content from their mobile phones, as well as to broadcast live interviews to the program.

Google Set to Test Limits of Society

2007-08-31T10:03:00.000+01:00

Television, newspaper and book execs feel that Google is growing by using their content without paying for it, observes The Economist. The Internet giant is now turning into a custodian of a wide range of intimate data on its users. Google is set to "test the limits of what society can tolerate."

You can read the complete story on The Economist website

Inc. Expands Size of Inc. 500 Tenfold, Plots Social Networking Foray

2007-08-29T08:50:00.000+01:00

Inc. Magazine's September 2007 issue will cover the annual Inc. 500, a list of private businesses in a number of industries that grew the fastest in their respective classes.

Meanwhile, Inc. Online boasts an unexpectedly larger list: the company's first Inc. 5000.

The magazine profiles private-sector companies for the knowledge development of other entrepreneurs.

A complete list of the Inc. 5000 can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000. Red Ventures out of Charlotte and HydraMedia, Beverly Hills topped charts for the Marketing and Advertising sector.

This October the company also plans to unveil IncBiz.net.com, a site where private enterprises can network and exchange information.

Development of niche professional social networks like this one is building in popularity, per a recent Wall Street Journal article, which noted the blossoming of the following niche networks:

* Sermo.com for medicine
* A Reuters social networking destination for finance
* INmobile.org for wireless
* AdGabber.com for advertising

E! Network to Produce Daily Online Show

2007-08-28T16:13:00.000+01:00

Variety announced today that E! is boosting its online news efforts, greenlighting a new broadband skein dubbed "E! News Now."

Cabler will produce at least 12 daily editions of the online skein, which will be hosted by thesp Valery Ortiz ("What About Brian?") and former MSNBC reporter Ashlan Gorse ("The Hot List"). Each seg will run between one and two minutes in length and focus on a single breaking story or general topic.

In addition to distributing the segs via its own website, "E! News Now" will be available via mobile phones and yet-to-be announced distribution partners.

"'E! News Now' will allow us to bring (breaking) stories to our users as quickly as possible," said John Najarian, senior VP of new media and business development for E! parent Comcast Entertainment Group.

Lagardere agrees to sell Swedish Elle to Allers

2007-08-28T16:00:00.000+01:00

PARIS, Aug 27 (Reuters) - French media to aerospace group Lagardere said on Monday it had agreed to sell its Hachette Filipacchi Sweden unit to Swedish publisher Allers Forlag. It gave no financial details but said the sale was part of a rationalisation plan.

The Lagardere unit publishes the Elle, Elle Interior and Cafe magazines in Sweden.

NYTimes.com Gets Its Rapt on

2007-08-23T20:58:00.000+01:00

The New York Times' advertising infrastructure is getting swallowed by Rapt, in a new deal where the nytimes.com adopts Rapt's advertising yield-management platform.

According to DM News, Rapt will "provide strategic advisory services and activate its entire software suite in support of NYTimes.com’s advertising sales operations."

Other Rapt clients include MTV Networks, CNET Networks and Fox Interactive Media.

Murdoch's Dow Jones Deal Makes FT Owner a 'Loser'

2007-08-23T16:51:00.000+01:00

Financial Times owner Pearson is being downgraded by Deutsche Bank, saying its business news unit is "the main loser" in recent deals like News Corp.'s planned buyout of Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. If Pearson tries to sell the FT it will be in "a position of weakness."

MarketWatch reported yesterday.

Britain Abandons Old Media in 'Digital Boom'

2007-08-23T16:21:00.000+01:00

BBC reports today that the Internet, mobile phones and MP3 players are revolutionizing how British citizens spend their time, according to the new annual report from Ofcom, the regulator for U.K. media industries.

It reveals that older media such as TV, radio and even DVDs are being abandoned in favour of more modern technology.

It also shows that women, in some age groups, are the dominant web users and older web users spend more time online than any group.

Among children it showed that web and mobile phone use is growing at the expense of video games.

The 330-page report takes a comprehensive look at the way Britons use new and old media and reveals a nation in love with its media, gadgets and hi-tech gear.

The average Briton now spends 50 hours per week on the phone, using the net, watching TV or listening to the radio. However, the mix of how much time is spent on each one has changed radically over the last few years.

Daily mobile phone use is up 58% on 2002 and, over the same period, net use has grown 158%. By contrast Britons spend far less time watching TV, listening to the radio or chatting on a fixed line phone.

The report, the fourth annual survey from Ofcom, revealed big differences in the technologies that different sectors of the population prefer.

* Among Britons aged 25-34, women account for 55% of the time this group spends online

* 16% of Britons aged 65+ spend 42 hours per month online - more than any other age group

* More than 75% of 11 year olds have their own TV, games console and mobile phone

* 15% of 13-15 year olds and 7% of 10 year olds have their own webcam

Young people now spend as much time on their mobile phone as they do playing computer and console games. Proving more popular among younger people are mobile music players and using the net.

Declining among younger people was listening to the radio and playing video and computer games.

Ofcom's report echoed this observation and said Britons were getting increasingly sophisticated in their use of communications technologies.

Older men playing video games, BBC
Older people are keen consumers of modern technology

For instance, a teenager playing an online game might take a picture of a high score or achievement unlocked while they play then text or e-mail it to friends or add it to a website or Facebook page.

The report also revealed that patterns of use could change again as the latest technologies come into wider use.

It revealed that the UK now has about 450,000 subscribers to high-definition services. Of those questioned by Ofcom, 43% said they watched more TV since getting HD. A minority of that group, 36%, said they now watched six or more extra hours of TV every week.

Ownership of a Digital Video Recorder also seems to have a significant effect on viewing habits. Ofcom found that many prefer to watch programmes saved on their DVR rather than a DVD.

YouTube Introduces Video Advertising

2007-08-23T09:51:00.000+01:00

NEW YORK, August 22: YouTube today introduced video advertising on the site, opting for “overlays” as opposed to pre-rolls where ads are featured at the beginning of a clip.

The overlay ad appears at the bottom of a clip 15 seconds after the video begins and disappears within 10 seconds if the user doesn’t click on it. The user can also opt to close the ad. If the user clicks on the campaign, the video clip they were watching automatically pauses and the full ad appears.

“What we have come up with is a user-controlled ad format that is engaging,” said Eileen Naughton, Google’s director for media platforms, in the New York Times. “We want our users to be able to accept and choose what type of advertising they engage in.”

Shiva Rajaraman, the product manager for YouTube, told the AP that based on internal research, more than 70 percent of people give up when they see a pre-roll. By contrast, less than 10 percent decide to close an overlay.

Initial video advertisers on YouTube include 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema; about 50 companies have signed up for the new service, Reuters indicates. The clips that advertising will be featured in have all been legally licensed to the Google-owned site; no ads will appear in user-generated content. Revenues from video advertising on YouTube will be shared with the content owners. Advertisers will be charged $20 for every 1,000 times the ad is displayed.

Wallpaper* Founder Eyes Growth for New Title

2007-08-22T16:55:00.000+01:00

Wallpaper* magazine founder Tyler Brule is at the sixth-month point of publishing a Monocle, a high-end, glossy newsmagazine focusing on "global affairs, business, culture & design." The London-based title is now opening its fourth bureau in Sydney, joining New York, Tokyo and Zurich.

The New York Observer writes that in the opinion of Tyler Brûlé, the ever-stylish Wallpaper* founder, the suits are looking at today’s media landscape completely backwards.

These days, he said, news executives and big-time publishers are foolishly closing foreign bureaus, cutting trim size, reducing paper stock, overdoing local news and swapping editorial authority for user-generated content.

“We’re not in the business of trying to build a galaxy of bloggers and churn out copy all day,” said Mr. Brûlé, who earlier this year launched Monocle, a high-end newsmagazine.

While Time redesigns, refashions and rethinks its business model—and crowns “You” person of the year—Mr. Brûlé is now at the sixth-month point of publishing a glossy 225-plus-page “briefing on global affairs, business, culture & design” stuffed with original photography and a “manga” comic book.

And as major newspapers like The Boston Globe shutter their foreign bureaus this year, Mr. Brûlé sees opportunity: next week, he said, Sydney will open as the London-based Monocle’s fourth bureau, joining New York, Tokyo and Zurich.

Mr. Brûlé, now 38, said that for years he’s considered launching a newsmagazine in the tradition of the “confident, robust newsstand weekly” he found in Germany, packed with “60 pages of foreign reportage.” In 1994, while freelancing for one such German magazine, Mr. Brûlé was struck by a sniper’s bullet in Afghanistan.

But the idea for Wallpaper* was also percolating during his recovery in London, and that’s the one that took off first, in 1996—clearing a market for aspirational cosmopolitans (yuppie-porn, to some). The category has skyrocketed since, with upscale shelter mags clogging the magazine racks at Barnes & Noble.

The following year, Mr. Brûlé sold the magazine to Time Inc. for $1.63 million, and founded a design agency, Wink Media (later Winkreative), in 1998. Mr. Brûlé remained editorial director until 2002, before leaving amid gossip about private jet expenses and disagreements with corporate higher-ups.

Before leaving Wallpaper*, Mr. Brûlé was already quoted in the press about his desire to launch a newsmagazine.

“That didn’t make them very happy at Time Inc,” Mr. Brûlé said, laughing. “Norman Pearlstine got so angry at me. I remember being screamed at on the phone in Hamburg.”

ESPNU Scores More Fans, Via Time Warner Deal

2007-08-22T14:13:00.000+01:00

ESPNU, the 2-year-old network launched in response to College Sports Television (CSTV), will double its distribution this month, thanks to a sprawling deal between parent company Disney and Time Warner Cable.

TWC will make the channel available on its digital basic tier to 10 million of its subscribers by Sept. 1, taking ESPNU's availability to 20 million homes in time for football season, when it promises 70 games.

The rollout includes homes in New York by Aug. 30 and Los Angeles by Aug. 31.

ESPNU also stands to gain TWC subscribers quickly, since its deal gives it promised distribution to all TWC customers with digital basic--and more customers from a lower basic tier are upgrading. So far, 68% of TWC's 14.6 million customers have digital basic.

ESPNU's distribution bump is an outgrowth of a broader deal with Disney that gave TWC the rights to carry its owned-and-operated ABC stations and other benefits, such as providing a Disney Channel subscription VOD offering. In exchange, Disney received promises for distribution for a slew of cable channels, including ESPNU. The deal also included a renegotiation of the sub fees TWC would pay Disney for carriage of ESPN and ESPN2.

ESPNU launched in some 3 million homes in 2005.

MTV, AP Study: Internet Makes Young People Happy

2007-08-21T14:42:00.000+01:00

Cellphones, the Internet and other technologies are integrally woven into the lives of today's 13- to 24-year-olds, according to a study on happiness and young people by MTV and the Associated Press. Half of those young people polled say the Internet alone helps them feel happier.

PR Newswire has more details about this study.

Facebook Goes Mobile on Apple iPhone

2007-08-17T09:36:00.000+01:00

Facebook is launching a mobile version that works on the Apple iPhone. The new mobile edition of the social-networking site will allow users to access and update profiles, track friends, and find maps and driving directions for events scheduled on Facebook.

Red Herring has published a more detailed story here.

IAB and Lead Generation Committee Release Best Practices for Lead Generation

2007-08-15T19:53:00.000+01:00

The Lead Generation Committee and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) have today released the Lead Generation Data Transfer Best Practices.

At the most practical level, the document will help standardize the transfer and reception of data between advertisers and lead generators.

Two major considerations served as guidelines for the final product:

* Security - lead generation data should be encrypted
* Common format and set up - the data must move in a common format through mainstream, secure internet technologies

"The committee encourages advertisers and publishers to implement these best practices and comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations to responsibly support the continued growth of this very important category," said SVP Gayle Guzzardo of Product Management at Q Interactive. She is also the Lead Generation Committee Chair.

Per the IAB/PwC 2006 Full Year Internet Advertising Revenue Report, lead generation revenue totaled $1.3 billion out of all 2006 advertising revenues ($16.9 billion), up from a (now seemingly paltry) $753 million in 2005.

Big Media Web Acquisitions Disappoint

2007-08-15T18:26:00.000+01:00

Several traditional media companies are busy acquiring Internet start-ups. But more than a few of the recent deals are viewed as letdowns. Conde Nast purchased Reddit last year, only to see it eclipsed by rival Digg. Even News Corp.'s buy of MySpace is "showing signs of uncertainty."

CNet has more.

Size Matters in the UK

2007-08-14T10:06:00.000+01:00

Audiences for print, online and events will be listed together for what is allegedly the first time ever in this week's Audit Bureau of Circulations release.

The Guardian reports that the average circulation of magazines proffered by the BBC and IPC Media will be featured alongside audience figures for other platforms, which common practice among newspaper publishers but unheard-of in the magazine world.

CEO Chris Boyd of the Bureau pointed out, "It has never been so important for media owners and buyers to consider full brand reach when making decisions […] The report enables media owners to offer agencies and advertisers verified, cross-platform data in an increasingly complex market - something that will become ever more important."

BBC Magazines will be the first to make the move. The firm also audits event attendance, in addition to online and print.

Its report, which will cover the period between January and June, will include circulation for seven magazines, attendance figures for four events, and user data for two online platforms.

Conde Nast Seeks Journalists, Actors for Webcast

2007-08-14T09:49:00.000+01:00

The Web site of Conde Nast's business magazine Portfolio is planning a Rocketboom-like business news Webcast to be presented by either journalists or actors. The magazine is looking to hire Web hosts who are "intelligent, charismatic and humorous."

New York Times has the full story.

TVB Planning Cross-Media Buying Platform Rollout

2007-08-13T09:42:00.000+01:00

The Television Bureau of Advertising is preparing for the fall launch of its ePort cross-media sales platform, reports MediaPost.

ePort will let members, ranging from TV stations to ad agencies, send and request proposals for ad buying on TV as well as online and on other digital media. The TVB has 21 broadcast groups and two sales rep firms already signed on and is hoping to bring the rest on board before the fall launch.

Spot Buy Spot, a Chicago-based technology firm, will manage the platform. The TVB is also planning a November initial launch for ePort, with more functionality and services, coming online in March of 2008.

Nokia announce new Global Network Marketing Agency

2007-08-09T22:02:00.000+01:00

Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that it has chosen JWT as its global network marketing agency. The announcement is part of Nokia's marketing renewal that focuses on streamlining marketing planning and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of all marketing activities. The marketing agency review has been an integral part of the marketing renewal process.

In July, Nokia announced Wieden + Kennedy's appointment as the global lead agency for Mobile Phones. Multimedia will continue to use Interpublic Group (IPG) for Nokia NSeries creative support and Enterprise Solutions will continue to use WPP as their global creative agency.

JWT will support the lead creative agencies in the implementation and localization of global campaigns. Also, as a strategic global partner, the agency will support local marketing activities in over 80 markets worldwide.

''Working together with JWT will help us to align our marketing efforts. With one global marketing network partner, we believe we will be better positioned to reach our goal of becoming the most loved and admired brand by people in the world",says Pekka Rantala, Senior Vice President, Nokia.

In the network marketing agency selection, a strong emphasis was put on choosing an agency that is best positioned to support Nokia's long term marketing strategy and business requirements locally. Additionally, a diverse repertoire of knowledge and experience was a key priority.

Transition to the new marketing mode will begin during the fall and will be fully operational by January 1, 2008.

Internet Ad Spending Set to Overtake Newspapers

2007-08-07T16:21:00.000+01:00

Financial Times reports online advertising will overtake U.S. newspaper advertising in terms of size by 2011, according to a new forecast from Veronis Suhler Stevenson. Consumers are shifting to digital alternatives and migrating away from newspapers, broadcast television and other media.

NY Times Launches In-Flight Video Magazine

2007-08-02T22:23:00.000+01:00

The New York Times and JetBlue Airways are launching "Times on Air," an in-flight video magazine offering content from the newspaper's TimesTalks events, which feature interviews of newsmakers and cultural leaders, as well as material from NYTimes.com.

Editor & Publisher reports today.

Murdoch Deal to Send Ripples Through Media World

2007-08-02T18:23:00.000+01:00

Under Rupert Murdoch, a more aggressive Wall Street Journal could pose a greater threat to BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune, as well as the New York Times and the Financial Times. The Journal could develop a dominant online financial-news portal, or a MySpace-like social-networking site.

Wall Street Journal has the full story.

Rupert Murdoch's Victory

2007-08-02T16:04:00.000+01:00

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Rupert Murdoch's victory in winning approval for New Corp.'s acquisition of Dow Jones and its flagship Wall Street Journal is a historic event with far-reaching implications for journalism, the media business, the competitive landscape and advertisers, says Ad Age media reporter Nat Ives in this video interview. The changes are likely to be most significant for the Journal because, he says, "Rupert Murdoch is going to come in as a purpose-driven, hands-on manager with an agenda. The Journal and Dow Jones for years have been almost drifting. ... The Bancroft family that controls the company has certainly been hands off and unsure about the quality of their own executives and now we have someone who really has a vision coming in to take control."

AdAge has published an online videoreport, which can be viewed here.

ESPN, MediaFLO USA, Verizon Align for New Mobile TV Channel

2007-07-30T12:47:00.000+01:00

SAN DIEGO/LOS ANGELES/BASKING RIDGE, July 26: ESPN, MediaFLO USA and Verizon Wireless have teamed up for the delivery of the first mobile TV channel dedicated to action sports, EXPN, on Verizon’s V CAST Mobile TV, complementing X Games coverage.

EXPN will carry exclusive mobile coverage of competitions, behind-the-scenes action and commentary from X Games 13. The new mobile TV channel will be available for the duration of X Games 13. The new dedicated channel will feature live coverage of events provided by ESPN for eight hours each day from August 2 through August 5, everything from practices to qualifying events to event finals, a daily "Best of the X Games" segment that will show viewers all of the extreme highlights, and an ESPN debut of a double box segment during the rally car races that will give fans the opportunity to see the race from each driver's viewpoint as they compete side-by-side. Highlights of previous years' X Games also will be shown on the EXPN from July 22 through August 1, and "Best of the X Games" and X Game 13 replays will air August 6 through August 7.

"X Games fans want to see the action as it happens,” stated John Zehr, the senior VP of digital media production at ESPN. “By teaming with MediaFLO USA to offer this channel through Verizon Wireless, ESPN is reaffirming our commitment to our fans by showing all the extreme action while expanding our multi-platform approach. Through this dedicated channel, X fans will see Travis Pastrana's practice runs or Shaun White grab big air during the skateboarding finals even if they aren't near a big-screen TV."

Cuban: The Internet Is Dead; Cable Is King

2007-07-28T12:31:00.000+01:00

HDNet chief Mark Cuban, who was made a billionaire by his Broadcast.com, now says: "The Internet's dead. It's over." Cuban asserts that cable and satellite have become superior to the Internet as platforms for interactive services. In effect, he says, cable networks are "intranets."

Multichannel has the full story.

Bancrofts to Consider Murdoch Bid, 'Close Vote' Predicted

2007-07-24T15:12:00.000+01:00

The Bancroft family will meet today to consider News Corp.'s $5 billion bid for Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones. "It is going to be a close vote," says Ken Doctor, an analyst with research firm Outsell. "This is the decision of a lifetime for the family."

The New York Sun has the full story.

WSJ Ad Sales Team Sold on Murdoch

2007-07-24T15:07:00.000+01:00

Advertising sales execs at the Wall Street Journal are said to be more welcoming of Rupert Murdoch's advances than their colleagues in editorial. Sales staffers are hoping Murdoch will add some much-needed marketing dollars. "It's a good marriage," said one Journal sales exec.

Advertising Age has more.

Web and TV to Converge in 2011

2007-07-18T23:30:00.000+01:00

A new study from eMarketer finds TV and web video may converge in 2011, reports Business Week.

Video ad sales are expected to climb from $775 million this year to $3.1 billion in 2010 and then a jump to $4.3 billion in 2011. However, this still only accounts for $1 of every $10 spent on Internet advertising.

Ultimately, eMarketer believes over the next few years video advertising will enter a grand experimental phase. It is after 2011 that TV and web advertising will really start to converge. Among the current experiements:

Major media companies like Sony are already starting to blur lines. Recently launched Crackle touts high-quality video and has the goal of finding high-quality talent to fill the netwaves.

Yahoo is testing animated window-shade ads that users can pull down over a video and graphical ads that appear during a video in the same way TV networks show ads at the bottom during programming.

Startup VideoEgg is experimenting with overlaid graphic ads that appear within content. A good move, considering 77 percent find current video advertising, such as pre-roll, too intrusive.

Cost is also a major reason why video is growing. Startup TurnHere produces internet videos for as little as $500, pulling from a network of 2,000 independent filmmakers who can shoot for local businesses.

European Online Marketing Spend to Hit 16B Euros, 2012

2007-07-17T14:55:00.000+01:00

Spend on online marketing in Europe will double in the next five years, from around 7.5 billion euros in 2006 to more than 16 billion euros in 2012, according to a new Forrester report, "European Online Marketing Tops €16 Billion In 2012," reports MarketingCharts.

Online marketing - email, and search and display advertising - will account for 18 percent of total media budgets in Europe in five years, according to the projections.

The reason for this shift in spending is that audience and attention are moving online, according to Forrester:

Newspapers Suffer Most in Ad Dollars Lost to Internet

2007-07-16T13:08:00.000+01:00

Newspapers more than other media are losing ad dollars from leading national advertisers, who are shifting budget away from traditional media to the Internet, according to a new report from Wachovia Equity Research, via Editor & Publisher.

By category, in 2006 only financial services advertisers increased spending in newspapers, which have seen less money from the automotive, retail, telecommunications, general services, media, and tech/Internet categories, according to Wachovia.

Additional findings from Wachovia:

* Of the seven categories considered, only one - financial services - increased spending in newspapers in 2006.
* Television, however, had more money flowing in from four of those seven categories: telecommunications, automotive, media and tech/Internet.
* Among the seven categories in the aggregate, newspapers lost 14.3 percent in advertising dollars, and TV gained 4.4 percent. Internet ad spend increased 17.8 percent. Spend in other measured channels decreased 1.1 percent.
* The top telecommunications advertisers shifted the most ad spend away from newspapers: In 2005 they spent 31.6 percent in newspapers, but in 2006 they spent 24 percent.
* In 2005, the top auto advertisers spent 9.2 percent, but just 4.6 percent in 2006, on newspapers.
* Retail advertisers spent 29.8 percent on newspapers in 2005 and 28 percent in 2006.

Internet ad spend growth would need to be 15 percent per year over the next decade to reach the level of ad spend going to newspapers, according to Wachovia.

GroupM: Internet Driving U.K. Ad Spending on Other Media

2007-07-12T10:21:00.000+01:00

A new study from the agency GroupM says online ad spending is actually helping stem losses from other media, reports MediaPost.

The report from GroupM predicts losses at traditional media outlets will either level off or drop only one percent this year. The increased dollars spent online have been, it's believed, contributing to that decline as traditional media outlets find they can't demand the same price increases they once could.

Overall, and largely driven by online spending, GroupM believes ad revenue in the UK will grow by four percent in 2007.

MarketingCharts provides detailed coverage of GroupM's UK forecast.

Global Entertainment, Media Industry to Hit $2 Trillion in 2011

2007-06-22T13:25:00.000+01:00

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global entertainment and media industry will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4 percent to $2 trillion in 2011, with the Internet, TV platforms and video games as the fastest-growing sectors, and Brazil, Russia, India and China as key markets for rapid growth.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2007-2011 predicts double-digit growth for digital and mobile spending during the next five years, rising to $153 billion by 2011. Furthermore, the spending on the distribution of entertainment and media on convergent platforms will exceed 50 percent of global spending by 2011. Within the next five years, nearly half of the total industry growth is expected to be generated through online and wireless technologies and, during the same period, broadband households will grow by 300 million to 540 million subscribers and wireless subscribers will increase by 1.1 billion to 3.4 billion.

"Content, distribution and technology companies need to aggressively seek out new relationships to accommodate the shift towards convergence,” said Jim O'Shaughnessy, the global chairman of the Entertainment & Media practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Furthermore, companies will need to test new business models to address increased fragmentation and intellectual property in a digital era. Deal activity across the entertainment and media sector is accelerating, driven by the migration to digital formats."

Global advertising will increase at a 5.4 percent CAGR to $531 billion in 2011 from $407 billion in 2006. The Internet will remain the fastest growing advertising medium, with a projected 18.3 percent CAGR to $73 billion in 2011, comprising 14 percent of the global advertising market.

Spending on convergent platforms will grow faster than other platforms and will account for 72 percent of the total entertainment and media growth during the next five years. Asia Pacific will be the fastest growing convergent platform region, with a projected 13.5 percent increase. Double-digit growth is expected in Latin America.

Economic expansion and a surging entertainment and media market are driving significant growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). Led by India and China, E&M spending in BRIC will increase by a 14.7 percent CAGR to $251.5 billion in 2011, accounting for 24 percent of global E&M growth during the next five years. "The surge in broadband and wireless adoption is generating new digital revenue streams across multiple segments," said Marcel Fenez, the global managing partner for the Entertainment & Media practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Broadband growth is driving online advertising while the proliferation of next-generation wireless devices designed to play digital music, video games and receive TV programming is fueling mobile distribution. For example, Asia Pacific spending on distribution of television programming on mobile phones is expected to reach $6.5 billion in 2011 from just $26 million in 2006."

The U.S. remains the largest but slowest growing E&M market, with a 5.3 percent CAGR, reaching $754 billion in 2011. EMEA, the second largest market, will expand at a 5.5 percent CAGR to $617 billion in 2011. Led by Saudi Arabia/Pan Arab and South Africa, Middle East/Africa will continue to be the growth region, averaging 8.5 percent CAGR during the forecast period. TV distribution, Internet advertising and access spending and video games will be the fastest growth segments. Asia Pacific will remain the fastest-growing region. Spending in Asia Pacific will average 9.6 percent annual growth, increasing from $297 billion in 2006 to $470 billion in 2011. India will be the fastest growing during the next five years at 18.5 percent CAGR, followed by China with a 16.8 percent CAGR. Latin America's E&M market, the second fastest-growing region, is projected to rise at an 8.9 percent CAGR to $68 billion in 2011. Canada is projected to expand at a 5.6 percent CAGR to $47 billion in 2011.

The global Internet market rose 21.8 percent, the fastest-growing segment in 2006. Advertising rose 37.9 percent and access spending increased 18.8 percent. Globally, Internet advertising and access spending is expected to grow from $177 billion in 2006 to $332 billion in 2011.

The global television distribution market, the second fastest-growing segment, increased by 9.4 percent in 2006, an improvement compared with the 6.5 percent increase in 2005. Aggressive rollout of Internet protocol television from telephone companies is stimulating competition and fueling subscriber growth. Globally, the television distribution market will increase from $161 billion in 2006 to $251 billion in 2011.

The TV network market rose 6.2 percent in 2006. Globally, spending will increase from $172 billion in 2006 to $228 billion in 2011. Sports increased 12 percent. Spending in the sports segment is expected to increase from $96 billion in 2006 to $124 billion in 2011. Filmed entertainment rebounded in 2006 with a 2.9 percent advance following a 2.6 percent decline in 2005. Globally, filmed entertainment spending will rise from $81 billion in 2006 to $103 billion in 2011.

Europe Online Ad Spend Nearly $11B in 2006

2007-06-13T14:15:00.000+01:00

Online advertising spending in Europe reached 8 billion euros ($10.8 billion) in 2006, up from 4.6 billion euros in 2005, according to figures released Monday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (Europe), writes MarketingCharts.

The UK led the 13 countries covered by the IAB's report, accounting for 39 percent of total online ad spend with 3.1 billion euros. Germany (1.7 billion euros) is second with 22 percent; France (1.1 billion euros) is third with 15 percent; followed by the Netherlands with 7 percent.

Search accounted for 45 percent of all online ad spending in Europe, followed by display ads at 31 percent; classifieds, 22 percent; and email, 1.6 percent.

Online's share of total ad expenditures exceeded 10 percent in three European countries: the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Advertisers spent an average of 82.46 euros for each U.K. web user in 2006, compared with roughly 60 euros for U.S. web users - and more than double the 39 euro average for all 13 EU countries measured by the study.

Ad Sales to Mirror Stock Market in Near Future

2007-05-30T18:44:00.000+01:00

A great deal of attention is being focused on projects aiming to make the ad buying and selling process similar to that of commodities, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Microsoft, Yahoo and Google are working on ways to compete with smaller players in becoming ad exchanges, marketplaces where ad inventory is offered and snapped up by buyers. These automated systems would be able to connect buyers with what otherwise would have been unsold inventory, a frequent headache for publishers unable to sell leftover spots.

Firms like Right Media, ContextWeb and others have created their own marketplaces by signing blog network partners and other deals. But a large-scale solution remains elusive. Many publishers, especially those tied to traditional media outlets, still rely on sales people and their contacts, a less efficient process that is nonetheless steeped in tradition and politics.

Cynics feel exchange marketplaces will only excel at selling scatter and non-premium inventory since big brands negotiate their own buys. Others contend that there is more than enough inventory to keep a robust ad market happy.

Bonnier Develops Video Content For 40 Titles

2007-05-29T12:46:00.000+01:00

Swedish Bonnier Corp. is planning to produce online video content for more than 40 of its big titles, including the recently acquired Time4Media titles, according to MediaPost. With digital infrastructure provided by the Onstream Media Corporation, the video initiative accompanies a parallel push to develop more social media and networking functions. Bonnier is seeking to expand the online footprint of titles including Parenting, Babytalk, Popular Science, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Saveur, Spa and various sports enthusiast publications.

As part of the program, the Parenting Group is partnering with Studio 4 Networks to produce free video content for Parenting magazine that targets mothers, called "What Matters to Moms." In the series, Parenting editors discuss issues of importance to overtaxed modern mothers, including controlling temper tantrums, good manners and health issues. The video content will be available online as well as on Parenting's VOD channel, carried by Cox, Shaw, Charter, and DirecTV.

Jeff Wellington, president and group publisher of the Parenting Group, said the relationship will "create targeted opportunities for our advertisers to reach a captive audience of mom viewers." Ed Stansfield, CEO of Studio 4 Networks, added that "the partnership offers sponsors a direct and compelling opportunity to reach moms in a contextual kid-centered environment."

Gen Y Reads More Print, Not Less, than Older Counterparts

2007-05-21T18:35:00.001+01:00

Despite worries that tech-savvy Gen Yers are ditching print media for digital, research house McPheters & Co. finds that 19-34 year-olds are actually reading more consumer magazines than older consumers, reports MediaPost.

After reporting the results, McPheters assumed they were skewed due to a low sample. To ensure accuracy, the group checked a similar study conducted last year by Readership.com across 8,400 pollsters. It confirmed that "adults in the 19-24 and 25-34 age groups reported that they read a larger number of both different magazine titles and specific magazine issues than their older counterparts," said company partner John McPheters of McPheters & Co.

"This evidence speaks directly to the growing concern that younger audiences are abandoning the hard-copy magazines for the Internet and other forms of media. It simply has not happened," he added.

MarketingCharts offers more data from the survey, including tables.

Where do media moguls go...?

2007-05-21T13:49:00.000+01:00

As the media business goes through a generational shift, several former industry titans appear to be seeking a compass for their lives.

WHEN Michael D. Eisner left the Walt Disney Company after a shareholder revolt in 2005, the former chief executive was forced to rethink his life. Where once he had commanded a private plane to fly around the world, last year he pedaled around Italy on a bicycle. Instead of wielding the power to back the next “Pirates of the Caribbean,” today Mr. Eisner is financing a modest Web video series called “Prom Queen,” e-mailing his friends to remind them to watch.

While Viacom boss Tom Freston admits: "I'm trying to figure out what to do." Ex-Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin says: "I'm going to find myself."

New York Times has more.

Microsoft Wins aQuantive with $6 Billion Cash Bid

2007-05-20T09:32:00.000+01:00

Per a recent commitment to broaden its digital advertising horizons, Microsoft today agreed to purchase online ad firm aQuantive for $6 billion, Internet News Reports.

At $66.50 per share at an 85 percent premium over aQuantive's Thursday closing price, the $6 billion purchase represents Microsoft's most ambitious bid to date.

Microsoft has stated it plans to use aQuantive's myriad assets to develop "new media" ad systems like cross media planning, VOD and IPTV.

From inception, aQuantive has seen significant growth spurts, having evolved into three primary brands: DRIVEpm, an ad service that matches ad campaigns with published content; Avenue A | Razorfish, a digital marketing consulting service; and Atlas, the foundation for the Media Console ad platform.

aQuantive is expected to add thrust to Microsoft's AdCenter, which serves approximately 500 users a month but remains a small contender to Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing.

The deal is expected to finalize in Q1 of 2008.

CFO Chris Liddel noted the online ad market, worth about $40 billion at present, is expected to grow 20 percent per year until 2010.

Too fast to Fast-Forward

2007-05-18T10:39:00.000+01:00

New York Times reports this morning that a Broadcast Newtork will soon offer advertisers two more ways to try holding the attention of viewers throughout those commercial breaks that consumers love to hate.

One idea is to run quickie commercials of only five seconds each. The other is to schedule a series with no commercial breaks at all, and instead incorporate sponsors’ products into each episode.

Executives of the network CW outlined their plans yesterday as they offered Madison Avenue a preview of their prime-time lineup for the 2007-8 season.

The proposals are the most recent to be advanced by the major networks, broadcast and cable, as they grapple with the problem of keeping viewers from changing channels during commercials — or, if the viewing is being done on digital video recorders, from fast-forwarding through the spots.

The presentation by CW was part of what is called upfront week, which gets its name because the broadcasters share their programming with advertisers and agencies before the fall season begins. The upfront week for 2007-8 ended yesterday with sneak peeks at the schedules of CW, owned by the CBS Corporation and Time Warner, and Fox Broadcasting, part of the News Corporation.

Last month, Fox tried interspersing humorous program snippets between commercials, and executives said they would try other versions of the snippets during the 2007-8 season.

The other reason to tinker with traditional commercial breaks is the penchant of DVR owners to skip through spots when they play back recorded programs. That problem is getting worse as more households acquire DVRs.

The two CW ideas are based on the network’s experience since September with a device known as a content wrap, which CW produced for almost 20 brands during the 2006-7 season.

In content wraps, products of advertisers like Procter & Gamble, Toyota Motor and Unilever are integrated into a set of three short program segments on topics like fashion and music. The segments were interspersed in commercial breaks during episodes of series like “America’s Next Top Model.”

The five-second commercials, intended as shorter versions of content wraps, are called “Cwickies” — a play on the network’s name, just as the initials of “content wrap” are “CW.”

CW took in $600 million to $650 million during the upfront market last spring, while Fox sold an estimated $1.8 billion.

The 2007-8 upfront week began on Monday with NBC. The presentations continued on Tuesday with ABC and Telemundo, then with CBS and Univision on Wednesday before ending with CW and Fox yesterday.

You can view the full article here

Murdoch invests in the Baltics

2007-05-18T09:10:00.000+01:00

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has bought two Latvian TV channels to extend its footprint into the Baltic region.

The company’s subsidiary News Corp Europe has acquired Latvian Independent Television (LNT) and a 70% stake in TV5.

Chairman of LNT Andris Ekis said: “LNT and TV5 are the beginning of the development of News Corporation's network in our region.” He added that the media giant was interested in developing a presence in Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus.

De Mol buys back Endemol

2007-05-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

Media and Marketing Europe reports that Dutch media tycoon John de Mol has re-purchased Endemol, his previously owned Dutch-based European production company, along with equal partners Mediaset, owned by former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.

The consortium is paying Spanish telecom group Telefónica €2.63bn for a 75% stake in the 'Big Brother' producer. It aims to acquire the remaining 25%, which was floated on the Dutch Stock Exchange in 2005.

Seven years ago Telefónica paid €5.5bn for Endemol, then owned by De Mol and Joop van den Ende. The trio outbid a rival offer by Stephane Courbit, the head of Endemol France, who is now expected to leave the company.

John de Mol indicated he considers the acquisition, through his investment vehicle Cirte, primarily as a strategic matter. But it is widely assumed he will try to become more actively involved.

De Mol’s spokesman stressed the Endemol purchase was "not connected" to the ongoing discussions about the future of De Mol’s ill-fated Dutch tv-channel Tien, part of Talpa Media.

Talpa is talking to RTL Nederland and SBS Broadcasting about some form of co-operation and might even sell off the channel. It is speculated that RTL has the better chance, since it is bigger in Europe than SBS, enabling De Mol to arrange more production deals for Endemol.

Emap shares soar as CEO resignation sparks bid talk

2007-05-17T17:06:00.000+01:00

The Daily Telegraph reports that Emap shares soar as CEO resignation sparks bid talk.

Shares in Emap, the publisher of FHM, soared by 7pc this morning after the unexpected resignation of chief executive Tom Moloney sparked speculation that the company could soon become a takeover target.

The announcement that Mr Moloney was stepping down "by mutual agreement" comes just days before Emap is due to report its full-year results and ongoing strategic review to the market next Tuesday.

Alan Cathcart, previously non-executive chairman, has been appointed interim executive chairman until a permanent replacement can been found, which could take months.

Emap's management has been under pressure for some time from investors who are unhappy at the lack of a successful growth strategy and the disappointing share price.

The company issued a profits warning in February as it said difficult consumer markets would leave profits at the bottom end of City expectations this year.

But sources close to Emap said that Mr Moloney's departure was related to execution of the company's strategy, rather than a problem with the strategy itself.

Analysts believe that Emap, which owns a variety of business-to-business publications as well as consumer brands like Heat magazine and the radio stations Kiss and Magic, would be an attractive break-up target for private equity investors because it is clearly divided into three different businesses with strong decent levels of cash.

Emap shares rose by as much as 65p, to £9.03, in early trading.

But Emap insisted that it was persevering with its strategy of growing the business by focusing on digital media, rather than looking to break the company up.

Mr Moloney joined Emap in 1981 and was chief executive of the UK consumer magazines arm and chief operating officer before becoming head of Emap's American business. He became head of the whole company in January 2003.

WPP to Buy 24/7 Real Media for $649 Million

2007-05-17T16:54:00.000+01:00

Advertising giant WPP Group plans to acquire global digital marketing firm 24/7 Real Media in an all-cash transaction. "Our clients and therefore our industry are becoming more technology driven," says WPP CEO Martin Sorrell. "24/7 Real Media significantly enhances our capabilities."

Bloomberg has the full story.

Curious about what Media Bosses Earn...?

2007-05-16T15:20:00.000+01:00

Data for publicly held companies reveals the fiscal 2006 compensation for media chieftains Rupert Murdoch, Bob Iger, Jeff Immelt and many others.

MinOnline has more.

Disney, Sprint Ink Deal for Entertainment, Kids’, News Content

2007-05-16T14:35:00.000+01:00

Sprint customers will be able access full episodes of news and entertainment programming from ABC Entertainment, ABC News and Disney Channel on their mobile phones, either on demand or via streaming channels, via a new deal announced today.

The Disney-ABC Television Group and Sprint deal will see the content being delivered on demand and via three mobile channels, streaming continuous scheduled programming throughout the day. The deal includes on-demand, full-length episodes of ABC’s Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty, as well as a linear channel with content from Disney Channel.

Sprint is also the first carrier to provide ABC Mobile, a newly created linear mobile channel. ABC Mobile features a variety of full-length and short-form news and entertainment content, including full-length episodes of Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty.

Video-on-demand shows will be available the day after their television premiere. In general, customers will be able to access the four most recently televised episodes of each series. Beginning this fall, selected entertainment and news on-demand content and linear programming will include advertising.

The content is available via Sprint TV on Sprint's Power Vision devices. All of the content will be included in the Sprint Power Vision TV Pack, which costs an additional $20 per month. Alternatively, content from Disney Channel only, including the on-demand programs and linear channel, will be available as part of the Power Vision Access Pack, which costs an additional $15 per month.

WorldScreen has more.

Murdoch Sends Second Letter to Bancroft Family

2007-05-16T13:33:00.000+01:00

AdAge announced today that Rupert Murdoch has sent a second letter to the Bancroft family trying to earn their support for his $5 billion bid to buy Dow Jones.

In his letter to the Bancroft family, Rupert Murdoch writes: 'I would like to express my regret if you have been placed in an uncomfortable position.'

"In the weeks since our proposal was made public on Tuesday, May 1, there has been much written about a potential combination and News Corporation's intentions," he writes later. "I would like to express my regret if you have been placed in an uncomfortable position by the events of the past week."

A News Corp. acquisition of Dow Jones would have no effect on the journalistic independence and integrity that belong to company brands, including The Wall Street Journal, he said. To provide some assurance, he would give a Bancroft family member a seat on the News Corp. board and create an independent, autonomous editorial board to ensure the integrity of Dow Jones properties.

Read the full article here

The Billboard have eyes..

2007-05-12T11:01:00.000+01:00

A Canadian academic has created technology enabling billboards to track and count the number of people who look at it, reports The Associated Press.

The portable device can recognize when eyeballs are actually turned toward signage, an improvement over previous, more expensive devices.

The Xuuk eyebox2 was developed by Roel Vertegaal and costs $999. Broad use and data resulting from the eyebox2 could affect rates charged for billboard ads over the long-term.

Advertisers are "failing to harness internet"

2007-05-11T13:35:00.000+01:00

Many advertisers are recognise the power of the internet as a marketing tool but fail to harness its power effectively, according to a study into online advertising by Group M reports Media & Marketing Europe.

The study, called Interaction, includes consumer and advertiser internet data from 28 countries, and argues that when it comes to online advertising, it is just as important for marketers to consider the benefits as well as the costs.

According to the research, internet advertising typically grows at six times the rate of traditional media. In western Europe the internet is the principal source of measured-media growth, and in North America it runs a close second to TV. Were it not for the explosive growth of the USA’s Hispanic TV, it would be first.

The study highlights four key areas that marketers need to utilize with internet advertising: reach, engagement, reputation and transaction. As traditional media declines, brands must use the internet to add reach to their campaigns. As consumers want to interact with brands, so internet campaigns should maintain brand consistency, but with "sufficient personalization to help the consumer engage with the brand or message on his or her terms". Furthermore, brands should monitor their reputation via the internet in a time when consumers make quick judgements. Finally brands must ensure that consumers can transact online.

Murdoch Woos Bancrofts With Flattery, Not Higher Bid

2007-05-11T13:00:00.000+01:00

Rupert Murdoch is trying to persuade the Bancroft family to sell him Dow Jones by offering appeals to their pride -- but not more money. "We admire the Bancroft family," he says. Wall Street firms are becoming pessimistic that Murdoch will succeed. A competing bid is seen as unlikely.

Bloomberg has the full story

Time Warner: Cable Ads Can Compete with Web Ads

2007-05-11T12:55:00.000+01:00

The cable industry can compete successfully with online companies like Google for advertising dollars by launching on-demand networks supported by interactive advertising, says Time Warner president Jeff Bewkes. "Why would [this] not be the next great future of advertising?"

Read the complete article on Reuters

IAB Issues Digital Measurement Guidelines

2007-05-11T12:26:00.000+01:00

THE INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU has issued a public set of guidelines on the measurement of digital media in general, and rich online media in particular. The IAB is also inviting members of the industry to publicly comment on the guidelines through the first week of June.

The guidelines attempt to gauge the level at which an ad impression is counted in rich online application environments supported by AJAX and JSON technologies. The best-practice tips are geared to online browser or browser-equivalent-based Web activity that no longer link page content changes and ad serving.

Ajax and JSON technologies have grown increasingly popular by providing updated content to Web users without having to refresh an entire Web page. While improving the user experience, however, Ajax and JSON make traditional metrics such as page views and ad impressions less relevant and more difficult to gauge.

The IAB officially unveiled its Rich Internet Application Ad Measurement Guidelines at an IAB Leadership Forum earlier this month in New York. The IAB has now called on agencies, publishers and tech vendors to review these guidelines, and to offer ideas and criticisms up for public debate.

The guidelines state that "in instances where significant user activity (click-through and responding to mail and changing search options through clicking or typing, etc.) is present, this activity can be directly tied to ad-serving and counting provided that counting rules are defined in a consistent and fully disclosed manner."

The guidelines go on to acknowledge that "in special circumstances, due to the nature of the application, there may be no material user activity, for example, a single streaming event (e.g., financial tickers, sports game coverage, long single-stream video content). In these cases disclosure and counting must abide by the auto-refresh guidelines of the current IAB Ad Impression Measurement Guidelines.

Media to Move to Web, Gates Says

2007-05-09T20:19:00.000+01:00

Microsoft is telling advertisers that the business model for much of old media is falling apart, as the software giant positions itself as a prime location for advertising's future. Television now competes with YouTube, says Microsoft boss Bill Gates. Newspapers are seeing an "inexorable decline."

Read the full story on Seattle Times

Thomson bid for Reuters worth $17.6 billion

2007-05-09T17:11:00.000+01:00

International Herald Tribune reported yesterday that Canadian Thomson is in talks to buy Reuters for about £8.8 billion to create the world's biggest news and financial data company, the two firms said Tuesday.

The Reuters chief executive, Tom Glocer, would become chief executive of the combined group under the terms of the proposed $17.6 billion deal, the companies said in a joint statement.

Reuters shareholders would receive a 42 percent premium over the company's closing share price on Thursday, the day before it announced a bid approach. The deal value is based on the number of outstanding Reuters shares.

Reuters shares rose as much as 7 percent to a five-year high of 659 pence in early trading in London. They were 3.5 percent higher in the late morning. Thomson closed Monday at 47.23 Canadian dollars, valuing the business at about 30.8 billion dollars, or $27.9 billion.

Thomson, whose publishing interests span law, tax and scientific research, has been building up its financial data business as it looks to tap into booming global markets.

The two firms said the deal could close this year, but might not complete until 2008.

Read entire article here.

Scandinavias biggest media event - this week

2007-05-08T17:14:00.000+01:00

Scandinavia biggest media event is taking place in Stockholm this week. StockholmMediaWeek - the forum for the Swedish Media industry - will take place at hotel Rival in Stockholm between the 9th and 10th of May 2007.

During these days, the audience will meet prominent speakers who share their experiences in the most current and relevant media topics.

The StockholmMediaAward-ceremony will take place on the 10th of May where our prizewinners received their awards.

The big Media Party with approximately 600 guests will be held at Berns in the centre of Stockholm.

We will be there...

ESPN to Air on Gas Station Pumps

2007-05-08T15:39:00.000+01:00

ESPN will provide 45-second telecasts to Gas Station TV's Internet-based, at-the-pump television network. The first viewers are in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston, where 1,000 gas pumps sport the screens. ESPN says: "It's another opportunity for fans to be able to watch us." according to LA Times.

New York Times to launch Small Business Site

2007-05-08T13:42:00.000+01:00

The New York Times has launched a new site for small businesses and their advertisers, reports MediaPost.

The new Small Business section will feature regular features and columns, as well as blogs from NYT writers.

The site will also assists advertisers looking to connect with small business owners. ATT, Hewlett-Packard, American Express and FedEx have all signed on as initial advertisers on the site.

Content from outside blogs and sites such as AllBusiness.com and Inc. Magazine will also be incorporated.

Apple “Most Innovative Company” for Third Year in a Row

2007-05-07T14:55:00.000+01:00

“For the third year in a row,” report the editors of BusinessWeek, “the design-driven masters in Cupertino, Calif., lead the pack of creative firms on our list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Apple manages to dominate any would-be contenders, beating out two-time runner-up Google with more than twice as many votes.”

Microsoft Woos Yahoo - Ad Sales Lost to Google May Be $2 Billion

2007-05-07T14:22:00.000+01:00

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer interrupted a Hawaiian vacation to call his top Internet ad man, Yusuf Mehdi, on April 16 after Google Inc. announced its $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick Inc.

Ballmer may be about to follow up on his pledge. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, has held talks with Yahoo! Inc. about a partnership to develop Web search and advertising programs to fight Google, people briefed on the discussions said. That would help remedy what Mehdi says is his one regret in the past year.

Microsoft probably lost $2 billion in sales last year alone because its search engine doesn't attract as many users as Google, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland, Washington- based Directions on Microsoft.

Google runs four times more Web queries than Microsoft and is gaining market share over the software maker and Yahoo, confounding analysts who expected progress by Microsoft. Buying DoubleClick gives Google an instant position in graphical display ads, one market where Microsoft is beating Google.

Internet ad sales are growing twice as fast as the personal-computer market, where Microsoft's Windows runs most systems.

Microsoft's discussions with Yahoo are in the early stages and focus on a partnership rather than a merger, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The New York Post said May 4 that Microsoft may want to buy Yahoo. Both companies declined to comment.

Even together, the combined company would have 38 percent of the U.S. search market, 10 points less than Google, according to ComScore Inc. Yahoo CEO Terry Semel has come under fire after the stock sank 35 percent last year amid delays in new ad programs and earnings that disappointed investors.

It could take at least five and maybe 10 years for Microsoft to gain significant traction against Google's search, Mehdi said. A Yahoo partnership could make Microsoft a threat right away and may be its only choice to keep up with Google's acquisitions.

Microsoft's stock gained 30 percent in the past year on optimism for the new version of Windows, compared with a 19 percent increase at Google. Microsoft fell 41 cents to $30.56 on May 4. Yahoo rose $2.80, or 9.9 percent, to $30.98 on reports of the talks. Google fell $2.11 to $471.12.

Microsoft already was prepared to spend $16 billion in the next three years to improve its online business, said Goldman analyst Sarah Friar. Now a year into an effort to spur search ad sales with a program called AdCenter, Microsoft attracted 100,000 advertisers. Mehdi says Google, which doesn't disclose client numbers, may have 1 million.

Microsoft's share of searches widened 0.4 percent to 10.9 percent in March, the biggest rise since releasing its own search in November 2004, said Reston, Virginia-based ComScore. Microsoft had 14 percent at the time, using an earlier product.

Microsoft's ad sales grew 23 percent last quarter, less than Google's 66 percent. Microsoft had $1.61 billion in ad sales in 2006, less than the $10.6 billion for Google, said Charles Di Bona at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

While hurt by low search numbers, AdCenter itself gets good reviews. Since unveiling AdCenter almost six years after Google's software, Mehdi says customers find more of the people who see the ads actually make purchases than with Google or Yahoo.

Last quarter, Microsoft surpassed the revenue received for each computer user who clicked on an ad it had achieved with an earlier system, a quarter ahead of plans.

Europeans Like to Watch Web TV

2007-05-07T11:17:00.000+01:00

Close to half - 45 percent - of broadband users in Western Europe watch television via the web according to research just released by Motorola and conducted by StrategyOne, writes MarketingCharts (via the Guardian and paidContent).

Among the five leading markets studied, France led with 59% of broadband users saying they watch web TV, followed by Spain (48%), Italy and the UK (43%), and Germany (33%).

Some other findings from the study:

Some 64% of UK households have two or more PCs, as do 57% and 54% of German and French households, respectively.
Nearly a third of UK households have three or more TV sets.
Nearly two-thirds of those under age 25 said they watch TV shows on the web, compared with 30% of those over 55.
Some 57% said they would use interactive services on web TV, such as background info on athletes during a game.
35% of viewers want the ability to pause, fast forward or rewind live broadcast programming.
On average, users are now plugging three devices into the TV set, with nearly a third of Europeans attaching a digital camera to download and view photos.
45% of Europeans expect to be making video calls via their home TVs by the time the 2012 Olympics is on.
The research was commissioned by Motorola's connected home solutions department and surveyed 2,500 broadband users in five countries.

Me.TV Puts Custom TV in Users' Hands

2007-05-07T11:13:00.000+01:00

Me.tv, a website upon which users can create their own TV channels online, launches this week, according to a press release.

Created by Demand Media, me.tv asks users to purchase a .TV domain, then provides them with the tools to create a video-centric website with built-in social features like profiles, blogs, message boards, messaging, and ratings.

Talk show host Carson Daly, formerly of MTV, was among the first members to take part, quickly snagging carsondaly.tv.

New Trade Publication Targets Bloggers, Podcasters

2007-05-07T11:00:00.000+01:00

This month Larstan Publishing launched Blogger and Podcaster, a trade magazine dedicated to "new media titans," reports CMS Wire. Allegedly the first of its kind for the "new media" industry, Blogger and Podcaster will operate on a collaborative format, drawing from a number of frontline voices in the blogging and podcasting worlds. It will also be closely edited by two longtime journalists.

CEO Larry Genkin of Larstan expects the magazine to draw hobbyist attention at outset, but the content is dedicated mainly to professional practitioners of digital media.

“There are two things holding back the industry: helping practitioners to earn a full-time living from their craft and providing vendors a cost effective vehicle to communicate with and generate significant sales from bloggers and podcasters. We aim to help the industry on both fronts,” said Genkin.

Like its industry, the publication is fluid, appearing in a number of forms: digital, print and podcast. A yearly print subscription costs $79, while digital and podcast editions will be available at no cost.Genkin projects circulation will leap from its current 20,000 to 250,000 next year. The publication has already been dubbed the official trade magazine of the International Blogging and New Media Association.