Here are the most interesting articles that came across this week…
Virtual Fun And Games
Hype has never deterred a big company from jumping on a real world trend, and that's proven true in the virtual world too. Viacom's MTV recently launched several virtual worlds based on its television shows, like Pimp My Ride, and
"By next year, you'll probably know more about why I'm up here," said Microsoft general manager of entertainment devices, Daniel Schiappa, on stage at a virtual worlds conference in
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/11/08/virtual-world-games-technology-cx_rr_1108world.html
Google Makes Its Entry Into the Wireless World
The technology is expected to provide cellular handset manufacturers and wireless operators with capabilities that match and potentially surpass those using smartphone software made by Apple, Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, Research in Motion and others. In contrast to the existing competitors, Google’s software will be offered freely under “open source” licensing terms, meaning that handset manufacturers will be able to use it at no cost and be free to add new features to differentiate their products.
As speculation about Google’s efforts trickled out over the last several months, expectations that the company would build what has been called a Google Phone or GPhone have mounted.
But for now at least, Google will not put its brand on a phone. The software running on the phones may not even display the Google logo. Instead, Google is giving the software away to others who will build the phones. The company invested heavily in the project to ensure that all of its services are available on mobile phones. Its ultimate goal is to cash in on the effort by selling advertisements to mobile phone users, just as it does on Internet-connected computers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/technology/05cnd-gphone.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
I Want My iTV
But what's holding up the transition from network TV to networked TV is that any company with a little piece of control in the way things work today is unwilling to jeopardize its power and revenues until it becomes clear how the new model will pay. Every time you hear about some product that sounds great but just has one strange limitation, follow the money to understand why.
Cable and satellite providers worry that they will lose customer loyalty to the Web, so they impose tight controls on what content you see and have moved painfully slowly to offer advanced TV services. The people who make electronics gear fret that if they don't lock up agreements for exclusive music or videos, consumers won't pay top price. "You've got device manufacturers, content providers, service providers, networks, software makers, security providers all trying to sort out how big their piece of the pie should be," says former Comcast (CMCSA ) executive Kip Compton. He is now senior director and general manager of video and content networking at Cisco Systems (CSCO ), which is trying to merge TV and the Web.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_47/b4059401.htm
Dailyshow.com: Third-Party Distribution Isn't an Either/Or Decision
It's pretty apparent that MTVN/Comedy Central is coming down on the side of heavily emphasizing direct-to-consumer as its broadband video strategy when you combine Viacom's ongoing lawsuit against Google/YouTube, MTVN EVP Erik Flannigan's comment ("People should be reacting to 'The Daily Show' on its own site...God bless them for doing it everywhere else, but this should be the epicenter of it") and a company spokesman's comment ("that a few selected clips could become available on sites through syndication deals").
Count me among those who think this is both the wrong approach and one that will ultimately under-optimize the value of the Daily Show and other franchises in the broadband era. Quite simply, building out a strong direct-to-consumer presence like Dailyshow.com is NOT an either/or decision relative to also developing strong third-party distribution relationships.
In fact, the reality is that strong third-party distribution is essential in the Internet era, because Internet usage is both highly distributed among millions of web sites and also concentrated at a few large portals. Media companies' goal should be to proliferate their content (under the right deals of course) into all the nooks and crannies of the Internet while also striking deals with big portals to maximize exposure, usage and ad revenue.
http://www.videonuze.com/blogs/details.php?id=227
Writers’ Strike Roundup
If you live in a hermetically-sealed, media-free bubble, then you might not be aware that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) made good on its threat and went on strike this morning.
We’ve followed the story extensively, but here’s a quick roundup of other coverage currently happening around the web:
The LA Times is blogging about the strike, with continuous updates, such as this one:
The strikers marched behind metal barricades set up on
TV Decoder confirms that fans of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will have to sit through repeats.
The New York Times notes that unlike other industries that go on strike, different WGA members make vastly different salaries, making this more of a hardship for some than it is for others.
http://newteevee.com/2007/11/05/writers-strike-roundup/
Facebook Rolls Out Highly Targeted Viral Ad System
At its core, Facebook Ads has three primary components (all of which launch tonight). The first is straight forward enough -- businesses are now able to create Facebook profiles. Not much of a surprise here, but there's a twist. Along with serving as a hub for the business' brand, the profile can also serve as the spring board for viral apps (the second component). These can manifest themselves as anything from brand-stamped casual games, or even e-commerce apps that track purchases on partner websites.
The real kicker is the third component. It essentially collects the data from the first two components (keeping user info anonymous, of course) and provides it to a given business to assist in its targeted advertising objectives. For instance, a user who goes to Coke's page and interacts with or installs its viral app ("Sprite Sips") can pretty much expect to become a shill -- inserting all sorts of branding messages and endorsements into friends' News Feeds.
http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/11/facebook-rolls-.html
What About a Google Gaming OS?
Since all three consoles are drastically different, Linux only runs on PlayStation 3, right? Not exactly. See, the Wii, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 all run on the same PowerPC processor technology from IBM. Macs used the same technology before Apple embraced Intel's CoreDuo chips. So while Microsoft and Nintendo try hard to ensure that no other OS runs on their proprietary consoles, it is possible.
If Google were to get Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony to join a console alliance that allowed players to run a single OS on all their upcoming consoles, imagine the implications. While all three do offer different graphics chips (this is where the PS3 wins for sure), theoretically game developers could design a single video game console that would either scale to each platform (lower graphics for Wii for instance) and allow those console makers to invest more time in creating better games. Currently, all three console makers lose money on their consoles but make money on their software. Imagine creating a TiVo or email or social networking program that worked on your game console or your phone or even your PC?
Is Web Video Really Hurting TV?
The Wharton economist Joel Waldfogel (who has a new book out, The Tyranny of the Market) examines this issue in a new working paper, “‘Lost’ on the Web: Does Web Distribution Stimulate or Depress Television Viewing?” He tries to measure the effects of online TV clips, both authorized and unauthorized, on television viewing between 2005 and 2007, using a survey of viewers’ tendencies. To isolate the typical Web viewer (i.e., young people), he restricted his subjects to 287 people on the
While I find some evidence of substitution of web viewing for conventional television viewing, time spent viewing programming on the web — 4 hours per week — far exceeds the reduction in weekly traditional television viewing of about 25 minutes. Overall time spent on network-controlled viewing (television plus network websites) increased by 1.5 hours per week….
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/is-web-video-really-hurting-tv/
Who needs reality TV? Web sites turning shows' viewers into stars.
One reason for this may be ManiaTV, which can be watched only on the Internet. In September 2004, ManiaTV became the first 24-hour online TV site, with programs ranging from music videos to
ManiaTV leads other online video sites, such as No Good TV ( www.ngtv.com) and Funny or Die ( www.funnyordie.com), not just because it makes good on its promise of original, interactive entertainment, but also because it has a decent revenue stream: Blue-chip advertisers such as Honda and Wrigley are interested in ManiaTV's 5 million 18- to 34-year-olds in search of the latest fashion trends, hip musicians and cool gadgets.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/05/DDSVT2TR5.DTL
TiVo Serves Up Portrait of the Ad-Zappers
Facing increased competition from cable operators and phone companies that offer digital video-recording services, TiVo is making a bigger grab at a different source of revenue: the pile of money that marketers are throwing at companies that promise fresh insights into TV-viewing habits.
TiVo, a provider of digital video recorders, about a year ago began selling advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on the viewing habits of its subscribers. Today, the company plans to announce that it will soon add demographic data about the viewers themselves, such as age, income, marital status and ethnicity.
http://www.mediainfocenter.org/story.asp?story_id=111916019
Nothing But The Truth
Scheduled for general release on November 23, Nothing But The Truth is Nike’s foray into total branded feature films. Described as ‘the script and director only skateboarding movie’, it tells the story of the Nike SB team on and off their boards. Each of the 12 pro and 4 amateur skaters have individually written, produced and starred in a film interpretation of their lives.
Filmed by Belgian director duo Lionel Goldstein and set to an original soundtrack by Mark Mothersbaugh, it looks a little bit Jackass; lots of stunts, lots of girls and some very bizarre personal experiences, however this apparently really is The Truth as seen through the eyes of Nike SB Pictures.
Check out the trailer at nikeskateboarding.com
http://www.psfk.com/2007/11/nothing-but-the-truth.html
TV could be hit hard
Latenight talkers, daytime sudsers and primetime multicam laffers will feel the pinch first, once TV writers hit the picket lines.
But should scribes and producers not hammer out a deal quickly, network and studio execs warn that much of pilot season could be tossed. And some even say that may not be a bad thing.
Meanwhile, once the last batch of hastily written scripts is shot -- or deemed unproduceable -- and the final notes are given on pilot scripts (which will then collect dust on someone's desk), tube execs may suddenly have a little more time on their hands. Some may even be enlisted to help out on the reality side, where activity will be frenzied as nets look to fill the scripted void.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975370.html?categoryid=2821&cs=1
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