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Report: 2004 Online Holiday Spending Up 25% to $23.2 Billion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 4:11am.
New York -- U.S. online shoppers spent $23.2 million during the 2004 holiday season, an increase of 25% over the $18.5 million spent during the same period in 2003, according to a joint report from Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen/NetRatings. Online shoppers spent the most on apparel/clothing, which accounted for 16% of total online revenue ($3.8 billion), followed by toys/video games with 11% of the market ($2.5 billion) and consumer electronics with 10% ($2.3 billion). "Consumers have become accustomed to purchasing online over the years and look to the Internet to find comprehensive product information, competitive prices and easy gift delivery allowing them to have more time to spend on other holiday activities," said Nielsen/NetRatings senior retail analyst Heather Dougherty.
tags: Reports | Up | Online Holiday Spending |

Washington Post Company to Acquire Online Magazine Slate from Microsoft

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 4:09am.
Washington, D.C. -- Putting an end to months of rumors, The Washington Post Company announced over the holidays that it will acquire popular online magazine Slate from Microsoft for an undisclosed sum. Slate, which had 6 million unique users in November, according to Nielsen NetRatings, offers a mix of articles about politics, news and culture. The online magazine, which was launched in 1996, said that its revenue increased 37% to $44.7 million for the first nine months of 2004. Jacob Weisberg, who will remain the magazine's editor, said that the Post "is the best place for Slate to continue to grow and develop." The business operations of Slate will be run by the Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive unit; Cliff Sloan, the vice president of business development and general counsel of WPNI, has been named the publisher. Slate's offices in New York and D.C. will continue to operate. In a separate agreement between Microsoft and WPNI, Slate will continue to be available to users on MSN through links on the MSN portal.
tags: Microsoft | Acquire | Online Magazine | Slate | Washington Post Company |

Games Publisher Electronic Arts Buys 20% Stake in French Rival Ubisoft

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 4:06am.
Redwood City, Calif. -- Video game publisher Electronic Arts announced that it has acquired a 19.9% stake in a rival game publisher, France-based Ubisoft Entertainment. The deal is valued at between $85 million and $100 million. Electronic Arts said it has no plans to integrate its development or publishing business with Ubisoft, which has created titles including "Myst," "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell."
tags: Ubisoft | Electronic Arts | Stake | Games Publisher | French Rival |

CEO of DVD Maker Apex Digital Arrested in China

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 4:04am.
Ontario, Calif. -- The CEO of DVD player maker Apex Digital was arrested in China last week, The Los Angeles Times reported. Apex founder and CEO David Jongfen Ji was arrested on undisclosed charges. Founded in 1997, the company saw $1 billion in sales during 2003 on the strength of its discount-priced DVD players, some of which now sell for as little as $39. The company is currently embroiled in several lawsuits, including charges it owes hundreds of millions of dollars to Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Changdong Electric Appliance, and $4.3 million to Taiwanese DVD manufacturer Genius Co. Apex also has been accused by rivals of failing to pay all of the necessary licensing fees to developers of technology on which DVD players are based.
tags: Law | China | CEO | DVD Maker Apex Digital |

Napster Changes Ticker to NAPS, Plans $5 Per Month Portable Subscription

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 4:00am.
Los Angeles -- Napster on Monday announced that it began trading under its new "NAPS" Nasdaq ticker symbol, having completed the sale of its Roxio CD and DVD burning software business to Sonic Solutions on Dec. 17 in a bid to focus solely on the digital music market. The company also reaffirmed its projection of $11 million in revenues for its third quarter. Los Angeles-based Napster also recently said that it will soon allow customers of its digital music service to pay an additional $5 a month to transfer the company's entire catalog to certain portable devices -- for as long as they remain subscribed to the service. "With our plan, customers can get 10,000 songs on their device for $180 a year," Napster CEO Chris Gorog told USA Today. The new portability feature, which will not support Apple's iPod, will be charged in addition to Napster's regular $9.95 monthly fee.
tags: Napster | Ticker | Portable Subscriptions | Plans |

SBC to Offer Joint Satellite TV, Broadband Internet Content Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:56am.
San Antonio -- Telecommunications giant SBC Communications announced on Monday that it has formed a joint venture with 2Wire to offer a service that combines satellite TV programming with Internet-based video-on-demand, music and other digital media applications. The service will feature a set-top box designed by San Jose, Calif.-based 2Wire that includes a satellite TV receiver, digital video recorder and storage for digital photos and music. Music will be offered through Yahoo's Launchcast Internet radio service, while the recording of TV programs will be enabled both online, and via cell phones through a partnership with Cingular Wireless. The service will be available to customers who subscribe to both SBC DISH Network satellite TV and SBC Yahoo DSL services beginning in mid-2005.
tags: SBC | Joint Satellite TV | Broadband Internet |

Microsoft to Power Online Music Service for U.K. Retailer HMV

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:54am.
London -- U.K. music retail store chain HMV announced that it partnered with Microsoft to launch a digital music service in the second half of the year. The company said it will spend about $19 million to develop and market the service. HMV already offers an online subscription service that is powered by Loudeye subsidiary OD2, and is partnered with Amazon.com to operate its online CD and DVD stores outside the U.K. The new HMV digital music service will not support Apple's iPod player, and the company said it will cease selling the iPod in its retail locations once the Microsoft-powered service launches.
tags: Microsoft | Online Music | HMV | U.K. Retailer |

New TiVo Service Enables Transfer of Recorded TV Shows to Laptops

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:45am.
Alviso, Calif. -- Digital video recorder maker TiVo on Monday announced the launch of TiVoToGo, a new service that allows subscribers to transfer recorded TV shows from their TiVo boxes to a laptop or other PC so that they may view them while away from home. The company began transmitting the free software updates to owners of standalone digital video recorders on Monday, with plans to offer the feature to owners of DVD recorders with TiVo later this year. Users must also download a program to their Windows XP or Windows 2000 machine that will encrypt the TV programs shuttled from a TiVo box. Programming protected by copy-protection, such as pay-per-view, video-on-demand and commercial DVDs, will not be transferable to a laptop via TiVoToGo.
tags: TiVo | Laptops | Enables Transfer | Recorded TV Shows |

Sprint, Music Choice Partner on Streaming Music Service for Cell Phones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:43am.
Overland Park, Kan. -- Wireless network operator Sprint has announced the launch of a streaming music service for cell phones, through a partnership with New York-based Music Choice, which provides digital music channels to cable TV and broadband providers. In addition to a range of commercial-free streaming music channels, the service will offer daily video clips of artist interviews and performances, as well as music news and artist gossip. The Sprint Music Choice service will be offered as part of a Sprint TV package for $9.99, or on its own for $5.95 per month.
tags: Music Choice | Sprint | Cell Phones | Deal | Streaming Music |

IT Research Firm Gartner Buys Rival Meta Group for $162 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:40am.
Stamford, Conn. -- Gartner, a provider of market research and analysis for the information technology industry, announced that it has acquired Meta Group, a smaller rival in the market, for $162 million in cash. Gartner, which claims 10,000 clients for its research and analysis products, generated $858 million in revenue in 2003, while Meta Group generated $122 million. Connecticut-based Gartner said the acquisition will expand its client list and add a sales team that is already familiar with its product and service offerings.
tags: Gartner | Rival | META Group | IT Research |

Intel Digital Home Fund Invests in Zinio Systems, Synacor, Gteko

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:37am.
Santa Clara, Calif. -- Chipmaker Intel announced that it has provided venture capital investments to three firms as part of its Intel Digital Home Fund, which aims to foster development of home networking technologies. The investments, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, were provided to Zinio Systems, a publisher of digital versions of newspapers; Synacor, a provider of syndicated online content for ISPs; and Gteko, a developer of automated technical support functions for home networking. "These new investments were made to support widespread adoption, use and sharing of digital entertainment and information - including music, games, news and video - among multiple devices in the home and elsewhere," said Intel Capital vice president Scott Darling. "We plan to continue to invest next year in companies that enable PC and CE devices to work together easily and in companies that deliver premium content services over IP networks."
tags: Invests | Zinio Systems | Intel Digital Home Fund | Synacor | Gteko |

Technology Publisher TechTarget Raises $15 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:34am.
Needham, Mass. -- TechTarget, a publisher of technology-related websites and magazines and producer of IT conferences, announced that it has raised $15 million in its third round of venture capital financing. Technology Crossover Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners led the investment round, which follows on a round of $70 million raised in June 2004. Massachusetts-based TechTarget publishes magazines including CIO Decisions and Information Security. The company recently acquired Bitpipe, a distributor of industry whitepapers, and TheServerSide Communities, an online exchange for application developers. TechTarget will use the new funds to fund additional acquisitions and expand its international presence. The company projects $50 million in revenue for 2004, and expects to surpass $80 million in revenue in 2005.
tags: VC | Technology Publisher | TechTarget |

Video-on-Demand Developer BitBand Raises $4.75 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2005 - 3:31am.
Netanya, Israel -- BitBand, a provider of video-on-demand delivery technology for telecommunications firms' broadband networks, announced that it has raised an additional $4.75 million to a venture capital financing round led by Ascend Technology Ventures, with participation from Portview Communications Partners and existing investors. Israel-based BitBand said it will use the funds to expand its global presence and engage in new development activities.
tags: VC | Video-on-Demand Developer | BitBand |