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Report: 2004 U.S. Online Ad Revenue $9.6 Billion; Tops Dot-Com Boom

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:16am.
New York -- U.S. online advertising revenue rose 33% in 2004 to a record $9.6 billion -- topping even year 2000 figures by almost 20% -- and is expected to grow just as much this year, according to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The fourth quarter of 2004 also figured as the most profitable on record, with revenues of $2.69 billion. "Interactive Advertising has clearly become a mainstream medium and one that can no longer be ignored as a critical piece of any marketing mix," said IAB president and CEO Greg Stuart. "The PwC 2004 reported figures indicate that Interactive is firing on all cylinders including display, search and classifieds and is squarely on track to surpass consumer magazine revenues." Advertising to consumers comprised 49% of all online ads, up from 37% in 2003, and was followed by ads for computing (18%) and financial services (17%). In terms of the ads themselves, search engine ad listings accounted for $3.9 billion, or 40% of all ads, up from 35% in 2003; display ads (banners, sponsorships, rich media) garnered $3.75 billion or 39% of the market, down from 44% a year ago. Online classifieds held steady with 18% of the market and revenues of $1.7 billion. The report comes just as Google reported a sixfold increase in revenue for its first quarter, largely derived from its online ad business.
tags: Reports | Tops | U.S. Online Ad Revenue | Dot-Com Boom |

President Signs Movie Anti-Piracy Bill Into Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:15am.
Washington -- President Bush this week signed into law the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2005, which makes it a federal felony to videotape a movie inside a theater for piracy purposes, or to post a movie, song or game onto file-sharing networks before its commercial release. While Hollywood applauded those provisions, it was not pleased with another section of the law that gives legal standing to technology that can edit offensive dialogue and content from DVD films on the fly for sensitive viewers.
tags: Law | President | Movie Anti-Piracy Bill |

High Tech DTV Coalition Urges Congress to Set Analog Shut-Off Date

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:13am.
Washington -- Technology firms including Dell, Cisco, IBM, Intel and Microsoft have formed the High Tech DTV Coalition, and this week urged Congress to set a firm date for the transition to digital TV broadcasting. Congress is interested in auctioning off the analog spectrum currently used by TV broadcasters, at a potential profit of $20-$30 billion to the government. "We have had 88 megahertz of spectrum lying fallow," Janice Obuchowski, the Coalition's executive director, told the Associated Press. The High Tech DTV Coalition put its support behind a proposed bill from House Commerce Committee chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) that would remove a stipulation under current law that requires 85% of homes have the expensive new TV sets necessary to receive digital signals before analog signals are shut off on Dec. 31, 2006. Consumer electronics firms have argued that their customers should not be forced into buying expensive new sets; so far, no section of the country has reached the 85% threshold. Some have proposed that low-cost or free receivers capable of receiving free over-the-air digital TV broadcasts be distributed to those who can't afford a new digital set.
tags: Congress | High Tech DTV Coalition | Analog Shut-Off Date |

Report: 125 Million Will Own Mobile TV Cell Phones by 2010

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:11am.
London -- Sales of cell phones capable of receiving TV signals will grow from 130,000 this year to 83.5 million in 2010, when nearly 125 million consumers will watch cell phone TV, according to a report from U.K.-based market research firm Informa Media. Handset maker Samsung has introduced its first TV phones, and Nokia will ship its first in early 2006, while mobile TV networks are just beginning to emerge. "The degree to which these networks will become either competitive or complementary will ultimately determine the fate of market," said Informa analyst David McQueen.
tags: Reports | Own | Mobile TV Cell Phones |

Hong Kong Man Faces Four Years for Posting 3 Movies to BitTorrent

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:09am.
Hong Kong -- In part of a worldwide crackdown on BitTorrent file-sharing technology, which lets users trade full-length movies online, authorities in Hong Kong this week filed charges against a resident accused of posting three films for trading on the network, the Associated Press reported. The 38-year-old suspect, identified only as Chan, faces up to four years in prison and a fine of $6,400 each for the illegal copies of "Daredevil," "Red Planet" and "Miss Congeniality" uploaded to BitTorrent. Arrested in January, Chan is due in court on Friday. In a related move, the Hong Kong, Kowloon & New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association said it will send letters to 100 BitTorrent users in the region, urging them to stop trading movies or face prosecution. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has of late urged the prosecution of operators of individual BitTorrent servers, resulting in the shutdown of several large BitTorrent in a handful of European nations.
tags: Law | Movies | BitTorrent | Hong Kong Man | Posting |

Disney Shutters Trial of MovieBeam Video-on-Demand Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:07am.
Burbank, Calif. -- Disney has shut down a trial of its MovieBeam video-on-demand service in three cities, as it seeks to upgrade the system and find new partners for the venture. The "datacasting" service utilized unused portions of the broadcast signal sent out by TV stations to deliver a range of movies to special set-top box receivers in viewers' homes in Jacksonville, Fla., Spokane, Wash., and Salt Lake City. The service was due to expand into additional markets, but Disney canceled those plans last fall; it's not clear when or if the company will re-launch MovieBeam. "In order to deliver to consumers an even better entertainment experience, MovieBeam is planning an upgrade of its technology, network and infrastructure," said Disney spokeswoman Michelle Bergman. "MovieBeam's business model is flexible and allows us to deliver the service to a range of devices in addition to the current MovieBeam receiver. We are in the process of making critical decisions about our device strategy and are confident that these decisions will positively impact our plans to bring MovieBeam to a national audience." The Los Angeles Times reported that Peter Murphy, the strategic planning chief at Disney who once championed MovieBeam, no longer holds that position, in a division of the company that is being overhauled.
tags: Disney | MovieBeam | Video-on-Demand |

Rainbow Media to Maintain 21 HD Channels of Defunct VOOM Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 5:28am.
Jericho, N.Y. -- Rainbow Media Holdings, a unit of Cablevision and NBC that operates cable channels like IFC, Fuse and AMC, announced on Friday that it will operate all 21 of the HD channels offered by VOOM, the now-defunct high-definition satellite TV service recently shuttered by Cablevision. Rainbow said it signed an agreement with DISH Network operator EchoStar to carry the channels by 2006; EchoStar plans to launch 10 of the channels for its subscribers on May 1. Cablevision planned to shut down the money-losing VOOM service for its 21,000 subscribers on April 30, despite the best efforts and offers of personal financing from Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan to keep the service alive.
tags: Rainbow Media | HD Channels | Defunct VOOM |

Cisco, Macromedia Invest $4 Million in Mobile Game Publisher Indiagames

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 5:26am.
Hong Kong -- Chinese wireless Internet firm TOM Online announced on Friday that Cisco and Macromedia have made a combined $4 million strategic investment in its mobile game publishing subsidiary, Indiagames. Following the transaction, Cisco and Macromedia will own 18% of Indiagames, while TOM Online's stake in the company will drop from 76% to 62%. Founded in 1999, the India-based company has distribution agreements for its games with over 100 wireless carriers, including Orange, Verizon, Sprint, Singtel, Airtel and Vodafone. As part of the deal, Indiagames will now also publish all of its titles on Macromedia's Flash Lite platform. "We now have Chinese, Indian and American investors, all leaders in their respective verticals," said Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal. "This combination is really very unique and will surely help accelerate our global growth plans, keeping us on the cutting edge of mobile, broadband and Internet technology."
tags: Macromedia | Cisco | Invest | Mobile Game Publisher | Indiagames |

TV Chipmaker Pixelworks Buys IPTV Chipmaker Equator for $109 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 5:10am.
Tualatin, Ore. -- Digital TV chipmaker Pixelworks announced on Friday that it has acquired Equator Technologies, a maker of chips for IPTV systems, for $109 million in cash. Oregon-based Pixelworks said its purchase of Campbell, Calif.-based Equator will potentially provide the companies' manufacturer customers with TV chips that could decode programming signals sent directly over the Internet. Analysts currently predict that the market for IPTV set-top boxes will reach 15 million in 2008. "We want to enable our customers to deliver solutions that leverage the advantages of digital displays, digital networks, and digital content to deliver a better user experience where consumers can easily find exactly the information or entertainment content they want, when they want it and where they want to watch it," said Pixelworks president and CEO Allen Alley. Pixelworks expects the deal to close in the second quarter.
tags: TV Chipmaker | Pixelworks | IPTV Chipmaker | Equator |