Archive - Jan 18, 2006 | Digital Media Wire

Vivendi Universal to Delist From NYSE

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:33am.

Paris - Media conglomerate Vivendi Universal has announced plans to voluntarily delist itself from the New York Stock Exchange, a cost-saving move that would see its shares thereafter trade only in Paris. The company, whose holdings include Universal Music Group and Vivendi Universal Games, explained that less than 5% of its share trading over the past two years took place through the NYSE, while U.S. ownership of Paris-based shares has increased significantly.

tags: Vivendi Universal | NYSE | Delist |

Napster Passes 500,000 Subscribers for Digital Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:31am.

Los Angeles - Napster announced on Wednesday that it has surpassed 500,000 subscribers to its digital music subscription service, including 50,000 college students who subscribe through the company's university program. "Doubling our subscribers over the last twelve months demonstrates the mass market potential of our music subscription model and the powerful appeal of Napster to music fans who want it all," said Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog. "With a track record of robust growth, exciting new development in the pipeline and over $100 million on our balance sheet, we are extremely excited about the future of Napster." The company allows unlimited downloads from its library of 1.5 million songs to a PC or certain portable players for $14.99 per month.

tags: Music | Subscribers | Napster | Digital Music |

DirecTV to Launch Family-Friendly Tier of Satellite Channels

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:29am.

El Segundo, Calif. - As some lawmakers in Washington press the pay-TV industry for a la carte programming and more regulations on indecency, satellite TV provider DirecTV announced on Wednesday that it will launch a new family-friendly programming package in mid-April for its 15 million customers. The "Total Choice Family" package will cost $34.99 per month and feature 40 channels, including local broadcast networks and Bloomberg, CNN, Discovery, Disney, Food Network, NASA TV, Nickelodeon, QVC and Trinity Broadcasting Network. "The new DirecTV Total Choice Family programming package is appropriate for viewing by family members of all ages and includes popular children's, religious and general family entertainment programming," said Dan Fawcett, executive vice president of programming at DirecTV. "We have answered the call from concerned parents and policymakers and have designed a programming package to meet the needs of DirecTV families." Cable TV firms including Comcast and Time Warner have also announced plans to offer family-friendly subscription tiers.

tags: DirecTV | Satellite | Channel | Family-Friendly |

Universal Music to Digitize Over 100,000 Out-of-Print European Tracks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:27am.

New York - Major record label Universal Music Group said on Wednesday that it plans to digitize more than 100,000 out-of-print recordings from European artists, and sell them exclusively as digital song downloads. "Over the next three to four years, we aim to reissue perhaps as many as 10,000 albums for downloading, which amounts to more than 100,000 tracks," Barney Wragg, senior vice president of Universal Music Group International's eLabs division told Reuters. "This program will offer material that, in some cases, goes back to the early days of recorded music." The program will start with some 3,000 albums by British, French and German artists including Marianne Faithful and Brigitte Bardot.

tags: Music | Europe | Universal Music | Tracks |

CBS "Micro-Series" to Air on TV, Internet, Cell Phones

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:25am.

Los Angeles - Viacom's CBS network has announced the debut of a new "micro-series" of seven one-minute episodes, which will air during commercial breaks in network series as well as on its website and mobile TV services. "The Courier," about a man risking his life to rescue his kidnapped wife, will be broadcast during commercial breaks in series including "CSI: Miami" and "Cold Case," in addition to being offered on CBS.com and on cell phones through Verizon Wireless' V Cast mobile TV service. The first episode of "The Courier" was broadcast during a commercial break in Tuesday's episode of "CSI: Miami."

Gizmondo Parent Looks to Raise $75 Million, Puts Up Rights to Ad Tech

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:23am.

Jacksonville, Fla. - Tiger Telematics, the parent company of the firm that created the Gizmondo multi-functional handheld video game console, said in a recent SEC filing that it has put up the rights to its Smart Adds unit in lieu of repayment of several loans. The Smart Adds technology enables advertisers to deliver ads directly to Gizmondo users. Under the agreement with its creditors, whom are owed $21.2 million, the company must raise $75 million by March 31; if it fails, rights to the Smart Adds technology and all of its shares will be turned over, and the company must repay the loans in full. Tiger said it has lined up $50 million from hedge fund groups in Geneva and London, and hopes the remaining $25 million can be secured from extensions of existing credit lines.

tags: VC | Ad Tech | Gizmondo |

IODA to Distribute Artists' Digital Music Royalties from SoundExchange

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:21am.

San Francisco - The Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), a provider of digital distribution for independent music, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with SoundExchange to become the first such distributor to offer integrated royalty payments to independent labels. Under the deal, IODA will distribute future and past royalty payments from SoundExchange to its roster of more than 1,000 labels. SoundExchange collects and distributes royalties for songs played on webcasts, satellite radio, and cable and satellite TV. "SoundExchange provides a tremendous service to rightsholders by making sure they are fairly compensated for digital performances," said IODA founder and CEO Kevin Arnold. "Many smaller labels have essentially been leaving this money on the table by not registering with SoundExchange. By integrating SoundExchange's payments, IODA is pleased to be able to offer our label partners the ability to quickly and easily monitor all of their digital earnings in one central location."

Web Users Relying on Search Engines to Find Common Sites

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:18am.

New York - Web surfers are frequently using search engines to navigate their way to common web sites, such as "ebay" and "google," rather than typing the site's URL directly into the address bar, according to new figures released by Internet research firm Nielsen/NetRatings. The firm said that, based on information compiled during November, 43% of online searchers use the search box much like an address bar. Leading the top 10 most popular search terms for November was "ebay," with 13.9 million requests, followed by "google" and "yahoo." All told, five of the top 10 search terms were for sites with search engines themselves. "There are two types of online searchers that type a web site's URL into a search engine rather than into the browser's address bar: Those inexperienced enough not to appreciate the difference between the two, and those that are so experienced they have become habituated to using the search engine as their portal to the Internet," said Ken Cassar, the chief analyst of Nielsen/NetRatings.

tags: Website | Web Users | Common |

Motorola to Acquire Swedish Set-top Developer Kreatel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:16am.

Stockholm - Motorola, a U.S.-based electronics giant, announced that it has agreed to acquire Kreatel Communications, a Sweden-based developer of IPTV-based digital set-top boxes. Financial terms were not disclosed. Motorola said Kreatel's Linux-based set-top platform was a natural complement to its end-to-end digital video platform and would address the need for IPTV-based digital set-tops. Kreatel's customer base currently includes such heavy hitters as Telefonica, TeliaSonera and KPN. Industry experts say the move will consolidate Motorola's position as the largest set-top box maker in the U.S. Motorola said it expected to close the deal in the first quarter of this year.

tags: Motorola | Swedish | Set-top | Kreatel |

U.K. Casual Games Firm FUN Buys Octopi for $6.1 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:14am.

London - FUN Technologies, a U.K.-based online casual game provider, announced that it has acquired Octopi, a U.S.-based mobile game developer, for approximately $6.1 million. Under the terms of the deal, FUN subsidiary SkillJam Technologies Corp. will acquire the entirety of Octopi's assets. FUN, which is listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), said it planned to take advantage of Octopi's expertise in game development to help its subsidiaries (SkillJam, Fanball and Don Best) with mobile applications and additional online gaming content.

tags: Games | U.K | FUN | Octopi |

Web-based Video Publishing Tools Developer VideoEgg Raises Funds

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:12am.

San Francisco - VideoEgg, a San Francisco-based developer of web-based video publishing tools, said on Wednesday that it has landed an undisclosed amount of venture capital from August Capital. The company said that the funding, its first since receiving seed funding from First Round Capital prior to its launch in September, will be used to accelerate the development of its flagship product, as well as to expand overall marketing and business development efforts. VideoEgg's plug-in product is designed to make it easier for Internet users to encode, upload, host and watch digital video.

Comcast, "Body by Jake" Launch Exercisetv VOD Channel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:11am.

Philadelphia - Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, said on Wednesday that it partnered with Jake "Body by Jake" Steinfeld to launch Exercisetv, a video-on-demand network for fitness programming with completely integrated advertising content. The VOD network will offer 90-minute exercise programs that include product placements, branded graphic overlays and educational video segments developed in conjunction with sponsors like New Balance, which signed a multi-million dollar deal to be the exclusive footwear and apparel sponsor of Exercisetv. The network will be available free to Comcast and Time Warner subscribers with video-on-demand service.

tags: VOD | Comcast | Channel | Body by Jake |

Disney Launches Broadband Educational Games for Preschoolers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:09am.

North Hollywood, Calif. - Disney Online has launched a new broadband entertainment site for preschoolers, which will offer educational games featuring Disney characters and will be hosted by "Bear" from Disney Channel's "Bear in the Big Blue House". Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online, available for $49.95 per year, will feature new updates every two weeks, and the ability for parents to manage multiple children's profiles and track their kids' activity.

HD Radio Partners to Debut Multicast Channels in 28 Markets

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:05am.

Orlando, Fla. - The HD Digital Radio Alliance, a consortium of radio broadcasters and technology firms supporting the rollout of iBiquity Digital's HD Radio technology, said on Wednesday that its members are readying launches of HD2 multicast channels in 28 initial markets. The HD Radio digital format allows stations to broadcast multiple channels to listeners, and the initial 264 multicast channels offered by HD stations in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco will carry a variety of music and talk formats.

tags: Radio | HD | Channel | Multicast |

LodgeNet Names Top 2005 Films on Hotel VOD System

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:03am.

Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet, a provider of in-room interactive TV and broadband access to hotels, on Wednesday announced the top-selling movie titles of 2005 on its video-on-demand system, which is available in over one million hotel rooms. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based LodgeNet said "Wedding Crashers" and "Meet the Fockers" both grossed more than $3 million in guest room sales last year; "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "National Treasure" and "Hitch" rounded out the top five films. The company also said that Disney was the top-performing studio, with six titles that each generated over $1 million.

tags: VOD | Movies | LodgeNet |

The Orchard Signs Deals with Ringtone Distributors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:02am.

New York - The Orchard, a digital distributor of independent label music, announced on Wednesday that it has signed agreements with four new mobile entertainment distributors, each of which will offer all of The Orchard's ringtones through their services. The deals with GroupieTunes, Mobiletoolbox, Summus and Xingtone guarantee that between 15 and 50 percent of all non-major label ringtones they offer will come from Orchard labels and artists. The Orchard's partnership with Xingtone also will allow Orchard artists and labels to offer ringtones directly to their fans through their own ringtone stores.

tags: Deals | The Orchard | Ringtone | Distributors |

South by Southwest to Host First ScreenBurn Beta Game Festival

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 3:59am.

Austin, Texas - Producers of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas announced on Wednesday that this year's event will feature the first ScreenBurn Beta Festival. The free festival will offer the public the chance to demo the latest video games and game technologies, as well as hear talks from video game professionals and development studios.

tags: Game | South by Southwest | ScreenBurn | Festival |

Jay Mohr to Host 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 3:57am.

Calabasas, Calif. - The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) announced on Wednesday that comedian Jay Mohr will host the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which will recognize the best video games of the past year and their creators. The awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 9 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

tags: Awards | Interactive | Jay Mohr | Annual |

"Monster House" Producer to Launch Internet TV Channel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 3:55am.

Los Angeles - A producer of Discovery Channel's "Monster House" series has partnered with Effects LLC and streaming video provider Maven to launch The Fix, an online TV network that aims to offer all original programming. Brian Knappmiller and partner Ruben Navarrete created The Fix after a TV series they pitched was passed over by the networks. While The Fix is expected to launch in the spring of 2006, production on Web shows will begin in February, and the company is still actively seeking content and investors.

tags: Internet | TV | Channel | Monster House |

Chinese Online Games Firm Shanda to Distribute EMI Songs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 3:53am.

Shanghai - Shanda Interactive Entertainment, a provider of online games and other interactive entertainment in China, announced on Wednesday a strategic partnership with major record label EMI. Under the deal, Shanda will distribute music from EMI artists through its EZ home entertainment platform, as well as through its online portal.