Archives

Apple, O2 Offer Pay-As-You-Go iPhone 3G Plans in U.K.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 2:00pm.
Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) will begin selling its iPhone 3G under a pay-as-you-go plan in the U.K. later this month with retail partners O2 and Carphone Warehouse, The Register reports. The 8GB iPhone 3G will sell for around $624, or about $90 less than the 16GB version. A year of unlimited data usage is included, after which time users must pay an extra $17.82 per month. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Russia's third-largest network operator, MegaFon, has signed a deal to distribute the iPhone in Russia, joining previously announced network partners Vimpelcom and MTS.

tags: Mobile | Apple | Cellphones | O2 | iPhone | MegaFon |

Hulu to Stream Season Premieres Ahead of TV Debuts

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 1:59pm.
Los Angeles - Hulu, the video site joint venture between News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), will host season premieres of TV shows including "Knight Rider," "Lipstick Jungle" and "Chuck and Life" a week before they are first shown on television, TechCrunch reports. The season premieres of "Prison Break," "Bones," "House," "Heroes," "The Office" and "30 Rock" will also be available on Hulu as part of the site's lineup of fall TV premieres.

tags: Video | Marketing | TV | NBC Universal | News Corp. | Hulu |

MTV Launching HD Channel in Europe

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 1:57pm.
London - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks International has announced the launch of an international HD channel, MTVNHD, which will debut later this month in six European countries. The 24-hour, English-language channel will initially be available in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden, with plans to expand into France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela by the end of 2008. In addition to music programming, the HD channel will also offer a block of Nickelodeon children's programming.

tags: Video | TV | Music | HD | MTV | Viacom | MTVNHD |

"Tap Tap Revenge" iPhone Music Game Gets Promotions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 1:56pm.
Palo Alto, Calif. - Tapulous, the software developers behind the iPhone music game "Tap Tap Revenge," has inked a promotional deal with recording artist Everlast, whose new single appears in the game as part of a contest that will award $1,000 to the player who posts the highest score with the song, VentureBeat reported. The free music game counts an estimated more than one million installations on iPhone and iPod touch devices, and recently launched a new version that features mobile ads served by AdMob. Tapulous owner Bart Decrem told VentureBeat that new tracks from major artists will now debut weekly in the game.

tags: Games | Mobile | Marketing | Advertising | Music | Tap Tap Revenge |

Smashing Pumpkins to Debut New Single in "Guitar Hero"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 1:54pm.
Santa Monica, Calif. - Activision (NASD: ATVI) announced on Tuesday that rock band Smashing Pumpkins will exclusively debut their new single "G.L.O.W." in its "Guitar Hero World Tour" game. The band's singer Billy Corgan will also appear as an in-game character in the title, which is scheduled for release in the fall.

tags: Games | Marketing | Music | Activision | Guitar Hero | Smashing Pumpkins |

IAC Debuts Zwinky Cuties Virtual World for Tweens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 1:52pm.
White Plains, N.Y. - IAC (NASD: IACI) on Tuesday announced the launch of Zwinky Cuties, a new virtual world for pre-teen girls ages six and up. The site is an offshoot of IAC's Zwinky site, a virtual world for teens that claims 16 million users.

tags: Social Networking | IAC | Virtual Worlds | Zwinky Cuties |

Report: Facebook Making $34.5M in Virtual Item Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 1:11pm.
Los Angeles - Online social network is deriving about 10% of its revenue from the sales of virtual items that members can give as gifts to one another, according to an estimate calculated by Lightspeed Venture Partners' Jeremy Liew on the firm's blog.
tags: Social Networking | Reports | Facebook | Research | Virtual Items | Lightspeed Venture Partners |

File-Swapper Ordered to Pay Record Labels $40,850

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 12:58pm.
Los Angeles - The defendant in a file-sharing copyright infringement case who was found guilty after it was shown that he deliberately destroyed evidence on his computer was ordered to pay the record labels $40,850 in damages, Ars Technica reported.
tags: Law | Lawsuits | P2P | Music | RIAA | Kazaa | Atlantic v. Howell | Making Available | Jeffrey Howell |

Nokia to Debut "Comes With Music" Service in the U.K.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 12:11pm.
London - Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced on Tuesday that the U.K. will be the first launch country for its "Comes With Music" service, which will offer new phone buyers a year of unlimited access to the Nokia Music Store.
tags: Music | Nokia | Carphone Warehouse | Moblie | Comes With Music |

Press Pass Request Form - Digital Music Forum West 2008

Welcome to the Digital Media Wire press pass request form. Thank you for your interest in Digital Music Forum West.

Press Pass Request Form - Future of Television Conference 2008

Welcome to the Digital Media Wire press pass request form. Thank you for your interest in our Future of Television Conference.

Apple Expected to Introduce New iPods Next Week

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 9:42am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has notified the media that it will hold a music-related event next week in San Francisco, with many outlets speculating that the company will next Tuesday introduce a new range of iPod players.
tags: Music | iPod | Apple | Retail | iTunes Store |

Google Unveils Open Source Web Browser "Chrome"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 9:20am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) on Tuesday announced the beta launch of Chrome, a new open-source web browser initially available in more than 100 countries and 40 languages. The streamlined browser includes features like a combined search and address bar, isolated tabs to limit browser crashes, and a new JavaScript engine called V8.
tags: Advertising | Search | Google | Chrome |

Google Chrome

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 9:20am.
Google Chrome

Court Dismisses WWE Claims Against THQ, Jakks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 8:10am.

Los Angeles - The Connecticut Superior Court has dismissed the majority of claims brought by the WWE (NYSE: WWE) against game makers THQ (NASD: THQI) and Jakks Pacific (NASD: JAKK), which alleged that a joint venture between the two companies to create wrestling video games bribed several WWE employees in securing the licensing deal. In addition, the court dismissed WWE's state antitrust claim, citing lack of injury and a similar decision by a federal court, as well as federal claims against Jakks that alleged violations of RICO, the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Robinson-Patman Act.

tags: Games | Sports | Law | Lawsuits | THQ | WWE | Jakks Pacific |

Microsoft to Acquire Greenfield Online for $486 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 7:39am.
Wilton, Conn. - Greenfield Online, a global interactive media and services company that collects consumer attitudes about products and services, announced it has agreed to be acquired by Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) for $486 million.
tags: Deals | Reports | Microsoft | Acquisitions | Research | Greenfield Online | Quadrangle Group |

RapOuts Raises $1.44 Million for Online Video Marketing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2008 - 7:35am.
San Francisco - RapOuts, a provider of online video marketing services, has raised $1.44 million in its first round of funding, PEHub.com reported, citing a regulatory filing.
tags: Deals | VC | Video | Marketing | Advertising | RapOuts | Involver |