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DMW Daily, July 10, 2008

Top Stories
o iPhone App Store Debuts a Day Early with iTunes 7.7 Update
o Europe's High Court Overturns Annulment of Sony BMG Merger
o Yahoo to Offer Ad-Supported Casual Games; Teams With Turner
o Chinese Video Site Youku Granted Government License
o European Tech Publisher Bestofmedia Group Gets $35 Million
o Perfect Market Gets $15.6M to Promote Underutilized Content
o Video-Enabled Web Marketplace Shopflick Lands $7 Million
o Riot Games Secures $7 Million for Premium Online Titles
o "Duels" Developer Challenge Games Raises $4.5 Million
o Citizen Journalism Site NowPublic Acquires Truemors
o News & Video Aggregation Service BuzzFeed Lands $3.5 Million
o Instructional Video Network Graspr Nabs $2.5 Million
Opinion & Analysis
o C-SPAN Interviews with Digital Media Conference Speakers
o Buzz Watch: The Hottest bands on Social Networks and Music Blogs in Europe
o Mark Cuban: How Youtube Can Fix Its Revenue Problem
Briefly Noted
o Sony Taps Double Fusion for PlayStation 3 In-Game Ads
o Myxer to Distribute The Orchard Catalog as Ringtones
o Verizon Introduces FiOS TV for Business
o MySpace Adds Minisodes of "H.R. Pufnstuf," Other Krofft Shows
o Buzznet Adds Content From Heavy Metal Site The Gauntlet
 Top Stories
o iPhone App Store Debuts a Day Early with iTunes 7.7 Update 
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple's long-awaited iPhone 2.0 software became available on Thursday when the company released the latest version of its iTunes software (7.7), in a surprise that allowed iPhone owners to start browsing the over 550 applications available in the new App Store a day early, Macrumors reported. [more..]
o Europe's High Court Overturns Annulment of Sony BMG Merger 
Luxembourg - The European Union's highest court has overturned a lower court's ruling that annulled approval of the merger of major record labels Sony Music and BMG, Reuters reported. [more..]
o Yahoo to Offer Ad-Supported Casual Games; Teams With Turner 
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo said on Thursday that it plans to offer more than 400 ad-support casual game titles by the end of this year. [more..]
o Chinese Video Site Youku Granted Government License 
Beijing - Chinese video-sharing site Youku announced on Thursday that it has been granted an online video license from the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SAFRT). [more..]
o European Tech Publisher Bestofmedia Group Gets $35 Million 
Paris - Bestofmedia Group, a European technology publishing company, announced on Thursday that it has received a $35 million investment from Index Ventures. [more..]
o Perfect Market Gets $15.6M to Promote Underutilized Content 
Pasadena, Calif. - Perfect Market, a provider of marketing services to publishers seeking to monetize underutilized content, has raised $15.6 million in new funding, led by Trinity Ventures and Rustic Canyon Partners. [more..]
o Video-Enabled Web Marketplace Shopflick Lands $7 Million 
Los Angeles - Shopflick, the developer of an online video-shopping marketplace, announced on Thursday that it has raised $7 million in its first round of funding, from Panorama Capital and Venrock. [more..]
o Riot Games Secures $7 Million for Premium Online Titles 
Los Angeles - Riot Games, an independent developer focused on "premium online multiplayer session-based games with best-of-breed online services," announced on Thursday that it has secured a $7 million round of financing from Benchmark Capital and FirstMark Capital. [more..]
o "Duels" Developer Challenge Games Raises $4.5 Million 
Austin, Texas - Challenge Games, a developer of browser-based, free-to-play online games, announced on Thursday that it has closed a $4.5 million first round of funding from Sequoia Capital. [more..]
o Citizen Journalism Site NowPublic Acquires Truemors 
Vancouver, B.C. - NowPublic, an online "citizen journalism" network, announced on Thursday that it has acquired Truemors, venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki's site "dedicated to the free-flow of the news rumor mill." [more..]
o News & Video Aggregation Service BuzzFeed Lands $3.5 Million 
New York - BuzzFeed, an online news aggregation service, has raised $3.5 million in its first round of venture capital financing, PEHub.com reported. Investors included Softbank and Hearst Interactive Media.
[more..]
o Instructional Video Network Graspr Nabs $2.5 Million 
Mountain View, Calif. - Graspr, an online instructional video network, announced on Thursday that it has landed a $2.5 million first round of funding, from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and angel investors. [more..]
 Opinion & Analysis
o C-SPAN Interviews with Digital Media Conference Speakers 
DMW's Digital Media Conference, held two weeks ago in Washington, DC, was the focus of "The Communicators," C-SPAN's new weekly series featuring interviews with "the people who shape our digital future." [more..]
o Buzz Watch: The Hottest bands on Social Networks and Music Blogs in Europe 
Most of top searches sending traffic to social networking sites are up and coming new bands / artists, blogs Robin Goad. [more..]
o Mark Cuban: How Youtube Can Fix Its Revenue Problem 
The Youtube cure is simple. Review videos first and then see which ones are appropriate for advertising purposes, blogs Mark Cuban. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
o Sony Taps Double Fusion for PlayStation 3 In-Game Ads 
Foster City, Calif. - Sony's U.S. and European video games units jointly announced on Thursday that they will use in-game ad network Double Fusion to place ads within PlayStation 3 titles. [more..]
o Myxer to Distribute The Orchard Catalog as Ringtones 
Deerfield Beach, Fla. - Myxer, a distributor of ad-supported mobile content, announced on Thursday a deal with digital music distributor The Orchard that will add over 1 million new ringtones to its mobile content library. [more..]
o Verizon Introduces FiOS TV for Business 
New York - Verizon on Thursday announced the launch of FiOS TV for Business, a new subscription-television service designed for small and medium-sized businesses, delivered by Verizon's fiber-optic network. [more..]
o MySpace Adds Minisodes of "H.R. Pufnstuf," Other Krofft Shows 
Los Angeles - News Corp.'s MySpace on Thursday launched "The World of Sid & Marty Krofft," a new video channel that will feature condensed episodes of classic children's shows such as "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Land of the Lost" and "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters." [more..]
o Buzznet Adds Content From Heavy Metal Site The Gauntlet 
Hollywood - Buzznet, an online social community focused on music, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with The Gauntlet, a 12-year-old site that features hard rock and heavy metal news, reviews, interviews and forums. [more..]