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iTunes Video: NBC Universal Deal Struck
NBC Universal and Apple have struck a deal to make NBC-owned television shows, such as “The Office” and “Law & Order,” available on the iTunes music store.
The shows, trawled from NBC, the USA Network and the SciFi Channel, will include new and old programming, including “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Surface.”
There’ll also be some cable shows such as “Monk” and “Battlestar Galactica” on offer, along with golden oldies like “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Dragnet” and “Knight Rider” dredged up for sale.
The announcement of this deal brings into focus the story we covered over a week ago, NBC Take First Pop At TivoToGo Enhancement, where NBC clearly saw TiVo plans to make these programmes available for zero cost not in their commercial interest.
The shows will be available from next week, downloadable from the iTunes Music Store the day after they air for $1.99 (£1.15, €1.70) per episode
The deal reflects the growing interest from TV networks in opening up lucrative additional revenue streams outside the traditional TV market.
Spurred on by the release of Apple’s first video-capable iPod in October last year, industry bods are predicting fat profits from video downloads.
The success of the iTunes store – shifting more than 3 million videos since launching two months ago – has got media moguls clamouring to catch a slice of the downloading action.
Disney-owned ESPN announced that they are looking into distributing some of its TV programming on the iTunes service, as have News Corp’s Fox Filmed Entertainment network.
iTunes
7 December, 2005
Nokia Targets Bloggers For N90 Handset Launch
In an attempt to get right on down with the online world, Nokia has unveiled a blog relations campaign for its new N90 phone, offering information and podcasts about the handset to bloggers.
The campaign – dreamt up by the Californian-based marketing firm Comunicano – aims to get bloggers spreading the word about the phone by offering a separate press room ( the ‘Nokia Nseries N90 Blogger Relations Blog site’, in fact).
The site will offer blog authors, “blogger and media information that you can repurpose and utilise in your blog postings about the N90.”
CEO Andy Abramson explained that the campaign was all about treating bloggers like any member of the press – and Nokia were happy to go along with that by dishing out N90 phones to 50 bloggers for review.
“Bloggers are often treated like publicists treat the paparazzi in Hollywood; they’re used when they’re wanted, or looked at like something at the bottom of the shoe when they’re not,” insisted Abramson.
Employing more cunning than a crafty fox in a shifty suit, Abramson reckons that bloggers could be the perfect vehicle for drumming up free publicity for a product.
“Since bloggers are articulate, passionate, and prolific – and have more space to write in than a newspaper columnist – they can yield incredible dividends,” enthused Abramson.
“If one blogger has a question, there might be 10 others who have the same question,” he added.
Although Nokia’s press room provides much the same stuff that you can find on their regular website, the company are hoping that bloggers will be find it easier to grab promotional material off the blog site for slapping up on their own sites.
The site itself runs a blog maintained by Abramson and it’s every bit as enthusiastic about the product as you might imagine, serving up glowing snippets from bloggers who have reviewed the N90.
Ever keen to tempt users with new content, the new Podcast service invites bloggers to record a Podcast with a ‘Nokia Representative’ to stick on their own site.
There’s already a few examples up there, but we really couldn’t bring ourselves to click on the one about a reggae band with the toe-curlingly bad title, “JA..The N90 Is So Cool Mon!”
Try as we might, us cynical folks at Digital Lifestyles couldn’t shake off a nagging suspicion that the marketing world’s new-found enthusiasm for blogs is more about trying to control and coerce what’s been written about their products in the blogosphere.
With the explosive growth in blogging – and the increased prominence of blog entries in search engine results – companies are keen to try and manage what’s been said about their products, and we see that Blogger Relations Blog could be the start of a slippery slope, with influential blogs being targeted by marketing campaigns.
Companies who follow this type of idea had better take care as they’re walking on a tightrope. Bloggers are a canny bunch, and if they feel like they’re getting played – they’re going to make a whole lot of noise, jumping up and down, screaming about it. Not a pretty sight and definitely not what your brand needs.
Nokia clearly feel there’s considerable mileage to be gained from this blogging lark and have already announced plans for similar campaigns for its N71 and N91 series.
Nokia n90 Blog
6 December, 2005
BT Cashes In To Goverment Money
BT have been enjoying government payouts to maintain their networks.
Interesting news for all those that thought it was many years since BT was an ailing monopoly to be propped up by a Labour government.
It was revealed in an answer to a parliamentary question (text below), that around £7 million has been paid to BT in England and Wales, and a contract for work in Scotland, that is not yet complete, should benefit the Telco goliath to the tune of a further £16.5 million. BT has also received undisclosed sums from the East Midlands Development Agency to extend broadband availability in the region.
Now this might come as a surprise to those who’ve got the impression that BT was doing this along with its investment in the so-called 21C network, as some sort of “Noblesse Oblige”.
Looking back over our archives for January of this year, it put a smile on our faces to see BT, when defending itself against smears of improper financial assistance related to the UK property rating system, responded to criticism leveled by those terrible bureaucrats in Brussels with…
“BT is surprised that the European Commission is to investigate the UK government over the property rates that BT has been paying. In BT’s view, any allegation of state aid would be groundless as BT has received no benefit from the UK government. BT is confident that the UK government will demonstrate the fairness of the UK ratings system.”
Expect smaller UK operators to cry foul – with some justification – as they see the dominant player’s position reinforced by government money, and BT’s competitive edge further strengthened in areas that include upgrading their network for TV delivery.
(Ed: Looking at this information, it feels wrong that BT are being given public money to maintain their network, one which they are directly gaining income from. This benefit isn’t passed back to the general public who are funding it, but instead to BT’s shareholders.
—-Fully text of the questions and answer.
Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire, Con)
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total amount of financial subsidies and grants received by BT has been since 1997 for the purpose of extending broadband availability in the UK.
Alun Michael (Minister of State (State (Industry and the Regions)), Department of Trade and Industry)
Since 1997 BT has received the following financial sums to enable exchanges to extend broadband availability in the UK:East of England Development Agency paid BT approximately £500,000, to enable most of their remaining exchanges in BED A areas. This was awarded through the Broadband Aggregation programme.
Following a competitive tender South West Regional Development Agency awarded BT approximately £3900,000 to enable some exchanges in the Cornwall area.
Following a competitive tender, BT in Wales was awarded £3.6 million of European Structural Funding to upgrade over 40 BT telephone exchanges from UXD5, making ISDB2 services available to 99 per cent. of BT lines. The investment was also used to enable Digital Subscriber Lines, ahead of the commercial roll-out programme for the UK, in BT exchanges in market towns across Wales. It is estimated that the total project value was around £6 million.
Following a full EU Procurement Process to extend broadband availability in the North East region, BT was paid £1,830,345. This sum is subject to a downward adjustment, in accordance with a reverse contribution scheme, which operates to repay money to the Agency if broadband take up in the region exceeds a prescribed level.
£364k was awarded to Vale Royal Local Authority acting on behalf of the Cheshire Digital Development Agency who, following a competitive tender through the North West Regional Aggregation Body, awarded BT a contract to enable of a series of remote rural exchanges in Cheshire.
In Cumbria, Your Communications was awarded a large infrastructure project (Project Access) contract for approximately £17 million following a negotiated, state aid approved OJEU competitive tender. Your Communications sub contracted part of the contract with a value of around £1 million to BT for the early enablement of all the exchanges in Cumbria and specifically for the enablement of 14 exchanges in the remotest areas of the sub region.
In Scotland £16.5 million was awarded to BT following competitive tender. The roll-out has not yet been completed so not all the money has been paid as yet. The European Commission was notified under State Aid rules.East Midlands Development Agency has worked with BT on a number of sub- regional strategic partnerships, to extend broadband availability. As part of the contractual arrangements confidentiality agreements were signed by the sub- regional partnerships to protect information as commercial in confidence. Accordingly, this information is not be available for disclosure.
Hansard reference
1 December, 2005
TiVo Announces Advertising Search For Television
TiVo has announced that it plans to offer the first TV-based advertising “search solution” early next year.
Starting in Spring 2006, TiVo’s new television search capabilities will, apparently, “enhance the TV viewing experience” by delivering targeted advertising to subscribers interested in viewing particular advertising categories.
Hotshot media and advertising agencies like Interpublic Media, OMD, Starcom Mediavest Group, The Richards Group and Comcast Spotlight have teamed up with TiVo to develop the product and help determine relevant categories of interest (cars, travel, telecommunications, and consumer packaged goods etc) as well as work out pricing models.
TiVo claim their new technology will allow companies to shunt on-demand, consumer targeted TV advertising to viewers without the limitations of traditional television media placement.
With punters able to search for products by category or associated keywords, TiVo sees big benefits for advertisers (obviously) and punters looking for information on products or services.
The (ahem) “heightened viewer experience” offered by the new service is claimed to deliver “non-intrusive, relevant, interactive advertising, on an opt-in basis.”
TiVo subscribers electing to use the search service will be able to retain control over their “viewing experience” by creating a “viewer contributed profile” via the set-top box that will enable them to receive advertisements based on their interests (we wonder if there’s a “begone hideous advertisers forever” profile available?)
“TiVo is once again introducing to the TV landscape a new and innovative advertising solution that is intended to deliver an even better viewing experience for subscribers,” purred Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo.
Supping deeply on a morning brew of Buzzword Coffee, Tracey Scheppach, VP, Video Innovations Director at Starcom, enthused “The new TiVo application will provide both a needed platform for consumers to seek out relevant, searchable commercial content and an environment for advertisers to engage highly desirable and motivated consumers…it’s the first of its kind in the industry, and a platform that is clearly needed in this challenging advertising marketplace.”
The new service follows a successful interactive direct response advertising program on TiVo in August, where subscribers were able to respond to customised “calls to action” in select commercial spots.
Funnily enough, when we’re bombarded with advertising, the only “call to action” we get is to turn the ruddy thing off.
30 November, 2005
Free Phone-Back Services Tested By Google
Google is testing a potentially lucrative sales tool that allows users to ring up advertisers located through a Google search – for free.
The system adds a new phone icon next to the Google search results of participating advertisers.
Users wishing to have a chinwag with the advertiser can click the phone graphic, enter their phone number and then click the ‘Connect For Free’ button.
Google then calls the number provided and when a user picks up their phone they’ll hear it ringing the advertiser’s office.
Once the advertiser picks up, both parties can chat for free with Google footing the bill for all calls – local and long-distance (their generosity may, however, stop at paying for some mobile calls).
Naturally, there are all sorts of potential privacy concerns brewing up here, but Google insist that they won’t share telephone numbers with anyone – including the advertiser.
Moreover, they claim that the number will be blocked from the advertiser during the call, with Google promising to delete the number from their servers after a short period of time.
This looks to be an attractive option, making it easier for both businesses to be contacted and for customers to get in touch.
It also means that Google could entice cash from companies with little or no Web presence, with the prospect of free calls from potential customers proving irresistible.
We also wonder if an extended scheme could put a spoke in the wheels of the recently announced eBay buys Skype deal.
As ever, Google are keeping Mum about the details, only offering a curt, “we don’t have any additional information to share at this time” in a statement.
Google Click To Call FAQ
29 November, 2005
NBC Take First Pop At TivoToGo Enhancement
As we predicted last week, the US TV networks are not taking the new TiVo enhancements to its TivoToGo lying down.
NBC are making the early running, with a spokesman telling the Hollywood’s Daily Variety trade paper, “TiVo appears to be acting unilaterally, disregarding established rights of content owners to participate in decisions regarding the distribution and exploitation of their content. This unilateral action creates the risk of legal conflict instead of contributing to the constructive exploitation of digital technology that can rapidly provide new and exciting experiences for the consumer.”
Legal types though, are quoting the landmark Sony v. Universal Studios case of 1984, citing it as a precedent where time shifting was expressly found to fall within fair use. Although this particular case has come under the microscope recently, during the Grockster case, where the the US Supreme Court ruled that companies could be liable if they deliberately encourage customers to infringe on copyrights.
It could be, that time will prove TiVo have announced prematurely this new augmentation, without fully taking account of the wide ranging business and legal implications. But in this fast moving sector, innovation is a necessity rather than an option.
TiVo
29 November, 2005
xBox 360 Launch – A Teenage View
Digital-Lifestyles is pleased to have Lawrence Dudley writing for us. All too often articles about the things teenagers are interested in are written by people old enough to be their parents. What teenagers are thinking isn’t represented. Lawrence will give you a point of view that you won’t find in other publications. You see Lawrence _is_ a teenager.
The Next Revolution Is Here… Or Is It?
Of course, the big news this week is the launch of the xBox 360. I say big news, but to be honest, there has been very little mainstream media coverage of it, at least as far as I have gathered. The only things I heard about it, other than that it had been launched, was that they were in short supply, that one (or more) have been crashing, and that the New York Post warns consumers not to buy a 360.
Of course, I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone, I’m not like that. There are a lot of reasons to upgrade from the previous version of the xBox: Apart from better graphics and a nicer looking box, there isn’t the danger of a 360 setting your house on fire like it’s predecessor came close to doing. Proof, I suppose, that the xBox really did smoke all the other consoles ;-)
With mediocre initial reports I’ve started thinking that maybe the xBox 360 isn’t quite the 3rd generation of consoles that it has been made out to be. It’s a shame, but it has been described by original xBox fans as “more of the same”, which is really saying something, as the fan-boy community tend to be almost fanatical in their support of their chosen platform.
Still, it’s not all bad: There are some interesting early finds about the new xBox, for instance, that it sports full iPod support, something which I find extremely surprising, as Apple are one of Microsoft’s competitors.
I’m really not (too) biased on this topic: I genuinely believe that the new xBox is a bit of a flop. Overall I think that while the new it’s surely a good piece of kit, I don’t think it’s quite the revolution that the first one was. Indeed, it seems very much a product launch designed to complement the old xBox as opposed to replacing it.
But then again, I, along with the majority of the UK have yet to see it. Perhaps when I do, that will all change.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of time. A few revisions down the line, the 360’s should have a lot of bugs fixed and a few better games will have been developed.
Well, I’ll certainly have to wait and see, as one things for sure – As a teenager there is no way I or my parents could afford a 360 at its current price of $400 (~£232, ~€338).
Oi! Microsoft! Either bring the price down quick, or don’t sell many of them. The choice is yours Bill.
24 November, 2005
iTunes Becomes Seventh Largest US Music Retailer
Apple’s iTunes online store has been ranked the seventh-largest music retailer in the US in the third quarter, charging into the top 10 for the first time.
According to research from the NPD Group, iTunes Music Store has climbed from fourteenth place last year to overtake many US High Street music stores.
Based on the number of songs sold, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Amazon.com remained the top four, although iTunes rising star is expected to overtake more stores by the end of the year.
Already eating iTunes’ dust are big names like Tower Records and Borders, reflecting music fans’ growing passion for online music.
“With the growing interest in digital music, forecasts of more iPod demand this holiday, plus the stocking-stuffer appeal of iTunes gift cards, we can expect Apple to increase its share even more by year’s end,” predicted Russ Crupnick, music and movies industry analyst for the NPD Group in the report.
Launched in April 2003 to offer downloadable tracks to users of its best-selling iPod digital music player, Apple has sold more than 600 million songs, with the service boasting more than 10 million iTunes account holders.
Combined revenue from the iPod, Apple’s fastest- selling product, and iTunes music accounted for a massive 40 percent of sales last quarter, up from 27 percent a year earlier.
Steve Jobs has confirmed that Apple have already shifted over 30 million iPods since the product launched in 2001.
iTunes
23 November, 2005
TiVo: PSP/ iPod Downloads Planned
TiVo have announced the release of new software, slated for the first quarter of 2006 that will let owners watch recorded television shows on their Sony PSPs and video iPods.
It doesn’t stop does it? Boy, is this technology disruptive.
What’s that sound? The sound of TV legal types rubbing their hands together as TiVo’s press release hit the ‘wires’.
TiVo’s software will enable subscribers to easily transfer recorded television programming, in MPEG-4 format. Other capabilities include auto-sync, letting TiVo users choose if they want new recordings of their favorite programs transferred to their portable devices via their PC. Recharging content onto their devices overnight, ready for the next days commute. It is expected to be priced as a one off of around $30 (~£17, ~€25).
This development is a further blow to TV network schedulers and their much-relied on conventional prime time programmes. This theory is torn apart when mobile viewers are able to watch programmes recorded the previous night, on the go.
The US networks are unlikely to take this lying down. Companies like ABC (part of media giant Disney) have been keen to generate additional revenue from download deals of their premium shows like Desperate Housewives – as offered by Apple through their online store, to their video iPod.
This TiVo development sees that particular rug being pulled from under them, and we suspect that they won’t be won over by TiVo’s promises to employ “watermark” technologies on programs transferred to a portable device.
TiVo’s share price has initially climbed, having faltered due to the perceived weakness in TiVo capabilities for both dual recording and HD use.
Some commentators are warning of the practical problems, expecting only the technically adept to be able to handle the transfers and pointing out that the enhancements will only be available to a subset of TiVo’s 3.8 million subscribers.
We think that while this could be the case for now, we don’t see this particular genie jumping back in the bottle.
TiVo
22 November, 2005
Search Engines Challenge Email As Most Popular Web Activity
Using search engines has become the second most popular activity for Web users, according to new research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
The figures put search engines second only to email as the numero uno Net application, with reading the news registering as the third most popular Web activity.
The research reveals that an average 41 per cent of Web-connected Americans use search engines on a typical day, a sharp 55 percent rise from the middle of 2004.
In numbers, this equates to a jump from 38 million daily search engine users in June 2004 to around 59 million users in September, 2005.
As expected, email remains the Web’s major attraction, with 52 per cent of Americans checking mail on any given day, up 45 per cent from June last year.
The Pew project looked into the demographics of Web users and discovered that those spending the most time on search engines tended to be in their 30s and well-off.
‘Gen X’ surfers (29-40 year olds, not the Billy Idol-fronted band) were online the most (51 per cent), followed by ‘Gen Y’ users (18-28 year olds), ‘Older Baby Boomers’ (51-59 yrs old), ‘Younger Baby Boomers’ (41-50), ‘Matures’ (60-69) and, finally ‘After work’ (70+). We wonder who makes up these daft categories?
The report commented, “Those who use search engines on an average day tend to be heavy Internet users. They are much more likely to have broadband connections than dial-up connections; to log on to the Internet several times a day; and to have spent considerable time online during the day.”
With Google recently claiming to have trebled its index of 8bn pages and Yahoo! claiming 19.2bn pages, it’s not surprising that the search engines are getting a hammering.
What is interesting, however, is the rise in people searching using ‘local’ qualifiers, like postcodes or addresses, to narrow down their search results.
Google still rules supreme as the king of the Web search tools, registering 43.7 per cent of local searches, with Yahoo! lording it over Internet Yellow Page search sites (where users type in data such as location and business type) with 27.6 per cent of searches.
Pew Internet & American Life Project report [PDF]
22 November, 2005