Just a quick note for the record: CNN’s Pipeline video service launched today. The pay-per-day, month or year service (with prices at $.99, $2.95 and $24.95, respectively) looks pretty cool based only on the demos. (For a review from someone who has actually signed up for a Pipeline day pass, check out paidcontent.org)
Pipeline offers a main channel and four smaller video channels at the bottom of the screen, each of which can be tuned to a different news video. The video is searchable and Pipeline offers users the ability to schedule videos and flags new videos just posted on the site.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 3:56 PM | Print | Comments (0)
Knight Ridder Digital’s SiliconValley.com is running an interesting experiment this week: a message board/roundtable discussion on Google that features some pretty interesting commentators including John Battelle, Om Malik and Washington Post reporter and The Google Story author David Vise. [Note an earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the discussion is running on San Jose Mercury News’ website. While SiliconValley.com started at the News, it is not part of that paper’s site.)
The timing is good — over at IP Media Monitor, we just published the first of our 2005 IP media trend recap pieces which focuses on the search titan. Although Google has been an object of fascination for years, the company really vaulted to the top in 2005, in part due to a sharp uptick in revenues and net income. (Click on thumbnail for a chart track these two key financial metrics.)
Time Warner Cable’s Chairman and CEO Glenn Britt made an all-around smart showing of himself at today’s UBS Global Media Conference (for a recap of Britt’s comments, see today’s IP Media Monitor.) In an uncharacteristic swipe at a fellow cable operator, though, Britt took Cablevision to task for supporting FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s call for a la carte programming.
Noting that Cablevision Chairman Chuck Dolan has been talking about a la carte for 20 years, Britt said “next time you see them [Cablevision executives] ask them if they’re willing to sell their program networks on an a la carte basis,” with the clear implication being that Cablevision wouldn’t be willing to take a dose of its own medicine.
Britt hinted that the cable industry might be at work developing some kind of response to Martin’s a la carte effort, a cooperative response that centers on the true motivation behind the Chairman’s push into this area: indecency. “We do need to come together and come to some resolution to make people feel like we’ve come to some solution,” on the concerns over indecency.
“There is clearly a concern about content among consumers in this country. There is enough of a concern that politicians of both parties are raising this issue.”
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 12:22 PM | Print | Comments (0)
The Wall Street Journal’s “Boss Talk” feature today has an interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger. The piece depicts Iger as smashing some kind of barrier in Hollywood by cutting a deal to sell Disney-produced TV series on the new video iPod. But the deal also had the effect of smashing Iger’s reputation as some kind of pro forma executive who won the top job at Disney through default after controversial CEO Michael Eisner was pushed out.
The defining moment that signalled Iger’s capabilities was, indeed, the deal with Apple.
Interestingly enough, nothing has done more to reignite the company than this deal. It almost has created more value for the company than the deal itself.
Since the deal was unveiled, Disney has been “besieged” with other opportunities and employees seemed jazzed about the new, more forward-looking direction the company has followed.
I think the troops love the fact that we were first. It’s had a great impact on the company’s spirit. The feeling is tangible; whether that translates into behavior change is a little too early to tell, except that I do sense that there is a lot of exploration going on at all of our businesses. The other thing that’s good is that the company seems to have learned very quickly that it shouldn’t be about just making a deal, it has to be the right deal.Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 7:58 AM | Print | Comments (0)
With Apple’s iTunes on a tear, it’s tough to for any of the dozens of audio services to make their marks in the rapidly growing legitimate digital music business. But Real Networks, the pioneer of downloadable media players, has taken the big step to forego all the messy business of proprietary players and will announce today a web-based portal, according to a spate of pre-planted articles, including this one from Business Week .
By moving to the web, Real hopes to capitalize on consumer need for fast music access. The transition comes on the heels of Real’s $761 million cash influx from a legal settlement with Microsoft, which also gives the Seattle-based company access to Microsoft’s MSN IM customers.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 7:12 AM | Print | Comments (0)
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