In a potentially cool development, Verizon has launched a policy blog. More surprisingly, at first blush it doesn’t seem like a pathetic corporate attempt to shovel lobbying or PR materials at non-existent readers. It’s called PoliBlog and in the first posting, Verizon honcho and former Congressman from Iowa Tom Tauke explains why Verizon has taken to blogging.
Before I get hit with a blogswarm, I want you to know that we understand that the blogosphere is naturally dubious of a blog with a corporate pedigree. While this may seem a bit counterintuitive, PoliBlog is not intended as a “corporate” blog. Instead, it is our effort to find a place in the universal town square. We are players in the communications and broadband worlds. What we do or don’t do has real impact. So we think we should offer our perspectives and positions on issues and subject them to scrutiny, comment, and debate. It’s good for us. And it’s healthy for the policymaking process.
Now, it’s entirely possible that Verizon is being slicker-than-slick by saying “we’re not a typical, biased corporate blog” and by not barging out the door and banging all of us on the head with a bunch of one-way arguments on, say, net neutrality or video franchising. It’s possible that the telco has a devious master plan to pass off PoliBlog as a more or less legitimate blog, albeit a corporate-backed one, in order to lure people in…only to mess with our heads or spew forth lobbying or PR materials later.
If Verizon doesn’t give in to this putative master plan, however, kudos to the telco for at least trying to join the conversation. It’s time that big telecom and media companies explain themselves in a more open, enlightened way and a blog like PoliBlog is a good place to start…so long as Verizon keeps the spin to a minimum.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 5:47 PM | Print | Comments (0)
By now interesting deals that put traditional TV shows on the web are almost commonplace, but given how unstoppable News Corp.’s MySpace seems, the announcement today that Fox will stream a wide selection of its primetime TV shows on the social networking giant’s site is noteworthy in and of itself. But, a more intriguing twist is why Fox, owned by News Corp. too, is doing this.
The network hopes that it will hold onto some of its new shows’ fan base when MLB playoffs hijack its programming schedule, providing a way to hang onto non-baseball fans during the programming interruptions and pick them back up again after the series has ended. Starting today, a new section of the site, MySpace.com/fox, will feature streamed episodes of “Bones,” “Prison Break,” “Standoff,” “Vanished,” “Talk Show With Spike Feresten,” “‘Til Death,” “The Loop” and “Justice.” The network says that additional shows will be added during the coming weeks.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 5:33 PM | Print | Comments (0)
Comcast has turned its VOD development attention to political campaigns and is now offering candidates the option to buy VOD time on the digital line-up. “Elections 2006” is a new political advertising VOD category offered by the cable giant which the company contends is a more effective way for candidates to reach viewers because the longer-form video expands beyond the typical advertising sound-bite.
The political-casting option is part of Comcast’s in-house ad company Spotlight’s new effort to sell VOD time to all kinds of advertisers. The company has launched a new VOD category for its digital customers called Searchlight — advertisers can buy on-demand slots, which are free to viewers. The new campaign-oriented option is called simply OnDemand Political Advertising.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 1:14 PM | Print | Comments (0)Ad Age has published its annual revenue report for the top 100 media companies and, no surprise, finds that Internet and cable were the growth engines powering a 6.6% increase in 2005 U.S. media revenue, which totaled $268.48 billion.
The biggest media company, using AdAge’s definition of what constitutes a media company, is Time Warner, which posted $33.73 billion in revenue for 2005. Comcast is number two, with $22.08 billion in revenue, followed by Walt Disney Co. ($17.15 billion), News Corp. ($12.56 billion) and NBC Universal ($12.44 billion).
The best part, however, is Ad Age’s “flow chart” which graphically depicts the properties owned by the biggest 15 (plus Liberty Media, not in the top 15) media players. This chart is available in poster format (download here) and well worth printing out as a guide to the increasingly diversified, inter-linked media giant landscape.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:56 AM | Print | Comments (0)PC World’s Grant Gross has this quick-and-easy read on all the pieces of tech and Internet-related legislation that are unfinished and awaiting Congress’ return from a month-long mid-term elections break. Congress has adjourned until November 9, when everyone returns for a “lame-duck” session.
This particular lame-duck session promises to be a wilder and woolier legislative period than most — lame duck sessions can turn into legislative free-for-alls — given that the Republican majority in Congress is increasingly at risk.
Still pending before Congress are bills that
Stay tuned for a lot of activity by the tired, and for many, voted-out-of-office, legislators after November 9.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 7:58 AM | Print | Comments (0)
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