Thursday, March 27, 2008

March 27, 2008

MTV

Body Shop and MTV in charity campaign

The Body Shop and MTV Networks International are launching a global campaign that aims to raise funds for the Staying Alive Foundation, an HIV and AIDS charity. The retailer has created a new limited edition Guarana Lip Butter, which will be sold in its stores in 55 countries. All proceeds will go directly to the charity, which MTV founded in January 2005.

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=60140&d=258&h=262&f=3

MTV seeks Asian talent for IDs

MTV launched a campaign inviting young Asian artists to produce MTV idents (MIDs), representing an emblem of MTV identity and incorporating the MTV logo, to begin airing April 1, MTV said Wednesday.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/international/news/e3i7d4936f8e5dd3cf6479cae48128f7a7b

MTV orders Donald Trump's new 'Lady or a Tramp' reality series

MTV has ordered eight episodes of Lady or a Tramp, a new reality series that will take a group of girls out of their wild and crazy lifestyles and teaches them to become proper women, Daily Variety reported Tuesday. The series had originally been announced as under development by Fox last summer.

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/mtv-orders-donald-trump-new-lady-or-tramp-reality-series-6793.php

MTV to Launch Series on Multiple Platforms

MTV is launching a slate of shortform projects across multiple platforms, a strategy that includes debuting the Web-based comedy series "North Palm Wrestling" on the linear network. Also on the slate are three mobile series that will play on a combination of MTV-branded platforms.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3icc586a5d1a4f3c60eb06b89024aa4de6

On Air, On The Go & Online, MTV Is On Fire!

Sound the alarm ... MTV is officially on fire! Success wasn't limited to just programming as MTV properties ranging from video games to its network of online communities have also caught fire

http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20080326/NYW12226032008-1.html

UNIVISION

Televisa takes on Univision

Top-rated Spanish-language television broadcaster Univision is in danger of losing the bulk of its primetime programming because of an ongoing fight with its largest content provider. Mexican media titan Televisa is attempting to sever its 16-year-old exclusive license agreement with the U.S. broadcaster in a dispute about royalty payments.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ifff588c2bae9eaffd6ea306dfaa5fa2f?imw=Y

VIACOM

Viacom's Nick Show Gets More Interactive

Just watching TV is so 20th century, especially for the young audience of Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards. This year's show will let kids vote for their favorites via Nick.com, the TurboNick broadband site, a cell-phone-friendly Web site, and in a special area of its virtual community.

http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117982954.html

MOBILE NEWS

CBS Mobile Aims to Simplify News Hunting

CBS Mobile is partnering with a firm called Aggregate Knowledge, which sifts through click-histories of every story on mobile Web sites and looks at users in aggregate to find patterns so that it can recommend relevant Web content. CBS Mobile will offer the news feature this week.

http://www.news.com/newsblog/8301-10784_3-9903217-7.html

Comcast, Time Warner in Wireless Talks

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are said to be in talks to fund a new wireless Internet venture that would be run by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire. The partnership would create a nationwide network with faster wireless Web connection speeds than mobile operators' networks.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120648766842863793.html

Google Proposes Mobile Use of TV Airwaves

Google is proposing a plan that may let wireless Internet devices use vacant television airwaves. In a letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, Google offers suggestions on how the "white spaces" could provide high-speed mobile access to consumers without disrupting TVs.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4CLr1pIxzGY

OTHER NEWS

AOL Vets Launch Business on Facebook

Former AOL directors Laurence Hooper and Dan Goodman are launching a new venture on Facebook. Their startup, Loladex, is a local search engine that uses recommendations and ratings from online social networking platforms to return more specific results.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/03/24/daily32.html

Adify Widget Share Platform Lets Advertisers Distribute Content Across Sites

ADIFY HAS ROLLED OUT ADIFY Widget Share, a content syndication platform that lets advertisers and media outlets distribute content like Flash games, RSS feeds and video across sites within a given network.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=79260&Nid=40828&p=917272

Alternative Media Spending to Hit $161 Billion in 2012

Spending on so-called alternative media, including social networks, digital out-of-home networks and mobile content, will increase 20.2% to $88 billion in 2008, according to a new study. In its first report focusing on alternative media, PQ Media Research further forecasts that the fast-growing sector will hit nearly $161 billion by 2012, accounting for 26.6% of the total U.S. advertising and marketing spending.

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=79247&Nid=40829&p=917272

Google Invests in Social-Networking Firm

Google is investing $1 million in Chinese online social-networking tech startup Comsenz. U.S. Internet firms are seeking a stronger foothold in the growing Chinese market. Also: Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page each took home their customary $1 annual salary in 2007.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/google-invests-chinese-social-networking-firm/story.aspx?guid=%7B060E4AAD%2D7748%2D48FE%2DB0BD%2D5A079F8EFDB4%7D

Hearst Magazines to Buy Answerology.com

Hearst Magazines plans to acquire Answerology.com, a site and technology that enables users to pose questions to a targeted community around relationship-related topics such as dating, family, career and marriage. Answerology's Q&A technology will be integrated into Hearst Web sites.

http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/080326/0379559.html

Mercedes Launches Its Own Web TV Station

Carmaker Mercedes-Benz is launching its own music show on its own Internet-based television station. The new "Mixed Tape Music Magazine" is an online show featuring video clips by artists such as Jennifer Lopez. The marketing drive mirrors the migration of advertising to the Web.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120649040498764019.html

Microsoft Partners With Social Networks to Improve Data Portability

Adapting to an increasingly open and wall-less Web, Microsoft on Tuesday agreed to let users of its Windows Live platform share their contact lists with five of the top social networks: Facebook, Bebo, LinkedIn, Tagged and Hi5

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=79248&Nid=40828&p=917272

MySpace, Google, Yahoo to Form Foundation

Google, Yahoo and MySpace plan to form the OpenSocial Foundation to ensure the neutrality of OpenSocial as an open, community-governed specification for building social applications across the Web. The foundation will be an independent non-profit entity.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7bADF07A1A-EDCC-456E-B3D4-667F43282A6F%7D

Time Warner's AOL Faces Ad Obstacles

Time Warner's AOL unit is aiming to transform from an Internet service provider into a full-service digital-advertising business. To that end, it has spent about $1 billion to buy seven ad-technology firms. AOL's future is seen to hinge on the success of knitting them all together.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120649623563164451.html

USA Network Rebrands Online Gaming Site

USA Network will play in the online gaming arena under the "Character Arcade" brand with 20 new games and a new pitch to advertisers. Formerly dubbed Character Game Lounge, USA's gaming site generates 30 million page views a month -- half of USA's usanetwork.com traffic.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6544899.html

Wealthy Consumers Using Social Networks Online

According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, the participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16% for MySpace, 13% for LinkedIn, and 11% for Facebook.

http://blogs.mediapost.com/research_brief/?p=1668#comments

Wikipedia Awarded $3M Foundation Grant

The nonprofit group behind Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia built by volunteers, is getting its largest donation ever -- $3 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The award will help Wikimedia hire more staff as it seeks to improve the reach of its content.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080325/ap_on_hi_te/wikipedia_finances

Youth Bypassing News for Social Media

Interviews and surveys suggest that younger voters tend to be not just news consumers but conduits as well, e-mailing links and videos to friends and their social networks. In essence, they are replacing professional filters -- the Washington Post, CNN.com -- with a social one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/us/politics/27voters.html

YouTube to Provide More Viewership Info

Google's YouTube is giving contributors more details about who's watching their video clips and when, offering advertisers additional insights to target their pitches. The free program also could help bands schedule their concerts and help anyone time the release of a new video.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_on_hi_te/youtube_stats

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