May 6, 2008

BET

Multi-Platinum Rapper and Actor T.I. Speaks to Toure about His Trouble With the Law in a BET News National Exclusive

In his first televised interview since a plea bargain on weapon charges, multi-platinum recording artist and actor T.I., a.k.a. Clifford Harris, Jr., speaks exclusively to BET News in the half-hour special T.I. SPEAKS

CBS

CBS Pitching Sticky Videos to Advertisers

When selling marketers on digital deals at this year's upfront advertising market, CBS plans to claim that it engages audiences better than its competitors. The network is preparing research on how many video streams it serves and how audiences use streaming of its TV shows.

New Play.It Media Player Offers Personalization, Contextual Ads

Creating a personalized radio station with CBS Radio Station unveils the Player.Play.It media player, which will offer a group stations together. The player will also feature large space for contextual ads that displays marketers' slides. It will also feature new internet-only stations, such as archives from New York City classic rock station WNEW.

CW NETWORK

Now, In Daytime, CW Targets Older Women Viewers

The CW Television Network is teaming up with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to create a daily two-hour afternoon 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. programming block — a new one-hour TV court show, “Judge Jeanine Pirro,” as well as two half-hour off-net comedies, “The Wayans Bros” and “The Jamie Foxx Show.”

FOX

Fox Interactive Media to Prep Auto Ad Service

Fox Interactive Media is developing a service for creating video and display advertisements targeted to small, local advertisers. The offering, dubbed FIM AdStore, will be accessible via local Fox TV station Web sites and allow advertisers to create ads without working with a salesperson.

Fox to Reinforce That TV Is Still King

While rivals NBC and CBS are approaching the upfront marketplace with sales presentations that include hefty pitches for their digital platforms, Fox is concentrating its efforts on selling television. Compared to online and print, TV advertising "proved the most effective."

MySpace adds Karaoke

Nearly two years after Fox Interactive purchased the karaoke site kSolo.com, its feature-set has finally been integrated into MySpace. “The combination of MySpace and kSolo allows users to upload audio recordings of them singing everything from R. Kelly to Richie Valens to their profile page”

News Corp Could Lose Trial Over Murdoch

If Rupert Murdoch doesn't testify in a lawsuit that accuses one of his companies of corporate espionage, it could cost News Corp. hundreds of millions of dollars, says the federal judge in the trial. News Corp. unit NDS is accused of hacking into EchoStar/DISH Network's security code.

MTV

MTV Adapts to Ratings System for Commercials

Once a skeptic, MTV Networks has become a convert to commercial ratings. In the first quarter of 2008, MTV recorded an 83.8 percent “retention rate,” meaning that nearly one in five of its viewers didn’t watch the commercials. VH1 ­ which, like MTV, is a unit of Viacom ­ fared almost as poorly, with a retention rate of 84.5 percent.

MTV Movie Award Nominations Show Some McLovin To 'Superbad,' 'Juno,' 'Transformers' And More

From affectionate spoofs to gushing tributes, for 16 years the MTV Movie Awards have been about celebrating the best in film and recognizing Hollywood's biggest stars. This year, finally, the show is getting a little McLovin back.

MTV's new 'Legally Blonde The Musical' reality series to debut June 2

MTV has announced Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, a new Grease: You're the One that I Want-like reality series that will aim to find an actress to take over the lead in Broadway's Legally Blonde production, will premiere Monday, June 2 at 10PM ET/PT.

MTV's 'True Life' opens up secret lives of teens

MTV presents three brand new episodes from the award winning documentary series “True Life” starting on Thursday, May 15th at 10pm ET/PT with “I Have Embarrassing Parents 2,” Thursday, May 22nd at 10pm ET/PT with “I Have Schizophrenia,” and Thursday, May 29th at 10pm ET/PT with “I Live Another Life on the Web.”

UNIVISON

New Ad-Funded Soccer Reality Series for Univision

Univision and The Vidal Partnership have teamed up for the soccer-based entertainment property El Juego Supremo (The Ultimate Match), with Nissan North America and Sprint as the exclusive network sponsors.

VIACOM

Redstone: No 'Battle' Between Viacom, CBS

Sumner Redstone is downplaying speculation of a "battle" between his Viacom and CBS, saying such talk "has been manufactured" by the media. Redstone also says: "We cannot tolerate piracy by anyone, including YouTube." Plus: "I will not object" to the return of Tom Cruise.

VH1 Hits a High Note With 'Blog Parties'

Viacom's VH1, launched in 1985 as MTV's lite-leaning sister, is seen as a "television success story" and "a blueprint for other networks looking to reinvigorate their brand." Among other online initiatives, the network hosts "blog parties" in tandem with some of its hit shows.

Viacom Chairman: Won't Tolerate Piracy By Video Sharing Web Sites

Sumner Redstone, executive chairman of Viacom Inc. (VIA, VIAB) and CBS Corp. (CBS), Tuesday called on Internet operators to step up protection of content providers' copyrights and reiterated that he won't tolerate piracy by video sharing Web sites such as YouTube.

Viacom 'Marvels' at Summer Film Prospects

The summer is looking super for Viacom following a $100 million opening weekend at the U.S. box office for "Iron Man," from its Paramount Pictures unit. Up next is "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which could be among the biggest hits of the summer.

Viacom to Invest $100M in New Channel

Viacom plans to invest up to $100 million in the premium channel it is launching with two other movie studios, and the venture is talking to other potential partners about the new pay-TV network. Viacom is speaking "freely to potential distributors across many, many platforms."

AFRICA

BONELA calls for HIV law

The Botswana Network on Ethics Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA) has called on government to protect the rights of workers by passing a law on HIV at the work place.

Cameroon: Centre - Youths Revise Strategies to Combat HIV

A two-day national youths symposium to review the recommendations and findings of the Cameroon Report Card on the prevention of HIV among young girls and young women ended last Saturday in Yaounde.

Grannies Help Grannies Cope with Aids

In the last of a three-part series interviews with AllAfrica, Stephen Lewis, formerly special envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa for United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, tells Cindy Shiner of the resilience of Africans fighting Aids and of the work of his foundation.

Rwanda: New Children's Booklet On HIV/Aids Launched

A new booklet sensitizing children on relevant and accurate information about sexuality and dangers of HIV/Aids has been launched.

SOUTH AFRICA: Government urged to raise treatment standards

HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines for South Africa's public health sector are out of sync not only with those of many other countries in the region, but also with the latest research on how to most effectively treat people living with HIV.

South Africa: Media's Critical Role in Fighting HIV/Aids

Various speakers and panellists, including Nelson Mandela's wife Graca Machel, who addressed delegates at the 2008 International Public Television (Input) Conference in Johannesburg, have launched a persuasive call to the media worldwide to play a critical role in combating HIV/Aids, which continues to wipe entire communities. "It is clear that with the digital developments the media can help spread a powerful message out there to make a difference," Dali Mpofu, SABC CEO and chairperson of Global Media Aids Initiative (GMAI), said.

ASIA

CHINA: MTV granted Games exclusive

MTV Networks China has received exclusive landing rights into the Beijing Olympic Village at the Beijing Olympics 2008. Approved by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), MTV China will be the only music television channel to broadcast over the private Olympic CATV network to all of the Olympic related competition venues and hotels from June 24, 2008.

INDIA: Viacom 18 to launch entertainment channel in July

Viacom 18, a 50:50 joint venture of Viacom and TV 18, is planning to launch a general entertainment channel 'Colors' in July.

"The launch of 'Colors' would make Viacom 18 one of the strongest entertainment Networks in India.

UN launches workplace HIV initiative to protect staff

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched on Tuesday UN Cares, a new workplace program on HIV, to provide such services as training, counseling and testing for UN staff and their families.

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of Aids

In Haiti a few months ago, I sat in on an Oxfam-organised HIV-awareness workshop with a dozen teenagers in one of the Port-au-Prince slums. All the girls had children, some more than one. They all believed that you could best avoid Aids - or “homosexuals' diarrhoea” as the disease is commonly known in Haiti - by having sex only when in the sea.

Two Jamaicans make bold move in tackling HIV/AIDS

Two persons have taken a bold move to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Jamaica through volunteering to participate in the country's vaccine programme, which seeks to fine a cure for this deadly disease.

HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS

Condom brand LifeStyles offers Make-Out Booth

Say cheese. Condom brand LifeStyles has come up with an updated version of the old drugstore photo booth with a suggestive twist. Its so-called Make-Out Booth dispenses free black-and-white photos of the person (or couple) in the booth — along with condoms.

Deadly consequences of ignorance

Gabrielle Martineau flew into a rage when a blood test confirmed she had unknowingly infected her baby daughter with the virus that causes AIDS. Trusting that she was in a monogamous relationship, Martineau didn't practise safe sex. She was planning to have a baby. But her partner hadn't revealed a crucial health factor: his HIV positive status.

U.S. Urgently Needs AIDS Prevention Program, Expert Says

Faced with an alarming incidence of HIV/AIDS among African Americans and Latinos, the nation urgently needs to begin a domestic program to curb the spread of the disease, according to a nationally recognized AIDS policy expert.

MOBLE NEWS

AP to Launch News Service Geared for iPhone

The Associated Press and 107 of its member newspapers are launching a service that will make news stories available on Apple's iPhone and other mobile devices. The service, delivering local news organized by ZIP code, will share advertising revenues with the news providers.

OTHER MEDIA NEWS

Alternative Media Forecast to See Growth

By 2012, alternative media will comprise 26.6% of all U.S. advertising spending, according to a forecast by PQ Media, led by Internet forums and blogs. New technologies are creating "a generation of elusive consumers" that appears to be bypassing traditional media.

Hearst in Partnership With Internet Radio

Hearst's Seventeen magazine is joining with Internet radio startup Jango to launch a series of co-branded music widgets on Seventeen.com, enabling users to listen to the favorite music of celebrities like Ashlee Simpson and put those widgets on their own sites.

IAB Introduces Online Video Ad Guidelines

The Interactive Advertising Bureau is introducing a set of guidelines aimed at bringing more standards to online video advertising -- and ultimately to make the still burgeoning medium easier for advertisers to buy. "This is a historic day," proclaims IAB CEO Randall Rothenberg.

IDG Moves Its Magazines Beyond Print

IDG, the world's largest publisher of tech publications like PC World, appears to have made a profitable migration to the Internet, with revenue from online ads now surpassing print revenue. "There is a better life after print," says founder Patrick J. McGovern.

LinkedIn Social Network Raises More Funding

LinkedIn, the social-networking site for business professionals, is said to be raising a new round of funding. LinkedIn previously raised $27.5 million from venture firms Sequoia Capital, Greylock and Bessemer Venture Partners. The new round reportedly values the company at $1 billion.

Mediaweek.com Relaunches With Video

Following Nielsen Business Media's recent redesign of The Hollywood Reporter's Web site, sister trade publication Mediaweek is unveiling a new look online, with more video, webcasts and podcasts. "We have to change in order to survive," says Jim Cooper, executive editor.

Microsoft's Zune to Offer TV Download Service

Microsoft is going after the TV download market with its Zune device. The company is adding 800 episodes from NBC Universal, MTV Networks and others. While the offerings pale next to the selection at Apple's iTunes Store, Zune aims to "launch with what we've got" and build from there.

NBC News Launches Video Site for Kids

NBC News is launching an education site that features video from its archives. Aimed at kids 13 years and older, the free iCue.com lets students stockpile video clips, annotate them and share them with friends. The site works on the premise that "video will replace the textbook."

NBC Uses YouTube to Drive Traffic to Hulu

NBC's return to YouTube with an official channel represents an acknowledgment of the power of Google's community. NBC's new Hulu channel on YouTube features brief clips from popular shows, along with the statement: "At Hulu.com, you can watch videos like this one, for free."

Newspapers Likely to Be Free in the Future

Newspapers seeking to compete with the Internet are likely to become free and place greater emphasis on comment and opinion in the future, according to a survey of the world's editors for the World Editors Forum and Reuters. Also, newspaper editors say they are still "optimistic."

NY Times Digital-Age Woes Set for Documentary

Gay Talese, author of the 1969 "The Kingdom and the Power," about the New York Times, is working with fellow Times alum Arthur Gelb on a documentary about the newspaper's struggles in the digital age. "It's about the difficulty of convincing young people to read it," he says.

Sports Illustrated Takes Game to Facebook

Sports Illustrated is entering an agreement with Citizen Sports develop a fantasy-football game that will be played on Facebook. The move is seen as an admission by the iconic Time Inc. sports brand that it needs to do more than draw traffic to its own Web site.

Some Media Sectors Remain Hot, Experts Say

Social networking and advertising networks are attractive sectors for investors in new media, according to panelists speaking at the Digital Hollywood conference in Hollywood. Also, investors should not look for any meaningful returns "for about five years."

Yahoo: We're Still Open to Microsoft Takeover

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang says he would be open to another bid from Microsoft or other companies at a price he considers appropriate. While the Internet firm isn't officially for sale, it would listen, "should somebody else come back someday and want to buy the company."