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If at first you don’t succeed, reinvent and try again.   That’s a mantra known at many an Internet startup.  And according to a new report, it looks like it applies to IPTV startup, Joost.

A couple of years ago, peer to peer IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) was all the rage.  There were content partnerships and huge eight figure financing’s.  High profile execs and even talent agents were hired.  “It’s the next new thing.”  “The TV of the Future” the headlines seemed to read.  Unfortunately there were cracks in an otherwise pretty facade and they’re now starting to show.  

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It was rumored in May, tested in a limited beta in July and now it’s here.  Thursday, Amazon officially opened the door to their new on demand video service.  It’s download free, straight through the pipes, streamed on demand; another Internet TV and movie distribution platform in an already crowded marketplace.

The not so creatively named Amazon Video on Demand is an evolution of Amazon’s prior generation Unbox video service.  Unlike Unbox, Amazon Video on Demand requires no software downloads to view the video streams.  Audiences can instantly watch widescreen format, stereo TV and movie content via the browser on their PC or Mac.  They can also watch the programming via their TV if they have the appropriate hardware extensions (or are able to connect a PC to a computer). Click to Read More

There’s a natural affinity between movies and video games, an overlap apparent in the convergence of story lines and visual techniques.  Like many studios, Paramount has seen this and recognizes the potential games bring for ancillary sales and cross media marketing.  In March, the Viacom owned movie studio formed a division within their interactive department to explore funding the development (and publication) of gaming titles.  In July, the studio partnered with Legacy Interactive to build Internet games around their Pretty in Pink, Clueless and Mean Girls films.   Now, Paramount has opened their checkbook to make their first gaming related purchase too.

Paramount has bought Washington based ScreenLife, the makers of a popular DVD trivia game called “Scene It.”  Click to Read More

TV Guide called Seinfeld the best TV show of all time in 2002.  Debatable as that claim may be, the show did unequivocally define part of the 90s TV landscape and leave a lasting impression with audiences.  But as the story goes, “Seinfeld” almost died in its first year on the air.  TV is a cutthroat business and there’s tremendous pressure for new, or fledgling, shows to build audience and draw advertising dollars fast.  No studio or network wants to carry the “overhead” and red ink of an under-performing show.  That’s especially true today in a time when Internet technologies, gaming and other pastimes are expanding the options and access we have for amusements. Every tool in the marketers arsenal is fair game – even releasing premiers ahead of their formal broadcast debuts.

For Hulu, a video website jointly owned by News Corp (Fox) and NBC (along with ten percent to private equity partner Providence Equity), that’s good news.  Click to Read More

Convergence is the keyword and just about every media and technology company with a chip in the game is betting on it through some form of technology or content integration.  Wednesday at the Intel Developers Conference, the biggest news among many announcements was the surprise pitch that Intel and Yahoo are joining together in a tie-up aimed at grabbing one of the biggest prizes: the marriage of Internet interactivity and traditional TV.  They’re calling the offering “Widget Channel.”

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Every major TV broadcast company seems to be exploring video on demand services but some are having a harder time than others. It appears the UK’s VOD joint venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 has been delayed again.

The Project Kangaroo offering, which has been called the UK’s replication of Hulu (a joint venture between News Corp and NBC Universal, was stalled in June to allow for an antitrust review by the Competition Commission (“CC”).

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From market research firms and trade groups, there are so many projections, forecasts and numbers thrown to the airwaves that it can become really difficult to keep track. To ease the burden, we periodically consolidate the info to one report. We’ve done comparative stats that put numbers in a context , and we’ve industry specific data dumps. This latest editionof the occasional "Metue: By The Numbers" report is a buffet from across the media, entertainment and technology sector. There’s a little on publishing, a little on web usage, some gaming data, TV… something for all interests. Metue By the Numbers:

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