Seth Gilbert, 09-12-2007
Google has MySpace. Microsoft has Facebook. Now, at least in some markets, Yahoo has Bebo.
Yahoo today won a multi year deal to manage the bulk of display and video advertising on social networking site Bebo within certain geographies.
Yahoo already powered the site search functionality on Bebo but this new deal with give them management responsibilities for ad inventory for Bebo’s UK and Irish users. The Yahoo Answers property will also get further integration into the social network and a new browser toolbar is in development.
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Seth Gilbert,
Sometimes there is greater value in the sum of a company’s parts, other times, breaking things up just leads to confusion and lost value (or lost customers). Fearing the latter to be the case with their web strategy, MTV Networks is regrouping some of their slate of websites into a new consolidated property.
In a tip of the hat to the rapid growth of Spike TV, the new site will be called Spike.com. It will be home to the former Spike TV website along with video site iFilm. Some content from gaming site GameTrailers and Xfire will also move over though those properties will retain their own URL’s.
The new site will target the same audiences in the 18-34 age group as they did when operated individually but as a consolidated effort, and with audience overlap erased, the company hopes they’ll now be better positioned for ad sales. (And single ad team should mean lower cost overhead too) Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert,
Few brands have gone through more reinvention in less than a decade then Netscape. Since it was acquired by AOL in 1999 (primarily for its browser technology) the online website seemed to be constantly in flux; used as something of an sandbox for testing new concepts. In 2005, flash animation was the technology du jour. By 2006 it was abandoned and replaced with social news format similar to the now popular Digg. Now, another year later, they’ve scrapped that too and are backtracking and reinventing again.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-11-2007
Yesterday after the close of market video game publisher Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) reported their 3rd quarter financial results.
The New York company has had a rough year. Not only have they been embattled and burdened by investigations into their options practices but in early August they announced they their premier game, Grand Theft Auto, would miss its October launch (and the holiday shopping season). The game’s arrival was pushed back into 2008. Also, in March, shareholders revolted and booted board members and management. This quarter’s earnings may be the first sign things may be improving. Buoyed in part by the sale of their game based on the Fantastic Four movie franchise they beat expectations.
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Seth Gilbert,
In late July, just as HBO’s ThisJustIn video channel was getting canceled, another Internet video studio and distribution channel was coming online in Hollywood. Rob Barnett, a former exec at CBS radio who also did time at MTV and VH1, launched MyDamnChannel with creative assistance from entertainment industry veterans Don Was, Harry Shearer and David Wain. (A detailed Metue profile of the original launch can be found here)
From the start, like Vuguru and 60 Frames Entertainment, the company’s aim was to create original professional quality content for syndication around the net. Unlike those competitors, their plans included the launch of a distribution site of their own. Taking a multi-pronged approach, MyDamnChannel syndicated their videos on a YouTube channel and also provided embed codes to allow viewers to link or include the videos on their own sites while they were actively looking for syndication partnerships. Now, a little more than a month later, they’ve found their second partner in a deal with MySpace.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-10-2007
Joining a host of production houses from startups to media powerhouses, Warner Brothers will release a wide offering of original video programming for Internet distribution.
The new programming, expected to be revealed today in greater detail, reverses an initial strategy that aimed to offload production costs onto advertisers. Instead, as part of revitalized web strategy that includes a television spin off of their site TMZ.com and a planned animation-only video portal (called T-Works) , Warner is planning to spend at least $3m for web production.
The slate of content will include at least 24 productions in formats ranging from games and serials to short films. Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert,
With much of the drama largely over and the merger going ahead, a few days ago Dow Jones and News Corp filed preliminary documents outlining the merger of the two companies. The filings, which are required under securities law, are extensive in length, “preliminary” in form and heavy on legalese, but they provide an incredibly detailed window in to the events leading up to the merger announcement as well as the terms eventually agreed on.
The documents show, behind the scenes the soap opera characterized in the board room barely scratched the surface of the true level of corporate intrigue. Click to Read More
