Articles of the Day
Microsoft/aQuantive Deal Days From Closing - Shareholders of aQuantive approved the purchase by Microsoft at an 85% premium in a sparsely attended special meeting in Seattle on Thursday. The deal is expected to close within days.
Marchex Buys Call-Based Ad Company, Hires About.com Co-Founder - Local search marketing company Marchex took two big steps on Thursday that add the missing phone component to its advertising solutions and a new Chief Media Officer Bill Day, who helped build the model for local user-generated content as co-founder of About.com.
Yahoo Launches Traffic Quality Center - Yahoo set up a site for advertisers to learn more about click fraud and online traffic quality–among other things.
Video Downloading Gets Low Consumer Marks - Only one in five U.S. consumers who have downloaded video say they plan to do it again, reports market research firm Parks Associates.
Internet Gridlock Forecast From Olympic-Sized Downloads - Without ample and immediate investment, the information superhighway is destined for gridlock, warns a report released Thursday by a Washington, D.C.-based lobby and policy group. Specifically, the report questions the readiness for NBC’s Web coverage of the 2008 Olympics in China, which is expected to generate thousands of real-time hours of high-bandwidth programming.
Internet Radio to Outstrip HD Radio - Internet radio’s modest success has brought unwelcome attention from the music industry, which is moving to collect more revenue when Webcasters play copyrighted music. But the online stations are still growing, and some sources suggest that they will outpace other types of new radio, including HD radio. Internet radio will generate ad revenues of $19.7 billion in 2020, equal to those of terrestrial radio in 2006, according to a Bridge Ratings press release issued in August 2007.
NBC Needs To Give Hiro Partnership Time - The world of streaming and downloadable media is an area Big Media has to figure out if it wants to maintain its dominant position in the media business. NBC Universal recently announced an innovative step forward in partnering with Israeli company Hiro Media, which embeds dynamic ads into media files, for its comedy service DotComedy. Hiro’s technology allows ad-supported NBC files to be distributed across file-sharing networks pervaded by illegal trading. A technology like Hiro’s is one answer to the massive headache caused by piracy to traditional media companies–especially if they upload files containing ad-supported content by the thousands.
UMG Opens Music To All But Apple - This is a test, this is only a test: Universal Music Group has decided to experiment with selling digital rights management-free music, planning a six-month nationwide test in which most of its popular content will be sold using the universal MP3 format. Music sellers like Amazon, RealNetworks, BestBuy, Wal-Mart and others will all get a chance to sell UMG’s DRM-free music; conspicuously, Apple’s iTunes was left out of the test, per its contractual issues with the iPod maker.
Facebook in Student-Focused Partnership with Wal-Mart - Facebook is partnering with Wal-Mart to launch a service where high-school students about to enter college in the US can join a Facebook group where they can receive information about decorating their college room and get a list of recommended products from Wal-Mart. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The ‘Roommate Style Match’ group on Facebook allows members of the group to download a shopping-list of items to go in their college dormitory room.
TheStreet.com Buys Corsis To Beef Up Ad Play - TheStreet.com purchased interactive marketing services company Corsis Technology Group for $20.7 million–including Promotions.com, which Corsis had acquired quietly from NBC Universal/iVillage during the past few months.
Discovery to Drive Green Initiative with Treehugger Acquisition - Discovery plans to use new acquisition Treehugger to drive the direction of the US TV network’s green efforts online, following the purchase of the eco-lifestyle website in a deal rumoured to be worth between USD10m and USD15m. Discovery will integrate Treehugger and its user-generated content site Hugg.com with the PlanetGreen network, which boasts a USD50m investment and plans to launch a 24-hour green TV channel in early 2008.
Murdoch’s NDS Buys Streaming Video Company - NDS Group PLC, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., has made a small but potentially significant acquisition–just over $11 million in cash–of CastUp Inc., an Israeli-based streaming video provider.
Datran Adds Display With Chintano Acquisition - Email marketing specialist Datran Media expanded its four-month-old Exchange Online by acquiring ad-serving company Chintano. The company also adds former DoubleClick executive Scott Knoll as SVP/GM.
Hearst Acquires Kaboodle - Never mind the kit: Kaboodle alone costs over $30 million. That’s the social shopping community’s rumored price tag, anyway, following an acquisition by Hearst Corp.; Kenneth A. Bronfin, the president of Hearst Interactive Media, explained that his company thinks Kaboodle “will bring to social shopping what MySpace has brought to social media.”
Apollo Buying Online Ad Network, Aptimus - Education services company, Apollo, is buying online ad network, Aptimus, in USD6.25 per share all cash deal valued at around USD48m. No deal terms were disclosed. Apollo says the deal advances the company’s aim to increase the capacity of its online ad investments to raise awareness of its education services. Aptimus says the company will continue providing its service to internet publishers and other advertising customers.
Scripps Networks Buys Incando For Social Networking - Scripps Networks has acquired Incando Corp., which operates the personal media-sharing service Pickle.com. It’s the second digital media buy in under a month for the company. Both purchases focused on sites based on user-generated content. $4.7MM transaction.
Blockbuster Buys Movielink Download Service - What’s the movie download market like? Well, after reviewing Blockbuster’s purchase of Movielink on Thursday-estimated at under $20 million by The Wall Street Journal–not so good. Why? The big movie studios backing the movie downloading startup (Warner Bros., MGM, Paramount, Universal and Sony) reportedly dumped more than $100 million into the joint venture. A cheap Movielink, on the market for well over a year, underscores the fact that consumers aren’t that interested in purchasing and downloading movies.
