Articles of the Day
Ten Key Online Predictions for 2008 - The beginning of the new calendar year is the perfect time to get out the crystal ball and give it a polish. The analysts at eMarketer have issued their predictions for 2008 in key online areas, including advertising, videos, social networks, e-commerce and entertainment. Insert sigh of relief here: The forecast finds online advertising will ride out potential economic storms in the U.S.
Online Ad Business Recession-Proof, Analysts Say - Despite the likelihood of a U.S. economic recession, Piper Jaffray remains cautiously optimistic about the performance of Internet companies in the new year. “Whereas Internet advertising budgets were the first to be cut during the market crash in 2000, we believe the proven high ROI of online advertising today will make online advertising resilient even with a recession in the United States,” according to a report released Monday.
Online Media Sees 69% Spike In M&As In 2007 - Leading all sectors with 306 transactions in 2007, online media saw a 69% increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions and a 33% rise in value over 2006 levels, investment banking firm The Jordan, Edmiston Group reported Monday.
Microsoft To Allow Xbox 360 Owners To Download Network Shows - Through partnerships with several top media companies, Microsoft plans to allow Xbox 360 owners to download network shows directly to their game consoles. On board are Walt Disney’s ABC, CBS Corp.’s Showtime Networks, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Microsoft said last year that it would sell an Xbox 360 console that doubles as a TV set-top box.
Advertising And Its Discontents - Client discontent reached an all-time high last year, as $27.5 billion went into review last year. The figure represents a 57 percent increase over 2006 and a $5 billion increase over the previous record of $22 billion in 2005. The number of clients that switched ad agencies was also up 20 percent to 153, compared to 128 in 2006. The data was compiled through an analysis of accounts totaling over $20 million.
ComScore Expands Widget Measurement - Social networking sites like MySpace could reach $1 billion in ad sales by the end of the year, but widget makers won’t be seeing much of that revenue. For all their traffic, social networks still aren’t properly monetized. Part of the problem for widget makers, which aim to make money by developing software for social networks, is a lack of reliable data about how many people use their products. ComScore, sensing a big opportunity for advertisers, wants to fill that void. According to the Web measurement firm, nearly 586 million Internet users viewed embedded software in November 2007, a massive figure when you consider that the population of the United States is 300 million. Meanwhile, ad spending on widgets was a mere $20 million in 2007.
Media Execs: Forget Paid Downloads - Hollywood executives revealed that advertising has become the digital revenue model of choice for its productions after years of pithy revenues from paid downloads. During a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, executives overseeing digital distribution for ABC Disney TV, Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. Most of the talk centered around high-quality streaming on-demand video.
Yahoo to be more social under CEO Yang revival plan - Chief Executive Jerry Yang on Monday highlighted his vision for reinvigorating the pioneering Web company and solidifying Yahoo’s role as the essential starting point for Web users. In the co-founder’s first major speech since taking over as CEO in June, Yang told an industry conference about inroads Yahoo is making in putting Web services on mobile phones and provided a glimpse into its evolving overall strategy. He said services would be more social, making it easier for users to update friends automatically on their Web activities.
Comcast Takes On BitTorrent, Others With Streaming Video Service - Comcast today is set to enter the growing field of companies offering online streams of TV shows online with the launch of Fancast. Like AOL’s two-year-old In2TV, Fancast is offering a host of old programs like “Hill Street Blues” and “Remington Steele.” The site also has a slate of current programs including “Bones” and “The Office” from NBC/Fox’s Hulu.com, CBS and Viacom.
