Articles of the Day
Sprint First To Offer Direct Access to MySpace Mobile - Sprint has become the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer customers with Web-capable phones direct access to MySpace Mobile on its wireless portal. The deal lets users edit MySpace profiles, view and add friends, post to blogs, and exchange MySpace messages, among other things, via a direct link from Sprint’s mobile deck at no extra cost. Sprint’s MySpace advantage may be short-lived, however, as the social networking site plans to announce similar direct-access arrangements with other wireless carriers in the coming weeks. By saving mobile users from having to type in the MySpace WAP address, the company aims to boost traffic to the mobile site.
Newspaper Consortium Strikes Deal With Quadrant - OneThe Newspaper Consortium, a group of 26 newspaper publishers, has agreed to offer online ad space on a consistent basis to quadrantONE, the online ad sales network launched last month by Gannett Co., Hearst Corp., The New York Times Co., and Tribune Co. QuadrantONE is owned by its four founding companies, but has actively sought affiliate partners to create a larger pool of online ad inventory for national advertisers.Of the consortium’s 425 newspaper sites, 138 are being made available to quadrantOne immediately, while more are expected to be added in the future. The initial boost nearly doubles the size of the quadrantOne network to about 250 newspapers.
Buyers Can Assess Contextual Performance And Take Action Via ADSDAQ Tool - ContextWeb, Inc., a contextual advertising company and operator of the ADSDAQ Exchange, has launched the ADSDAQ Exchange Agency Trading Desk: a technology platform that will enable media buyers to see how their online ad campaigns are performing and–more importantly–offer a way to instantly adjust buys accordingly. With the push of a dashboard button, buyers can purchase more inventories in the better-performing contextual areas and offer to sell inventory that is underperforming. The trading desk can track campaigns running outside of the ADSDAQ Exchange system, giving media agencies an efficient and effective way to track campaign performance against more than 386 contextual categories of inventory.
Mefeedia Rolls Out Comprehensive Multimedia Search Features - The Burbank, Calif.-based video portal’s video search tool combs through clips from over 15,000 video Web sites, including massive aggregators like YouTube and Veoh–using video titles, user tags and meta descriptions to make finding clips easier. In addition to the core video search engine, Mefeedia also debuted a search tool for TV shows, which pulls content from sites like NBC’s Hulu and allows users to find episodes and clips from all the major broadcast and cable TV providers in one place. Users in search of audio clips, including music videos, can try Mefeedia’s new music search tool–and the same goes for podcasts.
Google’s Successful Spectrum “Strategy to Lose” - Google didn’t acquire any spectrum in the latest FCC auction–Verizon and AT&T went home the big winners–but analysts say the “loss” could turn into a victory because it still stands to get access to mobile networks without having to spend tens of billions of dollars building one. Indeed, the Wall Street analysts claim that Google has succeeded in its strategy of “bidding to lose.” Verizon Communications won the C-block spectrum that Google bid on, but under the auction rules, the telecom giant will be forced to allow devices and applications from other companies run on the new network.
Nickelodeon Preps WAP Sites; Nick Focuses On Intersection Of Mobile Web And Online Gaming - Apart of embarking on the first phase of its major push into online gaming this week, Nickelodeon/MTVN (NYSE: VIA) Kids and Family Group’s other big focus this year is on mobile, the company told us. The Viacom kid-focused unit is rolling out three new mobile websites related to its branded content from its Nickelodeon, The N and ParentsConnect main sites. The new mobile websites focus on the group’s target demos: kids and tweens, teens and parents. But for the most part, given the usage of mobile devices among that grouping rests with kids 13-years-old and up, that’s where Nickelodeon is aiming. Each WAP site will include a variety of kids’ games, pictures, and flipbooks, teen-oriented quizzes and blogs. The WAP sites will also have parenting info, events and news from its list of local city online channels. I spoke with Steve Youngwood, the group’s EVP for digital media, who offered a glimpse of the company’s mobile strategy.
Microsoft Acquires Ad Tech Firm Rapt - Aiming to fill out its set of tools for Web advertisers and publishers, Microsoft Corp. plans to acquire ad technology firm Rapt Inc. Rapt’s “yield management” software helps publishers adjust pricing and inventory for display advertising based on changes in demand. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Rapt’s “yield management” software helps publishers adjust pricing and inventory for display advertising based on changes in demand.
Expedia Acquires CarRentals.com - Expedia acquires CarRentals.com, an online car rental aggregation and marketing firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the New York-based company will become a division of Hotwire, Expedia’s discount travel brand. CarRentals.com will continue to operate as an independent entity, as Expedia has said that it has no plans to make changes to the car rental service’s brand name, operations or employee base. “And the senior leadership team will remain intact,” the company said in a statement.
GCap Media, Acquired Majority Stake in Social Network, WeLoveLocal.com - Commercial radio firm, GCap Media, has acquired a majority stake in social network, WeLoveLocal.com for an initial cash sum of USD912, 000 (GBP450, 000). Further staged payments of USD304, 000 are to be made over the coming weeks, bringing the total value of the deal to USD1.2m. The move comes as GCap is being targeted in a takeover bid by Global Media for some USD737.3m. The purchase follows GCap’s Feb restructuring policy in which it said it would pull out of DAB broadcasting and focus on its more cost-effective and popular broadband and FM activities.
NBCU Acquires Stake In DriverTV - NBC Universal has acquired a 35% stake in Car content company driverTV. DriverTV produces and distributes content for car shoppers and enthusiasts online, as well as across cable TV and video-on-demand platforms. Building on that model, NBCU now plans to expand driverTV’s distribution to include NBC.com and MySpace, among other destinations. DriverTV has existing distribution deals with Web portals like AOL, along with various cable outlets Charter, Comcast, Cox, the Hotel Network, Insight, and Time Warner.
LiveWire Acquires Music Provider Groove Mobile - LiveWire had acquired mobile music provider Groove Mobile for $14.5 million. LiveWire, a unit of NMS Communications Corporation, said the deal would help the company expand its mobile offerings spanning ringtones, music tracks and videos. Among the dozen wireless carriers that use Groove’s mobile music service are Sprint, 3 UK and Bell Mobility. The company also has relationships with major music labels including EMI, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. With the addition of Groove, which had more than $7.5 million in revenue in 2007, LiveWire Mobile expects to hit revenue of more than $30 million in 2008.
Odeo buys search service, Blogdigger — Podcast and MP3 site Odeo has acquired Blogdigger, an RSS and blog and search engine, for an undisclosed sum. Under the deal, Blogdigger’s aggregation and search technology will be incorporated into Odeo’s newly revamped site. Currently in private beta, Odeo’s new services will include more audio and, for the first time, video content. Blogdigger founder and CEO, Greg Gershman worked as a consultant during the design and development of Odeo’s new site and joins the company as VP of Search and Engineering. The deal follows Odeo’s acquisition of video player startup, FireAnt, for USD400,000 in Sep 2007, which was when Odeo was first rumoured to be interested in buying Blogdigger. Odeo was acquired by e-commerce startup, SonicMountain in May 2007 for a price rumoured to be in excess of USD1m.
