Category: Software

MUMBAI: More than 168 million internet users in the US watched online video in the month of September, reveals a data of comScore‘s Video Metrix service, the digital measuring and marketing research company.

Nearly 26 billion online videos were viewed by 84.8 per cent of the total US internet users in the month, wherein Google sites accounted for more than 40 per cent of videos viewed online by Americans. 

Top 10 video content properties by videos viewed
Google sites delivered nearly 10.5 billion videos viewed, wherein Google‘s YouTube.com accounted for 99 per cent of all videos viewed.

Hulu ranked second with 583 million (2.2 per cent) followed by Fox Interactive Media with 547 million videos viewed (2.1 per cent) and Viacom Digital with 513 million (2.0 per cent).

Top 10 video content properties by viewers
More than 168 million viewers watched an average of 154 videos per viewer during the month of September.

Google Sites attracted more than 126 million unique viewers during the month (82.7 videos per viewer), followed by Fox Interactive Media with 58 million viewers (9.4 videos per viewer) and Yahoo! sites with 57 million viewers (7.5 videos per viewer). Top video Ad networks by potential reach In September, Tremor Media ranked as the best video ad network with a potential reach of 73 million viewers, or 43.3 per cent of the total viewing audience.

YuMe Video Network ranked second with a potential reach of 66 million viewers (39.4 per cent penetration) followed by Broadband Enterprises (BBE) with 63 million viewers (37.5 per cent).
 

MUMBAI: FremantleMedia is on course to set up a new division called talkbackTHAMES Digital that will develop multi-platform extensions to talkbackTHAMES.

The new segment of FremantleMedia‘s business promises to bring digital media and traditional production closer together for more ‘integrated multiplatform content production‘.
Termed as a ‘U.K. center for excellence in digital media‘, the division aims to enhance viewer engagement with the company‘s brands producing original online content and maximizing commercial opportunities in the new-media space.
 
At the helm of the new division is Robert Marsh, previously VP of interactive and telephony at FME. He will be responsible for driving the British strategy for the extension of broadcast properties onto digital platforms, as well as across digital licensing, telephony and online commissions.

He will also continue to focus on extending on- and off-air opportunities with new and existing commercial partners and broadcasters.

Marsh will report to talkbackTHAMES commercial director Rupert Brankin-Frisby and FME Dominic Burns‘ senior VP of U.K. licensing Dominic Burns.
 
Comments Marsh, “Joining traditional and digital media production means that we‘ll be making content that not only complements the television viewing experience but reaches audiences in new ways and gives them innovative and compelling opportunities to engage with their favourite TV shows.”

Other FremantleMedia digital success stories include the BAFTA-nominated website for The X Factor that has had more than 45 million page views, has shown over 14.5 million video clips with 8 million-plus visits.
 

MUMBAI: AdWordAccelerator has partnered with StatsJunky to provide advertisers and affiliate marketers with the right combination of technology for efficiently building and optimising profitable campaigns for Google AdWords.

AdWordAccelerator is an AdWords keyword research tool while StatsJunky is a conversion tracking tool for PPC. 
 
Said AdWords keyword research expert Stephen Juth, “By combining AdWordAccelerator with StatsJunky, advertisers now have a way to go from initial keyword research to AdWords campaigns optimised for the greatest return on investment in record time.”

Interestingly, according to Jupiter Research‘s US Paid Search Forecast (2008 to 20013), average keyword prices are set to rise more than 25 per cent over the next five years. 
 
Today, one of the most commonly reported problems among Google advertisers is the ability to make their campaigns profitable enough for their business goals.

Due to more competition and rising costs, many PPC advertisers and small business owners have given up on Google AdWords altogether. Instead, they are focusing their time and attention on other marketing channels such as Facebook ads, video syndication, third tier search engines and Twitter.

AdWordAccelerator, combined with StatsJunky, aims to help resolve these challenges by providing a fast and effective solution for advertisers that will enable them to increase their RoI while spending less time on the construction and optimization process of AdWords, claim the campainies in a joint statement.

MUMBAI: Orkut.com, the social networking site owned by internet search giant Google, is all set to wear a new look.

As part of the makeover, Google is adding new features to the site to make it faster and easier for users. 
 
Initially, as part of the initiative, Orkut will make its new features available to selected users and communities. Later, the features will be made available to other Orkut subscribers via invitation. 
 
The features will allow users to upload, scrap videos, video chat with Google Talk users, change skins and personalise the profile. Orkut also has increased the space limit to 140 characters for users‘ status message.

Orkut has 80 million active users, a major part of which comes from Brazil and India.

MUMBAI: Two cable TV distribution companies have said separately that their second-quarter revenue has seen a fall over the earlier-year period, signaling a correction in carriage fee income that they charge from broadcasters as channels jostle for space on their analogue networks.

Hinduja-owned IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL), which runs its cable TV business under the Incablenet brand, has posted a revenue of Rs 755.20 million compared to Rs 811.67 million a year ago.
 
A subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL), IMCL‘s operating profit dropped 28.1 per cent to Rs 103.76 million for the three months through September.

IMCL forecasts an almost flat revenue growth over last year with carriage income stagnating, as broadcasters face the heat of an advertising slowdown.

Wire & Wireless (India) Ltd had earlier said its operating revenue fell 16.66 per cent to Rs 697.97 million for the second quarter. “A few carriage deals with broadcasters could not be firmed up during the second quarter. We hope to conclude them in the third quarter,” a source had told Indiantelevision.com. 
 
Multi-system operators (MSOs) have been bailed out by a fattening of carriage revenue over the last few years, luring them to expand geographically through the acquisition route. The promise of digitisation has also attracted private equity into the sector.

IMCL claims to have over 6.5 million subscribers across 27 major cities. During the quarter, Sangli Media Services became a subsidiary of IMCL.

MSOs have used carriage income to partially fund their digitisation and acquisition expansion. “Carriage is contributing to over 50 per cent of the MSO‘s revenue,” the head of a leading MSO said.

MUMBAI: Kids entertainment channel Nickelodeon has announced its partnership with PlaySpan to offer payment services for virtual goods and micro-transactions for the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group.
 
PlaySpan‘s technology and services will power Nickelodeon‘s virtual worlds‘ currency, NeoCash, across multiple payment providers including credit cards and prepaid cards. Through PlaySpan‘s subsidiary PayByCash, Nickelodeon will now be able to offer more than 80 global payment methods.

The Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group creates and operates online virtual world initiatives for Nickelodeon‘s audience.
 
 
“We want to make buying virtual currency and managing purchases as easy and convenient as possible for our players, and PlaySpan is a great partner to help us do that,” says Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group SVP and GM Kyra Reppen.

MUMBAI: The National Association of Broadcasters (Nab) in the US has rubbished a recent study funded by the Consumer Electronics Association estimating the market-value of broadcast television spectrum.

The study was filed with the Federal Communications Commission. While CEA commissioned the study, the group also told the federal agency that it “does not necessarily endorse” the results.
 
Nab executive VP Dennis Wharton says, “CEA’s study ignores the immeasurable public benefit of a vibrant free and local broadcasting system that is ubiquitous, reliable as a lifeline service in times of emergency, and flexible enough to include HDTV, diverse multicast programming and mobile DTV.”

CEA itself does not endorse its own commissioned study, reinforcing its isolation as primarily an academic exercise. Meanwhile, broadcasters and forward-thinking CEA member companies have embraced mobile DTV to enable delivery of live and local TV to cellphones, laptops and the back seats of cars. 
 
“Notably, television broadcasters just returned a third of our spectrum to government as part of our historic DTV transition; as the FCC’s process to recommend a National Broadband Plan moves forward, Nab believes it is imperative that policymakers explore spectrum efficiency choices that don’t limit consumer access to the full potential of digital broadcasting,” says Wharton.

Nab also filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission late Friday concerning the agency’s request for information on spectrum management practices as they relate to the rollout of nationwide broadband.

MUMBAI: Warner Entertainment Japan has firmed up its plans to launch Warner-on-Demand by November-end this year.

Through the site, Japanese consumers can rent or buy films and TV series of Warner Bros directly from the studio via VOD (video-on-demand) and download to own on their PCs and mobile phones.  

With the launch of Warner-on-Demand, Warner Bros aims to deepen its understanding of consumers‘ movie and TV series preferences, building a direct relationship with them.

To buy content through this service, consumers will have to purchase a series of points which will be exchanged per transaction for films or TV content of Warner Bros. Consumers will have access to a wide range of content, both film and TV series from classic catalogue titles through to the latest features, including a number of titles never before released on DVD.  
 
Part of a global Warner Bros. loyalty programme that began in the US and now extended to Japan, customers of Warner-on-Demand will receive regular news and updates from the studio on all theatrical, Blu-Ray, DVD and digital VOD and EST new releases and be able to participate in special promotions and sweepstakes.
 

MUMBAI: Marketing research company comScore has announced the acquisition of Certifica, a web measurement company based in Santiago, Latin America.

Certifica, founded in 2000, analyses and audits the internet traffic measurement.

The acquisition will help enhance comScore‘s presence and brand in Latin American market. Certifica has offices throughout Latin America including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.
 
Certifica measured websites will be available for inclusion in comScore‘s Media Metrix 360 hybrid measurement solution to provide comprehensive view of activity, beginning early 2010. The methodology will account for the full universe of internet usage, including traffic from internet cafes and mobile devices.

Under the direction of Alejandro Fosk, founder and former CEO of Certifica and now SVP and general manager of comScore Latin America, comScore plans to sell and service the full suite of comScore products in the region. 
 
“This acquisition will strengthen our presence in the region and enable us to offer hybrid measurement. Fosk and his team have established a strong local presence, a portfolio of services, and good reputation for client service,” said comScore CMO and EVP of global product management Linda Abraham.

MUMBAI: Bigflix.com, the online entertainment portal from Reliance Big Entertainment, has announced its partnership with Hulu.com, a free online video service provider, to offer Bollywood movies online in the US.

Under the partnership, Bigflix and Hulu will offer 12 Bollywood movies that encompass similar elements, themes and issues with their subtitles in English.
 
Talking about the association, Bigflix.com COO Kamal Gianchandani said, “Our tie-up with Hulu will be our first significant step to avail Indian content to the international audiences.

“We are also adding another 500 titles to our collection of titles at Bigflix.com. We will continue to partner with leading platforms like Hulu to reach vast number of audiences around the world.” 
 
To mark the launch, Bigflix.com will offer four Bollywood movies for free viewing on Hulu that include Gangster, Apaharan, Kalyug and Black Friady.

Movies such as 13B, Summer 2007, Love Songs -Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Khoya Khoya Chand, 15 Park Avenue, Love Story 2050, Jan-E-Mann, and Family-Ties of Blood will be launched in subsequent month for free viewing.