News Corp. has no intention of pulling an NBC and removing its TV shows from Apple’s iTunes, according top executives. That, however, doesn’t mean they’re any happier with Apple’s plans to reduce download prices further. News Corp. reportedly would like to play more of a role in determining pricing, calling for increased flexibility.
See more at Reuters.com.
When all was said and done, illegal P2P downloads and other web piracy didn’t hurt Michael Moore’s healthcare documentary “Sicko” – they actually may have helped it. “Sicko” has become the third highest grossing documentary in film history, owing much of its success to the exposure it received as a result of the piracy.
See more at Epicenter.
Warner Bros. is changing its approach to web video, according to the New York Times. The studio is introducing 24 web productions ranging from serialized shows to short films that it plans to distribute over a wide assortment of Internet destinations. While Warner is taking a new approach to financing these productions, putting up the cash itself before securing advertisers, the budget is reportedly under $3 million – pocket change for a major studio. The productions include “The Jeannie Tate Show,” a 10-episode series about a quirky soccer mom who hosts a talk show from her minivan, and “Viral,” a mockumentary about a digital video studio, among others.
See more at the New York Times.
Ever wonder what happens to all of those independent films that don’t get picked up for theatrical distribution? Usually, they just make the film festival rounds a bit more and quietly fade into oblivion, but the Independent Film Channel (IFC) and tech firm B-Side are hoping to change that. B-Side obtains and analyzes feedback on festival films, selecting the promising ones for broadcast on IFC or web distribution. By getting reactions from a carefully selected sample of festival goers, IFC and B-Side hope to find the diamonds in the rough that the studios don’t pick up.
See more at Variety.com.
How-to video site Sclipo has launched a new live video feature that enables users to teach others for money one-on-one through live video conferencing. Currently invite only, “Sclipo Live” lists lessons by time, teacher and price, and records each session with accompanying chat for review later on. When finished, students can rate their teachers.
See more at TechCrunch.com.
ABC is beginning to adopt a new distribution model, shying away from its initial plans to remain the sole distributor of its content online, according to Mediaweek. The network is allegedly exploring distribution deals with several notable web properties, including AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo. While ABC has accepted the need for wide distribution, Mediaweek reports that ABC’s agreement with one company requires partner sites to run the network’s video content through a proprietary player.
See more at paidContent.org.
Warner Bros. plans to launch a video site next spring built around its treasure trove of animations, including everything from Looney Toons to DC Comics. The site, called T-Works, will offer both original and archived ad-supported video from all of the WB’s most popular animated franchises. T-Works will also include a video mashup feature that lets users create and share their own cartoon remixes.
See more at paidContent.org.
Google may soon begin serving up video ads in their search results, according to Wired’s Epicenter blog. Google’s Business Product Manager for Ads Quality, Nicholas Fox, reported that while video ads have come up a lot in internal discussions, they are cautious and don’t want to alienate users with “things that are garish or flashy.” If the feature is anything like Google’s advertising to date, users won’t have to worry too much.
See more at Epicenter.
Time Warner Investments has taken part in the first round of financing for video advertising startup ScanScout. The startup is currently conducting between 25 and 30 video advertising campaigns on 15 or so sites, including blip.tv and Next New Networks (producers of Jet Set and Indy Mogul, among other shows). The ads that ScanScout serves up are similar to the ones you’ll see on Metacafe, with an overlay on the bottom of the video player that comes up. ScanScout eventually plans to include these ads in embedded video players.
See more at NewTeeVee.com.
Lulu Enterprises, an online self publishing company, has filed suit against the newly named News Corp./NBC web video venture Hulu.com. Yeah, it sounds like a bad joke, but it’s actually happening. Lulu claims that Hulu intentionally attempted to create confusion in the marketplace and hurt Lulu’s brand by choosing such a similar domain name. Hulu has declined to comment so far.
See more at Epicenter.
