.tv .TV in the News

[*AllThings.tv*]

Inspired by others, I felt compelled to begin keeping abreast of the .tv domain space dedicated to streaming video and entertainment. I found myself researching recent news related to the .tv domain space and felt such research would have value to my fellow .tv enthusiasts who might not have the time or be currently involved in .tv development projects. Of course, this will also help future site members get a better understanding of the evolution of the .tv domain space as the main entertainment and video space on the Internet (or at least that is what we believe).

Without further ado, I present the ".TV in the News" thread and invite you to participate with your comments, but also with your very own findings.

MOST RECENT POSTINGS FIRST:

First brought to our attention by our very own NamePros member, WineGuy in this post:
http://www.namepros.com/dot-tv/238682-the-networks-are-getting-smarter-nbc.html

Published: September 17th, 2006

NBC seeks to profit from the video sharing market
NBC Universal has created a new video syndication service, NBBC (National Broadband Company). It allows website owners to add video to their sites by embedding a customizable NBBC player. Besides NBC, in this venture are Access Hollywood, Break.com, CSTV, About.com, SNL, Forbes, WashingtonPost, A&E and CNET, to name a few. Commercials will be inserted before each video segment, and the revenue will be split among the program's creator (30 %), the web site owner (20%) and NBBC (50%).

This idea came out after NBC noticed that a sketch from Saturday Night Live, Lazy Sunday, became a hit across the Internet. Some people recorded that segment and uploaded it to YouTube and to MySpace. The president of NBC explained at a news conference this week: "YouTube made a lot of money off it. In the future, when we have a Lazy Sunday clip, NBBC will make a lot of money on it." (...) "If we really want to compete with big aggregators like Yahoo and Google, we need our video in as many places as possible," added.

For more of this article visit this site: http://iblnews.com/story_se.php?id=17839

Release Date: September 14th

This was from an insider press release:

"HSPN Videos" has been officially renamed "HSPN TV" and is now located at http://www.hspn.tv instead of http://videos.hspn.com

The new HSPN TV offers a similar look and feel to the old HSPN Videos with a number of new features:

1) Easy to use "HSPN Channels" navigation at the top of the page - this navigation style uses oval thumbnails / icons to make identifying video channels even easier (not just a vertical text list)

2) New "Home Page Info Box" sections on the HSPN TV home page including:
a) Top 10 Videos - The 10 videos with highest number of views
b) Top 10 Tags - The 10 tags with the highest number of clicks
c) New Releases - The 10 videos that were released most recently
d) Upcoming Releases - Up to 10 videos that we are in the process of producing or planning to make

3) Redesigned "Video Info Box" - The video info box has been redesigned to include more information about the video you're watching, including the release date and "tags" of interest.

4) Release dates & the "Sort by Date" option - All videos now show the date they were released in the "video info box" when viewing the video. A "Sort by Date" option was also created allowing users to sort all videos in a channel or tag by date to see what's new. When a user clicks the "Sort by Date" button the videos are ordered by Date with the newest videos appearing first and the video "views" are replaced by the "release date."

5) Tags - Tags are used to group similar videos together. While "channels" (or categories) group videos by very broad similarities (such as How-To / Installs, Interviews, Road Racing, etc.) "tags" can be used to group videos by more specific terms (such as Subaru, Brakes, Cobb Tuning, etc.). These tags show up in the "video info box" when viewing a video, allowing a user to easily find more videos related to their specific interests. When a user clicks on a tag, the video player will show all videos related to that tag, just like a video "channel" (or category).

6) Tag List - The "tag list" (found by clicking the "Show all tags" link in the Top 10 tags box) allows users to see all of the tags used on HSPN TV listed in alphabetical order. Users will also be able to sort the "tag list" by popularity, showing the tags with the most clicks first. This page will be helpful to users that don't know specifically what video they're looking for (or don't want to use a search engine) but would like to see what types of videos are available. For example, a user could click on the "tag list" and click on "SEMA 2005" to see every SEMA 2005 interview in the HSPN TV database.

7) Search engine - The search engine allows users to search HSPN TV for videos that contain specific words in the video title and description. This makes finding specific videos faster and easier.

8) Minor Design Tweaks - Aside from all of the new functionality, HSPN TV has been slightly redesigned to make it more pleasing to look at. Such changes include rounded edges (instead of square boxes), gradient backgrounds (instead of solid colors), and other minor changes.

As reported by fellow NamePros member, Zigzag, on September 13th, Buy.com launched Buy.tv at some time, but I could not find a press release to get the date of that site's launch.

http://www.namepros.com/dot-tv/237688-buy-com-launched-buy-tv.html

Release Date: Septemeber 12th (first reported by NamePros member, GoPC])



AT&T Inc. (T) is launching an Internet TV service where subscribers can watch live cable channels such as Fox News on any computer with a broadband connection for $20 per month.

The AT&T Broadband TV service announced Tuesday features about 20 channels of live and made-for-broadband content. The channel lineup includes the History Channel, the Weather Channel, the Food Network, Bloomberg and Oxygen. Additional channels will be added soon, the company said without elaborating.

The content is being provided by MobiTV Inc., a company that has specialized in delivering live cable channels to cell phones through wireless carriers such as Sprint Nextel Corp. and Cingular Wireless, which is majority owned by AT&T.

As compared with many Internet-based video services, where the viewing window is considerably smaller than most computer monitors, the new AT&T offering will allow users to expand the picture to full screen. The service requires Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media Player for playback.

Viewers will see whatever commercials are being shown on the live broadcast, but no advertisements are planned for the browser window and control panel that frame the TV picture.

AT&T Broadband TV will be available to customers of rival Internet services such as cable broadband in addition to the company's DSL subscriber base of 7.8 million accounts. It will also be accessible over Wi-Fi wireless services offered at retail locations.

While live TV feeds over the Internet are relatively uncommon so far, online downloading of video clips and TV programs have hit the mainstream over the past year.

A recent AP-AOL Video poll found that more than half of Internet users have watched or downloaded video. News clips were the most popular, seen by 72 percent of online video viewers, followed by short movie and TV clips, music videos, sports highlights and user-generated videos like those on YouTube Inc.'s popular Web site.

Apple Computer Inc., which helped jumpstart the trend by adding TV episodes to its iTunes music store, said in June it had sold more than 30 million videos and was selling videos at a rate of roughly 1 million a week.

As reported on September 11, by fellow NamesPro member, equity78, 69.tv sold for $2900.

"Not bad and only a $500 renewal not $1000 or $10,000 like LL.tv is now"

http://www.namepros.com/dot-tv/234445-69-tv-sells-2900-another-forum.html

Bud.TV - 30 million investment by Anheuser-Busch

Originally reported by fellow NamePros member, eyedomainous, here:
[url]http://www.namepros.com/dot-tv/235479-bud-tv-30-million-investment.html

Release Date: Septemeber 6

NEW YORK — Top U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch (BUD) will launch its own Web entertainment network, Bud.TV, in February.
The seven-channel operation, costing an estimated $30 million to start, is an attempt to develop a new way to reach consumers ages 21 to 27, who increasingly favor customized content over mass media — and distilled spirits over beer.

The money is being redirected from the budget for cable and late-night TV ads and, along with what A-B spends on its sites and ads on other sites, will bring the Internet share of its $600 million annual ad budget to about 10% in 2007.

The themed channels will have two- to three-minute segments of original content. The sales pitch will be muted.

"This is meant to sell more beer, but consumers have to see it as entertainment, not a commercial-generated machine," says Tony Ponturo, head of global marketing.

Among channels on tap:

•Bud Tube. Consumer-generated video, including homemade ads for Bud or Bud Light.

•Reality. One show is a live version of The Dating Game show from the 1970s aired from bars and restaurants in 25 cities.

•Comedy. The channel will feature up-and-coming and wannabe stand-up comics.

•Happy Hour. Updates on news and unusual events, designed to give viewers something to chat about over a beer.

Channels for sports, Hollywood and TV round out the lineup.

Overseeing Bud.TV will be James Schumacker, recently named vice president digital marketing and branded entertainment. Two producers from A-B's longtime ad agency, DDB Chicago, will manage production.

"We certainly couldn't do it by ourselves," says Schumacker, who compared what viewers will see to "cable and late-night TV."

Press Release: Cimex to develop Big Picture TV website on Sustainability

Release Date: 6 September 2006

Interactive media agency Cimex has been commissioned to develop a creative and inspirational online branding solution for Big Picture TV (BPTV).

Online media channel BPTV streams free video clips of some of the world’s most renowned pioneers in Sustainable Development. Included in the impressive line-up of talking heads are the likes of HRH Prince Charles, Nelson Mandela, Lynne Franks, Jane Goodall and Deepak Chopra, to name but a few.

“I’ve chosen Cimex because they have the experience and expertise to create innovative and widely accessible design solutions,” says Marcus Morrell, Founder and Director of Big Picture TV. “With over 40 awards to their name in just 11 years, they are widely recognised as a market leader in digital media and I’m thrilled to be working with them.”

Cimex is fast gaining the reputation as an ethical custodian and champion for web accessibility and usability. The installation of one of only four state-of-the-art usability laboratories with eye-tracking facilities in the UK, means that Cimex will be able to improve its user experience capability, which has delivered solutions for other not-for-profit organisations such as Save the Children, The Balance Foundation, The Who Cares Trust? and Shelter.

Looking to a launch date at the beginning of October 2006, Cimex will develop a fully accessible Big Picture TV website, complete with improved branding solution, enhanced functionality and user engagement and the introduction of an e-commerce component.


- Ends -


Editors Notes:

- Further details about Big Picture TV available at www.big-picture.tv

- Cimex is a multi-award winning, ‘top 50’ interactive media agency. Established in 1994, the firm offers a 360 degree service from consultancy through to digital design, technical and content services. The agency works in the corporate, public and e-learning sectors, and focuses on user centred design to create unique solutions.

Release Date: August 31

(PressZoom) - EUX.TV is an independent television channel bringing news, interviews and television programs about Europe and the European Union for an international audience, specifically in Europe.

EUX.TV provides daily coverage of the top European news stories in Brussels and European capitals. It operates with a team of experienced international journalists that is headed by Raymond Frenken, former Brussels bureau chief and EU anchor for international broadcaster CNBC.

EUX.TV is breaking new news ground in on line multimedia journalism, combining the speed of on line news-wire reporting with the deeper impact of TV-news to cover EU news from a pan-European perspective, available via the internet.

It's free -of-charge broadband service seeking revenue through advertisements, branded content and sponsorships.

"Thanks to the help and support from BvDEP, EUX.TV manages to turn into reality its vision for an online news site integrated with a video service. Their international experience in building, hosting and maintaining complex solutions is a crucial factor in our success. With its technical know-how, reliability and speed of execution, BvDEP has demonstrated itself as a reliable partner in electronic publishing," says Raymond Frenken, Founder & Chief Editor at EUX.TV.

The EUX.TV website is developed, hosted and maintained by Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing.