Onstage at the National Association of Broacasters (NAB) convention, in Las Vegas this week, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was asked by former NBC Nightly News anchor John Seigenthaler whether the rise of his company meant the decline of conventional TV.

"Google will not replace radio and television," was Schmidt's quick response. But when the suggestion that there is a limited ad revenue base for electronic media, he added "The trick is -- whatever business you're in -- to use the best targeting."

Getting to really know your viewers seems to be the theme at this week's convention.

Sling Media CEO and president Blake Kerkorian declared that "appointment-based viewing is dead." Some broadcasters reluctantly agree with Kerkorian. But some, like Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon, don't believe the "Sling Box model is appropriate or legal." (The Slingbox is a device which allows a user to access their cable or satellite connection at home, via the internet, in any part of the world.)

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said in the past "Don't bet against the Internet." Some broadcasters seem to be doing just that.

Schmidt answered, "[The Internet] is as big a possible land grab as enjoyed by the founders of television." He then added "But the new model of broadcasting will have to address user empowerment."

Full Story (Playback Magazine)

On the web:
National Association of Broadcasters website
Sling Media

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 2:33 PM | Permalink

The website MySpace.com has given Earl of "My Name Is Earl" his own space. Through a collaboration with 20th Century Fox Television serves to anchor a collection of sneak previews, merchandising and community activities. Through Sept. 5, MySpace users can log onto the social networking site and submit their photo on a special "My Name Is Earl" profile page. Each week, five photos will be selected at random to be featured on the page. Then for three straight weeks, one MySpace winner will appear in executive producer Greg Garcia's production company logo, fittingly dubbed "Amigos de Garcia" (Friends of Garcia). The first winner will appear on the show's season premiere Sept. 21.

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 5:29 PM | Permalink

CBS has signed on "Innertube", it's new free, advertising-supported broadband channel unveiled Thursday at CBS.com. It is the first effort by a broadcaster to spin off a separate channel online, where most of the younger viewing audience and advertisers are swiftly migrating.

"Innertube" will include a mix of original, low-cost shows and operate under the standards of advertiser supported cable. it will allow the network to be more edgy than CBS but isn't expected to be too avant-garde.

The series opening day had a rotation of three shows including "Greek to Chic," a fashion makeover series dedicated to college students. Throughout the spring and summer other original scripted and animated series will be added to the schedule. Some programs will only be a few minutes long.

Some shows will have primetime tie-ins like "Beyond Survivor" offering behind-the-scenes footage for the hit reality show "Survivor." All original shows scheduled are produced by CBS' digital division.

Companion programming will give producers of CBS series a bigger canvas outside the traditional 30- or 60-minute episode for storytelling.

On The Web:
Innertube
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Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 11:08 PM | Permalink

By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The widely hyped merging of the PC and TV is finally taking shape in a way that only a few people imagined in the late 1990s Internet boom.

From independent producers like Mondo Media to big media companies like MTV, and even kids who post videos on community sites like YouTube.com, the World Wide Web is becoming a sort of worldwide TV network for audiences seeking offbeat entertainment not shown on mainstream television.

Mondo's cartoon characters, "Happy Tree Friends," survived the dot-com bust of 2000 and are now a thriving, worldwide phenomenon. And this week a little-known British rocker named Sandi Thom signed a record deal with Sony BMG after building an audience by webcasting her own concerts from her basement.

"I still don't think people have a handle on the fact that, for all intents and purposes, we have a TV network working for us, essentially free, that is worldwide," said John Evershed, co-founder of Mondo Media, which owns "Happy Tree Friends."

The "Friends" are a collection of lovable forest animals with names like Giggles and Lumpy who get into trouble that inevitably leads to violence and death.

San Francisco-based Mondo shows 16 million, two-minute programs monthly on the Web which have spawned the sale of 750,000 DVDs. The "Tree Friends" Web site, its t-shirts, toys, and cell phone episodes are hot items in more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe, North and South America, Mondo Media says.

The "Tree Friends" were a product of the technology boom when venture capital and advertisers chased producers who were delivering TV-like episodes on the Web. When the boom ended, money dried up and only a few players like Mondo remained.

WORLD WIDE TV

Evershed said this new wave of Web video is fueled by the rising number of people with high-speed Internet access which makes video watchable on PCs. Moreover, younger audiences are increasingly accustomed to watching video on PCs and laptops.

Other independent producers building audiences with a TV network on the Web include Joe Cartoon, Homestarrunner and JibJab.

Community building sites like YouTube.com are thriving by making it easy for users to post video clips. Teens also turn to the Web when traditional TV shows get boring.

Seeing this trend, major media companies are getting in on the act so they don't lose viewers and advertising to Web competitors.

Viacom Inc's MTV has started "MTV Overdrive" at MTV.com. E! Entertainment webcasts "The Vine" at eonline.com and The Walt Disney's Co.'s ABC Television Group has plans to stream shows for kids on its Disneychannel.com and Jetix.tv sites in coming months.

As with the "Friends," keys to success for "MTV Overdrive" have been offering short programs and original content that fans do not see on broadcast or cable TV.

That philosophy is a far cry from the late 1990s when the dot-com boom fueled the notion that eventually all TV would be delivered on the Web, on-air broadcasting would become wired webcasting and computers would be the TV sets of the future.

"Really, I had this vision 6 years ago," said Mike Tuinstra, chief executive officer of Joecartoon.com Inc. "It's just now kind of happening."

From Reuters

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 1:02 AM | Permalink