Jeff Lindsay on Making A Serial Killer Likable

The Wall Street Journal interviews Jeff Lindsay, author of "Dexter in the Dark," the book that inspired Showtime 's successful TV series Dexter , or American's favorite serial killer. And he answers some of the questions that have been plaguing me: why do women like the show and why is Dexter so appealing?

WSJ.com : Showtime estimates that 65% of your viewers are men. Any idea what percentage of men is buying your books? Most book buyers in this country are women.

Mr. Lindsay: I am getting male readers, but I assume that most are women. In general they have a very strong reaction to Dexter as part of the bad boy thing. He's naïve and sort of child-like, and trusting in a lot of ways."

WSJ.com : What is Dexter's appeal? Shouldn't we be repulsed?

Mr. Lindsay : That was one of the writing challenges I set myself: to make him likable. Writing in the first person helps because you are seeing "I" do it instead of "the killer picked up the knife." That alone makes it more sympathetic. Another thing, he only kills people who really deserve it.

Then we learn Dexter seems like an ideal co-worker, he's good to his girlfriend (now his wife), and if he kills somebody now and then, well nobody is perfect."

... The first season, which debuted October 2006, was the network's highest-rated original series, says Stuart Zakim, a Showtime spokesman. Nearly 2 million viewers a week watched each episode of "Dexter" during its first season. Showtime has 14.5 million paying subscribers. The second season begins Sunday.

Is the Apple TV officially a flop?

Scott Woolley on Forbes calls the Apple TV "a flat-out" failure, claiming that it's sold less than 250,000 units in six months. [via Crave]

"His timing was impeccable. When the product debuted in late March, the cost of delivering TV shows over the Internet had plunged, and the Web was brimming with video of ever greater variety and quality. The major TV networks were adding online downloads of such hits as NBC's Heroes, and Hollywood's titanic studios had begun talks to rent movies online through Apple's iTunes service.

Six months later iTV is a flat-out iFlop. Renamed Apple TV upon launch, the ballyhooed box has sold perhaps 250,000 units--far behind the 1 million sold for the iPhone, which was priced twice as high and has been on the market less than half as long."

... So while Woolley's "iFlop" description is something of a hyperbole, the essence does ring true: the Apple TV doesn't have the "gotta have it" appeal of the iPod. In its current configuration, I certainly wouldn't spend my own money to buy one.

What would it take to change that? John P. Falcone for Crave offers some suggestions. Read on.

Watching Satellite TV on your Computer thanks to Software

Online directory Articlesbase reviews software that enables you to watch satellite television on your computer, without a dish.

"PC satellite TV software makes use of the internal circuitry of your computer and an internet connection to convert and decode the television signals received. Other than the software, you do not need any special equipment to receive and broadcast the TV programs on your monitor screen."

CBS Creates 'EyeLab' to woo short attention span viewers

To cater to what it believes is the short attention span of online audiences, the network today is launching CBS EyeLab, a digital-production studio that will create and distribute short clips cut together from the network's most popular shows. From The Wall Street Journal.

"At a time when its competitors are focused on how to best distribute full-length TV shows online, CBS EyeLab represents a turn in the other direction. The content it offers will look more like videos on YouTube -- bite-size clips, streamed free, many with the feel of user-generated content -- than episodes of network prime-time shows.

Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive, said preliminary network research shows that less than a third of CBS's Web audience is interested in watching full-length episodes of shows online."

This may be true in the US, where there are so many TV viewing options, but here in Europe, we watch US TV series online for hours at a time - because they are not on our TV channels. Nearly half of the people online have broadband, and the quality of video streaming is good."

Hollywood studios go after two piracy sites

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has filed suit against two Web sites that it claims are allowing Internet users to view pirated films, many of which are still in theaters.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of the major studios, seeks to shutter cinematube.net and ssupload.com from further infringing on the copyrights of the MPAA members.

The sites feature links to hundreds of titles, including such recent releases as "Resident Evil: Extinction," "The Brave One" and "Good Luck Chuck."

The domain search also indicated cinematube.net's servers are located in Malaysia. The site averages more than 24,000 unique users each day who view more than 85,000 pages of content.

Servers for ssupload.com are located in Arizona and average 55,000 unique daily visitors who view more than 190,000 pages of content per day.

The MPAA estimates that the industry lost $18.2 billion in 2005.

[via Reuters/Hollywood Reporter]

Law Firms Recruiting on YouTube

Law firms have discovered YouTube, reports The New York Times.

"Well, actually, they have discovered that the law students they are trying to recruit as summer associates watch YouTube, the popular video Web site.

Several firms are trying to parlay that discovery into a hiring tool, creating recruiting videos and Web sites with the look and feel of YouTube. The firms hope to persuade students that their lawyers, and by extension the firms, are young-thinking and hip.

The need to attract top-notch summer associates is crucial; they are the pool from which most new hires are made. More than 19,000 graduates join law firms each year.

So far, the firms’ efforts have run the gamut from simple conversations with summer associates to videos promoting the firm’s expertise or its diversity."

Microsoft and partners to sell TV set-top boxes

Microsoft and its hardware partners are trying to bridge the divide between home computers and television sets this holiday season with the release of several "media extenders." The IHT reports.

"These television set top boxes will connect wirelessly to computers running the Home Premium or Ultimate flavors of Windows Vista and enable users to use their televisions to watch movies, shows and Internet video that is stored on their computers.

Microsoft was expected to announce the prices and more details about the systems, known as extenders, Thursday at the DigitalLife trade show in New York."

YouTube launches Nonprofit Program

Today at the Clinton Global Initiative, YouTube announced the YouTube Nonprofit Program, a way to make it even easier for people to find, watch and engage with nonprofit video content on the site.

YouTube's 2007/2008 Clinton Global Initiative commitment enables nonprofit organizations (in the U.S. those with 501c3 tax filing status) that register for the program to receive a free nonprofit specific YouTube channel where they can upload footage of their work, public service announcements, calls to action and more.

The channel will also allow them to collect donations with no processing costs using the newly launched Google Checkout for Non-Profits. YouTube's global platform enables nonprofits to deliver their message, showcase their impact and needs, and encourage supporters to take action.

At launch there will be a thirteen organizations participating in the YouTube Nonprofit Program including: 24 Hours for Darfur * American Cancer Society * Autism Speaks * 92nd Street Y * Asia Society * Strong American Schools' ED in '08 * Friends of the Earth * International Rescue Committee * March of Dimes * YouthNoise * The ONE Campaign * The Clinton Global Initiative * World Vision Australia.

Italy promotes Dexter launch with a set of knives

According to adverblog, FoxTV - has launched a creepy advergame, "Sulle tracce di Dexter" to promote the Italian debut of Dexter.

"The prizes: A trip to Miami or two or a set of knives. What is the world coming to?

Showtime to Paint 14 Towns Red for Dexter

The streets will run red with blood Thursday -- well, the water in fountains in 14 cities, anyway. Broadcasting&Cable reports.

"Showtime is mounting a promotional campaign for the second-season premiere of serial-killer drama Dexter that includes dying the water in fountains from Las Vegas to New York red.

... When the drama premiered last October, it was the most successful original-series telecast in the network’s history. The second season of Dexter bows Sunday, Sept. 30 at 9 p.m. (EST).

In New York, a 15-foot custom-built fountain will be installed in Time Square in time for the morning rush Thursday. <>White-lab-coat-clad teams will distribute DVDs and other Showtime paraphernalia. The stunt will culminate Thursday afternoon in Chicago when the city’s famous Buckingham Fountain will be colored red with 100 beaming lights."

Product placement agency targets YouTube

Montreal-based Brandfame has launched itself as a product placement agency for YouTube and other online video sharing platforms, connecting makers of online videos with brands that want to be integrated into the next viral video blockbuster.

Advertisers can list products they'd like to have featured in videos, and search for upcoming videos by producers to find a match for their brand.

Producers indicate which productions they're willing to integrate products into, and can search for brands or products they'd like to work with. Once a deal has been made, the advertiser pays the producer, and Brandfame takes a cut.

Read full article in SpringWise.

Swiss firefighters' rap: It's hot

A made-in-house,video, featuring male and female firefighters rapping and dancing in uniforms and hot pants, has become a world hit.

"A group from four Swiss fire teams in Geneva made the clip, called the "118 Projec't", to end confusion between their number and directory assistance numbers.

The firefighters say they wanted to advertise their number in an entertaining but informative way.

Last year, directory assistance phone numbers in Switzerland were changed to begin with the digits 18, causing many people to confuse it with the fire department's 118 number.

Since its release, the video has been written up by newspapers, shown on TV news all over the world and featured on video sharing Web site Dailymotion.

Watch it here. It is good.

[via CNN]

Bulky Yellow Phone Books Turn the Page to Online Video

The yellow pages are turning a new leaf with video on the Web, reports the WSJ.

"Already listed on the Web, the different Yellow page companies are beginning to offer online videos, allowing advertisers to post versions of their TV commercials alongside their Web ads.

The directory companies are even offering to produce new videos for businesses, which run as long as two minutes on some sites."

The TV Addict offers viewers season premier of "Dexter"

One-upping networks who are streaming their TV series online with a 24 hour delay afer their broadcast, websites are now streaming pilots and premiers, before their TV launches.

Following Yahoo's announcement today of their offering “Aliens in America” and “Life is Wild” online before their CW Premieres, The TV Addict is offering up what they are calling "a daily dose of Dexter" before this Sunday's season launch on Showtime.

And "today’s dose is the season premiere. Simply click here and enter the password “Killer Shows” to watch."

(Sigh). Not for me though, locked out again from Switzerland: "SORRY; Full episodes of Showtime programming on SHO.com are not available from your location" - is the message I get.

Why, as a stay-at-home Mom and blogger, the story of a forensic expert, specialized in blood splatter and serial killer on the side is one my favorite shows, is another matter all together.

Yahoo to Stream ‘Aliens,’ ‘Life’ Before Their CW Premieres

Yahoo! TV will exclusively stream the full premiere episodes of The CW’s new primetime series “Aliens in America” and “Life is Wild” free and without commercial interruption before their first air dates, the network announced Monday.

[TVWeek via TV Tattle]

NYC TV On-Demand

Mayor Bloomberg has just announced the creation of NYC TV On-Demand, a web site offering hundreds of high-quality video clips from NYC TV’s Emmy Award-winning shows.

Its high-speed search engine enables viewers to search by neighborhoods or topics, videos can be embedded in websites or or forwarded as clips to friends.

"Over the last four years, Arick and the team at NYC TV have dramatically transformed municipal television with award-winning programming, stunning graphics and up-and-coming talent," said Deputy Mayor Skyler. "The On-Demand player is the next step forward for New York City's innovative television station."

[via The New York Times]

Ad-supported streaming is absolutely the future

US television networks believe they have found the business model needed to profit in the digital age – streaming their hit shows over the internet for free, with embedded ads, as opposed to selling them to consumers as digital downloads - which is bad news for Joost, Babelgum, iTunes and other pay-for-downloading services. The FT reports via CrunchGear.

"Many TV executives are confident that putting programmes online will build greater awareness among consumers and increase audiences. The networks have also been encouraged by advertisers, who are rapidly shifting their budgets to the internet to reach young consumers.

According to Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive: “Ad-supported streaming is absolutely the future".

The networks are hoping that streaming online for free will increase consumption by allowing viewers to catch episodes they might have missed, and lessen the demand for pirated versions of products. "

But streaming from the the Networks sites doesn't work for European viewers, as a computer's ISP number is identified as being based geographically outside the US. A message appears with "Sorry, for US viewers only".

So watching TV on video sharing websites is immensely popular, offering the latest episodes in streaming for free. Non US residents can keep up with the US by watching the season premiers or pilots of "Gossip Girl", "Pushing Daisies", "Bionic Woman", "Chuck", "Private Practice", and the newest season of "Prison Break", "Weeds", "Heroes"... a day or two after their broadcast in the US.

TV fans don't want to wait for their European channels to distribute their favorite series - a year after the US. They want to watch them as soon as they are released. Maybe Europeans/Asians would be willing to pay-per-view, if such an offering was available, instead of watching pirated free versions.

French network TFI will be launching today, September 25, on TF1Vision, the latest episodes of Heroes, 24 hours after it's US broadcast, in a trial pay per view video on demand offering, in streaming and will cost euro 1.99 or $2.80.

It will be interesting to see if it's successful.

TV presenter vomits live on air

File under unusual. A Swedish television presenter took standards of professionalism to a new level after she vomited live on air but continued with the show. [via Metro]

Eva Nazemson was hosting a late night phone-in game show on TV4 Plus when she suddenly took ill.

As a male caller tried to solve a word puzzle, Nazemson quickly turned her head to one side and vomited.

Its' on YouTube of course.

Shop for "Gossip Girls"

The New York Daily News via YPulse, reports on a new TV show which emphasizes the growing trend of TV networks partnering with designers and retailers, for online commerce.

Coined "Web Shopping 3.0", TV viewers are able to purchase what the characters wore in a TV series, or even buy the furniture from the sets they are filmed in from merchant websites.

In this article, New York Daily News writes: "Gossip Girl" premiered last Wednesday night on the CW Television network, and follows the drama-filled lives of New York prep-school girls who have it all.

While viewers might crave the massive apartments and excess cash the characters flaunt, there is one thing in the show they can acquire: the fashion.

The site will feature items from H&M, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Zara, London Sole, Jean Paul Gaultier, DKNY, Nanette Lepore, Christian Lacroix, Hugo Boss, Valentino, American Apparel and Michael Kors, among others, throughout the fall, including the price of each piece, a product description and who wore it on which episode.

New items will go up each week after the latest episode airs Wednesdays at 9."

Online at CTWTV, it's so cleverly done and well thought out. To help viewers find what they are looking for, they can chose to browse by Brand, Characters, Episode or Product.

Below are some of the items featured.

Related article: - Shopisodes enable you to Dress Like Your Favorite TV Character

TV Screens Get More Cluttered, mimicking the computer

Though some TV viewers complain, promotional content on what the industry calls the “lower third” of the television screen is “the way of the world these days". From The New York Times.

"Viewers say that snipes and bugs are degrading their experience of watching television. Even some performers seem to resent the assaults on their work’s integrity. At last week’s Emmy Awards, the comedian Lewis Black delivered a blow against screen clutter, yelling, “We don’t care about the next show. We’re watching this show.”

For better or worse, viewers say, the additions are making the experience of watching television more closely mirror the feeling of using a computer.

At the end of “Ugly Betty,” for instance, a shopping icon could direct viewers to places where they could buy Betty’s shoes, or an iTunes icon could invite them to that site to buy episodes of the show.

The point, said Marla Provencio, an ABC executive vice president of marketing, is “to accommodate viewers’ multimedia, multichannel habits and still lead them back to ABC.”

Network executives say that the trend toward busy screens is an attempt to cater to the tastes and habits of younger viewers, who reflexively toggle among screens, online and on cellphones."

WineandFoodTube.com

WineandFoodTube.com went online this month, collecting the best of international food and wine content from YouTube, including videos from top chefs and restaurants and roving amateur critics and cooks.

About 20 videos being uploaded to the site each day.

[via ninemsn.com]

CBS Making 60 Minutes Available as Free Podcast

CBS will make network newsmagazine and TV staple 60 Minutes available as a free audio podcast on iTunes.

CBS currently streams audio and video content from the program on its Web site, and it has made excerpts available as a podcast, but the move will mark the first time the show will be able to be downloaded in its entirety.

[Broadcating&Cable via TV Barn]

Fashion Designer Armani to launch luxury LCD TV

According to the AFP, Armani, Italy's leading fashion designer, will launch in January 2008, an "Armani/Casa-Samsung luxury LCD television".

Under the business tie-up the two firms would jointly develop mobile phones (the much anticipated Armani-Samsung phone will be unveiled in Milan tomorrow), flat-screen televisions and other electronic products, it said in a statement.

This powerful partnership will match great design with leading technology to ensure performance is as impressive as appearance," said Yun Jong-Yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics."

Israel's NY consulate launches youtube contest

The Israeli consulate in New York has launched a video competition about Israel on YouTube, hoping to help boost a positive image about Israel in the popular video website. [via The Jerusalem Post]

"The best videos will be aired on October 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York, when Israel's perennial basketball champions Maccabi Tel Aviv play the NBA's New York Knicks.

The 20,000 fans, who will watch the clips on the arena's giant screens, will choose their favorite. The winner will win a roundtrip ticket to or from New York and two tickets to a Knicks game - a gift provided by the Israeli-America Friendship League.

Participants are asked to submit 30 second videos to YouTube about ‘Israeli Sites & Faces’ and comment with a link to your video here."

Digital media needs to find its soap opera

In a few weeks some the biggest names in Hollywood will get together with some of the most influential geeks in Silicon Valley to forge new alliances and - they hope -strike multi-billion-dollar deals to make silver-screen content for the smallest screens on the market - PCs, iPods and mobile phones. The Guardian reports.

"The invitation-only conference, set to take place in mid-November, is being put together by top Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who just weeks ago brokered a groundbreaking profit-sharing deal for Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park.

Morris believes that the big Hollywood studios have totally failed to meet the challenges posed by the internet and believes urgent action is needed to ensure the entertainment industry does not lose any more ground. He says the big players make all the right noises about digital media, but when it comes down to execution they are clueless

Morris is keeping the guest list for his conference a secret, but it is expected that senior executives from Google, Apple, Amazon and Yahoo will be on it . Top studio executives from Hollywood, some of the biggest agents in the business and even executives from News Corp and GE are also likely to attend.

... Morris believes that, with his help in bringing talent to the table, the internet could be reaping twice or three times as much advertising revenue as it is currently doing.

'The soap opera and the variety show created popular television in the 1950s. After that, the advertising model changed dramatically and you had millions of dollars spent on TV advertising that you didn't have before. Digital media needs to find its soap opera - or whatever kind of show it takes - to bring in the big advertisers."

Image from Variety

In a new Web drama, the action unfolds live on video

The WSJ reports on an online Web TV show called "35", a 10-part series of scripted, live episodes played by actors where the feed from the cameras are uploaded in real time through a standard Internet connection.

"Producer Kathryn Jones says that, until now, live content on the Web has been limited to "some sports, some politicians, and a lot of people at desks with microphones." Ms. Jones, who also stars in "35," says the creators wanted to mix the accessibility of Web TV with the spontaneity of theater.

"35" is also meant to be a showcase for the Web site hosting it. Ustream.tv is part of a new crop of services trying to get users interested in creating and watching live video, as opposed to sites like YouTube that show prerecorded clips."

YouTube suicide video tests law

Australian who download a video about euthanasia campaigners making a suicide pill could be breaking internet laws, reports News.com.au.

"The five-minute film, Single Shot, was made by Exit International, a pro-choice voluntary euthanasia/ assisted suicide organisation.

The video has been downloaded by more than 100 people a day since it was posted on YouTube three weeks ago.

Dr Nitschke said Exit International had been careful to remain within the site's rules so the film would not be removed.

But he said the group and anyone who downloaded the video could risk breaking laws which make it a crime to use the internet to transmit information about ending life."

Amanda Congdon and ABC Part Ways

25-year-old Amanda Congdon, former co-producer host and superstar of daily videoblog Rocketboom (who scored an interview with billionaire philanthropist George Soros, made a guest appearance as herself in an episode of CSI:, and who The New York Times described as "a big star on really small screens,") received a contract last year to host a weekly show on ABCNews.com and was heralded as “the first video blogger to make the jump to a major network, bridging the gap between old and new media.”

According to TV Decoder, "That bridge is closed, at least temporarily: Ms. Congdon’s one-year contract isn’t being renewed, ABC confirmed today.

Ms. Congdon said that leaving ABC was her decision.

“It’s been a fun, productive time filled with lots of traveling and lots of learning about traditional news media,” she wrote in an e-mail. She said she will begin a new digital project soon but didn’t elaborate. "

Blog Comments Become Fodder for Attack Ads on TV

TV ad points to a new form of negative campaigning in which information is sourced to comments posted on the Internet instead of news reports or public records. The Washington Post reports.

"Del. Timothy D. Hugo, a Republican state legislator from Fairfax County has launched an attack ad on cable TV against his Democratic opponent that features unidentified, unverified quotes from a blog.

Hugo's ad highlights critical comments about his Democratic opponent, Rex Simmons, that someone with the screen name "Pitin" posted on the Democratic blog Raising Kaine.

Ads that quote from blogs, on which it is often difficult to identify the author, represent a benchmark in increasingly negative political campaigns, several political analysts said.

This is one of the places where the old way of doing politics and the new way is coming into conflict," said David Weinberger, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. "We have developed a blogosphere that is full of lively debate . . . but at the same time we have political marketers who will use anything they can to advance their own cause.

... Karen S. Johnson-Cartee, a political science professor at the University of Alabama who has written several books on negative television ads, said Hugo's ad "means we have sunk to a new low. ... Most people, especially older Americans, are unfamiliar with the blogs," Johnson-Cartee said. "They have no way of testing the veracity of something posted on a blog."

TV shows losing mass appeal

An interesting article from Variety, on how with so many TV series offered on so many different channels, people are now divided by too many choices and can't possibly see them all, creating a "swath of small viewing communities, clinging to the programs they enjoy".

Gone are the days when everyone at the office could talk about the same show, like "Dallas", around the water cooler.

Another factor, writes Variety, "is the Internet is the very medium that has helped lead to this cacophony of voices: that maddening tool rending traditional media asunder, what with all those online videos and blogs joining in the collective din of little beaks clamoring for attention.

... At the Emmys, after all that pre-award hype, the ceremony itself landed with a thud, attracting 13 million viewers, one of the lowest on record.

And no wonder, as the TV Academy bestowed key honors on programs like HBO's "Extras" and NBC’s "30 Rock,"which, however deserving, have never been seen by most of the potential audience, eliminating much of a rooting interest."