South Koreans want their sub-TV

In South Korea, subway riders are becoming addicted to free TV on their cellphones. But declining ad revenue and mounting debt may force cellular operators to pull the plug. The LA Times reports.

Reeling from declining ad revenue and mounting debt from providing the expensive service at no additional cost to subscribers, South Korean cellular operators may soon cancel subway TV coverage that has yet to turn a profit.

Losing underground TV reception may not seem like much to consumers in the U.S., where many are still struggling with cellular dead zones and where a switch to full above-ground digital TV service may leave millions staring at useless analog sets.

But for many South Koreans, subway TV has become a familiar part of their daily routines. Phone companies in this digitally crazed nation in 2005 were the first to launch mobile TV that could be tuned in on phones just about anywhere -- even in the subway tunnels deep beneath Seoul and other cities.

Today, nearly 10 million cellular users are watching soap operas, sports and sitcoms on a special frequency dedicated to portable viewing -- enjoying it all on larger digital-quality screens and high-tech handsets to improve reception.

In Seoul, for example, companies offer eight video and 10 audio channels on new cellphones. There's also a subscription-based satellite service, but few consumers have shelled out for it.

But the proposed changes by cellphone service providers would leave users with only static in the subway, and no TV signal until they hit street level again.

TV.com Beats Hulu To The Punch With International Access

News today from paidContent.org, TV.com has opened up some of the site’s video clips to international viewers, beating Hulu to the punch. Well not really.

Before non US viewers get their hopes up, what is available are clips of Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Star Trek, MacGyver, and Love Boat, 60 Minutes and 48 Hours- all of which are of no interest to this International viewer.

Anthony Soohoo, SVP of CBSI’s entertainment and lifestyle division, told Contentinople that the company was working on securing the international rights for more long-form content.

I'll believe it when I see it. That's what we've been hearing from Hulu for months.

Don't count on international viewers to drop by for rerun snippets of dated shows. We'll be sticking to video sharing sites, where we can watch full episodes of the latest US TV series.

Archbishop takes to YouTube to reach lapsed Catholics

To mark the beginning of Lent, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington launched a $75,000 marketing blitz using YouTube, a blog and advertising to reach lapsed Catholics.

“We wanted people to be able to ask questions,” said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the 580,000-member archdiocese.

“Sometimes they’re not ready to walk in a church door ... or they might be embarrassed to ask a question, or they might be worried that they won’t be welcome.”

The campaign’s slogan is “Longing for something? Maybe it’s God?”

[via Houston Beliefand Citizen Tube]

BBC teams up with ITV and BT for "Project Canvas"

According to TechDigest, the companies plan a set-top box that can access YouTube, iPlayer, and other video sites.

Following the utter failure of Kangaroo, BBC and ITV bosses have put their heads together and come up with a different strategy. They're launching a public consultation on a proposal for a IPTV service that they're calling Project Canvas.

There's not a whole lot of detail available yet, but it appears that the companies want to put together a set-top box service that'll deliver television (in HD), a PVR service, internet access (to YouTube and other sites), and some sort of electronic program guide to it all.

The partners hope that it would cost in the region of £100-200 for the consumer, and a 2010 launch is aimed at. The BBC says it'll contribute £6 million to the project over the next five years, out of a total of £16.6 million that it'll need.

Music Executive Ridiculed at Pirate Bay Trial

From Wired:

Laughter filled The Pirate Bay trial here Wednesday when John Kennedy, the chief executive of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries, testified that people would have purchased every music track they got free file sharing.

... The day's testimony -- which also came from Ludvig Werner, CEO of IFPI's Swedish section and Per Sundin, CEO of the Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music -– amounted to accounts of The Pirate Bay ruining Hollywood.

All the while, lawyers for the four Pirate Bay co-founders drove home the point that the lobbying groups do not go after the millions of people who use The Pirate Bay tracker to search for pirated works online.

TV.com Launches iphone Application

TV.com, CBS Interactive's recently re-launched video site, has launched an application for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Broadcasting & Cable reports.

The free app will feature full episodes, clips, news and information on the shows featured on the site.

The launch is significant because the streaming of free, full length episodes has the potential to eat into sales on Apple's own iTunes store, which sells many of the same programs for $1.99 a piece.

Among the programs available through the app are CSI, CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Young and The Restless and classics such as MacGyver, Beverly Hills 90210 and Star Trek.

Not available to Swiss viewers though.

Highlights from President Obama's 2009 Address to a Joint Session of Congress

On Tuesday, President Obama delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress to call for a new era of responsibility and a renewed commitment to investing in energy, health care, and education.

Above are key moments from the speech and President Obama's plan to return our country to prosperity.

Click here for full address.

Rentrak lauches 'FilmScope' apps

FilmScope and FilmScope Worldwide, from Rentrak's Theatrical Group, provide film enthusiasts with top line U.S. domestic box office results and expanded film information.

FilmScope also allows users to read reviews and purchase movie tickets via their iPhone or iPod touch.

FilmScope Worldwide will offer an international perspective with box office intelligence on multiple international territories, all of which was previously only available to Rentrak subscribers.

[via FierceWireless Press release]

Where to Watch Obama’s “State of the Union” Online

Where to Watch Obama’s “State of the Union” Online listed on NewTeeVee.

Indian police guard woman after video of her undressing appears on internet

A young woman has been given police protection after a video clip of her undressing in a bedroom was circulated on the internet, provoking a debate about how the law deals with morals and technology in India. The Guardian

The short film is thought to have been taken by an MBA student who decided to release it to his friends when his girlfriend refused to marry him. The pair, who were classmates at a local college, fell out and to take revenge the man broke into his former girlfriend's email account and sent out the video. It has become India's most searched item on Google.

Women's organisations have repeatedly warned of the rising tide of sexually explicit video clips that are emerging after failed relationships. "It is getting to be a big problem. In the past we have not had such love affairs being exposed like this," said Hembrom.

There have been cases highlighted of young women being blackmailed and beaten up. Others have reportedly committed suicide – ashamed by being exposed by their own naivety. In most instances women and men are willing participants in making the video clip – without realising the implications for their personal privacy when the relationship sours.

The most recent case comes just as India is about to make "online viral video voyeurism" a crime, with both the uploading and transmitting of such clips an offence being punishable in the first instance by three years in jail or a half a million rupee (£7,400) fine.

Americans watch yet more TV, Nielsen reports

Americans watched more television than ever in the fourth quarter, The Nielsen Co. reported Monday, even though the Internet is providing another way to watch. The Seattle Times reports.

The average American older than 2 years watched television for 151 hours per month, Nielsen said.

The average user of Internet video spent two hours and 53 minutes on that per month, Nielsen said.

This last figure is so far off from my personal experience and how everyone around me watches TV online. Where I live (Switzerland) it's more like two hours and 53 minutes a day, not a month. When will someone take an interest in how people watch TV online outside of the US? It's obviously much more popular. Video sharing sites stream the latest episodes of the latest series - not yet available on our TV networks. Sorry if you've heard this before, but official content is not available to us.

Whisper campaigns exposed: pay per lie on YouTube

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia's most popular YouTube users has admitted being paid to spruik Ten's new show Lie to Me surreptitiously in the latest example of marketers invading the popular video sharing site.

Amateur video maker Hugh Thomas, 26, from Bondi, said he was asked by a mystery third party to create a video blog on Lie to Me and publish it on his popular YouTube channel , in return for payment from 20th Century Fox.

He would not give more details of the whisper campaign, saying he was bound by a non-disclosure agreement.His six-minute satirical video on Lie to Me attracted just 10,800 views but it was joined by scores of other clips created by YouTube users around the world - all sponsored by Fox.

But none of the videos disclosed the Fox payment.

Variety gets an app

Variety gets an app.

All the latest news, reviews, videos and photos from Variety, the weekly entertainment trade newspaper.

Including last night's Oscar coverage.

Google sued in Italy over uploaded video content

An Italian judge on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to a case in which Google could be held responsible for content it hosts but does not produce. From USA Today.

The case centers on a 2006 video of four Italian youths taunting a child with Down syndrome. In the video, one of the youths incorrectly claims to be part of a small Down syndrome advocacy group called Vivi Down. The video was uploaded to the Google Video site, where it stayed for two months.

Prosecutors have filed charges against five Google executives, saying they were in violation of Italian privacy laws and of contributing to the defamation of Vivi Down.

At the heart of the case are two main questions: Should sites such as Google Video be held responsible for the content they host? And should such non-brick-and-mortar New Economy companies be subject to the laws in countries where they are not based?

"The outcome of this will be to determine how big companies like Google should be expected to act," said Raffaele Zallone, a former chief counsel for IBM's Italian offices and the attorney representing a woman seeking damages in a secondary case tacked onto the main charges.

Is Hulu Driving People Back to Piracy?

Hulu caused quite a stir this week when, at the request of rights holders, it shut down Boxee’s access to its streaming video platform. From The New York Times.

... Now we’re witnessing the first shots be fired in what could become a full-blown war between NBC and FOX on one side and CBS on the other, with cable providers getting ready to open up a third front with their own offerings.

Licensing-based blackouts like the recent move by Hulu to disable content on TV.com, on the other hand, are starting to affect a growing audience that is just getting used to this new way of watching TV.

And it’s not like these folks don’t have any other convenient options. Applications like the Torrent Episode Downloader (TED) make it easy to subscribe to whole seasons of your favorite TV show via BitTorrent, and established TV torrent sites like EZTV even offer P2P streaming for immediate access.

Read full article.

Image from CollegeJolt explaining how to watch TV online.

Full TV Episodes Viewed Online Doubles Since '06

According to Information Week, eighty-seven percent of Internet streamers say they go online to watch current episodes that they missed.

About twice as many Internet users watch entire television programs online than in 2006, according to a recent report.

Knowledge Networks, a research, marketing, and consulting firm, found that one in five Internet users between the ages of 13 and 54 watch full TV episodes online. Two-thirds of them said they expect to their favorite shows to be available for viewing on the device of their choice, according to an annual report released last week by Knowledge Networks.

The third annual report, "How People Use TV's Web Connections," also showed that use of third-party hosting sites like Hulu has doubled since 2007, from 14% of Internet streamers ages 13 to 54 to 28%, but the networks' own Web sites are still the most popular source of network content, Knowledge Networks reported.

Read full article.

Pirate Bay Trial Day 5

TorrentFreak reports:

It’s Day 5 at The Pirate Bay trial. Will colorful site spokesman Peter Sunde stand up to the pressure? There seems little doubt of that, but the Prosecution are trying to make it as difficult as possible by introducing yet more uncleared evidence. Peter demands of the Prosecution, “Is this a political trial?”

... One of the themes so far is how the Prosecutor is struggling to come to terms with the somewhat chaotic structure of the TPB’s operations. Trying to pin down Peter’s role, he asked about his position as TPB spokesman - Peter said he took the unofficial position since no-one else in the team wanted to do it. A request from a journalist or someone else for a comment on something came in, said Peter, and he simply took it in hand.

Comedy pilots reflect recession

A group of friends gets fired on the same day. Troubled cops check into a halfway home. A Wall Street executive loses his job and has to reconnect with his small-town family.

Laughing yet? Those are a few log lines for next fall's TV pilots -- the comedy pilots.

Networks are looking at recession-friendly ideas for their new half-hours, with many projects embracing characters in crisis and avoiding office settings.

[via The Hollywood Reporter and The Live Feed]

CNN, Facebook Team Up Again for State of the Union

CNN.com and Facebook will on Feb. 24 attempt to replicate their wildly successful live streaming/commenting collaboration as seen during President Barack Obama’s inauguration, as the site ramps up coverage of the new president’s much-anticipated State of the Union Address.

[via MediaWeek]

Video Sharing via Twitter

WorldTV, a leading online video aggregation platform today launches a fully embedded Twitter client allowing users to share their video finds on Twitter.

The new functionality allows users to broadcast messages via Twitter each time they add a new video clip to their WorldTV channel or periodically if they are adding lots of videos at once. Fully integrated into WorldTV's popular video content management system the user can also operate their Twitter account without having to leave WorldTV.

Press release

Pirate Bay Trial Day 4

The Wall Street Journal on day four of the tumultuous Pirate Bay trial.

... Pirate Bay champions view the prosecution’s dropped charges as a sign that victory is imminent, though prosecution lawyer Peter Danowsky has said that the change lets prosecutors focus on the charge of “assisting making available copyright material.”

Not everyone in the blogosphere is on the Pirate Bay’s side. PC World’s Jeff Bertolucci writes in a post called “It’s Time for Pirate Bay to Walk the Plank”: “No, I’m not a card-carrying member of the RIAA, nor am I a fan of the recording industry’s past strong-arm tactics to fight piracy… The Pirate Bay makes its living off piracy, and that’s bad. It allows millions of Internet users to steal music, movies, games, and so on.”

But he also says he’s glad Pirate Bay has rattled the cage. “Its looming shadow has led to positive developments over the past year, as media conglomerates realized that they needed to find creative ways to fight piracy,” he adds.

Read also:

-- Day 4 - Pirate Bay Defense Calls Foul Over Evidence (Torrent Freak)

-- Prosecution Baffled by Pirate Bay’s Anarchic Structure (Wired)

IFPI Site Hacked to Protest Pirate Bay Trial

The Swedish website for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry was defaced Thursday by hackers protesting the group's involvement in the ongoing Pirate Bay trial in Stockholm. [via Wired]

The message on the homepage of the recording industry association's website urged Pirate Bay prosecutor Haakan Roswall of Stockholm to "stop lying." The hackers, called "The New Generation," said the intrusion was a "declaration of war against the anti-piracy industry."

The site returned to normalcy early Thursday.

U2’s new album leaked on Pirate Bay

The new album by U2 has been leaked on the internet – two weeks before its official release, according to Metro.

No Line On The Horizon – the band's 12th album – was available to download for free on the Pirate Bay website yesterday.

YouTube Selling More Ads To Larger Advertisers?But Only On A Fraction Of Videos

YouTube may finally be making some headway in convincing big marketers to get over their phobia of user-generated content.

A new report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says YouTube is selling in-stream advertising on more videos and adding new major advertisers.

The report surveyed the top 100 videos (by views) on YouTube during a single week in February with an eye toward how many played ads and what kind of ads ran.

Read full article in The Washington Post.

Six-year-old soccer player turning into Internet sensation

6-year-old football player is a YouTube sensation.

[via Network National Post]

Hulu Blocks Access to Internet-to-TV Software

Hulu, the joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp., announced yesterday that it will block users of Boxee, an application that allows users to watch video delivered via the Internet on their TVs, from accessing its trove of TV shows and movies.

The reason, according to Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s blog post: “Our content providers requested that we turn off access to our content via the Boxee product, and we are respecting their wishes.”

[via Multichannel News]

Day 3 - The Pirate Bay’s ‘King Kong’ Defense

The Pirate Bay trial is moving forward rapidly and again the day in court has ended early. On the third day the prosecution presented the amended charges. The defendants all called for acquittal while Carl Lundström’s lawyer scored points with the already legendary ‘King Kong’ defense.

Full report in TorentFreak.

PacketVideo - TV on your iPhone

At Barcelona's Mobile World Congress, PacketVideo demonstrated its mobile broadcast receiver that turns Wi-Fi-enabled phones and personal media players into mobile TVs. iPhone World reports.

The way it works is PacketVideo receiver decodes digital TV signal, and then sends it wirelessly which then is caught and play backed by the device, like iPhone. The mobile broadcast receiver is compatible with many industry-leading phones, iPhone including.

The receiver also allows viewing premium channels, as well as ensures optimum rendering of the TV signal on the playback device.

[via NewTeeVee]

Swiss TV TSR gets an iPhone app

TSRinfo is Swiss Television Network TSR's iPhone app, one of the first European TV networks to launch a single standing app. Previously Twenty European TV networks are available as channels on multi appTelevision.

Related: - An iPhone app called Television. Indeed

Charges Against The Pirate Bay Partly Dropped

It’s only their second day in court, and The Pirate Bay already seems to be winning the legal battle against the plaintiffs - Universal, Warner Bros, MGM, EMI, 20th Century Fox, Colombia Pictures, and Sony BMG. Mashable reports.

According to TorrentFreak, half of the charges against The Pirate Bay have already been dropped due to lack of evidence. Therefore, the prosecutor has dropped all charges related to “assisting copyright infringement,” with the remaining charges being related to “assisting making available.”

Related: - Pirate Bay Trial: The Hottest Ticket in Stockholm