Michael Jackson Funeral to be live streamed

As the world pays tribute to the King of Pop, Music Celebrity will be streaming Michael Jackson's funeral live. So far the family has not confirmed definite plans about where and when.

Joost bows to YouTube, gives up consumer video

Joost, the third major creation by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the duo that also founded Kazaa and Skype, announced Tuesday that it will dump its consumer-video service and will now focus on building "white label" video platforms for "cable and satellite providers, broadcasters and video aggregators." The move marks the end of Joost as a YouTube and Hulu competitor.

[via News.com]

CNN: We Don’t Need YouTube and Twitter to Tell Us What’s Going on in Iran–We’ve Got iReport

CNN's iReport is the news service’s attempt to create its own user-generated news hub. It’s supposed be to be able attract eyeballs on its own and in some cases, feed the Web site and the cable channel with free content donated by viewers. Peter Kafka reports for All Things Digital.

CNN says it has been using the site heavily to augment its Iran coverage. From a press release it sent out earlier this week: “Since last week, we’ve received 4555 iReport submissions related to Iran–including more than 1600 this past Saturday and Sunday alone, and an additional 689 just yesterday.

To date, 150 of the Iran-related iReports have been vetted and verified by CNN producers for use on CNN air or online–something the likes of YouTube or Flickr just aren’t equipped to do given their lack of newsgathering infrastructure.” (Yesterday CNN told me it added another 399 Iran-related iReports, and that seven had made it onto air. Presumably those numbers are still increasing.)

CNN producers have contacted the people who sent in all of the Iran-related iReports it has featured on the network and at least verified that they are who they say they are. That in itself seems worthwhile, and maybe even worth bragging about.

Related: - Unverifiable Citizens' Journalism in Iran

Michael Jackson dies leaving legacy of award-winning music

It's one of the greatest losses," said Tommy Mottola, former president of Sony Music, which released Jackson's music for 16 years. "In pop history, there's a triumvirate of pop icons: Sinatra, Elvis and Michael, that define the whole culture. . . . His music bridged races and ages and absolutely defined the video age. Nothing that came before him or that has come after him will ever be as big as he was.

LA Times

Cable Grabs the Web Remote

Several major cable networks and subscription-TV providers are readying systems that will let only paying subscribers watch cable shows on the Web, part of an effort to counter the growing amount of free TV shows available online. The WSJ reports.

Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and DirecTV Group Inc. plan trials of subscriber-only online services this summer, according to people familiar with the matter.

While limited, the new tests represent part of an industry-wide push to preserve and possibly expand the cable-TV business's lucrative subscription model in a digital world. The move also come as media companies are struggling to make money from online video.

... Cable operators have chafed as cable networks have posted some of their programming online. The new systems would allow networks to put more programming online without enticing viewers to cancel cable-TV subscriptions.

Read full artice.

JokeyPhone: The YouTube of Jokes

Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups has written up JokeyPhone. It's fabulous, check it out!

JokeyPhone is a video site where users can submit their own re-tellings of jokes. The moment you land on the page, you are greeted by a random joke to watch. You’re able to browse these jokes and share them with friends. There are several features, however, that make the site unique.

The best one is Auto Play, which allows you to turn on the JokeyPhone player, lay back, and watch joke after joke without interruption. A new joke comes after five seconds, giving you enough time to save or replay a joke. Another great feature is U-Tell Joke. Have you ever heard a great joke just be ruined by someone fumbling on the delivery? Well, U-Tell Joke allows you to retelll someone’s joke. If you think you can do it better, then prove it.

I'm a Blogger Get me Out of Here!

Something I missed. I'm a Blogger Get me Out of Here is NBC's online competition based on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. It started May 22 and ends tomorrow, June 11th.

Bloggers are pitted against each other in a contest to see who can survive to the final round, and win a trip to live blog behind the scenes at the "I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" set in Costa Rica. [Xomba]

The winner will be posted after June 30, 2009 on their Website.

Reality TV candidates entitled to salaries

In a ruling by the highest court of appeals in France - that will surely act as legal precedence - the reality TV candidates of "L'île de la Tentation" have been granted a working contract and a salary.

TFI network, producer of the show is appalled by the ruling. "I can not comprehend how participating in a TV show can be considered a professional activity when all candidates are required to do is flirt with each other and have a good time", said Edouard Boccon-Gibod, director of F1 Production, following the ruling.

[via Le Point and Nouvel Obs]

Jay Leno’s Final Tonight Show YouTube!

This Monday evening is the final Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A reported montage of Leno’s greatest moments is expected to be the highlight of the night.

Watch a preview of tonight show: Jay Leno’s Legacy Video Clip.

[via LA Late News]

Obama College Photos To Go On Display (video)

[via The Huffington Post]

TubeMogul to Serve Up Free Video Stats

Web video metrics firm TubeMogul today Wednesday version 2.0 of its analytics package that will bring better statistics for publishers on 15 top video sharing sites, including DailyMotion, Blip.tv, Break.com, and MetaCafe. Mashable reports.

Publishers on those sites will now be able to get detailed, and standardized data about how users are viewing and engaging with their videos.

By integrating their InPlay technology with outside services TubeMogul is now able to standardize the collection of metrics about how many people are watching videos, for how long, and from where. Many of the more advanced metrics offered by the company’s software were previously only available to customers who hosted their own video, but the new integrations make detailed viewership stats more universally available to publishers.

Twitter has plans for a TV series

Twitter -- the Web-site that poses the eternal question: "What are you doing?" - has plans for a TV series, according to Swamp Politics.

The social-networking service is teaming with Reveille productions and Brillsteen Entertainment to create an unscripted series based on the site, which invited 140-character postings from all.

The idea is to put Twitter on the trail of celebrities in a competitive situation.

Hulu's first live concert could be tip of the iceberg for TV

Hulu will offer a live stream of a Dave Matthews Band concert on June 1—the first of its kind for the popular TV streaming site. If it becomes a trend, cable providers may have reason to worry. For now, though, most TV viewing is still done in front of the ol' boob tube.

[via arstechnica]

Obama's Speech at Notre Dame University Commencement

[via The Huffington Post]

Michelle Obama Commencement Speech at UC

Michelle Obama's Commencement Speech At University Of California. [via The Huffington Post]

President Speaks at Arizona State University Commencement

President Obama Speaks at Arizona State University Commencement - May 13, 2009.

Read: Obama turns controversy into jokes, lesson at commencement.

Hulu Goes International (a Little)

In its first move towards opening up to international audiences, Hulu has added British television shows and Bollywood movies. Hulu today announced in a blog post that the site has partnered with U.K. content distributor Digital Rights Group and the Bollywood digital distributor Saavn to bring international content to U.S. audiences.

While Hulu's new international content may only get marginal interest from American audiences, the introduction of foreign shows is Hulu's first step toward opening up its content to the world.

Hulu says it is talking to as many as eight of the leading broadcast markets worldwide, according to Andy Forssell, Hulu's senior vice president of content acquisition and distribution. Forssell did not say which countries Hulu us targeting first when he recently spoke with the Financial Times about Hulu's international plans.

[Hulu Blog via Yahoo! Tech]

Bernie Madoff's Secretary Spills His Secrets

Eleanor Squillari, Bernie Madoff's secretary of more than 20 years gives an interview to Vanity Fair and talks on NBC's "Today".

[via The Huffington Post]

In Developing Countries, Web Grows Without Profit

To serve emerging markets, companies like YouTube need to invest in expensive servers, but ad revenue for those countries doesn’t cover those additional costs. The New York Times reports.

Web companies that rely on advertising are enjoying some of their most vibrant growth in developing countries. But those are also the same places where it can be the most expensive to operate, since Web companies often need more servers to make content available to parts of the world with limited bandwidth. And in those countries, online display advertising is least likely to translate into results.

There may be 1.6 billion people in the world with Internet access, but fewer than half of them have incomes high enough to interest major advertisers.

“It’s a problem every Internet company has,” said Michelangelo Volpi, chief executive of Joost, a video site with half its audience outside the United States.

“Whenever you have a lot of user-generated material, your bandwidth gets utilized in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, where bandwidth is expensive and ad rates are ridiculously low,” Mr. Volpi said. If Web companies “really want to make money, they would shut off all those countries.

Read full article.

Joost is seeking a buyer

Joost is actively seeking a buyer and the beleaguered video service has told cable and satellite providers that it could be their online video solution, said sources close to the companies.

[via cnet news]

Text-Message Commentary Coming to the Movies?

Thought movie hecklers were annoying? Well, if a new project takes off nationwide, prepare to be uber-annoyed by heckling via texting/Twittering projected directly onto the movie screen. MuVChat creator Rien Heald describes his Frankenstein-like creation to the Chicago Tribune as "a mash-up of 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' and Twitter." Switched reports.

During a screening of "Zoolander," audience members could heckle the movie via text, then watch as their comments appeared onscreen with the film:

The system works this way: Audience members text to a central number, which runs their comments through software. The MuVChat software then displays the texts in a three-line configuration at the bottom of the screen, like a vertical ticker, as the movie plays. Sitting in the projector booth with a standard computer, Heald uses a profanity screening program and can, on the fly, filter comments and ban abusive users.

Most viewers make about 40 comments per movie, Heald said, and not all of them are snarky. Just as often, people will play "Name That Tune" when the soundtrack swells or ask other members of the audience to bring them popcorn.

TiVo to sell instant data on what people watch, fast-forward

The company that's made it so easy for television viewers to avoid watching ads unveils a plan to help stations sell them, reports USA Today.

Tivo will challenge Nielsen, whose audience ratings provide the basis for most ad sales, with Stop/Watch Local Markets. It will supplement TiVo's measurements of national TV audiences with data from all but the smallest of the nation's 210 markets.

TiVo will offer stations, advertisers and program producers year-round, second-by-second information about the shows and commercials watched by people who have one of the company's DVRs. The anonymous data will come directly from the boxes.

How did Susan Boyle do it?

Middle aged Scottish spinster Susan Boyle, at 47, became one of the world's hottest celebrities virtually overnight after her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream on Britain's Got Talent show this month. But while most people see her story as a fairytale, some say it casts an unflattering light on the public and its preconceived notions about beauty and fame. Stuff reports.

They argue that the reason Boyle, who lives alone with her cat, became the instant star she has was because she did not look or behave like a "typical" celebrity.

"Sadly it all Boyles down to image" said Miranda Sawyer in a commentary piece for the Daily Mirror tabloid.

"No woman gets to perform publicly unless she looks like Mariah Carey. If you're a female singer, you are required by showbiz law to appear sexy at all times."

Tanya Gold, writing in the Guardian broadsheet, asked: "Is Susan Boyle ugly? Or are we?

"By raising this Susan up, we will forgive ourselves for grinding every other Susan into the dust. It will be a very partial and poisoned redemption. Because Britain's Got Malice."

Some descriptions of Boyle underlined media prejudices about beauty and age, critics said, with Boyle referred to variously as "frumpy", "dowdy", with "several double chins" and, in Britain's Daily Mail, as a "hairy angel".

Previously: - Susan Boyle follows Paul Potts

As Costs Fall, Companies Push to Raise Internet Price

Internet service providers want to end the all-you-can-eat plans and get their customers paying à la carte. But they are having a hard time closing the buffet line, reports The New York Times.

Faced with rising consumer protest and calls from members of Congress for new regulations, Time Warner Cable backed down last week from a plan to impose new fees on heavy users of its Road Runner Internet service.

The debate over the price of Internet use is far from over.

Cable executives say the issue is not competition but cost. People who watch or download a lot of movies and TV shows use hundreds of times more Internet capacity than those who simply read e-mail and browse the Web. It is only fair, they argue, that heavy users should pay more.

Read full article.

Pirate Bay Server Becomes Museum Exhibit

When The Pirate Bay was raided by police in 2006 they confiscated the site’s servers. Now one of those servers has been bought by a Swedish museum, reports Torrentfreak.

Sweden’s National Museum of Science and Technology has announced it has bought the server for 2,000 kronor ($243). It will be displayed in a section of the museum dedicated to machines and inventions that have changed people’s lives.

[via Torrentfreak]

Facebook not interested in Pirate Bay booty, blocks torrents

The Pirate Bay recently made torrents more social by adding "Share on Facebook" buttons across its site. The social network did not want to touch this particular hot potato, however, so it asked TPB to remove the buttons. After being ignored, Facebook is now blocking all links to The Pirate Bay and its torrents—legal and otherwise.

[via arstechnica]

Michelle Obama mobbed by pupils

Mrs. Obama's remarks at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, north London, courtesy of the BBC.

[via Mrs. O]

Gawkk, the online video Twitter?

The The LA Times Blog reports on Gawkk, a new entry into the burgeoning online-video market, positioned as the "Twitter for videos".

The site's approach is simple. There are thousands of channels of video to browse, fed by a wide array of sites including vlogs, Hulu and CNN. All the videos that play on the site are accompanied by a comment box, where you can share your thoughts in 140 characters or less.

You can also click a "Like" button to note that you liked the video (there's no "dislike" button, however). The site broadcasts your comments and "Likes" to your followers on the site, adding them to the top of the "activity stream" that dominates their personalized Gawkk home page.

You can also broadcast links to videos you've found on other sites, and automatically send your comments to your Twitter followers as well. Just as anyone can become one of your followers on Gawkk, so, too, can you follow any other user, adding their comments, likes and discoveries to the activity stream on your home page. The point is to capitalize on people's urge to tell others what they've found, turning those comments into feeds rich in recommendations for what to watch.

License fee police may target UK users for watching TV on Net

According to the Daily Mail, UK viewers who watch television only through their computers could be forced to pay the licence fee, it has been revealed.

Currently, those who solely use catch-up services, such as the BBC's iPlayer, do not need to pay the annual £139.50 charge.

But a law could be introduced to change this, amid growing evidence that more television viewers are migrating online.

... Research showed that 40 per cent of students in halls of residence used a laptop as their main way to watch TV.

The study also admitted that some people might 'forgo live television entirely' by watching catch-up services - such as the iPlayer.

The report said: 'Legislative change is likely to be required in order to reflect technology changes in the licence fee regulations.'

The Conficker Worm: What Happens Next?

One of the most dangerous computer worms known as "Conficker" is spreading through the Internet. By some estimates, 10 million computers have been infected worldwide.

60 Minutes reports on the Conficker worm.

Warner Bros. 'Archive' Brings Obscure Films to DVD On-demand

Warner Bros has just launched Warner Archive, a web portal where film aficionados can surf over and locate niche titles to be placed on a DVD and shipped out.

[via Switched]

China: YouTube Again Accessible

The Chinese government has lifted its block of YouTube, the popular video-sharing Web site run by Google, reports The New York Times.

China is reported to have blocked the YouTube video-sharing website because it has been carrying video of soldiers beating monks and other Tibetans.

Blockbuster and TiVo Join to Deliver Digital Movies

According to The New York Times, Blockbuster will announce a partnership with TiVo on Wednesday to deliver Blockbuster’s digital movie library over the Internet directly to the televisions of people with TiVo digital video recorders.

As with similar deals TiVo has struck to make digital video services from Amazon and Netflix accessible from its set-top boxes, no money will change hands between the companies. But Blockbuster also said it would sell TiVos at many of its 4,000 stores in the United States, taking a typical retailer’s cut of sales. The two companies plan a joint marketing campaign to promote the new service, which will start in the second half of the year.

President Obama on The Jay Leno Show

President Obama's full interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, courtesy of NBC.

iTunes rolls out high-def movie downloads

iTunes customers (Windows|Mac) can now buy and rent films in high definition, Apple said Thursday, reports cnet news.

Customers can buy hit titles for $19.99 and rentals will cost $4.99. Rentals will be available a month after a film is released on DVD. Prior to this offer, high-def films were only available for rental.

The high-def quality movies are compatible with Macs and PCs. But iPhones and iPods can still only play films in standard definition, the company said. Each high-def film comes with a standard-def copy to play on Apple's handhelds.

Madoff arrives at court

[via CNBC]

One in 8 Million

One in 8 Million, a NY Times weekly web series about the different characters in New York. Marvelous.

[via Swiss Miss]

ZillionTV Streams TV Content, Lets Viewers Choose Ads

A startup backed by a handful of television and movie studios has launched in beta with an advertising-supported service to deliver streaming content to viewers' television sets over the Internet. ZillionTV will allow viewers to choose the categories of ads they prefer to receive. The eCommerce Times reports.

A new streaming video startup, ZillionTV, has entered the crowded digital television sector.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., startup, which is backed by Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, NBC Universal, Disney, Fox, Visa, Sierra Ventures, Concept Ventures and Blu-ray chip maker Sigma Design, expects to launch its new service nationally by the end of the year.

For now, ZillionTV is available in beta in several U.S. markets.

Bernie Madoff Victims Speak Out (VIDEO)

Vanity Fair is featuring a video by Stephen Witkin of a handful of Bernard Madoff's many victims telling their stories.

[via The Huffington Post]

"TV Everywhere": pay your cable bill, watch Entourage online

Time Warner's CEO has a new plan called "TV Everywhere" that will let pay-TV subscribers watch their favorite cable shows online. CEO Jeff Bewkes want to make sure that people keep paying that hefty monthly bill, instead of dropping pay-TV in favor of Netflix or ad-supported Internet streams from the broadcast networks. But is he fighting the future?

[via arstechnica]

Dailymotion to Distribute Hulu Content in the US

Dailymotion, one of the world's largest independent video sharing sites, today announced a distribution agreement with Hulu.

The agreement with Hulu will give Dailymotion's audience access to an additional 40,000 premium videos from Hulu's extensive online video library, including full-length episodes from major television studios, full-length feature films from major film studios, as well as news and other content from more than 130 content providers.

Again, this is great for US viewers but leaves us Europeans out in the cold, again. And Dailymotion is a French company to boot.

[Press release via NewTeeVee]

"24" is going green

"24" is going green, becoming the first "carbon neutral" television series. The IHT reports.

On Monday the network will announce that "24" is going green, becoming the first "carbon neutral" television series.

Among other things, Fox says, it has hired consultants to measure the carbon-dioxide output from the production, started using 20 percent biodiesel fuel in trucks and generators, installed motion monitors in bathrooms and kitchens to make the lights more efficient and paid the higher fees that help California utilities buy wind and solar power.

... Executives said that they were the first to make a series carbon neutral and that they hoped "24" would be a model for other shows and inspire a higher level of environmental consciousness in viewers. On Monday the network will begin broadcasting announcements in which the stars of "24" — including Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Agent Jack Bauer — encourage viewers to take steps themselves.

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.

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.

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.