Movie trailers find big audiences online

Batman, Bond trailers are racking up millions of views on YouTube.

Web sites like Apple trailers, Coming Soon and others have increased the circulation and attention to trailers. A highly anticipated trailer will often top YouTube's charts in its first days of release.

For the last nine years, an open competition judged by film industry notables, held in May, awards a Golden Trailer for the best trailer.

"The Golden Trailer Awards recognize the creative people who make movie trailers, and the best examples of their unique art, in a gala award show."

[via MSNBC]

Hostage Ingrid Betancourt is Freed and talks on Dailymotion

Huge news here is the liberation from the FARCS of Ingrid Betancourt after 6 years of captivity in the Columbian jungle. You can watch a video of her speaking on Dailymotion after her relase. She looks wonderful. Everyone feared for her health. A picture released last November was alarming.

Her family in France (daughter, son, husband and ex-husband) moved heaven and earth, the French government and the press, relentlessly for 6 years. Her mother spoke to her via Columbian radio every day (she was allowed a radio). Her "imminent" liberation was mediatized several times, the disappointments where huge. Wonderful she is finally free and looking so well.

FCC Chairman: cable TV from phone companies a "victory for consumers"

A U.S. Appeals court has upheld the FCC’s 2007 order that made it easier for AT&T and other phone companies to move into the video business.

The cable industry challenged the FCC’s ruling, as did states, which have long held sway over the video franchising process. Today the court disagreed, telling the complaintants, in so many words, to shut their pie holes.

[via USA Today]

A Movie on Your TV at Home, Before You Can Rent It

In an industry first, Sony Pictures “Hancock,” starring Mr. Smith as a bungling superhero, hits theaters on Wednesday and will be available — after its theater run but before release on DVD — over the Internet, directly to viewers’ television sets. That is, if they own a Sony Bravia TV with a Web connection. The New York Times reports.

"... In November, after “Hancock” has had its run in theaters, it will be available for a fee with the click of a remote control for consumers who own Internet-equipped Sony Bravia televisions. The Bravia Internet link adds $299 to the cost of the television."

Bill Gates Tribute Video: Looking Back, Moving ahead

Bill Gates had his last day at Microsoft yesterday. Microsoft published a very nice biographical video titled "Looking Back, Moving ahead" (Part 1, Part 2) that takes you through the life of Bill Gates.

[via I4U]

Bill Gates last full day at Microsoft

There is wonderful coverage all over the Web today as this is Bill Gates last day at Microsoft. For those us of who have not been fans of Microsoft over the years, we can only take our hats off for what he has accomplished in both technology and philanthropy.

As engadget so aptly put it, "the end of an era; a fresh beginning; good riddance -- whatever you think of Bill's final day at Microsoft, it's impossible to deny that his tenure there helped forever re-shape not just technology, but the world as we know it".

My favorite coverage though is on Gizmodo, who has been throwing Bill Gates retirement parties all week, filled with links to interviews, parodies, company insight and well wishing.

Above, a fun 60 Minutes interview where Bill Gates tells us how easy school was while chowing down on burgers at his favorite fast food joint. But my personal favorite is this one, where on another 60 Minutes show, he talks of his love for his wife Melinda in a Valentine's Day Special. A side not often seen.

For more video coverage of Bill Gates check out YouTube .

France To Tax Mobile, Internet And TV Revenues To Fund Public Broadcaster

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made good on his promise to shake up the country’s media industry. Starting on January 1 next year prime-time advertising on public television will be phased out, with the lost revenues to be replaced by taxes collected from internet, mobile phone and commercial broadcasting companies, Sarkozy announced yesterday, reports Bloomberg via mocoNews.net.

NBC to release show-specific streaming data

How many people are watching 30Rock on NBC's website? The TV network is going to start telling us, according to LA Times Blog.

"Trying to make advertisers more comfortable buying spots on online shows, NBC Digital Entertainment said today it would begin to release show-specific streaming data for the first time through the Nielsen Online VideoCensus. The network says this new type of measurement makes it possible for advertisers to compare audience numbers, show by show. "

BBC adds radio content to TV on new iPlayer

The BBC will launch its next generation iPlayer tomorrow with a fully integrated on-demand radio service alongside its seven-day catch-up TV content.

The service will give iPlayer users access to the BBC's TV and Radio content, with users now able to access BBC radio stations as live streams and 'listen again' features.

[via NMA]

NBC will stream the entire Beijing Olympics online -- for Vista users only

NBC, the network responsible for all US Olympic television programming will stream the entire Beijing Olympics online for the first time -- for Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate users only. The Inudstry Standard reports.

"The scheme, called "NBC Olympics on the Go" -- though it isn't compatible with any mobile devices -- will allow Vista users to watch any and all events form the games on their PC's."

Video Comments The Japanese Way (Nico Nico Douga)

TechCrunch reports on the huge success of a user-generated video portal from Japan called Nico Nico Douga.

"... Nico Nico’s most distinctive feature - and the main reason why users spend twice as much time on Nico Nico as they do on Youtube - is that members communicate via short texts inserted on top of the video feeds. Entries are time-synched and flow over the frame from right to left. Using different colors, other users can add comments later in the same way. Some videos are virtually covered with thousands of lines of text, which can be filtered or turned off."

Ebay founder turns video blogger, invests in Seesmic

Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, has invested in the video comment service Seesmic, announcing the news in what else but a video comment on Seesmic.

[via FT Tech Blog]

John Malone: Free Internet TV is absurd

John Malone, the billionaire US media mogul, warned on Friday that moves by television networks to make programs available for free on the internet were doomed to fail. The Financial Times reports.

"I think the idea that they’re going to put television shows and movies on the internet, bypass their traditional distribution and have no way of collecting [revenues] is absurd.”

'Chinese YouTube' shut down amid censor fears

One of the most popular video-sharing websites in China has been shut down, reports the Times Online, prompting fears the Government may be tightening its control over the internet.

"The site, 56.com, which usually offers YouTube-style video, has been suspended for more than two weeks. A message on the home page blames a server upgrade, but it would be unusual for such routine maintenance to take so long.

Executives at the company refused to explain the delay."

Sony hooks up with a Rolling Stone

Sony is hooking up with Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, to curate the first exhibition of the legendary rockers' artwork on "pretty-as-a-picture"-Bravia E4000 series TV. TechRadar reports.

"Wood's art will be displayed, according to Sony's press blurb, on "a genuinely innovative digital canvas… to create an exhibition like no other."

The Bravias will form the basis of a week-long exhibition from 7 July, at Wood's very own Scream gallery in London's Mayfair.

Vistors will be able to purchase digital versions of the exhibition artwork from the gallery on a limited edition USB key, designed by resident Scream artist, Bruce French."

[via

Sohu Gets Olympics Webcast Rights

Sohu, the Chinese portal company which is already the online host/content provider for the upcoming Beijing Olympics, has now snagged the rights for the live webcast of all the events, in a deal with the Internet arm of CCTV, the Chinese state television network.

Though the release doesn't say so, assuming this is only for China. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. p>

[via The Washington Post / PaidContent.org]

Swiss TV in German anthem blunder

Swiss television has made an embarrassing error during live coverage of the European Championship football match between Germany and Austria, reports the BBC.

"The national channel SRG ran subtitles to Germany's national anthem including the obsolete first verse - ignored since the fall of the Third Reich."

Wimbledon Matches Pay-Per-View Streaming

Wimbledon Matches Get Streamed Online

This year’s Wimbledon tournament will be streamed online by MediaZone at Wimbledon LIVE beginning June 23rd.

An all access pass to the tournament costs $25 and there are some free passes available. Check out TechCrunch.

J.K. Rowling on the Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination

J.K. Rowling was unemployed and living on welfare when she penned Harry Potter, which earned her billions of dollars.

With that rags-to-riches story as a background, listen to what she said at this year’s Harvard’s graduation ceremony, on the "benefits" of failure and the importance of imagination:

[Scribbal Terror via Neotarama]

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Video link

Tom Brokaw Reports Death of Tim Russert

Tom Brokaw reporting on the death of Tim Russert, June 13, has been posted on YouTube.

Veteran NBC newsman Tim Russert, the longtime moderator of Meet the Press and host of the Tim Russert Show and a staple of the election season, has unexpectedly passed away after suffering a heart attack. He was 58 years old.

Hollywood Writers Make Their Own Web Platform: Strike.TV

Strike.TV, which has some part of its origins in the strike blog/community site United Hollywood, will feature a large set of self-funded original series, according to its MySpace profile.

Each show be owned by its creator, and profits from the first 45 shows will be donated to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund, which assists non-WGA members who were impacted by the strike.

Strike.tv will launch July 4.

[via NewTeeVee]

Warner Bros. Signs Distribution Deal w/Joost, Sling Media, Veoh

Warner Bros. has signed distribution agreements with Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh Networks to launch branded channels that will include TheWB.com and KidsWB.com, along with other series from the Warner Bros collection.

The channels will launch in mid-September and offer full-length episodes of programming from the WB network.

[via MediaPlannerBuyer]

Violent or explicit YouTube videos 'must carry warnings'

YouTube should display warnings on video clips which include swearing, sex or violence, a UK government minister has said, reports The Telegraph.

"Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, said video sharing websites, like YouTube, should be subject to the same controls as broadcasters. “If a clip on YouTube gets a million hits, it is akin to broadcasting,” he said.

Hollywood Studios Seek Control Over Delivering Movies to Homes

Hoping to persuade federal regulators to close a piracy loophole, Hollywood studios are dangling the prospect of allowing consumers to watch newly released movies at home. In exchange, the studios want new rights to block video from being sent over the cables that many consumers currently use to connect their televisions to their cable boxes.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Live bingo on ITV

Bingo lovers in Britain will be able to watch live games on television and play on the Internet after interactive digital media company Mirada won a contract with ITV to provide interactive digital TV bingo services.

The agreement with ITV covers the technical production and operation of Bingo Night Live, a free-to-play bingo game that will be broadcasted five nights a week, it said.

[via Reuters]

NewTeeVee Spins Off NewTeeVee Station

NewTeeVee has just launched a spinoff of online video reviews called NewTeeVee Station.

In their own words: "NewTeeVee Station is your guide to online video, pointing you to hot new memes, following the emerging stars of the web, and just generally indexing this new entertainment medium.

Station features editorial reviews of online videos written by a team led by Liz Shannon Miller, who comes from Variety and the Daily Reel. They have eliminate the static and bring to you videos that are actually good — but also the stuff that’s so bad it has everyone talking."

Good for the NewTeeVee team, they have definitely come up with a niche that needed filling.

[via NewTeeVee]

Hillary Clinton Endorses Obama

The New York Times has posted the video of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s speech in Washington on June 7 bringing her campaign to end and endorsing Obama - with a full text transcript.

One of the most wonderful, uplifting, inspiring speeches ever.

The first all green TV network

TreeHugger.com's TV sister is launching tonight. Called Planet Green, it claims to be the first and only 24-hour eco-lifestyle television network.

By representing a broad range of ideas and perspectives, addressed to all age groups, Planet Green is taking an active role in generating conversation and motivating individuals to take action when it comes to improving the environmental status of our planet.

TechCrunch Launches Elevator Pitches

TechCrunch launched Elevator Pitches yesterday, a new service that lets founders and CEOs upload videos of themselves pitching their startup in under 60 seconds. The audience then votes for their favorite, with the highest-ranked pitches landing a coveted spot on TechCrunch.

[via NewTeeVee]

Scrutiny of Phone Fees May Broaden to TV, Internet

A planned federal hearing on penalties that cellphone users pay for canceling their contracts early may be expanded to include a discussion on similar fees for ending cable and Internet services ahead of schedule, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said in an interview yesterday.

[via The Wasington Post]

Sex and the City Tops Weekend Box Office

Sex and the City, the cinematic incarnation of the hit HBO series, blew the doors off the box office this weekend, earning nearly $56 million in three days of release and nabbing the weekend's top spot, reports Broadcasting & Cable.

"... Friday, it went on to top Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which suffered more than a 50% drop-off.

The numbers proved that the film appealed to a broader audience than the relatively small slice that tuned into the television show. Take that killer critics!

CBS to Unveil New Video Player

CBS will reportedly announce a new video player Monday, featuring a raft of new features including new ad targeting, content sharing and augmented social capabilities.

The player will feature HD capabilities that won’t require a download and reportedly offers a content sharing features, embed functionality and screening rooms where people can watch and discuss video together online.

[via NewTeeVee]

Young adults most clueless about Digital TV switch

A new report suggests that young adults, not the elderly, are least prepared for the DTV transition—assuming that they care much about it. [via ars technica]

Veoh shuts off service in many countries

According to Gadgetell, Veoh, a video site with content from FOX, CBS, NBC as well as YouTube videos, has blocked access to the site in several foreign nations.

"Andrew Baron, creator of RocketBoom, first posted on Twitter and his blog that access to the site has been forbidden in many nations around the world. Veoh’s Wikipedia page now has a section for availability throughout the world, listing the countries that cannot access it."

Mad Men premiere date

What's Allen Watching blog has posted some good news about (favorite and smoke filled ) TV series Mad Men.

AMC announced the following:

-- "Mad Men" season two will debut on Sunday, July 27th, at 10 p.m., the show's new timeslot.

-- "Mad Men" season one will come out on DVD on July 1.

-- "Mad Men" season one, for those of you who don't buy DVDs but do have On Demand, will be available On Demand in both standard and high-def versions starting June 30.

-- "Mad Men" season one, for those of you who don't buy DVDs and don't have On Demand, will be rerun in an all-day marathon starting at noon Eastern on July 20.

TiVo Offering Critic's Picks and VOD from Walt Disney

TiVo is partnering with the Chicago Tribune to deliver TV critic Maureen Ryan’s daily viewing recommendations to subscribers, reports Broadcasting & Cable.

"Under the new initiative, TiVo users can choose to subscribe to Ryan’s picks, with TiVo automatically downloading her suggestions as highlighted in that day’s Tribune television grid, as well as brief video commentaries from Ryan herself."

In a separate annoucement, according to electronista, TiVo will offer videos on demand from the Walt Disney Studios library, with some of the content made available in high-definition.

Hot gossip: The fall of the web's most glamorous blogger

A much talked about story on the Web today, the fall of one of the web's most glamorous bloggers.

As editor of New York's bitchiest, most successful gossip website, Gawker, Emily Gould poked the finger of derision at America's showbiz elite. But then she became the story – and her world fell apart.

Her interview, posted on YouTube, as a guest on an episode of Larry King Live, with Jimmy Kimmel as the host, became a scandal that would not go away.

Read Emily Gould's full account in The Independent.

Blu-ray DVD recorder sales rising fast in Japan

According to Reuters, sales of high definition Blu-ray DVD recorders are zooming up in Japan as consumers take to the new generation of home movie entertainment after the end of a bitter format war.

"Last month the more expensive Blu-ray recorders topped the old generation recorders in the value of sales for the first time."

Live Online TV streams from around the world

Watch Online TV claims to be the largest resource available on the Web for viewing free Internet television.

Live streaming TV, recorded news, broadband internet TV stations, and video from all over the world. About 2,890 Online TV Channels from 60+ countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, The Caribbean, Latin America, Middle East all in one website.

Streams are sorted by category and country.

I gave it a try (CNN and a couple of Swiss channels), but it doesn't work for me, though I have one of the required players. There was no streaming, just a blank screen.

[via TechCrunch]

Weak Economy Boosts Sales of Picture-Tube TVs

The slowing American economy has had an unexpected effect on the television business: a resurgence in the popularity of the standard picture-tube TV.

According to new sales figures from the DisplaySearch research firm, tube TVs edged out plasma models to become the second-most-popular technology during the first quarter of this year.

[via Bits Blog]

Sony to Distribute 'Live' Shows to Theaters

In the latest effort to pump new kinds of content into movie theaters, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to distribute "live" performances, such as concerts, Broadway shows and sporting events, in cinemas equipped with digital projection technology.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Hulu lands new partners

Hulu, the online video website owned by News Corp. and NBC Universal, said on Tuesday its service will be distributed on seven new sites, making its archive of popular television shows more widely available. [via Reuters]

"Hulu videos will now be distributed on entertainment and social network sites TV.com, TVGuide.com, BuddyTV.com, Flixster.com, MyYearbook.com, Break.com and Zap2it.com, said Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar alongside the Reuters Global Technology Media and Telecoms Summit.

In April, users watched 63.2 million videos on Hulu and its partners' sites and its viewers spent on average viewing 129.3 minutes per month.

... Technology-savvy users and blogs give Hulu high marks for its cleanly designed site and deep trove of full-length shows."

Hulu Targeting TV Sets, Mobile Devices

According to Silicon Alley Insider, "Hulu is working on ways to offer the service on standard TV sets and mobile devices.

No details thought and there are some hurdles. Apple's iPhone, for example, does not support Flash, the technology that powers Hulu.

NBC U digital chief George Kliavkoff said Hulu was also experimenting with alternative ad models, such as offering consumers the option of watching three 15-second ad spots during a video, or a single movie trailer before the show starts. "Studios pay a premium for that," he said."

2008-2009 Broadcast Schedule

Watch clips from the net's new shows and see a full schedule, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter's Pilot Log.

See clips of Fox's "Fringe" and "Dollhouse," ABC's "Life on Mars" and "Opportunity Knocks," CBS' "Worst Week" and "Eleventh Hour," and more.

Dead woman's 42 years in front of TV

The mummified remains of a Croatian woman have been found sitting in her armchair at home in front of a black and white TV set 42 years after she was reported missing.

A police spokesman said: "So far we have no idea how it is possible that someone officially reported missing so long ago was not found before in the same apartment she used to live in."

[via Ananova. Image from 3DTrue]