Archive for the ‘Net TV’ Category

NBC should give "Saturday Night Live" its own dedicated Web site

by Daniel Langendorf

October 13th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments1 Comment

No matter what you think of “Saturday Night Live,” NBC’s late-night comedy program deserves its own dedicated Web site.

Comedy Central has given Web sites to “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “South Park,” so why shouldn’t one of the longest-running, seminal TV shows have its own dedicated site?

“Saturday Night Live” head writer Seth Meyers said in a podcast with ESPN’s Bill Simmons late last week that NBC was working on an “SNL” site. Meyers said plans for the site have gained momentum with the recent success of the hilarious Tina Fey-Sarah Palin clips on Hulu and NBC.com. [See Broadcasting & Cable report.]

Among ideas being discussed, Meyers said the site would include a mix of sketches from the “SNL” library and dress rehearsals that never aired. The site might also feature original comedy, cast member Web pages, their “Top 10” sketches of all time, as well as the favorite moments from that week’s guest host.

During a hotly contested political race, like the one Barack Obama and John McCain are currently embroiled in, it makes sense for “SNL” to have its own Web site. But what about non-political seasons? As Rafat Ali notes at paidContent.org, “My two cents: SNL beyond the election skits still sucks, so stick to the knitting, don’t get into the rights-clearing quagmire, and keep pushing on Hulu and NBC.com.”

I agree that “SNL” has sucked for many, many years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it shouldn’t have its own dedicated site — especially in light of the success of “The Daily Show” and “South Park.”

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Hands-on: BBC iPlayer for Nokia N96

by Steve O'Hear

October 13th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV, Review | Comments2 Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the BBC’s TV catch-up service iPlayer (UK-only), which I regularly access on my laptop, cable television set-top box, and of course my trusty iPod touch. The problem with the latter version, however, is that it offers streaming only not downloads, which doesn’t sit well for a mobile device as it prohibits off-line access such as when traveling on a plane or train or anywhere without WiFi access. It isn’t the BBC’s fault but the fact that Apple doesn’t license the iPod and iPhone’s proprietary DRM solution – so-called FairPlay – to third-parties. DRM is a necessary evil, says the public broadcaster, in order to meet its obligations to copyright holders who require that programs only be made available for up to seven days after broadcast.

In contrast, the newly released version of iPlayer for Nokia’s latest flagship handset, the N96, doesn’t suffer the same problem, offering both streaming and downloads. Earlier this afternoon I got some hands-on time with iPlayer on the Nokia N96.

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YouTube adds select TV shows from CBS; takes aim at Hulu for long-form video content

by Daniel Langendorf

October 10th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | CommentsNo Comments

We wouldn’t call YouTube a sleeping giant necessarily, but when it comes to long-form video the world’s dominant video-sharing site certainly seems to be cat-napping.

Other sites such as Hulu, the joint venture between Fox and NBC, have been getting much of the long-form video attention and name recognition, whereas YouTube remains known for short-form content that lasts 10 minutes or less.

Google, YouTube’s parent, is seeking to change this as it has added select full-length content from CBS in an attempt to take on Hulu and attract other network content to YouTube. [YouTube blog]

Available full-length shows include 20- to 48-minute episodes from CBS’s past and present lineup, including “Star Trek,” “MacGyver,” and “Beverly Hills 90210.” The season premiers of “Dexter” and “Californication” and current episodes of “Young and Restless” will also be shown on YouTube.

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Pay-as-you-go Internet TV service Jalipo sent to the deadpool

by Steve O'Hear

October 8th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | CommentsNo Comments

Jalipo, the Internet TV service that charged on a minute by minute pay-as-you-go basis, has entered the deadpool. The browser-based offering, which delivered both on-demand and live streaming, was purchased by the ROK Entertainment Group earlier this year at a valuation of $16.8 million. But after just five months, its new owners appear to have had a change of heart. Blaming the current economic climate, ROK has decided to shut down the service and reportedly lay off its 30 London-based employees.

“We had high hopes for Jalipo when we acquired the business earlier this year, but it did not gain the traction we were expecting,” ROK marketing director Bruce Renny told Broadband TV News.

“Without significant and unplanned additional investment, we believe it would not grow significantly and, given the current economic climate, we have taken the decision to concentrate our resources and efforts on promoting our core revenue-generating mobile entertainment businesses whilst saving the costs associated with Jalipo.”

While the current economic downturn will likely make all companies re-evaluate their future spending plans, ROK’s decision to shutdown Jalipo probably has more to do with the service’s broken business model.

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Nokia launches 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen phone (formally known as the "Tube")

by Steve O'Hear

October 2nd, 2008 | Posted in Audio, Mobile, Net TV | Comments3 Comments

At long last, Nokia has taken the wraps off its much anticipated entrance into the touchscreen smartphone space, post-iPhone of course.

The new device – dubbed 5800 XpressMusic – is, as the name suggests, being pitched as a music (and video) centric phone, and is to be the second handset to support the company’s all-you-can-eat music subscription service, Comes With Music, which also officially launched today. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nokia is also emphasizing the 5800’s media production and sharing capabilities, two areas where the company feels it competes strongly against Apple, especially since the iPhone lacks video recording functionality. On that note, the 5800 features a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and is capable of 30 frames-per-second video playback and recording.

There’s also the now standard support for Nokia’s ‘Share on Ovi’ web service, which along with the ability to upload to Nokia’s own media sharing site, also supports uploading to Flickr and Facebook. Additionally, music play-lists can be shared via Bluetooth, although this feature will likely only be of real use to Comes With Music subscribers.

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Roku to open its Netflix set-top box

by Steve O'Hear

September 25th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments1 Comment

Roku is once again talking up plans to open its Netflix-only set-top box to other online video providers. Talking at the Streaming Media West conference, Roku CEO Anthony Wood was quoted as saying:

“We’re going to release the software developer kit [SDK], so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs.”

Of course, just releasing an official SDK won’t lead to the Internet TV set-top box nirvana that we, and Roku, are seeking. For that to happen, Netflix’s competitors will need to be persuaded that it’s worth their while to actually build something using Roku’s SDK, otherwise poular services such as Hulu, BBC iPlayer or YouTube, for example, may never make it onto the set-top box.

As Dave Zatz advises: Roku needs to “continue working the phones” in order to build the kind of partnerships that will lead to more quality content. Because its content that will ultimately lead to more hardware sales, which is of course where Roku makes its money. “There’s a much larger audience of potential Hulu and YouTube viewers than there are Netflix subscribers”, notes Zatz.

One potential sticking point: Earlier this year Netflix made a small investment in Roku, which could make things awkward as Roku attempts to woo competing content partners.

iTunes, financial woes, and Tina Fey/Sarah Palin give NBC super-successful week

by Daniel Langendorf

September 19th, 2008 | Posted in Audio, Net TV | CommentsNo Comments

If anybody has any lingering doubts about iTunes’ value to NBC, and NBC’s value to iTunes, doubt no more.

Since returning to iTunes Sept. 9 after nearly a year’s separation, NBC racked up more than one million downloads for NBC Universal shows, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Apple.

The spike most likely is a result of a free-offering agreement between NBC and Apple as part of the network’s return to iTunes. NBC pledged to offer one free standard or high-definition download for its top series for two weeks.

It’s worth noting, however, that these numbers were achieved without NBC’s popular programs, which have yet to premiere. It’s expected that NBC Universal will account for about 40 percent of iTunes video sales, the level it was at when the network left  late last year over a pricing disagreement.

The Reporter also noted that NBC benefited in two other ways this week — the U.S. financial crisis and Tina Fey’s parody of vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live.”

CNBC.com exceeded one million unique visitors for the first time after Monday’s stock market meltdown. The Website tallied 14.6 million page views that day, a 26 percent increase over the site’s previous best.

Fey’s dead-on depiction of Palin racked up 5.7 million views on NBC.com and Hulu as of Wednesday, according to NBC data. It is the network’s most popular video of all-time — and if you’ve seen it, you know why.

NBC continues experiment by putting TV shows online before their network premiers

by Daniel Langendorf

September 17th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments1 Comment

If you just can’t wait to see what the new “Knight Rider” or “Chuck” TV shows are all about, you’re in luck. For the third consecutive year, NBC is making new series available online a week before their network premiers.

You can also find “Kath & Kim,” “Crusoe,” “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Life,” Lipstick Jungle,” and “30 Rock” everywhere you look — NBC’s Website, iTunes, Amazon’s Unbox, Microsoft Xbox and Zune, Hulu, and through TV providers such as Comcast, Cox, Charter, Dish, and Verizon FIOS.

Did NBC leave anybody out?

“We want to make (programs) available in as many ways as we can so we can get fans,” NBC’s marketing boss John Miller told USA Today. “If you don’t embrace people’s behavior, you can be lost by it.”

NBC’s early-release strategy is at odds with most other networks.

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Review: XBox Live Video Store – where's all the content?

by Steve O'Hear

September 16th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV, Review | Comments1 Comment

Although the UK version of Microsoft’s Video Store for its XBox 360 console launched last December, it wasn’t until just over a month ago that I got to try out the service for myself. Microsoft’s PR team kindly loaned me a top of the line model – the HDMI equipped 120GB “Elite” version – to hook up to my High Definition TV to download and watch a few shows and movies purchased from XBox Live. However, while the service is dead easy to use and worked as intended, for a number of reasons I came away disappointed.

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"Family Guy's" MacFarlane debuts "Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy" on Web

by Daniel Langendorf

September 10th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments2 Comments

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of “Family Guy,” launched his Google-distributed “Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” today in which Super Mario rescues the Princess, who refuses to kiss him for his trouble.

It wasn’t bad. The sketch was short, bite-sized, and worth a laugh or two at the end. If it follows MacFarlane’s work with “Family Guy,” the “Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” will only get funnier and, most likely, crude and rude.

What’s interesting about the “Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy” — available at sethcomedy.com and the show’s sponsor Burger King’s YouTube channel — is that it’s a part of the Google Content Network, which is a part of Google’s AdSense Network.

The Google deal calls for 50 mini-episodes, ranging from a minute to no more than two. For now, the two available episodes feature a pre-roll sponsorship ad from Burger King animated in MacFarlane’s “Family Guy” style of animation.

MacFarlane and Google expect the “Cavalcade of Comedy” shorts to populate the Internet as fans can embed their favorite episodes on thousands of Websites and blogs. As Ars Technica notes, the interesting part of the MacFarlane-Google experiment is revenue distribution.

Each time someone clicks on a “Cavalcade” video or ad, advertisers will pay a fee that is split between MacFarlane, Google, Media Rights (the production company), and the site hosting the video.

MacFarlane’s “Cavalcade” is a notable experiment in original Internet distribution for a content creator, Google, and the TV industry. It’s the first series with major advertising and production funding.

And it doesn’t hurt to have MacFarlane behind the art board.

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