MySpace Adds Music Videos
MySpace launched a new music video portal today, aggregating licensed content from both big and independent record labels. CEO Owen Van Natta announced the news at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco this afternoon.
Music videos make up a huge chunk of YouTube’s playcount, and the video site is working with Universal Music and Sony Music to launch the upcoming Vevo music video portal. It’s no wonder that MySpace is getting back to its music roots in order to regain some cultural relevance and make a little coin, as the music vids will include an option to purchase the songs through iTunes or Amazon.
MySpace is evidently now all about the “socialization of content,” a phrase that Van Natta reportedly kept bringing up during his Web 2.0 talk today.
One thing’s for sure, between Vevo, MySpace and MTV’s music portal, there are no shortage of places to find your favorite music videos.
Vid-Biz: CBS, MySpace, Long Tail
CBS Launching Katie Couric Web Show; weekly “online conversations” with the CBS news anchor to feature big names and run for 20-30 minutes each. (Media Decoder)
Report: MySpace Plans to Launch New Vid Service; with some help from Hulu, the site will supposedly offer more feature films, TV shows and music videos. (CNET)
Study: Netflix Data Contradicts the Long Tail Theory; academic paper finds that people still mostly want to watch the hits. (The Hollywood Reporter)
12seconds Releases iPhone App; 12mail lets you send short video messages to your Facebook and Twitter contacts. (12mail iTunes link)
Republicans Mobilize to Block FCC Net Neutrality Plan; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Tex.) introduces amendment to prohibit the FCC from spending money to create “new regulatory mandates.” (Multichannel News) But at least NBC’s Jeff Zucker Likes Genachowski’s Plan; especially the bits about distinguishing between legal and illegal content. (Multichannel News)
Comcast Kicking Off Media Blitz for Fancast; the premium content portal looking to take on Hulu with prime-time TV ads. (Ad Age)
Nokeena Changes Name to Ankeena; switch made because of unspecified trademark issues. (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal)
Hulu Closer to Becoming a Household Name
When Hulu launched its first TV ad during the Super Bowl this year, it brought back dot-bomb memories for many. But that spot, along with the premium content portal’s subsequent star-studded television campaign, appears to have worked for Hulu not just in terms of viewership, but also in terms of awareness.
Data released from Ipsos MediaCT today shows that the awareness of Hulu among digital video users jumped to 41 percent in April of 2009 from just 9 percent in September of 2008. Meanwhile, reported usage of the site rose to 14 percent in April from 3 percent in September.
Before MySpace Can Be an “Entertainment Portal,” It Needs to Rehaul Video
News Corp head Rupert Murdoch has, via an aside to the Wall Street Journal, let it be known that his new agenda for MySpace is for it to be an “entertainment portal,” rather than “a place for friends.” But while the site has put significant resources into some forms of entertainment — for instance, through its MySpace Music subsidiary — it has let video fall by the wayside.
MySpace Video, which for a time was called MySpace TV and featured lots of original windowed programming like Prom Queen, lonelygirl15 and quarterlife as well as premium content from partners like Hulu, has reverted to its prior name. It only has one original program running at the moment: Married on MySpace. The wedding reality show seems to be doing OK, though recent views are down from over a million per episode to around 100,000. (Show creators like Marshall Herskovitz have noted the immense power of being featured on MySpace and the letdown when you are not.) And MySpace only worked out a deal to give Married social viewing capabilities partway through the season.
Murdoch still has a significant asset to work with (though personally I can only get videos to load and play properly on MySpace if I click my heels together fast enough). comScore lists MySpace as the second-most popular U.S. video site by streams (to YouTube, of course), while Nielsen ranks it fourth below YouTube, Hulu and Yahoo.
MySpace Adds Social Viewing From ClipSync
MySpace has just launched ClipSync chat for its original program Married On MySpace. The tool allows watchers to choose to join social viewing rooms, which run linear versions of each episode. If you tune in after other people have started, you miss what they’ve already seen, but that way it’s all synchronized so you can experience the content together. Through ClipSync (click on “Watch and Share”) you can chat, mark up the video with overlays, invite other friends to join, and vote on aspects of the show (it’s a crowdsourced, heavily product-integrated wedding planning series).
This is the first ClipSync implementation of a multipart deal with Fox Interactive. The social stuff will probably be most useful during Married on MySpace’s live finale next week — the combination of a live show, interactive voting, and a social network is pretty killer — if you like the subject matter, that is! Update: The finale is actually August 6, and it won’t be live. ClipSync would not tell us how it is being paid, but it seems likely it’s ad revenue split.
ClipSync has similar functionality available on CBS.com and TV.com for their television programming. I had actually profiled ClipSync in depth for a recent longer report about the state of social TV that I wrote for GigaOM Pro, our new subscription research service (only $79 per year, you should check it out!). Here’s some more information about ClipSync from that piece, which also has case studies on Integra5’s text-to-TV chat service and Facebook’s integration of existing social relationships into video experiences:
Vid-Biz: Current, Upfronts, Van Natta
North Korea to Indict Current TV Journalists; state news agency says after an investigation of the two American reporters, N. Korean officials will indict them on “hostile acts,” if convicted, the two women could face five years in prison. (CBS News)
Analyst: TV Upfront Sales Could Be Down 15 Percent; impact could be felt by sites like Hulu as web ads are thrown in as sweeteners, pushing those prices down. (MediaMemo)
Former Facebook Exec to Head MySpace; Owen Van Natta to replace ousted Chris DeWolfe. (release)
Pirate Bay Retrial? Judge in the case is allegedly a member of two copyright organizations; if conflict of interest is formally found, trial could be sent back to district court. CNET)
Blu-ray’s Prospects Better Than You Think? Lower prices, the physicality of the medium and a scant number of people connecting TVs to the Internet (so far) could brighten the outlook for the high-definition format. (Gadgetwise)
CBS.com Integrates Facebook Connect; fans interacting with CSI or How I Met Your Mother can publish their actions back on the social network. (release)
GEMA and YouTube Talking Again; two parties resume negotiations to resolve royalty payment disputes. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Vid-Biz: MySpace, The Guild, DVR Ads
MySpace CEO Ousted; Chris DeWolfe’s contract not being renewed, co-founder Tom Anderson’s role in the company uncertain. (release) With this announcement, Om likens MySpace to an 80s rock band whose time has come and gone.
The Guild Goes Up on Amazon; seasons 1 and 2 of Felicia Day’s web series can be pre-ordered on DVD or digital HD download. (WatchtheGuild.com)
Interactive Ads Coming to DVRs; TiVo, Cablevision and other companies rolling out ads that appear when a user pauses or fast-forwards, and can be clicked on to access further information. (The New York Times)
Report: Hulu in Talks with Record Labels; record labels Universal, Warner, EMI and Sony negotiating to bring music videos to the premium content portal. (Bloomberg) (This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this one.)
AT&T Launches Enterprise CDN; Private Content Distribution Service designed to help big companies deliver large video behind a corporate firewall. (Contentinople) (Read Stacey’s take over at GigaOM.)
$99 Blu-ray Players? Bringing the high-definition format to China could spur a low-cost entry level player. (Blu-ray.com)
Vid-Biz: TiVo, Susan Boyle, UReport
TiVo to Launch Local Commercial Ratings; will provide second-by-second data for programs and ads, service will roll out in as many as 10 markets, depending on client demand. (MediaWeek)
Susan Boyle: Approaching 100 Million Views in Total; Visible Measures reports that there are 650 video placements of the British singing sensation online including the original performance, interviews, fan responses and more. (emailed release)
MySpace and FOX News Launch UReport; new section on the social network will give users the chance to share citizen journalism. (MySpace)
Metacafe Redesign Goes Pro; following YouTube, the video site create hubs around movie trailers, music videos and sports highlights. (paidContent)
Accenture Study: Consumers Willing to Pay for Programming; global survey found that 49 percent of respondents were willing to pony up for digital-service programming, and an unlimited subscription model was preferable to pay per episode. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Open Box Introduces SesameVault 2.0; platform allows businesses to publish video across web and mobile browsers. (release)
Don Henley in a Tiff Over Republican Candidate’s YouTube Vids; the Eagle filed a lawsuit over Senate candidate Charles DeVore’s use of “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” in campaign videos. (CNET)
Vid-Biz: Peabody, Macrovision, Mobile Video
The Onion News Network and YouTube Win Peabodys; prestigious award granted to news satire show and video-sharing site. (The Peabody Awards)
Macrovision Shows Off Multiroom DVR; service will be part of new interactive programming guides and available in the fourth quarter. Company also unveils a Tru2way version of its Passport guide that features 16:9 screen ratio, parental controls, and a “View Deck” for easy access to popular functions. (Multichannel News)
QuickPlay to Launch PrimeTime2Go Mobile TV Service; subscription-based service will be available next month in the Blackberry App World store and will offer full-length episodes from NBC, CBS and the CW. (release) Elsewhere in the mobile TV world, FLO TV announced the expansion of its mobile TV service in 19 markets around the country and says it will reach more than 200 million consumers in 100 U.S. markets by year’s end. (release)
Heroes Creator Tim Kring to Produce Narrative for Nokia’s Ovi Store; codenamed TEVA, the project will be an immersive experience with individual and group elements for this mobile form of storytelling. (release)
YouTube Out Again in China; site is once again inaccessible after re-appearing on Monday. (The Wall Street Journal)
People Watching the BBC Online May Soon Have to Pay Up; new law could require people who watch their TV programming only through their computers to pay a license fee. (Daily Mail)
WE Network Debuts In Men We Trust; first online series for the network follows a group of thirtysomething women as they date. (TVWeek) In other web series news, MySpace Kicks Off BFF; new gameshow tests how well friends know each other. (Variety)
Happy Birthday, Hulu — Do We Still Need You?
Has it really been a year since Hulu launched? Wow. They grow up so quick. To celebrate its anniversary, Hulu is getting social by inviting its much-anticipated (and delayed) friend Facebook as well as MySpace to its party. But so much has changed in the online video space since last March that we ask — does the world still need a Hulu?
Hulu calls this social network integration a “first step,” allowing you to share what you are watching with your friends, compare ratings and comments and recommend content to others. In addition to interacting with friends on Facebook and MySpace, Hulu has beefed up its own profile functionality, allowing you create your own avatar and invite others to join in your fun by pulling in your Gmail or Yahoo mail contacts.
In an attempt to get more people to participate, Hulu is also launching “the Scorecard,” which tracks how often users watch videos, how many video you rate, etc. Users can choose to keep their activities private if they want.
Sadly, what’s missing from this “first step” is any kind of communal viewing, something we are quite fond of here at NewTeeVee. So in its current incarnation, you won’t be able to watch an episode of Heroes with friends while providing running commentary at the same time.
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