AdGenesis and TVGenesis Merge to Create Genesis Media

Two leading online video advertising and content distributors, AdGenesis and TVGenesis, today announced they have merged to form Genesis Media, a full-spectrum online video distribution and targeting platform. Genesis Media will enable advertisers to target their desired consumers through the industry's first cost-per-verified-view broadcast model, which matches relevant brand videos to opt-in consumers based on their interests and online habits.

Genesis Media's targeting algorithms deliver 20 times the engagement of pre-roll advertising and 100 times the engagement of traditional banner ads. The Genesis Platform has five million registered users and reaches 150 million viewers per month across thousands of premium publishing partners.

The company also announced the appointment of Andrew Reis as interim chief executive officer. A proven entrepreneur, Reis co-founded Tremor Media and helped pioneer online video advertising. He also co-founded TVGenesis and will join Genesis Media's Board of Directors.

"Genesis Media improves advertisers' ability to reach and activate their desired customers with transactional video and full accountability," said Andrew Reis, interim chief executive officer of Genesis Media. "By bringing together two powerful platforms to create Genesis Media, we have unified video distribution and activation into one seamless experience."

The platform has already delivered unprecedented, subscription-level data and engagement and soon will be extended across the entire Genesis network of publishers. Genesis Media will announce major publishing partners before the end of the year that will result in a doubling of Genesis Media's brand matching reach.

"For retailers and e-commerce providers, Genesis Media extends the impulse buy from the physical store to online video and ensures the consumer's intent-to-purchase," said Joshua Feuer, co-founder, chief product officer and industry e-commerce expert. "Our patented Ad-Match™ and View Verification™ software changes the way digital video is distributed and consumed. It also transforms how our publishing partners interact with their user base and program their content to create new and high-performing online videos."

"Consumers love brands and brands are always looking for ways to get closer to consumers," said Richard Smullen, co-founder and chief revenue officer. "Genesis Media helps advertisers speak to their desired consumer on a one-to-one basis, on a much grander scale. By matching consumers and brands, Genesis Media can deliver stronger ROI for advertisers."

Product Roadmap

Genesis Media will build and support the existing product portfolio with new content and brand matching applications, including its patented Verified View™ technology, which guarantees that consumers watch brand videos. Genesis Media also plans to develop video offer banks that will appeal to opt-in consumers, and will provide targeted offers from deal-of-the-day, group and flash sale sites as well as e-commerce sites starting to leverage video marketing and distribution.

External Reference: www.sacbee.com

AMI Enters $10M Dollar Deal to Outsource Production

American Media, Inc. has entered into a more than $10 million deal with media production agency Fresh Media Group (Group FMG) as part of an ongoing effort to reduce production costs while scaling up its content distribution to various platforms.

Group FMG was selected because of its “global footprint,” says Michael Esposito, SVP, operations and digital production, which will allow AMI to “strategically source work to where it makes sense.”

“In a fully digital environment, we can handle the creative here in New York, technology in the UK, and certain production services out of Chennai, India,” Esposito tells FOLIO:.

The different time zones allow AMI to run a 24-hour operation without paying a premium, says Esposito, which is particularly relevant to the company’s weekly publications, including The National Enquirer, OK! Magazine, and Soap Opera Weekly.

AMI also plans to leverage Group FMG’s technology expertise to ramp up its content distribution to emerging platforms, such as mobile and tablets. “Content production is proliferating,” says Esposito. “This allows us to scale up.”

Esposito refers to this partnership as “the next step” in a series of production enhancements that have so far resulted in a 50 percent cost reduction over the last twelve months.

AMI intends to also offer these services to its publishing services clients, which include Playboy.

Group FMG lists as its clients Bauer Publishing, Conde Nast, Dennis Publishing, Haymarket Media Group, Readers Digest, and Hachette Filipacchi, where Esposito previously worked as vice president of operations.

External Reference: www.follomag.com

Jesta Digital Moves to the UltraESB

AdroitLogic, developer of the high performance Open Source Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) UltraESB, today announced that Jesta Digital, a leading global provider of next generation entertainment content and services for the digital consumer, successfully migrated their ESB clusters from the WSO2 ESB to the UltraESB. Jesta Digital is behind Bitbop wireless subscription service to deliver on-demand commercial-free television and films to personal computers, tablets and smartphones, and home to a number of well-known and established brands including Jamba and Jamster, which deliver branded content, music, games and apps to millions of mobile consumers.

"In a very demanding and rapidly changing market it is of utmost importance to be able to quickly adjust the technical platform to support product innovation and change. The UltraESB was able to demonstrate to the Jesta Digital Technology team in Berlin that its simplicity, testability, extensibility and performance is made for a matching foundation" said Eric Hubert, the Executive Director of Strategy and Architecture at Jesta Digital.

On the main ESB cluster, Jesta Digital processes around 80 million messages a day with a peak 3,000 TPS across three nodes. The average CPU utilization has been just 5% with the heap memory usage at 300MB with very low GC overheads due to the efficient use of a RAM disk coupled with Zero-Copy and Non-Blocking IO. Prior to the migration, Jesta Digital customized the ESB Performance Benchmark (http://esbperformance.org) to compare the WSO2 ESB against the UltraESB for both SOAP and Hessian messages over HTTP/S for a sample scenario. Benchmark results similar to those published recently on the ESB Performance site were independently verified by Jesta Digital during this exercise. Furthermore the UltraESB showed extreme stability during stress tests executed over multiple days.

"We have a top notch technical team at Jesta Digital in Berlin and it was a great pleasure to work with subject-matter experts who combined first-hand knowledge, passionate work on their product and dedication to tackle the customer's challenges" said Eric.

During the migration process, AdroitLogic also worked with the Jesta Digital team to include some key features for even better enterprise deployment support. Among these is the ability to switch a live configuration with zero down time while messages are being processed. Previously servers had to be gracefully shutdown for updates, resulting in an unequal distribution of traffic across the nodes after a configuration switch, leading to connection related issues. In addition, AdroitLogic developed a feature to easily manage and monitor services and endpoints via automatic registration against a Zabbix monitoring server, using predefined or customized templates via JMX.

The UltraESB is clustered using the Apache ZooKeeper framework, and thus a single node, or the whole cluster can be managed from any of the nodes via a remote web based console, command line interface or via JMX/jconsole.

External Reference: www.sfgate.com

Where is the Artist's Revenue From These "Streaming" Services...?

In the beginning, music industry watchers hailed subscription streaming services such asSpotify, MOG, Rdio, and Rhapsody as saviors of the industry, an alternative for listeners and labels to the tyranny of the 99-cent iTunes download.

But artists weren't singing the same happy song.

There was the cautionary (and inaccurate) tale of Lady Gaga earning a mere $167 from a million streams of her hit single "Poker Face." Then came scores of complaints and horror stories related to shockingly minuscule streaming artist payouts, as low as $0.004 per play. Last week, Wired reported that more than 200 labels had withdrawn from Spotify over "poor revenues."

Without question, Spotify and the others have given labels a scapegoat. But behind the finger pointing is a pile of monthly subscription revenues that the streaming companies such as Spotify, Rdio, and MOG share with those labels. How it's subsequently distributed to artists, "I have no idea," says MOG founder and CEO David Hyman. "It's like a black hole. It's based on individual contracts the labels have with their artists. I have no control over it."

Drew Larner, CEO of Rdio, argues the same. "I don't pay the artists directly. I have deals with all the major labels and all the major indies, and they have deals with their artists," Larner told Fast Company recently. "I have no insight into what their artists are paid because every artist deal is different. One artist may have a huge advance, while one may get different royalties."

Spotify, too, has said calculating revenue per stream "totally misses the point." Spotify is "not a unit-based business," says a spokesperson. Rather, as the company told Wired, echoing a earlier statement made to us, value ought to be determined by the following metrics: "1) how many people are being monetized by Spotify; 2) who these people are (usually young people previously on pirate services which generate nothing for artists and rightsholders); and 3) how much revenue per user Spotify generates for rightsholders. Artists can--and do--receive very substantial revenues from Spotify, and as Spotify grows, these revenue streams will naturally continue to grow."

MOG's David Hyman broke down the math for me during a recent trip to the company's headquarters. Standing at a whiteboard, Hyman jotted down numbers and sketched pie charts, passionately arguing why the business model makes sense, and why it's potentially more lucrative than iTunes. Here's how Hyman explains the value of a $10 premium subscriber, using ballpark figures: "Out of every $10, we pay a percentage to the label. I won't give you the exact number, but let's say the labels got $6. They split that $6 amongst themselves based on frequency of plays. In a given month, we tell them, 'Hey Warner [Music Group], you were 30% of plays. You will get 30% of that $6 now.' So let's say we have 1 million subscribers. So Warner would get 30% of that $6 million that month. All the labels split from that pie."

Beyond that, Hyman repeats, he has "no idea" and "no control."

Of course, this all assumes the value of a paying premium subscriber instead than a freemium user--it will take time for conversion rates to increase, although promotions via Facebook have helped draw attention to subscription streaming services. Spotify reportedly already has 250,000 paying subscribers in the U.S., and more than 2 million globally. The company boasts that it's "now the second single largest source of digital music revenue for labels in Europe," and has driven "more than $150 million of revenue to rights holders (i.e. whoever owns the music, be it artists, publishers or labels) since our launch three years ago.”

As for any criticism from indie labels and artists, Hyman says he's unsure why they might be upset. "The indie labels get the same deals as major labels," he says. "How they negotiate their deals with their artists, I have no idea. I don't know why indies would be different than a major. Maybe because nobody is listening to their music?"

And even on iTunes, he says, the average consumer pays roughly $40 per year. "That's like $3 and something-cents a month," Hyman explains. "This is the average iTunes consumer: $3 and change. Out over every $10--again, this is just a ballpark, I'm not giving the exact number--but let's say we pay $6 [per month] to the labels."

External Reference: www.fastcompany.com

Cloud-Based Versus Digital Downloads

In a one-two punch the past couple of weeks, both Apple and Google have opened up their own cloud music services. Apple has iTunes Match, a $24.99/year service, andGoogle has Google Music, a music store and free cloud storage solution (you can store up to 20,000 songs for free, but you must upload them to your account yourself) for your music files.

Apple’s service is available only on Apple devices, while Google is accessible as an app on Android devices, and as an HTML5 web app for Apple devices.

Both allow you to stream music directly from the cloud, eliminating the need to mess around with local storage. This makes sense considering many smartphones and tablets (which these services are aimed at) have limited storage captivity. But armed with an unlimited mobile internet plan (or Wi-Fi) you can keep all you music on the cloud and stream as needed, without having to download them.

Both services are currently restricted to US-only users. However there are creative ways for non-US users to sign up for these services, using proxies that give you a US-based IP address. Engadget even published a post explaining how. Or if the circumstance presents itself, you could do as I did, sign up for Google Music while in the US during a quickie visit.

Apart from Google Music, I signed up for Spotify, that Swedish based music-streaming service now making headway in America thanks to its patron saint Sean Parker and his ties to Facebook. Spotify’s links with Facebook are so tight that you need a Facebook account just to sign in.

Spotify usage is likewise blocked in the PH. However if you signed up for Spotify in one of the countries supported, you can continue to use the account globally.

I signed up for the “Premium Account”, which for $9/month allows you unlimited use and the ability to use Spotify on both PC and mobile devices (a wide range of smartphones are aupported from iPhones to Nokia Symbian devices).

Spotify boggles the mind. This service eliminates the need to download any music at all. Any song you care to pull out of your nostalgia banks is stored somewhere in a Spotify server. You only need to search for it. Having found the the track, you can play it immediately, or add it to a playlist. With no need to download it to your device.

External Reference: www.gmanews.tv

A List Games Raises $9.3M to Market Games Digitally

List Games has raised $9.3 million in a second round of seed funding so that it can continue to market games via digital distribution, the company announced today.

The funding comes from parent company Ayzenberg Group, a digital marketer. A List Games tries to take the big risks out of traditional video game publishing deals. Many indie game makers are scrappy enough to find their own capital, so A List Games hasn’t focused on funding games but on marketing them. That’s a big difference between what A List will do and what a traditional publisher does. A List Games calls itself a “go to market” company. While it won’t fund games, it will fund the marketing plans for the games. In exchange, it gets a share of royalties or negotiates some other form of payment.

The Pasadena, Calif.-based startup, (which goes by the spelling [a]list games), focuses on creative ways to get games discovered, which is a major challenge for game makers now that there are hundreds of thousands of apps appearing on app stores and web sites. A List Games tries to get games noticed and drive up purchase intent in digital game markets.

The company funds and executes advertising, public relations and marketing programs in return for a share of revenue. With new money from Ayzenberg, the company can pursue more partnerships with makers of high-end digital games, particularly in the fast-growing sectors of free-to-play PC, tablet and mobile games. In free-to-play games, users play for free and pay real money for virtual goods.

An example of the way A List Games works is the title pictured above, APB Reloaded. That online game was developed over five years at a cost of more than $80 million. But it launched last year amid poor reviews, and the original publisher, Realtime Worlds, went bankrupt. The monthly subscription game was shut down in September. Then GamersFirst, an operator of free-to-play games, acquired the title and relaunched it using the free-to-play model.

GamersFirst put the title back into development, with about 25 or so of the original APB team members working in a new studio, Reloaded Productions. Realtime Worlds founder and APB creator Dave Jones joined the board. The developers focused on redoing the shooting and driving mechanics, which dragged down the original game. They also revised the customizaiton engine. The game relaunched and now it has about 850,000 registered users in the open beta test.

In partnership with GamersFirst’s marketers, A List Games is helping with the marketing of the crime game, which it now markets as “be all that you CAN’T be.” A List is investing in a big online ad campaign, where it can apply marketing tools and techniques based on actual user acquisition data. A List purchases ads on a cost-per-acquisition basis, enabling better return on investment for ads. It is also promoting different offers for in-game virtual goods. And A List has a number of affiliate and other types of marketing partnerships as well as sharing programs. The latter focuses on getting existing fans to share aspects of the game with their friends.

A List focuses on the marketing, but it is unlike publishers, which often also focus on development oversight and intellectual property ownership.

“There is a major shift in the game industry as developers move from traditional retail games to digital, many of them with a legacy of making hits,” said Steve Fowler, general manager of A List Games. “This is showing a trend towards digital games that rival anything sold in a store in production quality and game play depth. It’s also leading to greater competition to draw bigger audiences.”

Market analyst DFC Intelligence recently reported that the worldwide market for digital games last year was $19.3 billion, or about a third of the overall revenue of the game industry. That is expected to nearly double to $37.9 billion by 2013, when digital games will be bigger than console games.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to introduce new integrated creative and marketing techniques that draw upon everything we have learned in 18 years of marketing games,” said Eric Ayzenberg, chief strategist and chief creative officer of Ayzenberg Group. “We have proprietary tools built to create campaign transparency and a greater degree of efficiency and trust for our partners, along with more powerful results.”

He added, “They allow us to optimize throughout all marketing stages, just like game makers currently change their games daily to keep the experience fresh. We want to do the same thing during our marketing process to keep our consumer communication entertaining and relevant.”

Fowler said that APB Reloaded is successful as a free-to-play game, and the marketing programs such as traditional ad buys to creative customer acquisition programs are in full force.

Another game that A List Games is marketing is War Inc. Battlezone from Online Warmongers. A List Games was founded in February 2011 with seed money from Ayzenberg. The seasoned staff includes senior marketers from Microsoft, Disney, Activision-Blizzard and Rockstar Games.

A List Games’ advisory board includes David Cole, CEO of DFC Intelligence; Ed Fries, entrepreneur and former creator of Microsoft Game Studios; analyst Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Morgan Securities; Greg Short, president and CEO of market analyst firm EEDAR; Ben Straley, CEO of Meteor Solutions; Alyssa Padia Walles, co-founder of Big Screen Gaming; and Jordan Weisman, founder of Harebrained Schemes.

A List Games has six employees with access to 70 people in Ayzenberg. Its competitors are marketing departments within traditional game publishers.

External Reference: www.venturebeat.com

Television Broadcast Negotiates License Agreement with Music Groups( Sony and EMI)

Television Broadcasts Ltd. (511), operator of Hong Kong’s biggest TV station, said it reached a license deal with a group representing music companies, including Sony Corp. (6758) and EMI Group Ltd., resolving a dispute on copyright fees.

The agreement with the Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance Ltd.covers the use of music and videos and will run to 2014, Television Broadcasts said in an e-mailed statement today. “The parties are delighted that the long dispute has come to an end,” it said.

Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance represents Sony, EMI, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG), and BMA Investment Group Ltd., according to the group’s website.

Television Broadcasts fell 0.4 percent to HK$45.40 in Hong Kong trading yesterday and has gained 8 percent this year, outperforming the 20 percent decline in the city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index.

www.bloomberg.com

Google Opens its Music Store to the U.S...What's up Apple?

Google unveiled its much-anticipated digital music store Wednesday as it opened a new front in its battle with Apple to provide services over mobile devices.

For the first time, Google Inc. will sell songs on the Android Market, its online store for apps, movies and books. The service is available over the next few days to customers in the U.S., but it aims to roll it out eventually to some 200 million Android users globally.

Some songs are free, while others were priced at 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29 — the same prices as on Apple's iTunes. Artists whose work is available right away include Adele, Jay-Z and Pearl Jam. The store will feature dozens of free tracks from artists like Coldplay, Rolling Stones and Busta Rhymes.

Google is offering 13 million tracks for sale, from three of the four major recording companies — Vivendi SA's Universal Music, EMI Group Ltd. and Sony Music Entertainment — and a host of independent labels. Warner Music Group was the major recording company left out. Warner spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

Google is allowing sharing of purchased songs over its social network, Google Plus. Friends will be able to listen to one another's songs once for free.

Once someone buys a song, it can be downloaded and is automatically uploaded for free into an online locker. The song can then be streamed over computer and mobile phone browsers, including the Safari browser, which comes on Apple Inc. devices such as the iPad. People who download the Google music app on devices running Android 2.2 and higher can stream stored songs or download them for offline playback within the app.

Google's director of digital content for Android, Jamie Rosenberg, took a dig at Apple's online song storage service, iTunes Match, which costs $25 a year. Google's cloud storage service is free for up to 20,000 songs.

"Other cloud music services think you have to pay to listen to music you already own. We don't," he said.

Recording company executives said that, although some of Google's features go beyond what is offered at iTunes — specifically the one free listen for friends, the concessions were worth the benefit of reaching new customers.

"How many people do you know have both an iPhone and an Android device?" said Universal's president of global digital business, Rob Wells. "I encourage any new entrant into the digital music space who is going to help us reach a broad audience and sell legitimate songs."

Mark Piibe, EMI's executive vice president of global business development, said Google's plan to bring legitimately sold music to people in new ways "can only be good for the market as a whole."

Although Google and the recording companies hope sharing of songs helps sell more tunes, some observers were skeptical.

Adam Klein, chief executive of discount digital music store eMusic, said that for his customers, buying music is more a considered, personal decision that is often not influenced by friends' tastes.

"A Google-Plus tie-in will not make it a game changer," he said.

T-Mobile USA, which brought Google's first Android-enabled smartphone to market in 2008, also was a partner in the Google music launch. The cellphone carrier said it would offer other free songs to its customers and soon allow them to pay for music purchases through their phone bill.

Google also appealed to independent artists who release their own music, allowing them to upload songs, biographical information and artwork to the store after paying a one-time $25 fee. Artists would be able to keep 70 percent of all sales.

By launching the store, Google is opening its music service widely. It released the service as an unfinished beta in May to about a million people in the U.S. who requested an invitation and got one. That version of the service, which essentially uploaded your digital songs for online storage and allowed playback on computers and Android devices, proved to be a hit: Testers were streaming music on average 2.5 hours every day.

Zinio's Global Magazine Service Available on Kindle Fire

Zinio, the world's largest and most popular magazine marketplace, is now available on Amazon's Kindle Fire. Debuting #1 in free magazines in the Amazon Appstore, Zinio is now available on more tablet devices than any other newsstand or magazine reader, including on the iPad, ASUS Transformer, Acer Iconia, Lenovo IdeaPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Sony Tablet S and dozens more. Customers can enjoy their magazines across tablets, smartphones and PC devices running all flavors of iOS, Android, WebOS, Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.

Global adoption of digital reading continues to grow with the proliferation of tablet devices, which will be in the hands of 35 million consumers this year, and more than 208 million by 2015, according to Gartner.

"There are more mobile phones and tablet devices in the USA than there are people, and we believe that the world will indeed have twice as many connected devices as people by 2015," said Zinio President and CEO Rich Maggiotto. "This should be and is a huge incentive for publishers to migrate swiftly to digital distribution. Our reach across all operating systems positions Zinio, and our publisher partners, to uniquely grow alongside the exploding device market."

Zinio is already available on almost all tablets and over 50 different smartphones worldwide, and this month alone has added distribution to Kindle Fire, HP TouchPad, Kobo Vox and Lenovo ThinkPad tablet, to name a few. Zinio is one of the top apps for news on Android and WebOS and is the #1 top grossing app in news in over 50 countries on Apple's iPad.

Zinio is now available for free download in the Amazon Appstore in time for the launch of the Kindle Fire today. As an added incentive for new Zinio buyers on any device, Zinio will be offering new registrants a $25 credit that they can redeem for magazines across the entire global newsstand through March 2012.

"Having all of our titles available through Zinio gives us an opportunity to reach readers both across the world and on all digital mediums – PC, Mac, tablets and smartphones," said Chris Wilkes, vice president, App Lab, Hearst Magazines. "Digital distribution is now responsible for more than 300,000 subscriptions per month, and we look forward to continuing to focus on reaching our customers with innovative new features, on every device they are reading on."

Zinio offers Kindle Fire and other tablet readers access to more than 5,000 magazine titles from around the world, including Rolling Stone, The Economist, Hello!, US Weekly, T3, Travel + Leisure and many more. Zinio is focused on delivering global access and the best user experience, giving its readers the ability to discover, read and shop for their favorite magazines from around the world, on all their devices.

Users can download Zinio for free for the Android Fire from the Amazon Appstore , for other Android devices from the Android Market, for iPad in the iTunes Store, and for PC/Mac at Zinio.com.


External Reference: www.sacbee.com

EA Negotiates with Nintendo for Digital Distribution Service, Origin, to the Wii U

That's according to the usually reliable leak source WiiUGo, which claims it's been tipped off by a network engineer working closely with Nintendo's new console that the platform holder and EA are in talks.

According to the source, EA's looking to increase the userbase of its online platform and Nintendo could see this as an opportunity to build upon its relationship with Western gamers.

Supposedly, Valve is also interested in getting Steam on the platform, but EA is "aggressively persuading Nintendo to go Origin exclusive with the Wii U's online so they can gain a competitive advantage over Steam."

We're not sure what to make of this one. What do you think readers? Would you want to see Origin as the exclusive Wii-U online platform?

External Reference: www.computerandvideogames.com

ABC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Group Reach New Digital Distribution Agreement

Disney-ABC Television Group's ABC Entertainment and the Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) announced today that they have reached a wide-ranging agreement regarding the digital distribution of series produced by Warner Bros. Television for ABC for the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons.

Under the terms of the new agreement, ABC has the ability to distribute any series produced by WBTVG during the current 2011/12 and the 2012/13 seasons online via abc.com and Hulu's ad-supported platforms. The series will also be made available as part of ABC's branded video-on-demand offering available through a variety of cable, satellite and telco providers. Across these platforms, the five most recently televised episodes of each series will be available the day after their network broadcast.

Additionally, the agreement grants ABC the ability to simulcast its linear feed in all media, including as part of the network's authenticated product, which is currently under development.

WBTVG significantly broadens its domestic off-network distribution rights, gaining flexibility to make series available earlier and on more platforms. WBTVG is able to offer select, highly-serialized series via SVOD platforms at the end of each broadcast season. Additionally, WBTVG has moved up the off-network syndication window so that it begins at the end of a series' third broadcast year. WBTVG retains in-season EST and out of season DVD and Blu-Ray rights.

Current ABC series produced by Warner Bros. Television Group include "The Middle," "Work It" and "Suburgatory."

"This new agreement is a great example of our commitment to working with our production partners to find innovative solutions that allow us to offer ABC viewers access to their favorite series," said Jana Winograde, executive vice president, Business Affairs and Administration, ABC Entertainment Group. "Over the years, the Warner Bros. Television Group has been a tremendous partner, as both of our companies look to experiment and find new ways to build and strengthen our businesses."

"Our new agreement with our ABC network partners is a win all around. It makes it easier than ever for viewers to watch their favorite shows, it helps expand the ABC platform and ultimately it makes our series more valuable," said Craig Hunegs, executive vice president, Warner Bros. Television Group.

The Disney/ABC Television Group is composed of The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE: DIS) global entertainment and news television properties, including the ABC Television Network, ABC Studios, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family and SOAPnet, as well as Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Disney Media Distribution. The Radio Disney Network, Hyperion publishing, and the Company's equity interest in A&E Television Networks round out the Group's portfolio of media businesses.

Warner Bros. Television Group strategically manages all of Warner Bros.' current and emerging television businesses, including worldwide and local production, traditional and digital distribution and broadcasting. As the industry's leading supplier of television programming, WBTVG has longstanding relationships with the most respected names in television, including Chuck Lorre, John Wells, Jerry Bruckheimer, J.J. Abrams and others. For the 2011/12 season, WBTVG will produce more than 50 primetime, first-run, cable and animated series, including "Two and a Half Men," "The Big Bang Theory," "The Mentalist," "The Closer," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The Looney Tunes Show," totaling over 2,000 episodes.

External Reference: http://www.thefutoncritic.com

Navarre Partners with E FUN to Enhance Their Distribution Network

Navarre, a distribution and logistics provider, announces a new business relationship with E FUN, a consumer electronics manufacturer of fun, lifestyle products for its APEN A4 Digital Pen. Navarre will distribute the Apple-compatible pen to a network of retail channels.

“We are excited to work with E FUN to distribute their expanding line of APEN digital pens that are targeted at Apple users in the U.S. and Canada,” said Joyce Fleck, President of Navarre Distribution Services. “We look forward to helping increase market penetration of the APEN line and a successful partnership.”

The E FUN APEN A4 Digital Pen allows users to write freely on any paper or notebook, and have their notes instantly digitized and synced to their iPad or iPhone via Bluetooth. When connected to a computer, APEN allows users to perform real-time computer annotation within MS Office applications and on digital photos.

“Our partnerships play a major role in the success of our product lines and help us continue to be a leader in the consumer electronics field,” stated Jason Liszewski, managing director and vice president of sales for E FUN. “Navarre has the experience and knowledge to do just that and we are thrilled to be working with them.”

Marvel Looks to Expand Through Digital Distribution

Digital comics carry both opportunity and danger: the opportunity to greatly expand the comics audience and the danger that the direct market will not survive the transition. And while Marvel Comics was been one of the first publishers to go digital, the publisher has been somewhat slow to adopt certain initiatives such as same-day print and digital releases. Last year, Marveldipped its toes into the deep water, making its Ultimate Comics line available digitally the same day as the print versions came out, and last week, it announced that the entire Marvel Universe would transition to same-day print and digital by April, 2012. The publisher followed with this week's announcement that they would be making graphic novels available on the Nook. Today, CBR has exclusive details about a new program that will encourage digital readers to check out their local comics stores.

External Reference: http://www.comicbookresources.com

AnyClip Signs Distribution Deal with Warner Bros

AnyClip has signed a content licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution to create a library of clips from movies like "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "Batman Begins," "The Wizard of Oz," and "Dirty Harry." Each film is tagged with more than 5,000 individual elements and added to AnyClip's online library. That library now has more than 12,000 films and 50,000 live clips from production companies including Universal Pictures, Vivendi Entertainment, First Look, and Virgil Films.

AnyClip helps movie studios monetize their content libraries by creating promotional channels for movies. By using AnyClip affiliates, third-party brands and publishers can also legally get access to the content, as well as consumers on the AnyClip Web site.

The major motion picture industry has been a tough one for startups to crack. Competitors include ClipBlast, VideoSurf, and blinx. AnyClip has been the most successful at securing the partnerships that will make its database the most extensive.

AnyClip was founded in 2008 by Aaron Cohen, Michael P. Schulhof, and Erel N. Margalit. The current CEO is Oren Nauman (since 2010). AnyClip is funded by Jerusalem Venture Partners. The company hasn't announced its total funding to date, but it did raise a $3 million round in 2009. Board members include Mickey Schulhof, former president and CEO of Sony America and Sony Media and Entertainment; Erel Margalit, founder and managing partner of JVP who has led 15 Nasdaq IPOs; and Art Levitt, formerly CEO of Fandango, president of Disney Regional Entertainment, and CEO of Hard Rock Cafe International.

External Reference: http://news.cnet.com

Adconion Acquires Video Advertising Startup Smartclip

Advertising and content network operator Adconion this morning announced that it has acquired smartclip, a European digital video advertising startup.


Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but sources tell us this was an all-stock deal and no cash is changing hands in the transaction.


Smartclip’s network of in-stream and connected TV distribution partners stand to increase the volume of inventory available across Adconion’s digital distribution platform, which delivers targeted ads and content across display, email, social and both in-banner and in-stream video.


Adconion says that, with the inclusion of over 500 new publisher sites from the Smartclip portfolio, Adconion will significantly grow its content network (current reach is said to be close to 700 million unique users) and expand its footprint to 17 countries worldwide.


With the acquisition of smartclip, Adconion will gain 118 employees in Europe and expand to 27 offices servicing clients across European key markets, and Russia.


The launch of smartclip was partly funded by Thomas Falk’s VC firm eValue, and the company was later financed by Dutch investment company Van den Ende & Deitmers.


Adconion acquired key assets from Joost, the ill-fated online video service started by Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, back in November 2009.

External Reference: www.techcrunch.com

DG Launches Global Ad Distribution Network

DG, the world's leading ad management and distribution platform, today announced the launch of its Global Advertising Distribution Network. Capitalising on a number of acquisitions and partnerships, DG is now uniquely positioned to provide a single source solution for both broadcast and digital content.

"The rapid emergence of non-linear channels now inspire broadcasters to actively seek new ways to streamline and optimise their advertising delivery across multiple platforms." said Thomas Bremond, Senior Vice President of DG Europe. "DG is able to provide content and expertise that crosses the boundaries of traditional and digital - allowing broadcasters to be on the front lines of the new world of convergence with an experienced, trusted partner to make it all happen."

Last June, DG announced a strategic three year partnership with SmartJog establishing a worldwide media services platform. This collaboration allows DG to enhance how commercials are distributed and utilised throughout the international broadcast community. Broadcasters will benefit from DG's TV ad distribution platform and SmartJog's long form content delivery solutions, combining the best in cloud computing and edge-server technology to create the ideal single source advertising delivery solution.

In addition, and complementing its global distribution network expansion, DG has dramatically elevated its online offering in order to meet global requirements and expectations for media convergence. DG recently acquired online ad technology providers MediaMind and Eyewonder seeking to draw upon their expertise in digital advertising solutions including rich media and data-driven advertising. DG also gained a broader, deeper global presence to better serve advertisers worldwide. As a result, DG's integrated cross-channel platform now reaches thousands of TV and online media destinations globally.

Anuman Interactive Signs Distribution Deal with Nobilis Games

Montreuil, November, 4th. Fresh from announcing the acquisition of a number of Mindscape licenses, games publisher Anuman Interactive has now signed an agreement for the digital distribution of 30 Nobilis titles worldwide.

Having recently revealed an agreement with Nobilis for the reissue of the Moto RacerTM license, via the Moto Racer 15th Anniversary game, Anuman Interactive has today acquired the distribution rights to 30 more products with a view to distributing them worldwide in digital format.

The titles include Trine, Cap sur l’Ile au trésor (Treasure Island Ahoy), Cleopatra, The Secrets of Da Vinci, Moto Racer 3, Fenimore Fillmore’s Revenge and Fantasy War.

Discussing the deal Julien Renzaho, Anuman Interactive's Sales Director, said: "As part of our international development strategy, we are delighted to have signed an agreement for the distribution of these products. They will considerably enhance our credibility as a specialist adventure game publisher around the world, both through the optimizing of existing products for PC and the development of new content for the latest digital platforms (mobile, social networks, etc). We are convinced that these products will excite audiences again, just as they did when they were first launched.”

Nobilis Group CEO Arnaud Blacher added: “With this agreement we are taking another step towards the console accessories market, which is where we are focusing most of our attention. We are delighted to have found a hands-on and motivated publisher and distributor in Anuman, whose aim is to get our leading PC titles back out there and exploit their still-intact potential. Anuman has a proven track record in digital distribution and there’s no question that it will develop our franchises even more successfully.”

About Anuman Interactive

Created in 2000, Anuman Interactive SA is a mainstream software publisher and is a leader in the fields of architecture, the Highway Code and creative activities. As a subsidiary of the Media-Participations Group, Anuman Interactive positions itself as an innovative and dynamic publisher with its flagship video game titles (Trainz, Pacific Storm, Prison Tycoon) and on the edutainment market with the titles Clifford, Casper and Muppet Babies.

Anuman Interactive is proud to have a number of prominent partners for the design of high performance software: Renault, M6, Hatier, Atari, Système D, ParuVendu etc.

Since 2007, Anuman Interactive has also been publishing games for the Nintendo DS, Wii, Sony PSP as well as applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. At the end of 2009, Anuman Interactive acquired the Microïds brand and portfolio, which is known globally for its high quality video games.

External Reference: http://www.gamasutra.com

IRIS Distribution Distributes Content for Saban Brands

IRIS Distribution (www.irisdistribution.com), the digital music distribution and marketing company that represents many of the world's leading independent record labels, will provide worldwide digital distribution for artists represented by Saban Brands, whose portfolio includes Paul Frank and Power Rangers.

Under the relationship, IRIS will distribute curated compilations under the Paul Frank name. The compilations will feature bands and music that exemplify the brand's already well-known hip, youthful and fun aesthetic. In addition, IRIS will distribute music from the hit series Power Rangers Samurai to digital retailers for the first time.

"We couldn't be happier about our new distribution partnership with Saban Brands. Their forward-thinking approach to marketing in the branded music space makes them an ideal client for IRIS and Blinker Active. We look forward to supporting the Power Ranger and Paul Frank repertoire with the level of service that it truly deserves," said Layne Fox, VP, Sales & Marketing.

With these music releases, we aim to continue to establish Paul Frank and Power Rangers as entertainment brands with a transmedia strategy approach that builds, enhances and extends their appeal with our fans and consumers" said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands. "We are thrilled to be working with IRIS Distribution on these collaborations."

About IRIS Distribution

Founded in 2003, IRIS Distribution is a leading independent digital distribution company, focused on delivering a select roster of quality independent music to digital outlets around the world. IRIS distributes music from 700 prominent independent labels and content providers including BYO Records, Chemikal Underground, CMH, Duckdown, Environ, Fox Mobile, kranky, k records, Minus, Moodgadget, Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys), Palmetto, Projekt Records, and Starz Media to 400+ online retailers including major outlets such as Amazon, eMusic, Google, iTunes, Microsoft Zune, Napster, Rdio, Rhapsody, Spotify, and Sprint Mobile.

The company also operates a wholly owned branded entertainment and music marketing agency, BlinkerActive, specializing in music and brand integration. BlinkerActive clients have included BYO Records, Chandon Winery, Chemikal Underground, Electrolux, EMI, Mint Records, Ninja Tune, Scion A/V, Stella Artois, Surfdog Records, and more.

IRIS is based in San Francisco and New York City. www.irisdistribution.com www.blinkeractive.com

External Reference: http://www.sfgate.com

FreeStyle Digital is Formed to Distribute Independent Videos and Movies Throughout the Globe

Susan Jackson announced Wednesday that she has formed Freestyle Digital Media.

"We are thrilled to be able to release films day and date in theaters on the same day as they launch on the iTunes store, on Amazon Instant Video, on Dish Networks, the YouTube Movie Store and Android mobile devices, and all other cable and internet VOD services," Jackson said in a written statement.

Additionally, the company will make DVDs of independent movies available for rent through retail stores, kiosks and through the mail.

Freestyle Digital Media is separate from Jackson's distribution company Freestyle Releasing.

Former Sonic Solutions executive Steve Harnsberger will serve as FDM's executive VP of business development.

Mark Borde, who co-founded Freestyle Releasing, is FDM's executive vice preisdent of theatrical distribution.

Amazon's A9.com Launches New App with a Barcode Scanner

Amazon subsidiary A9.com has just launched a new augmented reality iPhone app—Flow Powered by Amazon. Flow uses augmented reality to help users explore and discover tens of millions of products in a real world setting, including books, DVDs, packaged electronics and toys, to give shoppers interactive product information about these items in the real world.

Here’s how it works. Once downloaded, you can point the app toward a book, video game, CD, DVD or other product with a UPC barcode. When the app recognized the product, it will display the Amazon.com product information, including the option to play multimedia content and read customer reviews.

For some products, you’ll be able to see trailers and other media previews in the app. Flow will also save all of the history of the items scanned.

“This is our first step towards integrating product search technology with augmented reality,” said Bill Stasior, president of A9.com. “The integration of a live camera display, graphical overlays, and visual recognition technology creates a seamless experience for a customer looking to discover information about objects in their physical surroundings.”

Of course, Amazon is timing the release of this app right as the holiday shopping season kicks off. Clearly, anyone can use this app to scan and see the availability and price of an item at a brick and mortar store, and then potentially go by the item online. eBay offers a similar app (though without Augmented Reality) via its RedLaser technology.

External Reference: www.techcrunch.com

The Orchard Sports Debuts As Leading Digital Distributor

The Orchard announces the launch of their digital distribution sector, The Orchard Sports. The Orchard Sports will connect action sports film producers with worldwide digital distribution through accessible platforms like YouTube, iTunes, Hulu, and more. The Orchard Sports boasts longstanding relationships within the digital and action sports community, and hopes to leverage these relationships with this new endeavor.




External Reference: http://business.transworld.net/

PC Game Supply Signs an Agreement for Digital Distribution through UKash

PC Game Supply is an online retailer specializing in the digital delivery of pre-paid card products for the gaming industry. Online distribution provides consumers who may not live near a retailer a convenient way to obtain pre-paid products from the comfort of their own homes.

Ukash is an established international company that provides an alternative way for people to pay for goods and services online. Users enjoy using Ukash because it is easy and there are no age restrictions. No credit or debit cards are needed and you don't even have to share any personal or financial details.

“The digital distribution agreement with Ukash will allow Ukash customers from around the globe to purchase Ukash online,” says Chris Letendre, CEO of PC Game Supply. "Global digital distribution is essential to acquire the maximum consumer reach; those customers who could not buy Ukash locally will now have access to the product."

Young gamers in particular have trouble accessing pre-paid products from local retail outlets mostly due to the distance to the store and the availability of transit. PC Game Supply is the perfect solution for those Ukash customers seeking an alternative to buying locally. When the customer purchases Ukash online they receives a 19 digit Ukash voucher which can be exchanged for cash at online stores, it’s that easy!

For more information about PC Game Supply, visit their web site http://www.pcgamesupply.com and to learn more about Ukash visit http://www.ukash.com.

About PC Game Supply
PC Game Supply provides consumers with a digital platform to conveniently purchase and download the latest premium PC Games, Game Cards, and Pre-Paid products directly from the Web to their PC. With focus on both local and international markets PC Game Supply has been successful in establishing itself as one of the largest independent digital distributions in Canada.




External Reference: www.prweb.com