Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

NBC and  News Corp. will debut their joint Web-based network in September. The new site will compete with  Google-owned YouTube and will feature TV shows and films, with plans to offer shows for purchase at a later date.  (Chicago Tribune/Bloomberg  6/26) 

The online video joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., launching in September, has been called a “YouTube killer.” But NBC digital exec George Kliavkoff says, “That is not the case.” Unlike YouTube’s mostly amateur content, the new site will focus on professional video. (http://mediabiz.blogs.cnnmoney.com/2007/06/26/nbc-not-looking-to-kill-youtube/ 6/26) 

Sugar Publishing, the company behind PopSugar other blogs aimed at the female demographic, will announce a new round of financing led by NBC Universal. The deal includes distribution through NBC’s iVillage property and an exclusive advertising deal with the broadcaster. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/26/sugar-publishing-raises-new-round-partners-with-nbc-universal/ 6/26) 

MySpace is setting up its video-sharing service, now called MySpace TV, as an independent Web site that people can visit to share and watch video, even if they have not signed up for the online social network. The new site will emphasize professional video rather than user-generated content. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/technology/27video.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 6/27)

MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson are said to have made a “very aggressive” compensation proposal to owner News Corp. for when their contract is up in October. The pair wants a two-year deal worth $50 million, plus a $15 million fund to invest in Internet companies. (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/myspace-pair-trying-to-loot-news-corp/ 6/26)

Michael Eisner’s independent new media studio Vuguru (www.vuguru.com) announced yesterday they will join forces with Dinosaur Diorama Productions (www.dinosaurdiorama.com), the creators of the hit web series “The Burg,” to produce Vuguru’s second original series, “The All-For-Nots.” This original Internet comedy series follows a documentary crew filming a fictional indie rock band called The All-For-Nots, as they travel the U.S. on an under-funded and poorly planned tour. (Press Release, Tornante 6/26)

Video player start-up Slapvid launched a beta player that accomplishes peer-to-peer video streaming (a la Joost, Veoh, Babelgum) through a web browser instead of a desktop player that must be downloaded. Slapvid runs as a Java applet in conjunction with a Flash video player, connecting with multiple peers watching the same video and managing the video bits as they stream to the application. The site is currently running a demo of YouTube videos to preview the player, but the P2P functionality is only running as a closed beta test for now.

Will Ferrell and his scene stealing co-star baby Pearl from “The Landlord” are back with “Good Cop, Bad Cop.” The new online video premiered yesterday on comedic video sharing site Funnyordie.com. Ferrell plays a hard boiled criminal who refuses to spill his guts. Pearl is the tough lieutenant who tries to get him to talk. This is Pearl’s swan song performance, according to L.A.-based FunnyorDie.

BBC Global News has been manually loading videos to  YouTube, but will now use Comcast’s thePlatform to distribute its short-form video clips. The BBC will use thePlatform’s mpsConnect service to update 30 news clips a day on the BBC’s news section on YouTube. (Multichannel News  6/27)

The BBC is announcing that its on-demand TV service, the BBC iPlayer, will launch on July 27. U.K. users will be able to download shows seven days after broadcast to watch on their computers. Later this year, the service will be available via YouTube and could also appear on sites like Facebook. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6245062.stm 6/27)  

Click on the image below to go to watch video of the new service in action.

Oxygen’s SheDidWhat.tv launched its first online talent competition seeking the best idea for a comedy targeting women aged 18-39. Comedian Molly Shannon will judge the best 3-5 minute video and two-page treatment submitted through August 31.

NBC aired a special promo featuring Second Life resident Tuna Oddfellow during the broadcast of America’s Got Talent last night. The magician won a contest sponsored by NBC on June 14 by performing virtual tricks in NBC 3, one of NBC’s 10 SL locations.

IFC’s original web series Getting Away With Murder is now being featured on video sharing site broadcaster.com.

Last time I reviewed this online series, only episode 1 was live.  This quirky online series about a for-hir killer who lives with his mom now continues with 7 episodes live at this point.  It’s odd but mildly entertaining.

Video site Revision 3 raised $8 million in second round financing. The startup, from Digg co-founders Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson, own the exclusive rights to broadcast ten web-only shows including the run-away hit tech/web culture podcast Diggnation , which recently celebrated its 100th episode.

U.S. advertising spending is predicted to grow a mere 3.1% to $290.3 billion this year, says forecaster Robert J. Coen of Universal McCann. “The outlook for advertising this year is not very good.” Online advertising and search marketing have “violently” impacted established media. (http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/FREE/70626007/1078 6/26)

User-generated content is destroying our culture, claims Audiocafe.com founder Andrew Keen in his new book, “The Cult of the Amateur.” “One imaginary dystopia is that in 25 or 50 years, there will be no mainstream media. The replacement is Twitter, it’s YouTube, it’s Wikipedia .” (http://www.businessweek.com/careers/managementiq/archives/2007/06/cult_of_the_ama.html 6/24)