Will Google and Facebook Make Major Investment in Online Music Video?

  • Google and Facebook are considering a joint investment in Vevo, the online music video service. The deal “could be part of a broader advertising partnership with the music service,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
  • Reports suggest that Vevo recently hired investment bank Allen & Co. to explore options such as bringing in new investors, selling and going public. The scope of Google and Facebook’s interest is unknown.
  • “An investment could allow Vevo, a joint venture of Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Abu Dhabi Media, to fund an expansion onto further platforms and the purchase of additional music rights,” notes the article. The result could value Vevo at about $1 billion.
  • Vevo has an ongoing deal with Google’s YouTube “to host its videos in exchange for about a third of the ad revenue,” explains THR. But Vevo hopes to reduce YouTube’s cut of that ad revenue when the current agreement ends at the end of the year.

Windows 8 Release Preview Now Available: Microsoft Confirms Upgrade Offer

  • Microsoft’s Windows 8 Release Preview is now available at the company’s website.
  • “Microsoft has listed several tweaks from the Consumer Preview to the Release Preview,” reports Geek.com. “Among them are improvements to the Windows Store, refined Mail, Photos, and People apps, more customizations options for your Start Screen, better support for multiple monitors, and improved multitouch support in Internet Explorer 10.”
  • The company has confirmed the upgrade path for customers who buy PCs in the months before the OS is released later this year, reports Engadget in a related post.
  • “The company will be rolling out a Windows Upgrade Offer in no less than 131 markets starting June 2nd, which will let anyone who buys an eligible Windows 7-based PC also purchase a Windows 8 Pro upgrade for $14.99 — that offer will be valid through January 31st, 2013,” details Engadget.
  • Upgrade options for those who already own a Windows 7-based PC will be announced in the “coming months.”

Amazon LoveFilm Announces Exclusive Streaming Deal with Universal

  • “Amazon.com’s streaming video service LoveFilm, sometimes called ‘the Netflix of Europe,’ said Wednesday that it has struck an exclusive multi-year digital licensing agreement with NBCUniversal for Universal Pictures films,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
  • Financial terms were not disclosed, but the streaming deal will include titles such as “Kick-Ass,” “Despicable Me,” “Battleship,” “Bridesmaids” and others.
  • This will give LoveFilm another means of competing with Netflix in the UK. The service already has streaming deals with Disney, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Entertainment One and StudioCanal.
  • “LoveFilm is proud to offer its members access to the highest-quality content across multiple platforms from another of the world’s most respected studios,” says Jim Buckle, managing director of LoveFilm. “NBCUniversal is also LoveFilm’s latest exclusive streaming deal in our quest to deliver the widest choice of content on as many platforms as possible.”

Will Windows 8 Help Justify Microsoft $8.5 Billion Skype Acquisition?

  • The $8.5 billion Skype deal represents the largest acquisition in Microsoft’s history — one that “will ultimately be judged by whether Microsoft can weave the product deeply into its vast product portfolio, providing a superior experience on products as various as Windows PCs and Xboxes,” reports Nick Wingfield for The New York Times.
  • Although Wingfield suggests that Skype and Microsoft have yet to deliver, this could soon change as Skype is expected to release a version of its software specifically for the upcoming Windows 8 — intended to work well with touch-screen computers and devices.
  • “We always want Skype to be first and best on Windows, but certainly a strategic part of the value in communications software is working on all platforms,” explains Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive. “We’re committed to that cross-platform support.”
  • “Microsoft plans to integrate Skype into Lync, a Microsoft communications product aimed at businesses,” writes Wingfield. “Another priority is making Skype video conferencing work on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console, though that product is not likely to be released this year.”
  • Skype still releases versions of its software to non-Microsoft devices like Android smartphones, Sony game consoles, Comcast set-top boxes and Apple mobile devices. During the first three months of 2012, Skype’s use jumped 40 percent to 100 billion minutes over the same period last year.

Sprint to Shut Down Nextel Network Next Year, Plans 4G LTE Overhaul

  • Sprint has set an official date of June 30, 2013 to shut down the Nextel portion of its business. The Nextel network uses iDEN technology, known for its push-to-talk capability.
  • “The date marks the end of troubled era in Sprint’s history, a period in which the company struggled to integrate the Nextel assets after an ill-fated merger between the two wireless giants,” suggests CNET. “The phasing out of iDEN is part of Sprint’s larger Network Vision plan, which is an overhaul of its existing network and move to 4G LTE technology.”
  • Sprint has been introducing Spring Direct Connect handsets to appease customers who prefer Nextel’s walkie-talkie-like functionality.
  • “Sprint said it would begin transitioning business and government customers off of Nextel and on to Sprint Direct Connect. The company added that it will provide favorable offers designed to drive migration to its Sprint network,” according to CNET.

In the Wake of its IPO, Facebook Stock Continues Downward Slide

  • Shares of Facebook stock fell 9.62 percent to $28.84 on Tuesday. That’s down from the $38/share initial offering from just two weeks ago. This begs the question: how low will it go?
  • “If Facebook traded at the same price-to-earnings ratio as its competitors for online advertising dollars — such as Google — the social network’s stock would be worth somewhere between $16-20,” reports The Verge.
  • The post notes that this lack of investor confidence comes from the realization that as more Facebook users migrate from online to mobile, the social network has no proven track record in profiting from mobile — and seemingly no solid plan for the future.
  • This falling share price raises another concern for Facebook. According to The Verge: “Brain drain is the most potent killer in Silicon Valley, where a company can go from cutting edge to over the hill in a decade or less (hello, Yahoo!). If share prices keep falling, staffers will have far less incentive to stick around after the six month lockup on employee stock expires — and that could be very bad for business indeed.”

Amazon Instant Video App Streams Movies and Shows on the Xbox 360

  • Amazon’s video store continues to expand to more platforms in an attempt to compete with giants like Hulu and Netflix.
  • On Tuesday, it launched on the Xbox 360. It also launched on the PS3 in April. Both platforms now include “access to Amazon’s video on-demand and Prime all-you-can-eat subscription based streaming,” reports Engadget.
  • “Unique to the Xbox 360 app is support for the console’s Kinect peripheral and its ability to recognize control by gesture or voice, plus a brand new feature for Amazon — a queue,” explains the post. “The Watchlist (for now only available on the Xbox 360, Kindle Fire and via the Web) lets customers preselect programming they’re interested in for easy access on the devices later, just like Netflix’s implementation, however Amazon’s VOD store means access to newer and higher profile content is just a click away.”
  • “Our integration with Kinect for Xbox 360 lets customers play and search for videos with the wave of a hand or the sound of their voice, and our Whispersync technology allows customers to seamlessly switch between watching on their Kindle Fire and their Xbox 360 console, without losing their place,” explains Anthony Bay, Amazon.com vice president for video.
  • According to the press release, Prime Instant Video customers have access to 17,000 movies and TV shows.

Steve Ballmer Expects to See Windows 8 on 500 Million Computers

  • Computers pre-installed with Windows 8 will be available sometime this fall. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that the software will be running on half a billion computers worldwide.
  • “That’s quite a lofty goal. Microsoft sold around 240 million copies of Windows 7 in its first year of availability,” reports Geek.com. “Is doubling up on that number realistic considering that Windows 7 was the fastest-selling OS ever?”
  • Microsoft hopes that its new Windows 8 will flourish on its new tablet devices.
  • “But if Microsoft can convince a decent number of users to upgrade to Windows 8, drive solid 2012 holiday sales, get around 80 percent of new desktops and laptops running it (as they did with Windows 7), and grab a good chunk of the 180-plus million tablets expected to sell in 2013, then 500 million devices might not be as far fetched as it first sounds,” explains the post.

Social TV: Will Hate Watching Prove that All Publicity is Good Publicity?

  • “Watching spectacularly bad TV shows for the sheer pleasure of mocking them with your friends is not new — remember ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ mocking bad movies? — but the advent of social media may have turned it into a sport for a small group of TV viewers,” reports Lost Remote.
  • “Now there’s a term for it, ‘hate watching’ and the occasional #hatewatching hashtag, to boot,” notes the post.
  • The term was popularized in a New Yorker column by Emily Nussbaum, titled “Hate-watching Smash.”
  • While “hate watching” is easier than ever because of social media, it’s certainly not new. For example, weekly emails dating back to the early 1990s dissected shows such as “Melrose Place.”
  • “Negative social buzz may not be a good thing, but ‘hate watching’ is an entertaining activity — driven by short Twitter wit — and by extension it could drive a little viewership on its own under the umbrella, ‘all publicity is good publicity,'” suggests the post.

Dish Targets Niche Markets with International Streaming Video Channels

  • Dish is introducing a standalone subscription TV service with its new DISHWorld package of international channels to roll out on the Roku streaming box.
  • “DISHWorld is made up of a series of international video channels and makes them available on Roku for as little as $19.99 a month. The service allows Dish to take a bunch of content that doesn’t usually have a huge audience, and doesn’t cost a whole helluva lot to license, and make it available to niche audiences,” details TechCrunch.
  • The official Roku blog explains that DISHWorld has more than 50 international channels to offer, including: Arabic channels, Hindi channels, seven popular channels from Pakistan and four from Bangladesh, among others.
  • This begs the question: Will Dish, or another service, be able to introduce a streaming service that provides more popular, less niche channels for subscription?
  • TechCrunch thinks not, saying: “Think about it — these are networks that Dish spends very little to license, and it’s charging $20 a month. There’s probably no way that it could introduce a service of the content that most people watch and make it economically viable.”

Facebook Camera: Social Network Launches Photo App for Apple Devices

  • On Thursday, Facebook announced its new Facebook Camera, an image-sharing app for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.
  • According to Dirk Stoop, a product manager for photos at Facebook, the new app is faster than the current Facebook app for sharing photos on Apple’s iOS.
  • “We can basically show you more photos on the app, so we can make a more immersive experience around your photos. On the side of publishing these photos, Facebook Camera lets you upload much higher resolution photos at up to 2,048 by 2,048 pixels wide,” claims Stoop.
  • The app also provides photo filters and tools for cropping and straightening.
  • “It might seem strange for Facebook to release a camera application with built-in filters just weeks after announcing plans to buy Instagram, the social photo app. But Facebook Camera is aimed at a different audience,” explains The New York Times. “Instagram has 40 million users, while Facebook has 900 million. This leaves a large swath of people who are not on Instagram but are actively taking photos and uploading them to Facebook.”

Will TV Networks Take Dish to Court over Auto Hop Ad-Skipping Feature?

  • Attorneys are lining up to represent TV broadcasters in the very likely legal showdown with Dish Network over its Auto Hop feature, which allows viewers to watch programming via digital video recorders without any commercials.
  • “The parent companies of the four major broadcast networks — Fox Broadcasting, NBCUniversal, ABC/Disney Television Group and CBS Corp. — have begun consulting with major law firms with the expectation that litigation will be filed against Dish,” explains The Hollywood Reporter.
  • Dish CEO Charlie Ergen introduced Auto Hop to the network’s 14 million customers in March without telling any of the content providers about the skip function in advance.
  • It should be noted, however, that it remains unknown how many customers actually have the new DVRs that include the Auto Hop feature.
  • Dish continues to defend the feature. “The commercial zapping feature has to be activated; the recorded programs will still contain the ads if the button isn’t used. The feature also won’t allow the commercials to be skipped until at least 1 a.m. Eastern time the next day, and studies show that a significant amount of recorded programming is viewed the same night it airs,” reports The Huffington Post in a related article. “Dish has also supported broadcasters by paying significant rate increases for their content, said company spokesman Robert Toevs.”
  • Regardless, Fox and NBC have pulled ads for the Dish DVRs from their networks. Discovery CEO David Zaslav suggested that in order to compensate for lost ad revenue, Dish would need to raise prices for subscriptions. “If there isn’t going to be advertising, then there needs to be a lot higher subscriber fees,” he said.

Socialcam Launches Redesigned Website and Adds Leaderboard

  • Social mobile video start-up Socialcam continues to gather users, and will likely gain even more after rolling out its new website this week. It has been designed “to create more engagement for users that might not have the mobile app installed,” reports Engadget.
  • “In addition, Socialcam is hoping to highlight some of its most popular users by releasing a leaderboard. Doing so will show off some of the celebrities and non-celebrities who have developed followings through the platform,” explains the post.
  • The new site and leaderboard feature is about harvesting community on Socialcam, according to CEO Michael Seibel.
  • The average video posted on Socialcam is about 60 to 80 seconds long, compared to the 15 seconds allowed through competitor Viddy.
  • “Users also spend a lot of time playing with filters and effects before uploading videos onto the platform. On average, they check out eight different effects on each video before publishing,” according to Engadget.

Amex and Zynga Team Up to Reward Gamers with Virtual Currency

  • Zynga and American Express have come up with a plan designed to combine physical and virtual commerce.
  • On Tuesday, the companies announced a program called Zynga Serve Rewards, which will allow FarmVille players to “earn rewards after making purchases with a prepaid card from American Express,” according to CNET.
  • In order to take advantage of such rewards, users will plant a Serve Money Tree on their farms. Then they’ll have to register for Zynga Serve Rewards to receive a prepaid card in the mail.
  • “After adding money to the card and activating it, they will be able to make purchases wherever American Express is accepted,” explains the article.
  • Currently, Serve cardholders will get 50 units of Zynga’s Farm Cash back on the first five purchases of $25 or more. The program is available to FarmVille users only, but will likely extend to CastleVille, CityVille and others in the future.
  • In a related post, TechCrunch describes the Serve program as “a kind of catchall service that supports many payment methods from traditional plastic cards with magnetic stripes to NFC to QR codes to basic online payments.”
  • “This partnership isn’t for existing credit and charge card customers. It’s about trying to appeal to a new segment. These customers may be Millennials. They may be somewhat underserved in terms of banking. They may only use debit, cash and check,” says David Messenger, executive vice president of enterprise growth for American Express.

Viewdini: Verizon and Comcast Cable Announce New Video Portal

  • Teaming up with Comcast Cable, Verizon Wireless is launching Viewdini, “a new portal for mobile users to aggregate, search out and get delivery of all kinds of video content,” details The Hollywood Reporter.
  • The announcement was made during the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Cable Show in Boston.
  • Dan Mead, president of Verizon Wireless, says the company has been working for several years to create this new approach to video on its network in response to “the desire of consumers to be able to absorb any video on any device they want any time they want.”
  • “It’s indicative of the changes in the media landscape,” added filmmaker and actor Edward Burns during the NCTA panel. “The audience has changed. They aren’t nostalgic for the way we consumed entertainment.”