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VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW
PROGRAMMING
The Fox talent show So You Think You Can Dance is the most
watched show among teens and young adults this summer. Last week,
the Wednesday night competition was at the top of the ratings among
viewers 18-49, a demographic coveted by the networks.
Los
Angeles Times
BUSINESS
French lawmakers approved copyright legislation that would require
online music vendors to make songs available for use on any digital
player. The measure, which passed by a 296 to 193 vote in the National
Assembly, will now move to the Senate for debate and vote. Some
analysts cautioned that Apple Computer representatives in France
might just bolt from the French online music market rather than
share the technology that makes the iPod one of its best-selling
items.
The
International Herald Tribune
TECHNOLOGY
As part of its effort to attract a new audience to replace those
in its declining subscriber base, AOL plans to introduce a vastly
expanded online video area. The service, which will begin public
testing on Friday, will add a number of new, free programs, and
will also sell commercial-free downloads, making it a direct competitor
of Apple's iTunes and Google Video.
The
New York Times
Adults in households
that have Digital Video Recorders actually watch less television
than adults without the device, according to a new study by Mediamark
Research, an audience measurement firm. This finding, which comes
from interviews with 26,000 adults between March 2005 and May 2006,
conflicts with contentions of the major broadcast networks, who
in November told advertisers that people in homes with DVRs watched
12 percent more hours a day than those without.
The
New York Times
PIRACY
Digital "mash-ups," fake videos which reuse and edit copyrighted
material, are the latest front in the digital rights war, dividing
amateurs, who assert that they remix items in the name of art, and
movie industry giants, from whom they say they are being ripped
off. Intellectual property lawyers and film executives grappled
with the issue at the Siggraph computer graphics conference in Boston
on Monday, but were unable to come up with a workable solution to
stop mash-ups from being made.
The
International Herald Tribune
ADVERTISING
Petro-Canada is using the popular YouTube website to broadcast amateur-style
videos of employees discussing gas prices. While many corporations
are looking at the service, which was founded last year with a mission
to giving amateur filmmakers a voice, as a way to reach younger
consumers, Petrocan is the first to actually do it. The videos,
which are more educational than entertaining, were made available
last week.
The
Globe and Mail
CONTROVERSY
After his recent drunken meltdown in Malibu, California, where he
made anti-Semitic comments to police officers, Mel Gibson's career
may be on a downward spiral. Star agent Ari Emanuel criticized the
Passion of the Christ director and argued for a Hollywood
boycott, and on her ABC show, The View, Barbara Walters said
she won't be seeing any more of his films. At stake now is Gibson's
new film Apocalypto, slated to be released by Disney on December
8.
The
Globe and Mail
FILM
After receiving an Oscar nomination for his role in the critically
acclaimed gay cowboy saga Brokeback Mountain, Heath Ledger
is taking on a new acting challenge -- the Joker in The Dark
Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan,
who directed the first installment of the reinvigorated Batman franchise,
is slated to direct, as is Christian Bale, who played the tortured
hero Bruce Wayne.
E!
Online
The Toronto
International Film Festival announced a new slate of films that
will explore sexually charged and youthful issues in order to attract
a younger audience. The festival will showcase 11 movies from around
the world, including Sook-Yin Lee's Shortbus, a controversial
picture that has been called one of the most sexually graphic feature
films of all time.
The
Globe and Mail
VIDEO GAMES
Video game publisher Electronic Arts reported a quarterly loss yesterday,
but suggested that the industry's cyclical downturn was showing
signs of turning around. The Redwood City, California-based company
lost $55 million in its second quarter, which ended June 30, but
it was still up 13 percent from a year ago, and considerably ahead
of analyst projections.
The
New York Times
Celebrating
our industry through VideoAge's 25th Anniversary....
All TV and
film companies that have been partnering with VideoAge through
the years are invited to participate in its 25th Anniversary Commemorative
Issue.
Date:
September 2006 & MIPCOM '06
Place: VideoAge Monthly & VideoAge Daily
RSVP:Videoage.org
or dsvideoag@aol.com
All companies
which have been active in our industry are invited to also celebrate
their own successes in the pages of VideoAge's September
Issue.
To make this
event truly spectacular and worthwhile for all, companies that participate
in this Commemorative Issue will receive:
* Special one-time
low rates
* One ad pg. in the Sept. Issue will beget a FREE ad page in VideoAge's
Day 4 MIPCOM Daily (our pre-AFM/Jornadas Issue)
* Free link to company web site from VideoAge's Anniversary
web page
* Free one-time sponsorship of VideoAge's daily E-Beat e-mail
newsletter
* Bonus distribution at MIPCOM
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