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Main Stories
o Report: RIAA Legal Campaign Lowers Traffic to Kazaa by 41%
o First Half Worldwide Music Industry Sales Plunge 10.9%
o MPAA Studios End Practice of Sending "Screener" Movies to Osacar Voters
o Report: For-Pay Downloadable PC Games to Generate $760 Million in 2007
o Digital Media Project Seeks Digital Rights Management Standards
o Sony Lowers U.K. PlayStation 2 Price 13% for Holiday Season
o Sega of America Names Hideaki Irie as New President
o Game Developer Acclaim Repays $5 Million Loan
o Hotel VOD Firm On Command Gets $40 Million Loan from Liberty Media
o PanAmSat to Launch Satellite Specifically for HDTV

o Briefly Noted: XM Satellite Radio - 929,000 subscribers, SoundExchange - RIAA spin-off, IBiquity Digital, Netflix, IVillage - Game Universe, Tecmo - DreamWorks - "Fatal Frame" movie, Electronic Arts - "Freedom Fighters," Creative Technology - Rhomba MP3 players, Altec Lansing - iPod speakers

New York -- According to data from New York-based measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings, traffic to the website for the Kazaa peer-to-peer file-sharing network has declined 41% since the end of June, when the recording industry began suing individual file-swappers. Traffic to Kazaa.com declined from 6.5 million unique visitors for the week ended June 29, to 3.9 million unique visitors for the week ending September 21, the firm reported. Nielsen/NetRatings also saw decreases in traffic to fellow P2P networks Morpheus, iMesh and BearShare during the same period. "The RIAA is clearly sending a strong message to American Web users and the message appears to be working," said Greg Bloom, senior Internet analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "With hundreds of individuals facing real lawsuits, the threat to music file sharers is very serious."
http://www.netratings.com/pr/pr_030929.pdf
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D5D121216
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o First Half Worldwide Music Industry Sales Plunge 10.9%

London -- As the music industry continues to cope with piracy issues, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reported that sales for the first six months of the year fell 10.9%, a higher rate than the 7.2% fall recorded in 2002. Sales of all audio and music video formats totaled $12.7 billion for the first six months, compared with $14.2 billion a year earlier. Jay Berman, chairman of IFPI said, "The music industry continues to suffer from the unauthorized file-sharing and commercial piracy."
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/031001/214/e9wyk.html 
http://www.ifpi.org
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o MPAA Studios End Practice of Sending "Screener" Movies to Osacar Voters

Los Angeles -- The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), in an effort to clamp down on potential avenues for piracy, announced that its member studios are ending their practice of distributing "screener" copies of Oscar-hopeful movies on VHS and DVD to voting Academy members. Released before the films are available on home video, screener copies of films have in recent years been uploaded onto peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. The screeners are invaluable for promoting more sophisticated films that studios produce for Oscar contention, which almost always do not receive as wide releases as their high-budget blockbusters. In addition to the MPAA's seven member studios, both DreamWorks and AOL Time Warner's New Line Cinema have also agreed not to distribute screeners. The MPAA's move is seen as a boon to independents like Lion's Gate and IFC Films, which are not party to the agreement. MPAA CEO Jack Valenti called the decision, "a determined commitment to combat digital piracy and to save movie jobs in the future."
http://www.mpaa.org/jack/2003/2003_09_30a.htm
http://www.salon.com/ent/wire/2003/09/30/screener/index.html
http://www.respectcopyrights.org
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o Report: For-Pay Downloadable PC Games to Generate $760 Million in 2007

Framingham, Mass. -- For-pay downloadable online games are poised to propel the industry, as revenues derived from the purchase of downloadable games are projected to increase from $52.7 million in 2003 to more than $760 million in 2007, according to a report from Massachusetts-based market research firm IDC. This sector will be aided by the widening demographic of online gamers and the growing penetration of broadband. "After years of experimentation and evolution, the online PC gaming industry is closer than ever to reaching substantial and ongoing profits," said IDC's Schelley Olhava. To sustain these profits, IDC says, publishers must maintain high-quality content to keep customer churn at a minimum.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?M30025216
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o Digital Media Project Seeks Digital Rights Management Standards

Geneva -- A group of digital-media experts have launched an international forum -- deemed the Digital Media Project -- that aims to standardize digital media and copy protection technologies. The group says that it wants to put an end to the "technological civil war" that is currently hampering the spread of digital media content, and develop interoperable digital rights management technologies for digital media formats. The new Switzerland-based forum is the brainchild of Leonardo Chiariglione, who headed the group responsible for creating the widespread MPEG set of media standards. "We need to have the two communities working together," Chiariglione said. "Otherwise, most of what we have been doing (with MPEG and other digital media standards bodies) in the last few years becomes meaningless."
http://www.chiariglione.org/project 
http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5084381.html?tag=cd_lede
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o Sony Lowers U.K. PlayStation 2 Price 13% for Holiday Season

London -- Sony Corp. has announced that it will lower the price of its PlayStation 2 video game console in the U.K. market for the holiday shopping season. The console will now retail for 139 pounds ($232), representing a 13% drop from its former price. "We're bringing the U.K. in line with a price cut the rest of Europe had earlier in the year. The U.K. was the only territory where the price remain unchanged," a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe spokesperson told Reuters. Sony also introduced a limited edition satin silver PlayStation 2 model in the U.K. on Wednesday, which will retail for 149 pounds.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q4C131216
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3533255
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o Sega of America Names Hideaki Irie as New President

San Francisco -- Sega of America, the U.S. arm of the Japanese video game developer, announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Hideaki Irie as president and chief operating officer of the company. Former Sega of America president Peter Moore left the company in January, after four years at the helm. Previously, Irie served as president and CEO of game publisher AgeTec for five years, and prior to that was president of video game and peripheral publisher ASCII Entertainment Software.
http://www.sega.com
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o Game Developer Acclaim Repays $5 Million Loan

Glen Cove, N.Y. -- Video game developer and publisher Acclaim Entertainment announced that on Sept. 26 it prepaid the $5 million outstanding balance of its loan from GMAC Commercial Finance, from the company's working capital. Separately, the company said on Wednesday that it has appointed Beth Doherty as its vice president of sales. In June, New York-based Acclaim saw the departure of co-founder and CEO Gregory Fischbach.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030930/nytu143_1.html 
http://www.acclaim.com
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o Hotel VOD Firm On Command Gets $40 Million Loan from Liberty Media

Denver -- On Command, a provider of in-room interactive entertainment for hoteliers, announced on Wednesday that it has received a $40 million loan from Liberty Media Corp. Last month, Liberty agreed to purchase the outstanding shared of On Command it did not already own, in a merger transaction that it still pending shareholder approval.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030930/latu113_1.html
http://www.oncommand.com _____________________________________________

o PanAmSat to Launch Satellite Specifically for HDTV

Wilton, Conn. -- PanAmSat launched a satellite at sea early Wednesday morning, which will serve as a platform for distributing high definition television (HDTV) programs. Galaxy XIII will be home to the first grouping of HDTV programs in the U.S. on one satellite, company officials said. The satellite will serve content providers who may ultimately provide HDTV programs to as many as 50 million households. The satellite is expected to begin operating by January.
http://www.panamsat.com/global_network/galaxy_13.asp

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(Washington) XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced on Wednesday that it now counts 929,648 subscribers, having added over 237,000 during the third quarter. Washington-based XM said it is on track to have 1.2 million subscribers by the end of the year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031001/dcw009_1.html 
http://www.xmradio.com

(Washington) SoundExchange, the recording industry entity set up to collect royalty payments from webcasters who stream music online, on Wednesday announced that it has officially spun-off from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which created the non-profit. A board made up of equal representation from artists and record labels will now control the newly independent group, which has distributed $10 million in royalties since its inception three years ago.
http://www.riaa.com 
http://www.soundexchange.com

(Philadelphia) IBiquity Digital, developer of digital radio broadcast technology that lets broadcasters transmit a digital signal alongside their analog AM/FM signals, announced on Wednesday the release of two tools developers may use to create multimedia programming that utilizes the wireless data broadcast capabilities of HD Radio. The company released its Advanced Application Service application programming interface (AAS API), and version 1.0 of the HD BML (Broadcast Multimedia Language) protocol. Additionally, Maryland-based IBiquity said that 280 radio stations in over 100 markets have licensed its technology and will begin broadcasting in the HD Radio format.
http://www.ibiquity.com

(Los Gatos, Calif.) Netflix, an online DVD rental service, announced on Wednesday the opening of a shipping center in Cleveland, to serve more than 11 million residents in Ohio, parts of Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia. The company hopes to provide 80 percent of the U.S. with one-day delivery of movies by the end of the year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031001/sfw057_1.html 
http://www.netflix.com

(Los Angeles) IVillage, an online community and media company focusing on women, announced on Wednesday a partnership with Game Universe, an online games provider and unit of EUniverse. The two will launch an iVillage gaming channel targeted specifically at women that offers games like solitaire, Diamond Mine and Word Search. The companies will share revenue generated from subscription and for-pay games.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031001/nyw013_1.html 
http://www.ivillage.com 
http://www.gameuniverse.com

(Torrance, Calif.) Video game publisher Tecmo said on Wednesday that movie studio DreamWorks has "fast-tracked" its production of a feature-length film based on its "Fatal Frame" survival/horror video game franchise. The companies said writer/producer John Rogers ("Catwoman," "The Core") has signed on to produce, and that the film's script is currently being finalized and a director will soon be named.
http://www.tecmoinc.com 
http://www.fatalframe2.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Electronic Arts said on Wednesday that it has shipped its "Freedom Fighters" title for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and the PC to North American retailers. The game was developed by Copenhagen, Denmark-based Io Interactive and is being co-published by EA Partners under the company's EA Games brand.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031001/15293_1.html
http://www.freedomfighters.ea.com

(Milpitas, Calif.) Consumer electronics firm Creative Technology on Wednesday released its new line of Rhomba flash memory-based digital audio players. The devices feature an extra-large LCD display, USB support, an FM tuner and built-in microphone for voice recording. A 128MB model is available for $150 and a 256MB model will sell for $200.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031001/sfw075_1.html 
http://www.creative.com

(Milford, Pa.) Consumer electronics firm Altec Lansing on Wednesday announced its inMotion portable speaker accessory for Apple's iPod digital music player. The two-speaker system runs on four AA batteries and will go on sale this month for $150 from Apple's online store and next month at all Apple store locations.
http://www.alteclansing.com

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