Report: Viacom Sold "Rock Band" Game Studio Harmonix for $50

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – Viacom (NYSE:  VIA) sold its Harmonix music game development
studio — creator of the "Rock Band" franchise — for just $50 to
Columbus Nova, plus the assumption of $100 million in liabilities, All Things D
reported.

Viacom also reportedly received $50 million in tax benefits from
losses on its investment.

The company acquired Harmonix for $175 million in
2006, and paid an additional $150 million in achievement-based bonuses, based
on strong sales of the studio’s music-based games.

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/32bxwmp
(All Things D)

http://www.harmonix.com

Market Research Firm NPD Group to Acquire In-Stat

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Port Washington, N.Y. – Market research firm NPD Group has
announced that it will acquire In-Stat, an analyst-based research company
focused on the mobile and digital entertainment industries.

Financial terms of
the transaction were not disclosed.

New York-based NPD said the deal will expand
its global coverage in In-Stat’s market sectors, and complement its existing
consumer and retail sales tracking services for tech and entertainment.

 

Related Links:
http://www.npd.com

http://www.in-stat.com

Access 360 Media Nets $12 Million for Digital Ad Networks

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Access 360 Media, a provider of digital
place-based advertising services, announced on Wednesday the closing of a $12
million, third round of funding, led by Columbia Capital and Mission Ventures.

New York-based Access 360 operates AMNtv and Mallvision, digital ad networks
found in stadiums and malls, respectively.

The company says its network
currently encompasses 20,000 screens in 100 locations, collectively reaching a
potential 54 million monthly impressions.

Access 360 will use the funds for
potential acquisitions, new hires and organic growth.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/37ehdoh
(PDF)

http://www.access360media.com

Targeted Online Advertising Firm Turn Secures $20 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Redwood City, Calif. – Turn, a provider of targeted
advertising services, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $20 million in
a fourth round of financing, led by Greenspring Associates.

Previous backers
Norwest Venture Partners, Trident Capital, Shasta Ventures and Focus Ventures
also participated.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Turn said it will use the funds for
product development, to build technology infrastructure, and expand
internationally.

The company has now raised a total of $57 million.

 

Related Links:
http://www.turn.com/?p=5440

Wikipedia Exceeds $16 Million Fundraising Goal in 50 Days

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

San Francisco – The Wikimedia Foundation announced that it
has exceeded its $16 million fundraising goal to support the Wikipedia online
encyclopedia, with more than half a million donors offering an average of $22
each.

The organization said its seventh annual fundraiser was its shortest and
most successful to date, reaching its goal in just 50 days.

Additionally,
Wikimedia Foundation chapters around the world separately raised millions of
dollars from hundreds of thousands of donors.

"In 15 days, Wikipedia will
turn 10 years old," Wikimedia Foundation head of reader relations Philippe
Beaudette wrote in a blog post.

"Since the beginning, Wikipedia’s
community of readers and editors have remained dedicated to keeping the site
ad-free, and free for use for its 400 million monthly visitors.   This year’s success demonstrates a
continued commitment to those principles."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2amfbpa

Bazaar Labs Receives $1.5 Million for Miso Social TV App

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

San Francisco – Bazaar Labs, the developer of a social TV
service called Miso, said it has raised $1.5 million in additional funding and
closed its Series A round, which was led by Google Ventures.

Hearst Interactive
Media also participated in the investment round, which the company will use to
hire more engineers.

San Francisco-based Bazaar said that Miso is nearing
100,000 registered users, across its iPhone, Android, iPad and Web applications.

The company also announce a partnership with the OWN network, to offer check-in
badges tied to a reality series.

 

Related Links:
http://blog.gomiso.com/2011/01/04/an-exciting-start-to-2011

RootMusic Gets $2.3 Million to Create Facebook Band Pages

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – RootMusic, the developer of an application
that helps bands create Facebook pages, has raised $2.3 million in venture
capital financing.

Details on investors were not disclosed.

Founded in 2010,
San Francisco-based RootMusic offers both free and premium versions of its BandPages
service, which can add SoundCloud-embedded songs, photos, videos and touring
information to an artist’s Facebook page.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2fgycwh
(SEC)

http://www.rootmusic.com

Mobile Ad Network Millennial Media Raises $27.5 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Baltimore – Taking advantage of the rapidly growing mobile
advertising market, Millennial Media, which operates the largest independent
mobile ad network in the U.S., said on Wednesday it has raised $27.5 million in
a new round of funding.

Bessemer Venture Partners, Columbia Capital, Charles
River Ventures and New Enterprise Associates (NEA) participated in the round,
which increased the company’s total backing to $65 million since its inception
in 2006.

Baltimore-based Millennial said it will use the proceeds to build on
last year’s acquisition of mobile analytics firm TapMetrics with additional
acquisitions this year, as well as investments in its international and
platform lines of business. The company already tripled its revenue in 2010.

"The mobile model continues to expand beyond the phone, and is becoming
the new, device based internet via apps on everything from refrigerators to
tablets to televisions," said Paul Palmieri, the company’s president and
CEO.

Millennial said its mobile ad network currently reaches more than 85% of
U.S. mobile web users and serves more than 17 billion mobile ad impressions a
month.

The news comes nearly five months after The Wall Street Journal reported
that BlackBerry smart phone maker Research in Motion (RIM) was in discussions
to acquire the company.

The talks, however, reportedly hit a snag over
Millennial’s asking price of $400-$500 million, which was based on the acquisition
prices of rivals AdMob and Quattro Wireless.

 

Related Links:
http://www.millennialmedia.com

Verizon to Introduce 4G Smartphones This Week

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Las Vegas – Verizon is expected to introduce a number of 4G
handsets and debut its 4G wireless network this week at the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to published reports. The Wall Street
Journal reports the company will show Android-powered 4G phones from Samsung,
Motorola, HTC and LG. CNET notes that Verizon’s 4G network will offer average
download speeds between 5-12 Mbps, compared to Sprint WiMax (3-6 Mbps) or
T-Mobile USA’s HSPA+ (3-7 Mbps).

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2w3b6pg
(WSJ)

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-32254_1-20027064-283.html

Report: Hulu in Talks to Restore "The Daily Show," "Colbert"

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show" and
"The Colbert Report" may be returning to the Hulu video portal, after
being removed in early 2010 when terms for streaming couldn’t be agreed upon,
The New York Times reported. Sources told The Times that executives from Hulu
and Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) Comedy Central have been in talks recently and "were eager to
make peace." Comedy Central had reportedly been seeking upfront payments
for episodes of the programs.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/25mwnl6
(N.Y. Times)

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