Five Years In, YouTube Serving 2 Billion Videos Daily
San Bruno,
Calif. – Google’s (NASD: GOOG) YouTube
announced on Monday that, after five years in operation, it is now serving over
2 billion video views daily, representing nearly double the prime-time audience
of the the three major U.S. broadcast networks combined. "What started as
a site for bedroom vloggers and viral videos has evolved into a global platform
that supports HD and 3D, broadcasts entire sports seasons live to 200+
countries," the company said in a blog post.
To celebrate its fifth
birthday, YouTube is also launching the YouTube Five Year channel, which
features videos of "people from all over describing how YouTube has
changed or shaped their lives."
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/wf911
The Pirate Bay Offline Following Injunction Against ISP
Los Angeles – Notorious
file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay has been knocked offline by its Internet
service provider, following a court ruling in Germany last week ordering the ISP
to disconnect the site on copyright violations, TorrentFreak reported. The
Motion Picture Association was successful last week in its litigation at the
Regional Court of Hamburg, where it secured a preliminary injunction against
ISP CyberBunker and its parent company CB3ROB.
A Pirate Bay
insider told TorrentFreak that the operators of the site are already working to
get the site back online with a different hosting provider.
The same circumstances have
befallen The Pirate Bay with two of its previous hosting providers, who where ordered
by courts to take the site offline at the behest of entertainment industry
interests.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/wf80j
(TorrentFreak)
Thomson Reuters Acquires Brazilian Legal Publisher
Sao Paulo,
Brazil –
Thomson Reuters announced on Monday that it has acquired 98-year-old Brazilian
legal publisher Revista dos Tribunais.
Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
The company said the acquisition "presents a strategic
opportunity for Thomson Reuters to lead the move to advanced information,
software and online services for the Brazilian legal information
industry," noting that the country "has among the highest number of
lawyers per capita after the U.S., with a growing base of medium and large law
firms."
The Revista dos Tribunais counts nearly 300 staff, and has more
than 2,000 published titles.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/wf6h2
KIT Digital Acquires Benchmark Broadcast for $9.5 Million
Prague, Czech Republic
– KIT Digital, a provider of video-on-demand software and services, announced
on Monday that it will acquire Singapore-based rival Benchmark Broadcast
Systems for $9.5 million.
Prague-based KIT said the deal will help it to expand
into Asian markets; Benchmark has operations in 12 countries, serving clients
including CNBC, ESPN Star and MediaCorp.
KIT provides its services in over 30
countries to more than 1,000 customers, including the Associated Press, Disney
and Google.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/wf5ll
Booyah Lands $20 Million for Location-based Mobile Service
Palo Alto,
Calif. – Booyah, a developer of
location-based mobile applications, announced on Monday that it has closed a
$20 million round of financing, led by Accel Partners.
Previous backers Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers and DAG Ventures also participated.
Palo Alto,
Calif.-based Booyah launched its MyTown application in December, which now
counts more than 2 million users and is adding over 100,000 new users each
week.
The service lets users check in at real-world locations using GPS
features to unlock rewards, as well as purchase, upgrade and collect rent on
virtual versions of their favorite real-world places.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/wf4k8
Grockit Raises $7 Million for Social Learning Network
San Francisco
– Grockit, the developer of a social network for studying, said on Friday that
it raised $7 million in a new round of funding led by Atlas Venture.
Previous investors Benchmark Capital and Integral Capital Partners also
participated in the round, which the company will use to expand its executive
team and grow its service.
San Francisco-based Grockit’s learning platform
combines social networking and online gaming technology to help students master
academic skills and prepare for standardized tests.
Founded in 2007 by Farb
Nivi, a former Princeton Review Teacher of the Year and academic director at
Kaplan, lets users form online study groups.
"It is widely accepted that
digital media is an important tool for the future of education, and we are
committed to bringing this to students everywhere in a fun, accessible
way," said Nivi, who serves as CEO.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/wf2zb
Google: At Least 65,000 Android Handsets Shipping Daily
Washington – According to Google (NASD: GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt, at least
65,000 mobile phones loaded with the company’s Android operating system are
being shipped daily worldwide, Agence France-Presse reported. The operating
system is now being used on 34 handsets available in 49 countries. "It
looks like Android is going to be either the number one or number two player,"
said Schmidt.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w8vpy
(AFP)
Adobe Plans Version of Lightroom for Apple iPad
San Jose,
Calif. – Adobe plans to develop a
version of its Lightroom photo organization and editing software for Apple’s
iPad, according to a blog post by Adobe’s John Nack. Adobe and Apple have been
at loggerheads of late, due to Apple’s decision to block developers from using Adobe’s
Flash to create applications for the iPhone, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs
criticizing Flash in an open letter, and Adobe firing back with an ad campaign.
Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20004985-264.html
http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2010/05/absolute_power_vs_the_pirate_flag.html
Oprah Launches Online Contest to Choose Network TV Host
Los Angeles
– Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network announced on Friday that it partnered with
reality producer Mark Burnett on "Your OWN Show," a nationwide talent
search that will see Oprah choose a winner to host his or her own studio talk
show on the network.
Contestants may submit three-minute audition videos
through June 26, which will be narrowed by public voting to five finalists, who
will receive an audition in Los
Angeles with Mark Burnett Productions.
Kohl’s
department stores has signed on to sponsor the series, and is also hosting open
casting calls in June in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/w8vhj
