DOJ Approves Merger of Ticketmaster, Live Nation

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– The U.S. Justice Department on Monday approved the proposed merger between
Ticketmaster (NASD:  TKTM) and concert promotion giant Live Nation (NYSE:  LYV). Under the terms, the company — which will be called Live Nation Entertainment — will divest Ticketmaster’s self-ticketing subsidiary, Paciolan, to Comcast-Spectator, and license its Ticketmaster Host technology to rival concert promoter AEG.

The deal also includes other undisclosed "terms that protect competitive conditions in ticketing and promotions."

The companies said 17 State Attorneys General also participated in the consent decree filed in federal court in D.C.

The combined company will be led by Michael Rapino as CEO and president of Live Nation Entertainment, while Irving Azoff will serve as executive chairman and CEO of Front Line, and Barry Diller will be chairman of Live Nation Entertainment.

CNBC reported earlier today that the Justice Department would approve the deal, citing
unnamed sources.

The
deal was originally announced in February 2009, and would be valued at around
$798 million today, Reuters noted.

The deal has drawn criticism from consumer
advocates, musicians and others who foresee a reduction in competition in the
live music industry, and the potential for higher ticket prices for consumers.

The
Justice Department has been conducting an antitrust review of the deal, which was
recently approved by U.K.
regulators; earlier this month, the shareholders of both companies also voted
overwhelmingly in favor of the merger.

The Wall Street Journal reported last
October that the Justice Dept. would seek "major concessions" from
the companies before approving any deal, while Reuters cited sources earlier
this month who said that the Justice Dept. "has had a litigation team
preparing the case for litigation for months."

 

Related Links:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2513450520100125

http://snipurl.com/u6t2n
(Silicon Alley Insider)

http://snipurl.com/u6t5i
(DMW previous coverage)

http://snipurl.com/u6t61
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.ticketmaster.com

http://www.livenation.com

AOL Acquires Video Producer StudioNow for $36.5 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– AOL (NYSE: AOL) announced on Monday that it has acquired StudioNow, a Web-based platform
for video creation and distribution, for $36.5 million in cash and stock.

Founded
in 2007, Nashville-based StudioNow helps companies create and syndicate video
content, by connecting them to a network of more than 3,000 freelance
filmmakers, editors, animators, voice talent, writers and producers.

AOL said
it plans to integrate StudioNow into its newly-launched Seed.com content
management system, utilizing its freelance network to beef up the content on
AOL’s more than 80 websites.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6sus

http://www.studionow.com

StockTwits Acquires Financial News Blog Abnormal Returns

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– StockTwits, the provider of a real-time financial news service that utilizes
Twitter, has acquired financial blog Abnormal Returns, according to a post on
the company’s blog.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

New
York-based StockTwits said that five-year-old Abnormal Returns will continue to
operate as a standalone site under editor-in-chief Tadas Viskanta, and add a
real-time component via StockTwits.

"This aggregation will harness both
the power of the StockTwits community and editorial insight to bring a stream
of intelligent investment links to its readers," the company said.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6sna

http://www.abnormalreturns.com

LivePerson Buys Web Analytics Firm NuConomy for $3 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– LivePerson, the provider of a network of experts who dole out advice on the
Internet, has acquired Web analytics firm NuConomy for $3 million, TechCrunch
reported.

Founded in 2006 in Tel Aviv, Israel, NuConomy has raised about $3.3 million
to date, and is now headquartered in San
Francisco.

Founded in 1995, New York-based LivePerson
provides a network of "experts" in a broad range of categories
utilized by more than 7,000 companies to build relationships with their
customers.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u6sgf
(TechCrunch)

http://www.liveperson.com

http://www.nuconomy.com

NASA Astronaut Sends First Tweet From Space

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Houston
– A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station on Friday became the
first person to send a Twitter message from space. Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer
posted an update to his account @Astro_TJ: "Hello Twitterverse! We r now
LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from
Space! J
More soon, send your ?s."


 

Related Links:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jan/HQ_M10-011_Hawaii221169.html

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

Veteran Facebook Employee Joins Shawn Fanning Start-up

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – Dave Morin, a senior
product manager and longtime employee at Facebook, has left the company to join
Napster creator Shawn Fanning in an undisclosed new venture, TechCrunch
reported. Morin also spoke of the move on his personal blog, but said that the
venture with Fanning will "be in a stealth’ish mode" for now. Fanning
most recently sold his Rupture social gaming company to Electronic Arts for $15
million.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u5whj
(TechCrunch)

http://davemorin.tumblr.com/post/347832449

Ustream Offers Users Pay-Per-View Option for Live Video

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Los Angeles
– Ustream, a provider of live video webcasting services, has introduced a new
pay-per-view offering that will allow its stable of webcasters to charge for
access to live streaming events, NewTeeVee reported. The first such webcast
will be offered by comedian Dane Cook, who will charge $5 for access to a live
stream of the final show from his "Isolated Incident" stand-up tour
in Miami on
Saturday, Feb. 6. The fee includes the show in addition to a pre-show chat with
Cook and behind-the-scenes footage.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u5wja
(NewTeeVee)

http://www.ustream.tv

Hope for Haiti Now

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Haiti Benefit Concert to Stream on 30+ Sites, Sell on iTunes

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
4

Los Angeles – The "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit
for Earthquake Relief" event tonight, hosted by George Clooney and
featuring performances from artists including Madonna, Bruce Springsteen,
Stevie Wonder and Wyclef Jean, will be streamed live on more than 30 websites
and sell downloads of the performances on iTunes, organizers said on Friday. Sites
streaming the two-hour event, scheduled to star at 8:00 pm. ET/PT, include
ABC.com, AOL, Bebo, CBS.com, Hulu, Huffington Post, Hulu, MySpace and YouTube.

The event will also be accessible via a range of mobile TV applications, including
MobiTV, FLO TV and the iPhone.

A "Hope for Haiti Now" album will sell
on iTunes, Amazon MP3 and Rhapsody for $7.99, while the full telecast will cost
$1.99 and individual performances of tracks will cost 99 cents.

In a first, Twitter
will promote the event on every user profile page, and a "Hope for Haiti"
Twitter Tracker will offer a visual representation of real-time conversations
happening globally via Twitter.

A live chat social widget provided by Gigya
will also run alongside the live stream on both MTV.com and VH1.com.

All
proceeds from the event will benefit Haiti
relief funds managed by "Hope for Haiti Now" charities: Oxfam America,
Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme,
Yele Haiti Foundation, and the newly formed Clinton Bush Haiti Foundation.

 

Related Links:
http://www.hopeforhaitinow.org

Report: Vevo Censoring Music Videos to Attract Sponsors

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
4

New York
– Vevo, the music video portal joint venture between Sony (NYSE:  SNE) Music, Universal
Music and Abu Dhabi Media Company, has begun to censor the videos that appear
on its service in a bid to encourage brands that may be weary of appearing next
to objectionable content, AdAge.com reported.

To date, YouTube (NASD:  GOOG), which is
powering the video service and hosts a branded Vevo channel on its site, has
only censored instances of pornography or hate speech.

"Our censorship
goal for launch was to keep everything clean for broadcast, ‘the MTV
version,’" Vevo spokeswoman Jennifer Press told AdAge.com.

There is
currently no list of "forbidden words," Press added.

Some videos on Vevo are now seeing
two versions posted, one with an "explicit" label, while other
censored videos will only appear in a "non-explicit" version.

 

Related Links:
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=141638

http://www.vevo.com

1...1,4771,4781,479...1,504Page 1,478 of 1,504