Report: Apple, Networks in Talks on $1 TV Episode Downloads

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

New York
– After months of negotiations, some TV networks have agreed to allow Apple (NASD: AAPL) to
cut the price of their TV episodes from $1.99 to $1 on the iTunes Store in
connection with the launch of the company’s iPad tablet computer in April, the Financial
Times reported.

The report did not indicate which or how many networks had
agreed to the $1 pricing test for the iTunes Store, which boasts 120 million
active customer accounts.

Apple is also reportedly talking to the networks
about a subscription-based service for TV episodes, which would bundle shows
from different networks in a package costing $30 per month.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc93p
(Financial Times)

MySpace CEO Owen van Natta Exits

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Los Angeles
– News Corporation (NYSE:  NWS) announced late on Wednesday that, after just nine months on
the job, MySpace CEO Owen van Natta will step down. "Owen took on an
incredible challenge in working to refocus and revitalize MySpace, and the
business has shown very positive signs recently as a result of his dedicated work,"
said Jon Miller, News Corp.’s chairman and CEO of Digital Media. "However,
in talking to Owen about his priorities both personally and professionally
going forward, we both agreed that it was best for him to step down at this
time. I want to thank Owen for all of his efforts."

Van Natta will be
replaced by new co-presidents Mike Jones and Jason Hirschorn, who along with
van Natta joined MySpace in April 2009.

Jones was formerly MySpace’s COO, and
before that founded Userplane and Tsavo media.

Hirschorn, MySpace’s head of
product development, was previously president of Sling Media’s entertainment
group, and chief digital officer at MTV Networks.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc8yz

http://snipurl.com/uc925
(Los Angeles Times)

http://gigaom.com/2010/02/10/myspace-r-i-p/

http://www.myspace.com

Report: Microsoft in Talks to Buy Social Gamer CrowdStar

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is one of several companies in talks to acquire CrowdStar, a
creator of social games for Facebook, Bloomberg reported, citing two people
familiar with the matter.

Burlingame,
Calif.-based CrowdStar may be valued at $200 for the transaction, but could choose
to remain independent and secure new financing instead of being acquired, a
source told Bloomberg.

CrowdStar is the fourth-largest Facebook game developer,
counting more than 50.8 million monthly active players for titles like
"Happy Aquarium," according to AppData.com.

Microsoft recently signed
a deal with another social games publisher, Zynga, to bring social games to its
MSN Games and other properties.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc8t0
(Bloomberg)

http://www.crowdstar.com

Report: Google Buys Social Search Service Aardvark for $50M

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Mountain View,
Calif. – Google (NASD: GOOG) has acquired
social search service Aardvark for around $50 million, TechCrunch reported,
citing a source briefed on the deal.

The companies had been in discussions
since December.

Founded in 2007 as Mechanical Zoo by several ex-Google
employees, San Francisco-based Aardvark counts more than 90,000 users for its
service that lets users ask questions and receive answers from their social
network.

The company said that 56% of its users had asked or answered a
question, and the media active user was asking 3.1 questions per month.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc8qd
(TechCrunch)

http://vark.com

Social Games Publisher Zynga Acquires Serious Business

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Social games publisher Zynga, the creator of titles including "Mafia
Wars" and "FarmVille," announced on Thursday that it will
acquire Serious Business, a developer of social games on Facebook.

Financial
terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2008, San Francisco-based
Serious Business was backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

The company says
its flagship game "Friends for Sale"
is played by over 6 million people every month.

Zynga said employees of Serious
Business will joint Zynga at its San
Francisco headquarters.

Zynga counts over 235 million
monthly active users playing its games.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc8nl

http://www.seriousbusiness.com

http://www.zynga.com

comScore to Acquire Ad Research Firm ARSgroup

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Reston, Va. – comScore, a provider of Internet
audience measurement services, said that it will acquire Indiana-based
ARSgroup, a research agency specializing in the measurement of advertising
persuasion for TV and multimedia campaigns.

Financial terms of the all-cash
deal were not disclosed.

comScore said the acquisition will help it to better
measure the effectiveness of advertising in TV, online, print and integrated
cross media platforms.

"As the advertising market continues to become more
fragmented… understanding how to measure the effectiveness of one’s advertising
messages has never been more important," said Magid Abraham, the president
and CEO of comScore.

Jeff Cox, the CEO of ARSgroup, will become an executive
vice president at comScore.

 
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc8la

http://www.arsgroup.com

http://www.comscore.com

Break Media Acquires Gaming Website FileFront

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– Break Media, a network of entertainment sites targeting young men, announced
on Thursday that it has acquired FileFront, a publisher of video game news and
downloads.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, Texas-based
FileFront currently counts 9 million unique monthly visitors, more than 20,000
active forum users, and a network of over 75 game-specific websites.

Los
Angeles-based Break said it plans to invest significantly in the editorial
components of FileFront, and launch a site redesign.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uc8iy

http://www.filefront.com

http://www.break.com

WebVisible Lands $20 Million for Local Online Advertising

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Irvine, Calif. – WebVisible, a provider of local
online advertising services, has raised $20 million in its third round of
venture capital financing, VentureWire reported, citing a regulatory filing.

While
information on investors was not disclosed, the company previously raised $17
million from Redpoint Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Founded in 2001,
Irvine, Calif.-based WebVisible says its platform currently manages more than
600 million keywords.

The company has provided services to more than 100,000
small and medium-sized businesses across 3,000 industries in 11 countries.

 

Related Links:
http://www.pehub.com/63450/webvisible-raises-20-million/

http://www.webvisible.com

Sony Introduces First Blu-ray Player to Support 3D

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Diego
– Sony (NYSE: SNE) on Wednesday introduced its first standalone, 3D-ready Blu-ray player,
and announced that several other of its Blu-ray player models can be made
3D-ready via a firmware update to be released this summer. The new BDP-S470
will be available in February for $200.


 

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

Iran Bans Google's Gmail

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Beirut – Iran’s
telecommunications agency has announced a "permanent suspension" of
Google’s (NASD: GOOG) Gmail service, as part of a larger crackdown on government opposition
a day before the anniversary of the Islamic Republic, The Wall Street Journal
reported. Instead, the Iranian government said it plans to soon launch a
national email service for citizens. Google did not have a comment on the story for The Journal.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/uby6t
(WSJ)

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