archives

o Amplified Acquires Assets of Retailer CheckOut.com
o RealNetworks Signs Four-Year Deal to Promote "Lord of the Rings" Films
o CinemaNow To Offer More Current On-Demand Movies
> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: New York City
> Correction: "Animal Trax"
o Briefly Noted: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Moderngroove - Sony,
Nick.com Bubblecast, MediaBay - RadioClassics, The New York Times Company
- Bell & Howell's Information and Learning, Ain't It Cool News, House of
Blues: "the godfather of live webcasting"
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> Job Postings: Sr. Copywriter, Account Executive/Sr. Acount Executive,
SW & FPGA Engineers, Market Technology Manager, Account Manager

> Events: "Interactive Gaming on the Internet"

Full Job/Event descriptions listed below "Briefly Noted" section or at
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/postings.html

To Post a Job: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html
To Post an Event: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o Amplified Acquires Assets of Retailer CheckOut.com

Atlanta -- Amplified, a business-to-business provider of digital media
services, announced that it has acquired the assets of CheckOut.com, an
entertainment site and online retailer of music and movies. The new
company will be called Amplified and will be located in Atlanta-based
Amplified's Los Angeles office. Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed. Edmond Mesrobian, president and CTO of CheckOut.com will become
CTO of Amplified. The new company will be able to sell downloads and
stream music for partners including Wherehousemusic.com using their
combined technologies.
http://www.amplified.com
http://www.checkout.com
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o RealNetworks Signs Four-Year Deal to Promote "Lord of the Rings" Films

Seattle -- Streaming media delivery firm RealNetworks announced on Friday
that it has signed an agreement with New Line Cinema to promote the
studio's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy of films over a four-year span. The
companies will create and manage a Lord of the Rings Channel on Real.com,
with promotional content updated more frequently as the first film of the
trilogy's release in December 2001 approaches. The partnership will
continue through the release of each of the films, both in theaters and
onto home video and DVD. "The Lord of the Rings RealChannel will set a
promotional benchmark that is unparalleled and marks the most significant
entertainment Internet promotion to date," said Gordon Paddison, senior
vice president, worldwide marketing and business development, New Line
Cinema. The films, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel of the same name, just
completed shooting in New Zealand. A "teaser trailer" for the films
premieres on the Real.com website on Friday.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010119/wa_rings_r.html
http://www.real.com
http://www.lordoftherings.net
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o CinemaNow To Offer More Current On-Demand Movies

Marina del Rey, Calif. -- CinemaNow, an online film on-demand site
partnered with Lions Gate Films, announced on Friday that it will begin
offering streaming versions of Lions Gate movies online during the period
that they are traditionally offered on pay-per-view cable and satellite
television. Films to be shown in 2001 on the site include "The Last
September" with Oscar winner Maggie Smith; the Abbie Hoffman story, "Steal
This Movie," starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Janeane Garofalo, and director
Wim Wenders's "Million Dollar Hotel." CinemaNow controls exclusive
Internet distribution rights to approximately 1000 films from the Lions
Gate, Trimark Pictures, Avalanche, Allied Artists, Tai Seng and Salvation
film libraries.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010119/lions_gate.html
http://www.cinemanow.com
http://www.lionsgatefilms.com
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> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: New York City

Digital Media Wire will host its next networking event in New York City on
Tuesday, January 23, 2001 for subscribers and those interested in the
convergence of entertainment, technology and the Internet. Light hors
d'oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar. There is no charge
for the event and registration is not necessary.

Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2001
Time: 7:00 - 9:30 pm
Location: Bar 13
35 E 13th St. - New York City

For additional details: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/dmw_event1.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on Friday filed a
brief in a New York court to overturn the injunction against hacker
publication "2600," which resulted from the magazine's publishing of code
that can crack encryption security on DVDs, Wired News reported. The EFF
will bring up the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a law that dictates
the use of copyrighted material on the Internet. "Important individual
rights like fair use, first sale, and the public domain are eliminated by
the statute's sloppy handling of civil liberties," said EFF lead council
Robin Gross.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41199,00.html
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/MPAA_DVD_cases/20010119_ny_eff_appeal_brief.html

(Vancouver, British Columbia) Moderngroove, a game developer founded by
former employees of Electronic Arts, announced on Friday it has received a
license from Sony to create a game for its Playstation 2 console. The game
will feature electronic music from labels such as U.K.-based Ministry of
Sound combined with 3D animated visuals synched to the music. The game
also allows players to upload their own MP3 compilations to the system,
which will create visuals based on the provided music in real-time.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010105/moderngroo.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010103/nv_moderng.html
http://www.moderngroove.com

(Pasadena, Calif.) Children's TV network Nickelodeon announced the launch
of its Bubblecast online game, which kids can play at Nick.com while
watching a corresponding program on TV. The game lets kids challenge one
another in a trivia game based on the show they are watching during the
network's afternoon live program slot. Winners of the game will be
broadcast at the end of the live TV program. Bubblecast will first be
available for daily showings of the popular "Rugrats" program starting
February 5.
http://www.nick.com

(Cedar Knolls, N.J.) MediaBay, a provider of spoken word audio content,
announced that it has formed RadioClassics, a subsidiary that will sell
its content on the Internet and other media. RadioClassics will offer
downloadable versions of New Jersey-based MediaBay's library of old-time
radio shows such as "Burns and Allen" and "The Abbott and Costello Show."
The company expects sales to generate $25 million in profits over the next
five years.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010116/nj_mediaba.html
http://www.mediabay.com

(New York) The New York Times Company announced that it has partnered with
Bell & Howell's Information and Learning unit to digitize full-page
historical back issues of the The New York Times. Dating back to the
paper's first edition in 1851, the project will bring over 3.5 million
pages online in the form of a database that will be sold to schools and
libraries. "This agreement will bring uniquely valuable materials to
researchers, scholars, students, and historians of just about every
discipline everywhere," said Joe Reynolds, CEO of Bell & Howell
Information and Learning.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010112/ny_the_new.html
http://www.nytimes.com

(Park City, Utah) Insider movie gossip site Ain't It Cool News, which
publishes anonymous reports on movies still in production, will soon
become a cable television series, Inside.com reported on Friday. The
series will reportedly air on a "well-known and really cool basic cable
channel," according to Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, COO of Ain't It Cool News.
The company is in Park City shooting interviews and other footage at the
Sundance Film Festival for the series.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=21258&pod_id=10
http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/

(San Francisco) Streamingmedia.com on Friday published a feature story on
live music venue chain The House of Blues, "the godfather of live
webcasting." The company, which has venues in many major U.S. cities and
owns or books 20 other amphitheaters, debuted its first streamed webcast
of a concert in 1995. In 1999, the company broadcast the first live,
broadband pay-per-view concert on the Internet. This year, House of Blues
plans to webcast between 800 and 1,000 concerts.
http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=6743
http://www.hob.com
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> Correction: "Animal Trax"

An article in Thursday's edition of Digital Media Wire incorrectly stated
that the VH-1 animated series "Animal Trax" was created by CampChaos. The
series was produced and directed by Frank Saperstein. CampChaos is
developing an unrelated animated series for the network.

===================================================
Job Postings:
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To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html

> FCB Interactive, Sr. Copywriter - Web - New York City

Understand business needs and translate them into artistic solutions,
which are consistent with the brand goals and deliver superior value to
the customer. Work with Art Director to develop concepts and then execute
all copy treatments. Oversee all copy of freelance writers. Present the
work to the client along with the Creative Director. Must be able to
think visually as well as verbally and work with little supervision. Send
resumes to KPicariello@fcb.com (attn: KP-Sr. Copy).
http://www.fcb.com
______________________

> GCI Group, Account Executive/Senior Account Executive - Los Angeles

GCI Group, a leading, global public relations firm, has a great
opportunity to work in our Los Angeles office as a member of the Consumer
Technology team. We are currently seeking an Account Executive and Senior
Account Executive with 2 to 3 years experience in public relations.
Excellent written and communication skills a must. Send resume, cover
letter and salary requirements to Jeri Gardner: jgardner@gcigroup.com
http://www.gcigroup.com
______________________

> Convergent Companies, Inc., SW & FPGA Engineers - Greenbelt, MD

We are developing break-through video compression technologies for the
Internet and are looking for FPGA and Software engineers with 1-8 yrs
experience. BSEE/CS familiarity with C++, image processing, object
programming. FPGA position, exp FPGA programming, DSP architectures esp
w/Xilinx. Check out Employment section of our website for details.
Send resumes to jobs@convergentcompanies.com
http://www.convergentcompanies.com
______________________

> Cambridge Technology Partners, Market Technology Manager - Los Angeles

If you're an experienced, team-oriented technical architect who has a
passion for providing leadership and mentorship to a talented technical
community, ensuring high quality project delivery and supporting business
development efforts, please send us your resume. Broad technical delivery
experience including client/server and Web architectures is required.
Send resumes to Joe Young: jyoung03@ctp.com
http://www.ctp.com
______________________

> pogo.com, Account Manager - Internet Sales - San Francisco

You will be selling Internet advertising and sponsorships on the company's
network of 13 family entertainment websites. Must be creative, motivated
and organized individual who loves to prospect and build long-lasting
business relationships. This position will be responsible for agency and
direct advertiser accounts. Must have 1 to 3 years interactive
advertising sales experience, with 1 to 5 years of other media sales
experience a plus. Send resume and cover letter to resumes@pogo.com
http://www.pogo.com

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Event Postings:
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To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> DMW Panel: "Interactive Gaming on the Internet"

Interactive gaming is a $6.5 billion market with sales rivaling those of
the motion picture box offices. Forrester Research forecasts that
interactive gaming will be a $26 billion market by 2005. Which
technologies and business models will drive this expanding market? Will
entertainment companies profit from gaming on the Internet? Digital Media
Wire will hold a dinner and panel discussion: "Interactive Gaming on the
Internet: Recent Developments and New Opportunities" on Tuesday, February
15, 2001 at the Argyle Hotel in Los Angeles. Moderator: Victor Hwang, COO,
larta. Confirmed panelists: Jim Charne, Attorney and former President,
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences; Brian Dearth, CEO, Hollywood
Stock Exchange; Chris Kantrowitz, CEO, The Groove Alliance.
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/panel1.html
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