archives

o Sega Dreamcast May Cease Production in Favor of Convergent Set-Tops
o TVT Records Settles Lawsuit With Napster
o Ignite Sports Media Raises $17 Million in Third Round
o Executive Director of Troubled SDMI Resigns
o Atom Films Signs Six Short Films at Sundance Film Festival
o Webcaster INTV Acquires Assets of Pseudo Programs for $2 Million
o Wireless Content Publisher uB-Mobile Receives $7 Million From Softbank
o Briefly Noted: Loudeye Technologies - The Coca-Cola Company, iBEAM -
Superbowl.com, Vitaminic - Renault Italia, Microsoft - AdCritic.com, Red
Herring Research
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> Digital Media Wire 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 Thursday, February
15, 2001 at the Argyle Hotel in Los Angeles. Moderator: Victor Hwang, COO,
larta. Confirmed panelists: George Alexander, VP Media & Entertainment,
CAP Gemini Ernst & Young; 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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> Job Postings: VP Biz Dev/Sales, Senior Web Designer, Tech Writer,
Account Exec./Sr. Account Exec.

> Events: "Digital Media Outlook"

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
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o Sega Dreamcast May Cease Production in Favor of Convergent Set-Tops

New York -- Sega has confirmed reports that it is considering halting the
production of its Dreamcast gaming console, the New York Times reported on
Thursday. The company's console was first to market but saw declining
sales approaching the release of Sony's Playstation 2. The company said in
a statement that, "though the Dreamcast business itself will be continued,
software business is expected to become our main business." Additionally,
U.K.-based The Register reported that it expects the company to partner
with set-top box maker Pace, and bundle the Dreamcast's graphics software
into a convergent, interactive television offering. Sega is expected to
announce its plans for the Dreamcast on Monday, January 29.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/2/16331.html
http://www.sega.com/sega/index.jhtml
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o TVT Records Settles Lawsuit With Napster

New York -- TVT Records, home to artists including Snoop Dogg and Nine
Inch Nails, announced on Thursday that it has dropped its estimated $1.5
billion lawsuit against file-sharing site Napster. The company said the
action results from Napster's effort to build a secure, paid file-sharing
service in conjunction with Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann has not yet dropped
its litigation against Napster, making TVT the first label that had
brought litigation to fully join forces with the company. Under terms of
the settlement, TVT will allow the master recordings and musical
compositions it owns or controls to be used for file sharing on the
Napster service. TVT president Steve Gottlieb will also become an adviser
to Napster and help to promote its new business model. "I am afraid that
copyright owner's resistance to finding workable solutions with Internet
music providers may result in consumers, artists and the industry itself
ultimately being harmed," said Steve Gottlieb, president and founder of
TVT. In June, TVT filed a copyright infringement suit against Napster,
asking $150,000 for each of an estimated 10,000 infringements.
http://www.tvtrecords.com
http://www.napster.com 
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o Ignite Sports Media Raises $17 Million in Third Round

Chicago -- Ignite Sports Media, a provider of interactive media services
for sports-related companies, announced that it has raised $17 million in
its third round of venture capital financing. New investor AIG Global
Sports and Entertainment Fund led the investment round, joining other new
investors Williams Communications and Comdisco Ventures. Previous
investors Kettle Partners, William Blair New World Ventures and Austin
Ventures also participated. Chicago-based Ignite Sports Media creates
websites for sports teams and leagues including the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, the New York Giants and the LPGA, as well as advertisers and media
companies. The company will use the investment to fund growth and the
development of new interactive and cross-media products and services.
http://www.ignitemedia.com/home/index.cfm?cont_id=44840&page_title=Company%20News&left_cont_type_id=1730 _____________________________________________

o Executive Director of Troubled SDMI Resigns

Los Angeles -- The Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) has announced
the resignation of its executive director, Leonardo Chiariglione. The SDMI
is a group of recording industry companies and electronics and computer
manufacturers that has been trying to come up with security technology to
prevent unauthorized copying of digital music. Several of its watermarking
and encyrption technologies were put to the test with a challenge to the
hacker community to break them, which resulted in a number of successful
cracks. In its two years of existence, the SDMI has yet to release an
approved security technology for digital music, save a preliminary
standard for use with portable devices. Currently meeting in Los Angeles,
the SDMI said finding a new director is on its current agenda.
Chiariglione has been named to lead a new multimedia initiative at CSELT,
the corporate research center of the Telecom Italia Group. Previously, he
founded the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG), which is credited with
developing the MP3 format.
http://www.sdmi.org
http://www.sdmi.org/download/port_device_spec_part1.pdf
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o Atom Films Signs Six Short Films at Sundance Film Festival

Park City, Utah -- Short films site Atom Films announced on Thursday that
it has acquired six short films discovered at the Sundance Film Festival
in Park City, Utah. Seattle-based Atom Films acquired the worldwide rights
to three live action shorts, two short animations and one short that won
the award for Best Short Film at the Slamdunk Film Festival, which occurs
simultaneously with Sundance. The films acquired include "In Search of
Mike," "4PM," "Detroit Jewel," "Lou and Costa," "Lint People" and "Fly
Trap."
http://www.atomfilms.com
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o Webcaster INTV Acquires Assets of Pseudo Programs for $2 Million

Cambridge, Mass. -- Webcasting services provider INTV has acquired the
assets of the now defunct entertainment site Pseudo Programs for $2
million from a New York City bankruptcy court, Webnoize reported on
Thursday. The company bought assets including interactive television
technology, computers and video editing equipment as well as Pseudo's
leases for two buildings in New York City. INTV said it may relaunch
Pseudo.com as an entertainment site later this year. The article also
stated that New York City-based INTV may hire former Pseudo employees to
work for the company. INTV provides webcasting services to companies
including the New York Times and Showtime Networks.
http://news.webnoize.com
http://www.intv.net 
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o Wireless Content Publisher uB-Mobile Receives $7 Million From Softbank

Geneva -- uB-Mobile, a developer of interactive content for wireless
devices, announced that it has received an investment of $7 million from
Softbank Europe Ventures. The company will use the funds to expand its
international presence and for product development. Switzerland-based
uB-Mobile develops travel guides for major international cities, updated
with current entertainment and restaurant information.
http://www.ub-mobile.com/PressRelease.shtml
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o Briefly Noted:

(Seattle) Loudeye Technologies, a provider of digital media encoding
services, announced on Thursday that it has been hired by The Coca-Cola
Company to catalog and transfer five decades of television commercials
into digital format. The 20,000 ads will then be donated to The Library of
Congress. Seattle-based Loudeye's subsidiary VidPax will create
preservation masters of the commercials on Beta SP and Digital Betacam,
and continually update the Library's online archives as the expected
five-year project progresses.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010125/wa_loudeye.html
http://www.loudeye.com
http://www.loc.gov

(Sunnyvale, Calif.) iBEAM Broadcasting Corp. announced on Thursday that it
has partnered with the NFL, CBS Sports and SportsLine.com to be the
streaming provider for Superbowl.com. Sunnyvale-based iBEAM's coverage
will include play-by-play audio streams of the game in six foreign
languages, as well as players' video diaries and an archive of past Super
Bowl highlights.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010125/ca_ibeam.html
http://www.ibeam.com
http://www.sportsline.com

(San Francisco) Music site Vitaminic has announced a partnership with
carmaker Renault Italia, where Renault will manufacture the "Vitaminic
Clio," a car branded with the Vitaminic logo that comes with a standard
MP3 player. 14,000 of the cars will be produced and sold in Italy.
"Renault’s objective is to offer a value added service to its younger
customers who are looking for a cool and exciting new car, loaded with
innovative technologies," said Renault marketing manager Alessandro de
Angelini.
http://www.vitaminic.com
http://www.renault.it

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will post
streaming versions of all of the ads broadcast during the Super Bowl one
half-hour following each ad's broadcast. The company has partnered with
Virginia-based AdCritic.com to allow users to see and rate the ads,
traditionally the most expensively produced commercials of the year.
http://superbowl.adcritic.com/wm
http://www.windowsmedia.com

(San Francisco) Red Herring Communications announced on Thursday the
formation of a research unit, Red Herring Research. The unit will focus on
technology and other key growth industries and will combine elements of
profile, survey, benchmark and financial data into research packages
costing from $95 to $750 per report.
http://www.redherring.com

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

> Sonata, Director/VP Biz. Dev./Sales - Wireless Internet - New York City

Venture-backed wireless company specializing in the next generation of
location-based applications and wireless advertising seeks executive to
initiate, negotiate and close deals. Cultivation of business contacts,
structuring deals, negotiation of contracts and being part of an effective
business development team will be essential. Familiarity with advertising,
high-tech software or Internet products. Must have a passion for
emergingtechnology. Send resumes to hr@sonatainc.com
http://www.sonata.com
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> Lucid Designs, Senior Web Designer - Los Angeles

This is an opportunity to join a young, growing company with established
high-profile clients. Should have a minimum of two years design
experience, and a thorough knowledge of web standard design software such
as Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash. Experience with Dreamweaver, DHTML,
CD-ROM or print production are pluses, but not required. Position includes
benefits and generous salary. Send resumes and examples of on-line work to
jobs@luciddesigns.com
http://www.luciddesigns.com
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> Static, Tech Writer - Los Angeles

Software company that transforms the desktop into a peer-to-peer
distributed network for businesses and consumers seeks writer to document
cool software. Needs to have moderate programming/coding skills
(especially C/C++), as well as clear, concise and creative writing skills.
Experience with some sort of document layout software is needed. Send
resumes and tech-writing samples to cooljobs@static.com
http://www.static.com
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> Ruder Finn, TECHNOLOGY-Account Exec./Sr. Account Exec. - San Francisco

Global independent public relations agency seeks executives to help handle
explosive new business growth in dynamic and fast-moving office. Requires
excellent written/oral communication, organizational and problem-solving
skills, as well as a passion for client service. Sr. level positions
require strong program planning, client counseling and staff mentoring
skills. Great accounts, smart programs, competitive compensation and
benefits. Send resumes to careers@ruderfinn.com
http://www.ruderfinn.com

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

> Digital Media Outlook, April 2, 2001 -- New York City

Don't miss a beat. In a world of limited bandwidth, companies are
pushing technology and services that mesh data with formats like MP3
and MPEG while employing edge serving and IP multicasting to clear
a path to the audience. At Digital Media Outlook, learn where
the future lies for rich media services and infrastructure companies.
http://www.digitalmediaoutlook.com/home.html?e=DMO01Dwire
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