Main Stories
o Report: Xbox Next to Launch in Fall of 2005, Ahead of PlayStation 3
o Report: AOL Considering Asking for Super Bowl Sponsorship Refund
o BMG North America Consolidates U.S. Labels, Names Clive Davis CEO
o MPEG Video Patent Holders Sue DVD Maker Apex Digital for Royalties  
o DVD Software Firm Sonic Solutions Acquires InterActual for $8.8 Million
o 7-11 to Sell AT&T Prepaid Cards Providing Access to Rhapsody Music Service
o Google Rated "Global Brand of the Year" for Second Consecutive Year

o Briefly Noted: "Halo 2" - fall of 2004, Reuters - video ads, BuyMusic.com - SoBe, Morpheus 4, Sirius Satellite Radio - SoundGate, AOL - RED - "FireChild," Shockwave.com, Pulse Interactive, Inspired Broadcast Networks, Europe - broadband pricing, Sigur Ros - iTunes Store

San Jose, Calif. -- Microsoft's next video game console will be launched in the fall of 2005, will not contain a hard disk drive, and may not support games for its original Xbox, according to Microsoft specifications published by The San Jose Mercury News. The next Xbox will feature three 64-bit microprocessors from IBM, in addition to a graphics chip supplied by ATI Technologies. The machine will also offer 256MB of RAM, up from the 64MB contained in the current Xbox. Microsoft's plan is to release its "Xbox Next" ahead of Sony's next PlayStation console, scheduled for launch sometime in 2006; the PlayStation 2 gained a large market share during the 20 months it was available before the Xbox was released. Microsoft has so far sold 13.7 million Xbox consoles, compared to Sony's PlayStation 2 worldwide sales of 70 million.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/7849191.htm
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o Report: AOL Considering Asking for Super Bowl Sponsorship Refund

Dulles, Va. -- Continuing the fallout from Sunday's Super Bowl incident involving Janet Jackson, America Online may seek at least a partial refund of the estimated $10 million that it paid to advertise its high-speed service and sponsor the halftime show, Reuters reported on Tuesday. "While AOL was the sponsor of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, we did not produce it," AOL said in a statement. "Like the NFL, we were surprised and disappointed with certain elements of the show." The Time Warner unit pulled the plug on plans to rebroadcast the halftime show to its 25 million subscribers and visitors. The controversy began when singer Janet Jackson revealed one of her breasts near the end of a duet with Justin Timberlake. Jackson now admits that the stunt was planned, and not an accident as Timberlake had first claimed.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040203/media_jackson_1.html
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/17208.htm
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o BMG North America Consolidates U.S. Labels, Names Clive Davis CEO

New York -- Major record label BMG, a unit of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, announced that it has named Arista Records founder Clive Davis as chairman and CEO of BMG North America. Davis previously served as chairman and CEO of RCA Music Group, which was created when the other label Davis founded, J Records, merged with RCA Records in 2002. BMG North America will combine many of the company's label operations -- including those of Arista, J, RCA, and Jive -- allowing administrative operations and certain support functions at the record labels to be consolidated. BMG chairman and CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz said that the hiring of Davis and consolidation of operations "improves our ability to compete in today's marketplace and will help us address future challenges. BMG has achieved great artistic and commercial success, but the continuing difficulties in the worldwide music market requires us to be well prepared for the future. The new structure will efficiently strengthen our focus on our creative centers."
http://www.bmgentertainment.com
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o MPEG Video Patent Holders Sue DVD Maker Apex Digital for Royalties

Denver, Colo. -- MPEG LA, the licensing body made up of patent holders on DVD video technology, announced that they have sued DVD player manufacturer Apex Digital for breach of contract, alleging the company is not reporting accurate sales figures and therefore not paying adequate royalties for MPEG technology. In its suit, MPEG LA -- whose members include Philips, Sony, Scientific-Atlanta and Thomson -- says that the company's submitted sales figures are not consistent with public reports of the same data, and that Apex has failed to provide an auditor with documents needed to independently determine its compliance with the contract. "We are disappointed that this lawsuit has become necessary as a result of Apex Digital's continued refusal to meet its contractual obligations, but Apex Digital must be held accountable not only to the marketplace but also to the vast majority of its competitors and others throughout the world who are meeting theirs," said MPEG LA chief executive Baryn S. Futa.
http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_04-01-29_m2.html 
http://www.apexdigitalinc.com
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o DVD Software Firm Sonic Solutions Acquires InterActual for $8.8 Million

Novato, Calif. -- Sonic Solutions, a developer of DVD creation software, announced that it has acquired InterActual Technologies, a provider of solutions for integrating DVD content with the Internet and additional on-disc bonus features, for $8.8 million in cash. San Jose, Calif.-based InterActual's technology is used by Hollywood DVD production firms to add features to their DVD movies, such as games and special websites accessible when a DVD movie is played on a computer's DVD drive. Sonic said it will also add InterActual's Web-enabled DVD playback capabilities into its consumer DVD software applications.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040202/26161_1.html 
http://www.interactual.com 
http://www.sonic.com

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o 7-11 to Sell AT&T Prepaid Cards Providing Access to Rhapsody Music Service

Morristown, N.J. -- AT&T announced on Tuesday that 7-11 convenience stores will carry a new prepaid card featuring its "Web Cents" technology that will give consumers access to RealNetworks' Rhapsody digital music service. The cards, priced at $14.95, will provide one month of access to Rhapsody's streaming music library and the ability to burn 15 songs to CD. AT&T said other partners using its Web Cents technology to sell prepaid online content cards include Disney Online, Shockwave.com and CBS Sportsline.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040203/nytu162_1.html
http://www.real.com/rhapsody 
http://www.webcents.att.com
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o Google Rated "Global Brand of the Year" for Second Consecutive Year

New York -- Google was named "global brand of the year" for the second year in a row by New York-based Interbrand, which annually ranks the most high-impact brands of the world's goods and services. Google beat out No. 2 Apple Computer for the top spot; other technology firms in the top 10 North American brands category included Samsung, Nokia and Sony. Interbrand's rankings were determined by an online survey of 4,010 individuals from 85 countries.
http://www.brandchannel.com/start.asp?id=195
http://makeashorterlink.com/?S29061A47

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(Redmond, Wash.) Video game developer Bungie Studios has announced that it will not release the anticipated sequel to its four million unit-selling Xbox title, "Halo," until the fall of 2004. Microsoft initially announced that the game would be released at the end of 2003. Redmond-based Bungie also released the first screenshot of the new multiplayer capabilities that will be enabled for Xbox Live with "Halo 2."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?R2DF23947 
http://www.bungie.com

(New York) Reuters announced on Tuesday that it will now offer advertisers the ability to place 15 and 30-second video ads within the video clips streamed on Reuters Television, the company's free online feed of raw and edited footage of news events and financial reports from its global network of journalists.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040203/35507_1.html 
http://www.reuters.com

(Aliso Viejo, Calif.) BuyMusic.com, an online digital music store for PC users, announced that it has partnered with health beverage supplier South Beach Beverage Company (SoBe) on a number of promotions targeting the youth market. The announcement follows similar forays by beverage companies into the digital music market -- such as Pepsi's teaming with Apple's iTunes and Coca-Cola's launch of its own European download store. The BuyMusic.com and SoBe campaign will include joint promotions, sweepstakes and events including a concert series that is scheduled to begin in May 2004.
http://www.buymusic.com/toc_feature.aspx?loc=19068 
http://www.sobebev.com

(Los Angeles) Streamcast Networks, distributors of the Morpheus peer-to-peer file-sharing application, on Tuesday released a new version of the program that connects to a bevy of different file-sharing networks. The company said Morpheus 4, which also includes voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology that lets users make phone calls over the Internet, will allow Morpheus users to download files from users of applications including Kazaa, Grokster, eDonkey, Gnutella, LimeWire iMesh and Overnet.
http://www.streamcastnetworks.com 
http://www.morpheus.com

(New York) Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced on Tuesday a new signal translation device, developed with Wyoming-based SoundGate, that enables owners of satellite-ready radios in General Motors and Honda vehicles to receive Sirius programming. The $149.99 SoundGate translator comes with a Sirius tuner and antenna. The product aims to take advantage of the relationships that rival provider XM has secured to install its satellite-ready radios in GM and Honda vehicles.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040203/nytu193_1.html 
http://www.soundgate.com 
http://www.siriusradio.com

(Dulles, Va.) America Online on Tuesday announced the launch of "FireChild," a 3D online action game built exclusively for RED, a new AOL service targeting the teenage demographic. Created by Quebec-based developer Sarbakan, the game can be accessed for free by teens using AOL for Broadband.
http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/press_view.cfm?release_num=55253758
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040203/35300_1.html 
http://www.sarbakan.com

(San Francisco) Online entertainment site Shockwave.com has launched "ZipZaps Special Edition," the third installment of its online racing "advergame" featuring the line of RC cars sold by electronics retailer Radio Shack. San Francisco-based Shockwave.com said the first two promotional games generated over 23 million game plays in their four months of availability.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040203/35445_1.html 
http://www.shockwave.com

(Austin) Mobile game publisher Pulse Interactive said on Tuesday that it has published a number of titles for Qualcomm's BREW platform for cell phones. The company will offer its own internally developed title, "Snake Mayhem," as well as ten other games from developers including Jynx Playware, G3 Studios, Mr. Goodliving, Kuju Entertainment, Totem and Z80 Software.
http://www.pulsemobilegames.com

(London) Inspired Broadcast Networks, a distributor of digital music with a 2 million-track database, announced that it has partnered with jukebox manufacturer NSM Group, which has over 150,000 installed jukeboxes worldwide. Under the agreement, the companies will jointly develop digital products for markets outside of the U.S. and Mexico. They will also explore additional sales opportunities such as mobile entertainment and MP3 downloads.
http://www.inspiredtg.com

(Milan) According to a recent report by consultants Teligen, Italy boasts the cheapest broadband Internet service in Europe. In its "Broadband Pricing in Europe" report, Teligen found that broadband in Italy costs, on average, about 20 euro ($25) per month, while the same service in the U.K. costs a little more than 30 euro ($37.70) per month. Greece came in last place with a monthly broadband package that costs nearly 70 euro ($88) a month, the report found.
http://www.teligen.com/homepage.asp

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Icelandic rock group Sigur Ros on Tuesday released "BA BA TI KI DI DO," three pieces of music composed for the "Split Sides" performance of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, for purchase and download through Apple's iTunes Store. The recordings will be released on CD and vinyl in mid-March. The Geffen Records artists also for the first time on Tuesday released their most recent album, "( )," as a legal download through iTunes.
http://www.sigur-ros.com

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