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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 27, 2001
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com 

o Study Predicts Slowdown in Digital Set-Top Box Sales
o Yahoo Cancels Online Film Festival
o RIAA Hires Former Montana Governor for Lobbying Duties
o Universal Agrees to Stream Movies on Blockbuster Video On-Demand Service
o FTC Appoints Hatfield as Monitor Over AOL-Time Warner
o U.K. Sports Site Teamtalk.com Acquires U.S.-Based RacingOne.com
o Briefly Noted: AOL-Time Warner, Thomas Middlehoff, Sandbox - Turner
Sports Interactive, IFilm - FilmFinders, Playboy.com - SportsLine.com
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> Job Postings: Dir./Mgr. of Public Relations, Biz Dev/Sales, Project
Mgr./E-Commerce

> Events/Services: "Cannes Interactive Forum," "Legal & Financial Foundations
of Venture Success," WebMessenger

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 Study Predicts Slowdown in Digital Set-Top Box Sales

Luton, England -- A report published Tuesday predicts that the growth rate
for sales of digital set-top boxes will slide from 54 percent in 2000 to
24 percent in 2001, and that the U.K. -- where interactive television is
much more prevalent than in the U.S. -- will see the sharpest decline. The
report, published by Massachusetts-based Strategy Analytics, said that
sales of set-tops in Britain will fall from 3.8 million boxes in 2000 to
3.2 million this year. The completion of the switchover of British Sky
Broadcasting's five million subscribers to digital services is cited as a
major reason for slower sales. U.S. sales growth for set-tops is also
expected to decline from 53 percent to 19 percent, as demand for digital
satellite systems falls back from its exceptional performance in 2000,
when it added a net 3.8 million new households. Total set-top box sales in
the US in 2001 are expected to reach 17.1 million units, according to the
study. "Set-top box manufacturers and their component suppliers have had a
few good strong years," said David Mercer of Strategy Analytics. "But 2001
looks like [it's] showing the slowest growth since sales began, and
budgets should be set accordingly." The study also inferred that the
expected decline in sales growth could spur mergers between companies in
the industry. "We could see one or two mergers or acquisitions before the
year's out," suggested Mercer.
http://www.strategyanalytics.com/press/PRDM026.htm 
_____________________________________________

o Yahoo Cancels Online Film Festival

Los Angeles -- Yahoo announced on Tuesday that it has cancelled the second
Yahoo Internet Life Online Film Festival, which was scheduled to take
place next month in Los Angeles, Inside.com reported on Tuesday. The
festival's submitted entries will still be judged and awarded prizes, but
will only be available to view online. The company cited financial reasons
including limited sponsorship monies for the cancellation of the
terrestrial festival. Currently listed as sponsors of the festival on its
website are Covad, The New York Times, RES Magazine, and The Hollywood
Reporter.
http://www.onlinefilmfestival.com 
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=24517&pod_id=10 
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o RIAA Hires Former Montana Governor for Lobbying Duties

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
announced on Tuesday that it has hired former Montana governor Marc
Racicot as outside counsel. Previously, Racicot served as governor of
Montana for the past eight years and was Montana’s Attorney General prior
to that. A prosecutor for 16 years, Racicot is now with the Washington,
D.C. office of Bracewell & Patterson. Racicot adds another political
crossover to the recording industry trade organization; it recently
recruited former Senator Bob Dole into its ranks. The two will become a
part of the RIAA's efforts to educate lawmakers about the policy issues
that digital music is bringing to light. "Racicot will significantly
enhance the RIAA’s campaign to educate political, business, and opinion
leaders about the complex challenges and opportunities the music industry
is facing in the digital marketplace," said Hilary Rosen, CEO of the RIAA.
The RIAA's strategic hires can be seen as a counter to Napster's efforts
to encourage its users to contact their representatives and plead the
company's case. Napster's homepage and the launch page of the file-sharing
software currently feature items such as a zip code locator that will
bring up information on users' representatives, including phone numbers
and an automatic form that prompts them to send emails to their
Congressmen.
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=378 
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4963092.html?tag=mn_hd 
http://www.napster.com 
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o Universal Agrees to Stream Movies on Blockbuster Video On-Demand Service

Dallas -- Blockbuster announced on Tuesday that Universal Studios has
agreed to provide its films for streaming on Blockbuster's residential
video on-demand service. The arrangement coincides with a new revenue
sharing agreement for new films from Universal available for rent at
Blockbuster. Dallas-based Blockbuster's video on-demand service -- a joint
venture with Enron Broadband -- is currently being tested in Portland,
Seattle and Fork City, Utah. The service lets consumers order pay-per-view
movies through their television, which they are able to view multiple
times, as well as pause, fast-forward and rewind. In addition to films
from Universal, Blockbuster has obtained streaming rights from Artisan,
Trimark, Lion's Gate and MGM.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010227/datu022.html 
_____________________________________________

o FTC Appoints Hatfield as Monitor Over AOL-Time Warner

Washington -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has appointed former FCC
technologist Dale Hatfield as the monitor trustee in the AOL-Time Warner
merger. Hatfield has been given the authority to scrutinize and ensure
compliance with the complicated technical requirements of the conditions
set by the FTC. These conditions mandate that AOL-Time Warner open up its
high-speed cable lines to competitors, and that it does not discriminate
against rival content providers. The FTC's announcement says that Hatfield
-- a telecommunications consultant from Colorado and former chief of the
Office on Engineering and Technology at the FCC -- is "[a] trained and
experienced engineer with expertise in cable, computer and Internet
technology, including the technology involved in interactive television."
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2001/02/montrust.htm 
_____________________________________________

o U.K. Sports Site Teamtalk.com Acquires U.S.-Based RacingOne.com

London -- Teamtalk.com, a provider of sports news and information, said
that it has acquired RacingOne.com, an auto racing and sporting news
website. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. London-based
Teamtalk.com plans to extend Chicago-based RacingOne.com's coverage to
additional media platforms including radio, wireless and broadband.
Currently, RacingOne.com covers all racing circuits including Formula One,
and also manages several corporate racing websites. Teamtalk.com will add
RacingOne.com's coverage to its focus on international soccer, cricket,
golf, horse and greyhound racing, rugby and tennis.
http://www.teamtalk.org/news/press/RacingOne.htm 
http://www.teamtalk.com 
http://www.racingone.com 
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(New York) One third of all time spent online is spent visiting sites
owned by AOL-Time Warner, according to research published by Jupiter Media
Metrix on Tuesday. Total usage minutes for the combined properties were
32.7 percent, among those surveyed for January. Time Warner's online
properties reached 15.7 percent of users at home, but combined with AOL,
the merged entity had an at-home penetration of 72.3 percent. "The Media
Metrix audience ratings indicate that Time Warner has an unmatched
opportunity to cut media marketing and promotional costs," said David
Card, a senior analyst at Jupiter.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010227/nytu044.html 
http://www.jupiterresearch.com 

(Los Angeles) The Los Angeles Times featured an interview on Tuesday with
Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Middlehoff, in which he said that the recording
industry's pursuit to shut down Napster has become a question of power. "A
new legal Napster is about to be launched," said Middlehoff. "So now it's
purely a question of who will have the power, who will control the new
distribution channel. And it seems to me that the music majors are saying,
'We must control it. We controlled it in the past and we must control it
in the future.'" He argues that the threat Napster poses to take away
distribution from the labels is why they are still pursuing their
injunction, or else they would wait while a legal Napster can be
introduced. Middlehoff again confirmed in the interview that this service
would launch by July 1.
http://www.latimes.com/print/business/20010227/t000017451.html 

(Reston, Va.) Interactive games developer Sandbox has announced a deal
with Turner Sports Interactive, where the company will develop fantasy
auto racing games for Turner's Nascar.com. Virginia-based Sandbox's games
will let users create fantasy five-man racing teams, and compete with one
another based on the real-life performance of team members. The games will
also be available at Turner's CNNSI.com websites.
http://www.nascar.com/games 
http://www.sandbox.com 

(Los Angeles) IFilm's film and TV rights tracking services FilmFinders and
TV Tracker will no longer be a part of the IFilm company, IndieWire
reported on Tuesday. The FilmFinders business will still reside in IFilm's
offices and be hosted by IFilm, but the company said that the growth of
its consumer portal for online films has prompted it to focus its efforts
there.
http://www.indiewire.com/film/biz/biz_010227_briefs.html 
http://www.filmfinders.com 

(New York) Playboy.com said on Tuesday that it has partnered with
SportsLine.com, and will include sports headlines, scores and stats on its
website. In return, Playboy.com will receive advertising space on
SportsLine.com's network of websites.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010227/cgtu015.html 
http://www.playboy.com 
http://www.sportsline.com 

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

> Load Media Network, Director/Manager of Public Relations - Los Angeles

Develop and execute Load Media's PR strategy. Manage relationship
with external PR agency. Implement standard public relations and
communications practices including but not limited to: media tours, events
and trade shows, desk side briefings, media pitching, press release
development, approvals and distribution, and message documents. 4-8 years
marketing/advertising experience. Send resumes to danderson@loadmedia.com 
http://www.loadmedia.com 
______________________

> everse, Business Development / Sales - Los Angeles

Internet professional services firm seeks star sales person to identify
and drive strategic business to closure. Assist clients in defining
business objectives, goals and budgets. Position requires establishing and
maintaining long-term relationships with client base. Bachelor's degree,
MBA preferred. History of closing web service business or agency-related.
Ability to generate leads through cold-calling.
Send resumes to stevey@everse.com 
http://www.everse.com 
______________________

> RichFX, Project Manager / E-commerce - New York City

Change the face of on-line shopping by helping to create the world's first
ONE PAGE storefront. This is an opportunity to work on truly breakthrough,
cutting-edge technology. Very competitive salary and equity in a
well-funded mature startup. Professional, but business casual environment.
Comprehensive benefits package.
Send resumes to nyrecruiter@richfx.com 
http://www.richfx.com 

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

> Cannes Interactive Forum, Mar. 9-19, 2001 - Cannes, France

MITIC 2001, an official part of the Cannes Film Festival, introduces THE
CANNES INTERACTIVE FORUM, a high-profile cost-effective way to demonstrate
computer-based technologies such as web content, production software,
streaming systems and more to entertainment industry elite.
Deadline to register is April 1.
rweiner@ddapr.com
/ 323.692.2330.
http://www.mediatek.com
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> Legal & Financial Foundations of Venture Success, Mar. 3 - Pasadena, CA

In association with the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum, this two-part
program looks at the high-tech venture from a legal & financial
perspective, providing both aspiring and experienced entrepreneurs with a
working knowledge of critical issues that can have a major impact on
venture success.
For more information and to register:
http://event3.inetevents.com/event/public/event.cfm?event_id=108
______________________

> WebMessenger: Wireless and Streaming Media Software

WebMessenger does Premium Software Development for Wireless,
Medical, Online Media, and Internet Industries. Competitive Contractor:
California based development and management with oversees support.
Excellent client relationships with perfect referrals. Top-Notch staff:
PhDs and Masters in Computer Science with many years of experience.
Quality Assurance dept. that ensures the highest standards are met.
High-Speed product development cycle: 24-hour global operations. Cost
effective development.
Contact: Aaron Hirsch aaron@webmessenger.com 202-483-5999
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