Main Stories
o President Bush Names Kevin Martin To Head FCC
o Reuters: FTC to Block Blockbuster Bid for Hollywood Video Rental Chain
o Content Delivery Network Akamai Acquires Rival Speedera for $130 Million
o MPAA Hails Anti-Piracy Raid on Swedish ISP Bahnhof
o EU Antitrust Boss Still "Undecided" on Microsoft Compliance
o Sony to Equip Cuban's Landmark Theatres With Digital Cinema Projectors
o Survey: One in Three Play Video Games while Commuting

o Briefly Noted: NBC's "The Office" - MySpace, XM Satellite Radio - PGA Tour, Sprint - music video ringtones, CinemaNow - music video downloads, MediaPass Network, Hurray Holding Co., OpenTV, Disney - Sony PSP movies, Blockbuster's Game Rush - Sony PSP, Pogo.com, Ubisoft - AND 1, Mad Catz - MLB, GameSpot - wireless game awards, BMW - Sirius Satellite Radio, Pepsi One - Web ad campaign, BBC - "Doctor Who" P2P leak, JotSpot - Lawrence Lessig
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Washington -- The White House announced on Wednesday that 38-year-old Kevin Martin has been named to lead the Federal Communications Commission, which has decided a number of groundbreaking telecommunications issues in recent years. Martin, who will replace Michael Powell, has served as an FCC Commissioner since 2001. Prior to his appointment to the FCC, he worked at the White House and served as a deputy general counsel on Bush's first campaign. Martin and Powell -- both Republicans -- were on different sides on a 2003 decision over how to promote competition among Baby Bell companies and their competitors. Some consumer groups and media watchdogs were critical of Martin's nomination. "Religious and conservative groups campaigned for the elevation of Mr. Martin [and] have succeeded in establishing a new 'litmus' test for the FCC chair -- someone who will be at the forefront of monitoring programming," Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, told the Los Angeles Times.
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/martin 
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-031605fcc_lat,0,7389264.story
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-16-martin-fcc_x.htm
http://tinyurl.com/472c2 
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o Reuters: FTC to Block Blockbuster Bid for Hollywood Video Rental Chain

Washington -- The Federal Trade Commission is planning to take Blockbuster to court to block its takeover bid of No. 2 video rental chain Hollywood Video, sources close to the case told Reuters on Wednesday. Blockbuster's general counsel, Edward Stead, told Reuters he believes FTC staff are opposed to the deal, adding, "It's apparent to us that they're living in the past -- we need an objective (judge) to get at this." While the FTC has until March 21 to take action, Hollywood has already rejected Blockbuster's takeover offer, in favor of a rival bid from Alabama-based Movie Gallery, the nation's third-largest video rental chain -- which the FTC has already green-lighted.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/050316/retail_hollywood_ftc_3.html 
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o Content Delivery Network Akamai Acquires Rival Speedera for $130 Million

Cambridge, Mass. -- Content delivery network Akamai Technologies announced on Wednesday that it has acquired rival Speedera Networks, in an all-stock transaction valued at about $130 million. Massachusetts-based Akamai expects the purchase to enable it to better compete against larger managed service providers, as well as offer a broader range of services to its customers. Both companies provide technology that speeds the delivery of content across the Internet, such as software applications, Web ads and online video. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2005.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050316/165400_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050316/akamai_acquisition_1.html 
http://www.akamai.com 
http://www.speedera.com 
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o MPAA Hails Anti-Piracy Raid on Swedish ISP Bahnhof

Los Angeles -- The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has hailed an anti-piracy raid conducted by Swedish authorities last week on the offices of Bahnhof, the country's largest Internet service provider. The Swedish anti-piracy group Antipiratbyran reportedly seized four servers that housed 1,800 movies, 5,000 warez files and 450,000 songs, in addition to data on as many as 20,000 Bahnhof users. "This was a very big raid," MPAA anti-piracy operations director John Malcolm told Reuters. "The material that was seized contained not only evidence of a piracy organization operating in Sweden but of online piracy organizations operating throughout all of Europe."
http://tinyurl.com/6beuu 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/14/bahnhof_bust
http://p2p.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000700035645 
http://isp.bahnhof.se 
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o EU Antitrust Boss Still "Undecided" on Microsoft Compliance

Brussels -- EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes announced this week that her office was still determining whether or not Microsoftis complying with last year's ruling against the U.S.-based software giant. Microsoft has been ordered to offer a version of its Windows operating systems without the Media Player video and music application. What's more, the company has had to share protocol information with its rivals in order to improve interoperability with their products. While Microsoft insists that it has complied fully with the landmark ruling, Kroes told the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday that it was still premature to determine whether the company had done enough to meet her office's requirements.
http://www.europarl.eu.int/committees/econ_home.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/legal/eudecision
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp 
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o Sony to Equip Cuban's Landmark Theatres With Digital Cinema Projectors

Las Vegas -- Movie theater exhibitor Landmark Theatres announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Sony Electronics, to outfit the chain's theaters for digital cinema with Sony's new digital SXRD projectors. The independent arthouse theater chain, owned by HDNet founder Mark Cuban's 2929 Entertainment, will equip six theaters for digital this summer, and plans to eventually install SXRD projectors in all 59 of its theaters in 22 markets. "Sony's 4K digital projectors allow us to project live concerts and sporting events, ultra high-resolution movies and presentations created using future technologies," said Cuban. "Most important, it provides a viewing experience for movies that far exceeds what other theaters are doing today with 2K projectors."
http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/5701 
http://www.landmarktheatres.com 
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o Survey: One in Three Play Video Games while Commuting

San Francisco -- Almost one-third of all game players say they play games during their daily travel to work, according to a survey conducted by Trymedia Systems, a provider of secure online game distribution technology. The company's online survey of more than 8,000 game players worldwide showed that 30% of commuters turned on their laptops, clicked on their mobile phones or used their portable gaming device to play games. Of those who played games to and from work, the average length of game play was 23 minutes per trip. Among air travellers surveyed, gaming was found to be a popular activity aboard airplanes, alongside reading, sleeping and watching in-flight movies. "The survey results reflect the fast-growing popularity of games being downloaded to PC and mobile phones," said Trymedia CEO Alex Torrubia.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C54822FAA 

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(New York) NBC has partnered with social networking site MySpace.com to offer a streaming preview of its original production of the BBC sitcom, "The Office." The online airing parallels a recent collaboration between Showtime and Yahoo, to offer the first episode of Showtime's "Fat Actress," starring Kirstie Alley. NBC's remake of "The Office," which features "The Daily Show" correspondent Steve Carell in the lead role -- played in the original BBC series by its creator, Ricky Gervais -- will be webcast on MySpace on Wednesday night at 5 p.m. PST; the series will debut on NBC on March 24.
http://tinyurl.com/63av9 
http://myspace.com/theoffice

(Washington) XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered digital radio programming, announced on Wednesday that it has signed a long-term agreement with the PGA Tour, to broadcast Tour events and offer sales and rentals of XM2go portable satellite radios at PGA Tour tournament courses. XM will air live tournament coverage each week, and will also partner with PureGolf to produce daily programs for golf enthusiasts.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050316/dcw040_3.html 
http://www.pgatour.com

(Overland Park, Kan.) Wireless carrier Sprint has announced that it is the first U.S. carrier to offer music video ringtones to its subscribers. The company will initially offer videos from Warner Music artists including Crime Mob, Big & Rich and T.I., and Sony BMG artists like Frankie J and Maroon 5, for $3 each; music video screensavers will also be sold for $2.50. The video ringtones will be available for owners of the Sanyo MM-5600 and future Sprint PCS Vision-supported multimedia cell phone handset models.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050314/cgm024_2.html 
http://www.sprintpcs.com

(Marina del Rey, Calif.) CinemaNow, an Internet video-on-demand service majority-owned by movie studio Lions Gate Entertainment, announced on Wednesday that it signed agreements with Warner Music Group and TVT Records, to sell their music videos on a download-to-own basis. Marina del Rey, Calif.-based CinemaNow said the videos will be offered on a new site, WatchMusicHere.com, that will at launch offer 75 titles for between $1.99 and $2.99, expanding to 1,500 titles by December. Videos will be accessible on a PC and also may be transferred to Windows Mobile-based devices like Portable Media Centers, smartphones and Pocket PCs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050316/165264_1.html 
http://www.cinemanow.com

(Austin, Texas) MediaPass Network, a provider of webcasting services for live music events, announced on Wednesday that it has developed a music video download service for Microsoft Windows Mobile-based devices, such as Portable Media Centers, smartphones and Pocket PCs. Santa Monica, Calif.-based MediaPass will offer its subscribers free music videos via a 30-day license to download them to a PC and then load them onto portable devices.
http://www.mediapass.net/musicvideodownloads 
http://www.watchmusichere.com

(Beijing) Chinese mobile entertainment publisher Hurray Holding Co. announced on Wednesday that it has signed license agreements with record labels Warner Music, EMI and Ocean Butterflies Music, to offer their songs as part of its color ringback tone and interactive voice response services for cell phones. Beijing-based Hurray added that it has also acquired the exclusive right to distribute the popular Chinese song "Spy Xiao Qiang" through its mobile entertainment service.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050316/cnw006_1.html
http://www.hurray.com.cn/english

(San Francisco) OpenTV, a provider of interactive TV software and services, announced on Wednesday that its interactive TV middleware has now been embedded on 50 million set-top boxes deployed worldwide. San Francisco-based OpenTV's software, which enables interactive TV and ads, video games, gaming and digital video recording, has been deployed with digital cable, satellite and terrestrial TV operators in 96 countries.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050316/sfw047_3.html 
http://www.opentv.com

(North Hollywood, Calif.) Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment announced that it plans to release a slate of five films on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format, to coincide with the launch of Sony's PSP handheld gaming system. BVHE will release initially offer "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl," "Kill Bill Vol.1," "Reign of Fire," "National Treasure" and "Hero" on UMD. Other studios like Lions Gate have also said they will release UMD movies, while Sony plans to include a copy of Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man 2" on UMD with its initial PSP shipments in North America. http://www.bvhe.com

(Dallas) Video rental chain Blockbuster said on Wednesday that all 450 of its Game Rush video game retail locations will stock the Sony PSP handheld gaming system for its North American launch on March 24. The stores will also stock PSP accessories like portable speakers, screen shields and Sandisk memory cards.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050316/daw011_3.html 
http://www.gamerush.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Electronic Arts on Wednesday launched a number of new game titles on its free Pogo.com and subscription-based Club Pogo online game sites. On Pogo.com, EA launched "Poppit!" and "6the Street Omaha Poker," while on Club Pogo subscribers will now have access to "Lottso!" and "Casino Island Blackjack." Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said that Pogo.com's 70 games draw 12 million unique monthly visitors.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050316/165257_2.html 
http://www.pogo.com

(San Francisco) French video game publisher Ubisoft said on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with AND 1, producers of the street basketball AND 1 Mix Tape Tour, to develop games featuring the tour's roster of legendary playground basketball stars, like Half Man-Half Amazing and The Professor. The game marks Ubisoft's second title in its recent foray into the sports games market, the first being a golf title featuring PGA Tour pro Vijay Singh.
http://www.ubisoftgroup.com/News/Info.aspx?nId=2048 
http://www.and1.com

(San Diego) Video game accessories manufacturer Mad Catz Interactive said on Wednesday that it signed a license agreement with Major League Baseball Properties, to create customized MLB team controllers for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. San Diego-based Mad Catz recently signed similar deals with both the NFL and NBA. The $29 controllers are expected to ship in the summer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050316/165574_1.html 
http://www.madcatz.com

(San Francisco) GameSpot, a video game news site owned by CNET Networks, on Wednesday announced winners of its Second Annual Wireless Gaming Awards, which recognized developer G-Mode's puzzle game "Topolon" as 2004 Mobile Game of the Year. Other winners included Gameloft's "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within," "Might and Magic" and "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3"; Jumbuck's "Star Trek: The Birds of Prey" and Nano Kid's "Pocket Panic." A full list of nominees and winners is available at a link below.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050316/165303_1.html
http://www.gamespot.com/2004/mobies/winners.html

(Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) BMW of North America said on Wednesday that it will use Sirius Satellite Radio in a special promotion for its new 3 Series automobiles. Sirius will record footage from BMW's 44-day, cross-country "3 Across America" tour, to air in minute-long segments each day on Sirius, culminating in an 18-hour broadcast ("part cultural diary, part entertainment happening") on a special dedicated BMW Sirius channel from the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050316/nyw094_2.html 
http://www.siriusradio.com

(New York) The New York Times reported on Wednesday that The Pepsi-Cola Company will eschew its usual roster of celebrity endorsers, and in fact the entire TV ad medium, for a new multimillion-dollar ad campaign for Pepsi One -- that will be conducted largely on the Internet, and through billboard and print advertisements. Playa del Rey, Calif.-based ad agency TWBA/Chiat/Day is producing the Pepsi One campaign, which includes the creation of a website, Oneify.com, that exists separate from the flagship Pepsi.com site. "It's a change to have a campaign that lives outside TV," Katie Lacey, vice president for carbonated beverages at Pepsi-Cola's North American division, told The Times. "The opportunity to use different media to create more meaning, more connection, with the consumer is something we'll be looking to do more and more."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/business/media/16adco.html
http://www.oneify.com

(San Francisco) Wired News reported on Wednesday that the BBC may have in fact been behind the Internet leak of the first episode of the new production of its classic sci-fi TV series "Doctor Who," if one believes Asa Bailey of Broadcast Assassins, an ad firm hired by the BBC last year to discuss emerging technologies and viral advertising. "I told them they should release things before their time, like what they've done with 'Doctor Who'," Bailey told Wired News. BBC spokeswoman Annie Frederick denied the allegation. "The leak of the first episode on the internet was not a publicity stunt," said Frederick. "It was a significant breach of copyright which is currently under investigation. The source of it appears to be connected to our co-production partner. We would urge viewers not to spoil their enjoyment and to wait for the finished version."
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,66913,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/6zv7t

(San Diego) JotSpot, which calls itself the first "wiki application" company -- meaning users are encouraged to help develop and make changes to the software -- announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Stanford law professor and copyright expert Lawrence Lessig on an update to his 1999 book, "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace." Lessig will invite the online community to contribute its collective knowledge to the original work through a JotSpot wiki website, which will be aggregated and published in a print update of the book later this year. "There are many who have built upon my insights and I was eager to find a way to enable those further insights to be reflected within 'Code'," said Lessig. "JotSpot is the perfect platform for this experiment and I have confidence that by making 'Code' its own, the community will make 'Code' better."
http://www.jotspot.com 
http://code-is-law.org 

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