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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- March 21, 2003
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o Iraqi Government Orders CNN Out of Country
o Sonicblue Files for Bankruptcy, Looks to Sell Assets for $52.5 Million
o Broadband Digital TV Software Provider Myrio Raises $6 Million
o FT: Vivendi Universal To Sell Maroc Telecom Stake
o Report: Cable Modem, DSL Revenues Will Rise 40% to $13.8 Billion in 2003
o Danish Mobile Content Providers Realtime, Zellsoft Agree to Merger
o Report: Traditional Advertisers Boost Presence on Web
> DMW Publications: February Law and Policy Report
o Briefly Noted: Top renting video games, University of Advancing
Technology - online game design degree, Spincycle Media - FullGig.com, Mad
Catz Interactive - Game Boy Advance SP, ICTV, Computer animated
simulations - criminal jury trials
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> Events: Games & Mobile Forum: April 28 | NYC
> Marketplace: Entertainment & Corporate Legal Services, Game Industry
Report, iTV Chronicle, Interest-Based Navigation
Full Classifieds located beneath "Briefly Noted" section below.
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o Iraqi Government Orders CNN Out of Country
Atlanta -- A television news crew from Atlanta-based CNN, one of the few
remaining TV networks in Baghdad until today, has been accused by the
Iraqi government of spreading U.S. war propaganda and ordered to leave the
country, Reuters reported. On Thursday night, CNN broadcast streaming
video from satellite links of U.S. military ground forces racing across
the southern desert of Iraq toward the country's capital. Iraqi government
officials said that the video was fake.
http://shorterlink.com/?SSO0BN
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o Sonicblue Files for Bankruptcy, Looks to Sell Assets for $52.5 Million
Santa Clara, Calif. -- Debt-laden consumer electronics firm Sonicblue on
Friday announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in
federal court in San Jose, Calif. The company also said it has signed a
letter of intent to sell its ReplayTV digital video recorder business and
Rio portable digital audio player business for $40 million to D&M
Holdings, the parent company of Japanese audio equipment firms Denon and
Marantz Japan. Additionally, Sonicblue intends to sell its GoVideo
electronics unit to Opta Systems, a subsidiary of Carmco Investments, for
$12.5 million. It also reported receiving $4 million in financing to
continue operations. "We have great confidence in our business units, and
worked to develop a plan that would permit Sonicblue to continue operating
within the significant constraints imposed by our debt and legacy
liabilities," said Sonicblue CEO Gregory Ballard. "In the end, we and our
financial advisors have concluded that the best outcome for our creditors
and our employees is to sell our businesses to better heeled owners."
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sonicblue reported $305 million in debt at the
end of 2002, roughly equal to the value of its assets.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030321/sff019_1.html
http://www.sonicblue.com
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o Broadband Digital TV Software Provider Myrio Raises $6 Million
Kirkland, Wash. -- Myrio, a provider of software that lets broadband
providers offer digital TV, video-on-demand and interactive TV services,
announced that it has raised $6 million in new financing. Investors in the
round included NeoCarta Ventures, Ridgewood Capital and Alexander Hutton
Venture Partners. Washington-based Myrio recently deployed its software
with a provider in Utah, and said it plans to seek additional deployments
in the U.S. as well as overseas. The company said it will use the funds to
pursue customer deployments within RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating
Companies), international telephone operators and IOCs (Independent
Operating Companies).
http://www.myrio.com/media/release.cfm?ID=64
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o FT: Vivendi Universal To Sell Maroc Telecom Stake
Paris -- In an effort to sustain its liquidity, French media giant Vivendi
Universal on Friday initiated proceedings to sell its 35 percent stake in
Maroc Telecom of Morocco, which Vivendi purchased for more than $2 billion
in 2000. According the Financial Times, Vivendi has appointed bankers from
France's Credit Agricole to locate potential buyers. In related news,
Vivendi on Friday also presented an initial sale notice for its U.S.
entertainment assets, which include Universal Pictures, Universal Music
Group and the USA and Sci Fi cable TV networks. Vivendi is carrying more
than $20 billion of debt.
http://shorterlink.com/?G89JBA
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o Report: Cable Modem, DSL Revenues Will Rise 40% to $13.8 Billion in 2003
Arlington, Va. -- The demand for high-speed Internet connectivity is
propelling double-digit growth in spending on digital subscriber lines,
cable modems and other means for high-speed access, according to a newly
released study by the Virginia-based Telecommunications Industry
Association (TIA). Revenues for DSL and cable modem services are expected
to increase by nearly 40 percent to $13.8 billion in 2003. They now
account for about 90 percent of the low-end, high-speed Internet access
services market, which also includes fixed wireless, fiber to the home and
satellite. Cable is currently available to 70 percent of the U.S.
population, compared with 45 percent for DSL, and accounted for nearly 2.5
million more subscribers than DSL last year.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpNQCubKbytuWnJC
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o Danish Mobile Content Providers Realtime, Zellsoft Agree to Merger
Copenhagen -- Realtime, a provider of wireless application infrastructure,
announced that it will merge with Zellsoft, a developer of wireless
entertainment content. Financial terms of the transaction were not
disclosed. Once merged, two Danish companies will take the Realtime name
and have headquarters in Copenhagen. Realtime aims to be the leading
European provider of entertainment for mobile devices. "The two companies
will become a heavy player in the mobile entertainment area. We have the
strength to compete on all continents, and together we will be providing
more than 30 mobile operators globally with appealing mobile entertainment
services," said Zellsoft CEO Mads V. Jorgensen.
http://www.realtime.dk/subnews.php?newsid=643&subid=602&linkbg=1&where=2-3&flash=2
http://www.zellsoft.com
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o Report: Traditional Advertisers Boost Presence on Web
Milpitas, Calif. -- Traditional advertisers have warmed to the online
medium, according to figures released on Thursday by Nielsen/NetRatings, a
provider of Internet audience measurement services. The firm said that the
top 100 traditional advertisers accounted for more than 30 percent of the
online advertising market by the end of 2002, up from 15 percent in
January 2000. Among the top traditional advertisers, AOL Time Warner has
increased its total number of unique online ads by 28 percent since 2001,
particularly surrounding the launch of AOL 8.0. Carmaker DaimlerChrysler
has increased its online presence by 407 percent over 2001. "This
increased usage by the heavy hitters of advertising clearly signals their
recognition of the validity of the Internet as an effective ad medium,"
said Charles Buchwalter, vice president of client analytics for
Nielsen/NetRatings.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=CpNLk0bWbu0zusdaZmq
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DMW Publications: February Law & Policy Report
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Contact tinzar@digitalmediawire.com or call 323-464-0793 to order your
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Digital Media Law & Policy Report - New Issue
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media. 35+ pages of case summaries, news and analysis, policy updates,
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leaders.
Published monthly. February issue on sale now!
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Price: $19.00 Per Issue | $195.00 Annual Subscription
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FEATURED SECTION
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Featured Section posting at:
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Briefly Noted:
(Encino, Calif.) The Video Software Dealers Association (VDSA) has
released figures on the top-renting video games for the week ending March
16. The entire top 10 was comprised of PlayStation 2 titles, the top five
of which follow, in order: Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City;"
Konami's "Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelists of the Roses;" Sony's "The Getaway;"
Electronic Arts' "The Sims," and Infogrames' "Dragon Ball Z: Budokai."
http://www.vsda.org
(Tempe, Az.) The University of Advancing Technology (UAT), an accredited
school in Tempe, Arizona, on Friday said that its online division has
launched a program to offer its Associate of Art degree in game design
entirely through online courses. The program will offer instruction in 3D
modeling and animation, game documentation, Maya, 3D Studio Max, game
balance, interactive story telling, interface development and other areas.
http://www.uat.edu
http://www.gamedegree.com
(Orlando, Fla.) Software developer Spincycle Media on Friday launched a
new version of its FullGig.com software, which will enable musicians,
venues and event organizers to accept advance ticket orders by phone or
Internet. Event organizers can choose to absorb convenience and handling
fees ($2.00 plus 4 percent of each transaction), or pass them along to
ticket buyers. The service includes free distribution of hard tickets to
purchasers, as well as a real-time guest list feature for event
organizers.
http://www.spincycle.com
http://www.fullgig.com
(San Diego) Mad Catz Interactive, a developer of video game accessories,
announced on Friday its line of accessories for Nintendo's new Game Boy
Advance SP. The handheld features a brighter screen and sleeker design,
which Nintendo is targeting at a more mature demographic than its
traditional Game Boy, which is predominantly marketed to kids. The new
products from San Diego-based Mad Catz mimic the new handheld game's
design features.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030321/215225_1.html
http://www.madcatz.com
(Los Gatos, Calif.) ICTV, the developer of a centralized platform for the
delivery of interactive television services, on Thursday said that Peter
Hirshberg and Guy Sucharczuk have been added to its board. Hirshberg is
the CEO of Gloss.com, and Sucharczuk is the president and CEO of Aurora
Networks.
http://www.ictv.com
(Los Angeles) The Los Angeles Times on Friday reported on the growing use
of computer-animated simulations as evidence in criminal trials. First
used in a California criminal trial in 1992, the controversial use of
animations to re-enact a crime for the benefit of a jury has drawn
protests from those who say juries are somewhat swayed to believe they are
witnessing actual events, instead of one possible account of how a crime
was committed. "There's this sense you get from watching an animated video
that you're somehow staring through a window into the past," UCLA criminal
law professor David Sklansky told The Times. "But in reality, you're not."
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-onthelaw21mar21,1,7843687.story?col
l=la%2Dheadlines%2Dtechnology
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CLASSIFIEDS - JOBS
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CLASSIFIEDS - EVENTS
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Digital Media Wire Presents...Games & Mobile Forum
April 2003, New York City
Focusing on games and mobile entertainment opportunities and business
models. Panel topics will include "The Battle to Control the Living Room:
Is the Game Industry Winning?", "Mobile Games: Business Models & New
Opportunities", "Legal & Policy Issues Impacting the Game Industry &
Mobile Entertainment", and "Home Networking: Technology for Modern Living
& Entertainment."
Door Tickets Price: $250. For Early Bird Specials, pre-register at:
http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/register.php?eventid=1025
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