archives

o Microsoft Lowers Sales Forecast for Xbox Game Console
o Vivendi, Thomson Multimedia Form Three-Year Technology Agreement
o Yodeler Sues Yahoo for Unpaid Performances from TV Ads
o EchoStar, EarthLink to Bundle Satellite TV, DSL Internet Service
o Report: Free Music Outpacing Subscription Services in Western Europe
o Cable TV Operator Adelphia Receives Nasdaq Delisting Notice
o Microsoft Launches New International E-Book Association
> Digital Media Wire Panel: Interactive TV | April 25 | NYC
o Briefly Noted: Sirius Satellite Radio - NASCAR, Scientific-Atlanta,
Yahoo, AOL Time Warner - rethinking broadband goals
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o Microsoft Lowers Sales Forecast for Xbox Game Console

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft has lowered its sales forecast for the Xbox
video game console after weak launch figures were reported in Japan and
Europe, CNET reported. The company now expects to sell between 3.5 million
and 4 million units for its 2002 fiscal year, which ends June 30 -- down
from its earlier projection of 4.5 million to 6 million units. Yesterday,
the company slashed the price of the Xbox around 40 percent in Europe,
Australia and the U.K., in an effort to spur sales. The sales forecast
announcement sent stock prices of companies that provide technology for
the Xbox downward, including Nvidia, which provides the graphics
processor, and Cirrus Logic, which provides a DVD remote control for the
Xbox. Major video game publishers' shares and those of the company to
which Microsoft outsourced manufacture of the console, Flextronics, were
not as adversely affected.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-886556.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/rt/020419/tech_xbox_stocks_1.html
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o Vivendi, Thomson Multimedia Form Three-Year Technology Agreement

Paris -- Vivendi Universal and Thomson Multimedia announced on Friday a
three-year strategic partnership in the field of digital media. The two
companies will collaborate on copy-protection technology, broadband access
products and video services, such as video-on-demand. Under the terms,
Thomson's Technicolor unit will become the preferred provider of post
production services for Vivendi, and Thomson will provide most set-top
boxes to Vivendi pay-TV unit Canal Plus and interactive TV firm Canal Plus
Technologies. Vivendi and Thomson will also cooperate in standards bodies
for DVD, digital video broadcast, digital cinema and mobile multimedia,
and will jointly develop technologies and services in these areas. The
partnership will be co-chaired by Vivendi Universal chairman and CEO
Jean-Marie Messier and Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO of Thomson. "It is
critical that two French companies tie together to strengthen their
positions on global markets, particularly for the promotion of digital
technologies which respect intellectual property protection," said Vivendi
chairman Messier. Vivendi expects to reap savings of $50 million per year
as a result of the agreement, while Thomson multimedia projects generating
an additional $500 million in revenues.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020419/192161_1.html
http://www.thomson-multimedia.com/
http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/
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o Yodeler Sues Yahoo for Unpaid Performances from TV Ads

New York -- Wylie Gustafson, the singer who provided Yahoo's trademark
yodel in the company's TV advertising campaign, has sued Yahoo for failing
to compensate him for continued airing of his original recording, The Los
Angeles Times reported. Gustafson claims he has only been paid $590 for
his original 1996 recording of the yodel, which he believed would air in
only one commercial, and has not been compensated for any subsequent
airings of his performance in future ads. Gustafson estimates Yahoo owes
him in the neighborhood of $5 million. "I tried to resolve the matter with
Yahoo informally for over three years without success," Gustafson told
Reuters. "I even sent a copy of my lawsuit to Yahoo before filing it, but
Yahoo never responded to either me or my attorney." Gustafson has also
recorded yodels used in TV campaigns for Honda, Taco Bell, Miller Light
and Sprint, for which he was paid union rates and still collects
residuals.
http://latimes.com/business/la-000027844apr19.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-886738.html
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o EchoStar, EarthLink to Bundle Satellite TV, DSL Internet Service

Littleton, Colo. -- Following an almost identical deal announced earlier
this week with DSL provider SBC Communications, EchoStar, a provider of
nationwide satellite TV programming, announced on Friday that it has
partnered with broadband access provider EarthLink to jointly market
bundled satellite TV and DSL Internet access services to each company's
subscribers. Like the deal with SBC, subscribers to the bundled service
will receive up to $10 in savings on their monthly bill. Colorado-based
EchoStar, which operates the DISH Network, is also developing a satellite
TV set-top box for release this spring that combines the capabilities of
DSL broadband and satellite television to deliver video-on-demand and
other advanced services to its satellite TV customers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020419/190132_1.html
http://www.dishnetwork.com
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o Report: Free Music Outpacing Subscription Services in Western Europe

London -- Interest in free music file-sharing services is increasing in
Western Europe at the same time that traffic to legitimate subscription
services offered there is waning, according to a recently published report
from Jupiter MMXI -- the European arm of research firm Jupiter Media
Metrix. Visitors to sites hosting free file-sharing software including
Kazaa, MusicCity's Morpheus and Audiogalaxy increased from 10.7 million to
11.3 million between January and March 2002, while traffic to MP3.com,
Peoplesound.com, Vitaminic and other legitimate music sites dwindled from
2.5 million to 2 million during the same period. The major record labels
have yet to launch overseas versions of their MusicNet and Pressplay
subscription services. "The record industry needs to crack down hard and
fast on the software companies behind file sharing networks and at the
same time get serious about licensing content so that legitimate services
can offer compelling alternatives." said Jupiter MMXI analyst Mark
Mulligan. "If they fail to do this, the free music mindset will become
permanently embedded in the new generation of music listeners and paid-for
music services in Europe will never get off the ground."
http://uk.jupitermmxi.com/xp/uk/press/releases/pr_041802.xml
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o Cable TV Operator Adelphia Receives Nasdaq Delisting Notice

Coudersport, Pa. -- Adelphia Communications, the nation's sixth largest
cable TV provider, announced that it has received notice from the Nasdaq
that its shares will be delisted from the exchange for its failure to file
its annual earnings report with the SEC on time. The company has requested
a hearing before the Nasdaq and its shares will continue to be listed
until the outcome of the hearing. The SEC recently launched an
investigation into certain financial dealings of the company, relating to
$2.3 billion in loans guaranteed by Pennsylvania-based Adelphia to
partnerships controlled the Rigas family, which founded the company.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020418/nyth178_1.html
http://www.adelphia.com
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o Microsoft Launches New International E-Book Association

Redmond, Wash. -- Just days following the company's announcement that it
would no longer provide financial support to the Frankfurt eBook Awards,
Microsoft on Friday announced that it is launching the International eBook
Association, a new Europe-based group that will focus on the promotion of
the e-book format. Microsoft withdrew support for the International eBook
Award Foundation (IeBAF), which provided the $50,000 cash prizes to
authors recognized at the Frankfurt eBook Awards. "The directors and staff
of the IeBAF are to be thanked for their hard work promoting the
possibilities of electronic reading. Alberto Vitale was a splendid and
energetic chairman, and the Frankfurt eBook awards served a very important
role," said Dick Brass, vice president of technology development at
Microsoft. "But as the e-books industry evolves past its first critical
years, the need for large monetary awards to attract interest and
attention has been replaced by the need to address commercial and
technological issues." Although Microsoft is providing initial support,
the group will be neutral, and does have plans to launch its own e-book
awards.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020419/sff015_1.html
http://www.iebaf.org/
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STREAMING MEDIA WEST 2002

Conference: April 23 - 26
Exhibition: April 24 - 26
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o Briefly Noted:

(New York) Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite-delivered
digital audio programming, announced on Friday that it has partnered with
12 International Speedway Corporation facilities -- the tracks where
NASCAR races are held -- in a joint marketing agreement. The agreement
includes New York-based Sirius' sponsorship of a NASCAR racing team and
title sponsorship of two NASCAR Winston Cup Series events: the Sirius
Satellite Radio 400 at Michigan International Speedway's June event and
the Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen at Watkins Glen International's
August event.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020419/nyf040_1.html
http://www.siriusradio.com

(Atlanta) Scientific-Atlanta, a developer of digital TV set-top boxes,
announced on Friday that it has begun consumer trials of its new Explorer
8000 home entertainment servers. In addition to receiving digital cable TV
signals, the device also supports interactive TV features and contains a
personal video recorder with 80GB hard drive. Scientific-Atlanta also
plans future networking capabilities for the device, enabling it to share
content throughout the home such as video, music and digital images. The
company expects volume shipments of the Explorer 8000 to begin in June.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020418/atth029_1.html
http://www.sciatl.com/customers/prod_sub_explorer_family.htm

(Sunnyvale, Calif.) Yahoo on Friday announced that it has appointed James
Moloshok as senior vice president of the company's Media and Information
division. Moloshok will oversee Yahoo's entertainment, media and finance
content businesses. Previously, Moloshok co-founded and was president of
Warner Bros. Online, and also served as CEO of the now-defunct
entertainment site Entertaindom.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020419/192052_1.html

(New York) The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday on the prospect of
AOL Time Warner rethinking its "cornerstone strategy" of launching
nationwide broadband access on Time Warner Cable lines -- originally seen
as one of the most attractive benefits of the merger between AOL and Time
Warner. The company has not seen mass adoption of the new high-speed
service from its AOL dial-up subscribers, and AOL has thus far been unable
to make its services available on the lines of any additional cable TV
operators other than those of its sister company, Time Warner Cable.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/740919.asp
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> DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PANEL DISCUSSION SERIES:
"iTV: New Interactive Services Fuel Big Expectations
Slow Market Penetration Raises Questions: How Big is iTV Going to Be?"

=========================================================
NEW YORK: Thursday, April 25, 2002, Cornell Club of New York City
=========================================================
Moderator: Art Cohen, SVP, Advertising, ACTV
Patrick Donoghue, VP, Interactive Television, Cablevision
Malia Flynn, Director of Product Management, WorldGate
Christopher S. Lucas, VP & Exec. Producer, Digital Media Group, Showtime
Networks
Rod A. Nenner, Director, TV & Entertainment Solutions Group, America
Online
Carla Sinatra, Vice President of Business Development, NBC
Todd Krieger, Senior Manager, Business Development, Microsoft TV

Sponsored by: WorldGate, iTV Marketer (http://www.itvmarketer.com)
For more information and to register for the New York event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCitv2.html

Sponsorships and Inquiries:
Ned Sherman at 323.464.0793 or esherman@digitalmediawire.com
Paul Sherman at psherman@digitalmediawire.com

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