archives

o Wireless Content Distributor iBlast Raises $10.2 Million
o Analyst Firm Jupiter Lowers Predictions for Online Ad Spending
o Liberate Launches Joint Venture to Deploy Interactive TV in China
o Sega to Begin Developing Educational, Training Software
o CueCat Maker DigitalConvergence Lays Off 44% of Staff
> Wednesday: DMW & socalTECH Seminar: Digital Asia -- June 20 | Los Angeles
> Digital Media Wire Seminar: iTV -- June 27 | San Francisco
o Briefly Noted: American Family Association - porn - Yahoo, Muze - Warner
Music Group, Imation - DataPlay, ScoopMe.com, Hewlett-Packard - DVD+R/RW, GTR Group - GameStop, Fandango - Los Angeles, VOD, RealNetworks
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> Job Postings: Web Designer, Dir. of Internet Advertising,
Sr. Software Engineer, Project Manager

> Events/Services: "Software Company Moving Sale," "Free WebCast Series:
Delivering Results in Today's Changing Environment,"
"The Corporate Venture Capital Conference"

Full Job/Event/Services 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/Service: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
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o Wireless Content Distributor iBlast Raises $10.2 Million

Los Angeles -- iBlast, a provider of wireless content distribution,
announced that it has raised $10.2 million in its latest round of venture
capital financing. Investors participating in the round included Gannett,
Cox Broadcasting, Washington Post Company, Media General, Emmis
Communications and Smith Broadcasting Group. Los Angeles-based iBlast
broadcasts entertainment content to consumers using the same antennas as
local TV stations. Movies, music, video games and software can be
transmitted to PCs, digital TV set-top boxes, personal video recorders and
video game consoles using iBlast's technology. The company will use the
funds for working capital, new developments and improvements to its
datacasting service, as well as to continue building its distribution
network. iBlast has secured exclusive agreements with major broadcasters
like Tribune, Gannett, Cox, The New York Times and others, and says it can
reach 93 percent of U.S. television households through deals with over 200
TV stations.
http://www.iblast.com/press.php3?aid=39
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o Analyst Firm Jupiter Lowers Predictions for Online Ad Spending

Cannes, France -- Due to the current downturn in the advertising market,
New York-based analyst firm Jupiter Media Metrix has drastically lowered
its predictions for the size of the online advertising market, Reuters
reported on Tuesday. The company had forecasted growth of 47 percent this
year, but cut that number to 12 percent growth on Tuesday. Jupiter still
predicts that companies will spend $25 billion to advertise online within
five years, accounting for an increase from 2.1 percent to 5.2 percent of
the total amount spent on advertising annually.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6313706.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.jmm.com
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o Liberate Launches Joint Venture to Deploy Interactive TV in China

San Carlos, Calif. -- Liberate Technologies, a developer of software for
set-top boxes that enable interactive television, announced that it has
formed a joint venture with China-based Global Net Broadband, Inc. (GNI)
to deploy interactive television in China. San Carlos-based Liberate made
an undisclosed investment in the venture, called China New Broadband. The
company will offer GNI set-top boxes equipped with Liberate's operating
system for iTV to network operators in China. China New Broadband will
also work to develop software programs for video-on-demand, home banking,
stock market trading, distance learning and email. Liberate recently
announced deals to include its software with interactive TV deployments in
Australia and Germany.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010618/sfm138.html
http://www.liberate.com
http://www.gni.com.cn
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o Sega to Begin Developing Educational, Training Software

Tokyo -- Video game maker Sega said on Tuesday that it will branch out
from its core business of video game production and begin developing other
products like graphics-intensive educational and training software,
Reuters reported. The company recently exited the game console business,
announcing that it would halt production of its Dreamcast console and
instead focus exclusively on developing games for other consoles like
Sony's PlayStation 2. Sega co-chief operating officer Tetsu Kayama said he
expects new businesses such as these to account for "more than ten percent
of the company's sales in the next five years."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6318572.html?tag=mn_hd
http://www.sega.com
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o CueCat Maker DigitalConvergence Lays Off 44% of Staff

Dallas -- DigitalConvergence, a manufacturer of infrared scanners capable
of connecting users to websites, said that last week it laid off 44
percent of its staff, or 110 employees, CNET reported. The company is most
well-known for making the CueCat, a mouse-like infrared scanner that users
can connect to their PCs and scan ads in newspapers and magazines that
take them to relevant websites. It is also testing a service with NBC that
links viewers to websites based on particular TV shows they watch.
Dallas-based DigitalConvergence blamed the layoffs on the current market,
and the fact that it is currently trying to raise a new round of
financing.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6312093.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.digitalconvergence.com
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> Digital Media Wire & socalTECH Present a Panel Discussion:
"Digital Asia: Recent Developments & New Business Opportunities"

Los Angeles | Wednesday, June 20th at the Wyndham Bel Age

SPONSORS:
Jones Day Reavis & Pogue, Loyola Marymount Int'l MBA in Media

This panel of executives, investors and professionals will discuss the
latest developments in digital media, with a focus on business
opportunities, strategies and ventures being created between the United
States and China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=14674&Referrer_id=4074

SPEAKERS:
Ravin Agrawal - Partner | EastWest VentureGroup
Bryan Biniak - COO | Premium Wireless Services & YourMobile Network
Eric Choi - Senior Business Development Manager (Asia Pacific) | Akamai
James Hsu - Attorney | Jones Day Reavis & Pogue (LA - Taipei)
Stuart Levy - Co-Founder & CEO | TOKYOPOP
Beth Minehart - SVP Business Development | Universal Studios Television

MODERATOR:
Stephen Liu
Co-Founder & President | Reelplay, Founder & Chairman | APEX

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:
Asian Business League, AINT, Asian Professional Exchange, Asia Society,
larta
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> Digital Media Wire Presents a Panel Discussion:
"iTV: Defining the New Face of Television"

San Francisco | Wednesday, June 27th at The City Club

SPONSOR: UBS Warburg

This panel of players ranging from content developers to investment
bankers will discuss the new face of television, which will include an
amalgam of services like email, IPGs (interactive program guides), PVRs
(personal video recorders), enhanced TV, etc., and what it means for
Hollywood, the tech industry and most importantly, the consumer.
For more information and to register:
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=14770&Referrer_id=4074

MODERATOR:
Michael Kline - Senior Manager | Deloitte Consulting

SPEAKERS:
Derek Footer - Director of Programming | OpenTV
David Higley - Exec. Director Technology Investment Banking | UBS Warburg
Bill Niemeyer - Director of Strategic Development | Spiderdance
Jonathon Spatz - Chief Financial Officer | Wink Communications
Nicholas Wodtke - SVP Interactive Television | Sony Pictures Entertainment
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o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) Anti-pornography advocate the American Family Association
is urging the U.S. government to prosecute Web portal Yahoo for offering
obscene and indecent content, including child pornography, Wired News
reported on Tuesday. The group says that Yahoo's servers house
pornographic images that are part of many sites hosted through Geocities,
and are also easily found in its many chat areas. "Yahoo should be treated
like any other business that trades in this kind of illegal material,"
said American Family Association chief lobbyist Patrick Trueman.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44619,00.html

(New York) Muze, a provider of product information databases for the
music, motion picture and video game industries, announced on Tuesday that
it has negotiated a licensing agreement with Warner Music Group that will
allow it to digitize and stream 30-second song samples from Warner
artists. New York-based Muze then sells the samples to other websites and
offers them from its in-store kiosks, which are currently placed in over
500 stores. The company has a similar deal to offer songs samples from BMG
Entertainment.
http://www.muze.com

(Oakdale, Minn.) Data storage products provider Imation said on Tuesday
that it will be the first U.S.-based manufacturer for DataPlay, a company
that has developed quarter-sized optical discs that can store 500MB of
digital media. Minnesota-based Imation will make both blank and
pre-recorded discs for Colorado-based DataPlay, and will also serve as the
company's "semi-exclusive" worldwide distribution partner. DataPlay has
deals with both BMG and investor Universal to provide pre-recorded music
for release on DataPlay discs.
http://www.dataplay.com/jsp_files/en/news/pressreleases-desc.jsp?pressrelease=pressrelease-desc-01-06-19
http://www.imation.com

(Dayton, Ohio) ScoopMe, a site that features TV show reviews, released on
Tuesday a new version of its service that lets users find and trade VHS
copies of favorite TV shows with one another. Ohio-based ScoopMe says it
does not house the tapes at any time. Instead borrowers arrange to pay
shipping fees amongst themselves, and are asked to return viewed tapes
within seven days. "Rather than peer-to-peer networking, this is
person-to-person networking," stated Ajay Goel, founder of ScoopMe. "We
don't want to be another Napster."
http://www.scoopme.com/tapes

(Palo Alto, Calif.) Electronics manufacturer Hewlett-Packard said on
Tuesday that it will soon include recordable DVD drives in the PCs it
markets to consumers for their homes. The DVD+R/RW drive lets users create
video DVDs that can be played in commercial DVD players. It also functions
as a CD burner, allowing users to create music CDs playable on most CD
players. A report from Dataquest predicts that 2 million recordable DVD
drives will be sold in 2002, with that figure jumping to 14.5 million in
2005.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010619/0320.html
http://www.hp.com

(Brampton, Ontario) Interactive games company GTR Group said on Tuesday
that it has sold its inventory of used video games to Barnes and Noble
subsidiary GameStop, Inc. for an undisclosed amount of cash. The sale is
part of Canada-based GTR Group's reorganization, in which it is selling
all assets not related to its subsidiary Mad Catz, which makes and sells
accessories for PC and console video games.
http://www.gtrgroup.com
http://www.gamestop.com

(Hollywood) Online movie ticket retailer Fandango said on Tuesday that it
now offers its services to over 200 movie theater screens in Los Angeles.
Users can go online or use the company's voice-activated phone system and
buy tickets up to three days in advance for most films. Los Angeles-based
Fandango sells tickets to movies showing at Edwards Theatres, General
Cinema Theatres, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Regal Cinemas and Century
Theatres in Los Angeles.
http://www.fandango.com

(New York) Cable World magazine is currently featuring a story on the
prospects of video-on-demand as the "killer app" for interactive
television. The piece also examines the set-top box market, where
manufacturers are looking to simpler, less expensive models than were
originally planned in order to keep costs low and address only the iTV
features -- such as video-on-demand -- that have already proven popular
with consumers.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33216&pod_id=13

(New York) MSNBC.com on Tuesday reported on how RealNetworks is benefiting from the dispute between America Online and Microsoft, over whether or not AOL will be bundled with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system. AOL has long been partnered with RealNetworks as a media delivery technology partner, and reportedly would not agree to include support for Microsoft's rival technology in its software.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/589181.asp?0dm=C17MT

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

> Leisure Time Entertainment, Web Designer - Los Angeles

A San Fernando Valley based adult company, 20 years in the business, seeks
a web designer to design front-end graphics for many websites. The
applicant must possess strong understanding of HTML & Javascript.
Photoshop & graphics skills are required. Flash is a big plus as well. The
ability to create great looking graphics & incorporate them into web pages
quickly is necessary.
Send resume to: jfishman@lte.net
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> NextCard, Director of Internet Advertising - San Francisco

Internet advertiser & direct marketing firm seeks candidate w/ strong
advertising contract negotiating skills, an understanding of the Internet
market-place & the credit card business to research & acquire NextCard’s
advertising relationships, source new strategic accounts & negotiate
favorable cost-per-action contracts. 5+ yrs. BizDev or Internet
advertising exp. MBA preferred. Send resumes to: jobs@nextcard.com
http://www.nextcard.com
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> Digitas, Senior Software Engineer - San Francisco

3-5 years of Web Development experience plus 1 year working knowledge of
Java, Javascript, CGI and ideally C++. Ability to work in both Unix and
Windows environments. Understand importance of client delivery and has
good presentation skills. Helps mentor all levels of Programmer Analysts
in their technical skills, when possible. Helps build "team" environment.
Send resumes to: jobs@digitas.com
http://www.digitas.com
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> Bluewave, Project Manager - New York City

Seeking seasoned project manager with experience at a web design agency or
in the interactive department of a large company who has strong
interpersonal skills, good design sense and knowledge of database
technology. As one of Bluewave's key production people in NYC, you will
play a lead role in growing the company's business in the US. Apply
directly to the 'careers' section of www.bluewave.com.
http://www.bluewave.com

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

> Software Company Moving Sale - Los Angeles

An LA-based software company is moving offices and selling various
equipment & furnishings: Uninterruptible Power Supplies (a must for
looming blackouts); printers (HP Color Laserjet 4500, Laserjet 1100 and
many Epson 850s); PCs; firewall; hubs; desks; tables; chairs; whiteboards,
etc. Priced to move. Office located in mid-Wilshire at 3333 Wilshire Blvd.
(near Vermont), Suite 205, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
For information, please call Barney: 213.365.6545, ext. 204.
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> Free WebCast Series: Delivering Results in Today's Changing Environment

Pacific Edge Software, an enterprise solution provider of project
portfolio management, is joined by webcast speakers Geoffrey Moore, Bill
Rosser & Jim Highsmith to address challenges you face as an executive in
today's uncertain environment. Get expert advice & learn how Pacific
Edge's solution of software & services enables organizations to manage
project portfolios & measure progress toward strategic goals.
SIGN-UP at http://www.pacificedge.com/campaigns/DigitalMedia
or email info@pacificedge.com
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> The Corporate Venture Capital Conference, June 22 - McLean, VA

Attendees of "The Corporate Venture Capital" conference will learn about
the investment criteria and processes of corporate sponsored venture funds
and how they have adapted to today's private equity environment. They will
also discover how corporations can work with technology start-ups besides
equity investments, including business development and strategic
partnerships. 7:30am Registration; 8-9:30am Program.
http://www.nvtc.org/calendar/jun22form.htm
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