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July 23, 2004 -- About Us | Advertise | Events | Publications | Subscribe

Main Stories
o Movie Studios, NFL Petition FCC to Ban TiVo Content-Sharing Feature
o Sony, Gamania Form Joint Venture to Launch Online Games in Asia
o Netflix Faces Shareholder Class Actions Over "Churn Rate" Numbers
o Strong Game Sales Boost Electronic Arts' Revenue, Profits
o BBC Union to Strike on Olympics Opening Weekend
o Silver Lake Partners to Invest $500 Million in Thomson

 > DMW Announcements:
 --Future of Television: Next Generation - November 19, 2004

 > Featured Advertisement:
 --Billboard Digital Entertainment Conference & Awards - Nov. 4-5
 --New Media Attorney
 

o Briefly Noted: Napster UK - The Sun, Warner Bros. Animation - Cartoon Monsoon online contest, DiscLive - Devo, Bluebeat.com - free 320kbps radio, Electronic Arts - NASCAR - "Catwoman," Fraunhofer's "Iosono" - true 3D sound, Senate Judiciary Committee - "Induce Act" hearing, U2 - stolen album - iTunes release?
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> Job/Event/Marketplace Classifieds:
--Program Manager
--Managing Editor
--New Media Attorney
--Director of Public Relations
--Database Programmer
--VP of Sales - Web Hosting / Internetworking / Telecom Services
--VP - Ignition Strategic Communications
--Audio Conference - Homeland Security Contracting - July 27
--Leverage the India Advantage -- For Your Data Needs 
--Strategy Firm Offers Customer Perception Study - $1,595 
 


o Movie Studios, NFL Petition FCC to Ban TiVo Content-Sharing Feature

San Jose, Calif. -- A number of Hollywood movie studios and the NFL have filed papers with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), seeking to block approval of a service from digital video recorder firm TiVo that would allow users to send recorded programs to laptops and PCs, the Associated Press reported. The TiVo To Go feature would also enable users to share shows with a limited number of friends -- but the copyright holders do not believe TiVo has installed sufficient safeguards against piracy. "We don't have a problem if you want to move the content to your summer home, or your boat, but the TiVo application does not require any kind of relationship with the sender," Motion Picture Association of America executive vice president Fritz Attaway told AP. "It could be to a nightclub in Singapore."
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040723/tivo_vs_hollywood_6.html
http://www.tivo.com/5.3.1.1.asp?article=196        
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o Sony, Gamania Form Joint Venture to Launch Online Games in Asia

Taipei, Taiwan -- Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced on Friday the formation of a joint venture with Asian online game publisher Gamania, which will distribute Sony's online titles, such as "EverQuest," in a number of Asian countries. Sony formed a new subsidiary, SOE Asia Licensing Inc., which will have a branch office in Taiwan and act as the investor in the joint venture. The joint venture will work to "culturize" SOE's "EverQuest II" massively multiplayer online roleplaying game for release in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, as well as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Under the agreement, SOE will license game technology to Gamania, and Gamania will license the publishing rights for "EverQuest" in the Asian nations. The companies also said their joint venture will investigate potential investments in the Chinese game development market.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040723/laf019_1.html 
http://www.sonyonline.com 
http://www.gamania.com      
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o Netflix Faces Shareholder Class Actions Over "Churn Rate" Numbers

Los Angeles -- A number of law firms have announced the filing of shareholder class action lawsuits against online DVD rental firm Netflix, alleging the company misled investors by not disclosing accurate subscriber cancellation numbers. The lawsuits argue that Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix "consistently understated its subscriber churn rate," and "failed to disclose the number of subscriber cancellations… even as they repeatedly touted the large number of new subscribers being added." Following a recent earnings release that for the first time stated subscriber cancellations, the company's stock declined 38% in value, to $20 per share. The suit further states that Netflix executives sold approximately $13 million in Netflix shares when the stock was trading closer to $40 per share.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040722/neth035_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/040723/61309.html     
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o Strong Game Sales Boost Electronic Arts' Revenue, Profits

Redwood City, Calif. -- After selling more than 1 million copies each of its games involving Harry Potter, professional boxing and European soccer, video game developer Electronic Arts on Thursday reported substantial increases in quarterly revenue and profits from a year ago. The company posted net income of $24 million, up 32%, on revenue of $432 million, up 22%. Earnings per share of $0.08 eclipsed consensus analyst estimates of $0.05, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. EA said that it got a large boost with" Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," "EA Sports Fight Night 2004" and "UEFA Euro 2004" each reaching platinum status. The trend seems to be continuing, with sales of the company's NCAA Football title tracking over 50% ahead of last year after its first week, and pre-orders of EA's Madden NFL game at record levels. However, the company's shares fell nearly 8% on Friday after posting a conservative outlook and predicting flat sales for the key holiday season.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?K11934ED8 
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o BBC Union to Strike on Olympics Opening Weekend

London -- U.K. broadcasting union Bectu said on Friday that it plans to go on strike on July 30-31 and Aug. 13-14, dates that respectively coincide with horse racing events and the opening of the Olympic Games in Greece. The decision to strike comes in protest of the proposed $3.7 billion sale of the BBC's Technology unit to German IT service giant Siemens. Bectu members currently comprise about a fourth of BBC's Technology's 1,400 employees, and the union said it believes the BBC will be "hard-pressed" to continue normal service during the strike. However, John Varney, head of technology at the BBC, said his company has prepared several contingency plans. "We do not expect a problem with the Olympics or anything else," he said. "These are things that are set up days or weeks in advance, and a short stoppage by Bectu members would not disrupt output." Bectu, which is calling for a three-year guarantee on current conditions and a pay increase of 2.5% above inflation, complains that consultation is being rushed in order to make the Sept. 1 sale target date.
http://www.bectu.org.uk/news/bbc/nb0221.html   
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o Silver Lake Partners to Invest $500 Million in Thomson

Paris -- Silver Lake Partners, a Silicon Valley-based private equity firm, said on Friday that it planned to invest more than $500 million in Thomson, a French provider of technology for the media industry and owner of consumer electronics unit RCA. Thomson said the investment would take the form of privately held bonds that will not be transferable and cannot be hedged, thereby giving Silver Lake control of 7.5% of the French firm's share capital. Thomson made headlines earlier this week when its board decided to oust CEO Charles Dehelly and replace him with acting France Telecom chief financial officer Frank Dangeard. The company said the management change and the recent investment would speed up its transition to supplying equipment and services to the media industry. "We chose to work with Silver Lake because we believe they will serve as a strategic partner for Thomson as the company enters its next stage of growth and development," said Thomson chairman Frank Dangeard.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y12B21DD8 

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 > DMW Events:

Future of Television Forum: Next Generation
November 19, 2004  |  New York City

www.televisionconference.com
Phone Registration Available Now
323-822-0936

OVERVIEW
Last year 370+ attended Future of Television Forum, which included keynotes from Mark Cuban (Chairman, HDNet / Owner, Dallas Mavericks), Joshua Sapan (President & CEO Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc.), and David Zaslav (President, NBC Cable). This year's event is scheduled for November 19, 2004 at NYU's Stern School of Business and will feature an impressive line-up of speakers and cutting-edge topics focused on the "Next Generation" of television.

REGISTRATION
Early Bird: $195 (until August 31)
Pre-Registration: $295
(until November 12)
Registration: $395 (after November 12 & at Door)
Online Registration: http://kb.digitalmediawire.com/register.php?eventid=1074

Phone: 323-822-0936


To submit speakers for or request information about exhibiting or sponsoring at the 2004 conferences, please contact Tinzar Than, VP, Marketing & Events, Digital Media Wire, Inc. at: tinzar@digitalmediawire.com.
 

Past Events | Sponsorship Materials | Partners & Clients
 

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> Featured Advertisement:

> Billboard Digital Entertainment Conference & Awards, November 4-5 

The Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards honor this vision, along with innovation, entrepreneurship and brand development in digital entertainment.

With awards in 30 unique categories honoring achievements involving games, music and film, television and video, Billboard recognizes the cutting-edge developments and forward thinkers shaping the future of entertainment.

The Conference will feature provocative panel sessions on current digital entertainment issues. For a complete list of speakers, panel and keynote addresses, visit the site below. Early bird registration ends August 31st!

For more information, please call 323-822-0936 or visit www.digitalentertainmentawards.com

For online awards submissions, conference registrations and purchasing Awards Gala Dinner tickets, please click here.

Deadline for Submissions: September 15, 2004

Conference & Awards Show: November 4 and 5, 2004

AWARDS CATEGORIES
(click here for category descriptions)
AWARDS ENTRY FORM
(click here to download entry form)

> New Media Attorney

The online division of a multimedia global entertainment company has an exciting career opportunity for a New Media attorney with 4-6 years prior legal experience. In this key role, you will provide counseling and transactional support to various business units of the online division and work with the corporate legal department to monitor and enforce the company's editorial standards and protect its intellectual property. Primary responsibilities will include the drafting and negotiating of a wide variety of agreements related to: content development and distribution working closely with international group on a range of international Internet, broadband and wireless distribution agreements, strategic partnerships, vendor and technology service providers, advertising, marketing, and other commercial matters.

The successful candidate will have a JD with a minimum of 4-6 years prior legal experience with an emphasis on intellectual property and commercial transactions. An Internet background and in-house experience preferred. Must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the ability to problem solve in a business-friendly, creative manner. Looking for a fast-moving, sharp attorney with the ability to provide high quality legal support.

For immediate consideration, send your resume AND salary requirements to: Legalres58@yahoo.com.
 

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o Briefly Noted:

(London) Napster UK announced on Friday a promotional partnership with U.K. daily newspaper The Sun, which will offer its 10 million readers free song downloads via ads placed in Saturday editions over two months. The promotion will also give away free Napster subscriptions, MP3 players, and the chance to win a trip to a private recording session in Los Angeles. "The Sun has tremendous brand identity and reach throughout the UK and has proven itself time and again as a major influencer of public opinion," said Napster president Brad Duea. "Napster was the first online music service to partner with a major UK consumer electronics retailer -- the Dixons Group -- and now we're the first in our industry to join forces with a daily national paper."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040722/lath103_1.html 
http://www.napster.co.uk 
http://www.thesun.co.uk

(Glendale, Calif.) Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Online on Friday announced the launch of the second season of Cartoon Monsoon, an online contest that challenges creative animators to produce original shorts for the chance to break into the business. The finalist cartoon shorts will be voted on by the public. Warner said the winner and runner-up from last year's Cartoon Monsoon both scored development deals with Warner Bros. Animation.
http://www.cartoonmonsoon.com

(Dallas) DiscLive, a unit of Immediatek that records and distributes live concert CDs, said on Friday that it will release a double CD recorded at upcoming sold-out concerts in New York City's Central Park by 80's new-wave band Devo. A limited edition of 1,000 copies will be sold; purchasers will also be given a link to burn their own copy of the discs immediately following the show, while waiting for the official discs in the mail.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040723/235140_1.html 
http://www.disclive.com 
http://www.clubdevo.com

(Santa Cruz, Calif.) Bluebeat.com, a free Web radio network offering protected, CD-quality 320kbps music streams, this week announced its launch. The site uses proprietary copy-control technology, developed by parent company Media Rights Technologies, to protect the high-quality streams; most sites provide only up to 128kbps. Bluebeat.com will stream 400,000 tracks across 320 different channels for free until Sept. 30, at which point it will offer subscriptions starting at 15 cents per day.
http://www.mediarightstech.com 
http://www.bluebeat.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Video game developer Electronic Arts on Friday changed the name of its NASCAR game franchise to "NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup," and named driver Kevin Havrick as the cover athlete for the game. Developed by EA Tiburon for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, the title is due for release on Aug. 31. EA also said a standalone NASCAR PC simulation title is in development for release in early 2005. Separately, Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts said it shipped its "Catwoman" game, based on the Warner Bros. film, to retailers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040723/235130_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040723/235110_1.html 
http://www.catwoman.ea.com

(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Friday reported on new audio technology developed by the inventors of the MP3 format that aims to create true "three dimensional" audio and vastly improve on current "surround sound" technology. The "Iosono" system uses an array of 300 or 400 small speakers and a complicated algorithm that determines how sound waves should travel, so that anyone in the room can experience 3D sound. The technology, which was demonstrated for a number of Hollywood studios this week, is expected to be first adopted at theme parks, followed by movie theaters and then eventually for home theater set-ups.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?P2BA210E8

(San Francisco) Wired News on Friday provided coverage of Thursday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the "Induce Act," a controversial bill that could outlaw peer-to-peer networks and other technologies that "induce" copyright infringement. Four of the five witnesses at the hearing argued against the bill, save for Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) CEO Mitch Bainwol. The Induce Act would reverse a landmark court ruling that said peer-to-peer services like Grokster do not infringe copyrights -- a decision that is also currently on appeal. "I think the Grokster decision is wrong as a matter of copyright law," testified U.S. Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters. Bill sponsor Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he would work with opponents to address their concerns, but added that, "We're going to do this, we're going to get this done… We have to give a damn about copyright."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64315,00.html 
http://www.iosono-sound.de

(London) Irish rock band U2 told the London Daily Telegraph that, should an unfinished advance copy of its new album that was stolen during a photo shoot in France turn up on the Internet, it plans to immediately release the finished version on iTunes and get it into stores within a week. The record is not due for official release until November. "If it is on the Internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month," U2 singer Bono told the paper. "It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention fucking up our holidays. But once it's out, it's out."
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64310,00.html 
 
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> Classifieds -- Ad Postings

> Program Manager

Seeking program manager with 15 plus years of progressive experience managing, directing and implementing IT projects in the government arena. Requires strong background in resource management and budget control. Excellent communication skills. Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science or Information Systems preferred. Send resumes to janej@cigital.com  Visit http://www.cigital.com/careers
_________________

> Managing Editor

Respected, profitable, Fairfax-based consumer news & advocacy site seeks Managing Editor. The successful candidate has a journalism degree (or equivalent experience) and knows or can quickly learn basic HTML (no FrontPage, Dreamweaver, etc.). Excellent pay, benefits, future. E-mail resume to jim.hood@gmail.com
_________________

> New Media Attorney

The online division of a multimedia global entertainment company has an exciting career opportunity for a New Media attorney with 4-6 years prior legal experience.  For more information, see  Featured Advertisement.
_________________

> Director of Public Relations

Vocus has an opening for a Director of Public Relations. Responsibilities include press releases, media interviews, pitching stories, speaking opportunities, and product launches. Vocus is the leading provider of on-demand software for public relations and government relations. Our products help thousands of customers to plan, execute and measure communications programs. Join a company with 12yrs success celebrating its 19th straight quarter of growth. Send resumes to cshilling@vocus.com
_________________

> Database Programmer 

Judy Diamond Associates, a leading provider of employee benefits databases located near the McPherson Square Metro station, is looking for a database and Internet savvy programmer to assemble its products. Candidates must be able to learn quickly, self-start, and follow through on projects without supervision. Two years experience and proficiency with FoxPro, Microsoft Excel, and SQL preferred. Candidates must demonstrate excellent communication skills and a thorough knowledge of database and Internet technologies. Benefits include competitive salary, 401(k), and health. E-mail resume to dcole@judydiamond.com, or fax 202-728-0845 (no phone calls, please).
_________________

> VP of Sales - Web Hosting / Internetworking / Telecom Services

XIF is an 8-year old Internetworking Solutions firm. We are a small firm with a start-up mentality, but with the luxury of having been a profitable entity since 1997 with a strong customer base and a stable source of revenue. We are currently seeking to hire a VP of Sales. We view this position as a critical component to our future growth, and are looking for a true equity partner. We are looking for someone with 8+ years experience in sales and sales management, preferably in Web Hosting and/or Telecom. Send inquiries to jobs@xif.com.
_________________

> VP - Ignition Strategic Communications

Ignition Strategic Communications is a fast-paced, fast-growing independently owned communications consulting firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas. The firm has a reputation for delivering sophisticated, highly successful public relations and public affairs campaigns. Ignition seeks talented people with at least a decade of experience. Ideal candidates will have hands-on experience media relations and PR experience, management know-how and entrepreneurial expertise in growing a full-service agency. Journalism experience useful. Competitive salary and benefits. Send resumes to mediarelationsjob@hotmail.com.  No phone calls, please.
_________________

> Audio Conference - Homeland Security Contracting - July 27

Spending on homeland security is growing at an unprecedented pace at state, local and federal levels. During its first year, the Department of Homeland Security signed over 18,500 contracts for goods and services from US companies of all sizes. Join the Institute of Management and Administration (IOMA) and our panel of contracting experts in this 90-minute audio telephone conference to find out how proper marketing and product strategy can make all the difference in your DHS bid. Click the link below for information and to register: http://www.homeland-directory.com/contracting.html
_________________

> Leverage the India Advantage -- For Your Data Needs

DC-based outsourcing firm String Information Services offers online data collection & telephone verification solutions from its operations centers in India. String guarantees 30%-50% cost savings, world-class quality and quick turn-around. Our marquee client list includes firms from all over North America. To learn more, and to set up a free trial, contact Prashant Kothari at 1-888-3STRING, Box 702 or marketing@stringinfo.com
_________________

> Strategy Firm Offers Customer Perception Study - $1,595

How likely is it you will continue to purchase products/services from us? What can we do to earn more of your business? Would you recommend our products /services to a colleague? For a limited time, capture these and other critical customer perception indicators with Velociti Partners' Customer Perception Study for only $1,595 USD. This is not a canned service - Velociti will work directly with your team to develop the focus and methodology to capture important data that is currently slipping through the cracks. Contact sales@velocitipartners.com  today to discuss the opportunity with one of our consultants.
 
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About Us
Digital Media Wire, Inc. is a news organization, publisher and events company serving the digital media industry since May 2000. Our daily newsletter delivers original briefings on business, legal and financial developments shaping digital media and read by over 30,000 executives and professionals. To subscribe for free, please click here.

Digital Media Wire, Inc. is part of the Tech Wire Media Group, an international network of publications that includes Digital Media Law Report, Potomac Tech Wire, New England Tech Wire, Southeast Tech Wire, Bay Area Tech Wire, Tri-state Tech Wire and European Tech Wire. The network reaches more than 70,000 individuals from over 70 countries each business day.

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Chief Executive Officer: Ned Sherman
VP, Marketing & Events: Tinzar Than
Editor: Mark Hefflinger

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