archives

o iBEAM To Acquire NextVenue For $375 Million
o Judge To Hold Napster Hearing On Wednesday
o NBC, Disney File Formal Opposition To AOL-Time Warner Merger
o Macromedia, Intel Work Together on 3-D Technology
o Digital Television Developer iSurfTV Raises $6.4 Million
o Artistdirect, Ticketmaser Online Announce Agreement
o Briefly Noted: Yahoo Online Music Awards, Online Games,
MGM.com, Pogo.com - Real.com, Pulse Entertainment,
Time Warner - AT&T, DoubleClick, Scale Eight,
Stephen King, PatentCafe, Sega - Pedro Martinez
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o iBEAM To Acquire NextVenue For $375 Million

Sunnyvale, CA -- Sunnyvale-based iBEAM Broadcasting Corporation, a
publicly traded online video company, today announced that it will acquire
NextVenue, a provider of streaming media services to financial companies,
for $375 million in stock. The acquisition is part of a strategy by
Sunnyvale-based iBEAM to diversify beyond entertainment. New York-based
NextVenue provides investment banks and securities firms with streaming
technology used for "virtual roadshows," multimedia analysts reports, and
other purposes. In May, NextVenue filed a registration statement for an
IPO. "Most of the early activity in streaming media has been focused on
the entertainment space, but that's only one segment of the streaming
media market," said Alex Benik, an analyst at the Yankee Group. "This
acquisition gives iBEAM a strong foothold in the business-to-business
market, particularly with financial customers."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000725/ca_ibeam_n.html
_____________________________________________

o Judge To Hold Important Napster Hearing On Wednesday

San Francisco -- The music industry and music fans will be closely
watching Wednesday's hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco
regarding the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) lawsuit
against Napster, a music file sharing web site with over 20 million users.
The RIAA has asked Judge Marilyn Patel to issue a preliminary injunction
that would shut down the Napster service. The record industry claims that
Napster is facilitating the wholesale infringement of record companies'
copyrights. The judge's ruling could have a profound impact on the
recording and music industries. Reuters reported today that Cary Sherman,
an attorney for the RIAA, said that the group does not expect a decision
on Wednesday.
_____________________________________________

o NBC, Disney File Formal Opposition To AOL-Time Warner Merger

New York -- Walt Disney and NBC have filed separate letters this week with
the Federal Communications Commission claiming that the proposed AOL-Time
Warner merger will result in unfair competition in various media sectors.
The companies are asking the FCC to impose strict requirements on AOL-Time
Warner. Walt Disney and NBC want the FCC to prohibit AOL-Time Warner from
blocking other programmers from having access to Time Warner's cable
service.
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/current/dis.htx?source=htx/http2_mw
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o Macromedia, Intel Work Together on 3-D Technology

New Orleans, La -- Macromedia, Inc., a developer of multi-media software,
announced today that it will incorporate Intel's 3-D graphics technology
into its popular Shockwave Player. The two companies said the deal will
greatly expand the use of 3-D on the Internet. "Intel is hoping it can
piggyback on the popularity of Macromedia's Flash animation player to
succeed with 3-D on the Web, an area where legions have failed or
stalled," wrote CNET about the deal. The companies said the 3-D technology
will be used in areas besides entertainment, including Internet education
and online retailing.
http://yahoo.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2342687.html?pt.yfin.cat_fin.txt.ne
_____________________________________________

o Digital Television Developer iSurfTV Raises $6.4 Million

Sunnyvale, CA. -- iSurfTV Corporation, a developer of technology for
digital interactive television, today announced the completion of a $6.4
million round of financing. The company did not disclose the names of the
investors. Founded in 1998, iSurfTV provides its clients with a range of
interactive video and digital TV services. iSurfTV has also recently
created a new programming guide for the interactive TV industry. The
company said it appointed Roel Pieper as its chairman of the board. Pieper
is a general partner of Insight Capital Partners, which has offices in New
York City and Amsterdam.
http://www.isurfTV.com
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o Artistdirect, Ticketmaser Online Announce Agreement

Los Angeles -- Artistdirect, Inc., an online music network, today
announced an agreement with Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch, a leading
online ticket retailer.  Under the terms of the deal, Ticketmaster
Online-Citysearch will provide online ticketing for LA-based
Artistdirect's network. The agreement also creates a co-branded ticketing
site for live music events and integrates ticket sales on Artistdirect’s
artist-specific sites.
http://www.ticketmaster.com
http://www.artistdirect.com
http://www.livedaily.com
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o Briefly Noted:

(New York) David Bowie, Paul McCartney, and Prince were among the top
winners at Monday night's Third Annual Yahoo Internet Life Online Music
Awards held in New York City. A list of winners is available at the link
below.
http://www.zdnet.com/yil/musicawards/main/winners.htm

(New York) A Forbes.com article reported Tuesday that almost 40 million
Americans play online games and that the market is projected to reach
nearly $800 million within three years. "Online games are no longer just
for teenage boys," the Forbes.com article said. "With two high-profile
sites from Electronic Arts and Sega launching this quarter, online gaming
could finally make the transition from serious fun to serious money." The
article is listed at the link below.
http://www.forbes.com/tool/html/00/jul/0725/feat.htm

(Santa Monica) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. today announced the launch of a
redesigned web site that is aimed at promoting its MGM and United Artists
unit on the Internet. "This introduction signals the company's commitment
to establish a compelling online entertainment destination and an expanded
Internet marketplace for consumers," the company said in a statement. MGM
also announced that Juliann Jannus has been named senior vice president of
MGM.com. He previously held the position of executive director of on-air
and online marketing at MGM's Worldwide Television Group.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/000725/ca_mgm_com.html

(San Francisco, Ca.) San Francisco-based Pogo.com, a provider of Internet
games, announced today that it will provide its games on Real.com
"Streaming media, downloadable music, and online games are the three
leading forms of entertainment programming on the Internet today," said
Mark Hall, vice-president of Media Publishing and Programming for
RealNetworks, Inc.
http://www.pogo.com

(New Orleans, La.) San Francisco-based Pulse Entertainment, Inc., a
developer of interactive technology and 3D animation for the Internet,
today announced an agreement with Paris-based Exmachina, a post-production
company.  Under the terms of the deal, Exmachina will resell Pulse
technology to developers, designers, and agencies in Europe.  Exmachina is
a digital studio focusing on large-format films, theme parks, television,
and video games.
http://www.pulse3d.com

(New York) Upside magazine reports that both Time Warner and AT&T -- "the
big boys of cable" -- plan to launch interactive TV in 2001 in select
markets, with a national releases scheduled for 2002. "Could the computer
keyboard at last be finding an honored place alongside the remote control
in the family room? Or is this another interactive TV pipe dream?" the
article asked.
http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/story?id=396656e10 

(New York) New York-based DoubleClick, a major Internet advertising firm,
said Tuesday that Kevin Ryan, its president and chief operating officer,
has been named CEO. He replaces Kevin O'Connor, who will remain as
chairman of DoubleClick.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000725/wr/doubleclick_ceo_dc_1.html

(San Francisco, Ca.)  San Francisco-based Scale Eight, Inc., a provider of
Internet storage infrastructure services, today announced that it has
secured $26.5 million in second-round funding. The investors included Oak
Investment Partners, InterWest Partners, Centerpoint Ventures, and Crown
Advisors. "The Internet has become a preferred medium for delivery of rich
objects, including digital video, audio, and photographs, creating a
market for thousands of terabytes of rich media storage," said Josh
Coates, founder and of Scale Eight.
http://www.scale8.com

(Portland, Me.) More 41,000 copies of Stephen King's new online novel were
downloaded during the first day that it was posted on his web site. King
reported that about 32,000, or 78%, of users paid the $1 fee he has
requested to view the first installment of "The Plant." King has said that
he will only release the third installment of the book if 75% of the
people downloading the book pay the requested $1 fee.
http://www.stephenking.com

 (Sacramento, Ca.) PatentCafe.com today launched an intellectual property
and security portal, focused on Digital Rights Management (DRM). The site,
called LockMyDoc.com, provides a wide range of online secuity tools
including digital signatures, digital fingerprints, and digital document
management.
http://www.patentcafe.com

(San Francisco, Ca.) Sega today released "Sega Sports World Series
Baseball 2K1." This is the first baseball program for the Sega Dreamcast
machine. The game is endorsed by Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez.
http://www.sega.com
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