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DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- Oct. 4, 2000
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com
o Inside.com: Two ISPs Are In Talks To Acquire Napster
o Sony Broadband Creates Venture Unit For Digital Media
o Pseudo.com Files For Bankruptcy
o Yahoo To Stream NFL Live Audio Broadcasts
o Role Of Set-Tops Scrutinized In AOL - Time Warner Merger
o High-Profile Venture Formed To Develop Digital Recording For Set-Tops
o Phillips International Sells Business Information Unit To VS&A
o Gameplay.com Acquires Pixel Broadband Studios For $47.5 Million
o AT&T Broadband To Offer Video On Demand
o Briefly Noted: Zvuki.ru, Liquid Audio - Disc Makers, Loudeye -
Digital Club Network, Dotcomix.com - ICTV, Harlan Ellison,
"Too Gangsta For Radio"
_____________________________________________
o Inside.com: Two ISPs Are In Talks To Acquire Napster
New York -- Two major U.S. Internet service providers have said that they
are in separate negotiations to acquire music file trading service
Napster, Inside.com reported on Wednesday. Neither of the ISPs or the
sources for the story were named. An ISP-owned Napster could effectively
create a closed file sharing network, where only that ISP's subscribers
could trade music; the desired result would be a wealth of new subscribers
and revenue for that ISP, the article said. An ISP could simply add the
cost of a subscription to Napster's service to a subscriber's monthly
bill, creating a revenue stream for Napster as well as compensation for
copyright holders. "If just two million subscribers paid $10 a month
for
the service, copyright owners would divide a quarter of a billion dollars
a year," the article said. The main hurdle for any proposed
acquisition is
Napster's current litigation with the Recording Industry Association of
America, which could conceivably cost the company hundreds of millions of
dollars in damages, and shut down its file trading service, the article
said.
http://www.inside.com/story/Story_Cached/0,2770,10537_9_12_3,00.html
_____________________________________________
o Sony Broadband Creates Venture Unit For Digital Media
New York -- Sony Broadband announced on Tuesday that it has formed
"550
Digital Media Ventures," which it said will create, incubate, invest
in
and acquire digital media companies. Fred Ehrlich, president of new
technology at Sony Music Entertainment, will serve as president and CEO of
the new company. Sony CEO Howard Stringer, Sony Music chairman and CEO
Tommy Mottola and Sony Pictures president and COO Mel Harris will serve on
the company's board. By incorporating previous investments made by Sony
into the new division, 550 Digital Ventures already holds stakes in 35
companies, including Spinner.com, Screaming Media, MongoMusic and
360HIPHOP.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001004/ny_sony_br.html
http://www.550dmv.com
_____________________________________________
o Pseudo Files For Bankruptcy
New York -- Pseudo.com, an online entertainment site that shut down last
month, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Webnoize reported
on Tuesday. New York-based Pseudo.com was one of the oldest and most
well-known developers of Internet programming. The company is reportedly
still seeking a buyer, according to the article.
http://www.webnoize.com
http://www.pseudo.com
_____________________________________________
o Yahoo To Stream NFL Live Audio Broadcasts
Santa Clara, Calif. -- Yahoo announced on Tuesday that it has partnered
with the NFL to stream live audio broadcasts of NFL football games. Terms
of the deal were not disclosed. Santa Clara-based Yahoo said that it will
provide play-by-play audio webcasts of 90 percent of this season's games,
as well as pregame and postgame commentary. Yahoo has already made deals
with the NBA and MLB to broadcast basketball and football games on the
Internet. Last year, Yahoo acquired Broadcast.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001003/ca_yahoo_n.html
_____________________________________________
o Role Of Set-Tops Scrutinized In AOL - Time Warner Merger
New York -- The FTC and FCC said that they are closely examining the role
of digital set-top boxes -- the devices being developed to access the
Internet through televisions -- as part of their examination of the
proposed AOL - Time Warner merger, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Wednesday. The investigation further demonstrates the broad impact the
proposed merger between AOL and Time Warner will have on the digital media
industry. The issue was raised after AOL and Time Warner said that the
concessions that they have offered to open up their high-speed cable lines
did not include the set-top box market, the article said. The FTC and FCC
are reportedly fearful that the company controlling the set-top box could
conceivably decide which email, e-commerce, instant messaging and
telephone services consumers use.
http://yahoo.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2929269.html
_____________________________________________
o High-Profile Venture Formed To Develop Digital Recording For Set-Tops
New York -- Several high-profile companies announced on Wednesday the
launch of Project DISCO, a venture to develop digital video recording
capabilities for set-top boxes. Charter Communications, Motorola
Broadband, ReplayTV and Vulcan Ventures said that they have partnered to
create Project DISCO, which would initially focus on creating digital
video recording software for set-tops designed for storing video, audio
and Internet content. Terms of the venture were not disclosed. "We
expect
Project DISCO to be to the digital platform what the VCR is to analog
television," said Jerry Kent, CEO of Charter Communications.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001004/mo_charter.html
_____________________________________________
o Phillips International Sells Business Information Unit To VS&A
Potomac, Md. -- Phillips International, a leading business publisher that
is expanding onto the Internet, announced on Wednesday that its Phillips
Business Information unit will be acquired by VS&A Communications
Partners, a private equity firm. The financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed. Maryland-based Phillips Business Information had more than $110
million in revenues last year. Its main products include the RepliTech
trade show, AV Video & Multimedia Producer magazine, Via Satellite
magazine, Communications Technology magazine, and Defense Daily
newsletter. Most of the magazines also have large online components; some
are expanding into the business-to-business sector. New York-based
VS&A
will also acquire Phillips International's Hart Publications division,
which consists primarily of energy magazines and websites.
http://www.phillips.com/pressreleases/970668198.html
_____________________________________________
o Gameplay.com Acquires Pixel Broadband Studios For $47.5 Million
London -- Gameplay.com, an online gaming portal, announced on Wednesday
that it has acquired Tel Aviv-based game developer Pixel Broadband Studios
for $47.5 million in stock. London-based Gameplay.com allows customers to
buy and play games online, as well as through interactive digital
television, and wireless devices. The company acquired Pixel Broadband
from Take2, a New York-based computer and video game publisher. As part of
the deal, Gameplay.com said that it now owns Pixel Broadband's broadband
multiplayer technology, and will receive digital distribution rights for
future Take2 game releases.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001003/ny_take_tw.html
http://www.gameplay.com
http://www.pixelbbs.com
_____________________________________________
o AT&T Broadband To Offer Video On Demand
Englewood, Colo. -- AT&T Broadband announced that it has partnered
with
Redwood City, Calif.-based DIVA Systems to offer video on demand services
to digital cable subscribers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. DIVA
Systems said that it will provide AT&T with the hardware and software
necessary to provide its customers with the ability to order movies and
other video programming on demand through their television's remote
control.
http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1354,3367,00.html
http://www.attbroadband.com
http://www.divatv.com
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(Moscow) Zvuki.ru, a Moscow-based online music distributor, said on
Wednesday that it has filed the first lawsuit against a pirate MP3 web
site in Russia. Zvuki.ru said that it filed a petition against rmp.ru with
the Russian courts; the petition asked the site to stop infringing on
Zvuki's copyrights. The company reported that the site has been taken off
the Internet, and that the case is pending in Moscow Municipal Court.
http://www.zvuki.ru
(Los Angeles) Liquid Audio, a provider of digital music encoding and
distribution, announced on Wednesday a partnership with Disc Makers, a CD
distributor for independent musicians. Redwood City-based Liquid Audio
said that musicians using Disc Makers' service to create their CDs will
now be able to create downloadable songs to sell online.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001004/ca_liquid_.html
http://www.liquidaudio.com
http://www.discmakers.com/liquid
(Seattle) Loudeye Technologies, a provider of streaming technology for
digital media, announced on Wednesday that it will provide its services to
the Digital Club Network (DGN), a live music webcasting site.
Seattle-based Loudeye has previously worked with DGN on its Digital Club
Festival, which broadcast 200 live performances with limited success.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001004/wa_loudeye.html
http://www.loudeye.com
http://www.digitalclubnetwork.com
(San Francisco) Dotcomix.com, an online animation site, announced on
Wednesday that it has partnered with Los Gatos, Calif.-based ICTV, a
developer of digital set-top box technology. San Francisco-based
Dotcomix.com said that its web-based animation programs will be shown
through ICTV's technology to digital television subscribers.
http://www.dotcomix.com
http://www.ictv.com
(Chatham, N.J.) Fictionwise.com, an online e-book seller, said on
Wednesday that author Harlan Ellison has agreed to sell 35 short stories
he wrote as e-books on the web site. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Ellison has been called a "20th century Lewis Carroll" by the
Los Angeles
Times.
http://www.fictionwise.com
(Hollywood) Death Row Records announced on Wednesday that its new CD
compilation, "Too Gangsta For Radio," will direct consumers to
Internet-exclusive video content when inserted in a computer's CD-ROM
drive. Hollywood-based Death Row, which counts rapper Snoop Dogg among its
artists, said that LA-based Load Media provided the online video
technology for the CD.
http://www.deathrowrecords2000.com
http://www.loadtv.com
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