archives

o MP3.com Re-Launches My.MP3.com Digital Locker Service
o Bertelsmann Denies Plans To License RecordTV Technology
o KnightRidder.com Lays Off 34 Employees
o Film-On-Demand Provider CinemaNow Closes Second Round
o Gaylord Digital Shuts Down, Lays Off All 85 Employees
o Microsoft To Acquire Game Developer Digital Anvil
o Content Delivery Firm Cidera Raises $75 Million In Mezzanine Round
o Video Encoding Firm Vweb Raises $10 Million In Third Round
o Digital Rights Management Software Developer Elisar Raises $2 Million
o C-3D Digital Acquires Cable TV Operator VisionComm
> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: DC Area
o Briefly Noted: Streampipe - U.S. Government, sputnik7.com - imix.com -
RESFEST, Day Corporation - Premiere Radio Networks, Zeros & Ones - ICTV,
Vindigo - Time Out New York, Vianet Technologies - VideosDotCom
_____________________________________________

o MP3.com Re-Launches My.MP3.com Digital Locker Service

San Diego -- MP3.com announced on Tuesday the re-launch of its My.MP3.com
service, which allows users to listen to streaming versions of songs that
they have already purchased in CD form from a "digital locker." Users will
pay $49.95 a year in order to store the equivalent of about 500 CDs; 25
CDs worth of music can be stored on a free service, which is supported
through text and audio advertising. Users will be asked to enter music CDs
into their computer's CD-ROM drive to prove ownership. To ensure that they
are not borrowing CDs from others for the sole purpose of uploading them
to the service, users will occasionally be asked to re-enter a CD to
verify ownership. The service was taken off-line after the company was
sued for copyright infringement by every major record label, as well as
the National Music Publishers Association; recently, the company settled
with Universal Music Group, the last holdout.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001205/ca_mp3_ser.html
http://my.mp3.com
_____________________________________________

o Bertelsmann Denies Plans To License RecordTV Technology

Hamburg, Germany -- German media company Bertelsmann denies that it is in
talks with RecordTV, a developer of technology that lets users record
television programs on their computers, Bloomberg News reported on
Tuesday. The company refutes a release that was posted on wire service
Business Wire [which was quoted in a story in Digital Media Wire- Ed.],
saying it was an "independent" action by an employee at one of its units.
"There is no contract, no deal, no nothing," said Thorsten Strauss, a
spokesman for Bertelsmann Arvato. "We are looking into what happened and
will take measure accordingly -- business with RecordTV is out of the
question."
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-3997969.html
http://www.recordtv.com
_____________________________________________

o KnightRidder.com Lays Off 34 Employees

New York -- KnightRidder.com, the online news component of Knight Ridder
Inc., said it will lay off 34 employees in a restructuring effort, The
Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The company said the
restructuring will consolidate its independent operations at individual
newspapers into one unit, and result in the elimination of a total of 68
jobs, or 16 percent of its workforce, by the end of 2002. The
restructuring will also build the company's online job posting business,
for which it will create 34 new positions.
http://www.knightridder.com
_____________________________________________

o Film-On-Demand Provider CinemaNow Closes Second Round

Marina del Rey, Calif. -- CinemaNow, a distributor of independent feature
films-on-demand over the Internet, announced that it has closed its second
round of financing. Microsoft led the investment round, which also
included contributions from previous investors Blockbuster and Kipco.
Marina del Rey-based CinemaNow provides an Internet film-on-demand service
for its library of 800 films from Lions Gate, Trimark Pictures, Avalanche,
Allied Artists, Tai Seng and Salvation. The company is owned by Lions Gate
Entertainment through its recent acquisition of Trimark Pictures. "Rather
than trying to compete for eyeballs like everyone else, we’ve concentrated
on building a platform for connecting all the various hardware and
software pieces it takes to stream a movie and collect the fee," said Curt
Marvis, CEO of CinemaNow. "I think our investors and partners saw that we
were ahead of the competition."
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/001204/01020375_3.html
http://www.cinemanow.com
_____________________________________________

o Gaylord Digital Shuts Down, Lays Off All 85 Employees

Nashville, Tenn. -- Gaylord Entertainment Company (GEC), which operates
the Grand Ole Opry and Acuff-Rose Music Publishing, announced on Tuesday
that it will shut down its Gaylord Digital division, and fire all 85 of
the unit's employees. Gaylord Digital assets included e-commerce site
Musicforce.com and spiritual Internet broadcaster Lightsource.com; GEC
said it is looking for buyers for the sites. The company's exit from the
Internet space resulted from a reported loss of $16.8 million in the first
nine months of 2000. GEC also announced it would cut an additional 31
positions in various divisions at the parent company as part of an ongoing
organizational review.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001205/tn_gaylord.html
http://www.gaylorddigital.com/
http://www.musicforce.com
_____________________________________________

o Microsoft To Acquire Game Developer Digital Anvil

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it will acquire
Digital Anvil, a developer of video games. Under the terms of the pending
acquisition, Microsoft would gain the rights to Austin-based Digital
Anvil's "FreeLancer," as well as a game that is in development for
Microsoft's Xbox gaming console. Following the acquisition, Digital Anvil
will continue operations in Austin, and become part of Microsoft's
in-house game development team. Separately, Digital Anvil announced that
company founder and CEO Chris Roberts will leave the company to pursue
other creative endeavors. Microsoft has recently acquired several
companies, including Bungie Software Products and FASA Interactive
Technologies, to develop game titles for its Xbox, scheduled to be
released in the fall of 2001.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001205/wa_msft_ac.html
http://www.digitalanvil.com
_____________________________________________

o Content Delivery Firm Cidera Raises $75 Million In Mezzanine Round

Laurel, Md. -- Cidera, a provider of satellite-based delivery of broadband
content, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $75 million in its
mezzanine round of venture capital financing. New investor Wheatley
Partners led the investment round; other new investors included Berger
Funds, Grupo Pegaso, meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Munder NetNet Fund,
National Investors Group, Rare Medium Group and Trans Cosmos. Previous
investors contributing to this round included The Carlyle Group, GE
Equity, Institutional Venture Partners, Investor AB, MCI Worldcom Venture
Fund and New Enterprise Associates. The company also announced that it is
withdrawing its proposed $57.5 million initial public offering of stock,
citing unfriendly market conditions. Maryland-based Cidera's technology
improves the delivery of content such as webcasts by bouncing the content
off of satellites before it reaches end users, bypassing congestion on the
Internet.
http://www.cidera.com/about/pressreleases/2000/12_5.shtml
_____________________________________________

o Video Encoding Firm Vweb Raises $10 Million In Third Round

San Jose, Calif. -- Vweb, a developer of video encoding technology for
consumer electronics, home entertainment and broadband communications
markets, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $10 million in its third
round of venture capital financing. Investors in the round included Cross
Pacific Venture Partners, Crosslink Technology Partners, Monet Capital and
Mr. Wu-Fu Chen, former vice president of technology at Cisco Systems. San
Jose-based Vweb develops technology that optimizes and reduces the size of
video files so that they can travel more quickly over networks. The
technology can be used in network routers and switches, video servers,
set-top boxes, personal video recorders, DVD players and digital
camcorders. Vweb said that it will use the funding to manufacture its
MPEG-2 video encoder chip and for ongoing research and development.
http://www.vwebcorp.com
_____________________________________________

o Digital Rights Management Software Developer Elisar Raises $2 Million

Albuquerque, N.M. -- Elisar, a developer of digital rights management
software, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $2 million in its second
round of venture capital financing. Murphee Venture Partners led the
investment round; other investors included Telecommunications Development
Fund. Albuquerque-based Elisar develops software that tracks the usage and
helps prevent the piracy of digital images, e-books and video content. The
company has partnered with NASA and the Earth Data Analysis Center to
develop digital rights management for satellite imagery.
http://www.elisar.com
_____________________________________________

o C-3D Digital Acquires Cable TV Operator VisionComm

Marina del Rey, Calif. -- C-3D Digital, a developer of 3D imagery and
virtual reality entertainment for television and the Internet, announced
on Tuesday that it has acquired VisionComm, a St. Louis-based cable
television operator with subscribers in Texas, California, Michigan and
Missouri. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, although C-3D said
that VisionComm's combined value is estimated to be in excess of $50
million. Marina del Rey-based C-3D operates a television network that
broadcasts stereoscopic 3D programming, as well as 3D.com, a portal for
virtual reality and 3D images on the Internet. The acquisition is part of
C-3D's effort to vertically integrate by producing 3D imagery, cable
programming and distribution. "As C-3D begins to refocus our assets and
implement our new media strategies, VisionComm is the first of several
planned media-related acquisitions and a very important piece to C-3D's
new revenue models," said J. Michael Heil, president and CEO of C-3D
Digital. "Their assets create the foundation to our new cable distribution
plans."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001205/ca_c_3d_di.html
http://www.c3ddigital.com
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: DC Area

DC Area -- Digital Media Wire will host its next networking event on
Wednesday, December 6 in Vienna, Virginia for subscribers and those
interested in the convergence of entertainment, technology and the
Internet. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash
bar.

Exclusive Sponsor:
Telseon

Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2000
Time: 6:30 - 8:30
Location: Clyde's of Tyson's Corner
8332 Leesburg Pike - Vienna, VA

There is no charge for the event, but attendees must register at the link
below.
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/washington.htm
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Alexandria, Va.) Streampipe, a provider of streaming media services,
announced on Tuesday that it is the first company to receive approval to
provide streaming media services to the U.S. government. The government
will use Virginia-based Streampipe to produce Internet video to conduct
training, communicate procedural changes and stay connected with field
offices. The company's approval is based on the government's GSA Federal
Supply Schedule.
http://www.streampipe.com

(New York) Online entertainment site sputnik7.com, customized CD and DVD
retailer imix.com and digital film festival organizer RESFEST announced on
Tuesday a joint effort to offer custom DVD compilations of films from
RESFEST. Users can choose up to 10 of the 22 short films to create a
custom DVD, which will cost $29.95. Users can also customize cover artwork
and a title for the compilation. Several of the films from the current
RESFEST can be viewed at sputnik7.com.
http://www.sputnik7.com
http://www.resfest.com
http://www.imix.com

(Los Angeles) Web development firm Day Corporation announced on Tuesday
that it will partner with Premiere Radio Networks to publish online
versions of content from Premiere's 60 syndicated radio programs. Los
Angeles-based Day said that it will post radio shows online within three
hours of their airing for Premiere talent including Rush Limbaugh, Dr.
Laura Schlessinger, Jim Rome and Rick Dees.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001205/tx_vianet_.html
http://www.day.com
http://www.premrad.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Zeros & Ones, a provider of online entertainment
content, announced on Tuesday that it plans to exchange and market its
services with Los Gatos-based ICTV, which provides a set-top box browser
for interactive television. Under the deal, the two companies will create
a "TV-ready" version of Santa Monica-based Zeros & Ones' online content
for interactive television. Zeros & Ones announced last week that it
licensed one of its animated programs to Sony for that company's upcoming
online entertainment network.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001205/ca_zeros_o.html
http://www.zerosones.com
http://www.ictv.com

(New York) Vindigo, a developer of software for wireless devices,
announced on Tuesday that it will provide movie reviews from Time Out New
York to its users. New York-based Vindigo's software provides
location-specific content to wireless device users, informing them of
places to go and things to do in popular cities.
http://www.vindigo.com
http://www.timeoutny.com

(Dallas) Vianet Technologies, a developer of video encoding technology,
announced on Tuesday that VideosDotCom will use the Vianet video codec in
the video-on-demand service it is currently developing. The technology was
chosen for its quality at playback rates of 500 and 750kbps, according to
Texas-based VideosDotCom.
http://www.vianet.com
http://www.videosdotcom.com
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