archives

o Napster Hires Sen. Hatch's Judiciary Committee Advisor As Strategist
o P2P File-Sharing Firm CenterSpan Receives $10 Million Equity Investment
o Web Entertainment Firm Uproar To Acquire Ad Firm TrafficMarketplace.com
o Multimedia Content Distributor Wavo Delisted From Nasdaq
o Zenith, TeleCruz To Manufacture Set-Top Box-Less Interactive Televisions
o Judge Dismisses Artists' Suit Against MP3.com, Major Labels
> Digital Media Wire Networking Event -- Los Angeles
o Briefly Noted: The Song Corporation - Reciprocal, Showtime 24.7,
OnlineClassics.com - European Space Agency, Two-way Satellite Internet,
NetFilx - Warner Home Video - Columbia-Tristar, Microsoft - TV Cabo
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o Napster Hires Sen. Hatch's Judiciary Committee Advisor As Strategist

Redwood City, Calif. -- Napster announced on Thursday that it has hired
Manus Cooney as vice president for corporate and policy development.
Cooney currently serves as Chief Counsel to the Senate Judiciary
Committee, and is Committee Chairman Senator Orrin Hatch's chief policy
and political advisor. Napster said that Cooney "will be charged with
setting the company's strategic course on legislative policy issues that
affect the company, its users, and artists; he will represent Napster
before Congress and the Administration, and will advise the company on
licensing, strategic alliances, and partnerships both domestically and
abroad." While with the Judiciary Committee, Cooney worked on issues
including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and was responsible for
Sen. Hatch's Internet-related policy work, including the hearings that
asked Napster founder Shawn Fanning to testify before the Committee. He
was also the Committee's chief liaison to the White House on technology
issues. "Manus Cooney joining our team ensures that Napster's more than 44
million users will be well represented in the coming critical policy
debates over how to best grow and share the benefits of new technologies,"
said Napster CEO Hank Barry.
http://www.napster.com/pressroom/pr/001207.html
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o P2P File-Sharing Firm CenterSpan Receives $10 Million Equity Investment

Hillsboro, Ore. -- CenterSpan, a developer of peer-to-peer file-sharing
technology, announced on Thursday that a private investor has agreed to
purchase $10 million worth of the company's stock. Following the
transaction, the investor will have increased their hold to a 25 percent
stake in the company. Oregon-based CenterSpan is developing a peer-to-peer
network for file-sharing of digital content including music and movies.
The company recently bid against Listen.com to acquire the assets of
bankrupt file exchange Scour. "The additional capital will assist us in
funding our intended acquisition of Scour, as well as further enabling our
growth strategy for our new digital distribution channel, code named
C-Star, which we expect to launch in Q1 2001," said Frank G. Hausmann, CEO
of CenterSpan. "We are looking forward to participating in the bidding
process for Scour next week from a position of even greater financial
strength."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001207/or_centers.html
http://www.centerspan.com
_____________________________________________

o Web Entertainment Firm Uproar To Acquire Ad Firm TrafficMarketplace.com

New York -- Uproar, an Internet entertainment company, announced on
Thursday that it will acquire online advertising brokerage
TrafficMarketplace.com for about $5.6 million in stock. New York-based
Uproar operates the game site uproar.com, Internet lottery site iwin.com,
humor and entertainment site amused.com and ibetcha.com, where users
predict the outcome of real-world events for chances to win prizes. Los
Angeles-based TrafficMarketplace.com buys and sells Internet advertising
such as banners, buttons and email lists. The company, which enlists 20
employees, will continue to operate out of Los Angeles. "[This
acquisition] will enable Uproar to lower the cost of customer acquisition,
better leverage our marketing spend, and diversify our business model,"
said Ken Cron, CEO of Uproar.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001207/ny_uproar.html
http://www.uproar.com
http://www.trafficmarketplace.com
_____________________________________________

o Multimedia Content Distributor Wavo Delisted From Nasdaq

Phoenix -- Wavo, a distributor of multimedia content over enhanced
broadcast, satellite and Internet-based delivery systems, confirmed on
Thursday that it was delisted from trading on the Nasdaq national market
at the end of trading on Wednesday. The company no longer meets the
Nasdaq's minimum market capitalization requirement of $50 million, and
will be relegated to trading on the OTC Bulletin Board. Its stock price
was last at $.22. Phoenix-based Wavo, formerly known as Wavephore,
develops software that delivers multimedia content including news, weather
and sports in real-time to web servers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/001207/az_wavo.html
http://www.wavo.com
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o Zenith, TeleCruz To Manufacture Set-Top Box-Less Interactive Televisions

San Jose, Calif. -- TeleCruz Technology, a developer of technology for
interactive television, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with
electronics manufacturer Zenith, to begin selling interactive televisions
in the first half of 2001. The televisions will offer "average television
viewers" built-in interactive features, without necessitating the purchase
of a separate set-top box. San Jose-based TeleCruz's platform fits inside
a television, and allows consumers to email, chat, browse the Internet and
buy online. It also supports interactive capabilities being developed by
advertisers, content creators and broadcasters. Illinois-based Zenith and
TeleCruz will display the interactive television at their respective
booths at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this January.
TeleCruz has raised over $69 million in venture capital from companies
including Gemstar and Institutional Venture Partners.
http://www.telecruz.com
http://www.zenith.com 
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o Judge Dismisses Artists' Suit Against MP3.com, Major Labels

New York -- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by R&B groups --
including The Coasters and the Original Drifters -- against MP3.com and
several major record labels, Webnoize reported on Thursday. The suit
claimed that MP3.com and the labels do not have the right to transmit
their music over the Internet without permission. The judge responded in
his ruling that although the groups' contracts were signed before the
advent of digital music, terms of the contracts allow MP3.com and the
labels to distribute their music "by any method whatsoever."
http://news.webnoize.com/item.rs?ID=11283
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: Los Angeles

DC Area -- Digital Media Wire will host its next networking event on
Wednesday, December 13 in Los Angeles 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. There is no
charge for the event and registration is not necessary.

Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2000
Time: 6:30 - 9:30
Location: The Sunset Trocadero Lounge
8280 Sunset Boulevard - West Hollywood, CA

For additional details: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/dmw_event1.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Toronto) The Song Corporation, a Canadian independent music company,
announced on Thursday that it has partnered with New York-based digital
rights management provider Reciprocal, to offer consumers a chance to
listen to CDs on a computer before they buy the songs on them. The
restricted play "Foreplay" discs, retailed for $3.98, will let consumers
listen to an entire CD four times before asking if they would like to
simply keep the limited music on the CD, or go to a special site or retail
outlet where they may "unlock" the entire album, for an additional
payment.
http://www.songcorp.com
http://www.reciprocal.com

(New York) Showtime Networks announced on Thursday the launch of a 24-hour
interactive television channel. Showtime 24.7 will be available for
Showtime subscribers with a Wink-enabled set-top box, and will offer
supplementary programming and information to viewers, such as program
summaries and behind-the-scenes segments. Viewers will be able to access
the interactive features using a standard remote control.
http://www.showtime.net

(San Francisco) OnlineClassics.com, a website for the performing arts, has
announced that it is in talks with the European Space Agency to provide a
webcast of the Three Tenors Christmas Concert to the astronauts and
cosmonauts currently embarked on a four-month mission in space. San
Francisco-based OnlineClassics.com provides live and on-demand video of
ballet, opera, orchestral performances and other performing arts.
http://www.onlineclassics.com

(San Francisco) Streamingmedia.com is currently featuring an article on
two-way satellite dishes, which can be used as a means of high-speed
Internet connections for those who do not have access to DSL or cable
modem services. The article quotes Hughes Networks Systems and Starband,
two two-way satellite service providers, which estimate that 55 million
U.S. households are unable to have DSL or high-speed cable Internet
installed, mainly due to geographic obstacles. At around $60 a month, the
service may be too costly at present for the more rural customers it is
targeting.
http://www.streamingmedia.com/article.asp?id=6596

(Los Gatos, Calif.) NetFlix, an online DVD rental store, announced on
Thursday that it has signed revenue sharing agreements with Warner Home
Video and Columbia-Tristar. Under the deals, Los Gatos-based NetFlix will
be able to purchase DVDs directly from the studios in larger quantities,
so that they are more readily available to its customers.
http://www.netfilx.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has begun a trial
of its Microsoft TV platform for interactive television with cable
operator TV Cabo in Portugal. The company expects the service to be
deployed commercially in the second quarter of 2001. TV Cabo says it
currently has 880,000 subscribers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/001207/wa_microso.html
http://ptm.com
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