Google TV Ads launches, but will advertisers buy it?
After nearly a year of testing via invitation only, the much-talked-about electronic marketplace Google TV Ads is now available to all U.S. advertisers. Google has promoted the new digital system by claiming it makes buying TV time easier because advertisers can kick off a national TV ad campaign from their AdWords account. Google will also spend up to $2,000 to cover the cost of creating a TV ad through its Ad Creation Marketplace as part of the TV Ads launch. TV Ads can also offer advertisers recommendations on how best to reach their target audience. The advertising community has had a mixed reaction to the proposal of digital systems, saying they have merit but don’t provide many of the cross platform or networking opportunities of negotiating buys in person.
AT&T ringing up 10 new higher-quality TV channels
Come Sunday, you may see more people in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago catching their favorite TV show on their cell phone. In a move that was expected last year, AT&T Mobile TV is finally going head-to-head with rival Verizon Wireless’ V Cast Mobile TV by adding Qualcomm’s MediaFLO service, which provides high-quality streaming shows. AT&T’s new video service will offer 10 channels – two exclusive -- on two phones for $15 per month. Both mobile phone companies will offer CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go and Nickelodeon, while AT&T will also have CNN Mobile Live and PIX, a channel that screens Sony Pictures movies. Verizon uses Qualcomm for its mobile TV service as well. The new service will be a step up for AT&T cell phone customers in 58 markets who could only get short on-demand video clips through its mobile video service CV.
iTunes will get movies the same day as DVD release
If you missed the Academy Award-winning “There Will Be Blood,” you can now download it from iTunes to your computer or your iPod instead of making the trip to Blockbuster. Working with Hollywood studios, Apple will now make many movies available on iTunes as soon as the films go to DVD. The move puts the company in more direct competition with movie rental giant Blockbuster and online movie firm CinemaNow. The price tag for downloading new releases is $14.99, though iTunes users can also rent new releases for $3.99. Studios involved in the deal with Apple include Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Movies purchased from iTunes can also be watched on TVs hooked up to Apple TV devices as well as iPhones.
Lawyer: Uma's accused cyberstalker 'just romantic'
Life can be stranger than “Pulp Fiction,” according to actress Uma Thurman. The star of such violent movies as “Kill Bill” and “Pulp” is claiming to be the victim of an odd cyberstalker. Yesterday she testified in the New York trial of the man accused of stalking her online by sending threatening emails to her parents. Thurman also said 37-year-old Jack Jordan, who has pleaded not guilty to stalking and harassment charges, showed up on a movie set where she was working in November 2005 and tried to get into her trailer. He also had her parents’ home number and apparently went to her home in Greenwich Village. Jordan, who has a history of mental illness, allegedly left a note for Thurman saying "my hands should be on your body at all times.” Jordan’s lawyer said his client was not dangerous, just romantic.