WB's 'Jack' sparks 700K
downloads on AOL
The WB’s “Jack & Bobby” was a big hit with
AOL’s broadband users. A sneak preview of the debut episode was viewed
more than 700,000 times over the course of the eight days it was available
online. AOL for Broadband subscribers were able to view the
commercial-free “Jack & Bobby” from Aug. 31 through Sept. 7. The
700,000 streams for the show definitely beat out the 150,000 streams AOL
for Broadband received with a repeat showing of The WB drama
“Everwood” last season. The broadband access to “Jack & Bobby”
is part of a larger effort by The WB to promote what it believes is the
most important show of the new season. The network even went so far to
place a DVD of the debut episode into 500,000 copies of last week’s
issue of Entertainment Weekly. The WB is planning future forays into
broadband previews.
Yahoo feels the beat with MusicMatch buy
Yahoo said yesterday it would
acquire music software company Musicmatch for $160 million in cash. This
move bolsters Yahoo’s offerings as online providers prepare to go to war
in the download market. San Diego-based Musicmatch provides “jukebox”
software that allows users to buy and download tunes from its online store
and manage digital music on a personal computer, as well as listen to
internet radio stations. Now, Yahoo will use Musicmatch to enhance its own
Launch music service, which provides popular music information, internet
radio and video programming, and generates revenue through advertising.
The partnership will take advantage of the more than 700,000 songs
available through Musicmatch and almost doubles Yahoo’s listening
audience.
Europeans swoon over digital TV shopping
Forget about the web, TV shopping is the next big European
craze. The purchasing method is projected to nearly double to 8.8 billion
euros ($10.8 billion) by 2008, as more households become digital TV
subscribers, according to a study released today. UK television viewers
are the most likely to buy merchandise from shopping channels, arrange
travel services and spend money gambling over the tube. German and French
viewers took second and third place, respectively, said media researchers
Screen Digest and Goldmedia. Last year, European “T-commerce” sales
were 4.5 billion euros ($5.51 billion), most of which came from 24-hour
shopping channels. By comparison, the two largest U.S. shopping channels,
QVC and HSN, reported approximately $6.9 billion in revenues last year.
Interactive capabilities often fuel spending on goods offered for sale on
European TV, although such services are not commonly available from U.S.
pay-TV providers.
Former
ad man puts his message on web
Juvenile humor attracts all manner of audiences, and Marvin
Waldman wants to put it to good use. The former executive creative
director at Young & Rubicam in New York, who left in 1999 to
concentrate on social-marketing projects, has created a bumper sticker and
web site coining a phrase he believes can bring Democrats and Republicans
together: “Cheney is a Dick.” Cheney is a Dick, as in his name, Dick
Cheney. And then there’s the other side to this double-meaning. On the
site, cheneyisadick.com, Waldman writes that the slogan is an irrefutable
message that both sides can agree on. The catchphrase has its roots in
politics when Waldman began chanting it at a pro-choice rally in
Washington. It caught on, and now you can buy bumper stickers to keep the
phrase alive. All proceeds from sticker sales go to public education.
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