Fox/NBCU Add 'Fuel' to New Web Venture

Mike Shields

MAY 30, 2007 -

News Corporation and NBC Universal continue to expand the programming
roster for their upcoming joint Web video venture. The companies
announced five new content partners on Wednesday, including the
auto-enthusiast-aimed Fuel TV and Speed, as well as Oxygen, Sundance
Channel and TV Guide Broadband.

Each new partner will distribute a selection of short- and long-form
video content both on the soon-to-launch video hub, which is meant to
serve as the networks' answer to YouTube. In addition, these networks'
clips will be syndicated across the joint venture's network of
affiliate sites, which will include AOL, MSN, Yahoo, MySpace and CNET.

Among the shows that will be made available to millions of Web users
are Oxygen's The Bad Girls Club, Sundance's The Green and Big Ideas
for a Small Planet and TV Guide Network's America's Next Producer,
along with its various interview shows from major Hollywood awards
presentations.

Previously, News Corp. and NBC Universal had written similar content
deals with AOL, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo, CNET and Comcast's cable
networks: E!, Style, G4, Versus and the Golf Channel.

Charter advertisers that have committed to the service include Cadbury
Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel and General Motors.

In addition to its third-party content providers, News Corp. and NBC
Uni will seed the new site with programming from their own broadcast
and cable networks, including popular prime-time fare like Fox's 24
and NBC's The Office.

The two networks said that the new stand-alone video site, along with
the corresponding network, will go live sometime in late summer. The
new venture will have offices in New York and Los Angeles. A name and
a permanent management team is expected to be unveiled shortly.

--additional reporting by Anthony Crupi

Two Companies Patent Ad Technology for Online Video

Two Companies Patent Ad Technology for Online Video

Content type plays stronger
role in ad technology

Get Interactive and Adjustables have just patented separate
technologies in getting ads embedded into online video, reports
MediaPost.

Get Interactive has created a button that parks alongside a video and
takes users to specific scenes, where "Get Shop" icons provide more
info on specific products.

In testing, 70 percent of users rolled over for more info and 12
percent clicked-through to the product's retail site. The company is
talking with mobile providers, which would allow users to buy items on
mobile video and have charges sent to their mobile bill.

Meanwhile San Franscico-based Adjustables developed a technology that
shows logos, banners, picture-in-picture, or text, based on a user's
specific interests or what media they're using to access content.

Google Seeks Volunteers for Ad Collabo Tool

Google recently launched its Ad Creation Marketplace, a place that
connects advertisers with video creators, reports Search Engine
Journal.

The marketplace is accessible through the AdWords interface.
Advertisers can set a budget and list services needed, then find
third-party vendors who can create the ad. Google is seeking
volunteers to test the system.

The Ad Creation Marketplace is meant to remove barriers to entry for
companies who want to video ads but lack the resources to do it
themselves.

Joost Boost Worth $45 Million

Joost Boost Worth $45 Million
by Gavin O'Malley, Friday, May 11, 2007 6:00 AM ET
WEB TV STARTUP JOOST HAS received another vote of confidence in the
form of $45 million in investment from five prominent media and
venture capital companies.

They include CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc., Silicon Valley venture capital
firm Sequoia Capital, Europe's Index Ventures and the Li Ka Shing
Foundation, founded by the chairman of Asian conglomerate Hutchison
Whampoa Ltd.

Joost's new investors are not saying how large their stakes are, or
how much they paid for them.

Joost, founded by the same entrepreneurs--Niklas Zennstrom and Janus
Friis--who brought the world Skype and Kazaa, last week announced a
lineup of 32 major brand advertisers to support its content.

Aided by a year-long partnership with Interpublic Group's Emerging
Media Lab, brand advertisers include Microsoft, Intel, Motorola, and
Sony Electronics. Separate deals have been made with Hewlett-Packard,
Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Nike.

Unlike video-sharing sites like YouTube, which are dominated by short
clips, Joost's mission is to popularize long-form, high-quality,
ad-supported content.

The startup has clearly convinced major media companies that it will
deliver on these promises.

"We've carefully selected these investors from a variety of interested
parties," said Friis. They "bring unique assets to Joost that will
enable us to significantly accelerate growth and development of the
Company."

Joost "allows content owners to reach audiences of any size at any
time," said Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia.

The company made headlines recently when it signed Viacom as a content
partner, shortly after the media titan filed suit against Google for
alleged copyright infringement by YouTube.

Since then, Joost has signed a number of additional content partners,
including Warner Music, National Geographic, Turner Broadcasting, The
Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and CNN--along with programming from
Hasbro, the NHL, Sports Illustrated and Sony Pictures Television.

Vmix/DirecTV Partner to Put Web Videos on TV

Video site Vmix has signed a deal with DirecTV that will enable them
to put selected web videos on TV, reports Red Herring.

Users can submit videos to a section of the Vmix website, where they
will be considered for use on DirecTV's show The Fizz. This is an
effort by DirecTV to move beyond the established user-submission
community. It's also an opportunity for Vmix to position itself as a
powerful distribution outlet in the media world.

DirecTV currently pays select creators up to $200 for submissions but
it is not clear whether Vmix content creators will be eligible for the
same compensation.