As Hulu continues its spectacular rise (it is the No. 3 video site in the U.S. and is closing in on No. 2), it just got major buy-in from yet another major media company. Disney is now an investor, joining News Corp and NBC (along with private equity firm Providence Equity Partners). Each of the three media companies now reportedly own 27 percent of Hulu.
As the initial exclusivity for NBC and Fox content expires, Hulu will be adding Disney/ABC videos and TV shows to its distribution mix as well. Hulu is becoming the preferred distribution channel for the big media companies. And it is succeeding in attracting the fickle Web audience. This should worry YouTube, which is still casting about for a business model that will pay for its enormous storage and bandwidth costs. The media companies cannot ignore YouTube just yet, but by strengthening Hulu they can give it their best content first. → Read More
Just last month, we wrote that Hulu had gained some 10 million viewers to become the fourth largest video portal on the web. Now, it’s slain another rival to the list: Yahoo, to move into #3 — at least in terms of videos viewed.
To be clear, the new March U.S. numbers released by comScore show that Hulu is still slightly behind Yahoo’s video properties when it comes to unique viewers. But the NBC and Fox-backed Hulu should pass it any day now in that category as well. Meanwhile, the number two player, Fox Interactive Media (which runs MySpace), is slipping just as quickly as Hulu is rising in videos viewed. It could well be as soon as this month when Hulu moves into the number two web video position. → Read More
Disney Online, the online publishing business unit of Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG), announced this morning that it has acquired a number of assets from Toronto, Canada-based firm Kaboose, in a deal worth CAD 23.3 million (approximately $18.4M). The acquisition encompasses Kaboose.com and other properties including Babyzone.com, AmazingMoms.com, Funschool.com and Zeeks.com.
The assets of Kaboose, which was founded about 10 years ago, will be integrated into Disney Online’s line-up of websites. This network boasts, according to the press release citing comScore Media Metrix figures for February 2009, more than 27.6 million unique visitors per month, making it the No. 1 Community-Family & Parenting Web destination. → Read More
Mr. Steve Jobs himself actually appeared in the public eye today – behind closed doors though. Previously he was on a medical leave of absence due to some ‘hormone imbalance,’ but that didn’t stop him from attending a Disney board meeting where he was re-elected to the board. So far no pictures or descriptions have emerged which leaves many Mac fanboys wondering how their almighty leader is filling out his black turtleneck these days. It’s important cause their other hero lost all respect last night on Dancing with the Stars. → Read More
Blu-ray movies are selling but the format’s backers want more sales and Disney has a plan which may increase the sales. Here it is: Offer Blu-ray movies two full days before the standard DVD. Crazy, I know, but it might sway some buyers to purchasing the more pricey HD format instead of waiting two full days for the normal, less expensive DVD. → Read More
Kerpoof, a web-based creative design suite for children that launched at 2007′s TechCrunch 40, has been acquired by Disney. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kerpoof’s online portal at Kerpoof.com will continue to operate as its technology is deployed on Disney’s homepage.
Kerpoof is a good fit for Disney: the company’s technology is primarily image-based with little instruction needed so it’s ideal for kids, and it has become increasingly popular in classrooms worldwide. Creating a picture generally consists of dragging and dropping images from the site’s large collection of clip art, but users can also draw their own doodles and insert speech bubbles. The editor also includes a number of ‘smart’ features – for example, as users move their images through the pseudo-3D landscapes, the editor will automatically resize them to fit perspective. Kerpoof has a half-dozen different editing modes, including movies, E-cards, pictures, and story books, each of which takes advantage of the same accessible interface. → Read More
Video games haven’t really been on my radar the last two months, so I may have missed this one along the way. The makers of Pure appear to have another racing game waiting in the wings, but we’ll have to wait until March 11th to find out unless someone in the audience can enlighten me. → Read More
Japan released a number of super-cute gadgets and electronic devices in the last days. Here are the top five. → Read More
Another reason to go with a TiVo instead of a generic DVR: downloadable Disney and indie movies on demand. The deals were actually announced earlier in the year, but starting today you’ll be able to download and rent movies from Jaman.com. They specialize in indie movies that people pretend to enjoy in order to come across as erudite and refined. Rentals there start at $1.99 per 24-hour viewing window. Beginning next week you’ll also be able to download Disney movies (via CinemaNow), with prices there starting at $2.99. Keep in mind that we’re only talking about standard definition here and that you’ll need a Series 2 or Series 3/HD TiVo to participate. via Zatz Not Funny → Read More
I’m not sure who this wild man-child is, but his love of phallic humor is definitely worth about 2 minutes of your time. This is a one-trick joke – it’s just Pluto pleasuring himself and then Mickey screwing a car – but feel free to watch all the way through. I just worry about Mike Mozart here: Where does he keep all his toys? And why is he so happy? And why does he see sex in toys aimed at pre-schoolers? → Read More
Nobody takes the fun out of life more than lawyers and Disney’s 57-page EULA on its Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray release. The agreement must be accepted before disc access is allowed and then there is another 63-page Privacy Policy agreement screen before access to BD Live material can be accessed. The whole ordeal is a tad annoying. It’s understandable that Disney wants to protect its assets, but this is a little much. → Read More
Disney embarked on a cellular phone business in the US as early as June 2006 but pulled the plug at the end of last year, citing delays in the spread of 3G networks as the major reason. In March this year, Disney carried out another attempt, but this time in Japan, where the brand has been super-popular for decades now. Disney Japan teamed up with local telecom conglomerate SoftBank to become the country’s first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) offering both voice and data services. In Japan, Disney strategically about-faced by pursuing an OEM-like strategy: They leave back-end operations (distribution, price planning, sales, billing, etc.) to their partner and focus on bringing content, design know-how and brand value into the partnership. Japanese customers can sign up for Disney Mobile at over 2,000 SoftBank stores and buy jointly designed handsets featuring various Disney characters. Subscribers are able to download Disney cartoons, games or ringtones, jump to exclusive Disney web sites by pressing a dedicated button on their phones and use @disney.ne.jp as their mobile mail address. Another accommodation to local peculiarities: The main target customers in Japan aren’t kids but women in their 20s and 30s. So far, the change in strategy seems to have worked out well. For example, Disney Mobile just recently reached agreements with mobile giants Mobage-town and Mixi Mobile (the cell phone version of Japan’s biggest social network), which now feature Disney characters on their sites. → Read More
The fact that Wall-E has raked in $184 million when it’s leading characters can only speak each other’s names is downright astounding. Don’t get me wrong, though. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I’m contemplating dropping the $249 necessary to own my very own remote-controlled Wall-E robot that does a gaggle of really cool things. He follows you around or roams freely and he has 1,000 action sequence combos to choose from. He’s even got audio, motion and obstacle sensors with three in the front and one in the back. You can even plug in your MP3 player with the cable that’s provided. The little trash compacting robot does a whole lot more. → Read More
Which Companies Do You Trust Or Admire The Most? ( surveys) Who do you trust more, Google or Toyota? The answer might depend on where you live. In its annual corporate reputation survey of 60,000 people worldwide, the Reputation Institute finds that Google scores highest in the U.S., but is No. 2 worldwide after Toyota. On the global list, Ikea is No. 3, Johnson & Johnson is No. 5, and Walt Disney is No. 12. Apple doesn’t even make it into the top 25 (see below). Using the same data, Forbes breaks out the top 75 companies in the U.S. In the U.S. alone, Apple is No. 17, HP is No. 18, Intel is No. 19, Dell is No. 25, IBM is No. 35 and Microsoft comes in at No. 43. Bringing up the rear is Motorola at No. 50, Cisco at No. 55, CBS at No. 62, and American Express at No. 75. (See partial list below). These rankings are based on an opinion poll, but they just don’t seem right to me. How can Dell be No. 25, with all of its customer service issues last year? And why is American Express, which regularly ranks as one of the most admired companies in the world and one of the top brands, dead last? It is instructive to compare some of these rankings to the top 100 brands, as measured by an estimate of brand value. (See below). Google, again is No.1. Microsoft is No. 3, IBM is No. 6, Apple is No. 7, Toyota is No. 12, HP is No. 16, American Express is No. 20, Intel is No. 27, and Dell is No. 41. About the only company the two rankings agree on is HP. These brand rankings feel like a better measure of reputation to me than the Reputation Institute’s survey. What do you think? Take our own poll. Vote for the companies you trust or admire the most. Multiple answers are allowed. Editor’s note: I put in BMW twice by mistake in our poll, so please only vote once for BMW if you vote for it at all. I’m keeping the existing poll up rather than put up a new one and throwing away the votes that have already been cast. → Read More
Disney CEO Bob Iger told the audience at the Digital Hollywood Media Summit today that that Disney has sold 4 million movies and 40 to 50 million videos through iTunes since signing up in 2006. Peter Kafka at Silicon Alley Insider estimates that this equates to $122.8 million for Disney from Apple, then writes: In other words, a little less than 10% of the $1 billion digital revenue goal Iger has laid out for his company this year — and a rounding error for a company that generated $35 billion in sales last year…The upside for Disney is that this is all incremental revenue, with zero marketing costs. So they’d rather have it than not. But another reminder that digital sales aren’t going to do much for Disney or any other the other large media congolomerates’ top and bottom lines for quite some time. Fair call in that it’s a drop in the Disney sales ocean, but in talking down the figure it ignores the alternative, which is no revenue and increased piracy in a marketplace that is switching to digital content in large numbers. 40-50 million videos and 4 million movies sold in a marketplace that is conditioned to free/ piracy after 2 years is positive for Disney and the industry going forward, because that’s 50 million times some hasn’t downloaded the video or movie for free. The movie market itself has been stifled by DRM and poor quality video, but Apple’s move into HD and rentals should drive further growth in the legitimate download marketplace, such that these figures could easily double or even triple over the next 12 months. Huge revenue figures no: but growth at a time where DVD sales are now declining and Bluray has yet to fully establish itself in the broader market. It should also be noted that Disney’s biggest shareholder is Steve Jobs; if they were making $1 in profit from iTunes they’d still likely be using the service. → Read More
Sometimes you’ve got to wonder what goes through the minds of TV executives. Today, the Disney-ABC Television Group decided to launch its Web video studio, Stage 9 Digital Media, with the debut of “Squeegees” on both YouTube and ABC.com. Lame doesn’t begin to describe this three-and-half-minute comedy about the hijinks of a window-washing crew. The acting is horrible and the jokes fall flat—drunk, naked window washer (don’t ask) scares kids in a day care class as he dangles outside their window. It is something that ABC, one hopes, would never put on television. So why subject Web audiences to something like this? In another clueless move, ABC has turned off the embedding feature in the YouTube player. I guess it doesn’t want people spreading the show around. I wouldn’t be so harsh on ABC, except that in the press release announcing the launch of Stage 9 and “Squeegees” there is this quote from Barry Jossen, the “Acadamy Award-winning short-form producer” who is now the general manager of Stage 9: While the new media space is loaded with UGC, we feel the audience is missing the quality experience found in other forms of exhibition, and we are answering their need. This creative frontier gives us the opportunity to develop new franchises, discover and develop talent and, most importantly, expand the standard of excellence set by our parent company in creating superior episodic programming with great stories and production values. Superior episodic programming? Please. ABC/Stage 9 has 20 more Web shows in the works, and maybe it will get it right with one of them. But with “Squeegees” it is not putting its best foot forward, and it is certainly not expanding the “standard of excellence.” I’ll take original Web shows like Rocketboom, WallStrip, or Pop17 any day over something half-produced. What ABC fails to understand is that when it comes to Web video, authenticity trumps production values. There is nothing wrong with going the “quality experience” route, but you can’t go half way. Because it is ABC, people will expect more from any show associated with Stage 9 than from someone filming in their house. If it is going to try to teach the Web how video is really made, then it should have picked a different opening act. → Read More
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