Gannett, Tribune and McClatchy To Jointly Sell Online Ads Across Properties – The nation’s three largest newspaper publishers are gearing up to sell advertising jointly on their newspapers’ Web sites, believing their survival depends on seizing new online revenue. Gannett Co., McClatchy Co. and Tribune Co. are planning to offer advertisers one-stop shopping for display ads on Internet sites. The goal is to attract big advertisers such as car makers and phone companies that want to reach a nationwide online audience but don’t want the hassle of negotiating ad deals with each company or newspaper.
Media M&A In 2007: Pace to Increase – So says an 8-page PDF report by media investment bank DeSilva & Phillips…the report says that 2006 has turned out to be “not merely strong, but also a year of extraordinary deal-making in both quality and quantity. A dollar volume of $20.5 billion in media transactions makes 2006 the strongest year since 2000, and close in volume even to that year’s total.” And why would 20007 continue this? “The outlook for M&A in 2007 is as good as we’ve ever seen.
Glam.com, Meez Partner For Social Net Avatars – Fashion portal Glam.com has partnered with consumer avatar service Meez.com to power customizable user avatars that can be posted on online profiles, blogs, e-mails, IM accounts, and mobile phones. The avatars can be obtained through Glam’s social networking platform, GlamSpace.
CBS To Air User-Created Video On Superbowl Sunday – CBS Interactive and Youtube are teaming for a campaign that draws on consumer-created content. For the campaign, CBS is asking viewers to post 15-second inspirational messages on YouTube. CBS plans to select at least one video each quarter for broadcast, with the first airing during the day on Feb. 4, Super Bowl Sunday.
Dell Taps BazaarVoice For Consumer Reviews – Computer giant Dell has tapped consumer review technology firm Bazaarvoice to power consumer reviews on its site. The reviews will be hosted on Dell.com, and will cover both Dell products as well as non-Dell peripherals sold on-site.
2007 Is Year Of Localization – 2007 will be the year of localization for the media business. What exactly does that mean? The closer integration of local products and services into our everyday media consumption. For instance, how useful would it be if your default home page brought daily news and weather and interfaced with your social-networking profile, individual electronic payment services, daily schedule, budgeting, shopping suggestions, email list?
Video Is Future King Of Media – With hundreds of millions of people watching Google’s YouTube and other online video sites, will today’s big-budget Hollywood production become a thing of the past? Big-budget productions will become “a crapshoot” at best, that could either become a hit or a big waste of money. The result is that big media companies will gamble less on blockbusters and distribute more amateur and low-budget content, while taking on a long-tail-oriented revenue stream.
The Demise of Digital Rights Management – Despite Apple’s announcement today that it’s sold 2 billion songs on iTunes, Digital Rights Management is on the decline. Consumers, in fact, are so frustrated with the restrictive software they’ve sued companies like Apple and Universal Music Group from using DRM on their music, citing antitrust law.
Presidential Candidates Launch Blog Campaigns – The next U.S. presidential election is 22 months in the future, but at least two hopefuls have already started online campaigns. Former Senator John Edwards and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney have both recently started running ads on political blogs.
Execs Bullish On Meredith Buyout Of Digital Shops – Meredith Corp.’s acquisition of two digital shops likely heralds a wave of similar deals, some industry insiders predicted Wednesday. “There’s no question we’ll be seeing a lot more M&A activity focused on interactive agencies,” said David Clark, a managing director with investment banking firm Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc
Online Media M&A Volume Up 55% – The number of mergers and acquisitions involving online media companies last year shot to 181 from 117 in 2005, but fewer blockbusters meant a total dollar value 26.3% less than the prior year at $8.9 billion, according to data compiled by The Jordan Edmiston Group
Web Retailers Plan To Upgrade Visuals – Most e-commerce sites intend to boost rich media efforts this year, with a particular focus on high-quality visuals. That’s among the main findings of a report released Wednesday by Internet technology firm Scene7.
BBC Can Spend $680 Million On M&A, Including Social Networking, But Will It? – That money would have bought them MySpace two years ago…BBC can spend up to $680 million on social networking projects including local and international M&A in the sector, Guardian reports. Though that is very sensationalist: the amount is the money BBC Worldwide, its commercial arm, has at its disposal for expansion, into just about anything it desires, including social networking. The idea is to develop social networks around its main branded shows, like Top Gear and BBC Good Food. Also, BBC’s magazines show there is an appetite for internet communities based around the corporation’s top shows, BBC says.
After eCrush, Hearst Revs Up Digital Moves – Hearst Magazines may have been too cautious in the past when it came to building up its website properties (for instance, the not-so successful strategy with iVillage), but the company is hastily playing catch-up, said the division’s president, Cathleen Black at a breakfast conference in NYC. Hearst is pursuing five goals for the digital arena, AdAge reports. As we reported, Hearst just made one of its bigger digital plays with the acquisition of eCrush.com, an entertainment and community network for teens and young adults.
comScore Networks Reports Total Non-Travel E-Commerce Spending Reaches $102 Billion in 2006; up 24 Percent Versus 2005 – comScore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, today released a report on consumer online non-travel (retail) spending at U.S. sites during 2006, including the holiday season (November 1, 2006 – December 31, 2006). For the full year 2006, online retail spending reached $102.1 billion, marking a 24-percent increase versus 2005. Online holiday e-commerce accounted for $24.6 billion, up 26 percent versus last year.
Harper Collins Invests in NewsStand; To Launch Digital Books Services – Harper Collins (part of News Corp), which has recently made the right noises about digitizing and selling its books catalog online, has invested in the Austin-based electronic editions company NewsStand. As part of the deal, Harper will work with LibreDigital, a division of NewsStand, to “create, market and operate digital services for the publishing industry.”
