According to a post on NewTeeVee:
Regardless of how many ads were shown, 90 percent of ABC.com viewers continued to say they’d rather get the show for free than pay to get it without ads.
Why aren’t the TV networks releasing copies of their shows to pirate sites complete with the ads built in? While I do love my ad-free TV torrents, I tend to watch on Boxee even with the ads since there is simply no wait. However, I miss being able to download and watch the show on other devices or outside of a wifi hotspot.
I think most people would be perfectly ok with downloading a show with the ads built in. Sure, one could fast-forward past them but most people don’t bother, especially if the ads are short and varied.
Not only would the networks actually get to show advertisers an ever larger pool of eyeballs but they would be putting the pirates right out of business.
Just thinking aloud…
Tags: Arts, bittorent, Boxee, hulu, newteevee, pirat, piratebay, pirates, Programs, Shopping, Television, Television network, United States
Uncategorized | admin | 
January 29, 2009 9:20 pm | 
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I have written a fair amount about what I see as the complete obsolescent concept of a “premium movie channel” like HBO or Showtime but that hasn’t stopped Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate from teaming up to launch EPIX, a premium movie channel that I predict will fail faster than Middle East peace negotiations. According to the NYT:
The channel has engendered its fair share of skepticism in the media world, partly because of questions about consumer demand for another movie channel and because, increasingly, viewers have more options for how to consume video. Cable executives say privately that they have little interest in carrying the channel, which could partly be a negotiating ploy. But it does not appear that they are remotely close to a deal with any of the major cable companies.
I honestly can’t understand the thinking behind this move. Instead of focusing on how to bring their films to the widest possible audience in the broadest number of formats at the lowest price, these studios are trying to get consumers to pony up more cash for a basically broken system that forces them to watch films on the studio’s terms instead of their own.
Can you say “Epix FAIL”?
Someday we will look back on the actions of RIAA and the rest of the music industry and laugh, or maybe cry. For now, however, we will have to continue hearing stories like this:
The woman, Mavis Roy of Hudson, has called on legal clinics at the state’s only law school to represent her as she fights the charges in federal court this year.
The lawsuit brought by UMG Recordings, Interscope Records, Motown Record Co., and BMG Music alleges that Roy violated copyright infringement laws by downloading and distributing 218 audio files on April 24, 2007.
Roy’s defense team questions how that could be when she did not have a computer in her house at the time in question.
Why RIAA is allowed to behave in this manner is confounding. Nearly every suit they bring reeks of intimidation and weak evidence. Not only that, but going after grown women for allegedly downloads a few songs from a pirated source is simply not going to help save an industry that is built on a collection of obsolete business models.
(via)
In a rare sign of government siding with users instead of big media, the UK has indicated that it will not be policing ISPs and their users in what has been called a “three-strikes-and-your-out” policy:
There had been mounting speculation about government legislation on the issue as the music industry steps up its fight against the pirates. Other countries, such as France, have supported tough action on file-sharers, who the industry claims cost them dear. But Mr Lammy said legislation would be too complex. “We can’t have a system where we’re talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms,” he told The Times newspaper.
One hopes that other countries take notice and think long and hard before taking on “pirates” in an attempt to save a misguided and floundering music industry.
(via)
Tilzy.TV has a very good post on two conceptually similar webseries each of which focuses on an erotica/pornography photographer primarily as an excuse to show a whole lot of naked women and girls.
IFC.com is presenting The Stagg Party, a sort-of reality show format following the life and work of professional photographer Ellen Stagg. Meanwhile, VBS.TV is going with Shot By Kern in which we watch Richard Kern take pictures of young porn stars like Sasha Grey intercut with harmless interviews with the girls.
Now, I am not saying there is anything wrong with this but as Tilzy points out, it’s too bad the filmmakers didn’t explore some deeper issues and themes. Instead, we get a lot of the same stuff we’ve heard before about the intersection of art and porn. If this was your only glimpse into the world of pornography you’d think everyone involved was just as well-adjusted and happy and emotionally sound as one could possibly be.
Sure, it’s trendy right now to view much of porn as some sort of later-day post-feminist political movement but the truth is most of it is just people having sex on camera so other people can masturbate. Again, not saying there is anything wrong with that but coming from sources like IFC and VBS it would have been nice to see a some actual meat on the bone.
Here’s an episode of SHOT BY KERN (NSFW):
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.776142&w=425&h=350&fv=videoId%3D1279703123%26playerId%3D452319916%26viewerSecureGatewayURL%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fservices.brightcove.com%2Fservices%2Famfgateway%26servicesURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fservices.brightcove.com%2Fservices%26cdnURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fadmin.brightcove.com%26domain%3Dembed%26autoStart%3Dfalse%26]
This sort of thing just tickles me: A video was posted to YouTube containing a (pretty obviously fake) news report showing a failed assassination attempt on a Russian scientist. While obviously an attempt at a “viral” video, it was not immediately clear who was behind the scenes.
Well, if they were hoping to remain hidden they’ve failed. What I love is how one dogged blogger found them:
I attempted to discover who is hosting the site, but all I was able to uncover was that it is hosted by mediatemple (great hosting service, but this tells me nothing). I then did several searches for content from the site: MIR 12, Nikolai Demichev, etc and was once again unable to turn up anything.
I moved on to MIR 12’s twitter account, and finally got somewhere. The first twitter followers were all from LA. After a few minutes looking at their profiles, and doing a few linkedin, and facebook searches, I realized that the followers were comprised of employees of the LA office of ad agency DDB, and viral video seeding company Feed Co. A quick look at DDB’s site reveals Activision as a client – the most likely client to approve this type of work. Also, Feed Co has collaborated with Activision in the past, and worked on the recent Bike Hero viral, which I covered in an earlier post.
It all lead very cleanly right back to Activision, who is hoping this viral campaign will build buzz for their upcoming game. The question is whether or not knowing who is behind the video matters in terms of marketing potential.
Oh, here’s the video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FGsvOzB1Hk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
Much has been made about the YouTube deal with Seth “Family Guy” McFarlane in which Seth creates VERY short, occassionally funny animated pieces and they are combined with a McFarlane-esque pre-roll ad (this time from Priceline) and distributed via Googles video ad network.
This seems to be working pretty well for them in terms of overall views but I find the presentation to be, well, a total ripoff.
As an example, check out this episode:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xI0OobsRh8&border=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
If you were paying attention you might have noticed that the pre-roll ad was about 20 seconds and the actual cartoon was also about 20 seconds. That’s a pretty crappy ratio of sales to original content. It doesn’t help that the original content is just kinda funny, if that.
I can’t imagine this is a format that will work for most online webseries. While people do whatever they can to avoid ads on TV they are not going to put up with having to sit through an ad that is as long as the program they wanted to see in the first place online.
As YouTube has expanded it’s offering to video posters, some video posters are getting pretty damn creative AND smart.
A new (probably short-lived) YouTube sensation is a clever re-imagining of StreetFighter using the “annotations” feature to turn it into a sort of “choose-your-own-adventure” and as NewTeeVee says, it’s paying off big-time.
Uploaded last week, YouTube Street Fighter videos have already garnered well over 5 million views, and counting. That’s not just due to gamer nostalgia over the coin arcade classic, or because it’s currently featured on YouTube’s home page. A lot of the views are generated by the way the videos were made.
Aside from being clever, the way in which the videos are linked creates an incredible number of views. This is great for YouTube and the video producer who are collecting a pretty outrageous CPM:
After the first week it went online, Boivin told me by email, the videos had earned him $5,000 in YouTube advertising revenue.
Unfortunately, it is a total ripoff for the advertiser as viewers spend 10-30 seconds on each page and there is barely time for an ad to pop up, let alone be seen and absorbed. So, while I totally applaud the creativity and the cashification I wonder how advertisers will be responding…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ1XrllZmA&hl=en&fs=1]
I’m not totally sure what to make of ‘Katana,’ the latest webseries pilot from the folks at Strike.TV.
It is a completely earnest attempt at making a ninja-revenge action film reminiscent of those from the ’70’s complete with well-choreographed fight sequences from clearly professional stunt fighters. As TubeFilter told me:
The hard hitting show stars John Koyama and Yuji Okumoto (also the writer-producer) alongside stunt superstars Al Goto, Sam Looc, and Don Tai. If you haven’t recognized any of those names, check out those IMDB listings, because you’ve definitely seen their movies.
‘Katana’ is part of a new wave of low-budget professionally produced fare finding its way to the web, much of it in the form of tried-and-true film genres like sci-fi and horror. The big question will be whether or not enough fans of these very specific genres will a) find these programs considering the overall lack of marketing budgets and b) if they do, will they really be interested in watching what boils down to cheaper versions of what they get plenty of on both TV and the big screen.
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.775422&w=425&h=350&fv=]
Every year the MPAA claims to be doing everything in its power to stop pirates from destroying the film industry. Of course, what they really mean is that they are wasting millions of dollars and work-hours.
Not only does there seem to be little proof that pirated downloads are actually hurting the film industry’s bottomline but the efforts of the MPAA are doing nothing to stop it:
Waxy.org’s Andy Baio has once again published an extensive collection of data about this year’s Oscar nominations and their availability on P2P networks. He’s been doing this for the last seven years, during which the overall picture has remained pretty much the same; almost all Oscar nominated movies are available on file-sharing networks before the annual awards ceremony. In fact of the 26 movies that were nominated this year, 23 are already available in DVD quality on P2P networks. (via NewTeeVee)
While this same article points out that it is taking longer for pirates to get copies to the internet, by a matter of days from year-to-year, it makes it very clear that the major studios are going to have to figure out a new approach to fighting the pirates other than chasing them around the net with “cease and desist” orders and dragging fans into court.
Maybe they should, um, take a few lessons from the pirates and begin releasing usable digital copies themselves without endless forms of DRM that cripple the end-users ability to do what they want with the movie.
Just a thought.
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