Two of Hulu’s biggest draws are leaving the Web site and retreating back to Viacom’s Comedy Central. That won’t have much practical effect in the near-term. But it underscores Hulu’s long-term challenges
Amazon’s MP3 store hasn’t done much to weaken Apple’s grip on the digital music business. But that doesn’t mean Apple isn’t paying attention. Translation: Good luck buying big new albums at a discount via Amazon’s “Daily Deal.”
Here’s an interesting take on mobile payments: What if you could send money to a friend simply by tapping out a message on your phone? That’s the premise behind Venmo, a stealthy but buzzy start-up that just closed its first funding round. The four-man team gathered up something in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, I’m told. Investors include Betaworks, Lerer Media Ventures, and–oddly, given that it’s a modest angel funding round–RRE Ventures.
Why does this week’s Disney-Cablevision fight feel familiar? Because it’s just like the ones we saw a few months ago. One difference: Neither side is threatening to use Web TV as a weapon–for now.
It’s a Monday, which must mean that Google has a new purchase to announce, its ninth since August. Today’s buy is Picnik, which runs a Web-based photo0editing service best known for its integration with Yahoo’s Flickr.
Things have gotten less bad for the paper, but nothing dramatically good. So why are investors bidding up the publisher’s shares today? Shrug or make something up.
Another marker in Tim Armstrong’s campaign to undo just about every part the old regime at AOL: The company has sold Buy.at, an affiliate marketing company it bought two years ago. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to hear what happens to ICQ, among other assets.
You might think the long line of failed digital music companies would dissuade people from launching new ones. But you’d be wrong! This week’s example: Thumbplay, which is launching an all-you-can eat mobile music subscription service on Thursday.
The Wired iPad app Condé Nast showed off this month looks great. But the chances that the publisher will give its other magazines the same treatment don’t look promising–unless Apple and Adobe can figure out their Flash problem. Anyone want to bet on that?
What will Twitter’s long-awaited ad platform look like? Something like Google’s.
That’s the general description of Twitter’s plan, according to people who have been briefed by the company.
Sellaband, the Dutch company that lets fans “invest” in musician’s albums, is back, after a brief dip into bankruptcy.
Yup, there are still people who want to invest money in digital music plays, despite an absence of evidence that anyone can make it work.
Newest bettors: The VCs putting another $10 million into MOG, the subscription music service. Menlo Ventures, which participated in a $5 million round last summer, has re-upped. Balderton Capital, Benchmark’s European spinoff firm, is the new money.
Interested in buying Associated Content, which specializes in generating lots of low-cost, search-friendly content? The company isn’t technically for sale, and there’s no pitch book. But if you’ve got an offer, you can go ahead and contact Allen & Company, the media bankers that Associated Content hired late last year.
Apple is patting itself on the back for delivering 10 billion songs from its iTunes Store. And it frequently boasts about the number of apps customers download from iTunes, as well–the tally is now past three billion.
But you won’t hear Apple boast about how much money it’s making from iTunes. Because there’s not much to boast about.
It must be “hang out your shingle week” for big media vets.
First, CBS digital dealmaker Quincy Smith and crew formally unveiled his M&A shop after months of planning. And here’s Michael Wolf, the longtime media consultant last seen at Viacom. He’s back to consulting again.
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
