Slower-than-expected growth has caused eMarketer to trim its ad-revenue forecasts, reports MediaPost, with predicted revenues dropping to $1.4 billion from $1.6 billion in 2008. On top of that, eCPMs dropped 52% from March to April from 38 cents to 18 cents. MediaPost tries to ease the pain by offering some helpful tips on how to survive the downturn.

This will keep you from spamming:  On Monday, Judge Audrey B. Collins of United States District Court in the Central District of California ruled that ...Read More

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Ok, granted, it’s been more like the semi-Daily DVR in the past couple of days, but an onslaught of work has kept me from my blogging duties. My apologies but everyone is so busy with upfronts you probably haven’t even noticed, right?

On to the digital news of the day.

From the upfronts:

NBC went first, per usual, and with NBC highly focused on all things digital, it’s no surprise that some digital announcements were part of the pared-down show (or was it?). NBC is developing a digital health network, which combines the resources of ...Read More

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As reported by CNET’s Ina Fried, neither Microsoft nor NBC is considering including blocking technology in the Zune that would keep people from playing shows they had downloaded – um, less than legally, shall we say – off services like BitTorrent or Pirate Bay. At least that’s what Microsoft is now saying in an official statement: “Microsoft has no plans or commitments to implement content filtering features in the Zune family of devices as part of our content distribution deal with NBC," the software maker said in a statement. Interesting, since all of that is in direct opposition to what Saul Hansell wrote in his NYTimes blog that appeared yest...Read More

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                NBC Universal went with Microsoft and Zune to sell TV shows because Microsoft is willing to include software that will keep the Zune from playing any video that’s unlawfully gathered, reports the NY Times. That means if you downloaded the latest episode of Heroes on BitTorrent and didn’t pay for it, the Zune won’t let you play it. Apparently, Apple wasn’t willing to offer similar concessions (or flexibility on per-episode prices) so NBC U picked up its toys and went ...Read More

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Microsoft plans to try to expand the Zune’s user base – currently at two million-plus compared to iPod’s more than 100 million sold – by adding TV shows to its media offerings. Networks that have already signed on include NBC (which pulled its shows from iTunes just before launching Hulu.com), Sci Fi, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Turner Broadcasting, Starz and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Episodes will be available at $1.99 each.

It seems pretty clear to me that Microsoft lost this battle before it ever entered, but this article by the AP lists some cool things the Zune does that the iPod currently doesn’t: one is update wirelessly from any...Read More

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Yahoo! is leading its own Finance page with news that investors are downgrading its stock after Microsoft pulled its $47.5 billion offer for Yahoo! after a tough earnings quarter and Yahoo!’s refusal to sell for less than $37/share, or $5 billion more than what Microsoft wanted to pay. Mid-day Monday, Yahoo!’s stock had dropped nearly 16%.

 Here’s Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s letter to Yahoo!, saying thanks but no thanks. And thanks to CNET for posting it.

Forbes provides th...Read More

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Bloggers are abuzz today about Sezmi, yet another new way to deliver digital TV to households without the cost of cable or satellite. As far as I can tell, Sezmi is a klooged-together system that grabs some stations over-the-air and brings others in via a broadband Internet connection. It can’t handle full HD, so it will download the most-watched shows in HD and them store them on your local TV set-top box/hard drive. Will Richmond, of VideoNuze, is all a-twitter about this concept, but I’m more inclined toward Cynthia ...Read More

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                In an exclusive interview, Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt tells CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo today at 4 pm ET that a merger of Microsoft and Yahoo! threatens to limit consumer choice, harkening back to the browser wars of a decade ago.
                “If Microsoft goes ahead and the merger [with Yahoo!] ultimately is successful, it would be possible for Microsoft to integrate some of the properties and essentially eliminate consumer choice, particularly in electronic mail, instant messaging, the things wh...Read More

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It’s really slow today after yesterday’s big news that The WB is being resurrected as TheWB.com, but here are a few tidbits I’ve found interesting:

 Portfolio.com seems to have unearthed yet another attempt by Warner Bros. to start online what could end up as a TV show. People’s Court Raw, hosted by TMZ's ubiquitious Harvey Levin, would be the true people’s court: both parties to a dispute submit their side via user-generated video. Members of the People’s Court Raw site then decide who’s in the right. With so much democracy, who  needs Judge Judy?

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The broadband Internet is finally allowing Warner Bros. to create virtually what it could not justify creating in the real world: its own TV network with its own distribution channels.

Warner Bros. – Hollywood’s largest studio in terms of TV production– long has not-so-secretly lusted after other companies’ assets. NBC Universal, CBS, Fox and Disney-ABC all own one major broadcast network, successful cable networks, at least one production studio, a syndication arm and TV stations in major markets –essentially the requisite combination of weapons with which to attack the television business.

Impressively, Warner Bros. has managed to remain the number-one producer of TV shows even though it lacks ownership of either a major network or TV stations. What ...Read More

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More on this after the press conference, but Warner Bros. has decided to relaunch The WB online, according to today’s New York Times. (This article goes on to tell us that we can watch our favorite TV shows from days gone by online! Who knew? Well, other than everybody besides the NY Times’ TV editors.) Just two years ago, The WB had a small but fervent audience and was home to many people’s favorite shows, including Everwood, Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, and Felicity. In January 2006, Warner Bros. and CBS announced they were merging The WB and UPN to create The CW and the result has been a network that’s been surprisingly lesser than its coinciding...Read More

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The major story of the day is the all-Internet watch on Microsoft’s deadline for Yahoo! to accept its $43 billion takeover bid, due Saturday, although analysts are predicting that both companies will walk away in light of Microsoft’s less-than-stellar quarterly returns and a difficult economy. In other acquisition news, some are predicting Google will go after Web aggregator Digg.com.

...Read More

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