In This Update:
• Crispin Porter + Bogusky Buys Digital Shop Texturemedia
• CNET Acquires Chinese Lifestyle Forum 55BBS
• Soul Train Franchise Bought by Intermedia-Backed MadVision
• Chinese Web Portal Sohu.com Gains Olympic Webcast Rights
• Gannett Takes Minority Stake in Family Organizer Cozi
• Report: U.S. Doctors Making Slow Shift to Digital Records
• Hakia Launches White Label Semantic Search
• YouTube Experiments with Long-Form Content
• Consumer Groups Dig Inside NebuAD Behavioral Targeting Technology
• Trulia Launches Trulia Pro; Self Service Real Estate Agent Advertising
• Mobile Broadcast Software Firm Roundbox Gets $12 Million Third Round
• Mochi Media Raises $10 Million for Flash Game Tools
• Wazoo Sports Raises $2 Million for High School Sports Broadcasting
Crispin Porter + Bogusky Buys Digital Shop Texturemedia
ADWEEK
Boosting its digital marketing capabilities, MDC Partners’ Crispin Porter + Bogusky said it has acquired i-shop texturemedia, which specializes in Web site design and development and digital marketing and consulting. Texturemedia, located in Boulder, Colo., where Miami-based Crispin also maintains a large office, has been in business for seven years, developing programs for clients such as Fidelity Investments, Google, Kaiser Permanente, Midas, Pentax and Wells Fargo. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Source>
CNET Acquires Chinese Lifestyle Forum 55BBS
PULSE2.0
Fresh after being acquired by CBS, CNET has made an acquisition of their own. CNET China bought 55BBS.com, a Chinese lifestyle forum website. President of CNET China, Lu Wang announced that they paid over 10 million yuan ($1.45 million) cash for the site. 55BBS’ primary content is shopping, food, wedding, travel, etc. There are over 800,000 users that submit 100,000 posts daily. This is one of the first major acquisitions made by CNET China since they bough Xcar, a Chinese automotive forum in July 2006. CNET also bough Fengniao, a Chinese photography website in October 2004.
Source>
Soul Train Franchise Bought by Intermedia-Backed MadVision
PAIDCONTENT
Don Cornelius, founder of the once-famed music and dance program Soul Train has sold the show to MadVision Entertainment, an LA-based company backed by PE firm InterMedia Partners. The iconic franchise, founded in 1970 by Cornelius, includes the brand and the production rights for the weekly Soul Train series (not in production anymore), along with a catalog of about 1,100 hours of archival footage spanning the show’s long 37-year run. Soul Train continues to air in syndication today in repeats, and MadVision wants to take the brand on multiple platforms, including broadband and VOD.
Source>
Chinese Web Portal Sohu.com Gains Olympic Webcast Rights
NEW YORK TIMES
The Chinese Web portal Sohu.com Inc. announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with the Internet arm of CCTV, the Chinese state television network, granting it official rights to webcast the Beijing Olympic Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies as well as all athletic competitions. Under the contract, Sohu.com will offer live webcasts and video on demand of Olympic events, relying on its 700-person-plus staff to manage pictures, videos, blogs and forums. The company will “provide total coverage of Chinese representatives, athletes, teams, and Olympic champions at least 60 seconds ahead of any other website,” according to the Beijing Games official site. The amount of the deal was unspecified.
Source>
Gannett Takes Minority Stake in Family Organizer Cozi
PAIDCONTENT
Gannett has made an unspecified strategic investment in Cozi, a family organization tool. Seattle-based Cozi offers a range of tools for households, like calendars, to-do lists, photo organizing and blogs. It had previously raised at least $8.3 million. With the investment, Gannett will get a seat on the Cozi board. As for the strategy here, Gannett plans to push the Cozi brand across its various web and print properties. Cozi gets deeper access to Gannett’s local content, opening up new opportunities. Though the announcement doesn’t say so specifically, it looks like Cozi should be a good fit with Gannett’s mom-focused properties Cozi was launched in 2006 by ex-Microsoft execs and claims 600,000 users.
Source>
Report: U.S. Doctors Making Slow Shift to Digital Records
REUTERS
Only a fraction of American doctors have switched from conventional paper records to electronic health records, with most citing cost as the biggest stumbling block, a national survey showed on Wednesday. Researchers found that just 4 percent of physicians have adopted “fully functional” computerized health records systems that help them make decisions about patient care or order tests. Another 13 percent have a more basic system. Electronic health records promise to reduce costly medical errors due to things like bad handwriting and make it easier for doctors to follow a patient’s care over time. More advanced systems can flag dangerous drug combinations, or offer advice about tests or drugs to prescribe.
Source>
Hakia Launches White Label Semantic Search
CENTERNETWORKS
NY-based Hakia is announcing the launch of their white-label semantic Web search (they call it Syndication Web Services) today. The idea is simple – you can now add Hakia’s services to your site offering more intense search functionality for your visitors. The company is offering 30,000 searches per day free of charge and free of advertising then they will discuss a relationship with you past the 30,000. What this means is that small social networks may never pay anything for using the Hakia service but provide a great benefit for their users. The Syndication Web Services include Web search, News search, Vertical search, Summarizer, Categorizer, Characterizer and Text Meaning Representation.
Source>
YouTube Experiments with Long-Form Content
SILICON ALLEY INSIDER
YouTube may be set to incorporate a long-format video standard for content partners as it trials a new channel for independent filmmakers. Independent filmmakers partnering with YouTube will now be able to “upload and monetize” content with a maximum file size of 1GB. The Screening Room, which launches this week, is a YouTube channel aimed at new and aspiring filmmakers. Films on the channel will be selected by a YouTube editorial panel with ad revenue split between the site and the filmmaker. Currently, the channel’s longest video is 15 minutes, with YouTube reportedly courting new directors at this week’s Los Angeles Film Festival, reports Fortune Magazine.
Source>
Consumer Groups Dig Inside NebuAD Behavioral Targeting Technology
DSL REPORTS
Consumer groups Free Press and Public Knowledge today issued a report on NebuAD behavioral advertising technology. ISPs are paid to install a user tracking device that sits on the ISP network, and aids in the delivery of ads tailored to your browsing habits. Broadband Reports user Robb Topolski, who first discovered Comcast’s upstream BitTorrent throttling, ran a series of tests and found the technology forges packets, violates IETF standards and more: “NebuAd exploits normal browser and platform security behaviors by forging IP packets, allowing their own JavaScript code to be written into source code trusted by the Web browser. NebuAd and ISPs together cooperate in this attack against the intentions of the consumers, the designers of their software and the owners of the servers that they visit.”
Source>
Trulia Launches Trulia Pro; Self Service Real Estate Agent Advertising
CENTERNETWORKS
Real estate listing and search engine Trulia is announcing the launch of Trulia Pro tonight. Trulia Pro is a self-service advertising program for real estate agents. The program allows agents to buy sponsored listings and spotlight ads in the locations and ZIP codes you wish. The listings show at the top of the results and the company says they are 4-7x more likely to be clicked. This news comes a month after Trulia launched their real estate ad network. The pricing plans are $39/month or a yearly plan with 25% off.
Source>
Mobile Broadcast Software Firm Roundbox Gets $12 Million Third Round
DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE
Roundbox, a provider of mobile broadcast applications, has called down $12 million of a $20 million third round of financing. Investors included Montagu Newhall Associates, Core Capital Partners, Polaris Venture Partners and RRE Ventures. New Jersey-based Roundbox offers software for mobile and broadcast network operators deploying mobile broadcast services that support 3G, 4G and emerging broadcast and multicast networks. Partners include Qualcomm’s MediaFLO KDDI, Verizon Wireless, TV Guide and Nielsen Mobile. The company raised $23 million across its two previous funding rounds.
Source>
Mochi Media Raises $10 Million for Flash Game Tools
TECHCRUNCH
Mochi Media company that helps developers monetize their Flash games, has closed a $10 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Shasta Ventures with additional funding from Accel Partners, a previous investor. Mochi Media’s flagship product is MochiAds, an advertising platform that allows Flash developers to embed ads into their games. Instead of placing ads on their webpages, developers can embed them within the Flash files themselves, which means they still get paid when they game goes viral and is placed on other sites.
Source>
Wazoo Sports Raises $2 Million for High School Sports Broadcasting
PAIDCONTENT
Wazoo Sports, a site that broadcasts high school sporting events online, has raised $2 million from Meritus Ventures. The Kentucky-based company says it will use the funding to expand its network, which broadcasts 88 high school games last year. In addition to live broadcasts, the company offers VOD viewing of its archived games.
Source>
Tags: 3G, Accel Partners, BitTorrent, Bogusky, Brand, CBS, China, CNET, Cozi, Crispin Porter, Financing, Gannett, Google, Hakia, ISP, Kaiser, Local, MadVision, Microsoft, Mochi, Music, NebuAD, Polaris Venture Partners, RIM, RoundBox, Seattle, SEC, Sohu.com, Soul Train, Texturemedia, Trulia, TV Guide, U.S., UBM, Verizon, Video, VOD, Wazoo, Yahoo, YouTube