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contentSutra
India’s Digital News Monitor

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Following Rivals, Gmail Will Add Status Updates'); document.write('
posted on February 08, 2010 07:39:56 pm'); document.write('

Google (NSDQ: GOOG), which shook up the e-mail industry when it integrated chat with e-mail, is now trying to catch up to its rivals by letting Gmail users share status updates. The WSJ reports that Google will soon add a “new module that will allow Gmail users to view a stream of status updates from people they choose to connect with.” If it catches on, that could potentially add a new force to the Twitter-dominated microblogging world, considering that Gmail had 132 million unique users worldwide as of last March (the last figures I could quickly get my hands on).
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Live Streaming Service Ustream Gets $20 Million; Option To Get $55 Million More'); document.write('
posted on February 02, 2010 06:50:51 pm'); document.write('

Ustream, the popular online live broadcasting service, just announced it has raised $75 million in a second round of funding led by Softbank. Updated: The actual funding is only $20 million, for now, with an option for Softbank to purchase more of Ustream by July 2011, by putting in another $55 million.

The company says it will use the cash in part to pursue opportunities in Japan, China, Korea and India, where it says there is an untapped market for live streaming video. There are lots of other players in the live broadcasting space, but Ustream is the biggest player, with about 50 million unique users a month (By contrast, Justin.tv says it has about 41 million unique users, while Livestream says it has about 17 million).

With the new funding, Ustream will also now have a big funding lead over its competitors. In total, it will have now raised more than $86 million, including $11.1 million in a first round from Doll Capital Management and Band of Angels in April 2008. Even more cash could be coming, since the company says “additional funding commitments are pending.”
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In Amazon vs. Macmillan, Amazon Is The Winner'); document.write('
posted on February 02, 2010 12:19:16 pm'); document.write('

It was a surprising weekend for those of us who had naively imagined that after crossing the River iPad, we might actually get some Elysian rest. But, alas, the fates conspired against us and handed us the curious case of Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) vs. Macmillan. Or Macmillan vs. Amazon?

For those who actually took the weekend off, let me summarize what happened. John Sargeant, the CEO of Macmillan Books, gave Amazon a wee-bit of an ultimatum: switch from a wholesale sell-through model, where Amazon buys digital books at a fixed wholesale rate and then can choose to sell those books at whatever price it deems appropriate (even at a loss, as it does with $9.99 bestsellers), to an agency model, where Amazon agrees to sell at a price set by the publisher in exchange for a 30% agency fee.
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Building A Social Network In A Facebook And Twitter World'); document.write('
posted on February 02, 2010 12:19:39 pm'); document.write('

Geoff Cook is the CEO of myYearbook, a social network built around meeting new people. He also founded EssayEdge and ResumeEdge and sold them to The Thomson Corporation.

You can’t go an entire day without encountering Facebook and Twitter – even if you don’t have an account. Whether you ride the subway or take the bus, you’ll see people young and old updating their status or talking about the latest social-networking drama. If you watch the television or listen to the radio, you’ll be driven to the Twitter or Facebook accounts of celebrities, brands and non-profits. If you do come across the rare people who are not on Facebook, they sound like cavemen – and they know it; they are talking about signing up soon. In such an environment, it is easy to conclude that this dominance will last forever.

But it won’t.
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India\'s Texting Community Provider SMS GupShup Raises $12 Million'); document.write('
posted on January 20, 2010 06:37:23 pm'); document.write('

SMS GupShup has raised $12 million to help build out its texting-based mobile-phone communities in India. The company, which has operations in both Santa Clara, Calif. and Mumbai, India, claims to serve 26 million users in roughly two million topics, ranging from religious groups to sports teams.

The fourth round of capital was led by Globespan Capital Partners; existing investors Charles River Ventures and Helion Venture Partners also participated. To date, the company has raised $37 million. SMS GupShup will rely on advertising from brands such as Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), Puma, Cadbury and others, to bring the company to profitability this year. The money will be used to expand into the Philippines and Indonesia, and to grow the organization to 150 employees by adding another 20 positions in marketing, engineering and sales.
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YouTube Confirms Live Cricket Deal; Not In U.S.; Big Ad Push'); document.write('
posted on January 20, 2010 01:29:20 pm'); document.write('

Google has confirmed yesterday’s reports - YouTube has inked rights from the big-money Indian Premier League’s (IPL) licensing partner Global Cricket Ventures to live-stream all 60 matches of the 45-day tournament, starting March 12.

It’s YouTube’s first deal to live-stream a big global sport - no mere domestic competition, IPL is the largest cricket tournament in the world, forecast to generate $1.6 billion over 10 years. But the deal will include a US blackout because “re-broadcast options will be available” will be available there, the announcement says.

Indeed, just as the International Olympic Committee hosted Beijing 2008 highlights on YouTube for countries which had no television deal, this looks like a gap-plugging, market-building deal, rather than a win of top-tier rights for Google (NSDQ: GOOG). DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) aired last year’s IPL in the U.S. on its $149-a-year Cricket Ticket, and Setanta Sports had shown IPL in the UK but has now collapsed…
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YouTube To Show Live Indian Premier League Cricket?'); document.write('
posted on January 19, 2010 06:38:08 pm'); document.write('

Is the super-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition about to go global in a deal with YouTube? Several reports from Indian media say Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and the Bord of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will on Wednesday announce a live streaming deal.

YouTube had already hosted match highlights for last year’s second IPL season on an existing channel. YouTube has already been testing large-scale live events like a U2 concert and was on Tuesday due to stream the IPL’s pre-season “auction”, in which some 51 players will swap teams.

India’s Sony (NYSE: SNE) Entertainment Television and Singaporean World Sport Group jointly hold domestic and global IPL broadcast rights respectively in a $1.2 billion, 10-year deal, and have re-sold to a patchwork of global players. Willow TV holds North America internet rights.
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Why Yahoo Should Buy WPP'); document.write('
posted on January 14, 2010 04:14:41 pm'); document.write('

Alok Kejriwal is CEO and co-founder of the online gaming company games2win.com. He blogs at rodinhood.com.

In October of last year alone, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) attracted 605 million unique Internet users (50% of the global Internet population), got them to return another 18 times, stick around for 9.5 minutes during their visit and generate over 100 billion page views. Which traditional media brand do you know that achieved this?

We all have experienced Yahoo – it’s all about seeing and interacting (vs. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) that’s all about searching and clicking). If Google taught the world all about “performance advertising,” Yahoo can create even a bigger impact in display advertising by deeply integrating with the world’s leading brands. It has the heft to create a new paradigm of how display ads are bought, priced and really made profitable for the spenders.

Yahoo could begin this journey by acquiring WPP – the custodian and best friend of the world’s leading brands:
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Welcome To Our New Video Section'); document.write('
posted on January 06, 2010 03:47:05 pm'); document.write('

As you may have noticed recently on our pages, we’ve launched a new video section, with help from Vodpod. The section pulls together interesting daily videos from third-party sources, our own video interviews, and video from our conference and events. We hope you’ll take a look around and let us know what you think. Recently added videos include the full array of footage of Google’s new Nexus One phone, long interviews with Gerald Levin and Steve Case on the 10th anniversary of the ill-fated AOL-Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) deal, and a PBS report on the Google (NSDQ: GOOG) books controversy.

Advertisers: If you’re interested in video sponsorships on our video page or elsewhere on our sites, please email our advertising team at advertising AT contentnext.com.
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The Latest \'State Of Digital Media\' Report Shines Spotlight On Social Media'); document.write('
posted on January 06, 2010 03:13:24 pm'); document.write('

If 2009 in the digital-media world needed a title, you could argue it would likely be something to the effect of: “Social media goes mainstream.” Indeed, it’s no secret that social media is a huge force these days, but big questions remain about how companies – even the biggest, buzziest players – are going to make money. ContentNext, Media Industry Newsletter and The Jordan, Edmiston Group have co-produced a new report that helps shed light on that debate. The report, six months in the making, not only chronicles all the deal activity in social media over the last 18 months, but also includes:

* Profiles of a select group of digital brands, including how they’re faring and their strategies and likely challenges moving ahead

* A points-of-view section featuring contributions from thought leaders like Samir Arora (Glam Media), and Mitchell Berman (ZillionTV) and Domenic Venuto (Razorfish)

* Deep analysis of traffic metrics

The 200-plus-page book, available in either print or digital versions, is the second annual “State of Digital Media” report.

Visit our reports page to read the full report.
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Kindle DX Goes Global, But Still Not Truly Local'); document.write('
posted on January 06, 2010 02:13:45 pm'); document.write('

Better late than never? Amazon today has started to sell the Kindle DX, the larger of its e-readers, outside the U.S. The launch comes three months after the smaller device went on sale internationally, and nearly two years after the first of the devices hit the U.S. market.

Like the smaller-sized Kindle, Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) has opted to run the DX on mobile networks from AT&T’s roaming partners, rather than cut deals with operators country-by-country. Not yet clear which UK networks are AT&T (NYSE: T) roaming partners or what those deals look like. “We’re not providing additional details beyond our relationship with AT&T, since it’s seamless to our customers – no annual contract, no monthly fees, no hunting for a hotspot,” is how one Amazon.co.uk spokesperson put it to us.
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Vint Cerf: \'The Internet Is Christmas All The Time\''); document.write('
posted on December 23, 2009 01:32:46 pm'); document.write('

We wish the father of the internet had said that!

But there’s no Santa Claus behind that white beard - his proclamation comes courtesy of Cassette Boy’s naughty re-edit of Digital Revolution, a four-part BBC Two documentary coming in 2010.
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Nikhil Deogun To Become Managing Editor At CNBC'); document.write('
posted on December 15, 2009 11:28:48 am'); document.write('

Doon School alumnus Nikhil Deogun will start the new year as the managing editor for business day programming at CNBC, Media Decoder reported. He is currently international editor at The Wall Street Journal.

Deogun is among the highest ranking journalists of Indian origin in American journalism and will be a rare Indian top editor on American television. Mumbai-born Hari Sreenivasan was recently in the news for his move to PBS.

Deogun was born in Assam, grew up in Calcutta and holds a B.A. from Muskingum College, Ohio, and a masters in journalism from the University of Missouri (via SAJA Forum).
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Sidharth Bhatia Steps Down As Edit Pages Editor At DNA'); document.write('
posted on December 15, 2009 11:00:14 am'); document.write('

Sidharth Bhatia, who has helmed the editorial pages of DNA since the daily’s launch in 2005, has stepped down. He confirmed the development.

With this, two senior editorial staffers have stepped down at the Mumbai-headquartered daily in as many months. Editor-at-large Ayaz Memon had resigned last month. The daily is widely believed to be going through a shakeup, but CEO K.U. Rao denied anything was unusual. “This is all part of normal attrition,” he said.

Bhatia has worked as a journalist for 33 years, starting as a reporter at the Free Press Journal in 1976. He has worked in senior roles at The Independent, The Observer and on the India Business Week show on Star TV. He also helped launch French daily Le Matinal in Mauritius.

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Rediff Relaunches Blog Platform; Now Supports Nine Indian Languages'); document.write('
posted on December 14, 2009 09:12:36 am'); document.write('

Rediff.com (NSDQ: REDF) has done away with its ‘iLand’ branded blogging platform and has launched an improved service that it simply calls Rediff Blogs. The new service has added some social features and is more customizable than the previous edition. There’s also the hook that blog posts might be featured alongside related Rediff content such as news.

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Tempered Response To DB Corp IPO; Subscribed 0.62 Times On Day One'); document.write('
posted on December 11, 2009 07:14:43 am'); document.write('

DB Corp., publisher of Dainik Bhaskar and Divya Bhaskar, and joint venture partner in DNA, opened its initial public issue of shares and was subscribed 0.62 times on day one. The price band of the issue is Rs185-212. Competitor Jagran Prakashan is trading at Rs125.40.

The company plans to raise Rs381.85 crore from this issue, according to Moneycontrol.com. The company has received commitment worth Rs69.35 crore from anchor investors on Thursday, the financial portal reported. Nine anchor investors have subscribed to 32,71,500 equity shares at Rs212 per equity share. The total issue is of 18,175,000 equity shares.
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Come Work For Us'); document.write('
posted on January 12, 2010 03:36:25 pm'); document.write('

We’re looking for a sharp, energetic reporter/editor to lead our editorial operations at ContentSutra, the premier digital-media site in India with readership spread across the country, U.S., Europe and other parts of Asia. Founded in 2005, ContentSutra is part of ContentNext Media, a rapidly growing news-and-information media company covering the business of digital media and content, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian News & Media.

The job: We’re looking for someone with strong reporting skills, who can break news and provide thoughtful analysis of media news and trends, and who knows how to do smart aggregation.

ContentSutra will be your top priority but you will also be contributing to other ContentNext Media sites as the news warrants. You will be working from a home office, and must have broadband access.

Experience/Requirements:
—Location: preferably Delhi or Mumbai, though other metro areas in India also will be considered.
—2-5 years of business-news reporting experience, some or all online.
—Background writing about media, internet, mobile and technology, with clips/blog posts, etc., to prove it.
—Comfort with the fast pace of ContentSutra and ContentNext.
—General knowledge of world media and internet trends.
—Basic working knowledge of HTML. Some experience with recording/uploading digital audio and images is also helpful.
—Willingness to travel within major metros in India for industry-related conferences, news.

Compensation: This is a contract full-time position. Salary will depend on experience, and will be generous.

To Apply: Send resumes, with links to recent work, to jobs AT contentnext.com.

ContentNext Media: Our four sites—flagship paidContent.org, as well as MocoNews.net, paidContent.co.uk and ContentSutra.com—cover the transformation of the media, entertainment and information industries worldwide.

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Welcome To The New AOL'); document.write('
posted on December 10, 2009 11:44:41 pm'); document.write('

Last night, Tim Armstrong and team celebrated independence from Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with P. Diddy and this morning they’ll make it official by ringing the bell in the same location. AOL (NYSE: AOL) is back as a ticker symbol and from here out, the excuses are gone for both companies. Gone, too, is the look of the old AOL—at least, some of it. While Armstrong and some others ended a long day with a group dinner, AOL Media President Bill Wilson went back to the office to work with his team on the transformation of AOL.com into a brighter, fresher space complete with the new branding campaign Armstrong previewed for us last month. (Slide show.)
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Friendster Sold, Finally, To Malaysia\'s MOL Global'); document.write('
posted on December 10, 2009 10:14:00 am'); document.write('

The long and colorful saga of an independent Friendster is over, for now. As expected, it has been acquired, by the Malaysian company MOL Global Pte, which is an affiliate of MOL AccessPortal Berhad, a company that operates and develops payment systems in Asia. The principal shareholder of MOL is Tan Sri Vincent Tan, the CEO of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, a Malaysian conglomerate that has annual revenues over $1.8 billion. No word on how much MOL paid, although previous reports pegged the sale price at over $100 million. The combined entity will have annual revenue of about $110 million, the companies said.
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@ UBS Media Week: Scripps Networks To Spend $100 Million On Global Expansion'); document.write('
posted on December 09, 2009 10:49:03 pm'); document.write('

Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI) CEO Ken Lowe is betting heavily on international growth over the next year. In a presentation at the UBS Media Week conference, Lowe ticked off some recent deals: last month, the company took a 69 percent stake Indian broadcaster NDTV; it struck a JV with London-based international broadcaster Chello Zone to bring the Food Network to Europe; and the Fine Living channel is being introduced to Europe, Middle East and Africa. Lowe was particularly enthused about the India business. “NDTV’s Good Times is India’s number one English-language lifestyle channel and we see a lot of potential for us there,” he said. All told, the company has invested $65 million in capital for international development so far. And over the next 12 months, Scripps Networks will spend will be just under $100 million for additional global expansion.
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