From the press release: "GlobalMedia.com
announced today a major restructuring of its business, which
includes the sale of its radio contracts and related assets to SurferNETWORK.com
under the terms of a letter of intent between the companies.
"SurferNETWORK will pay GlobalMedia.com a combination
of cash and equity for its radio assets. GlobalMedia.com will also
get a seat on the Board of SurferNETWORK.com. The
agreement also provides GlobalMedia.com with interim funding...
"SurferNETWORK.com will combine GlobalMedia.com's radio
contracts with the radio contracts it previously has closed with
a number of the leading radio groups in the Internet broadcast industry.
SurferNETWORK.com has previously announced a potential combination
of businesses with Broadcast America, pending Broadcast America
successfully completing and exiting their Chapter 11 proceedings...
"GlobalMedia.com will now focus on video delivery over
the Internet."
Read the press release here.
As of 3:50pm EST, here's Global's stock info, from Yahoo...
BY PAUL MALONEY
Internet talk radio eYada.com
recently contacted us to let us know they've launched
their redesigned site. So we decided to take a look.
The site features over 30 different talk shows, cranking
out 200 hours of original programming a week. There are some recognizable
hosts here: ex-Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten, sex talk show host Bob
Berkowitz, and ex-Sports Illustrated editor Kevin Cook (and
RAIN
readers might recognize "eFiles" host Ken Rutkowski).
But the real charm of eYada is the content. If you want more from
talk radio than right-wing myopia and holier-than-thou advice from
"pretend" psychologists, eYada may have something for
you.
There's lots of entertainment "gossip" talk, sex
chats, interviews with celebrities, music, sports, technology,
pro wrestling, and even a show for video game enthusiasts. Pretty
much anything except politics and advice shows!
One quick note regarding the "style" of many of
the shows -- the hosts and guests know they're on the Internet (kind
of like "don't worry, it's cable!" as a license to run
things a little "looser"). We're not saying that what
we're hearing is unprofessional. It's just that the hosts seem less
occupied with the mandates of traditional broadcast presentation
than do their over-the-air counterparts. "Political incorrectness,"
dead air, and "bad words" seem more like tools of the
trade and less like land mines to be avoided.
At almost any time of day, there's live programming on at least
one of the four main "channels" of content (a fifth channel
is reserved for non-regularly scheduled "specials"). For
instance, the "entertainment" channel runs 18 hours a
day Monday through Friday -- whereas the other channels ("Sports,"
"Health, Fitness & Adventure," and "Teens")
run from three to 15
hours a day. Shows are archived: each show keeps the last three
or four episodes accessible, and a few that qualify as "best
of's." You can stream in Real or Windows Media, and some of
the shows include video (the best use of which, that we saw, was
when the video game guys were playing).
On a final, positive note (but certainly not the
best
thing to be said of eYada): it's always nice to hear spots on
an Internet-only. We have no idea what they're worth, and there
were very few. But they are a sign that maybe the team at eYada,
through a combination of salesmanship and their compelling programming,
can convince advertisers and media buyers (not to mention the rest
of the industry) that Internet radio can attract and audience and
make money.
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From ZDNet News: "A group of technology companies is
creating a set of industry standards that could help put
digital
piracy protections directly into disk drives as soon as this summer.
"The plans are initially likely to affect removable or
portable data storage, such as Zip drives or the Flash memory cards
used in MP3 players. But the standards could ultimately serve as
a way to keep consumers from copying copyrighted files directly
onto their hard drives, a daunting prospect for those who download
music or videos from the Net though programs such as
Napster
or Gnutella...
"Through a series of data-scrambling and identification
schemes, the
CPRM (Content Protection
for Recordable
Media) could prevent protected songs or movies from being copied
using devices containing the technology. Thus, someone trying to
copy a protected music file from his or her hard drive onto a Zip
drive that contained the technology would be blocked from doing
so. Only protected content would be blocked, however; ordinary MP3s
or movie files could be transferred as usual."
Read the whole story in ZDNet News
here.
Some of the staff at Wired offered their view of digital life
in 2001. Brad King, Wired News reporter, wrote on the future of
music.
From Wired News: "Shape up and sell out.
"That's the last, best business plan for those lucky
digital music companies who survived the earth-scorching chaos
of Chapter 11s that hit the industry this past year. High-profile
litigation from the recording industry against
Napster
and
MP3.com scared off the
venture capitalists, ensuring the flameouts of companies such as
Riffage.com before
they could get their business legs.
"Now, the pending merger of America Online-Time Warner
and the emergence of multinational corporations Vivendi and Bertelsmann
in the digital space cast a long shadow over the future of music.
Look for a flurry of fire sales as the three giants try to buy their
way into the infrastructure and distribution markets. And look for
digital music companies to continue to get squeezed out of existence.
"And for those left without a home after the coming
spending spree, well, there's always the scrap heap."
Read the entire story from Wired
here.
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Reprinted from yesterday's edition...
From VentureWire.com: "Hiwire,
a company providing technology for targeted online audio ads, has
received a
major investment from San Antonio, Texas-based Clear
Channel Communications, according to a source close to Hiwire
with knowledge of the deal. Hiwire denied any investment when contacted
for this article...
"The precise size of the investment was not available;
the source characterized the investment as 'huge.'
Hiwire, based in Los Angeles, is backed by Grey Ventures, New Enterprise
Associates, and Zone Ventures. The company has raised about $18.2
million through two rounds of financing to date."
Read the story here
(subscription required).
Hiwire spokesman Wayne Hickey told
RAIN "the
funding rumor with ClearChannel is just that -- a rumor."
This response refers to RAIN's piece on StreamAudio (here)
and free streaming...
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"'Free'
deals should be a warning for broadcasters to BE AWARE..."
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The biggest question not addressed in this piece on
StreamAudio is - Why the CEO, Bob Case recently took the position
of Program Director at a Seattle radio station if he is so bullish
on the future of streaming media?? If the CEO of Cool Link, HiWire,
IBeam, LightningCast, etc. accepted a position as PD would that
not be an indication that there is trouble? - particularly when
there is no public explanation?
Another point NOT addressed is the folly of "targeted ad
insertion". In the latest Arbitron/InfoStream report, the largest
audiences are only approximately 300 + concurrent listeners (24/7
avg.). Stations in the top ten markets usually
average
under 100 (or fewer) concurrent listeners. If a "target
demo" is extracted from this small audience, then an advertiser
may be better served to reach the "target audience" by telephone
or personal introduction (maybe even lunch/dinner)!
"Free" streaming deals are never free. Somebody has to pay
for the streaming, trafficking, selling, etc. "Free" deals should
be a warning for broadcasters to BE AWARE - there is a growing track
record (BroadcastAmerica, OnRadio, Magnitude, others pending GlobalMedia?).
MeasureCast's Internet radio Top 10 for the week of December
18th has been released. Please click here
or the MeasureCast Top Ten link under "Metrics" on the
left-hand menu of RAIN.
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it out! Explore the wide world of
Internet audio by clicking the screenshot above.
