News Bytes: July 17

Amazon Makes a Giant VOD Move
via NewTeeVee


Amazon introduced a Video on Demand store today, and in one fell swoop may have turned the world of home video on its head. The new store will stream 40,000 movie and television programs for rent or purchase directly to Internet-connected TVs or set-top boxes or PCs. This move will be felt throughout the industry.


Delivery: Similar to the Roku, Amazon will stream video directly into your home. The New York Times, which broke the story, does not mention anything about HD capabilities for the service. Given the cruddy state of bandwidth in this country, streaming could pose a problem in homes with multiple people online, but after tasting the sweet simplicity of streaming through the Roku, I’m convinced this is the way to go.


Storage: In an innovative twist (and one that would make GigaOM and Mark Cuban swoon), Amazon stores this video cloud on its end. Pull the content down only when you want, and if you purchase a movie, Amazon holds it for you — and you can access it on any connected device you own. While it’s supposed to help prevent piracy, I think a bigger advantage is that now your purchase should never get outdated by being in an old format.


Netflix Roku: Amazon’s streaming approach is similar to the Netflix’s Roku, but there are some key differences on both ends. On the content side, Amazon has Roku beat to a pulp, offering 40,000 titles compared with Netflix’s 10,000. However, Amazon is a la carte, while Netflix is all you can eat. Amazon has said that it will make its service available on other boxes, and Roku has said it is getting content from other “big name” content providers, so maybe the Roku will bring the best of both worlds?


Other Set-Top Boxes: Amazon has a deal to put the VOD store on Sony Bravia TVs, but look for Panasonic to hop on board as well. Who needs a set-top box when you can order up what you want directly from the TV? Sure, Apple has Disney movies and Amazon doesn’t (for now), but is that enough to make you buy an Apple TV? And renting movies through the HP MediaSmart Connect means downloading the content to your computer first. Who needs the hassle?


Cable and Telephone Companies: Amazon’s vast video library could make it easier to dump your TV provider, but cable and telcos could retaliate and choke Amazon at the source through tiered broadband.


Features TK: If Amazon can get firmly entrenched in your living room, it won’t be hard for it to expand its offering. Photo sharing, video sharing, web video, Internet radio, heck even buying regular stuff all becomes possible with the click of the remote.


The Devil Wears Online Video: Vogue Brings Big Budget Reality Series To The Web
via paidContent.org


Vogue magazine isn't about displaying cheap knockoffs. So in keeping with its expensive tastes, the magazine's Vogue.tv video site is prepping a $3 million, 12-episode reality series called Model.Live. With eight minutes per show, WSJ calculates that's $31,000 for each minute. Contrast that with the average online video, which Forrester says generally costs around $4,500.


Of course, most online video series can't attract big commitments from marketers like clothing retailer Express LLC, which is said to have agreed to pay something in the "low seven figures" to be Model.Live's lead sponsor. In return, the Conde Nast property has promised Express it will receive 83.4 million impressions on Bebo.com during the three-month life of the series. And though that number is hard to measure, Express is willing to take the gamble. The company felt comfortable after working on a much smaller video series with Ford Models last year, garnering two million hits after the modeling agency ran the videos on its own site. So whether or not Vogue.tv can fulfill its guarantee on how many users will view the ad, Express should be able to get greater exposure greater, as Model.Live will also run on Hulu, Veoh and AOL's (NYSE: TWX) community site Bebo.com, which aims to connect viewers with the series' stars.


Industry Moves: Disney-ABC Cable Networks' Estenson Heading To CNN.com
via paidContent.org


Kenneth "KC" Estenson is leaving his post as VP, digital media at Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group to join CNN.com as SVP/GM in September, a rep for the Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) owned CNN.com said. Estenson fills the vacancy left by David Payne, who we reported left the post back in April to start an online ad company.


It's worth noting that CNN.com went outside the company to fill the post. That said, hiring an executive from a rival is always tempting. Estenson has been with Disney (NYSE: DIS) since 2001. During the past seven years, he oversaw the digital media businesses across Disney's online, on-demand, mobile, broadband and wireless products and worked on Disney Channel Worldwide, SOAPnet and ABC Family. He also helped manage the creation of ABC News Now's broadband service. In his new post, he'll be reporting to Susan Grant, EVP, CNN News Services.


Former Yahoo Exec Karin Gilford Joining Comcast As SVP of Fancast
via paidContent.org


Karin Gilford, the former GM of Entertainment at Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) who left earlier this week, is joining Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) as we reported earlier. Now her position there is official: she is joining as as SVP of Fancast and Online Entertainment. Gilford will build and manage Fancast, the online video service from Comcast Interactive Media, as well as work on expansion of CIM in the online entertainment space. She will report to Amy Banse, President of CIM.


At Yahoo, Gilford was in charge of all programming, content and overall business strategies for Yahoo Entertainment's consumer websites, including Yahoo Movies, Yahoo TV and Yahoo omg!, and was based in its Santa Monica offices.


CIM also owns other online properties including Fandango, Movies.com, Comcast.net, thePlatform, Plaxo. Fandango and Movies.com will continue to be led by Chuck Davis, CEO of Fandango, Comcast.net will continue to be run by Scott Bailey, SVP of Comcast Interactive Media, and thePlatform and Plaxo will continue to report to Sam Schwartz, EVP of Comcast Interactive Media. More details in release.


TiVo Launches YouTube Viewing
via Digital Trends


Although DVR pioneer TiVo announced its plans way back in March, the company is finally ready to roll out support for viewing YouTube video using its Internet-connected set-top DVRs. Although the company has partnerships with dozens of Internet services that provide content for TiVo viewers, the YouTube move marks TiVo's first foray into direct streaming of online video. "With YouTube content now available on TiVo, on top of all the movies, music videos, songs and TV shows that are simply unavailable on cable and satellite, TiVo subscribers have more choice


NBC U Inks Broad Olympics Deal With Verizon (VZ)
via Silicon Alley Insider


Three weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics, NBC U (GE) inked another distribution deal, this one with Verizon (VZ). The deal covers on-demand clips and replays of the Games on Verizon's FiOS TV, broadband and its mobile V-CAST service.


In addition: Verizon agreed to launch four NBC networks in high-definition on FiOS over the next few months: Bravo HD, CNBC+ HD, USA Network HD and Sci Fi HD. FiOS is also launching two other channels specifically for the Games dedicated to Olympic basketball and soccer.


The deal means wider dissemination of Olympics video clips, which will have pre-roll advertising attached. NBC U has committed to 3,600 hours of coverage total with 2,000 hours of live video online. The only other distributor for the video thusfar is MSN, which will carry NBCOlympics.com as part of a deal with Microsoft that includes using the Silverlight player to deliver video over the Web.


NBC says ad inventory for Games is 85% sold.