News Round-Up

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

• Kaltura, a company that offers an open source broadband video platform, has announced the launch of what it describes as a "full solution stack for adding video and rich media to educational institutions' online properties." According to the company, the solution is already in use at a number of universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia and Penn State University.
• Limelight Networks has launched XD, the next generation of its network platform, which it says adds a patent-pending "adaptive intelligence" layer. It has also launched two new services, LimelightDELIVER XD and LimelightCONTROL XD, which it says take advantage of adaptive intelligence to "provide advanced levels of control, performance, and insight into real-time delivery conditions." "Content and applications are moving beyond the PC to smartphones, TV's, gaming consoles, widgets, and other connected devices," Limelight co-founder and CTO, Nathan Raciborski, said in a prepared statement. "With each device having its own unique characteristics, the historical industry approach of selecting the right server is no longer enough to achieve maximum performance on a consistent basis. With XD, we are combining network innovations and advanced software to actively manage each object delivery in real time on a per-connection basis, ensuring a brilliant user experience across a wide variety of devices, even under extreme and changing network conditions."
• MediaVest is committing several million dollars of ad spending to Hulu over the next year as part of an upfront deal targeted to demographic clusters, Adweek reports. The money is being diverted from broadcast TV and other Web sites, Amanda Richman, MediaVest's managing director of digital, told the publication. Richmond also stated elsewhere that "smarter targeting, expanded metrics and the opportunity to test new ad experiences and their effectiveness...are all critical ingredients for unlocking the full potential of online video and key drivers of this partnership."
• MONKEYmedia, a company which holds a portfolio of patents that it says include "claims directed towards telescopic video-on-demand (VOD) and other enhanced viewing experiences, and are essential to the practice of various industry-governed standards such as DVD-Video, Blu-ray and tru2way (e.g. Enhanced TV & SCTE-130)," and which has launched a "SeamlessTV Partner Program" for licensing those patents (note: for more on the company and its claims, see the article published on itvt.com, August 25th), says it will be holding a "VIP breakfast briefing" at the Digital Hollywood conference at 7:30AM, October 20th. The briefing (reservations for which can be made by emailing VIP@monkey.com) will see MONKEYmedia president and CEO, Eric Gould Bear, conducting "demonstrations and a walkthrough of the [SeamlessTV Partner] program specifics," the company says. The company is also inviting attendees interested in holding private meetings in Los Angeles to call Elizabeth Crinejo, its interim communications director, at 512-650-1080 x183 to schedule an appointment. "Our goal is not to penalize, but to empower creative and profitable uses of our seamless expansion and contraction inventions," Bear said in a prepared statement. "We're thrilled to see major players doing this and love that the United States patent system supports the success of small independent inventors like MONKEYmedia." At least one "major player" in the interactive TV/video space seems to have been convinced by MONKEYmedia's claims: according to a February, 2006 press release issued by the company, it succeeded in persuading none other than Microsoft to enter into a patent-licensing agreement with it. The release includes the following quote from Microsoft's managing director and head of IP acquisitions and investments, Ken Lustig: "Licensing technology is an essential part of maintaining a healthy cycle of innovation in the IT industry, and is a practice employed by most all high tech companies. Microsoft respects intellectual property rights, and by so doing, is able to stand behind its products and customers. IP licensing is an essential part of maintaining and growing a healthy strong software ecosystem."
• The official Nobel Prize channel on YouTube is offering live streaming coverage of the 2009 Nobel Prize announcements. According to the channel, the announcements represent "the first live stream event on YouTube broadcast from Europe."
• Publicis Worldwide has launched a new division, called Publicis Entertainment, which it says is "dedicated to bridging the gap between advertising, content creation and distribution," and will create "end-to-end entertainment solutions for brands across digital TV, Web TV, gaming, mobile, social networking platforms and motion pictures." The division, which will initially be based in London, but is expected to eventually operate branches in other markets, will be headed up by Marcus Vinton, whom Publicis describes as "one of the first creative directors to bridge the divide between analog and digital, with the launch of Sky's interactive TV platform 10 years ago." According to Publicis, a number of high-profile production companies are already working with the new division, including RDF, All3Media, Fremantle and Endemol.
• Pioneering broadband video company, The FeedRoom, has been acquired by KIT Digital (formerly Roo), for around $10 million in an all-stock deal. The company, which founded in 1999, has raised over $61 million to date. KIT Digital is also acquiring mobile video specialist, Nunet, for around $11.1 million. Paid Content has some more analysis of the deals.
• TiVo's Audience Research & Measurement arm has released data on Democrats' and Republicans' viewing behavior which it says show "how leveraging the combination of an opt-in panel with set-top-box viewing data, such as TiVo's PowerWatch ratings service, can help provide the media industry with more precise information for reaching households that best match the target audience for specific marketing messages." Among other things, TiVo discovered that "no Republicans watched a second of Olbermann" and "no potential alternative fuel vehicle buyers watched a second of O'Reilly in July."
• Next Saturday's World Cup soccer qualifying game between England and Ukraine will be the England soccer team's first competitive match to be broadcast exclusively on the Internet, according to a report in The Guardian. The offering will be priced at £4.99 until Wednesday, at £9.99 on Thursday and Friday, and at £11.99 on Saturday.