Friday, November 20, 2009
Consumers: We Don’t Absolutely Hate Mobile Ads
Here’s your half-empty/half-full stat for the day: Four in 10 consumers don’t want to see ads on their phones. Is that good or bad for the nascent mobile ad business?
All posts tagged ‘Mobile’
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Can Adobe and Apple Play Nicely When–And If–The Tablet Shows Up?
Adobe is preparing to put magazines on Apple’s purported wondertablet. But what if that device, like Apple’s iPhone, doesn’t want to work with Adobe?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Condé Nast’s Offering for Apple’s Mystery Tablet: Wired Magazine
Here’s yet another content creator that’s convinced Apple has a tablet device in the works: Condé Nast says it will have a digital version of Wired magazine ready for the purported gadget by the middle of next year and will eventually create similar versions for all of its 18 titles.
But Condé, like other publishers, says Apple won’t actually talk to the company about its plans for the device–or even acknowledge that it has plans.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Who’s Going to Pay for Online Content? A) A Few of You B) Barely Anyone C) You’re Already Paying
The new conventional wisdom is that sooner or later, consumers will have to start paying for some of the stuff they currently get for free on the Web.
But will they actually pay up? Here, the conventional wisdom is not so helpful. Nor are studies predicting consumer behavior.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Strength in Numbers? News Corp. May Join Time Inc.’s “Hulu for Magazines.”
While Rupert Murdoch is busy thumbing his nose at Google, he is making more friendly overtures to other media players. Sources tell me his News Corp. may join the digital e-reader storefront that Time Inc. and other magazine publishers are putting together.
Waiting for Online Ads to Roar Back? Be Patient.
Add one more voice to the chorus of conventional wisdom: The Web ad market has stopped getting worse, but it’s going to be a while before it starts getting healthy.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Scripps Books Travel Channel in $975 Million Deal
It’s official: Scripps Networks Interactive has won the Travel Channel auction. In a deal that values the channel at $975 million, Scripps will acquire a majority interest in the property while current owner Cox retains a 35 percent stake. News Corp., among others, had been bidding for the channel.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
News Corp. Saved by Movies and Cable, Hammered by Broadcast and Print
Rupert Murdoch and company aren’t exactly celebrating, but they did provide a better earnings number than Wall Street expected. They can thank Fox News, and yet another “Ice Age” movie. Not helping the cause: The company’s broadcast TV and newspaper properties. Not very relevant: MySpace, et al.
Netted, a Web-Centric Tipsheet, Tries Squeezing Into Your Inbox
Everyone loves to complain about email. Except for the growing batch of entrepreneurs using it to launch newsletter businesses. Latest example: Netted, a Web-centric recommendation guide from the guys who bring you the Webby Awards.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Spring Design: Here’s How Barnes & Noble Turned Our Reader Into the Nook
Puzzled by the weird story of the “Alex,” the would-be e-reader that looks something like the “Nook,” the e-reader Barnes & Noble introduced last month? Then this won’t clear anything up: Spring Design’s court case against the bookseller, which it says broke an “implicit promise” and stole its idea for a two-screen device.
Don’t Tell a Soul! Media, Tech Moguls Take Manhattan for Semisecret Quadrangle Conference.
Wouldn’t you like to bump elbows with media moguls and hear from the likes of Eric Schmidt, Biz Stone and James Murdoch? Me too! Alas, Quadrangle’s Foursquare conference is closed to the public and the press. But at least I can tell you whom you won’t be hearing from.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Apple’s iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month
Would you pay $30 a month to watch TV via iTunes?
That’s the pitch Apple has been making to TV networks in recent weeks. The company is trying to round up support for a monthly subscription service that would deliver TV programs via its multimedia software, multiple sources tell me. The industry finds this idea both tempting and terrifying.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What Does the New York Times Really Know About Apple’s Tablet? “I Ain’t Sayin’,” Says Editor Bill Keller.
All the news we can’t tell you about? Most publishers can’t even get Apple to acknowledge that it’s working on a tablet, but maybe the newspaper of record has more pull. In any event, its top editor is staying mostly mum.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Investors Bet on Another Real-Time Start-Up. Next Up for Hot Potato: Product, Users.
Here’s a good way to get your hands on scarce venture capital money: Create a start-up geared around Twitter-like “real-time” sharing and conversations. The newest entrant: Hot Potato, a buzzy start-up that’s supposed to let users converse about a particular event, whether they’re attending it in person or watching from afar. When it’s up and running, that is. The five-man crew doesn’t have users or a product just yet. But it has just raised around $1 million.
How Much Will You Have to Pay for Hulu? Nothing. How Much Will You Pay for “Hulu Plus”? Good Question.
Is Hulu putting up a pay wall around its Web TV site? Nope.
Does Hulu want to charge people to watch Web TV? Yes.
Confused? Don’t be.
Here’s the explanation about what’s going on at the premium online video site.
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About Peter
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
