April 9, 2007
Volume 17, Issue 4
Azureus Unveils Vuze
Azureus, a global leader in aggregating and distributing long-form, high-quality video via the Internet’s most popular media peer-to-peer (P2P) application, has unveiled Vuze, the next evolution of quality broadband entertainment.
Vuze enables a robust community to browse and discover premium titles from worldwide media companies as well as high-quality self-published content. Vuze offers dramatically enhanced features and video from around the world, including the US premiere of the hit BBC television series "Sorted," which will be offered in high definition (HD).
Azureus also announced that it has entered into an agreement with Showtime Networks for distribution of its original programming, including award-winning hit shows "Weeds," "Dexter," and "The L Word."
Formerly code-named Zudeo, the service already attracts more than two million unique monthly visitors after only two months in existence. Vuze breaks new ground by offering a powerful tool set of enhanced features and functions that enable content providers to easily publish, showcase, and distribute high-resolution, long-form content in HD or DVD quality over the Internet.
"Vuze recognizes that the next generation online video experience lies within the integration of licensed and self-published content showcased in a theater-like viewing environment," said Gilles BianRosa, CEO of Azureus. "The millions who make up the Vuze community – publishers, editors and viewers – can share long-form video and download licensed content, and experience it in HD on their own computers or plasma screens."
Additional enhancements to the Vuze open entertainment platform include a completely revamped navigation system and search engine, designed to accommodate the massive influx of content from publishers, large and small, and help viewers quickly find what they want. Vuze provides more options for publishers to syndicate and monetize their content through rental and purchase models.
The entire experience, from search and discovery to payment, download, and play, has been tightly integrated into the application. Publishers can also distribute their work directly from the application.
Vuze will make premium content available at a very low cost, and offer several popular TV show episodes for free, leveraging Azureus’ unique P2P grid delivery platform. In addition, Vuze will continue to offer a broad range of free content from its community of self-publishers.
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 The DCIA hailed news this week of EMI’s groundbreaking deal allowing Apple to sell the record company’s music tracks online without copy-protection software.
This move represents a promising example of much-needed experimentation with new business models for digital music distribution, which still accounts for less than 10% of global music sales.
iTunes customers will now be able to purchase and download songs by the Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Janet Jackson, Coldplay and other top-selling artists without the usage and copying restrictions previously imposed by the music label.
EMI’s refreshed product line will feature singles and albums with higher bit-rates than current digital rights managed (DRM) versions. The DRM-free tracks are being branded as premium downloads and priced at $1.29, versus standard DRM-protected tracks priced at $0.99.
Premium and standard tracks will be offered side-by-side, and consumers will have the ability to upgrade their standard versions by paying the difference. Albums will be offered at one price whether copy-protected or not. There is no reason why this model cannot be ported to the P2P distribution channel, which could easily outpace iTunes sales with such an offer for licensed major label content.
The EMI Apple breakthrough should also lead to experimentation with alternative business models for the ever-expanding P2P universe, which represents one of the greatest upside opportunities for the music industry.
In addition to creating a new high-end for paid downloads, such models can also leverage the efficiency of viral P2P distribution to reward rights holders proportionately with the amount of plays their music enjoys at the lower-end. A wholesale conversion of open P2P music-sharing traffic into an advertising-supported promotional medium can compliment and drive sales to the EMI-pioneered new premium tracks with higher price points.
This will build on the work that INTENT MediaWorks has initiated with progressive music companies like Nettwerk Music Group. And as previously noted, this is in no way implies a scaling back of support for standalone P2P ad-supported models like QTRAX, P2P subscription models like iMesh, or P2P paid download models like Roo’s Peer Impact. Premium offerings should certainly be layered on top of free-to-user content.
The fundamental core of INTENT’s model lies in the formalization of an ad-supported "sampling file" that like the new premium-priced tracks, has the ubiquitous transferability of an MP3 and that, when played in a networked device (or any device that can periodically connect to the Internet), will report its number of plays and refresh its advertising payload.
Rights holders will make money with every play and will benefit from direct cross-promotion. As twentieth century radio drove CD sales, P2P sampling files will drive sales of higher-quality ad-free versions with value-added elements like digital liner notes, DVD video content, and user bonus points. Only much more efficiently.
Switching from music to video, we hope to see you at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB2007) in Las Vegas, NV next week.
The DCIA is especially grateful for the support of Interactive Television Alliance (ITA) CEO Allison Dollar, as well as President Ben Mendelson, and very proud to co-sponsor the ITA Content Incubator (C360), which will feature participation of DCIA Members Javien Digital Payment Solutions, Oversi, and RawFlow.
Other participating DCIA exhibitors and attendees of note at NAB2007 will include Abacast (C554), Azureus, INTENT MediaWorks, Octoshape (C3147), and VeriSign (C2546).
This year’s ITA Content Incubator is also co-sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter. The 2007 theme is "Alternative Distribution" and the ITA will be showcasing new opportunities in mobile, IPTV, VOD, networked devices, and broadband television, plus peer-to-peer television (P2PTV) as represented by participating DCIA Members. If you haven’t made plans yet, please contact NAB@itvalliance.org for information on participation.
HD broadcast technology is coming into its own this year, which augurs well for future adoption of P2PTV, the most efficient way to transmit large files such as television programs and feature-length films.
DCIA Members look forward to presenting their new P2PTV service offerings to broadcasters at all levels; and the DCIA aims to facilitate securely protected and cost-effective online video distribution. Share wisely, and take care.
VeriSign Announces New Domain Name Fees
VeriSign, the leading provider of digital infrastructure for the networked world, announced that effective October 15th there will be an increase in registry domain name fees for .com and .net, per its agreements with ICANN.
Domain names will increase from $6.00 to $6.42 and the registry fee for .net domain names will increase, from $3.50 to $3.85. This will be the first registry fee increase for .com and .net since the fee structure was put in place by ICANN in 1999.
Since 1999, the volume of Internet traffic and domain name system (DNS) queries on VeriSign’s global infrastructure has increased from an average of 1 billion queries per day in the year 2000 to nearly 30 billion queries per day today.
Traffic volume continues to increase with the emergence of consumer-driven services, the surge in web-connected wireless devices, and the proliferation of DNS-centric technologies and services.
In addition, the .com and .net infrastructures are continually being fortified and scaled to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. Security exploits have grown by 700% since 2000 and are projected to increase by 50% in 2007 and 2008.
To address the increase in both DNS volume and cyber attacks, VeriSign recently announced a major initiative entitled Project Titan to expand the capacity of its global Internet infrastructure tenfold by the year 2010.
Under Project Titan, over the next three years VeriSign will increase its daily DNS query capacity from 400 billion queries a day to over 4 trillion queries a day and will increase the aggregate network bandwidth of its primary resolution centers around the world from over 20 gigabits per second (Gbps) to greater than 200 Gbps per second.
Pepsi Signs Advertising Deal with P2P Service
Excerpted from Pacific Epoch Report by Riki Hsu
PepsiCo has signed an agreement with Shanghai based Internet media technology company Synacast Media for online ads, reports Shanghai Morning Post.
PepsiCo’s 7-Up brand will run video ads on Synacast’s P2P video network PPLive. Users can watch licensed streaming videos on the service.
PPLive received over $1 million in venture capital from Softbank China Venture Capital (SBCVC) at the beginning of 2005 and $10 million in a second round from SBCVC and BlueRun at the beginning of 2006.
YuMe Launches P2P Video Campaign
Excerpted from ClickZ News Report by Fred Aun
YuMe Networks, which specializes in broadband video advertising, has teamed with P2P file sharing pioneer BitTorrent to launch a campaign that inserts customizable, targeted video ads in downloaded movie files.
The month-old Redwood City, CA-based company asserts that this campaign is the first to allow web publishers to measure, track the viewing, and continually optimize ads delivered with downloaded video.
The first campaign will promote the upcoming video and PC game "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary" published by Eidos Interactive. The ads will be featured on video files from Comcast Networks’ G4 TV and distributed on BitTorrent. YuMe CEO & Co-Founder Jayant Kadambi said his company’s technology brings to the P2P space traditional ad metrics including reach, frequency, and view-throughs (YuMe’s version of click-throughs). "Until now, P2P software has been unable to track and provide reporting on who, when, and where content is downloaded and viewed," said Kadambi. YuMe "solves this problem" and brings accountability and a monetization system to P2P.
YuMe is not the only company hoping to cash in on P2P advertising. Companies such as Skyrider and MediaDefender also insist P2P marketing is here to stay.
"More free content will now be available," said Kadambi. "Our technology allows P2P software distributors to determine the best monetization model by content type. Some content lends itself more to a pay-to-own model, like movies, whereas episodic programming lends itself better to an ad-supported model."
Kadambi said YuMe’s system will allow BitTorrent to offer video files for free because they will come with YuMe-provided ads that will run before, during, or after play.
Aside from the viewing metrics the YuMe network provides, a big bonus for advertisers is the capability to change spots "on the fly," said Kadambi.
"Ad systems today are very good at taking content from HTML pages and then deciding contextually what is the most relevant search link or what is the most relevant text associated with that content and sending back a banner or text ad to associate with that," said Kadambi.
"What we’re saying is that video streaming is a fundamentally different thing. You need to do it cross-platform and you should be able to take a video ad, associate it with a set of content and demographics, and allow the advertiser to associate that regardless of where the content is being watched – be it the web, a mobile-phone or a BitTorrent download – and aggregate reporting all across that."
He cited Netflix movie rentals in describing the drawbacks of traditional, static advertising attached to movies. "If you watch the movie three months after the DVD was printed, you see the same old ads," he said. "There’s no ability to optimize or change – no flexibility at all. And that’s the state of the download industry today."
His company doesn’t collect personal viewer data, but it does track IP addresses and can target ads based on prior downloads, geography, and other information. "There is instantaneous and predictive reporting, ad rotation, and ad customization," said Kadambi.
YuMe’s technology categorizes online video content into customizable channels such as auto, finance and entertainment. Its customers select the channels that most closely match their brands, products and messaging.
Ultramercial Goes Green
Excerpted from Adotas Report
Ultramercial, a leader in innovative advertising-based P2P business models, in an effort to be "green", has adopted a new service which allows ads to be blocked, meaning the opt-in advertising network does its best to save energy by tuning unwanted ads out.
"Think about how much energy is wasted on ads we simply block, skip, or ignore. We are programmed to tune-out ads, relevant or not, and the impact from this on natural resources can’t be trivial in a $67 billion dollar industry," said Ultramercial COO Paul Grusche.
Instead of ads popping up on their own accord, viewers request the Ultramercial ad unit in order for ads to appear. This should help eliminate wasted energy put into unwanted ads that are normally skipped or blocked.
"It’s an explicit relationship that turns the advertiser into the good guy and defines engagement," said Dana Jones, Founder & CEO of the company. Ultramercial consists of a full screen with prompts before users view any content.
Rick Vandervoorn, Ultramercial’s SVP of Sales, added, "There’s a lot of inherent waste in advertising, especially print. But other media like broadcast and online aren’t much better. Pixels can be wasted too. A call to a server for a video ad triggers the delivery of about 1.0mb to 4.0mb of data per 30-second clip, whether the ad is viewed or not."
According to Grusche, "We present an honest and upfront reason why ads are there in the first place, they pay for content. Then, we give the viewer a choice: pay with their time by watching an ad, or pay with their credit card to enjoy a first-class ticket without any advertising."
Rehearsals.com Brings Emerging Artists to Joost
Rehearsals.com and P2PTV service Joost are partnering to create a branded channel for unsigned musicians and performers to show off their talent in front of a global audience. Meanwhile, Viacom has begun making more of its content available on Joost.
The Rehearsals.com channel will provide free, streaming video content from participating artists, as well as increase access to its parent company CenterStaging’s footage of rehearsals by major recorders like Macy Gray, Elliott Yamin, and Michael Buble.
The increased Rehearsals.com footage uses "up to 16 robotically-controlled cameras and 48 microphones with up to 96 individual channels of audio."
"Joost represents an amazing new advancement in the future of online television," said Michael Sandoval, Executive Vice President, CenterStaging. "Our content gives a unique perspective of artists at work on this extensive distribution channel and will give consumers exactly what they are looking for in this new age of media content."
"Joost offers music properties like Rehearsals.com the opportunity to reach a significantly expanded audience," said Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy & Acquisition for Joost.
RawFlow Teams with Multiplay
RawFlow, a leading provider of live P2P streaming technologies, has teamed with Multiplay in the adoption of RawFlow’s ICDstreaming for Multiplay’s live gaming events. The partnership launched this weekend with the streaming of i30 from Newbury, UK.
The April 6th–9th i30 is a huge gathering of gamers from all over the world who bring their computers to a multiplayer gaming frenzy on a high-speed network.
"i30 is essentially a place for gamers to meet and spend an entire weekend playing games and socializing. It’s become a festival of gaming - what ‘Glastonbury’ is for music fans, the i-Series is for gamers. RawFlow is proud to be part of bringing this content to the online gaming world", commented Mikkel Dissing, CEO of RawFlow.
Multiplay’s i-series have been running for more than seven years and the past few events have seen the rise of the "Finals Arena" - a huge 400-seat venue where the big-money tournament finals are staged – and experimentation with webcasting. With the introduction of RawFlow’s live streaming of the event, Multiplay will make it possible for gamers from all over the world to get in on the action.
"Because we have started getting more and more people watching the i30 and our other gaming events online, we have been looking for a P2P solution for more efficient distribution. By employing RawFlow’s ICDstreaming, we’re able to offer a high-quality video streaming of the i30 to more people without draining our bandwidth budgets" said Craig Fletcher, Managing Director of Multiplay.
Artificial Life Partners with arvato mobile
Artificial Life, a leading provider of award winning mobile 3G technology, games, and applications, is partnering with arvato mobile, one of Europe’s leading distributors of digital and mobile content. arvato mobile will release and distribute "Poli - der Eisbar" and other mobile games from Artificial Life in selected countries in Europe.
"We are happy that we can now publish the mobile games of Artificial Life: high-quality titles that fit neatly in our content portfolio," said Bernhard Ribbrock, CEO of arvato mobile.
"We are excited to work with arvato mobile, one of the biggest and strongest content publishers in Europe. Our partnership with arvato mobile is part of our roll out strategy for Europe," said Eberhard Schoneburg, CEO of Artificial Life.
ClickandBuy & Javien Enhance Services
ClickandBuy, one of the leading payment platforms for digital content and other types of e-commerce, and Javien Digital Payment Solutions, a total commerce technology provider, have announced a partnership that will enable both companies to expand their offerings.
The partnership will allow ClickandBuy and Javien to provide value-added services for merchants that need additional e-payment options. For example, Javien’s integration of ClickandBuy’s e-payment services into its platform provides another payment option to consumers in the United States and abroad.
Additionally, ClickandBuy can now offer its merchants Javien’s e-commerce solutions and value-added services for a broader offering. This partnership allows each to service both large and small companies interested in online and mobile digital content sales, including through the steadily growing P2P distribution channel.
P2P Turbo Speeds Up Connections
IObit Labs has released its new freeware, P2PTurbo, an innovative Windows utility to optimize and accelerate P2P speeds.
IObit Labs claims that its P2PTurbo thoroughly examines users’ systems and their P2P network environments, accurately detecting bottlenecks that impede downloading, automatically finding the best settings to optimize P2P clients, and dramatically boosting P2P connection speeds by up to 600%. The software is in its first beta version.
P2PTurbo supports most P2P Clients, including BitTorrent, LimeWire, iMesh, Morpheus, Ares Galaxy, BitComet, Warez P2P, DC++, eMule, BearShare, Kazaa, WinMX, and Shareaza.
According to the company, it also supports various networking types, from 56K modem to high-speed wireless networks. P2PTurbo is light software, not more than 400 KB, working on Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. It is 100% safe and clean without any spyware, adware, or viruses.
The idea for P2PTurbo was the brainchild of the IObit Labs team. It evolved out of an internal project to make usage of P2P clients more efficient. IObit Labs launched in 2004 and is a provider of award-winning software products designed to deliver superior performance, protection, and security to PC users in home and business markets.
The company also offers Advanced WindowsCare Personal, a free all-in-one system utility delivering spyware-and-privacy-protection plus tune-ups and cleanups; and IObit SmartDefrag, a disk defragmentation program that runs automatically in the background, speeding up hard drives’ access speeds. Both of these additional programs are also available without charge.
Gigatribe Encrypted P2P File Sharing
Excerpted from Wired News Report by Eliot Van Buskirk
The best way to discover music is still through your friends, although machine-based recommendations are certainly improving. In the spirit of friends recommending music to each other, Gigatribe allows users to set up encrypted P2P networks, similar in function to the FireFox extension AllPeers.
After installing the Windows-only software, which will most likely require setting up port-forwarding, users add their friends’ IDs and select which folders to share.After that, everyone in the group will be able to search and browse each others’ music collections and other folders they wish to share.
In the free version, users can only download one file at a time, and only from one source.For $4/month or $25 for a lifetime account, users can switch to the premium version and remove these limits.
All shared data gets 128-bit-encrypted. A benefit is that since users are only sharing with friends, there’s a better chance they’re going to like the music.
Labels Mull Options Post EMI/Apple
Excerpted from Digital Music News Report
Apple will soon position DRM-free catalog from EMI, though speculation continues to surround possible next steps from rivals Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony BMG.
All three majors have been decidedly protectionist, according to numerous sources and public statements by company executives. That includes recent, pro-DRM declarations from Universal Music Group President & COO Zach Horowitz, Warner Music Group Chairman & CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr., and Sony BMG President of Global Digital Business and US Sales Thomas Hesse.
That ice could thaw at some point, though label insiders continue to point to a pro-protection stance. Just recently, numerous sources both inside and outside of Warner Music Group noted that the mood has not shifted, thanks to a top-down philosophy engendered by Bronfman. And Sony BMG has traditionally been the most in favor of DRM protections, an approach that was reinforced by the recent promotion of Hesse in January, despite his central role in the rootkit disaster. But other variables are worth considering, and the outcome remains unpredictable.One Digital Music News source pointed to a multi-million dollar transfer from Apple to EMI for the privilege of positioning the DRM-free tracks, a figure that was pegged at $5 million by Billboard earlier this week.
EMI declined to discuss specifics, though information strongly suggests that earlier negotiations with iTunes rivals involving DRM-free catalog disintegrated based on unreasonable upfront payment demands. EMI requested the payments as an insurance guarantee against potentially increased levels of piracy, and subsequent revenue losses.
The recent announcement involving Apple changes that dynamic somewhat, and Microsoft now appears ready to bite first following the iTunes exclusivity window. Meanwhile, major label contracts with iTunes are set to expire at the end of this month, a situation that could set the stage for a more contentious, complicated interplay.
Web and P2P Music Downloads Rise
Excerpted from P2P File Sharing Report
End-of-year numbers from The NPD Group and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) show both web and P2P music downloads continuing to rise. On the web, licensed songs doubled to 4 million and total downloads to 795 million with 582 million sold in the US.
iTunes claimed 70% of the digital download market. However the average iTunes user bought 11% fewer songs. iTunes, Napster, and Wal-Mart lost market share, while Yahoo remained even.
At the end of 2006 47 million US households had at least one member who used digital music. 15 million or 32% of them obtained at least one song via P2P.
Russ Crupnick, NPD Group Entertainment Industry Analyst, said, "The volume of music files purchased is swamped by the sheer volume of unlicensed files being traded, whether on P2P or burned CDs sourced from borrowed files."
In the P2P world, LimeWire has become the leading software program, claiming a 62% market share. The average LimeWire user downloaded 309 music files in 2006.
Indie911 Offers DRM-Free Movie
Fresh from the introduction of its new Hoooka music player, online social network and music store Indie911 on April 6th premiered a DRM-free version of the grassroots motion-picture sensation Before The Music Dies, available for download as the service’s first feature-length film offering. While the movie continues to screen widely through its innovative grassroots release, this is the first time that the documentary will be available for sale in a digital version.
Through a partnership with the film’s distributor B-Side Entertainment, music and movie fans have two options for purchasing the electrifying music documentary – free of copy-protection technology – from the film’s Hoooka player powered by Indie911. For $9.99, consumers can download a high-resolution MPEG file suitable for burning to a DVD or for full-screen playback on a computer or connected television. For $3.99, a small-format MPEG file can be downloaded for playback on an iPod or other compatible portable video player.
"Before The Music Dies" is an unsettling and inspiring look at today’s popular music industry that has built a passionate cult following as "the most important film a music fan will ever see" (XM Radio).
"This partnership represents the future of the music and film industries for two reasons – fans want their entertainment to come to them, and artists want to retain their integrity when they enter the world of commerce," said Justin Goldberg, Founder & CEO of Indie911.
Hollywood Reels from Unauthorized Downloads
Excerpted from Investor’s Business Daily Report by Brian Deegon
If you haven’t seen the hit movie "300," you can always catch it for free on the Internet — along with just about any other Hollywood blockbuster.
You can also watch any popular TV show — every episode of each season, even from channels not available on your local cable network. It’s all just a few clicks away on your computer.
In the same way the Internet disrupted the music business, a high-speed locomotive is headed right at filmed entertainment, industry analysts say.
Until now, filmed entertainment was relatively safe from Internet infringement because the large size of video files clogged Internet pipes. But improvements in file compression, faster networks, and graphics-enhanced computers have broken down those barriers.
"With the proliferation of broadband and better streaming, the tech trends are bad and the problem is likely to grow," said John Malcolm, Senior Vice President & Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The motion picture industry estimates that in 2005 alone it lost $2.3 billion to Internet copyright breaches in the US and $7 billion worldwide, including box-office receipts and video sales.
"There’s no silver bullet to stop this," said James McQuivey, a media analyst at Forrester Research. "This is a fire you’ll never put out."
Case in point is the illegal swapping of music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed thousands of lawsuits and spent millions to send a message that unauthorized file swapping is outright stealing. But more people are swapping music files now than ever before.
The same P2P networks that allow the swapping of music are increasingly being used for sharing movies and TV shows.
"P2P video only accounts for about 10% of file swapping right now, but it’s growing at triple-digit rates," said Eric Garland, Founder of DCIA industry data resource BigChampagne, a web tracking research firm.
"More and more people are getting their entertainment online without paying for it," Garland said. "P2P is more popular than ever before."
More than 9 million people log on to a P2P network worldwide each day, and that grows each year despite intense efforts by the entertainment industry to shut down the ones that operate without authorization.
And it’s going to get even tougher to stop the flow. In addition to P2P networks, numerous websites have surfaced that offer enough video content to fill a movie rental store.
These websites essentially are search engines like Google, but focused on video. They don’t host the content but provide an Internet link that connects users to wherever the content is located, on a central server or someone’s personal computer.
An example is www.Peekvid.com. The website has links to about 500 movies, including current Oscar winners. It also lists about 200 TV series, often including all the seasons and episodes of every show, including the hit series "24," which airs on the FOX network. The site, which shows the movies in a pop-up window, is ad-supported.
According to Garland, much of the video content on Peekvid can be traced to a YouTube-like video site called DailyMotion. Just like YouTube, copyrighted content removed by the site often reappears as countless other users upload it again.
Peekvid is one of many sites the MPAA has on its radar.
"There are very few sites which we are unaware of, and what they are doing is clearly wrong," said Malcolm. "They’re stealing and making money off the work of other people’s creative efforts."
The MPAA and other industry groups worldwide have dragged many scofflaws to court and raided many locations that dish up the content. But there’s no sign such unauthorized activity is ebbing.
"It’s not going away," said Chris Seline, Founder of www.Searchles.com, a web search engine. "TV sites are like a dime a dozen. It doesn’t take much to put one together, to find where that content is and linking to it."
In January, US Internet users viewed 7.2 billion videos online, according to comScore, a digital media measurement firm. The typical viewer watches two online videos a day, averaging 2.6 minutes each. The comScore research did not include videos viewed on P2P networks.
Overall, a lot of video that’s viewed on the web is legitimate and highly promoted. The media and entertainment industries have been actively moving content onto the web, much of it free.
Analysts say the entertainment industry will never be able to stop the flow of unauthorized copyrighted content across the web. Rather than trying to stanch the flow, the entertainment industry should do a better job at cashing in on the trend, they say.
"You can throw a police force at it, but it will still exist," said Stan Rogow, a producer and writer with a string of Hollywood shows and movies to his credit. "What you have to do is find a better way to get your stuff out there and make it better. It’s just a new method of distribution."
Hollywood has been moving in that direction, working out deals with P2P players and other popular websites to make popular content available, usually supported by advertising.
"There’s no choice but to embrace these platforms," said Howard Homonoff, Director of the Entertainment and Media Advisory Practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. "They have the ability to create a legitimate revenue-producing business, even though they can’t eliminate the unauthorized practices."
Said Nolan Quan, a consultant to Broadcaster.com, a video-sharing site: "I would bet at some point the studios will win this battle."
Warner’s Digital Watchdog Widens War
Excerpted from NY Times Report by Laura Holson
Hollywood studios spend millions every year trying to get people to watch their movies. At Warner Brothers Entertainment, Darcy Antonellis is trying to get them to stop watching — illegally, that is.
Ms. Antonellis oversees the studio’s growing worldwide anti-piracy efforts as Hollywood’s attention shifts from bootleg DVDs made in China to the problem of copyrighted television and movie clips showing up on sites like YouTube and MySpace.
"People want to be more interactive and have a voice," said Ms. Antonellis. "We need to consider all the opportunities."
Piracy may seem like the biggest threat to Hollywood, but Ms. Antonellis suggested instead that changing consumer behavior will have a greater impact on the entertainment business.
Movie studios, like their peers in music and television, are in the midst of a significant and frightening shift as almost every form of media is becoming ubiquitous on the Internet. And through sites like YouTube, viewers have grown accustomed to seeing whatever they want to see, free.
"People thinking it is OK to take this stuff for free on a worldwide basis has a bigger impact than anything," said Ms. Antonellis.
For her part, Ms. Antonellis and her team review all the deals Warner seeks, particularly those online and for distributing content over mobile phones. She has considerable sway; Warner deal makers rely on her expertise to tell them how a deal should be structured.
When it comes to YouTube, Time Warner is in a delicate position. In 2005, Google spent $1 billion for a stake in America Online, a division of Time Warner, and expanded its strategic alliance. Google bought YouTube last year.
Not surprisingly, Ms. Antonellis is conservative in her comments about the media companies’ negotiations with YouTube.
"Clearly the lawsuit has sent out a message," she said of Viacom’s suit. "We are hopeful that social networks such as YouTube will put in place proper systems which will respect our intellectual property and will facilitate legal offerings."
Ms. Antonellis is the rare Hollywood executive who never planned on a studio career. The 44-year-old former college tennis pro hoped to become a journalist until, as she put it, she learned writing was not her gift. She had an aptitude for math, though. After her freshman year at Temple University, two hours from her hometown, Newark, Ms. Antonellis decided to sign up for the electrical engineering program instead.
She did not abandon her interest in news, though. She graduated in 1984 and headed to New York City where she got an engineering internship at CBS working with Chris Cookson, the CTO of Warner Brothers Entertainment who was then an executive in the technical operations department of CBS. In 1988 she moved to Washington where Mr. Cookson appointed her director of Washington operations for the CBS news bureau.
She left Washington in 1991 and moved back to New York and worked in operations and engineering for CBS Sports, covering three Olympics, including the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. That same year Mr. Cookson recruited her to Warner to help with the studio’s transition to a digital world.
"We share here a belief and understanding in new technology and that consumers want to experience our movies and television shows differently," Mr. Cookson said. "Darcy really understands the whole equation."
Ms. Antonellis believes that the next three months will be most critical for Hollywood as the need to offer legal movies and television shows to consumers intensifies. When asked about criticism that studios aren’t moving quickly to offer content online, she pointed to a deal Warner made last year with BitTorrent, a movie-swapping site that approached the MPAA about selling movies legally.
SafeMedia Introduces Clouseau
SafeMedia Corporation, based in Boca Raton, FL has developed technology that it claims can completely wipe out unauthorized file sharing.
"SafeMedia’s ‘Clouseau’ makes it impossible for anyone to send or receive any unlicensed P2P transmissions," said President Safwat Fahmy, Founder & CEO of SafeMedia Corporation. "Clouseau examines all incoming and outgoing packets of information, destroys all unauthorized P2P while allowing licensed P2P to go to its desired location without any delay."
"What was needed was a totally new approach in system architecture, and the Clouseau was developed to be the best-of-breed Internet Piracy Prevention solution. It was designed from scratch specifically to stop all P2P copyright infringement no matter where it originates worldwide," he added.
"The technology moves through multi-layered encryptions, analyzes network patterns and updates itself frequently," explained Fahmy. "The packet examinations are non-invasive and foolproof. Clouseau prevents the unauthorized back-and-forth flow of copyrighted files like you would find through LimeWire, Morpheus, or eMule. This technology prevents a real loss to the entertainment industry." Advanced technology and a unique approach to fingerprinting and DNA markers created by SafeMedia allow the thorough examination of all incoming and outgoing packets: unlicensed P2P is eradicated, while authorized P2P passes along to its destination with no measurable delay.
"For the first time ever, policy makers have the solution to insure compliance with the law. Businesses, universities, organizations, and Internet users can comply in a friendly, positive environment without expensive and hostile legal action enforcement. Copyright holders can finally make the Internet available as a safe, viable distribution channel for all content industries," said Fahmy.
Coming Events of Interest
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National Association of Broadcasters (NAB2007) – April 16th–19th in Las Vegas, NV. Whether you’re making the transition to HD; looking to invest in new technologies like P2PTV; seeking new tools to create content and build revenue streams; or just trying to stay ahead of the competition, NAB2007 is your essential destination. The DCIA is participating in the ITA Content Incubator.
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MUSEXPO – An unprecedented group of global entertainment executives will congregate in West Hollywood, CA April 29th - May 2nd for A&R WORLDWIDE’s international music and media forum. Designated "a united nations of the music industry," top tier music, media and technology global executives unite to participate in a series of timely industry forums kicked-off by a round-table keynote event moderated by Emmy Award-winning CNN host Larry King.
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Streaming Media East - The Business & Technology of Online Video - May 15th-16th at the Hilton New York, NY. Streaming Media East is the only trade show dedicated to coverage of both the business of video on the net and the technology of streaming, downloading, IPTV and mobile video delivery. The DCIA is a show sponsor, and DCIA Member BUYDRM’s Christopher Levy will speak on the P2P for Large Scale Video Delivery panel.
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P2P MEDIA SUMMIT LA – June 11th in Santa Monica, CA. This is the DCIA’s must-attend event for everyone interested in P2P. Keynotes, panels, and workshops on the latest breakthroughs. Held in conjunction with the new Digital Hollywood Spring conference and exposition.
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Digital Hollywood Spring – June 12th–14th in Santa Monica, CA. Now expanded to Le Merigot as well as Loews Anatole Hotel. With many new sessions and feature events, this has become the premiere digital entertainment conference and expositions. DCIA Members will exhibit and speak on a number of panels.
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NXTcomm – June 18th–20th in Chicago, IL. The next-generation global forum and marketplace for the business of information, communications, and entertainment technology. The forces that drive communication and the solutions to harness it converge here. The DCIA will participate with Digital Hollywood.
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International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) – September 6th-11th in Amsterdam, Holland. IBC is committed to providing the world’s best event for everyone involved in the creation, management, and delivery of content for the entertainment industry, including DCIA Members. Run by the industry for the industry, convention organizers are drawn from participating companies.
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PT/EXPO COMM – October 23rd-27th at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, China. The largest telecommunications/IT industry event in the world’s fastest growing telecom sector. PT/EXPO COMM offers DCIA participants from all over the world a high profile promotional platform in a sales environment that is rich in capital investment.
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