Category: News

There are more interesting tidbits in the NY Times story. Disney will distribute Disney-labeled MSN disks “in its theme parks, stores and its DVD packages”, and claims it will be profitable from the start. Although there are no details on the revenue share, I imagine they’re taking a sales commission.
Saul Hansell notes another conflict in the story: MSN is partly owned by NBC, a direct competitor to Disney’s ABC network. Eisner has already in bed with NBC: ESPN.com is now part of MSNBC!
Kevin Werbach notes that Microsoft is saying it’s not a media company, it’s a cable company.
This is a lot like the deal the Mercury News (and other media companies) did with AOL back in 1993. I think it shows that Disney is so desperate to appear like they’re moving forward that they’ll do any deal. All these accounts are Microsoft customers with a tenuous relationship to Disney that will fall away over time. Unless you do the actual work in a relationship like this, the brand adds scant value. Microsoft built the system and the software, and Disney even claims they’re piggybacking on Microsoft’s $300 million marketing blitz.

Emarketer examines the size of the content market, including some figures by segment from the Online Publishers’ Association and some very big numbers for the overall content market from IDC, which has gotten into the habit of defining markets so broadly as to make their numbers meaningless. For example, they redefined the ASP market as the xSP market, which included the telcos. You do the math.
Vin Crosbie revisits the OPA numbers, noting that most of what the OPA calls content isn’t content, and includes services like dating and greeting cards. He’s right, of course, and if you look examine the numbers behind the OPA’s claim that spending on content increased 92% last year, you realize that the kind of stuff publishers think of as content is a tiny share of the market.
Vin’s conclusion: publishers should think about new kinds of content — and advertising.
The Baltimore Sun site talks to smaller newspapers that are just going online. Because they’re more often small companies and not outposts of huge corporations, they’ve been cautious, practical, and eccentric in their approaches. Protection of the core business and avoiding unnecessary expense are key values in this market.
For the most part, these people aren’t innovators. But we may get some relief from the current online news groupthink from their sheer numbers and eccentricities.
Less usefully, Alcatel says the key to the success of broadband service is bundling it with content. This is what happens when third-string telecom switch makers decide to think strategically and another argument against vertical integration.

Arts & Letters Daily is back, thanks to the Chronicle of Higher Education..

It’s not surprising that Google is suppressing content (racist, anti-abortion, Scientology documents) in its French and German sites. The question is whether this will be enough. How long will it be before they’re required to remove information from Google.com? The good news is that Google has agreed to report all requests to censor their database to Chillingeffects.org.
I’m sure they’re paying attention in China.

Disney and MSN are working on a service called Disney on MSN, combining Disney content with MSN Internet access.
I don’t understand. Can the combined Disney/MSN service really generate more revenue for each company than the individual services could? Of course not.

In a reversal of its historic position Direct Marketing Association now favors anti-spam laws, which I guess is progress. But since the DMA is now promoting direct email marketing, what they really want are laws that make the Net safe for themselves. I am proud to have made a living in direct marketing, but I also believe the DMA is yielding to its sleazier instincts.
According to Declan McCullagh in News.com, the DMA wants to overrule the existing laws in 20 states, prohibit only forged headers, and make opt-out the maximum protection under federal law. Does that mean you have to opt out of mail from each of their 4,700 members?
Jerry Cerasale, the DMA’s vice president for government affairs, says “We’re finding that we need to give the consumers the choice to try and allow them to control their inbox, to try and say no, I don’t want this, while leaving the medium open for commerce,” Cerasale said.
That’s what he said: “Just try and say no.”

The FCC’s blessing of digital radio is another giveaway to powerful broadcasters, effectively doubling their spectrum allocations. according to MediaGeek. In particular, the Geek blasts Wired for its cheerleading Popular Science coverage of this issue.

Leo Burnett is merging its interactive and direct marketing arms. The excellent story, by Chris Saunders of Internet.com, covers the big issue: should online agencies focus on branding (Burnett’s strength) or direct marketing. This looks like a recognition that rich media brand advertising isn’t the future of Web advertising.

I’ll be the first to admit I don’t understand iVillage’s business at all. The idea that of a web site that treats women as a niche market, when they’re pretty much half the Net, strikes me as a mistake. The fact that they’re a corporate shill for Hearst’s women’s magazines doesn’t help.
So, why would a company that’s struggling to make its core business work get into a completely different line of business? They might as well put their name on a line of vitamins. Ooops, they’re already doing that.

Two subscription sites and two free sites are in the black (some barely).
The Financial Times is reporting that FT.com is on target to make money in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile Consumer Reports has signed its one-millionth subscriber.
New York Times Digital’s revenues increased 26.8% to $18.2 million in the third quarter. The company said this was the fifth consecutive quarter of operating profits.. Knight-Ridder digital is also “on track” to break even in the fourth quarter, although it will lose $9 million to $10 million for the year.
It’s notable that both paid sites are premised on making or saving money and the two successful free sites are general news sites.