AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

LA Times “Web Scout” blog
Enter a cineplex this summer and you’re basically wandering into a giant circus. Each tent pole — the biz term for a colossally expensive movie — is sure to include at least one outlandish, or even freakish, main character. Step right up. On your left, watch an old man — incredibly! [...]

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Lost Remote
NBC will offer up a ton of live video during the Olympics: 2,200 hours. “We think it will generate a tremendous amount of engagement. We think it will generate more television viewership,” said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics. But there is one limitation: events that will be televised on NBC will not appear [...]

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Silicon Alley Insider
Since Hulu launched three months ago, it has become a consumer success, joining Nielsen’s top-10 video sites, and serving more video in May than ABC.com.
What does that mean in terms of gross ad sales for the NBC U - News Corp. JV? Not much. And net revenue? Even less.
We estimate Hulu will sell [...]

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The Hollywood Reporter
Quincy Smith tapped as CEO
CBS Corp. on Monday elevated Quincy Smith from president to CEO of its CBS Interactive division as it completed its acquisition of CNET Networks.
The company also named former CNET CEO Neil Ashe president of the digital group.
Under the reorganization, CBS’ online brands and CNET will act as one [...]

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The New York Times
Google is experimenting with a new method of distributing original material on the Web, and some Hollywood film financiers are betting millions that the company will succeed.
In September, Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy” on television, will unveil a carefully guarded new project called “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.” Unlike “Family [...]

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TV Technology.com
Far more teenagers watch video on TV sets than on computers—for now.
According to a survey sponsored by CTAM, the Cable Telecommunications Marketing Association, 83 percent of kids aged 12 to 17 looked at TV “during the past week,” while only about 44 percent watched video on a desktop computer and far smaller segments used [...]

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Crave
Sony has just confirmed the rumor we all heard back in April: video downloads will be available on the PS3 this summer. Details right now are scarce, but we do know the service will first be rolled out in the United States, followed by Japan and Europe later in the year. As we mentioned before, [...]

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LA Times Blogger David Sarno discovers online sensation Fred, here:
Last week, someone in the online video business gave me a simple tip.
“Fred,” the guy said.
“Fred?” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “Kids love Fred.”
I had not heard of Fred, much less known that kids loved him. But that would swiftly end. As soon as I could, [...]

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The Wall Street Journal
As soon as Tuesday, Google plans to unveil a new service that measures Internet use, according to advertising executives who have been briefed on it. The tool is intended to help advertisers identify the best places to buy online ads by telling them which Web sites their target audiences visit.
Google’s approach, aimed [...]

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With ‘Screening Room,’ YouTube dips its toe in the cinema world
At the Henry Fonda Theater on Hollywood Boulevard last night, YouTube introduced its new “Screening Room,” an area of the site devoted exclusively to selected independent films. The Screening Room will feature four short films every two weeks, as well as the occasional full-length feature. [...]

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