THE NFL will allow NBC and CBS to simulcast Saturday night’s Patriots/Giants game. This will be the first tri-network simulcast since Super Bowl I. NBC and CBS will carry the NFL Network feed of the game, featuring announcers Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said “We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans.” Yeah, right! This will be a three hour promo for the NFL Network.
APPLE will offer downloadable movie rentals from Twentieth Century Fox through the iTunes store. Fox will also include iPod-ready (and DRM-bound) movie files on future DVDs, allowing them to be transferred to Mac devices and computers. Until now iTunes movie purchases have not gained the wide acceptance achieved with music sales. The addition of video rentals could give Apple a major boost in the online video space.
DELOITTE‘s annual media consumption report says that almost 75% of users prefer the ad-supported model for online content. 66% of users claim they would click on more ads if they were more targeted to their interests. Most users find that these more relevant ads appear while doing Internet searches.
SONY will halt production on all rear-projection TV sets and focus on plat panel technology. Sales for the sets had been declining in recent years, as the popularity of LCD TV sets has skyrocketed. This year, Sony expected to sell only a few hundred thousand rear-projection sets, making the business a money-losing proposition.
VERIZON is making an aggressive move in mobile sports TV, offering 24 full-length college football bowl games to its Vcast users. The games will appear on ESPN Mobile TV, CBS Mobile and Fox Mobile. Verizon believes that the lineup will benefit consumers who are traveling during the holiday season, making mobile TV an attractive option. Games run until January 6th.