Posts Tagged ‘833’

ESPN’s Skipper On Olympics: ‘We Believe In Live’; Walsh: NBC’s ‘Not Dumb’

It’s no secret that Disney? (NYSE: DIS) would like to get another crack at the Olympics and plans to bid for rights to the 2014 and 2016 games.The last time ABC had rights to the Olympics was 1988—before e-mail was ubiquitous, broadband was even a possibility and ESPN was a sports powerhouse. So what would an ESPN-ABC Olympics look like in the age of high-speed internet and video-centric handsets? How would it compare to the coverage of current rights holder NBC Universal? (NYSE: GE) John Skipper’s four-letter answer: Live. I caught up with Skipper, ESPN’s EVP of content, and cohort John Walsh, EVP and executive editor, during the NBA All-Star Weekend on opening night of the Winter Olympics for a wide-ranging conversation in, of all places, the bar at the Dallas Ritz-Carlton.

How much of the Olympics would be on ESPN’s broadband net ESPN360.com (soon to be rebranded ESPN3)? No commitment to showing all events live online but “a ton of it because, remember on 3, you have infinite screens.” Would he tape delay ski runs for prime time, as NBC has been criticized for doing? “We believe in live. We believe in live.  We just think at this point with technology and people’s expectations and the ability to get instant information, we believe in live.”

Dow Jones In Negotiations With Hearst To Buy Remaining Half Of SmartMoney

Dow Jones (NYSE: NWS) wants to buy the 50 percent stake it doesn’t currently have in personal finance mag SmartMoney from Hearst, the WSJ reports, citing unidentified sources. No word on what price DJ is offering for the magazine, though a deal could be hammered out by next week. The two companies have shared ownership of the monthly title since 1991. Being the sole owner would allow DJ to combine the editorial staffs of the WSJ and SmartMoney. While it doesn’t appear that any edit staff will be laid off if the two can work out a deal, it is likely that a number of jobs on the business side could be cut.

Major Pubs Get A Pass On Apple’s Ban On Racy Apps

Apple’s ban on some sexually-suggestive content in the iTunes App Store was due to an increasing number of complaints from women’s and parent groups, a top exec tells the NYT. But the policy is selective, as not all apps featuring scantily-clad women have been bannished. For example, Sports Illustrated’s free Swimsuit app is still available for download—though Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) asks that users certify they are over 17 years of age before loading—as is a related game app. Playboy (NYSE: PLA) has several paid apps still on sale in the App Store.

MTV Digital Reorg: McDonnell To Head Fusion; Tribes’ Hopkins Gets Expanded Marketing Role

As MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) ad execs begin meeting with marketers and media buyers for this year’s upfront, the Viacom unit is putting some finishing touches on reshaping its digital team. Later this morning, MTVN will announce that Suzanne McDonnell (image, left) will lead the Digital Fusion unit, while Heather Hopkins will add SVP of marketing and sales development to her existing role as GM of the Tribes vertical ad network. Both McDonnell and Hopkins will report to Kevin Arrix, who was promoted to EVP of Digital Advertising Sales just three months ago.

Warner Bros Takes Control Of Batman Game Maker Rocksteady

Already an investor in TT Games, Snowblind Studios and Midway Games assets, Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) Home Entertainment is buying further in to the video games market by acquiring a majority of London-based Rocksteady Studios, the developer that made the Batman: Arkham Asylum game starring WB’s superhero.

Group president Kevin Tsujihara tells FT the stake is 68.4 percent, though the price isn’t disclosed: “The biggest gap this fills is that it locks in development talent on one of our most valuable pieces of intellectual property for games: Batman.”

Mobile News Asia 2010