Joost adds Turner

Building up to the full commercial launch, Joost adds Turner to its content mix.

From the AP business wire:

"Joost, a company attempting to broadcast television via the Internet, said Tuesday it had signed several new content distribution agreements, including one with Turner Broadcasting System Inc. to show CNN news and interview programs.

In Tuesday's deal, Joost said it will air episodes of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Robot Chicken" from Turner's Adult Swim network, while it would air "Larry King Live," among other news and interview programs from Turner's CNN, which is owned by Time Warner Inc.

Joost also announced several other content deals Tuesday: Sony will run episodes of several old TV series including "Charlie's Angels" and "Starsky & Hutch" on Joost; Sports Illustrated will run photo shoots and programs about its swimsuit issue; the National Hockey League will broadcast vintage games and game highlights; and Hasbro will run old episodes of "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe."

From the press release (via Lost Remote):

"Dennis Quinn, executive vice president of business development for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. said, “With Joost, we have the unique opportunity to reach and engage new and existing fans of Turner programming through an innovative platform. Online distribution is extremely important to Turner, and with Joost we are confident that our programming is secure and distributed in the high-quality format that is true to our brands.”

Janus Friis, co-founder of Joost, said, “The ability to make Joost a viable business, versus just a cool technology or viewer experience lies in our ability to bring together advertisers, content owners and viewers. Our business model was developed with the interests of our viewers and partners at the core. It’s exciting for us to enter this phase and truly begin executing on our vision.”

Turner's Dennis Quinn on mobile content

From RCR Wireless News, Dennis Quinn talks about Turner's vision for mobile content.

From the interview:

"Q: What is your overall philosophy or approach to mobile entertainment?

The philosophy is that it’s a new technology with a lot of promise. We do not anticipate it’s going to be digested in the same way someone does in front of their television or in front of their broadband screen.

You can look to Adult Swim or Cartoon Network or PGA or NASCAR or CNN for that matter, one of the things that I think is consistent to our company’s philosophy, and you’ll find it when you look at the different brands and the different products across those platforms I just mentioned, all of them look at what does the technology offer and how do you make the experience better within the limits of your brand.

Q: What kind of response have you received from wireless carriers and content owners?

I think at the end of the day, what we in the content side have to remain focused on is that our platform partners, whether our cable operators on the television side or the video-on-demand side or on the broadband side or our telecommunications partners, whoever they might be, that the reason they’re using us is to drive ARPU at the end of the day and increase lifetime value of a subscriber.

So our brands are a big part of driving acquisition of subscribers, but to be able to retain those subscribers and to drive usage it’s as much about compelling content as integrated promotions about jointly marketing across all of our platforms and presenting real targeted content that we know is going to play across multiple platforms. "

X-Box Movie Downloads

Paidcontent has a review of the Microsoft announcement on additional X-Box features.

From the press release:


"Beginning Nov. 22, on its first anniversary, Xbox 360 will be the first gaming console in history to provide high-definition TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their living rooms. Xbox 360 gamers will have access to the full-length TV shows as downloads to own and movies to rent via download from the Xbox Live^® network, the worldwide leader in online distribution of high-definition gaming and entertainment content.

“We are thrilled to be part of this launch and bring some of our most popular and targeted programming, including Adult Swim’s ‘Robot Chicken’ and ‘NASCAR.COM,’ to this platform direct to gamers via Xbox Live on Xbox 360 as part of their online gaming and entertainment experience. Partnering with Xbox Live represents the ideal environment to extend the relevant Adult Swim and NASCAR.COM brands and reach our fans in the coveted 18–34 demographic.”

- Dennis Quinn, Executive Vice President, Business Development, TBS Inc."

CNN Money:

"The move to digital distribution of video programming is not entirely surprising for Microsoft. The company faces stiff competition this holiday season from Sony (Charts) and Nintendo. Sony's PlayStation 3 is expected to offer a similar service, though this will not be available when the system goes on sale Nov. 17."

NYT:

"Peter Moore, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for interactive entertainment, said the service was initially intended to make the Xbox more versatile and therefore more attractive. “Direct revenue from this over the long term could be important,” Mr. Moore said. “But this is also another reason to buy an Xbox 360.”

PaidContent:

"The Xbox Live Video Marketplace opens for business Nov. 22—the anniversary of the Xbox 360 launch— with content from a variety of companies including Turner Broadcasting, Viacom, Paramount Studios, CBS, Warner Brothers. and Ultimate Fighting Championship This was one of the expected directions for Xbox 360 but, as I wrote earlier this year, the chokehold on supply that kept the core gaming audience from being served initially, effectively postponed outreach beyond gaming. This latest move plays off the already existing Xbox-TV connection. It’s also a one-up area for Microsoft: Xbox 360 owners won’t need Apple’s iTV—unless they’re big Disney fans."

Pixel Trade:

"Pricing has yet to be announced, but I’m told that movie rentals will be competitive with Blockbuster or pay-per-view rates and TV shows will likely match iTunes.

And it really all makes sense. Microsoft will soon launch its music/video player Zune and its console is already capable of streaming aural and visual delights off Media Center PCs. This neatly ties together the various media lines.

This move is the first of its kind in the console realm. Now Microsoft must wait to see how its 4 million users react when the service goes live on the 22nd."

Don Dodge:

"The Xbox 360 launched just one year ago. The combination of Xbox 360, Windows Media Center, and the soon to be released Zune music device puts Microsoft in a great position for home entertainment. Games, music, TV shows, music, photos, and interactive communities all working together on one device and viewable on your TV screen. Oh, and there is more coming. Stay tuned for more Live services. It is going to be tough to keep up with all the announcements coming from Microsoft over the next few months. It just gets better every day."

MocoNews Interview: Dennis Quinn, EVP-Biz Dev, TBS

MocoNews got an interview with Dennis Quinn.

From the interview:

“We want to be anywhere a consumer reaches out — not only CNN but Adult Swim, Nascar.com and TCM. … Our strategy for all these platforms is that we look at them as an opportunity to extend the brand, not necessarily to extend the programming."

“I think (3G) will begin to catch on; I’m not saying 100-percent penetration in the next two years.”

“I think in aggregate what I’m excited about is Sprint is out there with their strategy and their offering, Verizon is out there with a slightly different strategy, different offerings … Every major carrier is out there in a very aggressive way, which gives us the opportunity to test almost three different business models.”

Turner Digital: On the Move!

In a late entry we have Turner, trying to develop some sea legs for the eventual unwinding. Via MocoNews, several annoucnements and an interview with Dennis Quinn.

From the post:

"Turner Broadcasting has signed its most extensive wireless video distribution deal yet, agreeing to provide Cingular with branded video content from CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Nascar.com.

The deal includes:

• TCM: No movies are included in the first mobile deal for the classic movie net, which will serve up original movie trailers, clips, famous movie scenes, cartoons, shorts, etc.
• Cartoon Network: Video from CN original toons including “The PowerPuff Girls.”
• Adult Swim: CN’s late night cartoon haven for grown-ups, will offer up Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force among others.
• CNN: Treading carefully to make sure affiliates don’t feel threatened, CNN will provide VOD of the hourly updated “Now in the News”" along with other news programming."