Video Age International articles from January 2008

Video Age International archives from January 2008

Hollywood writers want to strike digital riches.
January 1, 2008... While Europe recently had to deal with strikes by railroad workers, taxi drivers and even bread makers, this past holiday season, striking workers in the U.S. hit consumers where it hurt most: the entertainment industry. The dearth of holiday...

Latin America's new broadband challenges.
January 1, 2008... Like most other regions, South America is going through a complex period of change. The development of broadband has ushered in a new era and, with it, many questions: What are the main problems facing the entertainment industry in South...

NATPE Quo Vadis? Does the TV industry still want you?
January 1, 2008... In the weeks leading up to the 45th annual National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) event, which will take place January 28-31, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, the major studios have waffled as to...

Measuring audience breaks during commercial breaks.
January 1, 2008... Despite all the social networks and file-sharing websites out there, people are watching more TV than ever. The average U.S. household, for example, watches eight hours and 14 minutes per day. This takes into account the fact that there are...

Weather channel forecasts its sale.(World)
January 1, 2008... A $5 billion sale is in the forecast for Landmark Communications, after putting its popular U.S. cable channel, The Weather Channel, on the market early this month. Prospective buyers will get a chance to bid on the channel (valued at $1.5...

Roger King dies at 63.(World)(Brief biography)(Obituary)
January 1, 2008... Roger King, CEO of CBS Television Distribution and chairman of the King World television dynasty, passed away in early December. King, 63, suffered a stroke at his home in Boca Raton, Florida on Friday morning, December 7, and died on Saturday...

China bans U.S. films.(World)
January 1, 2008... Recently, China's government has been blocking U.S. movies from its cinemas. Even though Chinese government officials have not announced a policy change, U.S. studios have stopped receiving approvals to show films in China. Insiders...

India faces TV regulations.(World)
January 1, 2008... India's Supreme Court ruled in favor of expanding the government's regulatory power over TV early this month. The decision will allow the government-established Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to monitor broadcasting and...

Canada against foreign takeovers.(World)
January 1, 2008... In the wake of a number of foreign takeovers of Canadian companies in the broadcasting industry and beyond, Canada has made it known that it plans to investigate foreign state-owned companies looking to take over Canadian firms, and it won't...

Internet to serve U.S. Air passengers.(World)
January 1, 2008... Research In Motion Inc. has joined forces with JetBlue Airways Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. to deliver free in-flight Internet services to certain flights. Beginning in early December, a JetBlue A320 plane, dubbed BetaBlue, was equipped with the...

U.S. extends TV's analog transition.(World)
January 1, 2008... The U.S. switch from analog to digital television got a little easier for some broadcast stations, when the regulatory agency, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), approved new rules this month. The new regulations were enacted to help...

The IOC doesn't get an IOU from Japan.(World)(International Olympic Committee )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Tokyo officials received a warning from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after making inappropriate comments to Brazilian Olympic chief Carlos Arthur Nuzman. Leaders of Tokyo, one of the seven hopefuls for the bid for the 2016 Summer...

Has Sundance sold out?(World)
January 1, 2008... Sundance Film Festival has been under the microscope for its commercialization in recent years. London paper The Observer ran an article in early January examining the vastly increased studio presence at the traditionally indie event and...

Famous quotes.(World)(Quotation)
January 1, 2008... "I think I'd like to leave." Why? "I'd like to spend a little time being a wife, a mother and a grandmother." And what will you do the rest of the day? The late Roger King to one of his assistants, as told by Inside Edition's Deborah...

Valenti's life written as a PG movie.(Jack Valenti)(Motion Picture Association of America)
January 1, 2008... The Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) film ratings system was bitterly opposed by the industry from its conception. Instituted in 1968, the system raised heated controversy concerning censorship and morality. For Jack Valenti, the...

Too early to call it dead: ATF faces AMAZIA's fire.(Asia TV Forum Review)
January 1, 2008... Several issues confronted the recently concluded eighth edition of the Asia TV Forum (ATF). The first matter of concern was pure business, since exhibitors were unable to find the notoriously elusive program buyers from Japan and the small TV...

Local independents still count.(U.S. TV Broadcast)
January 1, 2008... In the 32 years since I started my career at KTLA, then an independent local TV station in Los Angeles, television has changed a great deal. But television stations haven't. Sure, technology has advanced in ways we never dreamed of--the...

Power: a mix of Bodle & Philip set to fuel great expansion.(Company Profile)(Power Corp.)(Company overview)
January 1, 2008... Britain's Power Corp. is a unique and dynamic company that has grown exponentially in the 12 years since Justin Bodle founded it. Now, after nine months getting his feet under the table, head of Worldwide Sales, Chris Philip, spoke to VideoAge...

Challenged public sector has to become more challenging.(Television in France)
January 1, 2008... Television in France is going through an unusual number of upheavals these days, politically, economically and technologically: * A new government regulation (Television du Futur) regarding the modernization of broadcasting will soon be put...

U.K. scandal raises the phone bar in the U.S.(Participation TV)(television)
January 1, 2008... Meet rockstar wannabe Betsy Gallagher. The 42-year-old mother of two and school board member has another title: American Idol voter. "I let the kids send in one text... then I vote twice," she said. Participation TV (P-TV), in the form of...

Proliferation of TV events as a way to get int'l attention.(German Screenings)
January 1, 2008... Germany has a highly competitive TV industry and a highly competitive Lander [or State] structure. Each of the 16 Landers wants to be a location that lures in media and communications-focused companies. As a result, Germany also has a slew of...

AFM shift created a vacuum being filled by Berlin's film mart.(Film Fests & Markets)(European Film Market )
January 1, 2008... Whereas the Berlin Film Festival attracts high-wattage stars, it's the concurrent nine-day European Film Market (EFM) where the wheeling and dealing takes place. While actors and actresses vie for coveted Golden and Silver Bear awards at the...

Dia de los Independientes en los L.A. screenings.
January 1, 2008... En el desayuno anual ofrecido en MIPCOM por VideoAge, el Editor Dom Serafini presento el Dia de los Independientes: Un dia completamente dedicado a la proyeccion general de films, comidas, conferencias y eventos, preparado para reproducir el...

NATPE es importante para los Latinos e Hispanos.
January 1, 2008... Hablemos del futuro de NATPE. Pero previo a describir como es imaginado, una franca (mas que amena) revision de la actual situacion. La ubicacion de NATPE en el calendario lo hace viable, ya que rompe los seis meses que separan MIPCOM de...

Los nuevos desafios de los estudios de Hollywood.
January 1, 2008... ?Tiembla Hollywood por temor a enfrentarse a una nueva Media? Recientemente el diario Los Angeles Times publico que, "Los Medios principales [se encuentran] en panico digital," y esto es, posiblemente, la razon por la cual corren a realizar...

Problemas de rating.
January 1, 2008... El tema relacionado con la iniciativa de Nielsen denominada "Live plus" es que nadie esta realmente seguro de que se trata y que significa para ellos. En el mundo real de la calle todo es confusion. Pero, el tema de fondo se mantiene: ?Que hara...

Latin America TV distribution directory.(television)(Directory)
January 1, 2008... ARGENTINA America Video Films Sales Contact: Claudio Braslavsky Virrey Loreto 2426, 1426 Buenos Aires, Argentina Tel: (54) 11 4787-9098 Fax: (54) 11 478-9094 E-mail: america@americavideofilms.com ...

Conferences & events news.(Calendar)
January 1, 2008... TRAVELIN' COSTS GOING UP The good news is that, according to the American Express Global Business Travel Forecast, 2008 is expected to see the smallest travel cost increases in four years. The bad news is that the average cost of a U.S....

My two cents.(future of National Association of Television Program Executives)
January 1, 2008... Let's talk about the future of NATPE. But before describing how it is envisioned, a "Frank" (rather than a "Joy") review of the current situation is in order. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NATPE's calendar year is viable, because it breaks a...