Internet Video News Digest v.1

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We've been seeing a lot of stories about online video recently. We collected and summarized three you might find interesting. If you haven't seen them already, you'll find out:

• How Internet videos got Andy Samberg his gig with Saturday Night Live


• Why Yahoo hit the pause button on development of two new Web TV shows


• What the wireless companies don't want you to know about people's appetites for watching TV on their cell phones

Who Owes His Job to Internet Videos?

The first one is from the most recent issue of Business 2.0 magazine, entitled "Now Serving: The Media Microchunk," by Erick Schonfeld.

You can find the full article at http://www.infomercialtoolkit.com/microchunk.

This article describes how Internet video is exploding and changing the way content is created and distributed online. It illustrates this trend with a story about Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg who actually got hired because of short Internet videos he produced. Saturday Night Live's producers saw them online and recruited him for the show.

These short videos even have a name now -- they're called "microchunks."

And now big media content providers are starting to learn how to create them and make money from them: Comedy Central, MTV, all the major netowrks, AOL and Warner Bros.

Yahoo Rethinks Video Strategy

The second article appeared in a recent issue of the Los Angeles Times. It's called "Shows on Web Have Been More Miss Than Hit," by Chris Gaither.

You can read the full article at http://www.infomercialtoolkit.com/yahoo.

This article is about how Yahoo is rethinking the way it approaches Internet video.

Yahoo hired a TV executive in 2004 named Lloyd Braun from ABC to run its Media Group. Initially, Braun planned to create original video programming -- like TV shows -- for the Web which would be available only through Yahoo.

They actually had a couple new shows in development on which they've now hit the pause button. It seems they're rethinking their approach to Internet video and instead are going to rely on content created by Yahoo users as well as purchase content created by traditional video producers.

Do You Want to Watch TV on Your Cell Phone?

The third article appeared recently on cnet.com. It's called "Cingular Launches New Mobile TV Service," by Marguerite Reardon.

You can find the full article at http://www.infomercialtoolkit.com/cingular.

It's about Cingular's new on-demand mobile TV service called Cingular Video that runs over its new 3G wireless network.

Customers can watch short 3 to 5 minute videos on their cell phones from content providers like Cartoon Network, NBC and ESPN. Cingular has also done deals with HBO Fox News to start providing video clips.

It may be mainly for early adopters right now, though. The article cites a recent survey that says 75% of respondents didn't wish to watch TV over their phones.

But that could change with better content and newer phones so we'll keep an eye on these developments for you.

Until next time...