Internet Video News Digest v.2

Slivercasts, Online Auteurs

& Amazon Goes Hollywood

Here are three recent news articles about Internet video that might be of interest to you.
This time, all three stories come from the New York Times.

The New York Times may require you register for access to the full articles. It's free and in no way do we benefit from you signing up with them.

What's Narrower Than Narrowcasting?

The first one is entitled "As Internet TV Aims at Niche Audiences, the Slivercast Is Born," by Saul Hansell.

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

discusses the two major trends in online video right now: Major media companies moving their programming online and a new phenomenon they call "slivercasting," where individuals and small businesses create video content for niche audiences.

As we've mentioned in several of our reports the increasing ease and affordability of digital video production and the ubiquity of broadband Internet connections are fueling this activity.

New Web specialty video "channels" are popping up focusing on "slivers" of interest--even narrower than the narrowcast channels cable TV delivered--stuff like sailing, vegetarian cooking, horror movies and fine wine.

These developments support our contention that you can produce Internet infomercials for for even small niche markets--something you could never do on broadcast or cable TV.

Film School for the Masses

Next is a story entitled "Online Auteurs Hardly Need to Be Famous," by Richard Siklos.

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

This is about how user-created online videos and short films are becoming more widespread and consumable. Of course, the Web and media companies are adapting quickly to the trend and trying to figure out how to make money from it.

The story refers to iFilm's recent "Show Us Your Junk" contest and other contests sponsored by online video destinations such as YouTube.com, Metacafe and Al Gore's Current.

The story also references Yahoo's recent shift to user created video content (which we mentioned in our last Internet Video News Digest) and cites the same factors behind these developments as those that drove us to create the Internet Infomercial Toolkit, namely:

• The widespread adoption of high-speed connections and


• The proliferation of affordable and easy-to-use cameras and software

Another Web Giant Jumps In

Our final story from the New York Times is entitled "Amazon Considering Downloads."

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

It reports Amazon.com is in talks with three major Hollywood studios to start a movie and TV show downloading service.

Customers would be able to download feature films and TV shows and burn them to DVDs.

And so it seems another major Internet player has jumped into the Internet video game.

Not to be outdone, Apple also announced this week its first movie available for download through its iTunes service: the Disney Channel original film, "High School Musical," for $9.99.

While that might not be a high-impact title, it sends a signal to Hollywood that Apple already has a movie distribution system in place and is delivering the goods right now.

Until next time....

Do You Have a Question About Internet Video?

Or how about some thoughts on one of the articles in this news digest? Just submit it below and we'll answer it in our next FAQ or teleseminar. Thanks!