Watch High School Musical 2 on Verizon mobile phones

Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and the USA group have been following the phenomenon of Disney High school Musical 2. over 11 million viewers tuned in to watch it.

July 26, 2007

Verizon Catches Disney Channel's "High School Musical 2" Fever with Special Promotions Designed to Highlight FiOS TV On Demand and Verizon Broadband Offerings

Burbank , CA – July 26, 2007 -- This summer, Verizon is teaming with Disney Channel and Disney Connection to create two unique promotions centered on the highly-anticipated Disney Channel Original Movie "High School Musical 2."

Beginning this week in select retail outlets in Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Verizon will offer new customers who activate FiOS TV service between July 16 and Aug. 5, a collectible, limited-edition "High School Musical 2" lunchbox. New and existing FiOS TV subscribers will be able to watch "High School Musical 2" prior to its linear Disney Channel premiere on Disney Channel on Demand. Verizon FiOS TV is one of a limited number of video services across the country that offers Disney Channel On Demand.

VerizonSurround.com – Verizon’s broadband entertainment portal -- and Disney Connection, an online entertainment destination available to Verizon broadband subscribers, are teaming together to bring users the “ Get in to Win Instant Win and Sweepstakes,” which includes a chance to win the ultimate barbeque party complete with a visit from one of the “High School Musical 2” cast members. Additional “High School Musical 2” features available to Verizon FiOS Internet and Verizon High Speed Internet customers through Disney Connection include a brand new game, behind-the-scenes video footage and a complete guide to planning a “High School Musical 2” party.

“We’re giving our customers the best opportunity to experience ’High School Musical 2’ in a variety of ways, including TV and broadband,” said Terry Denson, Verizon vice president – FiOS TV content and programming. “We are pleased that we are one of Disney’s few affiliate partners that offers the full portfolio of Disney assets, including Disney Channel, Disney on Demand and Disney Connection.”

"Partnering with Verizon is a great way for us to give fans of the 'High School Musical' franchise and Disney Channel viewers a little something extra, connecting them more deeply to our brands and the programming they love," said Nathalie Lubensky, senior vice president, affiliate marketing, Disney and ESPN Affiliate Sales and Marketing . "Our kid viewers are looking for experiences both on-air and online, and we are excited to be working with Verizon to bring these special offerings to their customers."

"High School Musical 2," part of the blockbuster Disney Channel Original Movie franchise, premieres Friday, August 17 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel U.S., and will be featured Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19 in online and on-air programming events hosted by the movie's cast. It will also premiere on Disney Channels around in the world beginning in September.

Visionary director and Emmy Award-winning Kenny Ortega returns to direct and, along with fellow Emmy-winning choreographers Charles Klapow and Bonnie Story, has created ground-breaking production numbers for the sequel. The teleplay was written by Peter Barsocchini, a former rock music journalist, who also wrote "High School Musical."

Reprising their singing and dancing roles are: Zac Efron as star athlete Troy Bolton, Vanessa Hudgens as brainy transfer student Gabriella Montez, Ashley Tisdale as drama club diva Sharpay Evans, Lucas Grabeel as her brother and on-stage partner, Ryan Evans, Corbin Bleu as teammate and best friend Chad Danforth and Monique Coleman as academic decathlete Taylor McKessie. Also returning are Alyson Reed as Ms. Darbus, Chris Warren, Jr. as Zeke, Olesya Rulin as Kelsi, KayCee Stroh as Martha, Ryne Sanborn as Jason and Bart Johnson as Coach Bolton. Mark Taylor (Disney Channel's "Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off") joins the cast as the country club manager, Mr. Fulton.

Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Currently available on basic cable in over 90 million U.S. homes and to millions of other viewers on 27 Disney Channels around the world, Disney Channel is part of the Disney-ABC Television Group.

Disney Online ( www.disney.com), a division of the Walt Disney Internet Group, produces the number one kids' entertainment and family community destination on the World Wide Web. Launched in 1996, Disney.com is the online gateway to all of the company's Disney-branded entertainment initiatives, providing comprehensive access to, and information about Disney movies, travel, television, games, mobile, music, shopping and live events. In addition, Disney Online develops and publishes a range of online products and services including Disney's Toontown Online, Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online, Disney Game Downloads, Disney Game Kingdom, Disney Connection and Hot Shot Business.

Verizon provides FiOS TV and Internet services over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network that reaches all the way to customers’ homes. FiOS Internet provides downstream connection speeds as high as up to 30 to50 Mbps (megabits per second), and upstream connection speeds as high as up to 10 Mbps. Verizon FiOS TV offers a broad collection of all-digital programming, more than 20 high-definition channels, 8,600 video-on-demand titles and more.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving 60.7 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

getting RSS feeds on your mobile phone

Stun Mobile Media and the USA Group highly recommend:

NewsGator Go! – NewsGator’s mobile version syncs with user’s online accounts, allowing you to read their feeds on the go for $29.95.
LiteFeeds – Once downloaded to your phone, LiteFeeds allows you to browse your feeds, email articles to friends, or bookmark them to your del.icio.us account.
Egress – This program for Windows Mobile sports a clean UI and also supports podcasts. Egress is available for $12.95.
Mobispine – Mobispine is a free Java application for reading your feeds on your mobile. The service also includes a web component where users can add feeds to the Mobispine database, see related feeds, and leave comments.
Quick News – Designed for Palm OS, Quick News lets you download feeds either via a HotSync or a direct internet connection for later use, which enables offline (or out of coverage) reading.
Bloglines Mobile – The popular web-based reader also offers a browser-based mobile version to access your feeds without downloading anything.
FeederReader – This application is designed for phones running Windows Mobile, and bills itself as being especially well suited for developers, allowing you to view the RAW XML files for and its XML elements and attributes.
FreeRange – This Java application will work on Palm OS, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry. The site has optional Google Reader integration.
Google Reader Mobile – If you use Google Reader, you can access a version designed for mobile phones.
ZapTXT for mobile - mobile version of the ZapTXT widget.

creating content with your mobile phone

Stun mobile media and the USA group highly recommend:

SnapZone - An online service that lets you upload your photos directly from your mobile via a wireless connection. Snapzone allows you to free up space on your phone”s memory while also giving you an instantaneous way to share your images with friends. SnapZone is also a community site, so if your friends join you can use it to share your pictures easily in one place.
Fotochatter - network that enables you to share mobile pictures with your friends, as well as receive images from your buddies on your phone
Radar - creates picture conversations - you send your pictures to Radar and your friends can instantly see them and comment on them
Shozu - Mobile uploading to photo sites including Flick

mobile phone internet radio show. content from your mobile phone

USA GROUP AND STUN MOBILE MEDIA HIGHLY RECOMMEND:

NowLive is a recently launched broadcast service for people to have a live radio talk show from just about anywhere.

On the plus side, you won’t have to download anything in order to get set up with NowLive. You can use your mobile phone, Skype or GoogleTalk to host your own talk show, and broadcast it live over the Internet. Each show can have multiple hosts, and the show’s page as embedded chat for listeners, and a media gallery that supports images, audio and video clips. NowLive is also a community at large, stocked with a photo gallery, a user directory and a host of current and upcoming live shows.

The profile pages, however, seem a bit piecemeal (as do a few other components of the NowLive site), and don’t highlight the important points of the broadcasting aspect of the site. Having a better calendar option, an area for archived shows, RSS capabilities and the ability to bookmark users and content would help improve the overall function and networking capabilities of NowLive.

Similar services include BlogTV and BlogTalkRadio.

Premium tv - your favorite sports from the UK premiumtv.co.uk

Its about sports but what a great name for a website...

premiumtv.co.uk

Company Info

Premium TV Ltd

22 Suffolk St
London SW1Y 4HG,
UNITED KINGDOM

Building a billion dollar mobile tv site with other peoples content

This is just like YouTube, offering mobile tv premium content.

Veoh Networks, Inc.

7220 Trade Street, Suite 115
San Diego, CA
92121
US
Phone: +1 619 602 3305
pr [at] veoh.com

Verizon wants your content for mobile phones if your a band

USA Group and Stun Mobile Media found this press release:

Calling All Bands: Verizon Wireless and MySpace Want to 'Sign' You to V CAST

    BEDMINSTER, N.J., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Now one band has the chance of a
lifetime: to be the first unsigned band to launch their career on a wireless
phone.  Leveraging the newest medium for artists to reach their fans, the
"Calling All Bands" contest from Verizon Wireless and MySpace offers one lucky
unsigned band the opportunity to have their song, music video, ring tone and
ring back tone released on Verizon Wireless -- the nation's leading wireless
provider with 51.3 million customers.
   Verizon Wireless will release the "Calling All Bands" winner's song on
V CAST Music -- marking the first time an unsigned band will release its first
single on a wireless phone.  The winner will also work with Verizon Wireless
to produce a music video that will be released on V CAST, plus a ring tone and
ring back tone of the winning song that will be available for purchase by
Verizon Wireless customers.  MySpace, with more than one million registered
bands, helps Verizon Wireless bring authentic bands to the mobile world,
further extending the music experience on customers' communication devices
they use most every day -- their wireless phones.
   Beginning today, any unsigned band on MySpace can submit an original song
for the "Calling All Bands" contest.  From all submissions, 15 semi-finalists
will be selected and the MySpace community of friends and fans can listen and
vote online for their favorite band from the contest page.  The top five
entries to receive the most votes will become finalists; the winner will be
chosen among the finalists by Verizon Wireless and MySpace and will be
announced on MySpace at the end of March.

   Save These Dates:

   * February 15 - March 1: Entrant submission period
   * March 13 - March 22: The 15 semi-finalists, chosen by MySpace Music
     Editors, will be linked to or posted on the contest page where MySpace
     bands, their friends and fans can vote for their favorite band
   * March 24: The five contest finalists are announced on
     http://www.myspace.com/callingallbands
   * March 29: "Calling All Bands" contest winner is selected by Verizon
     Wireless and MySpace and announced online on http://www.myspace.com

   John Harrobin, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless, said,
"V CAST, with music that crosses all genres, has quickly become the hottest
medium for artists to reach new and existing fans.  Verizon Wireless V CAST
Music customers love music and many of them are plugged in to the latest music
trends -- the "Calling All Bands" contest is another opportunity to discover
new artists, which makes this the perfect way for lesser-known artists to
showcase their music to an entirely new audience."

   V CAST Music
   V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless lets customers play music on their
wireless phones from well-known and independent artists -- the same device
they have come to rely upon for entertainment, information and mobile
communication.  The V CAST Music Store already boasts a collection of more
than a half-million songs and will contain a million songs by spring and lets
customers browse, preview, download and play high-quality digital music from
their phones or in the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music Online Store.  V CAST
Music songs cost $0.99 if purchased from the PC or $1.99 if purchased and
downloaded over the air onto a V CAST Music phone.
   V CAST Music runs on Verizon Wireless' broadband network, the most robust,
award-winning wireless broadband network in the nation, available to about
150 million people from coast to coast.  Customers need a V CAST-enabled phone
and a subscription to the V CAST VPak, which is $15.00 monthly access, added
to their Verizon Wireless calling plan to access V CAST Music and music videos
on their phones.  For a limited time, customers who sign up for V CAST receive
one month of V CAST service free.  Customers interested in managing their
music from their PCs in the V CAST Music Online Store can do so without a
V CAST VPak.
   V CAST Music is available through Verizon Wireless' 2,000 Communications
Stores and Circuit City locations and online at
http://www.verizonwireless.com.  For more information, visit
http://www.verizonwireless.com/music.

   "Calling All Bands" Contest Rules
   Contest runs from February 15 at 9:00 p.m. PT through March 29 at 11:59
p.m. PT and is open to any unsigned band.  Interested entrants can submit an
original song online by March 1 at http://www.myspace.com/callingallbands that
will be judged on quality, originality and popular appeal of the submission by
MySpace Music Editors.  Bands must be registered on MySpace to participate and
registration is free.  Bands need to upload their digital music file and fill
out an entry form at the site. From all submissions, MySpace Music Editors
will select 15 semi-finalists that will be linked to or posted on the contest
page from March 13 through March 22 where MySpace bands and their community of
friends and fans can listen and vote for their favorite band.  The five
entries to receive the most votes will become finalists and Verizon Wireless
and MySpace will select and announce the "Calling All Bands" contest winner
online on http://www.myspace.com on March 29.  For a complete list of contest
rules, visit http://www.myspace.com/callingallbands.  No purchase necessary.
Void outside the U.S. and where prohibited.

   About Verizon Wireless
   Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless
network, serving 51.3 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in
Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications
(NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web
at http://www.verizonwireless.com.  To preview and request broadcast-quality
video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log
on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

Drive Traffic with content from your mobile phone. How to Make a video for your blog from yur mobile phone

The USA group and Stun Mobile media bring you this article about increasing traffic through video content from your mobile phone.

You can use your cell phone to drive traffic to your web site. The key lies in making a video that motivates people to visit your site. Here's the step-by-step plan.

As more cell phone services offer video portals, sign up and check out the video profiles uploaded there. You'll notice a few common mistakes: poor lighting, video is too short, people don't speak clearly.

While this kind of service usually prohibits the posting of your cell phone number in the video, there's nothing that says you can't post your web site's url.

Now on the traffic from video plan:

1. Make sure your video room is well lit, so that you video will look good.

2. Use a plain background. Wear a white shirt so that the video colors don't keep changing. Ready? Now record the video using your cell phone.

3. Smile and state your name. Say that you're looking for friends who enjoy jokes.

4. Deliver a short joke.

5. Now deliver a second joke, but don't give the punch line.

6. Invite your viewers to your web site, where you will give the punch line.

7. Watch your site's traffic increase.

This assumes you have a site that offers jokes. If you don't have one, don't you think it's time to start one? A joke site is a good traffic magnet, which you can use to channel more visitors to your other sites.

BBC TV player to Compete with YouTube

BBC iPlayer to Launch on Friday (and why 4OD sucks)

The long awaited BBC iPlayer is launching in two days time (on the 27th July) for Windows XP only. The service will allow people to download TV shows to their computers and watch them for a set number of days after.

Channel 4 launched a similar service called 4OD (on demand) a couple of months ago however has been plagued with problems, if the BBC are to succeed with the iPlayer it must not have the following problems that 4OD has:

• Connection - 4OD only allows people in the UK to download shows, that’s fine as we pay for the shows however the technology they use to only allow UK people sucks. For about the first month my BT connection was unable to use 4OD because I was apparently not living in the UK. I know some people now who are still told they cannot connect.
• Quality - When making 4OD videos full screen everything is pixelated, I was watching 8 out of 10 cats last night and Sean Locks ear was one giant pixel. The average 45min show is 350mb to download off 4OD yet if I downloaded the same show off a torrent site with the same file size the quality would be so much better.
• Application slowness - 4OD is basically a web page stuck inside Windows Media Player, this means that every time you click a link it loads another page. The problem with this is that the site and application doesn’t look like a web page so you expect it to act a stand alone application. This makes 4OD seem incredibly slow to use and painful to navigate.
• Program expiration - This I believe is the biggest problem of 4OD - everything expires so quickly. For most free shows you can watch them for seven days after use. So if you download it on the sixth day and then leave it for two days it will have expired. Also once you have watched a show the expiration date changes. I personally don’t see why shows need to expire, the chances are if I have seen it I’m not going to buy it anyway.
• Lame Technology - This may just be me but every time I go to stream a show it gets past the adverts (that don’t particularly bother me) then it tells me I don’t have the correct license installed to watch the show. It gives me no way to install the correct license and I just have to accept that I can’t stream anything.
• Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6, WMP 11 - I don’t like applications that force you down one particular route of technology. I have a Mac as my main machine but I don’t mind using my PC. On my PC I use Firefox but I’m told I must use IE then finally I use VLC for media but I’m told to use WMP.

The reason Youtube is so popular is that it is so convenient and just works - this is a far cry from the buggy inconvenient 4OD. However 4OD is still a Beta so its allowed to suck to a certain extent!

By the sounds of it the iPlayer is going to equally suck come this Friday but I will reserve my judgement for now.