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.

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.

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.

iphone tv shows for free

Wi-FiTV.com released iPhoneWi-FiTV for your iPhone.

The specially formatted webpage and video player, gives iPhone users easy access to TV feeds.

The company is now offering five free streaming movies which can be viewed in the iPhone as an example of its technology and as a preview to a large number of movies it will be offering at www.Wi-FiTV.com to various Internet-enabled devices.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

More new TV stations to watch on your iphone

Do you have:
video cell phone ?
Palm Pilot?

Now you can receive AmericaFree.TV on your
3GPP and 3GPP2 video cell phone with MobileFree.TV !

You can watch our streams on Palm OS 5 connected devices with Kinoma Player 4 EX.

Enter www.MobileFree.TV into your browser or, go to WirelessFree.TV, the html version. (MobileFree.TV is a WML site for WAP enabled cell phones and will not display properly in most browsers.)!

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

Premium content from New Zealand and England is free on YouTube

Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and the USA Group started this blog to follow the YouTube phenomenon of offering the public premium content for free. It appears that TV networks from around the globe are embracing the ability of a new way to deliver premium content.

Kiwi Network TVNZ Partners With YouTube, Adds Own Branding To Channel

Posted By Robert Andrews - Tue 26 Jun 2007 06:30 AM PST

New Zealand’s TVNZ is the latest television network to sign a partnership deal with YouTube. As with YouTube’s earlier BBC partnerships, TVNZ will add to a branded channel program excerpts that act as a shop window for the broadcaster’s content. This deal was not amongst a range of content partners YouTube referred to when it unveiled nine international sites in Paris last week, and is said to be its first in Australasia. The partnership is non-exclusive and, indeed, even on YouTube, is branded under TVNZ’s on-demand identity, which also makes a range of full shows available for streaming and download at tvnzondemand.co.nz. (Release).

• BBC In Clips Deal With YouTube; Ad Rev Share; UK Blackout On News Clips

If you find this information valuable and helpful, please link to this blog, tag this blog on your favourite social bookmark like Reddit, Netscape, Del.Icio.Us, StumbleUpon, Slashdot, and to place my link on your myspace and facebook pages.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

Uploading User Created Content is Two Clicks away for Helio users on YouTube. How will Apple counter?

Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and the USA Group have been following the race to make apps for cell phone services that simplify uploading user genereated content to sites like YouTube. “The competition is forcing the mobile phone carriers to roll out services that its subscribers only dreamed about”, said Mr. Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and USA Group. He added, “people had these things they wanted on their wish list.” Apple’s iphone is running behind , and is more costly than Helio. Verizon and t-mobile are going after the music segment, and beginning to go after YouTube users. (Helio uses Sprint mobile service for voice and data) Meanwhile, Apple’s iphone camera is a paltry 2 mega pixel, while manufactures of mobile phones like Samsung have already perfected 10 mega pixel mobile-cam video phones that arrived more than 1 year ago. It’s not the software problems that Apple needs to perfect, but the outdated hardware, that will keep the YouTube mobile-cam video user-created-content, away from a company not even offering video. The deal between AT&T and Apple, is great for the consumer because the other carriers and manufacturers will finally be forced to release technologically advanced mobile phones that were until now, only for the asian market. Faster data speeds and lower prices for data are the next tools to fight for subscribers, after the smoke clears from getting our attention about the hardware and features aspect of this game. It might be all about the hardware if WIFI continues to grow.

The two-click YouTube upload and a dedicated, exclusive YouTube app for Helio will happen soon.

If you find this information valuable and helpful, please link to this blog, tag this blog on your favourite social bookmark like Reddit, Netscape, Del.Icio.Us, StumbleUpon, Slashdot, and to place my link on your myspace and facebook pages.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

What Percentage Of Mobile Phone Premium Content Is Adult?

A big concern of mobile phone carriers is how to get people to use their mobile phones for premium content that have several streams of making money.

One stream is data and voice fees, that seem to be getting lower all the time. The other stream can come from creating content enriched with advertising. This stream can earn unlimited income for the mobile phone company.

Recently, a UK mobile phone company “Interactive World”, purchased “Sports Newsgroup Limited”, a UK publisher for $120 Million to gain more premium content.

The publisher “Sports Newsgroup Limited” owns newspapers such as “The Daily” and “Sunday Sport”. “The two companies involved already have close ties as the Sport’s co-owner, David Sullivan, has a 49.95 percent stake in Interactive World.” Interactive World is described as selling adult content.

Premium content is an essential element of success for Interactive World. But how much content is for adults and how much for teens? Whatever the percentages are, Interactive World is not worrying, because the company they purchased provide the content provider with a source of customers for its services through advertising and editorial which is essential to success.

Michael Goldstein’s Stun Mobile Media and USA group tackle the second stream idea with a suggestion and implementation of creating content enriched with advertising.

It’s like giving your kids vitamin enriched food and drinks. It tastes the same, and they don’t see or hear the difference, and its better for you. The cost of data can be decreased to allow for greater penetration much like India and some other countries who have superior data speeds with the lowest prices.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

Your Children’s School is allowig outsiders to arrest them on campus for file sharing crimes

Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and the USA Group have been following the court cases of file sharing of illegal content over the internet, and came across the new alarming article by Melissa Santos about a school’s identifying its students under threat of subpoena. For the school to avoid a lawsuit of their own, they are turning in and pointing out students.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

The University of Washington announced a new policy about illegal music file-sharing on campus:

• The school will not shield students from lawsuits from the recording industry.
• The school will track students down and serve them with legal notices.
• The student legal notice informs about settlement options prior to a lawsuit.
• The school will not pass the students’ names to the association.



A University of Washington spokeswomen said about the legal notices:
• The school will forward notices of pending lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America to students who engage in illegal downloading on the university’s computer network.
• The notices say offending students have 20 days to settle with the association by paying it between $3,000 to $5,000
• If the offending student does not pay the settlement, they will be taken to court without possibility of a settlement.
Eric Godfrey, a student spokesman for the students at the University of Washington Seattle campus, informed students of the University of Washington policy Monday through a disturbing campus wide e-mail. The email said: “some students have letters on the way.”

Where do students typically use their computers?
Students can use the University of Washington Internet network not only in dorms and in campus computer labs, but also in fraternities, sororities and other housing off-campus.



Other University’s are wondering if their students need to worry. Spokesman Mike Wark said of his University, that it has not been a discussion of the school’s administrators on their policies concerning illegal file-sharing.



While no known students of the University of Washington have been prosecuted for illegal file-sharing to date, the music companies are getting their message across to try and stop illegal file-sharing.




With the current speed of downloading and file sharing moving at speeds that don’t deter file sharing, and taking no longer than an IPOD song to be downloaded, it is no wonder that the music industry is taking notice and trying to crack down on file-sharing services. Their current campaign is to target individual downloaders at some token schools and Universities without going all out to war.


The recording companies started sending pre-lawsuit letters to certain universities earlier this year as a strategy to combat file-sharing on campuses. By making their message known through the press and the courts, they might not have to crack down at all schools.

Michael Goldstein, who regularly writes about the casual illegal downloading by today’s teens to portable computers, mobile phones, MP3 players, suggested that the teens will grow up and continue to see nothing wrong with illegal file-sharing as adults. Mr. Michael Goldstein’s Stun Mobile Media and USA group tackle this idea with a suggestion and implementation of creating content enriched with advertising. It’s like giving your kids vitamin enriched food and drinks. It tastes the same, and they don’t see or hear the difference, and its better for you. Mr. Goldstein finds it hard to police all teens and adults who continue illegal file-sharing, rather he suggests looking at the problem with a new solution.
Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

Mobile phone Video game addiction is a mental disorder like Alcoholism

Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and the USA Group have been following the real life addictions that online videogame content and mobile phone games can cause.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

To classify video game addiction as a mental disorder, similar to alcoholism has the dirty fingerprints of the medical establishment, who look for new income sources to peddle pharmaceuticals and medical office visits.



To no surprise, the American Medical Association (AMA) has ordered studies on the addictions to video games, while other medical associations such as the American Psychiatric Association want a new diagnosis added as a billable medical code.



While occasional use of video games is harmless and may even help with some disorders like autism, doctors said in extreme cases it can interfere with day-to-day necessities like working, showering or even eating.




Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

A Mother fights the studio bulldogs to save son from his file sharing crime

Michael Goldstein of Stun Mobile Media and the USA Group have been following the court cases of file sharing of illegal content over the internet, and came across the case of a single mother Tanya Anderson.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website




Tanya Anderson, the single mother from Oregon previously sued by the RIAA — which dropped the case just before losing a summary judgement — is now
suing the RIAA and their hired snoop Safenet (aka MediaSentry) for malicious prosecution. Read More

The legal savvy single mother Tanya Anderson proved a worthy opponent with some legal successes so far, is asserting claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. (RICO)



A reader at Groklaw has already learned that Tanya Anderson is seeking to have the RIAA forfeit the copyrights in question as part of the settlement (search the page for '18.6-7').

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

Mobile Content can include music or ringtones by Amy Winehouse, Beyonce or movies like Knocked Up

Big entertainment is coming to your small screeen mobile phone.

What teens use their mobile phones for today, will be very different a year from now. While mobile content currently involves ringtones, and text messaging, and downloading your favorite song and mobile video game, the near future will bring live mobile tv, movies on demand, and banking services. The GPS tracking in all phones might be used for advertising when passing the stores signal. amp'd and helio are using the GPS tracking now as a premium service to find your friendds, with all other mobile services like verison, sprint, at&t, t-mobile following. Other countries are the testing grounds of what we can expect in the USA, so you only need to check the internet to find out what the newest technologies and advancements are in mobile phone technology. Stun Mobile media is at the forefront of the emerging and constantly changing mobile phone explosion. Stun mobile media's main interest is in mobile marketing in all media content sources, from mobile video's to music to mobile video games, to text messaging.

Michael Goldstein is COO and chief creative for Los Angeles-based Stun Mobile Media, specializing in the acquisition, creation and distribution of mobile content. He can be reached at mg@stunmobile.com.

Find out more about the Author of this blog about mobile content at his website

Premium content is free on YouTube. Are the studios coming after your kids?

Kids have grown up stealing music, and now they're uploading premium content they don't have permission to use. So now what's going to happen? Are the studio's going to come after your kids and arrest them, or are they going to find ways to use this as a promotion tool.

If You Can't Beat 'Em…

Content owners need to rethink how they deal with online video sites



One of the biggest problems that content owners face today is that kids have grown up stealing music. The music industry fought this fight too long and as a result has lost this generation, which now expects to receive its video content in a similar way. Today's kids don't distinguish between web video and television—to them it's just content. Perhaps the lesson that traditional media companies should take from this example is to find ways to join consumers, not beat them.





What irks the studios is that disruptive companies like YouTube have built strong businesses based on users uploading premium content they don't have permission to use. It's not so much the fact that the content is on the platform. It's more that YouTube is not rewarding the studios as content owners with the advertising dollars it has been able to monetize from their content.







Alan Bell, Paramount Studios' executive vp and first chief technology officer, doesn't dispute that "YouTube is an efficient sharing platform," but he adds, "It's just not being used properly. Logically, it seems that a good idea is to have companies like YouTube simply develop software that serves the needs of the entertainment industry."

That would seem like an easy enough task, but before this happens, the parties need to resolve who owns the content copyright. Who is going to exploit the copyright? Who sells the advertising? And what assets go to what platform at what time?

"You write YouTube a letter and the content gets removed within eight hours," explains Bell. "But the site is so vast that the next day it's up on the platform again, posted by another user. One solution is to write software based on keywords that recognizes what content is up there. If it can recognize it, then it can be monetized.

"The technology of rights management today is not yet perfect," Bell continues. "So what we need to do in the meantime is to distinguish between 'fair use,' 'popular use' and 'reasonable use.' Identify what people want to do with those rights, and then package and market those rights accordingly."

This all makes sense, but I can't help but wonder if the studios are overthinking this a little. They are obsessed with their intellectual properties, and justifiably so. But we're not just dealing with IP piracy, we're dealing with a social lifestyle phenomenon.

"Everyone wants to consume their media the way they want to consume it. You can't control that," acknowledges Stefanie Henning, senior vp, global marketing and new media for Fox Television Studios. "But we do want an environment where consumers can get to our content in the best format possible on a platform that we're able to monetize."

Instead of waiting for YouTube to come up with a viable solution or worse yet, fighting the way consumers have grown accustomed to doing things, perhaps the studios should embrace it.

I'm not saying that the studios stop monitoring content posted on YouTube. Rather, I'm suggesting that content owners like the studios give consumers the same tools they've grown to expect from sites like YouTube.

"Users want to be passionate about what their interests are. The habit of sharing them has become a cultural phenomenon," says Richard Rosenblatt, founder and former chairman of MySpace. "Online Communities like YouTube, MySpace and me.TV are all about embracing self-expression."

Whether studios like it or not, users are going to find ways to rip off clips from favorite television shows like NBC's The Office. So let's give it to them. The TV studios already have the eyeballs and the advertising inventory. They also have branded content that keeps users coming back. Logically, they should be able to sell advertising, no matter where the audience is. The studios need make video clips available on their Web sites—not just what they want people to see, which they are already doing, but what people want to see.

Equally important, they need to provide the video-embed codes so users can share the content on any community pages they want. If users go to the studio's host site only once to get the codes to share on their community pages, it doesn't matter. Because with the right technology, the studio's host site can stream advertising to those feeds as part of the user experience.

Once users discover that some of the coolest clips from their favorite TV shows are posted online via the studio's site immediately after a show airs, the amount of unauthorized uploading of video content on sites like YouTube should diminish.

Better yet, the networks will have engaged thousands of users legitimately to virally market their content all over the Internet—just as they're already doing thanks to sites like YouTube.

To take it one step further, it wouldn't surprise me if the studios find ways to sign users up and reward "power users" for influencing the communities they reach—just like marketing practices in the early days of the Internet.


Stolen from a recent article by Michael Goldstein:
Michael Goldstein is COO and chief creative for Los Angeles-based Stun Mobile Media, specializing in the acquisition, creation and distribution of mobile content. He can be reached at mg@stunmobile.com.


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