Two years ago the company said in a regulatory filing that it planned to go public. However, as the equities market began to deteriorate, the company pulled [...]]]> Rich media ad serving provider, Eyeblaster, selected as Streaming Media’s Reader’s Choice Award Winner for video ad serving, has refiled with the SEC for their highly anticipated IPO.

Two years ago the company said in a regulatory filing that it planned to go public. However, as the equities market began to deteriorate, the company pulled back their planned IPO, preferring to wait for better market conditions.

Apparently they believe that those conditions have arrived. Since their original filing, Eyeblaster’s profit has grown by about a third from $7.4 million in 2007 to $9.8 million in 2009 while revenue jumped to $65.1 million from $44.7 million.

JPMorgan Securities Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are serving as the lead underwriters for the deal.
Ed Note: I am a former employee of Eyeblaster and holder of stock options in the company.

While ABC initially cut off access to Cablevision during their dispute (access was restored at approximately 8:45PM EST, disgruntled viewers are turning to the web for their OSCAR content. In [...]]]> On the heals of Livestream’s open letter to the industry about piracy of live streamed content, it wasn’t long before a quinticential example pops up.

While ABC initially cut off access to Cablevision during their dispute (access was restored at approximately 8:45PM EST, disgruntled viewers are turning to the web for their OSCAR content. In addition to the legal pre-award show content being offered, as predicted, Justin.TV is hosting multiple streams of the show. Even better, there’s a Cablevision ad running as an overlay on top of the pirated content.

Oh, how ’bout that. Guess what’s on Ch.7? The OSCARS. I’m going back to watching on real TV instead of the pirated stream.

oscar irony

The months long public battle between ABC and Cablevision over retransmission rights fees came to a head today when ABC pulled the plug [...]]]> UPDATED: Disney and ABC have apparently reached an agreement “in principle.” Access to ABC was restored on the Cablevision network at approximately 8:45 PM EST approximately 30 minutes into the Oscars broadcast.

The months long public battle between ABC and Cablevision over retransmission rights fees came to a head today when ABC pulled the plug on the cable operator and removed the channel from 3 million Cablevision households ahead of Sunday’s Oscars telecast. In an e-mail to customers Cablevision directed viewers to the web for live coverage on E!, Livestream and the LA Times Gold Derby blog.

We have seen a number of disputes like this come down to the Wire but it’s rare that it results in a service disruption – by pulling the plug on the eve of a high profile event like the Oscars ABC is making a very public statement. Whether it will work out for ABC, and if the network broadcast model itself is still viable are still very open quesyions.

Cablevision charges ABC with demanding unreasonably high fees to carry the network, a message on the Cablevision homepage claims ABC is demanding $40 million more on top of the $200 million it receives. According to Reuters “Disney executives have privately disputed those numbers.”

The latest is that the companies have agreed to binding arbitration. Eventually Cablevision will give ABC a little more money and the network will be back in Cabvlevision homes. But the bigger question is whether the broadcast network model can be profitable when competing with thousands of specific cable channels and millions of specific online video channels.

At the very least, I think it is fair to say that even if content is king online, then distribution and marketing are the “crown [...]]]> In the must read department, Break.com CEO Keith Richman points out in an Ad Age article that even in today’s long tail, hyper-syndicated media environment distribution and marketing are still critical:

At the very least, I think it is fair to say that even if content is king online, then distribution and marketing are the “crown princes.” Good content or not, understanding and embracing digital distribution and marketing will prove critical to everyone in the entertainment industry.

We’ve harped for a long time on the importance of marketing and the difficulties independent producers have in reaching their audience. Richman clearly gets it. Break.com is currently the 441st most visited site on the internet according to Alexa and, reports the LA Times, has moved beyond its user-generated roots into producing original content. The company has “more than 15 series and single-episode videos in the works” and “built up a network of seven editorial sites.”

In a competitive industry they’ve found a model that works. The Times reports that Break, which counts studio Lions Gate as a minority investor, has been in the black for two years. Maybe there is money in this online video thing after all.

In a nut shell, they’ve got a zero tolerance policy on piracy. The open letter, which we obviously support wholeheartedly, was written by CEO Max Hoat to inform their customers, advertisers, partners, policy makers and competitors [...]]]> Today, live streaming provider Livestream issued an open letter on their blog, announcing their Zero Tolerance policy on piracy.

In a nut shell, they’ve got a zero tolerance policy on piracy. The open letter, which we obviously support wholeheartedly, was written by CEO Max Hoat to inform their customers, advertisers, partners, policy makers and competitors about the real issues and practical solutions for copyright protection in an age of ubiquitous free live video on the internet.

In it, they state:

The availability of free live streaming services is unfortunately abused by many users broadcasting live, copyrighted content such as live sports, feature films and more (often rebroadcast from their television or cable box).

Please visit their blog to read the whole letter. If we don’t support content owners, there won’t be any content for us to watch, or for pirates to steal.

And, in full disclosure, our own Ben Homer is an employee of Livestream, which in no way influences our position against piracy and support for their effort.

Unsurprisingly, some are funnier than others. Head over and enjoy a few. My favorite, so far, is Hot Sexy Doritos Lady.

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