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Online Video Watch

Watching the Business of Watching Online

New Years Eve 2009 LIVE OnlineDecember 31 2008

Watch the Times Square Alliance video feed live from New York tonight via Mogulus beginning at 5:45 PM EST:

And Hulu at 10PM EST:

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IDF Takes to, and Fights YouTubeDecember 30 2008

Military propaganda efforts in new media can be entertaining to watch, the U.S. Department of Defense has its Multinational Force Iraq (MNFIRAQ) YouTube channel. Iraqi insurgents and other terrorist organizations have an online video operation in the form of attack videos uploaded to YouTube and across the web. Palestinian militant group Hamas had a YouTube clone until it was recently shut down, and now the Israel Defense Forces have taken to YouTube.

But how do you determine what can stay and what can go? YouTube has taken steps to remove content from militant organizations that post videos of attacks on American soliders in Iraq and propaganda posted by terrorist organizations. Now they have taken the step of removing IDF videos of Israeli operations in Gaza - one with more than 10,000 views.

From the IDF YouTube channel:

We are saddened that YouTube has taken down some of our exclusive footage showing the IDF’s operational success in operation Cast Lead against Hamas extremists in the Gaza Strip. As the State of Israel again faces those who would see it destroyed, it is imperative that we in the IDF show the world the inhumanity directed against us and our efforts to stop it. It is also worth noting t

All I Want for X-Mas is….EverythingDecember 29 2008

TVWeek’s Daisy Whitney wrote today about her “Cord-Cutting” experiment, and how it isn’t as much of a paradox as it may seem.

I generally agree with Daisy on most points (pre-roll being the main exception). Today is no different. However, she did include some comments from other people about what they, as cord cutters, want and expect from media companies.

Those of you who know me, and have heard me rant about consumers being greedy and not understanding or willing to participate in a fair value exchange, will not be shocked. But look at this list of “wishes” that Daisy included in her column and tell me how we are going to build an ecosystem that makes money and still provides the following:

“I want Mac Mini/Apple TV baby called the Mac TV to allow free over-air TV and full access to all U.K. online video services.”

“TV syndication via RSS feeds (think podcasts of prime time)”.

“Better access to the shows/channels I watch at an affordable rate. I’m thinking mainly sports here.”

“There needs to be a reliable source for reviewing/rating/referring people to Web shows.”

“I also want HBO shows, Showtime shows, BBC shows. Choice basically to create my own menu.”

“We need a better way to aggregate the content we like from various distributors. And I’m not

Sling.com: Now Streaming from The Set Top Box to the WebNovember 26 2008

If you don’t have an Xbox, a TiVo, a PS3, a Roku, a Vudu, or a MSO Set Top Box, or even if you do, you may also have a Slingbox. But hey, sometimes you’re not home and you want to watch on the net. There’s Hulu. YouTube. NBC.com. ABC.com. CBS.com. Fox.com, Joost. MLB.com. Nearly every digital property distributes their content online, right?

Above: Reuters Content Syndicated to Sling.com: Britney Spears Feels Old.

Well, on the off-chance they don’t now you can record it on your Slingbox and watch it online, even watch live after you download a plugin. The problem is that any content that’s still not distributed online will be soon. Maybe Sling.com has a unique player, a different and better user experience you say? Well, not so much, most of the licensed content is delivered by Hulu.

I still need to play with this some more, but like the Slingbox, which will be useless once mainstream media distributes content to the three screens on their own, this strikes me as a waste of time and money. Sooner than later Sling will get sued, and they have little to back them up. So enjoy this waste of money while its out there, it won’t be around long.

Sony & Microsoft Battle For Online DistributionNovember 25 2008

Microsoft has acquired exclusive rights to season two of popular web series The Guild according to the Hollywood Reporter. The twelve episode series will debut exclusively on Xbox LIVE, MSN and Zune. After a four week period episodes will move to an embedded MSN video player on watchtheguild.com. Microsoft has lined up Sprint as a sponsor and will sell all advertising on its platforms and on the web.

Meanwhile, Sony’s Crackle is about to launch its next season of original programming. On Monday six new shows will debut, with new episodes released weekly in addition to Rocketboom daily which the digital studio acquired distribution rights to earlier this year.

Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation have been locked in battle over their competing Trojan horse devices in the living room for years and while these deals aren’t a major source of revenue for either company, digital content distribution is an area consumer electronics companies see as crucial as all content distribution toward IP delivery. Something has to fill the void as DVD and Blu-Ray sales continue to disappoint.