News Corp Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller told a conference that videogames are the "missing piece of the equation" for companies like media conglomerates. While News Corp operates games through its MySpace property, Miller noted that the social network, which has been losing ground over the past year, may look very different a year from now. Miller's also reiterated CEO Rupert Murdoch's plan to reinvent MySpace as an entertainment destination.
Apple and the four major recorded music companies are working together to stimulate digital sales. The plan is to bundle digital albums with interactive liner notes, exclusive downloads and other incentives. While similar packages have been available for quite some time, Apple hopes that if Sony, Universal, Warner and EMI coordinate efforts, sales of digital downloads will skyrocket.
Apple Insider is reporting that an Apple Tablet will be available early next year. Sources say that Steve Jobs has been "been overseeing the project from his home, office and hospital beds, has finally achieved that much-sought aura of satisfaction." While no details are known, many believe the device will act like a large iPod touch and may be Apple's response to the netbook craze.
AOL dismantled its Platform-A advertising property, as well as MediaGlow and People Networks. CEO Tim Armstrong noted that the divisions will live on as AOL Advertising, AOL Media, while Peoples Network, which included Bebo, AIM and ICQ, will no longer exist.
G-Force, a family comedy about Guinea Pigs who save the world, edged out Harry Potter: The Half Blood Prince at the box office this weekend. The Disney film grossed approximately $32.3 million. While it did not take top billing domestically, the final Harry Potter film earned an estimated $84.4 million internationally, bringing its total worldwide earning $627.1 million.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars