Barack Obama spent roughly $4 million dollars on 30 minutes of primetime ad space last night. The commercial, which aired on CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox and some cable networks, concluded with Bill Clinton stumping for Obama. Obama then hit the Daily Show, where he chatted with host Jon Stewart.
The Beatles will license songs for MTV Networks' Rock Band. While details of the deal are scant, it should be noted that a video game publisher beating iTunes and all other digital download stores to the punch is a sign of the significance of music-related video games.
Netflix and TiVo have reached a deal to deliver movies from Netflix "Watch Instantly" service directly to TiVo DVR's. Netflix, which has a library of over 12,000 available online, will begin testing the service today. The free-to-subscribers service is another attempt at linking televisions with online video.
A man who pleaded guilty to recording films in a theatre with a camcorder is getting 21 months in prison. Michael Dwayne Logan of Washington DC admitted to recording 28 Weeks Later and Enchanted and is being charged under 2005 Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, which made it a felony to bring a camcorder into a movie theater and record movies for piracy purposes. Logan also admitted to producing DVDs of his recordings intended for sale.
Plus, today's consulting question, "When is OpenId going to get real?" Shelly has the answer on today's MediaBytes.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes 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 (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net