Yahoo is set to refresh its web video presence. While Yahoo tried its hand at web video last year in a joint venture with Pepsi dubbed "the 9", new shows like "Primetime in No Time" maybe successful by utilizing sponsors and basing content around popular search queries. New shows include "Spotlight to Nightlight", a show about celebrity mothers hosted by Ali Landry, which is sponsored by State Farm.
T-Mobile has confirmed that Google will release a firmware update for the G1 Android in April. The update will add a virtual keyboard, video and voice recording features to the Android, as well as giving it Bluetooth capabities. In addition, Amazon is selling the G1 for $97.99, $300 less than its retail value, with a two-year, $40 a month service contract.
New York Governor David Paterson ditched plans to instill a $1.3 billion "nuisance" tax that included a fee for downloading music. Better known as the 'iPod tax", the defeated bill also included a tax on movie tickets, soft drinks and massages. Citing the federal stimulus as the reason for abandoning the plan, Gov. Paterson said "The reason that we would like to put money back in the hands of New Yorkers is so that they'll spend it. Not on taxes, but on ways to grow the economy."
After users attending the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas began loosing cell phone reception, AT&T has its Austin presence in order to satisfy media hungry festival goers. Sources says that Austin was flooded with iPhone users this weekend who effectively jammed AT&T's Texas network. "To accommodate unprecedented demand for mobile data and voice applications at SXSW, we are actively working this afternoon to add capacity to our cell sites serving downtown Austin. These efforts are ongoing, but we anticipate that customers should see improved network performance this evening and for the remainder of the event."
The New York Times is mulling a $55/a year online subscription rate. This past weekend publisher Arthur Sulzberger told audiences at Stony Brooke that the Grey Lady was looking to charge for some content, in order to boost its slumping revenue. With advertisers unwilling to pay the same amount of money online as they are in print, content providers are looking back to the subscription model in order to generate much needed revenue.
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.