Broadband Content Bits: YouTube Live; Vudu Hi-Def; MySpace-TMZ; TheWB.com Shows
This story was written by Amanda Natividad.
-- YouTube hosting first live event: YouTube announced it would host its first live event on Nov. 22 in San Francisco, mixing "elements of a concert, variety show and party." It didn't, however, mention how it would carry out live streaming or future live video plans. The branded channel is now live, and currently shows event details and a promo (though not sure why it uses the end credit music from America's Next Top Model). Artists scheduled to appear include Will.I.Am, Akon and Soulja Boy, among several others.
-- Vudu begins hi-def videos via set top: Ramping up VOD efforts, Vudu will begin offering 65 movie titles in hi-defin 1080p, the highest HD format currently definedvia its set top box. Priced at a la carte rental, the HDX service includes newer titles such as Speed Racer as well as classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Saturday Night Fever. Though HDX movies will cost the same as regular HD, $5.99 for a 24-hour rental of new releases, the movies will take about 3-4 hours to download over a standard broadband connection.
-- MySpace and WB partner for TMZ MySpaceTV hub: The social net and Warner Bros. Television group are partnering to launch a TMZ-branded hub on MySpaceTV, a move that expands on the deal they announced earlier this year that saw the launch of a TMZ channel. Now, gossip lovers can enjoy breaking news, video clips, photo galleries, a community page and more, though all video clips will air on TMZ's TV-station partners first.
-- TheWB.com premiering new online series: This month, TheWB.com will debut two new series, High Drama: Against All Oz and Rich Girl, Poor Girl on Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, respectively. It's also premiering another show, Downer's Grove, sometime in October. High Drama is a documentary of Cape Cod's Barnstable High School production of The Wizard of Oz while Rich Girl, Poor Girl is about two teenage girls, one from Pacific Palisades and one from East Los Angeles, who swap lives.
By Amanda Natividad