Predictions For Online Video in 2010

2009 brought a lot of change to the online video world. We saw the surging growth of new players like Hulu, the advent of TV Everywhere (TVE), the first steps of YouTube’s monetization, more live video and mobile video, and video starting to reach beyond media and into other sectors of society. Video advertising-based monetization also grew 50 percent year over year–the fastest growth rate for any form of advertising during the Great Recession.

From the energy of our customers to the phone calls from investment bankers, it is quite apparent that 2010 is going to be a very significant year again for online video...

from All Things Digital - Voices

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Comment: Guess who doesn't get one mention in the whole piece? Go on, you'll never guess...

Where are the apps?

[click for a larger image]

from The Observer Business section 27th December 2009

So the whole tech/comms world has gone app crazy - except at Blinkx, where they sail blissfully on, building products that they then do nothing with and slipping ever more gradually into obscurity...

Let's hope they get their shit together in 2010 - because if they don't the company will be bust this time next year (yes revenues are rising but so are costs: 'turnover is vanity, profit is sanity') and Chandratillake will have been shown not to be some kind of tech visionary at all, but in fact a rank incompetent incapable of even getting damp in what he once described - an awfully long time ago now, it seems - as a 'perfect storm of opportunity'...

Fundamental question: if Blinkx have a good story to tell, WHY AREN'T THEY TELLING IT?

End-of-year clippings clearout...

[click image for larger version]

from New Media Age 3rd December 2009

"Video, video, video"

[click on image for larger version]

From the Sunday Times Style magazine 27th December 2009

Well let's hope they're right, eh?

50 Percent Chance Apple Will Announce Tablet Next Month. 100 Percent Chance We’ll Keep Talking About Tablet, Whether It Appears or Not.

Is Apple planning a special event for January? If so, what are the chances it will feature this mythical tablet/slate device everyone’s jawing about?

In a research note this morning, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster hazards a guess, putting the odds of the company hosting a special event at 75 percent and the odds that Apple (AAPL) will use the event to debut a tablet-like device at 50 percent, with an eye toward a March release date.

“Based on new media reports of trademarks connected to Apple (iSlate, Magic Slate), and our own conversation last week with with a Taiwanese component supplier, we are reaffirming our expectation that Apple will likely ship a tablet device by the end March,” Munster writes. “We believe there is a 75% chance Apple will host a January event and a 50% chance it will be held to announce the tablet.”...

from All Things Digital - Digital Daily

letter to the Blinkx Nominated Advisor

Mr Charles Lytle,

Citigroup Global Markets Limited,

Citigroup Centre,

33 Canada Sq.,

Canary Wharf,

London E14 5LB,

United Kingdom

Dear Mr Lytle.

I understand from the company’s web site that you are the Nominated Advisor for Blinkx.

That being the case, and as I am a long-standing shareholder of Blinkx, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I have written to the Blinkx CEO, Mr Chandratillake, with this same question but, regrettably, have received no reply.

Back in April or May of this year, with the full-year results, and on the conference call accompanying those results, Mr Chandratillake mentioned a ‘roadshow’ which he indicated would be taking place a few weeks after that call.

Both myself and many other shareholders took this to mean that Blinkx management would be presenting to institutional investors with the aim of attracting investment and perhaps providing some stability to what has been a wildly-oscillating and weak share price (I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that it is currently hovering at about a third its IPO price, and this after more than two years of apparent growth and good progress).

My question, Mr Lytle, is this: did the roadshow take place, and if so with what outcome? And if it did not take place, can you indicate why that was and why, having stated that it would take place, no retraction announcement was made?

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

10 questions Blinkx should answer in the New Year

* What happened to Transaction Hijacking? The CEO Chandratillake went from being reportedly being 'very excited' about it to saying it wasn't 'on the horizon' in the space of about 3 months. Ever since IPO TH has been touted as a source of massive future profitability, yet now it has been shelved without explanation. I think shareholders are owed an explanation.

* Why was Blinkx music built but never promoted?

* Why has SmartShopper never never promoted?

* What is Blinkx's involvement with Project Canvas? What will PC add to Blinxk's bottom line?

* Why have Blinkx not released an iPhone app? (50 million iPhones and iTouches sold...)

* Why no FaceBook widget? (300-350m Facebook users...)

* Why have management never bought any shares in the open market in their own company to demonstrate confidence in Blinkx's future?

* When will miniweb launch? How (and what) will it add to Blinkx's bottom line?

* Why is the share price so continually weak?

* What ever happened to this roadshow mentioned by Chandratillake in the conf call with results before last, and about which the rampers got so very excited? Either it happened and had zero effect, or it didn't happened and we weren't told.

If those 10 questions were answered/sorted out, think the share price would still be at the pathetically low levels it's at today?

Why Vevo Will Fail

The music video site is modeled on Hulu, but downloading music videos is quite different from downloading TV programs...

from Business Week

How a _successful_ company does things...

[click image for larger version]

This from yesterday's Sunday Times Business section.

When I saw this I felt a glimmer of excitement - could Blinkx's mythical iPhone app be part of this new iSlate device? Video viewing/search would sure work better on a 10" screen than on an iPhone/iTouch screen, that's for sure.

There's an announcement on 26th Jan, apparently. Could it involve Blinkx in some way? Could this be the blockbuster announcement Blinkx shareholders have been waiting for for so long, the announcement that blows the shorters and share manipulators out of the water and gets the share price back to IPO levels and beyond?

Then reality set in. This is Blink we're talking about here. They don't do blockbuster announcements, they don't do transformative deals, and frankly I doubt the ability of senior Blinkx management to negotiate at Steve Jobs' level anyway.

It will be fascinating to see what Apple announce on 26th - just don't bet on Blinkx having anything to do with it.

Oh - and notice Jobs' remuneration package? He gets $1 a year as salary and the rest as shares - so if the share price doesn't perform he effectively earns nothing. I can think of a CEO that I'd like to see follow that model. Can you?

from The Observer Magazine Review of the Year 2009

[click image for larger version]

Fake or real?

This image, purporting to show an 'iBlinkx' app running on an iPhone, was posted on one of the ADVFN Blinkx bulletin boards in September 2008.

Of course it may be a fake, a Photoshop job by one of those who incessantly ramp the company's shares on this and other bulletin boards.

And in fact I incline to thinking that it is because the obvious question is - if Blinkx were developing an iPhone ap in September 2008, then where the bloody hell is it?

See following article about the explosive growth of the iPhone app market - to date, a market on which Blinxk are entirely missing out.

Two billion app downloads, yet apparently not a market worth even entering. Go figure...

Warner Music Videos Coming to Hulu

We suspected that Hulu’s very limited deal with EMI for Norah Jones music videos would be just the start for the premium content site in the music space.

Need proof? Look no further than today’s news: Hulu has inked a deal with Warner Music Group (WMG) for music videos, artist interviews, concert footage and behind-the-scenes moments.

Starting today, Hulu visitors can see music videos and live performances from British alternative rock band Muse on the band page. Similar content from Jason Mraz and Paramore is slated for release on Hulu in early 2010...

from Mashable

Bye-bye Blinkx Music (part the latest)

Hulu Tries a Little More Music, This Time From Warner Music

Once upon a time, Hulu flirted with the notion of becoming a hub for music videos. That never happened, and now the big music labels are trying to create their own Hulu, via their Vevo site.

But Hulu is still playing around with music videos, at least at the margins. Last month, it began hosting some clips from EMI, which was promoting a new Norah Jones album. Now the site, owned by GE’s (GE) NBC, Disney’s (DIS) ABC, and News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox is adding a few more, via Warner Music Group (WMG).

Emphasis on “few”: For now, the only Warner artist you can find on the site is Muse, which is a band, I learned this weekend. The label’s release says you’ll be able to see clips from Jason Mraz and Paramore in the next few weeks, with more coming next year. (Props to CNET’s Greg Sandoval for sniffing this out earlier today)...

from All Things Digital - Media Memo

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Comment: Once again I'll ask the question - why did Blinkx go to the time and trouble building Blinkx Music to do absolutely nothing with it? As far as I'm aware they've licensed it to nobody, haven't promoted it, it's doing hardly any traffic... So why bloody bother?

And once again the wider question is: if they have done something with it or are going to do something with it, don't shareholders deserve to be told?

And an even more fundamental question - if Blinkx has a good story to tell - why the hell aren't they telling it?

YouTube Is the Top Social Media Innovation of the Decade

As the decade draws to a close, there’s at least one thing we can say about the social media space with a fairly high level of confidence: it’s here to stay. That said, looking ahead to the next ten years, it’s incredibly hard to predict how we’ll use social media — let alone which services will still be relevant — when we get to 2020.

Already this decade we’ve seen the dramatic rise and fall of numerous social media services. This year’s Facebook could be next year’s Friendster, and even as I write this, there are signs that 2009’s media darling — Twitter — may have already peaked.

But there’s one innovation that in all likelihood won’t only endure, but thrive, in the decade ahead. It’s also the innovation that has most embodied what we’ve come to define as social media since 2000, while at the same time, showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. That innovation is YouTube...

from Mashable

iPhone Is the Most Popular Phone in the US

Remember when Steve Ballmer said that there’s “no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share?” Well, according to Nielsen, the iPhone 3G is currently the number one mobile phone in the U.S., holding 4 percent of the market. Not bad for a smartphone, eh, Steve?

from Mashable

BBC's plan to kick free/open source out of UK TV devices

My latest Guardian column, "The BBC's digital rights plans will wreak havoc on open source software," describes how the BBC's plan to add DRM to its high-def broadcasts will exclude free/open source software from use in digital television applications, slowing down innovation, raising costs, and harming the public interest. The BBC's regulator, Ofcom, will soon hold a second consultation on the Beeb's plan to add DRM to high-def broadcasts, and I'm urging them to get the BBC to answer for this consequence of the DRM plan...

from Boing Boing

8 reasons the BBC Trust approved Project Canvas

The BBC Trust has given the green light for the BBC to push on with Project Canvas – developing IPTV for the masses, along with partners like BT and ITV.

The likes of Sky and Sony have openly stated their opposition to the BBC's involvement in Canvas, but the BBC Trust has explained exactly why it feels that the project should be green lit.

TechRadar has analysed those reasons to find out why the Trust believes that that the problems it details – including the potential damage to pay-TV services, new and existing hybrid/DTT platforms (such as the recently announced Cello TV for example) and DVD sales – to give its provisional approval...

from TechRadar

BBC Trust and iPlayer syndication

This morning the BBC Trust published its findings in relation to a complaint about the BBC's iPlayer syndication policy. As the executive in charge of bringing the service to TV platforms, I wanted to give you a bit of background to this.

As we've said before, we aim to make the BBC iPlayer available to as wide an audience as is technically possible and economically feasible. At launch, almost two years ago now, the service was only a Windows-based product on the web.

But since then, we've now syndicated the BBC iPlayer to no fewer than 25 different devices and platforms. On TV, we have made BBC iPlayer available to the audience of Virgin Media, PS3, Nintendo Wii, Cello's iViewer last week, and (in Beta) on Freesat.

This process will accelerate in the New Year, with more and more internet-connected TV devices entering what is a fragmented market with varying standards. Instead of making a bespoke product for each device, we have chosen a way that we believe represents the best value to licence fee payers - we will make available a set of standard products to all; making investment in bespoke products only where high audience reach can be achieved...

from the BBC Internet Blog

Project Canvas wiki

http://www.projectcanvas.co.uk/

Project Canvas given green light by BBC Trust

The BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, has given a provisional go-ahead for a project which could kick-start demand for internet TV.

Project Canvas is a partnership between the BBC, ITV, BT, Five, Channel 4 and TalkTalk to develop a so-called Internet Protocol Television standard...

from BBC

BBC Trust Gives Provisional Approval To Project Canvas

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The British Broadcasting Corp.'s controlling trust Tuesday provisionally approved the BBC's involvement in Project Canvas, a service that will allow U.K. viewers to watch free-to-air broadcasts and Internet content on television.

The BBC Trust, an independent body that oversees the mostly license-fee funded BBC, said that "the likely public value of the proposal justifies any potential negative market impact."

Project Canvas is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV PLC (ITV.LN), BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN), RTL Group SA's (RTL.BT) Five as well as recent additions Channel 4 and Carphone Warehouse PLC (CPW.LN). The services will allow traditional broadcasters to attract a new audience as well as retaining existing viewers who have turned to the Internet for entertainment...

from CNN Money

paidContent:UK - BBC Future Media & Technology Controller Erik Huggers previews Project Canvas

BBC gets green light for on-demand internet TV

The BBC is to push ahead with providing internet services through the TV, after being given the green light from its governing body.
The joint venture, called Project Canvas, will offer a range of free-to-view, HD, video-on-demand and internet services via a set-top box.
It will bring together the UK's major terrestrial broadcasters but has been criticised by pay-TV operator BSkyB.

Project Canvas will provide a number of internet services such as the BBC iPlayer through a special set-top box
Set top boxes using Canvas software are slated to hit the shops late next year. Costing around £200 they will allow access to the BBC iPlayer, Amazon and NHS Direct among others.
The project could make Canvas the dominant platform for internet TV as the partners include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five along with the Internet Service Providers BT and TalkTalk.
How Project Canvas will work

Canvas is an open-source platform that follows the example of Freeview but uses a broadband connection instead.
Manufacturers will be free to take the Canvas software and use it to create their own set-top boxes that plug directly into the internet.

Third-party content providers, or web services will also be able to plug directly into it.
So Amazon can create a store front for Canvas suited to the television, but use the same back-end technology that powers their web services.
Canvas does not include hardware and will not pull content together. It is there to provide a consistent user interface.
It has been rigorously opposed by BSkyB and Virgin who have their own broadband internet services.
BSkyB has expressed concern that using public money will distort the market for internet TV.
'Sky do not believe that Canvas should be allowed to proceed, or at least, not with the BBC, and the licence fee, playing an active role,' the firm said.
'Given its unique and privileged position in receipt of substantial and guaranteed public funding, the proposals remain inconsistent with the BBC's obligations to adopt the least intrusive and most proportionate means of fulfilling its core public service purpose.'
Despite this, the BBC Trust is expecting to make a provisional ruling next week in favour of the platform, according to the Financial Times.
The project has been awaiting approval since February.
Channel 4 and ISP TalkTalk signed up to the project just last week. Each has committed to invest more than £16million to get the video-on-demand service up and running.

from Mail Online

Another letter to the FSA, I think...

Chandratillake has been at it again.

In the documents that accompanied the recent placing, it was stated "Despite being fully funded, the placing will provide capital to allow blinkx to seize growth opportunities that will arise as the economy recovers".

And yet a recent Business Week news item dated 3rd November states:

"Blinkx Plc will raise £5 million through a share placing. The company plans to use the proceeds for acquisitions. Chief Executive of the company, Suranga Chandratillake told Dow Jones Newswires: "We think there's going to be a number of interesting opportunities that arise as some companies haven't done as well as us during the downturn." He stated that the company would consider strategic partnerships, acquisitions and new distribution networks. He added: "We've not got a time frame for any deals but the downturn tends to sort the wheat from the chaff and the chaff is definitely all around us."

So Chandratillake states that the £5m placing (approximately a 10% dilution for existing shareholders) is for acquisitions, whilst official documents states more vaguely that it is for 'growth opportunities' (which could of course include acquisitions, but could include many other things also).

If the placing funds were really for acquisitions, why not say so in the official RNS for the placing?

I'll tell you why - because if the official documents stated that the placing funds were for acquisitions, and then it turns out that the money had been used for day-to-day company running costs (what with them now having 6 offices and well over 100 staff and all), the company would be guilty of issuing a false prospectus. As it is, Chandratillake can shoot his mouth off to the press, he can give the impression the money is for acquisitions, but such loose talk is not he thinks, legally binding.

I think he's wrong. Once again, I believe he has made a representation that the company is about to grow through acquisition (there has been no sign of any such acquisition yet - but then of course this is Blinkx we're dealing with here, and they never tell their shareholders jackshit anyway). Should such an acquisition not happen, I believe he will be guilty of a misrepresentation. Why - as CEO of a listed company - say something unless you want people to think it is the truth and act as such?

If there has been no acquisition announced by end of Feb 2010, I will be writing to the FSA once more to point this out to them (with Blinkx's burn rate they will have got through at least £5m by then).

I like Chandratillake's black humour when he says: "some companies haven't done as well as us during the downturn". Has the guy looked at his own share price lately? It's a third of the IPO price!

Christ, I hate to think what it would be if Blinkx hadn't been doing well...

Oh, and I'll tell you what else sorts the wheat from the chaff of company management - delivery, communication, and giving a fuck about your shareholders...

BBC Trust poised to approve Project Canvas

The BBC Trust is expected to this week give the green light to Project Canvas, the video-on-demand joint venture, albeit with significant conditions attached.

Project Canvas, whose backers include the BBC, ITV and BT, has been under scrutiny by the BBC Trust for the best part of a year and the trust has several times ordered the partners to provide additional information.

The BBC Trust is expected in the next day or two to announce provisional approval, described by one source as a "conditional yes", which will be followed by a final consultation period running until mid-January.

Project Canvas has come in for heavy criticism from BSkyB, which has argued that issues exist over membership, the lack of a full market impact assessment and potential breaches of European Union state aid rules relating to use of the licence fee...

from The Guardian

M&S Switches On To Selling New Internet TVs

12:00pm UK, Wednesday December 09, 2009

Dan Ashby, Sky News Online

A television that allows the audience to watch online content without a special boxset is to go on sale in the UK.

Cello Electronics' iViewer is the first TV that enables the user to stream video from programmes and websites such as YouTube, Sky Sports Boots And All and BBC iPlayer.

Up until now, viewers needed a games console or special boxset as well as severalapplications to watch online content through their TV.

But the iViewer is being billed by its retailer Marks & Spencer as the technophobe's answer to accessing thousands of hours of content for free.

Techradar's editor Patrick Goss told Sky News that while it is not a technological breakthrough, it is still a small victory for the company who made it.

"There's been an awful lot of talk about IPTV and it's nice to see someone putting their money where their mouth is.

"It will be interesting to see what impact IPTV has on advertising. But it will be a massive step forward - IPTV will change everything."

from Sky News

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Comment: So if Murdoch really believes IPTV will 'change everything', why hasn't he made a serious attempt to buy Blinkx now, before their business really hits its stride, massive revenues start flowing in and the sp goes through the roof?

Unless of course he doesn't think those things will happen...?

"stream video from programmes and websites such as YouTube, Sky Sports Boots And All and BBC iPlayer" - no mention of you-know-who...

BBC given green light for TV internet go-ahead

By Tim Bradshaw and Andrew Parker

Published: December 20 2009 23:41 | Last updated: December 20 2009 23:41

The BBC has been given the go-ahead for the controversial venture to bring internet services to the television set, a decision that could make the public service broadcaster a leading player in a new TV technology.

The venture – known as Project Canvas – which is designed to strengthen free-to-air broadcasters in the internet age, has been fiercely criticised by British Sky Broadcasting, the pay-TV operator.

Set-top boxes using Canvas software are expected to be available late next year for about £200, allowing people to access websites such as the BBC’s iPlayer, NHS Direct and Amazon through their TVs....

from the FT

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Comment: 'are expected to be available late next year' - so another year to wait until even the possibility that this whole IPTV thing may benefit Blinkx.

Can't wait. Yawn...

iPhone Conquers New Territory

Two separate reports — one from AdMob, the other from Impress — show that Apple’s iPhone is not only huge at home in the U.S., it’s also conquering foreign markets, especially Japan.

The AdMob Mobile Metrics report for November 2009 highlights the international growth of iPhone and iPod touch users, showing huge percentage jumps in Japan, France, Australia, China and other countries since the beginning of the year. Of course, most iPhone and iPod Touch users — 50 percent of them — are still located in the U.S., but Apple’s mobile devices are growing much faster internationally...

from Mashable

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Comment: all those users, unable to search for video from their iPhones.

If Blinkx management don't want to be thought of as clueless idiots by their shareholders maybe they should get with the program and stop acting like clueless idiots. Their B2B strategy seems to be proceeding apace (if far too slowly for my liking), but they seem to be completely ignoring the B2C piece. They should just build a f**king iPhone app, get it out there, let word of it start spreading virally among iPhone users (who in my experience spend a lot of their time showing off their latest cool app discoveries to friends and the community), let usage slowly build over time. That would be one more box checked, one more piece of the jigsaw in place, and shareholder happier than now.

Which isn't hard, as many shareholders are not at all happy at the moment...

The fruits of Apple's app explosion

Trailed in today's FT, a 3-part series starting in the paper next Monday on 'the massive app economy - from Apple's relationships with developers to the creation of multi-device apps. Which of Apple's competitors are getting in on the action? What does the future for apps hold?'.

Another question to ask might be: which companies are so clueless that the whole app revolution has completely passed them by?

We could name one, couldn't we boys and girls?

And now for something completely different..

Google are really ramping up their marketing for Chrome (note for Blinkx's PR muppets - this is what good marketing looks like, you clueless dumbasses...)

Hulu Makes Its First Move Outside the U.S., Courtesy of a Reality Show You Don’t Know

Hulu is a big hit in the U.S. But even though the video site has spent a year trying to gain a foothold in other countries, you still can’t see it anywhere else.

That should change early next year, but in the most limited way. Hulu plans to let users in the UK, and most likely other countries, access its US site to watch a single show: The made-for-the Web reality series “If I Can Dream”...

from All Things Digital - Media Memo

Web-capable TV sets on the rise

15 December, 2009

Twenty per cent of all television sets available in Europe next year will be able to connect to the Internet, according to the findings of a new report.

Futuresource Consulting has predicted that by the end of 2010 a fifth of all flat panel devices will allow a connection to the Internet and access to online video content.

The report also estimates that the number of installed flat-panel TV sets with a web connection will rise to 15 million devices.

The findings appear in ‘Connected TV & Blu-ray Market Status: Western Europe’, a 60-page strategic report focusing on the market potential for connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

Research consultant David Watkins said: “In Europe, four of the major [consumer electronics] brands have already launched connected TV products that go beyond basic home networking functionality and allow delivery of over-the-top web services.

“This includes basic weather and news pages, social networking, video streaming and catch-up TV. Although initially limited to high-end and mid-range products, we’re going to see web connectivity feature on an increasing number of products next year, becoming standard within two to three years.

“We expect content to be the next battleground and a key driver for connection and usage, particularly through interaction with social networking sites and access to recently released movies.”

from Broadcast

Hope springs eternal...

This posted today by 'siday2580' on the ADVFN Blinkx thread:

"I have a feeling that this company is ready to expose itself for what it is and what it has become. If your in around this price then we will be rewarded in the next 6 months, without a doubt. If i am wrong then somebody will snap up this company. So the risk is no minimal." (I think s/he means just 'minimal')

Only problem is that more than 3 months ago delusionistas were SURE that the price would 'explode' over the next three months (which three months expired on 1st Dec, when the share price was pretty much where it had been at the beginning of September). Then another ramper guaranteed that a merger was coming within the next 10 days (which 10 days ended two weeks ago today).

Sounds like the rampers are getting desperate to me. From where I'm standing this company looks like it's doing nothing and going nowhere. (An entirely reasonable view given the almost total absence of newsflow.)

And as for a third party snapping the company up - given that Blinkx's (unfulfilled, so far) potential has been on plain view for all to see, why has nobody made a serious attempt to snap it up so far?

And looming over all such discussions/speculations the one glaringly obvious, unanswered question - if next year is going to (finally!) be Blinkx's year, why aren't management buying shares in their own company in the open market?

Funnily enough, the rampers can't answer that one...

edit: "I have a feeling that this company is ready to expose itself for what it is and what it has become" - of course, you could read that two ways...

Channel 4 and Talk Talk join Project Canvas

This morning's announcement, that Channel 4 and Talk Talk are joining Project Canvas, is getting a fair bit of attention, which for me underlines the huge public and market interest in what we believe will be a groundbreaking intiative.

Channel 4 and Talk Talk now join the BBC, ITV, BT and Five as partners in the project, and together, we are seeking expressions of interest from other companies who share our vision of bringing broadband and broadcast content together through an open, internet-connected TV platform, and increase consumers' access to on-demand content and services...

from BBC Internet Blog, 16th December

A quick email to Miniweb

to: info@miniweb.tv

Good morning.

I was wondering whether you could give me any clarity around when Miniweb will be launching? Q1 of next year? Q2? Later?

Any information would be much appreciated.

best regards,

xxxxx

from: Miniweb

HI xxxxx

Miniweb is progressing well with its intended launch strategy but we are unable to disclose this at this time due to commercial sensitivities.

Hope you appreciate this position and do stay in touch.

Regards

Mark

to: Miniweb

Hi Mark

Thanks for getting back to me.

A shame you can't be more specific, but I quite appreciate your position.

Could you please add me to your emailing list for press releases and news?

In the meantime I'll wait with bated breath.

Have a good Christmas, and I'll hope to see Miniweb 'soon'!

best

xxxxx

YouTube Paid Video Could Come “In the Not Too Distant Future”

YouTube is serving up more than a billion videos per day and all of them are free. That could change soon, says YouTube executive David Eun.

Eun, who runs partnerships for Google’s site, confirmed earlier reports that YouTube is looking to stream movies and/or TV shows that aren’t available on the site now and won’t be supported by advertising. So someone, either consumers themselves or a sponsor who picks up the tab, would need to pay for them directly...

from All Things Digital - Media Memo

Hoodless Brennan rates Blinkx 'Speculative buy'

Binkx (BLNX, 19.5p, £54.2m) The world's largest video search engine, announced that, as part of its existing partnership with ITN, Blinkx ‘powered’ advertising is appearing on the Express group's UK websites (Express, Daily Star, OK! Magazine, new! Magazine & Star Magazine). Not groundbreaking newsflow but a timely reminder of Blinkx’s growing acceptance and market position which could make it a major dotcom success story. Very much still in the growth phase the company continues to be at the speculative end of recommendations but we continue to see attraction. SPECULATIVE BUY

from Proactive Investors

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And the buyers flooded in. Oh, no, hang on, they didn't...

Yet more competition because Blinkx is moving so slowly...

[click image for larger version]

from New Media Age

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Comment: as far as I can see from the Blinkx Partners page, they don't have Channel 4 or 5 as partners.

Funny, that. You would have thought that Ch4 and Ch5 would have jumped at the chance to partner with the self-styled "world’s largest and most advanced video search engine", rather than a relative unknown like SeeSaw.

Another piece of high ground lost by Blinkx. In my view they're just not growing fast enough or signing enough high-quality media partners (yes, I know they extended their deal with ITN yesterday - when was the last time they landed a new partner the size of ITN?). True, they seem to be doubling revenues about every six months (although we don't have equal clarity about their costs) - but their income is increasing arithmetically, whereas online video is exploding exponentially...

Chandratillake is right about one thing: there is a 'perfect storm of opportunity' out there. Sadly, it seems to be one in which Blinkx is having problems getting even damp, let alone drenched through as one would expect of a dynamic young company with energetic and competent management.

Draw your own conclusions...

New Media Age cover story, 17th December 2009

[click image for larger version]

from New Media Age 17th December 2009

Earnings Interview: Suranga Chandratillake, CEO, Blinkx: Losses Slimmed, Eyeing Canvas

AIM-listed video search index Blinkx saw 113 percent better revenue of $13.93 million in the 2008/09 year - but higher outgoings still meant it made an $8.87 million loss. Marketing spend nearly doubled to $13.9 million, R&D grew to $4.2 million, admin costs to $1.8 million. But the loss was halved from last year thanks to revenue growth...

from paidContent:UK

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Comment: That article is from back in May.

This bit made me laugh - Chandratillake on the possibility of Blinkx being taken over: "But, having said that, you can see ways in which Blinkx would fit quite neatly in a search platform or a media company - you have to be open to that on behalf of the shareholders. ".

SINCE WHEN HAS CHANDRATILLAKE SHOWN THE SLIGHTEST INDICATION THAT HE GIVES THE FIRST FUCK ABOUT SHAREHOLDERS?

• We never found out what the hell was going on with the Miva bid.
• We were told jackshit about the Zango acquisition.
• Our stake in the company was diluted by the recent placing without the first word about what the money was wanted for (acquisitions? growth? day-to-day? the wording of the placing was vague enough that it could have been any of these).

And of course what does Chandratillake know about shareholders? He has never, to date and to the best of my knowledge, put his hand in his pocket to buy a SINGLE share! Not even at today's share price, a third of the IPO price. So he was happy to sell to the public at 45p, but won't buy on his own account at 16p?

What the hell does that tell you?

What a total fucking shower of SHIT this company is!

Angry? I'm fucking apoplectic!

RNS Number : 2569E

Blinkx Plc

17 December 2009



blinkx Now Serving Ads on ITN Premium News Network for Express Group

blinkx delivers targeted advertising, packaged around ITN video content, for Daily Express, Daily Star and OK! Magazine online sites

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - December 17, 2009 - blinkx, the world's largest video search engine, today announced that, under the terms of an existing partnership with ITN, one of the world's leading news and multimedia content companies, blinkx-powered advertising is appearing on the Express Group's leading UK national newspaper and magazine websites.

Under the terms of the agreement, advertisements served by blinkx are being packaged around video content from ITN, which is shown on the websites of the Daily Express, Daily Star, OK! Magazine, new! Magazine and Star Magazine.

blinkx has powered advertising across ITN and its syndication partner sites since July 2008, which has expanded in 2009 to include the Daily Mail and Midlands News Association websites.

"We're thrilled to be working with ITN to power video advertising for the Daily Express Online and other prominent newspapers and websites," said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO of blinkx. "News content is one of the most popular categories of online video and so there's clearly a tremendous opportunity for monetization."

blinkx's unrivaled contextual advertising platform for online video, blinkx AdHoc, is designed to enable blinkx's media partners to place highly relevant advertising against their video content on the Web. blinkx's AdHoc platform is unique because it was built from the ground up to address rich media, resulting in more effective marketing for advertisers, higher monetization for content owners, and, most importantly, a useful, non-disruptive experience for users.

"Our Premium News Network provides brands with an opportunity to serve ads on popular national and regional websites alongside a broad range of video content, including UK, showbiz, sports and business news," said Mark Browning, commercial director, ITN On. "For ad planners it massively simplifies the process of campaign planning as using blinkx means they have a single contact for ad sales, content and technology. It makes coordinating campaigns much easier and delivers a greater ROI. For publishers the result is the addition of high quality video journalism to their web presence, a more visually engaging website for users, and ultimately a new revenue stream at little cost."

As a pioneer in video search technology, blinkx has built a reputation as the most effective way to search new forms of online content such as video. With more than 650 partners and 35 million hours of indexed video and audio content, including favorite TV moments, news clips, short documentaries, music videos, video blogs and more, blinkx uses advanced speech recognition technology to deliver results that are more accurate and reliable than standard metadata-based keyword searches.

About blinkx

blinkx plc (LSE AIM: BLNX) is the world's largest and most advanced video search engine. Today, blinkx has indexed more than 35 million hours of audio, video, viral and TV content, and made it fully searchable and available on demand. blinkx's founders set out to solve a significant challenge - as TV and user-generated content on the Web explode, keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface. blinkx's patented search technologies listen to - and even see - the Web, helping users enjoy a breadth and accuracy of search results not available elsewhere. In addition, blinkx powers the video search for many of the world's most frequented sites. blinkx is based in San Francisco and London. More information is available at www.blinkx.com.

Press Contacts for blinkx:

Nicole Love
Marlin PR
+44 207 869 8328
Nicole.love@marlinpr.com

Tim Turpin
Sparkpr
+1 (415) 321 1894
tturpin@sparkpr.com

NOMAD for blinkx

Charles Lytle

Citi

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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Comment: Aw they listened. How nice...

Now how about an iPhone app and a Facebooki widget and some director buying and some deals with some seriously large audience aggregators like Yahoo! ?

No? Thought not...

Microsoft’s Bing App Debuts on iPhone–So, When’s the Android Version Coming? (Plus Screenshots!)

Microsoft’s feisty little search service, Bing, has finally made an iPhone app, which is now up at the Apple iTunes app store.

Bing planned to show off the free application at a party thrown by its mobile team in San Francisco tonight, but BoomTown found it live on the site much earlier.

Information about the new app is also now on Microsoft’s Bing blog here.

The Bing app’s description at the iTunes Store says, “Make decisions and get where you need to go with Bing. See the Bing daily image and related trivia on the home screen. Search maps or the Web with your voice–even say an address. Use Image Search and flick through previews. Download Bing today to find stuff nearby and get there fast.”...

from All Things Digital - BoomTown

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Comment: Microsoft - the company renowned for targetting small, unprofitable niche markets...