nothing we didn't already know, but interesting nonetheless
Saturday 31 October 2009
Chandratillake talking in Germany on Friday
He speaks from about 1:30 mins in until about 16 mins in
Blinkx Music - email to feedback@blinkx.com
Dear sir
As a shareholder in Blinkx, of course I welcomed the recent press coverage about Blinkx Music, and the accompanying RNS.
That is, until I had time to actually look at the site: when I was, I have to say, bitterly disappointed.
I'm afraid I find the design uninspiring, simplistic and boring. Why no video wall of popular videos? Why is almost all important content below the fold, with prime above-the-fold real-estate being taken up by (in my view) over-large and unnecessary search/sort functionality (these could have been put as a persistent search/sort area over to the right, freeing up space above the fold for content, rather than tools)?
I can only think that the site was designed primarily with TV screens in mind - because it looks utter rubbish on the web, and significantly behind many other music video sites.
Very disappointing.
As a shareholder in Blinkx, of course I welcomed the recent press coverage about Blinkx Music, and the accompanying RNS.
That is, until I had time to actually look at the site: when I was, I have to say, bitterly disappointed.
I'm afraid I find the design uninspiring, simplistic and boring. Why no video wall of popular videos? Why is almost all important content below the fold, with prime above-the-fold real-estate being taken up by (in my view) over-large and unnecessary search/sort functionality (these could have been put as a persistent search/sort area over to the right, freeing up space above the fold for content, rather than tools)?
I can only think that the site was designed primarily with TV screens in mind - because it looks utter rubbish on the web, and significantly behind many other music video sites.
Very disappointing.
xxxx xxxxxxx
Thursday 29 October 2009
Blinkx signs deal to secure ad spend
Staff, revolutionmagazine.com, 29 October 2009, 3:15pm
LONDON - Blinkx, the video search engine, has ramped up its money making plans by signing a deal with the interactive video network Smartclip.
Blinkx in deal with smartclip
Smartclip specialises in helping publishers make money from their video content by teaming them up with advertisers. Blinkx will work with the company to generate cash from videos in Western Europe.
Federico Grosso, senior vice-president of business development at Blinkx, said: "We are pleased to partner with Smartclip because we believe they have proven expertise and a track record of success in the European market."
Blinkx claims to attract around 90 million professionally created video views per month, reaching 1.142 million people. Smartclip will work with Blinkx to help monetise its media partnerships which includes broadcasters, publishers and pure-play websites.
LONDON - Blinkx, the video search engine, has ramped up its money making plans by signing a deal with the interactive video network Smartclip.
Blinkx in deal with smartclip
Smartclip specialises in helping publishers make money from their video content by teaming them up with advertisers. Blinkx will work with the company to generate cash from videos in Western Europe.
Federico Grosso, senior vice-president of business development at Blinkx, said: "We are pleased to partner with Smartclip because we believe they have proven expertise and a track record of success in the European market."
Blinkx claims to attract around 90 million professionally created video views per month, reaching 1.142 million people. Smartclip will work with Blinkx to help monetise its media partnerships which includes broadcasters, publishers and pure-play websites.
from Revolution
Date for interims announced
RNS Number : 5432B
Blinkx Plc
29 October 2009
?
BLINKX plc
Interim Results and Conference Call - Tuesday 3 November 2009
CAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, California - 29 October 2009 - blinkx plc
(LSE AIM: BLNX.), the world's largest video search engine, will announce interim
results for the six months ended 30 September 2009 on Tuesday 3 November 2009.
A teleconference call to discuss these results will be hosted at 9.30am GMT on
Tuesday 3 November 2009. The call will be available live via webcast over the
World Wide Web. To access the live webcast, investors are directed towards the
investor relations section of blinkx's website, www.blinkx.com. Investors should
go to the website approximately 15 minutes prior to the start time of the call
to register
Blinkx Plc
29 October 2009
?
BLINKX plc
Interim Results and Conference Call - Tuesday 3 November 2009
CAMBRIDGE, England and SAN FRANCISCO, California - 29 October 2009 - blinkx plc
(LSE AIM: BLNX.), the world's largest video search engine, will announce interim
results for the six months ended 30 September 2009 on Tuesday 3 November 2009.
A teleconference call to discuss these results will be hosted at 9.30am GMT on
Tuesday 3 November 2009. The call will be available live via webcast over the
World Wide Web. To access the live webcast, investors are directed towards the
investor relations section of blinkx's website, www.blinkx.com. Investors should
go to the website approximately 15 minutes prior to the start time of the call
to register
-----------
Comment: All I can say is they better be VERY good or Chandratillake is going to a have a LOT of explaining to do...
And maybe we'll get a clearer idea of what the hell is going on, so that shareholders don't feel like mushrooms, being kept in the dark and fed shit...
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Blinkx adds music video search tool
Online video search engine blinkx launched a new tool Tuesday to find and watch music videos on the Internet.
Freshly launched blinkx Music has indexed more than 33,000 hours of music videos from over 10,000 artists.
"There are hundreds of thousands of music videos available on the Web today, which makes it nearly impossible to navigate and find what you are looking for," said blinkx founder and chief executive Suranga Chandratillake.
"We built blinkx Music to help our users find their favorite music videos quickly, easily and in one place."
Blinkx allows searches by artist, album, genre or song. Search results include information about artists and their careers.
The online tool founded in 2004 boasts more than 35 million hours of video and audio content in its index. The company is based in San Francisco.
from The Independent
blinkx CEO Suranga Chandratillake to Deliver Keynote Presentation at Medientage Munchen
- Chandratillake to address the role of online video in the European marketplace and beyond
By: PR Newswire
Oct. 28, 2009 03:00 AM
SAN FRANCISCO, October 28 /PRNewswire/ -- blinkx, the world's largest and most advanced video search engine, today announced that Founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake will be presenting at Medientage Munchen on Friday, October 30th at 11:45 a.m. CET. Mr. Chandratillake will deliver a keynote presentation regarding the state of online video in Europe and abroad, including an examination of current business models and analysis of Internet television's impact on traditional media companies.
A leading European media conference since 1999, Medientage Munchen attracts thousands of attendees from around the world, including decision makers from key media and communications organizations. Each year, thought leaders and industry luminaries from across the globe gather to analyze the current landscape and future trends in the media sector. This year, Mr. Chandratillake has been invited to deliver a presentation preceding a panel entitled "Online Summit: From newspapers to interactive multimedia tools - challenges for the media of the future." Following his keynote, Mr. Chandratillake will be joined in discussion by some of the world's biggest names in media and communications today, including leading executives from Microsoft Deutschland and Ogilvy Group Germany.
A highly regarded expert on the convergence of the Web and TV, Mr. Chandratillake has more than a decade of experience in next-generation search. He has been recognized as a thought leader in the media industry, including being named a Young Global Leader Honoree by the World Economic Forum, one of 25 Digital Entertainment Executives to Watch by Digital Media Wire, and a top 10 leader in Science and Innovation by The Observer.
As the pioneer in video search technology, blinkx has built a reputation as the smartest way to find rich media on the Web. The company has made more than 530 partners and indexed over 35 million hours of video and audio content to date.
from Sys-Con Media
Blinkx attempts to crash the music video party
by Caroline McCarthy
Video might've killed the radio star, but the Web sure hasn't killed music videos. Less than a week after News Corp.-owned social site MySpace announced its MySpace Music Videos portal, video search engine Blinkx announced the debut Tuesday of "Blinkx Music," a search tool specifically designed to trawl through
"There are hundreds of thousands of music videos available on the Web today which makes it nearly impossible to navigate and find what you are looking for," Blinkx founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake explained in a release. "Based on the success of blinkx Remote, our online TV guide, we recognized there was a need to help organize music videos and make them easily searchable on the Web. By leveraging our award-winning video search index, we built Blinkx Music to help our users find their favorite music videos quickly, easily and in one place."
Video might've killed the radio star, but the Web sure hasn't killed music videos. Less than a week after News Corp.-owned social site MySpace announced its MySpace Music Videos portal, video search engine Blinkx announced the debut Tuesday of "Blinkx Music," a search tool specifically designed to trawl through
"There are hundreds of thousands of music videos available on the Web today which makes it nearly impossible to navigate and find what you are looking for," Blinkx founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake explained in a release. "Based on the success of blinkx Remote, our online TV guide, we recognized there was a need to help organize music videos and make them easily searchable on the Web. By leveraging our award-winning video search index, we built Blinkx Music to help our users find their favorite music videos quickly, easily and in one place."
Blinkx says that its search engine has thus far indexed more than 33,000 hours of music videos from about 10,000 artists. While it says that Blinkx Music will let users "post comments and interact with other fans, and also offers background information about bands and their work," the release doesn't say whether it will provide links to streaming or download partners, from which it could potentially rake in revenues shares.
But this is a tight space, and MySpace's music video portal won't be Blinkx Music's only competitor. Universal Music Group is still putting together Vevo, a Hulu-like portal for music videos that aims to bring artists and labels the revenues they might not be getting from YouTube (though the Google-owned video platform is providing Vevo's technology).
Also looming in the background is Google's forthcoming music offering, which the company plans to formally unveil in a press event on Wednesday in Los Angeles. This could instantly run away with a huge market share in music video (and music download) search.
Some background on Blinkx: we haven't heard a lot about it recently, but it's a publicly traded company based in the U.K. (the public status was achieved in '07 when it merged with another company called Autonomy), and when rumors started to swirl last year that Google and News Corp. (which, coincidentally, owns MySpace) were interested in acquiring it, shares of its stock soared
from CNet
from CNet
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Blinkx launches not-quite-ready music jukebox
October 27, 2009 | Paul Boutin | Comments |
Blinkx Music, a newly launched website at www.music.blinkx.com, supposedly has 33,000 hours of music videos from 10,000-plus artists. The search tool, which is indexed by artist, album, song and genre, makes it easy to dig up old U2 videos … no, actually it doesn’t. Type in “U2 Boy” and you get “Sorry, there are no results matching your query.” On YouTube, by contrast the band’s impossibly naive-and-innocent-not-yet-superstars video for “I Will Follow” arrives at the top of the search results page.
A search for the other suggested artist in blinkx’ press release, Lady Gaga returned all of 6 clips.
My guess is that Blinkx’ development team needs some more time to flesh this thing out. Blinkx is based around a search technology that parses the words spoken in videos into searchable keywords. I think they need to figure out the right algorithm for returning results that seem intuitive to human users.
The site looks nice, it’s simple, it doesn’t drive me crazy with gratuitously-sliding interface parts like Grooveshark does. It did, thankfully, find “Video Killed the Radio Star.” But in doing so, it somehow transferred me over to a Yahoo Music page. That’s the last thing I wanted.
Dear blinkx: Come back when this thing is fully cooked, ok? I promise to give you a fair shake again.
Blinkx Music, a newly launched website at www.music.blinkx.com, supposedly has 33,000 hours of music videos from 10,000-plus artists. The search tool, which is indexed by artist, album, song and genre, makes it easy to dig up old U2 videos … no, actually it doesn’t. Type in “U2 Boy” and you get “Sorry, there are no results matching your query.” On YouTube, by contrast the band’s impossibly naive-and-innocent-not-yet-superstars video for “I Will Follow” arrives at the top of the search results page.
A search for the other suggested artist in blinkx’ press release, Lady Gaga returned all of 6 clips.
My guess is that Blinkx’ development team needs some more time to flesh this thing out. Blinkx is based around a search technology that parses the words spoken in videos into searchable keywords. I think they need to figure out the right algorithm for returning results that seem intuitive to human users.
The site looks nice, it’s simple, it doesn’t drive me crazy with gratuitously-sliding interface parts like Grooveshark does. It did, thankfully, find “Video Killed the Radio Star.” But in doing so, it somehow transferred me over to a Yahoo Music page. That’s the last thing I wanted.
Dear blinkx: Come back when this thing is fully cooked, ok? I promise to give you a fair shake again.
from VentureBeat
--------
Comment: so the first time in ages that Blinks gets any press in the national press (the Telegraph article) is for a broken piece of crap that doesn't even work?
This could be one of the final nails in Chandratillake's coffin. Allowing such a debacle to go live - with appalling design, appalling user experience, search that doesn't work - is unforgiveable. Absolutely unforgiveable...
Blinkx launches music video search tool
Video search engine blinkx, has launched blinkx Music, a new tool dedicated to finding music videos online.
By Emma Barnett, Technology and Digital Media Correspondent
Published: 1:04PM GMT 27 Oct 2009
Published: 1:04PM GMT 27 Oct 2009
The new search service goes live today and offers people a one-stop tool to locate over 33,000 music videos which are currently online.
Blinkx Music will also host approximately 25 per cent of all available music videos online through deals with Universal Music and Sony. However, users will be able to access the majority of the videos through links the tool serves once a search term has been entered...
from The Telegraph
-------------
Comment: I've now had time to examine the music site - and it's rubbish! It looks really boring, no graphic design applied to it whatsoever - and I searched for several large bands and it returned zero results.
Why no nice video wall of popular videos? Why so little content immediately visible in the browser window without scrolling?
If this is really the best Blinkx can do we might as well all kiss goodbye to our investments now.
...And judging by the share price today, most other people looking at it aren't too impressed either...
It's time for Chandratillake to put up or get out. And in my view this music site just doesn't cut the mustard...
Get Your Groove on with blinkx Music; blinkx Delivers a Universal Jukebox for Music Videos Online
from VOIP News
--------------------------------
Comment: Very good news, on the face of it. Let's see what it's worth to Blinkx in terms of revenue and PR. Wouldn't be the first apparently good announcement they've failed to capitalise on on one or both of those fronts...
Cynical? Yes, I am. We're in the middle of a tech rally, and there is one company whose share price is singularly failing to rise...
Chandratillake has a lot to prove. Let's hope the next set of interims shows beyond doubt the company is on track. Otherwise I might not be the only person calling for a change at the top...
Monday 26 October 2009
How Much Will You Have to Pay for Hulu? Nothing. How Much Will You Pay for “Hulu Plus”? Good Question
"Is Hulu putting up a pay wall around its Web TV site? Nope.
Does Hulu want to charge people to watch Web TV? Yes.
Confused? Don’t be.
It’s pretty straightforward: Hulu, the joint venture between News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox, GE’s (GE) NBC Universal and Disney’s (DIS) ABC, doesn’t plan on charging people to watch the stuff it’s currently airing on the site–a mix of first-run shows from broadcast TV, a limited number of cable TV shows and a smattering of movies. But Hulu is trying to figure out how to create some kind of premium offering where you’ll pay for stuff that isn’t on the site right now..."
from All Things Digital
Sunday 25 October 2009
Friday 23 October 2009
Searching for Babylon 5 or Why a New Guide Is Needed in TV's Brave New World
Oct 21, 2009 10:43
Phil Keys, Nikkei Electronics
A while ago, I did an article about how the new world of TV content coming over the Internet necessitates a whole new class of EPGs to help consumers find programs they want to see amongst the upcoming (hopefully) nearly infinite choice of programming open to them. I remember interviewing an exec at then TV Guide-Gemstar (later sold to then Macrovision now Rovi). In the interview, he made an interesting statement something like "What consumers really need is a way to find their favorite shows."
I've now had a chance to find out just how true his words are. As a bit of background, I'm a Science Fiction fan which is something of an occupational disease here in Silicon Valley. I've always tried to catch SF films and TV shows when they look interesting, but when Babylon 5 (anyone remember Babylon 5?) came out, I was out of the US and had only been able to catch a couple of episodes. So, when I got the beta version of Joost (anyone remember Joost?), I was ecstatic to find that episodes of Babylon 5 were available there! However, it turned out Joost only had a few kind of randomly inserted episodes. Still, the show was great and I was hooked.
Then, of course, came Hulu. And Hulu had the episodes in chronological order. I was in SF heaven until I finished the last episode on Hulu and realized they only had the rights to the first two seasons. Luckily, I came across a discussion room post on Hulu mentioning that all of the shows were available on AOL TV. Yeah! So, it was on to AOL and I thought I was all set to enjoy the series at my leisure. Alas, it was not to be. After not having the chance to see the show for a bit, I came back to AOL TV and discovered...gasp...AOL TV no longer had the full episodes available.
Now what to do? In the past I've interviewed the folks responsible for the video search service Blinkx so I figured I would turn to them. And, Blinkx came through! Blinkx has a great service where they list a huge number of TV shows and then show links to where the full episodes are available (you can find it athttp://tv.blinkx.com). After watching the show via low quality streams with lots of advertising a couple of times on some Chinese streaming sites, I finally found that TheWB (I think Warner Bros owns the rights to the show) was now hosting the show on their web site. Since TheWB has for whatever reason decided to create artificial scarcity by cycling through one whole season every month, I'm lucky I was at a point in my viewing where I could follow the show and not have to wait for a few more months...
So, by now I'm sure you're wondering just what the point of all this blathering is. Basically, my whole unhappy experience proved the point my source at now Rovi was trying to make. When you think about it, this was way too much work on my part just so I could enjoy a TV show, and an old one at that. As more and more TV shows make their way to the Internet and given the fluid nature of rights negotiations, I can see the same sort of experience happening over and over again. Given that the devices which can access TV shows being broadcast on the Internet are to increase as well, there really needs to be a better way to find what you want to watch. And whoever can develop that will hold the key to the next generation entertainment experience.
Phil Keys, Nikkei Electronics
A while ago, I did an article about how the new world of TV content coming over the Internet necessitates a whole new class of EPGs to help consumers find programs they want to see amongst the upcoming (hopefully) nearly infinite choice of programming open to them. I remember interviewing an exec at then TV Guide-Gemstar (later sold to then Macrovision now Rovi). In the interview, he made an interesting statement something like "What consumers really need is a way to find their favorite shows."
I've now had a chance to find out just how true his words are. As a bit of background, I'm a Science Fiction fan which is something of an occupational disease here in Silicon Valley. I've always tried to catch SF films and TV shows when they look interesting, but when Babylon 5 (anyone remember Babylon 5?) came out, I was out of the US and had only been able to catch a couple of episodes. So, when I got the beta version of Joost (anyone remember Joost?), I was ecstatic to find that episodes of Babylon 5 were available there! However, it turned out Joost only had a few kind of randomly inserted episodes. Still, the show was great and I was hooked.
Then, of course, came Hulu. And Hulu had the episodes in chronological order. I was in SF heaven until I finished the last episode on Hulu and realized they only had the rights to the first two seasons. Luckily, I came across a discussion room post on Hulu mentioning that all of the shows were available on AOL TV. Yeah! So, it was on to AOL and I thought I was all set to enjoy the series at my leisure. Alas, it was not to be. After not having the chance to see the show for a bit, I came back to AOL TV and discovered...gasp...AOL TV no longer had the full episodes available.
Now what to do? In the past I've interviewed the folks responsible for the video search service Blinkx so I figured I would turn to them. And, Blinkx came through! Blinkx has a great service where they list a huge number of TV shows and then show links to where the full episodes are available (you can find it athttp://tv.blinkx.com). After watching the show via low quality streams with lots of advertising a couple of times on some Chinese streaming sites, I finally found that TheWB (I think Warner Bros owns the rights to the show) was now hosting the show on their web site. Since TheWB has for whatever reason decided to create artificial scarcity by cycling through one whole season every month, I'm lucky I was at a point in my viewing where I could follow the show and not have to wait for a few more months...
So, by now I'm sure you're wondering just what the point of all this blathering is. Basically, my whole unhappy experience proved the point my source at now Rovi was trying to make. When you think about it, this was way too much work on my part just so I could enjoy a TV show, and an old one at that. As more and more TV shows make their way to the Internet and given the fluid nature of rights negotiations, I can see the same sort of experience happening over and over again. Given that the devices which can access TV shows being broadcast on the Internet are to increase as well, there really needs to be a better way to find what you want to watch. And whoever can develop that will hold the key to the next generation entertainment experience.
from TechOn
Saturday 17 October 2009
Friday 16 October 2009
Sky Interactive Spinoff Miniweb Wants To Launch An IPTV Service
The living room broadband TV market is due to get seriously crowded next year. BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) is putting its content on IPTV devices and the BBC-convened Project Canvas coalition is set to produce a series web TV products, but that’s not putting off Miniweb...
The VC-backed spin-off from BSkyB’s Sky Interactive division, which raised $32 million (now £19.6 million) from US-based investors last year and still provides “red button” services to Sky TV, wants to launch its own IPTV service in the UK in Q1 and is also aiming for international traction.
Miniweb says it already has distribution deals with multiple retailers and ISPs, but it isn’t saying who; a private UK beta begins next month.
paidContent:UK saw the system in action at a work-in-progress demo in central London and heard some details from Miniweb on how the the system will work…
—The hunt for content: Miniweb claims to already have 30 million hours of content to show—40 percent of it will be paid-for premium content such as movies—including its deal with online video search engine Blinkx (and a large amount of adult content). But it needs more than just archive VOD and is pitching to content owners. In its pitch, Miniweb says clips and programmes can appear in a branded menu which content owners themselves control.
“Miniweb is in the centre as a means to get multiple content providers onto multiple devices,” is how business development director Dave Lipp describes it. Miniweb plans some integration with VOD portals like iPlayer and 4OD, as the demo I saw illustrated—but that was just a mock-up and Miniweb is still only in talks with BBC, Channel 4 and others.
—Selling the platform: This isn’t about selling a STB, it’s about selling its platform and all the functionalities and content deals that go with it. So Miniweb’s signed up multiple box manufacturers and multiple ISPs and retailers for distribution, casting its net as wide as possible. The company points out its platform will work with new versions of existing boxes and it’s keen to keep all options open. The platform has two (unnamed) set top box manfacturers in place for its beta launch, but head of business development Mark James stressed that the model will be compatible with a range of boxes
—Subscriptions, micropayments: The company is keeping quiet on the specifics of the business model, but broadly it will be tied to ISP subscriptions or available direct from retailers on a subscription basis. Programmes and films can also be bought either through one-off payments or individual subscriptions and it’s exploring a freemium-style system whereby the amount of pre- and post-roll ads is reduced depending on how much viewers pay.
—Content sharing, recommendation: In keeping with the content sharing and social functionality that Sky and the BBC are working on, Miniweb lets users recommend content to friends while its search feature keeps a profile of users’ viewing habits and suggests relevant content. The platform has two Flash-based games partners and at least one online betting provider.
from paidContent:UK
The VC-backed spin-off from BSkyB’s Sky Interactive division, which raised $32 million (now £19.6 million) from US-based investors last year and still provides “red button” services to Sky TV, wants to launch its own IPTV service in the UK in Q1 and is also aiming for international traction.
Miniweb says it already has distribution deals with multiple retailers and ISPs, but it isn’t saying who; a private UK beta begins next month.
paidContent:UK saw the system in action at a work-in-progress demo in central London and heard some details from Miniweb on how the the system will work…
—The hunt for content: Miniweb claims to already have 30 million hours of content to show—40 percent of it will be paid-for premium content such as movies—including its deal with online video search engine Blinkx (and a large amount of adult content). But it needs more than just archive VOD and is pitching to content owners. In its pitch, Miniweb says clips and programmes can appear in a branded menu which content owners themselves control.
“Miniweb is in the centre as a means to get multiple content providers onto multiple devices,” is how business development director Dave Lipp describes it. Miniweb plans some integration with VOD portals like iPlayer and 4OD, as the demo I saw illustrated—but that was just a mock-up and Miniweb is still only in talks with BBC, Channel 4 and others.
—Selling the platform: This isn’t about selling a STB, it’s about selling its platform and all the functionalities and content deals that go with it. So Miniweb’s signed up multiple box manufacturers and multiple ISPs and retailers for distribution, casting its net as wide as possible. The company points out its platform will work with new versions of existing boxes and it’s keen to keep all options open. The platform has two (unnamed) set top box manfacturers in place for its beta launch, but head of business development Mark James stressed that the model will be compatible with a range of boxes
—Subscriptions, micropayments: The company is keeping quiet on the specifics of the business model, but broadly it will be tied to ISP subscriptions or available direct from retailers on a subscription basis. Programmes and films can also be bought either through one-off payments or individual subscriptions and it’s exploring a freemium-style system whereby the amount of pre- and post-roll ads is reduced depending on how much viewers pay.
—Content sharing, recommendation: In keeping with the content sharing and social functionality that Sky and the BBC are working on, Miniweb lets users recommend content to friends while its search feature keeps a profile of users’ viewing habits and suggests relevant content. The platform has two Flash-based games partners and at least one online betting provider.
from paidContent:UK
Thursday 15 October 2009
Google shores up cash through pinching pennies
MarketWatch First Take
Oct. 15, 2009, 5:06 p.m. EDT · Recommend · Post:
Google, the penny pincher emerges
Commentary: Cash pile building up, are deals far behind?
Google shores up cash through pinching pennies
Story Quotes Comments Screener (2)
Alert Email Print Share
By MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. made investors happy on Thursday with its better-than-expected earnings and revenue, but one of the most striking things about its results was evidence of recent penny pinching at the Internet search giant.
Apparently, Google /quotes/comstock/15*!goog/quotes/nls/goog (GOOG 546.00, +16.09, +3.04%) executives are finally listening to Wall Street, which had been concerned about its free-spending ways. In the quarter, Google said its operating expenses of $1.64 billion were 28% of revenue, down from the year-ago operating expense level of 31% of revenue, or $1.72 billion. See full story.
The company also said its total worldwide workforce shrunk by 121 people in the quarter. It employed 19,665 full-time employees at the end of September, down from 19,786 in the second quarter. Google's over exuberant hiring had been sticking in Wall Street's craw.
As it saves more money from operations, its cash pile keeps growing as its business throws off big bundles of green. Google ended the quarter with nearly $22 billion in cash and marketable securities, up from $19.3 billion in the prior quarter. With a cash pile growing at yet another tech giant, could Google start looking around for some other big acquisitions too?
If so, let's hope it finds a revenue-generating company that is more profitable than YouTube.
- Therese Poletti
Oct. 15, 2009, 5:06 p.m. EDT · Recommend · Post:
Google, the penny pincher emerges
Commentary: Cash pile building up, are deals far behind?
Google shores up cash through pinching pennies
Story Quotes Comments Screener (2)
Alert Email Print Share
By MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. made investors happy on Thursday with its better-than-expected earnings and revenue, but one of the most striking things about its results was evidence of recent penny pinching at the Internet search giant.
Apparently, Google /quotes/comstock/15*!goog/quotes/nls/goog (GOOG 546.00, +16.09, +3.04%) executives are finally listening to Wall Street, which had been concerned about its free-spending ways. In the quarter, Google said its operating expenses of $1.64 billion were 28% of revenue, down from the year-ago operating expense level of 31% of revenue, or $1.72 billion. See full story.
The company also said its total worldwide workforce shrunk by 121 people in the quarter. It employed 19,665 full-time employees at the end of September, down from 19,786 in the second quarter. Google's over exuberant hiring had been sticking in Wall Street's craw.
As it saves more money from operations, its cash pile keeps growing as its business throws off big bundles of green. Google ended the quarter with nearly $22 billion in cash and marketable securities, up from $19.3 billion in the prior quarter. With a cash pile growing at yet another tech giant, could Google start looking around for some other big acquisitions too?
If so, let's hope it finds a revenue-generating company that is more profitable than YouTube.
- Therese Poletti
from MarketWatch
Google Plans To Invest “Heavily;” To Step Up Hiring; Seeking Acquisitions “Large and Small”
* IBM Q3 Revs, EPS Edge Estimates; ‘09 Forecast Raised; Stock Falls
* Advanced Micro Devices Q3 Tops Estimates
By Eric Savitz
Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt told investors in a Q3 earnings conference call this afternoon that “the worst of the recession is behind us,” and that the company now has the business confidence to invest “heavily” in the next phase of innovation.
Schmidt said the company will invest both in people - he said they are stepping up hiring - and in innovation.
Schmidt also said the company will focus more on strategic deals and acquisitions. He says Google is “open for business to make strategic acquisitions both large and small.”
Get ready to see a lot of Google will acquire FILL IN THE BLANK rumors.
Schmidt said they will focus mostly on small acquisitions, with larger deals every year or two.
Asked about possible stock repurchases, he said that they would not rule it out, but advised investors not to expect that to happen any time soon.
GOOG this afternoon is up $10.59, or 2%, to $540.50.
* Advanced Micro Devices Q3 Tops Estimates
By Eric Savitz
Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt told investors in a Q3 earnings conference call this afternoon that “the worst of the recession is behind us,” and that the company now has the business confidence to invest “heavily” in the next phase of innovation.
Schmidt said the company will invest both in people - he said they are stepping up hiring - and in innovation.
Schmidt also said the company will focus more on strategic deals and acquisitions. He says Google is “open for business to make strategic acquisitions both large and small.”
Get ready to see a lot of Google will acquire FILL IN THE BLANK rumors.
Schmidt said they will focus mostly on small acquisitions, with larger deals every year or two.
Asked about possible stock repurchases, he said that they would not rule it out, but advised investors not to expect that to happen any time soon.
GOOG this afternoon is up $10.59, or 2%, to $540.50.
from Barron's
-----
Comment: Time for a letter to Eric Schmidt, I think (CC'd to Chandratillake and Mike Lynch, of course). If Chandratillake cannot or will not deliver value to Blinkx shareholders after two-and-a-half years of waiting, let's get this company flipped and sold to someone else...
One example: shareholders were told before last Christmas that Transaction Hijacking (TH) was ready to go - yet at the AGM last month Chandratillake is only now talking about setting up a server farm in Nevada to facilitate TH? What the f**k has he been DOING for the past 9 months?
* Where's the iPhone app?
* Where's the Facebook app?
* If Blinkx has such a bright future, why are NONE of the mgmt team buying shares? There may be a lot of deals going on behind the scenes (or at least shareholders hope so), but is there not ONE day of the year when the management team could collectively buy shares to demonstrate their faith in this company's future? Not ONE?
As someone once said: Talk - Action = Zero.
Which is about all that Blinxk shareholders have got so far...
But of course Chandratillake doesn't care about shareholder value, does he, because he's never put his hand in his pocket to buy a single share, has he?
If the news at the interims isn't good, I'll be writing to the large institutional holders suggesting that they support a call for an EGM to remove Chandratillake and put in place a CEO who can deliver, who can obsessively focus on shareholder value. I suspect that unless the Blinkx share price improves - and quickly - there will be many sympathetic ears to this call. These are people who bought at 45p two-and-a-half years ago, and now see their investment still worth less than half, despite all the 'progress' made since: most of which progress is, in fact, still largely speculation and rumour by delusionally optimistic shareholders. BobVila.com? And Blinkx seriously thought that was worth the cost of an RNS? Per-leeeeeeze...! If I needed any more proof...
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Call it a comeback? Google earnings due
by Tom Krazit
With the online ad business appearing to have collected itself at the bottom of the ravine, all eyes will be on Google's earnings report Thursday to see if it has figured out where the path back to the top starts.
Investors are feeling good about Google in the run-up to Thursday's third-quarter earnings conference call, sending the stock to a 52-week high on Tuesday at $527.46 before it settled back down to $526.11 at the close of trading. Five prominent financial analysts raised their expectations for Google's stock Monday amid a collective feeling that advertisers have started to finally increase their spending after sitting on their wallets for about a year.
Last week Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that not only are things picking up in the U.S., but Europe has started to get its groove back ahead of the expected timeline. Google sales representatives gathered in New York last week were said to be "very, very positive."
The other good thing for Google is that even if search growth in the U.S. continues to creep along--up just 3 percent from July to August--the worldwide growth in search queries is quite strong, giving the company some room to grow revenue. Revenue from outside the U.S. made up 53 percent of the company's second-quarter revenue, although competition is tougher for Google outside its home country, especially in fast-growing China.
Citigroup's Mark Mahaney, speaking to MarketWatch earlier this week, described search advertising as one of the more resilient forms of advertising during a slump, and as such is also one of the first places where companies will want to put their money as budgets loosen. That means Google's results--if the optimists win the day--will be held up as the start of the online advertising recovery as well as a sign that the rest of the industry still has a ways to go.
Longer term, however, Google needs to make something else pay off beyond its search juggernaut if it wants to sustain long-term growth, Mahaney said. Google has made some progress in the last quarter on some of those areas, launching a revamped display ad exchange (although that came too late in the quarter to have much of an effect), signing deals with several partners for Android phones, and increasing the number of ads and content partnerships shown on YouTube.
With the online ad business appearing to have collected itself at the bottom of the ravine, all eyes will be on Google's earnings report Thursday to see if it has figured out where the path back to the top starts.
Investors are feeling good about Google in the run-up to Thursday's third-quarter earnings conference call, sending the stock to a 52-week high on Tuesday at $527.46 before it settled back down to $526.11 at the close of trading. Five prominent financial analysts raised their expectations for Google's stock Monday amid a collective feeling that advertisers have started to finally increase their spending after sitting on their wallets for about a year.
Last week Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that not only are things picking up in the U.S., but Europe has started to get its groove back ahead of the expected timeline. Google sales representatives gathered in New York last week were said to be "very, very positive."
The other good thing for Google is that even if search growth in the U.S. continues to creep along--up just 3 percent from July to August--the worldwide growth in search queries is quite strong, giving the company some room to grow revenue. Revenue from outside the U.S. made up 53 percent of the company's second-quarter revenue, although competition is tougher for Google outside its home country, especially in fast-growing China.
Citigroup's Mark Mahaney, speaking to MarketWatch earlier this week, described search advertising as one of the more resilient forms of advertising during a slump, and as such is also one of the first places where companies will want to put their money as budgets loosen. That means Google's results--if the optimists win the day--will be held up as the start of the online advertising recovery as well as a sign that the rest of the industry still has a ways to go.
Longer term, however, Google needs to make something else pay off beyond its search juggernaut if it wants to sustain long-term growth, Mahaney said. Google has made some progress in the last quarter on some of those areas, launching a revamped display ad exchange (although that came too late in the quarter to have much of an effect), signing deals with several partners for Android phones, and increasing the number of ads and content partnerships shown on YouTube.
from CNet
BBC's iPlayer Set to Go Global
"The hugely successful online video-streaming service from Britain's public broadcaster could soon be available to viewers in the U.S. and elsewhere"
from BusinessWeek
from BusinessWeek
Let's hope Blinkx are involved somewhere somehow, eh?
Monday 12 October 2009
England Vs Ukraine online: watershed moment or own goal?
Britain's largest ever live pay-to-view internet event happened this weekend, with England Vs Ukraine only available to watch online and in selected Odeon cinemas.
The outcome of the match, which England eventually went on to lose 1-0, was not significant to next year's World Cup for England at least, the way it was shown could be significant to how future football games are seen.
Making it web-only showed that more professional games may not be played out in front of television screens but computer ones.
Pioneering broadcast
Industry opinion is divided on just how significant the web event was. Unsurprisingly, the most vocal about its success were the providers of the internet stream – media group Perform – who celebrated the fact that there were "no technical issues" and called the game a "pioneering broadcast".
While exact figures are hard to come by, Perform believes around 500,000 people watched the match – including those who watched it through the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), who screened the game free for troops.
Compare this with the 8 million plus people who watched England's qualifier against Croatia, which was shown back in September on ITV, and there is a significant drop-off in viewing figures.
It has to be noted that the game against Croatia was a crucial one, and was shown on ITV for free, but it does make for interesting comparison if we are to believe that Saturday's game finally made IPTV mainstream in the UK.
Watershed moment?
No matter what the size of viewing audience, Suranga Chandratillake, CEO and founder of blinkx, believes the online match held great significance.
"The England Vs the Ukraine match this weekend was a watershed moment for online television," he explained.
"Where we used to turn to the Web for 10 second clips of dramatic chipmunks and skateboarding dogs, half a million people tuned in on Saturday to watch the England team compete in a premier sporting event. It was a glimpse into the future of TV, heralding profound changes in the media ecosystem of broadcasters, content owners and audiences."
Alex Lane, Editor of What Satellite and Digital TV, isn't so sure, telling TechRadar: "Less than half a million watching an England World Cup qualifier – even if it's not a crucial one – seems like an own goal.
"It just goes to show that money is far more important to the rights holders than the fans or the sport itself. It would have been a watershed moment if they'd sold it to platforms and venues that football fans want to use, like Xbox, PlayStation and pubs."
TV on steroids
Regardless of the games impact, Blinkx's Chandratillake feels this is just the beginning for online football watching, believing that there's technology to come which will make viewing matches on the web much more enjoyable:
"Broadcasting the match over the internet was just the first step – imagine fusing that game with the interactive power of the web so that you had a top notch TV experience that was actually interactive and linked to the universe of information on the Web?"
He continues: "With a single click, you could get Wayne Rooney's history and stats, review key plays, select the commentator of your choice, and interact live with other fans all over the world. Whether you watch it on your laptop, or on the flat screen in your living room, this is the future – and it's TV on steroids."
The future of IPTV on the web may well be TV on steroids, but the present situation is a little different.
from TechRadar
The outcome of the match, which England eventually went on to lose 1-0, was not significant to next year's World Cup for England at least, the way it was shown could be significant to how future football games are seen.
Making it web-only showed that more professional games may not be played out in front of television screens but computer ones.
Pioneering broadcast
Industry opinion is divided on just how significant the web event was. Unsurprisingly, the most vocal about its success were the providers of the internet stream – media group Perform – who celebrated the fact that there were "no technical issues" and called the game a "pioneering broadcast".
While exact figures are hard to come by, Perform believes around 500,000 people watched the match – including those who watched it through the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), who screened the game free for troops.
Compare this with the 8 million plus people who watched England's qualifier against Croatia, which was shown back in September on ITV, and there is a significant drop-off in viewing figures.
It has to be noted that the game against Croatia was a crucial one, and was shown on ITV for free, but it does make for interesting comparison if we are to believe that Saturday's game finally made IPTV mainstream in the UK.
Watershed moment?
No matter what the size of viewing audience, Suranga Chandratillake, CEO and founder of blinkx, believes the online match held great significance.
"The England Vs the Ukraine match this weekend was a watershed moment for online television," he explained.
"Where we used to turn to the Web for 10 second clips of dramatic chipmunks and skateboarding dogs, half a million people tuned in on Saturday to watch the England team compete in a premier sporting event. It was a glimpse into the future of TV, heralding profound changes in the media ecosystem of broadcasters, content owners and audiences."
Alex Lane, Editor of What Satellite and Digital TV, isn't so sure, telling TechRadar: "Less than half a million watching an England World Cup qualifier – even if it's not a crucial one – seems like an own goal.
"It just goes to show that money is far more important to the rights holders than the fans or the sport itself. It would have been a watershed moment if they'd sold it to platforms and venues that football fans want to use, like Xbox, PlayStation and pubs."
TV on steroids
Regardless of the games impact, Blinkx's Chandratillake feels this is just the beginning for online football watching, believing that there's technology to come which will make viewing matches on the web much more enjoyable:
"Broadcasting the match over the internet was just the first step – imagine fusing that game with the interactive power of the web so that you had a top notch TV experience that was actually interactive and linked to the universe of information on the Web?"
He continues: "With a single click, you could get Wayne Rooney's history and stats, review key plays, select the commentator of your choice, and interact live with other fans all over the world. Whether you watch it on your laptop, or on the flat screen in your living room, this is the future – and it's TV on steroids."
The future of IPTV on the web may well be TV on steroids, but the present situation is a little different.
from TechRadar
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Blinkx Aims to Change Online Video World
Blinkx aims to take on YouTube, Hulu and Veoh.
Some may have never heard of the San Francisco-based company, but in just a few short years it has become the single biggest search engine for online video. In August, Blinkx joined Yahoo!, CNN, YouTube and others on Nielsen VideoCensus’ top 10 list of most popular online video sites.
“Most video sites on the Web aren’t search engines,” said company founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake. “You’re only going to get results on those sites. We’re the starting point for everyone else’s content.
“The analogy we use is that we’re the remote control for Web video.”
Since it launched in 2004, Blinkx has garnered more than 530 media partners, from the big (ESPN) to the small (HealthGuru.com). They include national and international broadcasters, private video libraries and commercial media companies. Thanks to those partnerships, and unique search technology, Blinkx offers one-stop search access to more than 35 million hours of online video...
from Home Media magazine
Some may have never heard of the San Francisco-based company, but in just a few short years it has become the single biggest search engine for online video. In August, Blinkx joined Yahoo!, CNN, YouTube and others on Nielsen VideoCensus’ top 10 list of most popular online video sites.
“Most video sites on the Web aren’t search engines,” said company founder and CEO Suranga Chandratillake. “You’re only going to get results on those sites. We’re the starting point for everyone else’s content.
“The analogy we use is that we’re the remote control for Web video.”
Since it launched in 2004, Blinkx has garnered more than 530 media partners, from the big (ESPN) to the small (HealthGuru.com). They include national and international broadcasters, private video libraries and commercial media companies. Thanks to those partnerships, and unique search technology, Blinkx offers one-stop search access to more than 35 million hours of online video...
from Home Media magazine
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Microsoft Says It’s Done Buying Search. Writing Big Checks for Search? Different Story
"Because it’s her job, a Reuters reporter asked Steve Ballmer today if he’s planning to make any big, splashy M&A deals to boost his search business. And because it’s the truth, the Microsoft CEO said, no, he probably isn’t. Actual quote: “No, I wouldn’t expect it.”
What else would you expect Ballmer to say? Now that Microsoft (MSFT) has got its hands on Yahoo’s (YHOO) search business–without paying a “boatload” for it–there isn’t a whole lot left to buy."
from All Things Digital
Sunday 4 October 2009
Nielsen Ratings Shake Up – Hulu and Blinkx
Christophor Rick | August 14, 2009 | 1 Comment, Leave yours
After months of not a lot of movement going on at the top of the Nielsen reports for video traffic we suddenly get some major shake up and a new contender. The top ten saw some major moves from top to bottom last month which could pave the way for further change. Plus a dark horse that is lurking in the shadows ready to pounce it would seem.First, at the bottom of the top ten we see Blinkx sneaking into the mix. Absent from the top ten up until now Blinkx, the video search engine if you’ve forgotten, has breached the top ten with just over 86 million streams for the month and a strange 268,000 unique viewers. Apparently each of those viewers is watching roughly 320 streams each per month or about 10 per day.
Meanwhile up at the top Hulu has snuck into second place (recently having slid up to third) with 383 million streams and 10 million unique viewers for an average 38.3 streams per viewer. Just above looms YouTube larger than ever having once again shown massive growth topping 7 Billion (no, no typo there) streams for the month. Those streams went out to about 104.5 million unique viewers meaning that each averages 67 streams over the course of the month.
Apparently, Blinkx users are hardcore online video consumers since they’re watching an average of 5-10 times more streams per month per viewer. Even Nickelodeon Kids & Family viewers are only averaging about 26 streams per and Turner Sports and Entertainment is holding down 22 per unique viewer.
Apparently, Blinkx users are hardcore online video consumers since they’re watching an average of 5-10 times more streams per month per viewer. Even Nickelodeon Kids & Family viewers are only averaging about 26 streams per and Turner Sports and Entertainment is holding down 22 per unique viewer.
Now remember, Nielsen relies on user surveys and panels and as far as we know has not implemented direct tracking on any of the sites in their top ten. They state that July saw a 14.20% growth over last July and a 1.2% growth over the previous month in regards to unique viewers and a 31.4% and 11.1% growth in those categories in regards to streams.
Somewhere outside the top ten is ABC.com who, according to Nielsen has crushed NYTimes.com and FOXNews.com this past month by surpassing both of them. Last month over 16 million unique viewers hit the site. That’s more than hit many of the top ten sites including Nickelodeon, Turner, Hulu, MTV and Blinkx. They must have served less than 86 million streams for the month to not have made the top ten. Is this a glimpse into the coming months as viewers head to the network sites to catch up on the last episodes of last season before the new seasons begin kicking off next month?
Nielsen also states that around 212 minutes were consumed per viewer and the average overall was 82.4 streams each. Apparently Blinkx really tipped that scale.
Wrapping up the top ten:
YouTube
Hulu
Yahoo!
MSN/Windows Live/Bing
Nickelodeon
Turner
Fox
MTV
CNN
Blinkx
Hulu
Yahoo!
MSN/Windows Live/Bing
Nickelodeon
Turner
Fox
MTV
CNN
Blinkx
Stay tuned viewers as we find out if ABC can topple the top ten giants and breach the highest level of online video streams in August, the month historically leading up to all the new seasons.
from ReelSEO
Friday 2 October 2009
Video search: Speech recognition, but not as we know it
Kit Thambiratnam of Microsoft demonstrates a new search technique being developed for internet video
on The Guardian web site (they don't provide embed code for their videos. Ya boo!)
----------------------
Comment: very cool indeed. Wonder if Blinkx tech is under the hood anywhere, or if this is the shape of things to come with Blinkx being licensed to set-top boxes...
Online advertising to boom
The continued migration from TV and newspapers to online advertising by business is set to double the value of Australia's online advertising sector over the next five years, from $510 million in 2009 to close to $1.2 billion in 2014.
The sector's value grew by 19% in the 2008-09 financial year, despite businesses cutting their online marketing costs due to the global economic downturn, a Frost & Sullivan report released yesterday found.
"Although 2009's overall growth is slightly down when compared to the 22% increase in 2008, it's still a very strong result given the economic environment," Frost & Sullivan senior research manger Phil Harpur told SmartCompany.
"Businesses and ad agencies that are slow to adapt will be forced to reevaluate their budget allocation to achieve their marketing goals," Interactive Bureau of Australia chief executive officer Paul Fisher says. "That's nothing different from what is happening now but it will accelerate."
For businesses with an online budget, the most popular ads were display ads such as banners, skyscrapers and pop-ups, with 59% of companies making purchases in 2009, although this fell from 64% the previous year.
But use of online video advertising grew, surging from 17% in 2008 to 25% in 2009. In addition, 49% of companies used e-newsletters in 2009, up from 39% in 2008...
from SmartCompany
WEB BEATS TV TO BIGGEST ADVERTISING SHARE
According to a report by PwC for the Internet Advertising Bureau, the Internet has overtaken television to become the UK's biggest advertising medium. In the first half of the year, online advertising grew 4.6 percent compared to the same period last year, and totalled 1.75 billion pounds. However, overall advertising fell by 16.6 percent, and as a result the Internet's share of the total market reached 23.5 percent, compared to TV's 21.9 percent. Peter Scott, chairman and joint chief executive of Engine Group, one of the UK's largest independent advertising agency groups, said: "It marks a point when things aren't going to go back to the way they were." The UK is the first substantial media market to see this kind of shift in market share.
from Reuters
AOL Points Finger At Google Over Truveo Failure
Google is treating us differently than our competitors"
The AOL-owned video search engine known as Truveo isn't doing so well. The cause of the site's poor performance isn't a mystery to its president, however; in a very interesting statement, he quite bluntly placed the blame on Google.
Two days ago, Silicon Alley Insider published an article titled "AOL Ventures is Killing Truveo." The piece documented a recent massive drop-off in traffic. Truveo President Pete Kocks responded to say, "AOL Ventures isn't killing Truveo - Google is."
Kocks later continued, "Starting June 16th, 2009, Google began removing all references to Truveo.com from Google web search and consequently our traffic took a substantial hit. At that time, we were almost completely excluded from Google results -- not even the contact page on Truveo.com was available via web search. The reality is that Truveo uses a number of industrystandard
techniques to increase traffic from web search and that Google is treating us differently than our competitors."
Compete statistics sort of back up Kocks's claims, too. Obviously, Truveo is having a traffic crisis. Then, if you look closer, you'll notice that Google doesn't even appear on the list of Truveo's top referral sites, whereas it's number one where YouTube, DailyMotion, and Blinkx are concerned
from WebProNews
The AOL-owned video search engine known as Truveo isn't doing so well. The cause of the site's poor performance isn't a mystery to its president, however; in a very interesting statement, he quite bluntly placed the blame on Google.
Two days ago, Silicon Alley Insider published an article titled "AOL Ventures is Killing Truveo." The piece documented a recent massive drop-off in traffic. Truveo President Pete Kocks responded to say, "AOL Ventures isn't killing Truveo - Google is."
Kocks later continued, "Starting June 16th, 2009, Google began removing all references to Truveo.com from Google web search and consequently our traffic took a substantial hit. At that time, we were almost completely excluded from Google results -- not even the contact page on Truveo.com was available via web search. The reality is that Truveo uses a number of industry
Compete statistics sort of back up Kocks's claims, too. Obviously, Truveo is having a traffic crisis. Then, if you look closer, you'll notice that Google doesn't even appear on the list of Truveo's top referral sites, whereas it's number one where YouTube, DailyMotion, and Blinkx are concerned
from WebProNews
Nice mention for Blinkx on the Mirror web site...
Who needs TV these days with so much free online viewing? Reader Keith Stroud, of
“Now I’ve found a website called www.tv.blinkx.com that lists all shows available and sorts by genre and title."
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