Lynch’s break with Hewlett Packard may benefit Blinkx

Michael Lynch’s somewhat dramatic exit from Hewlett Packard last week may result in him taking a more active interest in Blinkx, the AIM listed video search engine business that was spun off from Autonomy in 2007 before the group was sold to Hewlett Packard.

from Marketing Services

------------------

Yeah? You ask me, the only thing that's going to be good for Blinkx is a wholesale clearout of Blinkx mgmt, starting at the very top - and yes I'm talking about Chandratillake. Start with him, work down from there, get some grown-ups in charge that know about PR and comms, know how to cut the deals that Blinkx should be cutting - with Yahoo!, with Facebook, with all the other large media organisations out there that currently seem totally unaware of Blinkx's very existence - that know how to take part in a CC and answer awkward but very obvious questions without completely bolloxing it, and then see what happens. I reckon if Chandratillake was outed there would be a relief rally and you'd see a massive share price spike just on that news alone. 

The perennial questions remain:

1/ If Blinkx has the very bright future in front of it that we're told of (all evidence from the last 5 years notwithstanding, and even with the share price back below the float price), why aren't management loading up on stock?

2/ If Blinkx tech is as good as we're told, why aren't more significant companies signing up for it? If it is truly world-leading tech, Blinkx should be signing up deals of the size (and presumed importance) of AOL a couple of times a year minimum, not mickey mouse sites like Rooftop Comedy that no fucker has ever heard of.

3/ If Blinkx tech is as good as we're told, why is nobody trying to take them over, even at these 'bargain basement' prices? If someone wanted them that bad, I find it hard to believe that the likes of Blackrock and other large shareholders would turn down an offer of, say, 200p a share. HP and Mike Lynch might have big stakes, but less than 20% between them, so hardly a blocking stake. So if Blinkx is so fantastic, where are the predators?

 

Google now gets 250k copyright takedown requests EACH WEEK

Google now regularly receives more copyright 'notice and takedown' requests from rights-holders in a week than it did during the entirety of 2009, the company has said.

The internet giant said it has experienced a 'rapid' increase in the number of takedown requests and added that it is "not unusual" for it to receive requests to remove more than 250,000 individual web address links from its search rankings in a week. That number, it said, is "more than what copyright owners asked us to remove in all of 2009."...

from The Register

Foxconn receives Apple smart TV order - report

The Apple ‘iTV’ rumour mill has gone into overdrive after the latest reports from China suggesting that Foxconn’s Shenzhen plant has received orders from Cupertino to build the much-hyped sets on a trial run.

China’s First Financial Daily (via Sina) got the news from the obligatory un-named inside sources, although there was little in the way of accompanying detail.

Apple’s plans to build internet-connected TV sets have been the subject of speculation for months now, helped along by revelations in Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs that the late CEO had “cracked” TVs by creating a machine with the “simplest interface you can imagine”...

from The Register

HP backs Aurasma’s global surge

Autonomy’s Cambridge UK-based augmented reality business – Aurasma – has been given the green light by new parent HP to continue its international expansion.

Aurasma was handed a vote of confidence by senior HP management in a visit to Cambridge – and little wonder as the business revealed that it had now notched 5,000 global partners in the space of 12 months.

It has posted an extra 1,000 partners in just a few weeks including Tesco and Mercedes...

from Business Weekly

YouView launches first public trials

YouView is thought to be entering its final pre-launch stage with the start of its first public trials.

According to the Financial Times, an alpha trial of around 350 homes was agreed last week by the YouView board, which is headed up by Alan Sugar.

Hundreds of people have requested to be involved in the YouView set-top box trial. The box is expected to cost around £200 when the connected TV service - from partners including BT, ITV and the BBC - launches...

from MediaTel

YouView to miss Olympics deadline

Public trials will start this week for YouView, the UK’s much-delayed connected TV platform, according to reports in the Financial Times, which appear to confirm that the platform will miss its launch deadline of the London 2012 Olympics.

The report adds that an alpha trial of around 350 homes outside London has been agreed by YouView’s board, with the trialists selected to reflect a broad viewing audience.

If the alpha tests are successful, thousands more YouView-compatible set-top boxes could be arriving in homes after as little as four weeks for a round of beta tests, a company spokesperson told the FT.

from IP & TV News

YouView internet TV finally reaches homes

YouView, the internet television project backed by Britain’s major broadcasters and broadband providers will finally enter public trials this week after lengthy delays. 

A first-stage trial in 350 homes was agreed last week by the YouView board, chaired by Lord Sugar, The Financial Times reported.

Each will get a new set-top box that connects to the internet and offers access to an array of free online services such as the BBC iPlayer, as well as subscription apps such as Amazon’s Lovefilm. It aims to build upon the success of Freeview by offering more choice and content..

from The Telegraph

 

This job vacancy gone up on LinkedIn

[click for larger image]

Currently this job vacancy is here on LinkedIn, but of course may move or be taken down when filled...

"This position is within a dynamic, new division at blinkx providing groundbreaking new solutions for delivering safe, secure, and friendly applications to the consumer.  This division provides high quality distribution to application developers, application distributors, and affiliate networks, and provides consumers a safe and secure method to experience new applications."

New division? What new division?

Comment from today's Sunday Times business section

[click for larger image]

From today's Sunday Times

A STRATEGIC U-turn by Hewlett-Packard soured its relationship with Autonomy, the Cambridge software company it bought last year for $10.3 billion (£6.6 billion), according to the British company’s founder.

Mike Lynch, who made a shock exit from the business last week, told The Sunday Times that HP’s decision to continue focusing on making computers was at the root of the breakdown in relations.

“We went into the deal with our eyes open. We were just unlucky that it coincided with the turmoil at the top of HP,” said Lynch.

“Once it became clear that the new chief executive’s strategy was staying more with hardware, it meant some rethinking of the original plan, and its focus on our independence became blurred.”

HP’s acquisition of Autonomy was the idea of Leo Apotheker, who became chief executive in November 2010. He wanted to ditch HP’s manufacturing operations and concentrate on software and services. The Californian company is the world’s largest PC maker.

Apotheker was ousted in September, a fortnight before the Autonomy deal finally went through. His replacement, Meg Whitman, reversed the decision to stop making hardware.

Lynch said he still rated the HP leadership. “I have a great deal of respect for Whitman, and for her senior management team. I have learnt a lot,” he said.

“HP is one of America’s great technology companies. She and the team have a big turnaround job to do, and I wish her and HP the best.”

Separately, insiders at Autonomy said matters came to a head when the company’s sales administration was switched to HP’s systems. The mismatch led to paralysis, with deals bound up in red tape, one former executive claimed.

“There were 47 straight quarters of revenue growth, and in the 48th a problem,” a source said.

HP rejected accusations of interference and bureaucracy. The claims were “baloney”, according to a source close to management. “What triggered Lynch’s departure was a very significant miss on revenue [targets] and there was no real sense that he could recover from that,” the Silicon Valley insider said.

It is thought that Autonomy’s revenues in the first three months of this year undershot forecasts by about one-third.

“You don’t miss the numbers by that range and keep your job when you work for Meg,” the source said. “You can’t have it both ways. Mike insisted on, and was given, autonomy. What we didn’t do was give him the ability to miss his targets by that margin.”

HP insisted that the way Autonomy accounts for its new contracts is solid, despite unease among some London analysts about its dizzying rates of revenue growth.

from today's weekend FT

"Blinkx, the video search engine spun off from Autonomy in 2007, slumped 14.5 per cent this week on news that Autonomy founder Mike Lynch lad left Hewlett-Packard. That sparked talk that HP may sell its 12.6 per cent stake in Blinkx, which the US group inherited as part of its $10.2bn acquisition of Autonomy last year."

Aurasma MD out in HP Autonomy shakeup

The fate of Aurasma – Autonomy’s augmented reality technology arm in Cambridge UK – will be revealed to staff today.
MD Martina King is already working a month’s notice, Business Weekly can reveal. Insiders believe HP is committed to Aurasma but – like Autonomy – the future business model is likely to be substantially different.
King has propelled Aurasma to world-class in a whirlwind time-frame. Aurasma is the world's first visual browser, bringing the physical and virtual worlds together.
Images containing the Aurasma aura bring Business Weekly print pictures to life when users point their enabled smartphones at them.
Mike Lynch and all the senior Autonomy management in Cambridge have already gone and Business Weekly believes they will re-emerge with an exciting new technology business.
In the meantime, HP is facing a massive repair job in Cambridge. HP is sending big guns from the US to Cambridge to shore up morale at Autonomy, we can disclose.
They will also assure remaining staff that a restructuring is getting underway under Bill Veghte, HP’s chief strategy officer, who has been named as Lynch’s successor. The restructuring includes Aurasma, which formed part of the $11 billion+ HP acquisition of Autonomy last autumn.
A well placed source told Business Weekly that Veghte is likely to lead the  rescue mission personally.
While HP’s share price in the States has benefited from the news that 27,000 jobs were being axed, some analysts are questioning the wisdom of trying to rebuild Autonomy under a new R & D strategy without the brains of Mike Lynch and his senior lieutenants.

from Business Weekly

Why did HP hand Lynch his autonomy?

If Autonomy’s multi-billion dollar sale to Hewlett Packard did not mark the end of an era then the announcement yesterday that founder Dr Mike Lynch is to be moved aside by his new employers officially closes a chapter in the history of Cambridge’s tech cluster once and for all.
With Autonomy’s licence revenues seeing a “significant decline,” in Q2 2012 and set against a background of a big dip in HP’s profits and around 27,000 jobs cut across the organisation, the company announced in its results statement that Dr Lynch was to leave the company he built - “after a transition period.” Bill Veghte, HP's chief strategy officer is being brought in "to help improve Autonomy's performance."...

from Cambridge Business Media

from poster 'sobeit' on iii.co.uk

It is that structure of headcount that makes Blinkx mean and lean.

If you look at the breakdown of the results $91m was AdHoc, $16m was Conventional and $7m was Tech/Services.

Conventional, per se, is really the world in which PVMG and Burst traditionally lived in, so why is it only $16m?

Burst Accounts, 31st December 2010

Total revenues increased to $37.7m - up from $31.4m - and media business revenue increased 21% to $34.7m, including a $2.7m contribution from Burst Media UK which was acquired in April 2010.

PVMG Accounts, 31st December 2010

PVMG's revenues for the year stood at US$29.9 million and profits amounted to US$389,511.

That means the revenues between Burst and PVMG for 2010 was a total of $58m from conventional internet activities and made no profits but according to the Blinkx accounts they only supplied $16m in the last year. That means they have underperformed by about $42m if they have continued doing the same old thing.

However, what they have been doing, according to SC last Friday, is migrating users from conventional (text) advertising to video advertising through AdHoc. As SC said on Friday, there are a number of very big companies who can do their own thing but there are millions of webpages from small users who have not got the facilities to do it. It is this market of moving billions of these pages from either no ads or boring text ads to dynamic video ads with wrap-around text ads using AdHoc and any of the ad formats available through that product and then charging the advertisers for the privilege.

Furthermore, if you do a few simple sums based on SC's figures that they are moving the conventional CPM rates from $0.66 (66cents) to AdHoc's average of $4.65 that is a factor of 7x.

So, in effect if you could move two companies who made $58m in 2010 using conventional means to an AdHoc world with a 7x uplift you end up with those two generating $400m alone. And that is without adding in what Blinkx was doing with AdHoc on its own and its own growth which was obviously significant and must still be progressing.

It does not take a great deal of maths to work out that this market could explode for them and even if it were say rise 3x giving a turnover for the coming year of say $200m in a united company who is going to complain about that?

I know what I would be doing if I was Mike Lynch. I would be coming on board to drive the action. People keep saying that SC is not a real front man but an excellent technician so why not let Mike Lynch be the market facing lead and let the others fall in behind. He is after all a Blinkx non-executive Director but that is because of his position in Autonomy. When that comes to an end where better to go than running Blinkx.

------------

That's the optimistic view of course: and at the moment it sure doesn't seem as though the markets are remotely interested. It very much seems as though Chandratillake has now completely destroyed the trust and confidence of the markets and shareholders: his piss-poor performance on the CC last November, his failure to deliver his own FY target of $124m, the ongoing confusion around exactly what Blinkx's business model is...

The only way forward in my view is a complete clear-out of the current management team and its replacement with a new team who can communicate with shareholders and the markets, can deliver for shareholders, and can build the business and sign the deals to take Blinkx to where it should be...

18 May 2012 blinkx BLNX (FTSE AIM All Share) 43p BUY (TP - 200p)

blinkx reported FY’12 revenues +73%YoY to US$114.4m. Adjusted PBT rose +28%YoY to $10.8m. Reported PAT was $3.9m inclusive of acquired amortisation ($4.1m) and restructuring costs ($4.74m). EBITDA (DSCE) was $18.1m (inclusive of Depreciation and Amortisation of $6.4m and share-based payments of $1.5m) compared to DSCE of $14.1m. The year end cash balance was $38.4m compared to $52.8m at 31 March 2011, following acquisition activity.

blinkx highlighted a significant number of developments: new content partnerships with PERFORM, Future Publishing, the Bleacher Report, Cinesport, Rooftop Comedy and FashionTV; distribution agreements with Sony, Roku, Orb Networks and Aurasma (the Autonomy enhanced reality project); the video search syndication agreement with AOL; and Disney, IBM, JP Morgan and Lucozade added as brand advertising clients.

CEO Suranga Chandratillake commented: “This year we have continued to see strong momentum in the online video market, and, in this young and constantly evolving Internet industry, we have also experienced unexpected growth in new and related arenas, such as the soaring popularity of smartphones and tablet devices, including the iPad … We remain confident in our position in the market and the progress we have made this year, and are excited about the opportunities that lie before us.”

blinkx previewed today’s earnings announcement in its April 10th announcement. The acquisition of Burst Media and of PVMG introduced an element of confusion to the (Ad Hoc) search-based targeted advertising model despite being positioned to extend the company’s web presence and reach. Subsequently blinkx has continued to add both content partners and brand advertising clients, the mainspring of its business model. The impending flotation of Facebook and gathering momentum of both the Connected TV and smartphone phenomena serve as a timely reminder of the pace of change to which blinkx refers, which is still in its infancy.

blinkx remains “in the right space” at the confluence of online viewing and a shift in advertising media and behaviour. Our rating is “Buy”. 

from Angel News

Insults fly over troubled HP buyout

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fd61a91a-a5b8-11e1-b77a-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1vrQPsSWZ

As many as a quarter of the staff at Autonomy quit the British software group soon after its acquisition by HP, former employees said, with one likening the US computer maker’s internal procedures to “being water-boarded” almost daily.
The $10.3bn deal in August was the biggest acquisition of a European IT company and heralded by Leo Apotheker, HP’s chief executive at the time, as a chance for HP to gain leadership in searching unstructured data with Autonomy’s “well-regarded management team and talented, dedicated employees”...

from Financial Times

Profits tumble at Blinkx

By Malar Velaigam, 18 May 2012

Rising costs largely explain the slump in pre-tax profits at video search engine group, Blinkx – as competition in the online advertising market continued to intensify. Management failed to provide any guidance on current trading, or on the full-year outlook – leaving little scope for share price upside.

With competition ramping-up, Blinkx's sales and marketing costs rose to $32.5m (£21m) from last year's $24.4m. There were also exceptional costs, totalling $4.7m, from last year’s acquisitions of online media and technology business, Burst, and online advertising company, Prime Visibility Media Group (PVMG). What’s more, margins at those two businesses are lower than at Blinkx’s legacy operations – meaning that the group’s gross margin slipped to 53 per cent from 65 per cent.

Still, the online video advertising market is still expected to grow at 30 per cent a year, yet Blinkx exploits less than 10 per cent of the total advertising interactions across its footprint – suggesting plenty of growth potential. Burst and PVMG are eventually expected to help the group tap into that potential.
Broker Canaccord Genuity expects cash profits of $16.2m in 2013, giving EPS of 2.1¢ (2012: $10.5m/2.3 ¢).

from Investors Chronicle

------------------

 Pretty good summary, I thought. So the legacy business with higher margins has stopped growing (evident last November, beyond doubt now), and Burst and PVMG are going to take time to deliver, if they do so at all...

What a total fucking shambles. If only the clueless management team walked it like they talk it - but then again if talking got the job done they'd have delivered a long long time ago...

YouView 'on track for summer launch'

Dido Harding, the chief executive of TalkTalk, has said the much delayed box, backed by the telecoms company along with BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel Five, BT and Aqiva, would definitely launch by September this year.

The self-styled ‘next generation of Freeview’, which was originally meant to launch in 2010, and has cost millions to develop, has been blighted by technical issues from the start.

YouView, which was previously known as Project Canvas, will offer a programme guide that goes backwards, offering seven day catch up via web TV services such as ITV Player, as well as forwards. It aims to build upon Freeview's success and offer a subscription-free TV service offering more choice via extra content made available via the web. It will also offer a TV app store. At least six million pounds of taxpayers’ money has been spent on the project by BBC to date.

According to Harding, YouView will definitely launch within quarter two of this financial year – which means it could be on shop shelves anytime between July to September.

Harding told The Telegraph that she was having her own test box set up in her home “next week”.

from The Telegraph

-------------------

Looks interesting - but this is the Telegraph, and YV has been delayed many times already, and it has had a very turbulent history...

Let's hope that when we finally get it it's an iPlayer and not a Sinclair C5...

Write-up of conference call notes from Dr Slowly on i i i

Reproduced without permission - hope he doesn't mind me sharing for the benefit of shareholders...

-----------------

Presentation:

Blinkx tapping into new media trend: text websites integrating video, e.g. BBC news etc.

Connected devices iPad/iPhone are becoming more important. We are all more connected therefore more video - more minutes online. Online video and connected iTV will become MASSIVE, we have only just scratched the surface. Exploiting a secular trend.

Showed a historical graphic which showed they have obliterated the other opposition in video search with their technology.

Business model. Burst & PVGM is going to make lots of money for Blinkx (they are now integrated). Business model is more diverse talking to the ad buyers. But the impression that Burst/PVGM are only adding revenue via the "conventional" channel (as opposed to high margin AdHoc channel) is clearly wrong. Later SC said most of Burst & PVGM revenue is also generated from AdHoc. Very important point I think.

Currently the Sales revenue is generated as follows:

1. AdHoc: 80% ($91m sales) - premium ads
2. Conventional: 14% - lower margin ad space. Doing what other ad sellers do.
But SC's plan: to grow/keep customer base & then sell them AdHoc
3. Tech Servs: 6%

------

Questions:

Tom from Citygroup - commented that the strategy has now changed (well done Tom!)
- Conventional model can we expect CPM deflation? CPM down but impressions up. Bridge to get Burst & PVGM customers into AdHoc.
- Trading Desks (are automated buying ads for online)? SC - Not trend unique to online. Does not see as a challenge. We can demonstrate to customers the ads are high value.
- There was no "conventional" model before Burst/PVMG? SC - True but Burst/PVMG also brings in new AdHoc as well.
- HP transaction / position? Meet with HP team regularly. Value our opinion & interest in strategic value of Blinkx. Getting sales from HP as valued partner. (me - Clearly no IDOL license issues).

Richard - Charles Stanley.
- Trading Desks are they a problem? Not a negative or positive. Can sell direct to ad companies. Our platform gives rich data about users (a big advantage)
- Burst/PVGM from where is their revenue? SC - AdHoc is there dominant chunk of revenue.
- Skipit - skip video ads? did not understand answer.
- Organic Blinkx growth? SC - difficult because Burst now fully integrated.

David - Numis (Don't listen to this guy's forcasts = idi*t).
Cash flow $5.59m intangibles. = Burst Media. R&D ? no answer.
like4like comparison from last year? no answer.

Alan - Canaccord (Was not listening to previous Qs + Wet lettuce!)
- the traditional models of Burst/PVMG go through the "conventional" route yes? SC - No. Can sell AdHoc as well (i.e. all 3 revenue colomns).
- AOL important - what is trafic growth? Promote and build relationship (Ask, AOL, relationship going well). SC - cannot give AOL traffic # as it is top secret (dummy).
- Burst/PVGM what is staff turnover? Sales team have higher turnover, not much higher than Blinkx. Retained the best staff.

Goldman Sachs (typical GS: show me the money Questions $$$)
- consensus estimates - are you happy? No forcast. Metrics based trends. SC - is very coy about forcasts
- Burst/PVGM - how has # of impressions increased ? Burst/PVMG. 9bn monetised last year to 50bn (factor of 10) this. But not selling ads on all impresions (only 10% now).

Singer Cap
- anulised base volumes? AdHoc 19bn, conventional 25bn (only represents 10% of all impressions). Totals: 300-400bn Burst, PVMG slightly less.
- price direction Tradjectory? How much of 90% will be monetisable? Difficult to answer.
- Growth #s? should we focus on AdHoc? SC - yes.


-----
Overall:

Was all a bit cat and mouse. But I respect SC in not answering the forcast Qs. They will trash him if he misses. Also quite genuinely I think it is now difficult to talk about "organic" growth since both Burst/PVGM sell AdHoc as well (which was considered organic).

SC got essentially the same repeated Question on Burst/PVGM. Clearly the perception was that they only sold through the conventional channel. But SC said that most of Burst/PVGM revenue comes from AdHoc. But the benefit of Burst/PVGM is they sell thru new channels, to different customer base. The idea being to get customers via conventional ad routes and then to convert them to AdHoc. Clearly this is working if both are making most of their revenue from AdHoc.

Like ML before him SC is unwilling to talk about forcasts/consensus estimates. For this reason like Autonomy the analysts will always be cautious/negative and undervalue the company - only for SC to surprise on the upside. Autonomy mark 2.

Overall I was very impressed by SC and his vision. I am now much happier about the role of Burst/PVGM. I will continue to hold, as they offer excellent long term value due to the potential for underlying ad growth.

All IMHO/DYOR.

Final Results

Here on Investegate.

Sony partners Blinkx to expand video content

Sony has partnered with video search engine Blinkx to give users of its internet-enabled home entertainment devices easy access to high quality video content.

The Blinkx app for Sony gives users access to Blinkx’s index of premium content through its 18 different video channels.
The app is available on devices including Bravia televisions, Blu-ray disc and streaming media players and home theatre systems.
Channels are split into categories including ‘sports’, ‘news’, ‘popular’ and ‘fun’..

from MediaWeek

---------------------------

So the news that Blinkx has released an app to run on the Sony platform is suddenly turned into Blinkx entering a 'partnership' with Sony?

That is, in my view, misleading at best and downright dishonest at worst.

I would call a 'partnership' integrating Blinkx video search tech into the Sony platform OS, NOT just releasing an app to run on that platform! On that basis, 600,000 developers have entered a 'partnership' with Apple - which is true only on the loosest possible definition of 'partnership'... 

And if Blinxk is going to pursue an app strategy -  in my view a poor and distant second prize for failing to get their tech integrated - then why is there STILL no iOS app? Still no Android app? Still no FaceBook app?

In short - and once again, for the millionth time - just what the hell are the clueless  muppets running this company playing at? They shun the mass market (an iOS app, a FB app) in favour of unproven niches (an app running on Samsung, on Sony) and then wonder why they can't make their own FY targets?

Sack the lot of the clueless idiots - starting with Chandratillake and working down from there...

blinkx app available on Sony Connected Devices

Blinkx Plc

blinkx app available on Sony Connected Devices

RNS Number : 4083D

Blinkx Plc

16 May 2012

 



blinkx Brings Premium Online Video to Sony Connected Devices

Watch video from blinkx's premium content partners on Sony BRAVIA® TVs and Blu-ray Disc™and Streaming players

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.- May 16, 2012-blinkx, the world's largest and most advanced video search engine, today announced that a blinkx app is now available on Sony Internet-enabled home entertainment devices. Consumers can now watch high quality videos from blinkx's extensive index of professionally produced content on a variety of customized channels.

"Sony is a premier brand in consumer electronics, and has helped re-define the way we bring high quality entertainment into our homes," said Suranga Chandratillake, CEO, blinkx. "We're thrilled to offer the blinkx app, which combines our robust search technology with our massive index of professionally produced video to Sony customers."

The blinkx app for Sony gives customers immediate access to blinkx's index of premium content through 18 distinct and engaging video channels, including:

•      Sports: an action-packed channel showcasing the latest highlights, interviews and game updates from the world of sports

•      News:  a breaking news channel featuring top stories from around the world

•      Popular: an editorialized roundup of the most popular videos from across the Web, including the latest shocking news from Hollywood and jaw-dropping human feats

•      Fun: a riveting playlist of hilarious bloopers, amazing stunts, ridiculous pranks and cute animals

The blinkx app is available on Sony Internet-enabled devices including BRAVIA® TVs, Blu-ray Disc™ and streaming media players, and home theater systems.

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 signed more than 720 partners and indexed over 35 million hours of video and audio content to date. blinkx has also opened its TV API to provide partners in the fast-growing Connected TV ecosystem-from box makers and TV manufacturers, to app developers and game consoles-access to blinkx's video index.

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

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

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

Charles Lytle
Christopher Wren
Citigroup Global Markets Ltd
NOMAD and Broker for blinkx plc
+44 207 986 4000

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

 

END

How to destroy a company in 10 easy steps, by Suranga Chandratillake

1/ Waste company time and resources by developing products which are never released (Transaction Hijacking, Cheep)

2/ When you do release products, fail to promote them in any way (Blinkx Music)

3/ Never, under any circumstances, promote your company either to the public or within your industry. Let's keep it as our secret! Spend any spare cash promoting yourself for industry awards rather than on TV campaigns to let the general public know that your company exists. Note to self: ego much more important than revenues!

4/ Never communicate anything to your shareholders - they don't deserve to know anything, they only own the company. (NB: don't buy any shares in your own company, that will only encourage irrational exuberance in people)

5/ Pump irrelevant news into the markets about trivial tie-ups with companies nobody has heard of or cares about but claim they are world beating deals.Try and do this once a week - especially if the markets are crying out for news of a substantial nature to clarify the company's position. If you do luck out and do a major deal (AOL), DON'T TELL ANYONE!!!

6/ Further to the point above, employ the most incompetent PR people you can find,  to ensure that when the company does release any news, it is as nonsensical as possible. Wouldn't want to give anything away, would we!!


7/ Do everything possible to persuade the market that you, as the company's CEO, are utterly clueless. Like, for example, saying that mobile is not a priority when it is a hugely exploding and fastest-growing segment of the market; or bragging that you have outperformed your sector in growth, when in fact you have only tracked your sector. 


8/ Act in as childish and petulant a manner as possible, just to reassure investors and the markets that you are the right person for the job. If you make an offer for a company and it's rejected, go back with a lower offer (Miva)! That will show them! And if the company's share price gets shafted by investment bankers you had previously courted, throw your toys out of your pram with a schoolboy rant against 'bin men'.


9/ At all times never cease to remind anyone who will listen that the company is operating in a' perfect storm of opportunity' whilst simultaneously demonstrating that you are completely failing to make the most of those opportunities.


10/ Over-promise and under-deliver. Always. 

The Race: Build the Instagram of Video

Facebook Inc.'s $1 billion acquisition of photo-sharing start-up Instagram has shifted the spotlight to the newest phenomena in mobile apps: uploading personal videos from smartphones.
A growing number of start-ups are providing easy ways to share videos taken from a smartphone, enabling people to add music and text and to share the results on Facebook or another social network...

from The Wall Street Journal

AOL First-Quarter Profit Increases on Advertising Gains

AOL Inc. (AOL), owner of the Huffington Post and TechCrunch, reported a more than fourfold jump in first- quarter profit as online-advertising revenue increased.
Net income advanced to $21.1 million, or 22 cents a share, from $4.7 million, or 4 cents, a year earlier, the New York- based company said today in a statement. Excluding some items, per-share profit was 31 cents. Analysts had predicted 17 cents, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg..

from Bloomberg

-------------------

Let's hope some of that increase is down to video ad revenues, and let's hope it feeds through to BLNX's own bottom line. Because God knows BLNX management and shareholders - which of course are not always the same thing - could do with some good news...

Call of Duty: Modern Patent Warfare

Last week, Erin-Michael Gill wrote about intellectual property as the frontier of conflict in the tech world. Below, Ross Perez of Tableau software has mapped the battlefield visually, and though the visualization isn’t mapped over time (stay tuned), it’s a strikingly tangled landscape

[infographic]

from All Things Digital

-----------------------------

 Gosh, all those tech companies warring over patents - and yet none of them seem remotely interested in Blinkx or the video search patents they have (a lot of their tech is built on Autonomy patents, but I believe I'm correct in saying they have some of their own too)...

I've asked it before and I'll ask it again: if Blinkx technology is as great as the company's management would have us believe:

1/ why does the CEO not own a single share in his own company?

2/ Why is nobody trying to buy them, even as these 'bargain basement' prices? The price is now below the IPO price from 5 years ago, and yet still nobody seems remotely interested. Not at any price. Wonder why?

You ask me, Chandratillake and the rest of the management team has a hell of a lot of explaining to do...

We're desperate - quick, re-release an old video!

This went up on Huffington Post yesterday - or at least that's when I noticed it - there's no indication of when it was actually posted. In any case it's an old video, and it's reappearance now smacks to me of desperation...

There had been rumours from the rampers about a deal with Sony - instead we get AnyClip. Who?

Blinkx Plc

Partnership with AnyClip

RNS Number : 9205C

Blinkx Plc

09 May 2012

 



RNS REACH

blinkx Users Relive Memorable Movie Moments Through New Partnership With AnyClip

From Oscar Winners to Cult Classics, Thousands of Film Clips Now Available at www.blinkx.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. - May 9, 2012- blinkx, the world's largest and most advanced video search engine, today announced a partnership with AnyClip (www.AnyClip.com), the company that redefines how people consume and enjoy online video, to give blinkx users access to clips from over 12,000 feature films in its vast library from studios including Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Vivendi Entertainment, First Look and Virgil Films.

blinkx and AnyClip will make it easy to watch any favorite movie moment, right at this moment. AnyClip's tagging technology extracts and indexes over 5,000 individual pieces of metadata from each full-length feature film. This means cinema-savvy users can search for movie content via snippets of dialogue, actors, props, and much more in over 12,000 full-length feature films from the top studios. Whether it's a quotable comedy, a pulse-pounding thriller, or a particular performance by an award-winning actor, blinkx users will now be able to search and share the moments that make us love a night at the movies.

"We're thrilled to partner with AnyClip to offer our users access to such a wide variety of film clips from their ever-growing database of licensed content," said Suranga Chandratillake, CEO, blinkx. "AnyClip has made films incredibly searchable, so we can hit the highlights and find our favorite moments quickly and easily - we're very pleased to partner with another company that puts such importance on improving entertainment with technology."

"Our innovative user experience and groundbreaking technology gives consumers an entirely new way to quickly and easily relive their favorite moments from their favorite movies," said Oren Nauman, CEO, AnyClip. "Partnering with blinkx is an exciting opportunity for AnyClip to gain an even bigger movie-loving audience who already expect a seamless and advanced video search experience."

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 signed more than 720 partners and indexed over 35 million hours of video and audio content to date.

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 - the growing amount of TV and user-generated content on the Web means keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface. blinkx's patented search technologies listen to-and even see-video on 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.

 About AnyClip

AnyClip enables users to find any moment from any movie in its database. Its technology and innovative user experience allows consumers to relive their favorite moments from their favorite movies. AnyClip partners with film and television studios to create new promotional channels for movies and monetize their content catalog. Leveraging its distribution network, AnyClip allows third-party sites to provide their users with fun, exciting and legal movie content services, increasing traffic and ARPU. AnyClip was founded by Jerusalem Venture Partners (www.jvpvc.com) and GTI and is proud to have on its board industry luminaries such as Mickey Schulhof, former President and CEO of Sony America and Sony Media and Entertainment, Erel Margalit, Founder and Managing Partner of JVP who has led 15 NASDAQ IPOs to date, and Art Levitt, former CEO of Fandango, President of Disney Regional Entertainment and CEO of Hard Rock Café International.

Press Contacts for blinkx

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

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

Charles Lytle
Christopher Wren
Citigroup Global Markets Ltd
NOMAD and Broker for blinkx plc
+44 207 986 4000

Press Contact for AnyClip

Mike Chu
Stage Two for AnyClip
anyclip@stagetwo.com+1 (650) 303-3822

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

 

END

Angry Birds company 'worth €6.82bn'

THE Finnish company behind mobile game phenomenon Angry Birds, has been valued at £5.5bn (€6.82bn) after a healthy set of financial results, according to analysts.
Rovio Entertainment, the makers of the mobile game, in which annoyed birds are deployed by sling shots to kill green pigs, earned £38.7m (€48m) pre-tax during 2011 and reached 200 million monthly active users across all platforms..

from GrabOne

----------------

Another fast-moving, successful company that is making the most of the current digital environment with popular mass-market products.

Unlike a certain barely-known 'world leading' video search engine I could mention...

Penzoil and Aurasma

Aurasma Brings Sequenced Overlays to American Pie: Reunion

Telly is becoming moving wallpaper for constantly online Brits

Wiggin's gigantic annual media survey is out and, as ever, the results are full of intriguing figures covering everything from fondleslabs to filth.
This year's responses to the Digital Entertainment Survey [PDF] will leave TV executives, streaming services and pirates feeling anxious - while book publishers and social networking sites will be well chuffed. eBooks emerge as the strongest media growth sector...

from The Register

The World of Aurasma Around Us

Great tech and all - but how does either AU or BLNX (who I believe provides the video search) actually make any money out of it?

Video Ads + App Ads = Vungle, a Freshly Minted Start-Up With a Big Pile of Cash

The video-ad business is growing quickly. Mobile ads, even more so.
And if you combine the two? You get Vungle, a barely hatched start-up that just raised a $2 million seed round.
Vungle’s pitch is straightforward: They help app developers make video promo reels for their stuff, and turn them into “in-app” ads (you can see a sample below). There are a whole lot of ways to buy in-app advertising for other apps already — it’s a big chunk of the mobile ad business right now — but the Vungle guys argue that they make it easy. And that unlike iAd, AdMob, Millenial, etc., it’s all they do...

from All Things Digital

--------------------

Video-ad business growing quickly? Really? Based on how Blinkx is panning out, you could have fooled me...

Another pissant little partnership...

Blinkx Plc

blinkx Teams With Travel Therapy?

RNS Number : 5126C

Blinkx Plc

02 May 2012

 



blinkx Teams With Travel Therapy® to Help Plan Your Summer Sabbatical

Expertly crafted getaway guides from tropical beaches to exotic adventures, now available at www.blinkx.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.-May 2, 2012-blinkx, the world's largest and most advanced video search engine, today announced a partnership with Travel Therapy,  a new original content travel and lifestyle video web series created by  Emmy award-winning TV correspondent and multi-media journalist Karen Schaler. This partnership will give blinkx users access to hundreds of professionally produced vacation videos, with tips on trips they should take based on what they're going through in life, from relaxing respites, to exotic and empowering adventures.  Leveraging its unique AdHoc platform, blinkx will place contextually relevant advertising against the videos and share resulting revenue with Travel Therapy.

Karen Schaler has spent more than 15 years circling the globe  as a TV correspondent/host and author, from soaring high in combat helicopters  over Afghanistan as a war correspondent, to whitewater rafting in Bali, hiking in Switzerland and Elephant Treks in Thailand to wine tasting in France and sailing in the Caribbean. Based on Schaler's groundbreaking book, Travel Therapy - Where Do You Need to Go?, the Travel Therapy video series on blinkx highlights how travel can help empower and change people's lives. Going through a nasty split? Stressed about the economy? Simply looking for some fun in the sun? Make blinkx your first stop before planning any trip and let Travel Therapy help you find the right holiday hotspot for your current state of mind and budget. Whether you're up for the thrill of zip-lining in Puerto Rico or prefer the tranquility of fly fishing in the Cascade Mountains, make blinkx your essential travel companion.

"When it comes to vacation planning, surveys shows that tourists are skipping the travel agent and going straight to the Web," said Julia Blystone, CMO, blinkx. "We're delighted to partner with Karen Schaler's Travel Therapy series to offer our users access to the insight and advice of an expert who has spent an entire career exploring the world."

"Since I'm constantly traveling in search of new Travel Therapy experiences to share, so far visiting more than fifty countries, I joke my 'home' now  is wherever I put my suitcase. Especially in this economy we can't afford to take the wrong trip, so my goal is for the Travel Therapy series to help people pick and plan the vacation they need and deserve," said Karen Schaler, creator and host, Travel Therapy. "At Travel Therapy we are very excited to partner with blinkx as its unique technology and advanced search capabilities enable frequent jet-setters and occasional tourists alike to find which part of the world is right for them-and   know the best things to do  when they get there."

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 signed more than 720 partners and indexed over 35 million hours of video and audio content to date.

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 - the growing amount of TV and user-generated content on the Web means keyword-based search technologies only scratch the surface. blinkx's patented search technologies listen to-and even see-video on 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.

About  Travel Therapy®

Created and hosted by Emmy award-winning  national lifestyle and travel TV correspondent Karen Schaler, is Travel Therapy®  an original travel web series, inspired by Schaler's book Travel Therapy: Where Do You Need to Go?,  featuring  the best trips to take based on what you're going through in life. Stressed out? Bored? Dealing with a breakup? Looking for romance or a way to reinvent yourself? Watch and let Travel Therapy® help you find your way!

To bring you this groundbreaking new travel and lifestyle series Karen Schaler is constantly globetrotting, having already visited more than fifty countries,  sharing inspiring and empowering  insider travel tips focusing on unique Travel Therapy® destinations, resorts, hotels, spas, adventures and  food and wine experiences from around the world.  Especially in this economy, none of us can afford to take the wrong trip so Travel Therapy®  is all about helping you find where you NEED to go that fits your heart, head and budget.

Have you had your Travel Therapy® today? 

Press Contacts for blinkx

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

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

Charles Lytle
Christopher Wren
Citigroup Global Markets Ltd
NOMAD and Broker for blinkx plc
+44 207 986 4000

Press Contacts for  Travel Therapy®

Karen Schaler

Creator

Kschaler@traveltherapytrips.com

+1 ( 646)246-2077

www.traveltherapytrips.com

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

 

END

Late and continued strength in Blinkx + 25% in 4 trading days

Blinkx - the online video search company has quietly put on almost 25% in just 4 trading days after being shaken down to the early 40’s post the 10 April trading update that revealed slowing growth - contrary to analyst expectations.
This type of price action, going against the fundamentals, is always interesting to us as traders and could be a precursor to some type of corporate activity. All the more intriguing given that asset managers FMR & Black Rock have both been reducing in recent weeks.The stock has obviously been finding a home somewhere…
With the company presenting at the Digital Content NewFronts exhibition in New York during recent days, an increased amount of awareness for the company and positive momentum for on-line video could be the culprit for the price rise of course. Either way, the price action closing back over 50p for 3 consecutive days is an encouraging sign to the bulls - I’m tempted to join them.

from SpreadBet Magazine

--------------

Corporate activity? Oh I hope so. I for one would be more than happy to take c150p a share, forget this company with its woeful mgmt, take the money and get on with my life, ruing what could have been if this company had only had a grown-up in charge instead of the clueless wannabe we actually have got...