ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA  

CBS released a high definition player yesterday in the labs area of their site, along with a few clips. They are currently streaming (not progressive download) in H.264/AVC format at 480p, with 720p and 1080p coming soon, they say.Hulu and others are also beginning to test high definition streaming. Some shows on Hulu, for example, are optionally available in 480p format. They also have a few clips available in 720p. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/27/cbs-testing-high-def-streaming/ 3/27)

Techcrunch learned yesterday that Warner Music, the third largest music label, is gunning for a $5/month music tax on U.S. residents.  Some of the details were in the article: they’ve hired industry veteran Jim Griffin to create a new entity around the project, presumably to get other labels involved. Griffin threw out the idea of a $5/month tax (which would be added to people’s ISP bill), generating $20 billion/year in revenues. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/the-music-tax-details-of-the-plan-they-dont-want-you-to-know/  3/28)

 
Sony BMG is in talks with other music labels and partners to offer an online music subscription service. Warner Music Group is also discussing a subscription service, at a cost of perhaps $5 a month added to Internet bills, that would allow users to download and share music. (Iwantmedia 3/28, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-music28mar28,1,1966017.story  3/28)

The record labels love to sue Michael Robertson, the founder of MP3.com (sold to Vivendi in 2001 for $372 million) who now incubates a number of Web startups. One of them is MP3Tunes, which is billed as a music storage locker. But the record labels still don’t like it. EMI is suing MP3Tunes for copyright infringement and demanded that the service turn over the more than 100 million music files stored in all 125,000 MP3Tunes accounts. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/emi-suffers-a-setback-in-case-against-mp3tunes/  3/28)

Showtime is hoping to trump up interest in season two of The Tudors offering the first episode for free on over 60 partner sites including Yahoo, MSN, AOL and the CBS Audience Network. Original episodes will be available for purchase throughout the season (which kicks off Sunday night) on iTunes, Amazon’s Unbox and (for Showtime subscribers) via Comcast, DirecTV and Charter portals. (Cynopsis 3/28)

Preview of the New Season of Tudors

CPM rates remain miniscule on social networks despite amazing membership growth, according to a report in Wired. Display ads on MySpace, Facebook and Bebo managed only 13 cents/1,000 impressions. Yahoo’s CPM is estimated at $13. Video ads on MySpace TV run just $25/1,000 views. Local media sites and professional social network Linkedin are faring much better, charging as much as $75/1,000 views or impressions. (Cynopsis 3/28)

Illustration: Nate Williams

If Yahoo agrees to Microsoft’s buyout offer, the deal would still have to be pass muster with antitrust regulators here in the U.S, in Europe, and in China. As John Markoff points out in the NYT, a new Chinese law that will go into effect in August gives the Chinese government regulatory oversight over any merger that “involve acquisitions of Chinese companies or foreign businesses investing in Chinese companies’ operations.” Yahoo owns a big stake in Chinese Web marketplace Alibaba, which also runs Taobao, Alipay and Yahoo China. It is unclear what China’s position would be on a Microsoft-Yahoo merger, but it could be the first big test of how it is going to exert its new regulatory muscles. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/28/could-china-throw-a-wrench-in-microsofts-yahoo-deal/  3/28)

Time Warner’s AOL wants to benefit from the takeover battle for Yahoo, says European division CEO Dana Dunne. Advertisers may prefer AOL as the struggle between Microsoft and Yahoo will tie up both companies. Microsoft’s hostile bid offers a “unique chance to convey our message.”  (Iwantmedia 3/28, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUNKeSO3g8uE  3/28)