Have a lovely weekend - I am posting items for weekend reading on Fridays.
For those who read this blog avidly or specifically those who I pay to read this blog on a daily basis! I will not be blogging on weekends...but will post items for weekend reading late on Fridays.
Nokia unveils new media phones, music service, Source: Reuters article, Sept 29th
NEW YORK/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's Nokia, the world's top cell phone maker, on Tuesday unveiled a pair of media phones and a music service in a bid to increase revenue and win back popularity lost to rivals.
Nokia hopes to regain ground lost to phones such as Motorola Inc.'s fast-selling Razr with sleeker devices equipped with music players and powerful cameras in what it sees as the fastest-growing cell phone market segment.
Nokia unveiled the N95, a high powered camera phone, and a slimmer model called the N75, which has dedicated music player buttons and is aimed at U.S. consumers. It also plans to boost demand with a service for sampling new music.
"We have left nothing out," said Nokia general manager of multimedia Anssi Vanjoki at a launch in New York.
Nokia said the N95, its first phone with location mapping and a 5 megapixel camera, will sell in volume in the first quarter via a number of European and Asian providers. It is priced at about 550 euros ($700), before subsidies and taxes.
It expects the N75, a folding model slimmer than most of its N-Series phone line, to be "widely available" in the United States in the fourth quarter of this year, Vanjoki said.
Nokia did not reveal deals with U.S. carriers on Tuesday, but the phone is based on a high-speed wireless technology only used in the United States by market leader Cingular Wireless, a venture of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp.
"This phone could sell well. Nokia users have been looking for a slimmer model," said eQ analyst Jari Honko.
Nokia's N-series, which it first launched last year, represented a push toward more stylish and lighter phone models. Critics have said previous phones in the lineup fell short of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd's and Motorola's thin models.
The company has since reshaped its design operations and crafted the N95 with a cover that slides open.
The N95 shows "Nokia is trying to innovate around the design of its products -- something that has been lacking for too long," said Ben Wood, director at British research firm Collins Consulting.
MUSIC PUSH
Phone makers such as Nokia hope service provider offerings like music and video downloads will boost demand for advanced cell phones. Nokia hopes to sell 80 million music phones this year and said it has sold 10 million N-Series phones so far.
But it said on Tuesday that multimedia phones and services still mostly appeal to tech-savvy consumers, of which there are about 200 million, or 10 percent of the global market.
"The N-Series is not a device for the mass market," Nokia vice president Ralph Kunz told Reuters. "The experiences you find in these services are going to trickle down to the low end devices."
The N95 will also offer consumers free maps from Tele Atlas NV and GPS location data in more than 100 countries.
Later on Tuesday, however, Nokia debuted three new phone models that include capacity for music and aimed at the mass market.
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Dedicated to my cousin who works for Nokia in Helsinki and is one of the coolest kids (in his mid 20's) around.
Why Rebtel Raised So Much VC - Interview with Danny Rimmer, Index Ventures
Index Ventures is probably the most innovative VC in the UK, and I found this article interesting.
Why Rebtel Raised So Much VC - Interview with Danny Rimmer, Index Ventures
Source:The Alarm Clock (http://www.thealarmclock.com), Sept 29th, 2006
The short answer probably would be, because it could. But we asked Index Ventures, which invested alongside Benchmark Capital's European fund in Rebtel's $20M A round, why a company offering global mobile calls at local rates, a service that has already launched with a system that routes much of its cellular voice service over IP networks, needed such a large first round.
Did the size mean that the VCs took a big majority stake? They are not saying.
Does it need a lot of capital to market the service? We could understand FON, another Index Ventures investment, needing to raise a double digit million first round, afterall it is subsidizing its Wifi routers at €15 a pop. But as far as we know, Rebtel doesn't have that kind of expense, beyond the cost of buying a bunch of phone numbers in each of the countries in which it's active.
So we asked Index's Danny Rimer what's up. He answered:
It's a globally operating company and we want to grow into multiple territories quickly. And we want the management team to have enough capital to focus on the opportunity, and not have to go out in six to twelve months to raise another round of financing.
Rimer also said that some of the capital would be used to develop value-added services that will make using Rebtel more attractive.
We've been eyeing Rebtel since Innovate Europe earlier this year when vpod.tv’s Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz got
Chris Shipley, the organizer of the event, on video saying that the hottest company this year was Rebtel.
We figure that Benchmark and Index are counting on Rebtel’s founders, Hjalmar Winbladh and Jonas Lindroth, having a greater risk-taking appetite with Rebtel than the norm.
The founders might be eager to develop a longer lasting success than with an earlier venture, Sendit. The two co-founded in 1994 the mobile messaging software firm and took it public. It was then acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 1999, which did not do much with it afterwards.
In the meantime, Windbladh was involved with StartupFactory, a Swedish early stage venture firm that was active between 2000 and 2003 that backed some interesting early stage companies (it was acquired by its cornerstone LP, Investor AB, in 2004).
Rebtel's service is going to be a boon to mobilephone users that travel or that have people they want to communicate with frequently located abroad and don't want to go the WiFi Voip route.
It's complicated compared to state of the art PC-to-PC calling but the high rates charged for mobile international calls will probably give users a lot of motivation to go through the contortions.
The only real hurdle we see to this enjoying rapid take up is that users have have to pay to use it up front. Part of Skype's popularity, for example, was because it was free and you could use it immediately without digging out the credit card or tapping the PayPal account.
There are now several well-funded startups poised to make cellphone use cheaper, with a few more in the pipeline - like Swiss startup Vipera, which is currently focusing on making data service cheaper, and it has not raised venture capital yet.
IPO Performance: VC Backed and Buy-out Backed
The numbers speak for themselves. Some improvement in value in terms of amount raised from the low of Q1 2006 for VC backed IPO's but volumes remain low.
Quarter VC-Backed IPO's Total Raised
Q3 2005 19 $1.46B
Q4 2005 17 $1.57B
Q1 2006 10 $540.8M
Q2 2006 19 $2.01B
Q3 2006 08 $934M
Quarter Buyout-Backed IPO's Total Raised
Q3 2005 23 $4.7B
Q4 2005 10 $1.38B
Q1 2006 17 $4.37B
Q2 2006 17 $4.37B* this doesn't seem to be a mistake!?
Q3 2006 09 $2.5B
Source: PE Week Wire, Sept 29th
Emap flags 2 pct fall in H1 core revenues
Emap flags 2 pct fall in H1 core revenues
LONDON (AFX) - UK media conglomerate Emap blamed the prolonged downturn in Britain's advertising market for another fall in core revenues in the fiscal first half.
The owner of a stable of consumer magazines, including FHM and Closer, warned that turnover for the six months to the end of September would be down 2 pct year-on-year on an underlying basis.
'Trading conditions have remained tough in the first half of the 2007 financial year, particularly UK consumer advertising,' said Emap in a trading statement.
Looking ahead, full-year underlying revenues should be 'broadly flat', predicted Emap, which also owns the Kiss and Magic radio stations.
simon.duke@afxnews.com
Interesting investments and acquisitions and a bluffer's guide to social media
Web-based Video Publishing Firm VideoEgg Raises $12 Million
San Francisco - VideoEgg, a provider of online video-sharing technology, announced on Thursday that it has raised $12 million in its third round of venture capital financing. Maveron led the investment round; previous investors August Capital and First Round Capital also participated. San Francisco-based VideoEgg provides an online video player, similar to the player on YouTube, which allows users of sites like Bebo, Hi5, AOL, Dogster, Tagged and Current TV to upload and embed their personal videos on those sites. The company will use the funds for product development and to expand its recently launched advertising network, the Eggnetwork.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060928/neth013.html?.v=73
source:Digital media wire, Sept 28
Yahoo Acquires Web-based Video Editing Software Firm Jumpcut
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo announced that it has acquired Jumpcut, a developer of online video editing tools. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Launched earlier this year, San Francisco-based Jumpcut offers a Web-based application that lets users make basic edits and add some professional features to personal videos, often before uploading them to blogs or video-sharing sites like YouTube.
http://blog.jumpcut.com/2006/09/27/jumpcut-joins-the-yahoo-family
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/060927/media_jumpcut_yahoo.html?.v=3 (Reuters)
http://www.jumpcut.com
source: Digital media ware, Sept 28
Bluffer's Guide to Social Media
Just for fun, here is a bluffer's guide to SOCIAL MEDIA.
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/digital/article/595347/a-bluffers-guide-social-media
Roger McNamee of Elevation Partners - the power of new media
I am a big fan of Roger McNamee over at Elevation Partners. His team's strategy of taking old media into the new media world is right on target. I think Elevation are a firm to watch, as the strategies they are employing in the new media space.
Please find below a blog on Roger's speech by Martin LaMonica. If your interested in Martin's blog, you can follow it using the link at the bottom of the article.
VC McNamee: new media to help recover personal time, blog: Martin LaMonica at Cnet.com
Well-known venture capitalist Roger McNamee said that the Internet has released the chokehold media companies used to have over content distribution, creating investment opportunities that could affect everything from education to politics.
McNamee, who founded Elevation Partners in 2004 to invest in media and entertainment, spoke at the Technology Review's Emerging Technology Conference at MIT on Thursday.
He said that the notion of community in integral to his view on media.
"The Internet we see today is about aggregation, but that's just the first step. The thing that's forming now is community," he said. "In community mode, you need trust and authority and you need to move up the stack to insight and knowledge."
McNamee spoke specifically about Elevation Partners' investment in Forbes, the venerable business magazine. He said that he hopes to introduce more personalization at Forbes's Web site in order to provide readers with valuable insight, rather than only news.
For example, a news story on changing mortgage rates could be a signal for a reader to refinance. In order to do that, the Web site needs a lot of personal information on the reader, which is valuable to advertisers.
"That is what business journalism has to aim for: personalization, trust and authority. I think all of journalism has to do that because people don't have enough time," McNamee said.
He said that he is investing in media because it has the potential to affect a large number of people and improve political discourse in the country.
But at the same time, he said that quality of information, specifically news coverage, is going down. That is a by-product of the self-publishing happening on the Web.
"If you look around today, the best sources of news are dying," he said, citing National Public Radio and the New York Times as high-quality, global news gatherers. "The average quality of what passes for news has declined dramatically."
Venture capital financing now standard in starting a technology business and resurgence of corporate venture
Its official if you wish to make a bigger impact on the marketplace, you need to speak to people like me.
This is according to a recent MoneyTree Report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) based on Thomson Financial data. Also corporate venture capital investment has reached its highest level since the first quarter of 2002.
Corporate Venture Capital Investment 1999 - 2006 (1st half)
Year # Companies % of All Total CVC % of All VC
Receiving Companies Investment Dollars
CVC Dollars Receiving CVC $M
1999 1,153 26.6% 8,289.2 15.5%
2000 1,960 31.2% 16,772.2 16.1%
2001 955 25.4% 4,967.3 12.3%
2002 539 20.7% 1,914.0 8.8%
2003 437 18.1% 1,291.0 6.6%
2004 516 20.2% 1,460.1 6.6%
2005 535 20.4% 1,535.3 6.8%
1H06 358 22.1% 1,044.7 8.2%
Total 7,667 21.3% 41,247.4 11.6
Please refer to the following two links to get the full report.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060907/sfth074.html?.v=61
To view additional corporate venture capital data, please visit the NVCA website at http://www.nvca.org/cvg_research_cht.html .
Wireless blogging and AOL Chief says old media to dominate
I am blogging from a little cafe overlooking Lake Geneva and having that morning cup of coffee & croissant. Can I just say, I love this new world we live in - to be able to enjoy this view while doing work - absolutely the right future!
Well back to business, the AOL Chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller commented that established media companies are better position to dominate new media. Overall, I think his argument has a lot of merit as traditional media are monetising content (thorugh advertising and pay-per view) at I believe a faster rate than new media. That said, Miller recognises that there is space for new media companies as well, but like traditional media - only a few will dominate. His opinions on the role of traditional media does make sense. However, I have a feeling that it is a bit too early to call a spade a spade. Media is going through a profound change, evidenced simply by the fact, that I can create content to be posted on the web sitting in a cafe. Therefore, I believe that the role of the consumer in the future of new media is far more profound than it is being given credit. The consumer's role in the creation of media in the future will be more than posting blog's, comments, websites and/or video's. Its just a matter of time, before someone very smart out there figures out how to capitalise on this shift.
Finally, one of biggest opportunities out there is for an aggregator of content. I have been working with a small company called : http://www.silobreaker.com; I think they are onto something & the team is pretty fabulous too!
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Article:
AOL chief: Established media to dominate.
http://news.com.com/AOL+CEO+Established+media+to+dominate/2100-1025_3-6120191.html
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Despite the explosion of new players creating and distributing content on the Web, established media companies will gain the lion's share of the money, said AOL Chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller at a conference here Wednesday.
Speaking at Technology Review's Emerging Technologies Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Miller described a rapidly fragmenting environment where online content can be created and distributed by a growing number of sources.
Video on the Web is becoming commonplace, he said, in part because production companies are committing to using the Web as a distribution channel, unlike music publishers, who initially resisted. Sites like YouTube are also encouraging the "long tail" phenomenon, where an item can be distributed cheaply and be of interest to a large number of people.
Consumption patterns are changing profoundly as well, as people "mash up" information from various sources, write blogs, and post videos and podcasts, he argued. People are comfortable engaging in many mediums at once, he said. Imagine a teenager having multiple instant messaging chats while reading a Web site, or using digital video recorders to watch videos at different times.
"We're in fact becoming a nation of multitaskers and snackers and shifters" of media consumption, Miller said. "Consumers are part of the creative process. Consumers are part of the value chain in a way they weren't before."
Video represents the next area of Web media that will take hold as it gains searching capability and video comes online, including content from production studios and even homemade movies, he said. Consumption of video has gone from 5 billion streams delivered in 2002 to an estimated 25 billion this year, he added.
Yet despite the fact that more people can easily create and distribute content, established online media companies are the ones monetizing content distribution, Miller said.
"There is still a need for aggregators," Miller said, naming AOL, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Apple with iTunes. "While the consumption is spread out, the money is being concentrated."
Large companies are in a better position to make money from online content through advertising or pay-per-view business models, he said.
Miller predicted that existing online media companies will continue to be dominant in the coming years with the possible entrance of one or two new companies.
Media companies' efforts to grow will drive industry consolidation, he said. For that reason, he predicted YouTube would not remain an independent company.
"I believe if they could, they'd love to go public. The real question is if YouTube can solve the Napster problem, meaning solve issues around copyright," Miller said. "Today they don't make a lot of money, so why would you sue them?"
He also noted that AOL's transition from a subscription to ad-based revenue model is promising so far but the company won't be able to fully gauge the results until the middle of next year.
Online ads for teens seen ripe for investment & agility of large media corporates
I found the following comments made during the Reuters Venture Capital Summit interesting as it confirms the movement of advertising spend online which is no surprise. However, it also notes of the ability of large media corporates to endure periods of significant change. I wondered whether it is the more agile media conglomerates that survive and continue to have strong market performance while their less fast paced peers fail to adapt and perform poorly. Just a thought?
Online ads for teens seen ripe for investment, Sept 25, 2006, Reuters
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advertisers are sure to follow viewers, and especially teens, to the Web from television, presenting a ripe opportunity for investment, a top venture capital investor said on Monday.
Large media companies, accustomed to courting advertising money in television, cable and print, will be in trouble if they are not ready to shift those dollars online, Allen Morgan of Mayfield Fund said at the Reuters Venture Capital Summit.
"The casualties will be media companies, where most of the spending occurs offline, if they don't adjust," said Morgan, a managing director at Mayfield.
Only 10 percent of about $125 billion of U.S. advertising spending by consumer brands last year was done online, which is disproportionate to how much time people spend on the Internet, he argued.
The bulk, or about $80 billion, of media advertising spending goes to television and cable, with other forms of media comprising between $10 billion and $20 billion, Morgan said.
"There is a big mismatch where media spend occurs and where media consumption is occurring today," Morgan said. "Media spend eventually (catches up) with media consumption, because marketers are not stupid about where they spend their money."
When it comes to adjusting to new trends, Morgan said don't count out big conglomerates like Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Viacom Inc. (VIA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), and News Corp. (NWSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research), because history suggests they endure even during periods of great change.
In fact, those companies are already showing an ability to adapt in how to market online video.
"I have been surprised with the agility with which some of the major video content programmers have adapted to the Internet, compared with what the music companies spent the last six years doing," Morgan said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
US Threat to online gambling
Louisiana police have warned all online companies to stop taking bets in the state or risk having their staff arrested when they visit the US. See today's FT front cover. Sorry, unable to link as in airport.
Is it me or is this just silly?
