Home Media Magazine - February 10-16, 2008 - (Page 8) NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com Rentrak in VOD-Tracking Deal Meanwhile, pay-per-transaction business is flagging By Erik Gruenwedel entrak Corp.’s media measurement business received a boost last week when it signed a multiyear agreement with Time Warner Cable to quantify the second-largest cable operator’s videoon-demand (VOD) services. The pact brings to 23 the number of cable operators — incorporating more than 45 million set-top boxes — that use Rentrak’s nascent advanced media information (AMI) segment, according to Cathy Hetzel, president of the AMI division. “We are quickly approaching 90% market penetration in terms of census-level measurement for on-demand television,” Hetzel said in a call with investors. She said the company is attempting to secure a similar deal with Cox Communications. The agreement comes at a fortuitous time, as revenue from Rentrak’s home video pay-per-transaction (PPT) unit fell nearly 15% in the third quarter (which ended Dec. 31) to $21.2 million, down from $24.7 million during the same period last year. Portland, Ore.-based Rentrak said lower volumes of DVD shipments and rental transactions contributed Veteran Gordon Prend Weighs Anchor at Starz By Thomas K. Arnold eteran home entertainment marketer Gordon Prend has been named SVP of worldwide marketing at Anchor Bay Entertainment, the home video arm of Starz Media. Prend will be based at the company’s Burbank, Calif., headquarters and will report to Anchor Bay Entertainment president Bill Clark. Prend previously held senior marketing positions at Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video and Buena Vista Home Entertainment (now Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment). He was DVD marketing director at Warner during the format’s 1997 launch. Most recently Prend was SVP at First Look Home Entertainment, as well as a strategic consultant for several major home entertainment companies. Clark praised Prend’s “marketing and leadership skills in the complicated and highly volatile business of home entertainment.” While headquartered in the United States, Anchor Bay Entertainment also has offices and direct distribution, sales and marketing operations in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. R to the decline. As a result, net income totaled $547,000 on revenue of $23.9 million, compared to income of $815,000 and revenue of $26.7 million last year. AMI revenue, which includes the- atrical, TV, mobile and broadband video data tracking, increased more than 38% to $2.7 million, compared to $1.9 million last year. “The media measurement landscape continues to evolve in a direction that validates our vision of capturing and reporting viewership data across multiple platforms,” said Paul Rosenbaum, chairman and CEO of Rentrak. A trial program for network TV data collection is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2009. V TELLX SOFTWARE TO OFFER MORE INTERACTIVE DVDS By Chris Tribbey You’re watching a film at home and you want to buy the pair of shoes one of the characters is wearing. A few clicks on the remote during the scene, and you ’re directed to the clothing company’s Web site. You’re watching a big-budget action flick and you want to find out more information about the guns or war machines in the movie. Two clicks gets you automatic specs, graphics and related special features. You might even get information straight from the Air Force. Love that theme music the lead character is strutting to? You can find out who’s singing it and even see a music video clip, without losing your spot. Want to only view the portion of the making-of featurette for the scene you’re watching? No problem. This all sounds familiar, but it isn’t another pitch about the potential interactive features on high-definition media. PRODUCT This one’s for DVD. And it’s a reality. Owen Carton, founder and president of San Carlos, Calif.-based TellX, said some DVDs that will be released by major studios later this year include his company’s software, which offers on-demand information about nearly everything in every scene of the movie. Specific titles and studios have yet to be announced, Carton said. “It’s not good enough to show you can interact [with viewers]; you need to provide a new level of entertainment,” he said. Carton showed how the technology can freeze a scene and bring up an “x” over every item or person that has additional information available. Some scenes have just one or two items; others have half a dozen. One demonstration featured an option for a quiz. Another showed how hundreds of historical facts could be included for a European city. Each TellX-enabled DVD will be different, depending on the film, Carton said. “You basically look at the themes of the movie, and look at what you can include to add to the movie,” Carton said. Viewers also can access everything additional TellX includes in the film without watching the movie itself. The ex-marketing VP for Microsoft and his team have been feverishly working on the interactive software since 2003, he said, and didn’t approach the studios until 2005. “The first thing we heard was that it had to be noninvasive,” Carton said. Viewers will be notified of the interactive options after the FBI warning on the DVD, and the features are accessible only if the viewer chooses them. The software is embedded into the DVD and doesn’t require any new hardware, Carton said. MERCHANDISING A ‘Universe’ Of Exclusives Best Buy Across the Universe Sony Pictures SRP $28.96, $38.96 BD Target $16.99 $22.99 w/bonus booklet $29.99 Blu-ray Wal-Mart $16.97 $19.96 w/lyric book $24.96 Blu-ray Circuit City $19.99 w/Napster card Amazon.com $18.99 $26.95 Blu-ray $19.99 w/CD case $29.99 Blu-ray Snow Buddies Disney SRP $29.99 $16.99 w/free stationary set $16.99 $5 gift card when purchased with Aristocats $19.99 $16.97 $16.97 $19.96 w/Firewall $29.96 Blu-ray w/plush; $6 off when purchased with Aristocats $16.99 $16.99 $19.99 full-screen $24.95 Blu-ray The Brave One Warner SRP $28.98, $35.99 BD $16.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $16.99 $29.99 Blu-ray $14.99 $29.99 Blu-ray Universal SRP $29.98, $39.98 BD Elizabeth: The Golden Age $19.99 $29.99 HD DVD $19.99 $29.99 HD DVD $19.96 $29.96 HD DVD $19.99 $34.99 HD DVD $19.99 $27.95 Blu-ray By John Latchem ith retailer exclusives waning for the first month of the year, leave it to Disney to jump start the trend. The first week in February was loaded with exclusives, and not just from Disney. While the Aristocats special edition and the new Snow Buddies were ripe for tag-along promotions, Sony Pictures’ Across the Universe also proved a popular choice. And Wal-Mart trotted out several pack-on specials, such as a music CD with The Prince and the Pauper, and a diary with Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost Movie, both kid-friendly titles from Sony. Some of the chains also ramped up Valentine’s Day promotions. A Wal-Mart in Long Beach, Calif., had a “My Valentine” section with a selection of $7.50 DVDs in special pink o-ring packaging. A Best Buy in Costa Mesa, Calif., set up a date movie display with a selection of $7.49 titles. Curiously, some fullscreen versions of the same titles were listed at $14.99. W 8 Home Media Magazine February 10–16, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://Amazon.com
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