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Chicago Tribune media columnist Phil Rosenthal reports that Microsoft has bought a minority share in CareerBuilder.com for an undisclosed price that according to sources amounts to 4%. CareerBuilder.com is an online job site owned by the Tribune Co., Gannett Co. and McClatchy Co. which are newspaper companies (among other things). Not unconnected:
Separately, Microsoft’s MSN and CareerBuilder said they have extended their strategic alliance, launched in 2004. That arrangement continues to make CareerBuilder the exclusive U.S. content supplier for MSN Careers at least through 2013.
CareerBuilder will pay MSN up to $443 million over the next seven years, based on the quality and quantity of the traffic MSN delivers.
MSN and CareerBuilder are also broadening their alliance to include MSN international sites, helping accelerate CareerBuilder’s overseas expansion, the companies said.
News Corporation and NBC Universal will launch the largest Internet video distribution network ever assembled with the most sought-after content from television and film, it was announced today by Jeff Zucker, President and Chief Executive Officer, NBC Universal and Peter Chernin, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation. The video-rich site will debut this summer with thousands of hours of full-length programming, movies and clips, representing premium content from at least a dozen networks and two major film studios.
AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! will be the new site’s initial distribution partners. Their users, who represent 96 percent of the monthly U.S. unique users on the Internet, will have unlimited access to the site’s vast library of content. This media alliance will offer consumers free long- and short-form video and create a compelling platform for advertisers, targeting the rapidly growing audience of online video consumers. Charter advertisers include Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel and General Motors.
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At launch, full episodes and clips from current hit shows, including Heroes, 24, House, My Name Is Earl, Saturday Night Live, Friday Night Lights, The Riches, 30 Rock, The Simpsons, The Tonight Show, Prison Break, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader and Top Chef, plus hits from the studios’ vast television libraries, will be available free, on an ad-supported basis, within a rich consumer experience featuring personalized video playlists, mashups, online communities and video search. Plus, the extensive programming lineup will include fan favorite films like Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, Devil Wears Prada, The Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy with bonus materials and movie trailers. Post-launch, plans will be considered for acquiring additional content as well as producing and licensing original programming for the new site’s audience.Its launch distribution partners will provide the biggest potential reach of any player on the Internet. Moreover, the new site will actively seek agreements with a variety of additional distribution partners.
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“This partnership is completely aligned with our continued investment in video on MSN and will allow hundreds of millions of our consumers to tune into a vast library of high-quality, safe and legal online video,” said Kevin Johnson, President, Platform and Services Division, Microsoft. “Our alliance proves that you can deliver quality online video entertainment and protect intellectual property and copyright at the same time. We look forward to working together to explore additional opportunities to distribute this content across other Microsoft services and devices.”
YouTube isn’t mentioned by name in the press release, but you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Aside from the fact that it seems more about distribution than about network, the real question is how much YouTube will be hurt by the loss of commercial video in the face of its continued dominance in displaying the amateur variety. Of course, YouTube would be invited to join the network in less than a New York minute if they agreed to the media companies’ revenue sharing terms.
Update: Kevin Johnson’s formal statement is here. Best line:
Today’s announcement is a great win for MSN’s more than 460 million consumers and for online video more broadly.
Golly, such a deal!
From the Press Release:
Fans of Mark Burnett Productions’ “Rock Star: INXS” have made the new reality television show’s official Web site on MSN a go-to destination, with significant growth in visitors’ activities throughout the interactive site at http://rockstar.msn.com. To date, MSN® Video has streamed 7.1 million clips of the rockers competing for the chance to become the new lead singer of INXS.
Every remaining contestant on Rock Star: INXS has appeared in the top 100 most downloaded tracks on MSN Music, and the contestant performances, along with unaired and behind the scenes footage from the show, are some of the top streamed videos on MSN Video.
The number of people voting for their favorite contestants through rockstar.msn.com is growing rapidly. Voting on MSN continued its consistent week-over-week growth as the show completed its sixth week. In addition, fans are flocking to MSN Spaces, where each rocker has a personal Web log (blog), to get the latest updates from the contestants themselves. Visits to the contestants’ Spaces have more than doubled since the show’s premiere, which may be because the rockers aren’t keeping very many secrets when it comes to talking about their lives inside the mansion.
Beginning this week, fans who visit http://rockstar.msn.com will also have the chance to vote on the songs they’d like the contestants to sing on an upcoming encore performance show.
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“It was just a few years ago that the only feedback producers would get would be from critics and ratings,” said Mark Burnett. “Now, thanks to the Internet and specifically our relationship with MSN, very detailed feedback comes across through voting, message boards and blogs, and from the large number of video clips watched and songs downloaded. The music downloads specifically are an incredibly valuable measure of customer feedback, as there is nothing more reliable than when people vote with their pocketbooks.”“Rock Star: INXS,” airing on the CBS Television Network and VH1, debuted in July with a cast of 15 rockers competing to become the new lead singer for multiplatinum band INXS. Votes cast online by visitors to http://rockstar.msn.com help determine which contestant gets dropped from the show each week. This is the first time that Mark Burnett Productions, the company behind such landmark reality TV series as “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” has used online voting to influence the outcome of a show on a weekly basis.
The Web site also gives fans unique opportunities to chat, play games and view show-themed content in real time through MSN Messenger, watch exclusive “Rock Star: INXS” content on MSN Video, purchase contestant performances on MSN Music, buy INXS merchandise through MSN Shopping, learn about the contestants’ personal lives through their MSN Spaces, and more.
Another MSN content play. I quoted so voluminously in order that all the MSN and non-MSN pieces got mentioned.
Per the Press Release:
Microsoft Corp. is proud to announce that “Catan Online,” the online, multiplayer subscription version of “The Settlers of Catan,” is now available exclusively at MSN® Games (http://www.games.msn.com). With MSN Games’ base of 30 million registered users worldwide, more people than ever will have access to this global gaming phenomenon.
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The rich, multiplayer game embodies the beauty and elegantly interactive features of the original “The Settlers of Catan” while offering special new features, including a variety of gameplay modes in a trusted play environment. Players can choose Quick Match to be paired with players of similar caliber, play solo against the computer, or choose Invite a Friend to play against their MSN Messenger friends. Subscription fees for the multiplayer version are $29.99 (U.S.) per year or $4.99 per month.“Catan Online” is building on the success of “Catan: The Computer Game,” the premium single-player downloadable version of “The Settlers of Catan,” which has been one of MSN Games’ top 20 most popular downloads since its February launch. Another MSN Games exclusive, “Catan: The Computer Game” offers nine unique options for difficulty and play style, allowing players to truly customize their game. The retail price is $29.95. More information can be found on the “Catan Online” Web site at http://www.catanonline.com.
Yet another side of MSN.
