| Tue, Jun 16, 2009 |
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Online and VOD Video Provider Ripe Digital Closes Down; Still Trying To Sell
Ripe Digital Entertainment, the LA-based digital entertainment company backed by Hearst-Argyle (NYSE: HTV) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) investments, has closed down, we have confirmed from sources, and the remaining management is trying to sell the company’s assets. The news was first reported on DHD. Ripe was founded in 2004, and lived for a long time as a male-focused VOD shorts provider, targeting guys ages 18-34. It raised at least $45 million in its lifetime, with Hearst-Argyle putting up the majority of the money: as of Q1 this year, Hearst-Argyle owned about 23.4 percent of RDE on a fully diluted basis, according to its SEC filings. Other investors included Time Warner Investments, Columbia Capital, and Rho Ventures. The founders included Ryan Magnussen, Patrick Bradley and Steven Voci, all three of whom were founding partners for interactive agency Zentropy, which sold to Interpublic 1999.
Ripe had VOD distribution on Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner, and over the years started three main brands—RipeTV (men’s entertainment), OctaneTV (auto), and FlowTV (urban)—but was bleeding money, as evidenced from brief statements in Heart-Argyle’s SEC filings.
This continues the mini-bloodbath in the online original video entertainment space, with others such as ManiaTV and 60Frames shutting down earlier this year as well. Maybe someone ought to do a rollup of the remaining assets, for whatever that’s worth. See our earlier story today, “Studios-Backed Web Video Efforts Stalled For Now; Who’s Left?”.
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paidContent.org
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| Mon, Jun 15, 2009 |
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Online and VOD Video Provider Ripe Digital Closes Down; Still Trying To Sell
Ripe Digital Entertainment, the LA-based digital entertainment company backed by Hearst-Argyle (NYSE: HTV) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) investments, has closed down, we have confirmed from sources, and the remaining management is trying to sell the company’s assets. The news was first reported on DHD. Ripe was founded in 2004, and lived for a long time as a male-focused VOD shorts provider, aiming itself at guys ages 18-34. It raised at least $45 million in its lifespan, with Hearst-Argyle sinking in the majority of the money: as of Q1 this year, Hearst-Argyle owned about 23.4 percent of RDE on a fully diluted basis, according to its SEC filings. Other investors included Time Warner Investments, Columbia Capital, and Rho Ventures.The founders included Ryan Magnussen, Patrick Bradley and Steven Voci, all three of whom were founding partners for interactive agency Zentropy that sold to Interpublic 1999.
Ripe had VOD distribution on Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner, and over the years started three main brands, RipeTV (men’s entertainment), OctaneTV (auto), and FlowTV (urban), but was bleeding money, as evidenced from brief statements in Heart-Argyle’s SEC filings.
This continues the mini-bloodbath in the online original video entertainment space, with others such as ManiaTV and 60Frames shutting down earlier this year as well. Maybe someone ought to do do a roll-up of the left assets, for whatever that’s worth. See our earlier story today, “Studios-Backed Web Video Efforts Stalled For Now; Who’s Left?”.
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paidContent.org
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| Thu, May 28, 2009 |
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Cable Companies Ready To Take Another Swing At Ad Targeting
Despite continued rumblings from regulators and lawmakers over ad targeting, the cable company consortium Canoe Ventures is ready to release its first ad-targeting product, dubbed “community addressable messaging,” the WSJ reports. Canoe, which is backed by Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cox Communications, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable, Charter Communications (NSDQ: CHTR) and Brighthouse Networks, plans to roll out the ad-targeting system this summer, though the company’s CEO David Verklin previously told an industry conference that the platform was scheduled to be released in the middle of this month. Canoe has been tripped up by difficulties in making the system work on a variety of set-top boxes.
The advertising landscape has changed drastically since February 2008, when Comcast first announced it would spend roughly $70 million to get Canoe off the ground. In addition to Congressional hearings after Charter began testing a software that would track its ISP broadband subscribers while online, the ad economy has been devastated. Still, cable TV is one of the few major media categories expected to show healthy growth this year. And there are signs of a slow recovery on the horizon. More after the jump
Aside from the lingering affects of the dismal economy, Canoe has to contend with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) TV, which has been expanding from its own “addressable TV” plans, while TiVo (NSDQ: TIVO) has also been building up its ad targeting offerings. On top of that, Canoe’s initial offering is fairly limited, at least terms of the kinds of targeting marketers like Unilever are hoping for. At the moment, Canoe can’t target individual households and the list of demographic groups available for targeting remains fairly limited.
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paidContent.org
|
|
|
Cable Companies Ready To Take Another Swing At Ad Targeting
Despite continued rumblings from regulators and lawmakers over ad targeting, the cable company consortium Canoe Ventures is ready to release its first ad-targeting product, dubbed “community addressable messaging,” the WSJ reports. Canoe, which is backed by Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cox Communications, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable, Charter Communications (NSDQ: CHTR) and Brighthouse Networks, plans to roll out the ad-targeting system this summer, though the company’s CEO David Verklin previously told an industry conference that the platform was scheduled to be released in the middle of this month. Canoe has been tripped up by difficulties in making the system work on a variety of set-top boxes.
The advertising landscape has changed drastically since February 2008, when Comcast first announced it would spend roughly $70 million to get Canoe off the ground. In addition to Congressional hearings after Charter began testing a software that would track its ISP broadband subscribers while online, the ad economy has been devastated. Still, cable TV is one of the few major media categories expected to show healthy growth this year. And there are signs of a slow recovery on the horizon. More after the jump
Aside from the lingering affects of the dismal economy, Canoe has to contend with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) TV, which has been expanding from its own “addressable TV” plans, while TiVo (NSDQ: TIVO) has also been building up its ad targeting offerings. On top of that, Canoe’s initial offering is fairly limited, at least terms of the kinds of targeting marketers like Unilever are hoping for. At the moment, Canoe can’t target individual households and the list of demographic groups available for targeting remains fairly limited.
-
paidContent.org
|
|
|
Cable Companies Ready To Take Another Swing At Ad Targeting
Despite continued rumblings from regulators and lawmakers over ad targeting, the cable company consortium Canoe Ventures is ready to release its first ad-targeting product, dubbed “community addressable messaging,” WSJ reports. Canoe, which is backed by Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cox Communications, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) Cable, Charter Communications (NSDQ: CHTR) and Brighthouse Networks, plans to roll out the ad targeting system this summer, though the company’s CEO David Verklin previously told an industry conference that the platform was scheduled to be released in the middle of this month. Canoe has been tripped up by difficulties in making the system work on a variety of set-top boxes.
The advertising landscape has changed drastically since Feb. 2008, when Comcast first announced it would spend roughly $70 million to get Canoe off the ground. In addition to Congressional hearings after Charter began testing a software that would track its ISP broadband subscribers while online, the ad economy has been devastated. Still, cable TV is one of the few major media categories expected to show healthy growth this year. And there are signs of a slow recovery on the horizon. More after the jump
Aside from the lingering affects of the dismal economy, Canoe has to contend with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) TV, which has been expanding from its own “addressable TV” plans, while TiVo (NSDQ: TIVO) has also been building up its ad targeting offerings. On top of that, Canoe’s initial offering is fairly limited, at least terms of the kinds of targeting marketers like Unilever are hoping for. At the moment, Canoe can’t target individual households and the list of demographic groups available for targeting remains fairly limited.
-
paidContent.org
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