MICROSOFT’s “white space” device failed for a third time and now the FCC refuses to continue testing it. The device was intended to show that white space spectrum could bring Internet access to mobile devices without interfering with television signals. The tech industry is behind the initiative but Microsoft’s repeated failures have not been helping the cause.

YAHOO is launching Shine, a new site targeted at women in the 25 to 54 age bracket. Shine will offer content focused on parenting, relationships, food, beauty and more including exclusive content from Hearst, Rodale, Conde Nast and Time Inc. Shine will allow Yahoo sell advertising targeted directly to women, an online demographic it believes is currently under-served. It launches today.

SONY will launch PIX, a linear movie channel on AT&T’s forthcoming MediaFlo mobile TV service. PIX will feature classic movies from Columbia, TriStar, Screen Gems and Sony Classics. It will focus on familiar movies so that viewers can miss the beginning and stop watching whenever they feel like it. Sony Pictures Television will also announce a new mobile Jeopardy game for handheld users.

MICROSOFT has signed a deal with Hollywood producer and talent manager Peter Safran to create original video content for the Xbox. Safran and Company will create scripted shows that run under ten minutes and focus on genres that are popular with the Xbox audience. The ad-supported shows are expected to begin this fall, starting with Xbox exclusivity before expanding into other distribution channels. A company spokesperson said the deal is “the first of many.”

MTV NETWORKS will become the first Viacom property to embrace mobile ad-supported distribution. The network will place clips on mobile destination Mywaves.

AFTRA and SAG will negotiate with the AMPTP separately.

IAC won a court decision that will allow it to split into 5 companies.

NEWSPAPERS saw print ad revenue drop 9.4% in 2007, the biggest decline since at least 1950.

Read more at http://www.ShellyPalmer.com

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MARCH MADNESS streamed 2.8 million hours of video during Round 1 alone, compared to last year’s total of 2.5 million hours for the entire tournament. Unique viewers have doubled so far and the “boss button” — which replaces the video with a spreadsheet to hide it when the boss walks by – has been clicked two million times. CBS’s new strategy of allowing direct-linking to games and dropping registration requirements is a clear success.

MTV NETWORKS has made every single “South Park” episode available for free on the South Park Studios website. The extensive release covers all 12 seasons and over 150 episodes. An early sampling of the site revealed Toyota as the main sponsor. Viewers can skip skip forward and backwards through the programs but not during advertisements.

FORBES will launch the Forbes Business and Financial Blog Network, an online ad network connecting over 400 financial blogs. Ad sales will be handled by ADIFY. Forbes has already made modest projections for revenue increases resulting from the network and is expected to offered details during an announcement today.

YOUTUBE announced the winners of its 2007 YouTube Video Awards. Awards were granted in twelve different categories, including Comedy, Music, Sports and Eyewitness. Winners included laughing babies, tips on solving the Rubik’s cube and the impressive Human Tetris video. The most-viewed winner so far is a Harry Potter musical parody performed by puppets, which has been seen over 37 million times. Second among the winners is the music video sensation Chocolate Rain, which has racked up over 16 million views so far.

CBS canceled “Jericho” once again. The show was brought back after its first cancelation due to an online outcry from thousands of devoted fans. Past episodes were also performing well on iTunes and CBS.com. However, its revival did not increase its popularity and recent shows drew a 1.9 rating in the 18 to 49 demographic. The Jericho saga shows further evidence that online success is not a predictor of success on traditional television.

VERIZON will connect Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan to FiOS.  This is one of the biggest FiOS hook-ups so far, bringing the high-speed Internet service to over 11,000 apartments in New York City’s biggest apartment complex.

Read more at http://www.ShellyPalmer.com

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-Hundreds of Chinese children suffer lead poisoning near smelting plant;
-South Korea stops rocket launch; and
-Six latest bombings in Iraq kill 75.

But first, heres our SOH focus on China
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Over one thousand angry people stormed a neighboring smelting plant in Shaanxi Province Monday after 615 children tested positive for abnormal blood lead levels, said The Epoch Times.

One villager whose children tested twice the normal blood lead levels, told The Epoch Times on August 17 more than one thousand women went to the smelting plant in a rage, pushed down a long wall enclosure and smashed the windshields of about 20 cargo vehicles.

A press conference held Saturday in Fengxiang County announced that lead poisoning found in the children was linked to pollution caused by the Dongling Smelting Co.

Only children under the age of 14 were allowed to test. 163 had medium-level lead poisoning and 3 had high-level lead poisoning requiring hospitalization.

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Teenager Pu Liang, 14, is in serious condition after being repeatedly beaten by fellow students and the principal at a boot camp for internet addicts in China.

The boys mother told local media that she sent her son to the camp because he was spending too much time playing games online. She says after the beatings he now has chest and kidney problems.

Earlier this month a 15 year-old boy was beaten to death at another of the military-style camps for internet addicts.

Wu Yongjing, the man who set up the military-style camp, admitted youngsters were sometimes beaten and said physical punishment was an effective way to educate children, as long as it could be controlled.

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According to a study published Saturday in the Journal of Geophysical Research, over the last five decades light rainfall patterns in eastern China have been decreasing, and air pollution is to blame, said NTDTV.

The decrease in light rainfall is proving to be just as damaging as the heavy rainfall sweeping across eastern China recently, with heavy rains washing away crops and lack of light rain causing devastating droughts.

A team of Chinese, American and European researchers looked at 50 years worth of data trying to see a causal relationship between air pollution and rainfall. Results showed that overall rainfall remained the same, but there has been more heavy rain and less nourishing light rain with increased pollution as the cause.

Parts of Chinas wheat-growing northern regions are currently hit by the worst drought since the 1950s.

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Youre listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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And now for the rest of todays Asia Cast

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Asias largest oil company has signed a US $41 billion deal to purchase gas from a field off Australias northwest coast.

The twenty year pact with PetroChina comes despite recent tensions between Australia and China and is the largest trade deal in Australian history.

Hailing the deal, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the agreement provides the basis for the creation of up to 6,000 jobs and the addition of billions of dollars into Australias economy.

The Chinese company has agreed to buy 2.25 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas from the yet-to-be developed Gorgon gas field, from the share owned by U.S. oil and gas company ExxonMobil.

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South Korea has postponed the launch of its first space rocket-a two-stage vehicle- because of technical problems.

The rocket had been set to launch on Wednesday from the Naro space complex, however, the countdown was halted just eight minutes before lift-off.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), which has been developed with the help of Russia, is seeking to place in orbit a 200 lb satellite.

South Korea has already launched 10 indigenously produced satellites on other countries rockets. In April last year, Seoul sent its first astronaut into space aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.

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Bombings shocked Baghdad killing 75 people and wounding 310 others, making Wednesday one of the deadliest days since the U.S. handed over security of the country to Iraqis.

In total there were six explosions within an hour.

Iraqi Security Forces arrested two people in western Baghdad believed to be connected to the bombings, an official with the Iraqi army told CNN.

The two suspects were driving in a car rigged with explosives before they were arrested, the official said. The two suspects were believed to be al Qaeda in Iraq.

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Asia Cast keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.

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KEVIN MARTIN recommended that the FCC reject a proposal from SKYPE that would open up all wireless networks to third-party devices. Martin said the industry is moving in that direction anyway, citing Verizon’s new open network policy and mobile operator involvement in Google’s Open Handset Alliance. He sees no reason to regulate something he believes is already occurring in the free market.

SAG will begin negotiations with the AMPTP on April 15, before AFTRA negotiations start. Fear of a second strikes looms, especially since SAG was a vocal supporter of the WGA work stoppage. The negotiations will be watched closely.

BLINKX will launch BBTV, a new downloadable player that uses P2P connections to stream video content. The service will begin with a library of 40 independent movies and niche shows on finance, fashion, travel and more. BBTV doesn’t seem to have any major content deals that will make the service overly compelling. There’s a teaching moment here. People don’t watch platforms, they watch content.

FOX and NBC will use JUMPTAP to serve targeted ads on their mobile sites. JumpTap will utilize demographic data and past searches to show relevant ads. The company is racking up some major clients, having already signed carriers Virgin and Boost Mobile for search deals.

CBS will begin a round of major layoffs at owned-and-operated stations around the country.

VERIZON has beefed up its V CAST mobile video service with new content from MTV, CNN, NBC, ABC and more.

APPLE STORES are running out of iPhones causing rumor mongers to suggest that a new 3G iPhone is close at hand.

Read more at http://www.ShellyPalmer.com

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the third renaissance has begun.

launch: 11/05/07

watch here for details.

you have precious little time to make your choice.

abc cbs nbc fox cnn msnbc hbo cinemax showtime tmc tcm amc mtv mtv2 vh1 bet cmt tbn tlc a&e tbs tnt spike adult swim oxygen lifetime ifc sundance disney encore pay per view cable satellite wb upn hsn qvc cspan cspan2 wgn nickelodeon nik sci-fi abcfamily discovery hgtv animal planet weather channel speed espn espn2 vs usa fx tnt e! bravo fnc comedy central cnbc tvland cartoon network travel channel telemundo bbc azn al jazeera history channel food network fsn dhc tvgn diy lmn soap gsn directv dish network tv guide television hdtv interactive tv reality tv network media

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A raft of Radio Presenters from across Brisbane joined forces in one place to present their Breakfast Shows including top rating Spencer Howson from ABC Radio 612 together with the crews from Triple M.. NOVA.. B105 and 4BC.

A BIG jump in technology for the AM Band stations like 4BC and ABC 612 but of course listeners must splash out on a new Radio worth around $150 just tio listen in.. will it catch on ?

I reckon if Car manufacturers put them into all new cars it’ll have legs !!

Did Andrew actually say: “Some good faces for Radio there.. ” .. OMG !! They’re not that bad compared to some heads I’ver seen on TV !!

INCIDENTALLY: The Nine News Broadcast is coming out of purpose built Studios at the Exhibition (EKKA) Showgrounds in the Valley in Brisbane.. looking good.. but where are the people ?

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January 1st was the official launch of The Arabian. In 20 days The Arabian has been viewed by more the 70,000 viewers from all over the world. Thank you, many of those viewers have been you, my friends, and subscribers.

The Arabian future in the industry will be precident. Providing news, programming, events, and more from all over the world. Check out The Arabian today.

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THE FCC is backing down from a plan to force TV stations to air up to 12 PSA’s per day warning viewers about the upcoming digital transition. Instead, the Commission is expected to accept a more lenient proposal from broadcasters that will give them the option of joining the transition effort. Participating stations will run 16 spots each week, with 4 occurring during primetime. The plan will also include screen crawls and a special 100 day countdown special. In other Commission news, the FCC is expected to imminently approve the year-old proposal under which Liberty Media would trade its 16.3% stake in News Corp. for a controlling stake in DirecTV.

CBS followed yesterday’s NBC news by announcing that its classic titles will also be available online for free ad-supported streaming. Star Trek, Macgyver, Melrose Place, The Twilight Zone and more will be added to CBS.com and across the CBS Audience Network. CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith said the new initiative is “solving for what the user wants.”

MICROSOFT claims it will make a major effort to share more technical information with software developers in an effort to satisfy EU antitrust requirements. The company will put 30,000 pages of formerly secret technical specifications concerning Windows and Microsoft’s server platform. The EU was not impressed, saying that Microsoft has already promised such efforts four times in the past. However, this time Microsoft may need to follow through to ensure approval of a Yahoo takeover.

ESPN360 broke new ground by offering the first HD stream of a live NBA game. The site was utilizing a new application from MOVE NETWORKS that automatically served HD quality video to users with fast connections and scaled down the quality for slower connections. The site will tap the technology again soon to present NCAA games in HD.

MTV will officially launch JackassWorld.com tomorrow, offering webisodes of the popular series and an interactive community of fans. The Jackass crew will takeover MTV all day tomorrow to promote the launch.

Get the full story at http://www.Media30.com.

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