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ETO Technology News - February 2007 edition
Changes afoot at Strictly Broadband
Interactive World PLC (formerly Netcollex Ltd.) was a founding investor in Strictly Broadband, with an initial 16% stake. On 4th December 2006 they increased their holding to 55.5% by buying shares from MD Jerry Barnett and eight other shareholders. Barnett retained a significant shareholding as well as day to day control of the business. He's also a reported £158k in cash and £106k in IW shares better off. Other than benefiting from increased promotion and being able to share their corporate resources, they expect little to change in the structure of the business in the next couple of years.
On the 21st of December Strictly Broadband held an XXXmas Party at Club Solo in Camden for friends, both inside and outside of the industry. It was well attended by male and female performers, directors, producers and technicians as well as SB's behind-the-scenes crew. Featured on the web site, film reviewer and exotic dancer Solitaire made a special appearance - The special bit being she kept her clothes on. In the best traditions of seasonal parties drink was drunk, but the addition of porn on plasma screens made a welcome departure from the tragic Karaoke of your average office xmas do.
Speaking about the changes at the firm after the party, Barnett said, "I'm delighted to be a part of the Interactive World business. We have provided technical services for the group since about 1996, so we have an old and strong working relationship with them. They have great strength in the British adult industry, being the largest DVD distributor and retailer, and we are the UK leader in adult VOD - this makes for a great combination."
He continued, "This deal is good news for Strictly Broadband and the studios who sell their titles through us, as it brings us increased marketing power and the likelihood of significantly increased sales. Besides hopefully receiving bigger monthly cheques, we don't expect our partners and customers to see any significant changes."
Rob Johnson, CEO of Interactive World PLC added, "What we don't want to do is interfere with a successful formula, and Jerry remains very much at the heart of the firm. The reason for our interest in Strictly Broadband is we share many common areas of business and are uniquely positioned to help it grow through additional promotion. Also, as we're a PLC, if over 51% of a business is owned by us we're able to consolidate our accounts, which is advantageous."
As well as the unveiling of StrictlyGayMovies.com last November, Jerry is gearing up to launch StrictlyNews.com as an inside news, views and reviews look at the adult industry in February.
Final reminder: The 3GSM World Congress
The Fira de Barcelona showground in Montjuic, Barcelona is playing host to the 3GSM World Congress for the second time, from the 12th to the 15th of February. Over a thousand exhibitors and around 60,000 trade visitors are expected to attend over the four days, and even British R&B star Jamelia is performing there. The dedicated mobile content zone returns and is joined by a mobile entertainment area in Hall 7 this year while adult content interests should be well served with many major players attending or exhibiting. Further information can be seen at www.3GSMWorldCongress.com.
Advance Warning
The next AOExpo is due to be held alongside the World Telemedia event at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, Amsterdam from the 27th to the 30th April this year. As usual the Conference element will be coupled with an Expo, offering networking opportunities to the large number of adult trade visitors expected to attend. At the time of writing further details are sketchy but the organiser, John Green, was very enthusiastic about plans for Amsterdam at last November's AOExpo in Budapest. Full details will be on www.AOExpo.com as soon as they're available.
PixMeTV - 'Citizen Pornography' Mobile Phone / Online Movie Platform
PixMeTV(.com) is launching as a new platform for ordinary members of the public to use to sell their homemade adult mobile phone movies. PixMeTV offers a linked web and WAP based service and works on 'user-generated, user-reward' lines and aims to do for the adult industry what Blogging has done for journalism. Except more 'citizen pornography' than 'citizen journalism'.
Marrying the functionality of online social networking with the accessibility of a mobile phone, PixMeTV hopes to create a safe, moderated, user-generated environment that offers anyone who has a video capable mobile, the platform to sell their homemade (or not!) adult movies.
PixMeTV harnesses online social networking in a new way, creating a platform where members are always connected with each other - an online and on-your-phone environment where members can browse and interact 24/7, create their own profile, request and download bespoke content from their favourite member and upload and sell their own self-shot adult mobile movies.
Whenever a member's homemade movie is pixed (their phrase for downloaded) from either the web site or WAP site, that member gets paid. The platform is free to join, it's free to publish content and it's free to interact with other members.
"We've created an environment that lets anyone with a videophone be the Producer, the Director, the Star -and importantly the Salesperson- of their own adult movie," said Ed Baker, Director of PixMeTV. "PixMeTV both disrupts and unites two massive markets - adult entertainment and social networking. The market for user-generated, citizen pornography is potentially massive."
Ed continues, "We're planning to turn the PixMeTV platform into the first place that ordinary members of the public go to buy and sell their home-made adult mobile movies, turning Generation X into Generation XXX. In the same way that 'Google' is to 'search', our aim is for 'Pix' to be adopted by the mainstream and to become synonymous with adult user-generated content."
PixMeTV runs its own D2C social networking web site where members can interact with each other and sell their mobile, camcorder and webcam footage, as well as pictures. Online users can purchase an individual's profile, or they can subscribe, allowing them full access to the entire Pix community. Members are encouraged to interact with users and regularly publish content, as the more they upload, the more money they can make.
As well as monetising user-generated content online, each member has their own individual, personalised mobile 'MyShop' page, mirroring the functionality of the web site. Here, members can sell their mobile movies and importantly, interact from their handset with other members on the WAP site or online. Mobile movies are offered at two price points; 'Adults Only' (18 Restricted) at 49p and 'All Ages' (Universal) mobile movies at 29p, returning 10p and 5p respectively to the member that created them, with the rest shared between PixMeTV and billing partner Bango.
The PixMeTV mobile platform is not a subscription based service and mobile content is not forward-locked. Running totals are reported on the web site allowing users to track their online and mobile sales in real time and manage their account. The platform is fully moderated and members are paid through PixMeTV's secure payment gateway, PixPay.
The platform's infrastructure can be applied to any user-generated genre. PixMeTV illustrates its application through a genre with a proven track record in supply and demand in the online and mobile space.
PixMeTV is run by social media and technology start up company, Disrupt, and more can be learned at www.pixmetv.com or via wap.pixmetv.com on a phone. Or text the word pixme to 62866 (25p one off charge. They promise.)
PasswordByPhone comes to UK Bukkake
UKBukkake.co.uk (or UK-Bukkake.com) has teamed up with PasswordByPhone to monetise international traffic to the site. Owner Rachel D said, "Before, I was using CCBill's phone billing option which covers the US only. Now, surfers from all over the world who don't have a credit card can pay me."
PasswordByPhone uses either premium phone calls of a fixed length, or international calls of fixed length in countries with no premium rate infrastructure, to charge for access codes to adult sites all around the word. As a global business, the system is available in dozens of different languages.
DVD replacement lurches forward
Following on from last month's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) in Las Vegas, it seems that HD-DVD -as championed by Toshiba amongst other manufacturers- has edged ahead in the format conflict (it's not yet a war) at least as far as porn is concerned.
Several factors have combined to open a gap between the competing technologies, with Blu-ray discs' comparatively expensive cost and difficulty of production perhaps being the largest. Porn producers surveyed at CES also said they felt HD-DVD was more likely to achieve a bigger installed user base, faster.
Digital Playground announced that they'd recently tried to release a range of Hi-Def titles on the Blu-ray format but the manufacturers they approached turned them away, fearing their licenses could be revoked by Sony for getting involved in pornographic movie production. The rumour is the Japanese giant has effectively banned Blu-ray disc manufactures from accepting adult content. Last year this technically more advanced system, with its higher storage capacities, seemed in the lead of the race for the hearts and minds of the adult industry but these recent developments may have changed the policies of some studios.
Wicked Pictures, one of the leading names in US adult films, released their first HD-DVD adult production at the trade show in Las Vegas. In a short phrase, Jackie Ramos, Vice President of DVD Production at Wicked Pictures, summed it up: "It's a lot less expensive to use HD DVD."
One possible way forward is dual-format players or discs, but realistically this is a method of letting keen early adopters adopt 'risk-free' before, perhaps a couple of years down the line, one format triumphs. LG Electronics unveiled a $1,200 bi-format player at the CES and Time Warner have announced plans for a disc which can be read by both HD technologies, but it can be argued that by doing so the 'war' will roll on longer, with greater consumer confusion.
Steven Hirsch, co-chief executive of Vivid Entertainment Group, who support both formats at the moment said, "To me, it makes no sense. Now there will be three discs, adding yet another cost to producers. These two sides should get together to prolong the life of DVDs, since sales are stagnating."
In Related News… Digital Playground ships four HD-DVD titles
January saw the release of four HD-DVD titles from Digital Playground. Island Fever 3 was followed by Pirates, Jack's Teen America 3 and Island Fever 4, and will all play on standard Toshiba, X-Box360 external drive and other HD-DVD drives. With HD players expected to be a 'must-have' product for 2007, and HD-DVD currently outselling Blu-Ray discs two to one, Digital Plaground founder Joone is excited about the format and the future.
"I love the high definition experience and committed to using the format [to record films] exclusively in February of 2004. Our entire library of movies produced since then has been filmed and mastered in this resolution and we will eventually re-release everything in HD. We've been waiting for the delivery technology to be available and now that it is you can expect to see our HD product dominate the market."
Reaping the rewards of being one of the first adult studios to adopt shooting using HD video cameras, Digital Playground films have won several 'Best High Definition Production' awards and have a back catalogue of over 150 HD films waiting to be re-mastered for HD-DVD release. They stress this is the largest Hi-Def library available in adult entertainment.
Hot Wii!
Nintendo's new console is the latest to be adopted by the adult industry according to several post-CES and AEE stories. The buzz is the unique control method used to communicate with the console, the 'Wii Mote', makes it ideal for virtual sex games. Sierra plan to release a new version of their evergreen favourite Leisure Suit Larry game on the system. Featuring a 40-something bald man trying to seduces foxy young women, the one-handed control stick would seem an ideal input method to give the cult classic character a fresh leash of life.
Online, the Wii's multi-player-network capabilities have opened the opportunity for Wii-configured web sites (such as friiporn.com), accessible through its built-in Opera-based browser. They have to be at a suitable resolution for display on a standard definition TV, but that's not too much of a technical challenge.
Lastly, there's the 'Wiibrator', a Python application which allows the Wii's Wii Mote to interface, via Bluetooth, with the PS2's USB-corded Trancevibrator. More you waggle the wand, more the Trancevibrator vibrates. Seems a technological marriage made in heaven, and one adult product Jonathan Ross could pronounce perfectly.
Third Degree Films sign exclusive deal with Hustler TV
LFP Broadcasting LLC, parent company of Hustler TV, announced on the 19th of December an exclusive agreement with leading adult entertainment studio, Third Degree Films. Under the direction of Joseph Wilson, an adult industry veteran with over two decades of experience, in their three years of existence Third Degree has been praised for their ability to attract a pool of fresh, new female talent to their gonzo-style productions. In addition, Third Degree's emphasis has been on consistently high production values and -as a result- is recognised as a leader in their genre.
"The addition of Third Degree only reinforces the fact that Hustler TV has more titles that appear on the top 25 adult DVD rental and sales charts than any other adult network," said Michael H. Klein, President of LFP Broadcasting. "We are committed to delivering truly unique and dynamic adult programming that reflects the quality our customers associate with the Hustler brand."
"The huge success of Hustler TV has allowed studios like Third Degree Films to expand beyond traditional outlets and into the world of VOD and Pay Per View," said Wilson. "I'm extremely excited to be associated with a company that has defined what quality adult entertainment is all about."
Hustler TV brings the top performing movies and original programmes from some of the best adult film companies under one of the best brands in adult entertainment to Pay Per View and Video On Demand. Already one of the top adult television networks in North America, the company's exclusive VOD AND PPV product has consistently dominated the annual Adult Video News Awards as well as the adult DVD sales and rental charts. Hustler TV delivers some of the industry's top buy rates in adult PPV and VOD.
Top of the Blogs
MySpace is awash with fake profiles for celebrities, but the real Jenna Jameson has just chalked up her millionth friend on the popular social networking site. On Christmas day, friends on Jenna's official MySpace page totalled 1,002,692.
A press release had the US star enthusing, "MySpace is amazing! It is a great way to promote new projects and my appearances to fans, plus I have been able to keep up with my own friends online. I admit I am a bit addicted to MySpace!" Jameson added, "I get requests from fans as well as business opportunities and just normal everyday people who just want to say 'Hi!' There are many sites online that try to do the same thing as MySpace, but it is still the king of its domain."
Publicist Scott Hoover indicated Jenna's Myspace popularity is further evidence of her crossover success. Last year, the release of Jameson's award-nominated directorial debut 'Provocateur' was promoted with a billboard in Times Square. She continues her campaign for a bigger profile with the February cover of UK FHM and will no doubt find new friends through it.
Twistbox Entertainment takes London
WAAT Media's parent company, Twistbox Entertainment recently opened a London office and has hired former Warner Brothers executive Justin Richardson to head its European marketing efforts. The firm's also brought in Henrik Salzman, a past account manager for GM Entertainment, to develop Scandinavian business from the company's Stockholm office.
Twistbox Entertainment CEO Ian Aaron said, "Building our local presence in Europe that now includes offices in London, Paris, Düsseldorf, Krakow, Stockholm and Moscow is a critical piece of our expansion plans as we take our programming, operator support and revenue to the next level. Both Justin and Henrik bring the sales and account management discipline to make sure that we deliver the highest quality programming and support to our partners in region."
WAAT Media, which distributes its adult mobile content from partners including Girls Gone Wild, Penthouse and Vivid Entertainment, continues to trade as a separate unit within Twistbox Entertainment while Twistbox, through exclusive licenses, supplies content to over 90 operators in over 40 countries.
Correction
Daniel Demmer of Netvision in Liechtenstein has pointed out an error in our report from the Berlin Eurowebtainment show in the November 2006 issue. ETO is assured that all performers on the webcam services hosted and promoted by Netvision are 18 or older and the suggestion otherwise was based on a misunderstanding. We're happy to set the story straight and apologise for any embarrassment caused.