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July 9, 2008

July 9, 2008

Waxler Veers off TheStreet.com's MainStreet

Caroline Waxler, managing editor of TheStreet.com-offshoot, MainStreet.com, is leaving that position, according to Portfolio by way of PaidContent.

ClickZ News profiled MainStreet in a feature a few months ago that, I have to say, was super fun to report and write, in part because of Caroline. If you haven't checked out the site, I described it as "a pop culture-inspired personal finance site." That's pretty much what it is. It's the kind of place you'll stumble upon doing searches on Alex Rodriguez's divorce. But instead of just providing the rundown on his doomed marriage and Madonna's rumored involvement, you'll get a healthy dose of information about pre-nup agreements.

According to Portfolio, Waxler is leaving the site, but "may stay on in some contributing capacity." Portfolio refers to mediocre site traffic, and notes, "Lately, it has shown signs of shifting away from celebrity-inspired stories and towards more meat-and-potatoes wealth coverage -- a shift that's likely to accelerate once Waxler departs."

The focus of my piece on MainStreet was its obvious SEO-driven content focus and the site's high caliber video promo effort, in part enabled by last winter's writer's strike. (Essentially, Waxler was able to gather a lot of her old comedy writer and actor buddies to put together some truly funny and unique spots that promoted the site and were intended to encapsulate its attitude.)

As Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici noted in his post about the departure, the future of the site and its direction hang in the balance.

Of all the promo videos created under Caroline's stewardship, this is my favorite (and of all blasts from the past, it features Joe Franklin):

Posted by Kate Kaye at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

BBC Reports Digital Growth, but Net Loss

BBC Worldwide, the British broadcaster's commercial arm, has reported a 57 percent year-on-year increase in digital media revenues, generating £21.9 million ($43 million) in sales in 2007/2008 compared with £13.9 million ($27.4 million) the previous year, according to its annual review.

However, net losses for the digital side of the business rose from £3.9 million ($7.7 million), to £10.9 million ($21.5 million) over the same period.

David Moody, BBC Worldwide's digital Director, credited the revenue growth to the syndication of content to partners such as YouTube and Apple iTunes, and the launch of an ad-funded international website – bbc.com – in November last year.

He attributed the loss to product investment, specifically BBC.com and a new Video On Demand service, dubbed "Kangaroo," which is due to launch later this year. The U.K.'s Competition Commission is currently investigating the project, which would see three of the U.K.'s biggest broadcasters; BBC, Channel 4, and ITV, join forces to offer video content online, presumably through an ad-supported or pay-per-view model.

According to Moody, BBCWW will enhance its digital media offering significantly in 2008/2009, generating revenue through Kangaroo, increased advertising across the BBC.com site, and perhaps through an international commercial version of its iPlayer, which offers BBC video content online.

Other than that, the organization's two-part online strategy will persist, aiming firstly to "build a network of strong BBC-branded sites," and secondly, "to distribute BBC content widely across the Web to reach potential users who are unlikely to come directly to BBC Worldwide's own sites."

Overall, BBC Worldwide's profit grew 17 percent year-on-year to a total of £118 million ($233 million). Digital represented 2.7 percent of total sales, almost doubling from 1.5 percent the previous year.

Posted by Jack Marshall at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

No ISPs at Senate Hearing Today Despite Invites

NebuAd is there. Google's there. Microsoft showed up, as did the privacy advocates. The Federal Trade Commission came, too. But the ISPs are nowhere to be found at this morning's Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing on the Privacy Implications of Online Advertising. Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota isn't happy about it either. In his opening remarks, he lamented, "I had invited Internet Service Providers today, and they had declined the invitation."

Tsk, tsk. The Senator isn't giving up, though. He told attendees he will hold another hearing for ISPs alone because he thinks the committee needs to hear from them, when it comes to recent behavioral targeting trials with firms like NebuAd.

Posted by Kate Kaye at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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