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To The Victor Go The Tweets! Viacom Loses Copyright Case Against Youtube, Chad Hurley Rubs It In

To The Victor Go The Tweets! Viacom Loses Copyright Case Against Youtube, Chad Hurley Rubs It In

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A federal judge on Thursday ruled against Viacom in its epic copyright infringement case against YouTube, reports Eriq Gardner at the Hollywood Reporter. YouTube had originally won the case back in 2010. Viacom won an appeal and now that appeal was overturned. Viacom has vowed to … Continued

Broadcast, Music
Pandora Surpasses 200 Million Registered Users, 140 Million Access Via Mobile

Pandora Surpasses 200 Million Registered Users, 140 Million Access Via Mobile

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Pandora has just announced that its online streaming radio has quite a few listeners. In fact, the company has surpassed 200 million registered users in the U.S. That’s up from 100 million registered users in July of 2011, meaning that around half of Pandora’s users have come over in the past two years, despite the fact that Pandora launched all the way back in 2005.

Slow and steady wins the race, eh?

Of those 200 million registered users, over 140 million of them have tuned in to Pandora via mobile, which just goes to show how crucial it is to have a mobile presence, no matter the business. Pandora users have also given over 25 billion thumbs, to help personalize their stations, and on average Pandora streams around 200 million songs before 10am each morning.

Perhaps more interesting than user growth is Pandora’s ability to spread new music to a huge userbase. Pandora mentioned this morning that the company has played more than 100,000 unique artists and over 1 million unique songs just last month.

Here’s what Pandora founder Tim Westerngren had to say:

We started this company to help people discover and enjoy music they love, and to help artists reach and grow their audiences. Only in our wildest dreams did we imagine what it would become. It is now clear that radio is changing, and that’s great news for music fans and for the tens of thousands of working artists who now have a home on the air.

Growth in registered users is surely something to be excited about, but what’s most important to a service like Pandora is monthly active users. At the end of March, Pandora boasted 69.5 million monthly active users, which is up from 59.9 million in December of 2012.

In fact, the company has shown steady growth in MAU over the past couple years.

Broadcast
Discovery Completes $1.7B Acquisition Of SBS Nordic Operations

Discovery Completes $1.7B Acquisition Of SBS Nordic Operations

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With CEO David Zaslav in Cannes for a Mip-TV keynote this evening, Discovery says it has finalized its acquisition of the SBS Nordic operations of Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1. The deal expands Discovery’s footprint in Europe, giving it 12 new TV networks and 19 radio stations in the Nordic countries. The new business, combined with Discovery’s existing brands in the region, will be called SBS Discovery Media with Henrik Ravn as president and managing director. Click over for the press release which has details of the deal that’s part of a current culture of increased media M&A activity in Europe:

(Silver Spring, Md.) – Discovery Communications today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the SBS Nordic operations of ProSiebenSat.1 Group, originally announced in December 2012. The acquisition adds 12 television networks, as well as leading radio stations and several digital brands, to Discovery’s existing portfolio of eight brands in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, to form a combined regional business to be known as SBS Discovery Media.

“The formation of SBS Discovery Media solidifies Discovery’s long-term growth in some of the most well-penetrated and stable TV markets in the world, while also expanding Discovery’s brand portfolio by adding scripted entertainment programming to the company’s suite of genres,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications. “This acquisition, along with the recent announcement of Discovery’s equity stake in Eurosport, is a continuation of a 25-year strategy of investing internationally to build the most extensive global footprint in media and extending our presence in key markets to support long-term growth and diversify the company’s offerings.”

Along with the closing of the transaction, Discovery also announced the appointment of Henrik Ravn as President and Managing Director of the newly combined SBS Discovery Media business, which includes both Discovery’s and SBS’s networks and operations in the Nordic region. Ravn has led the SBS Nordic business since 2009.

“Discovery is fortunate to add Henrik Ravn, a strong and experienced leader, to our international team,” said Mark Hollinger, president and CEO of Discovery Networks International. “Henrik’s proven ability and knowledge of the market, along with the expertise and creativity of the entire team at SBS, will be a tremendous asset for the company as we continue to grow our networks and businesses in the Nordic region and strengthen Discovery’s leadership position around the world.”

“I am extremely pleased to be joining a global leader like Discovery, and look forward to working with the combined team at SBS Discovery Media to grow our market position across the Nordics,” said Ravn. “I am confident that the combination of Discovery’s leading factual content, along with SBS’s mix of locally produced entertainment programs, sports and the best scripted series and movies from major studios, provides a well-rounded and complementary suite of viewing options for consumers across all demographics, as well as additional scale and reach for advertising and affiliate partners throughout the region.”

Ravn joined SBS in November 2003 as CEO of the TV business in Denmark, and has served as CEO of SBS Nordic since 2009. His prior experience includes senior television marketing, programming and management roles with Viasat/MTG, TV2 in Denmark and Yousee. He was previously head of programming for TV 3 in Denmark, where he led the launch of Channel 3+, the first large niche network in the country.

Filling out the SBS Discovery Media senior management team will be Christian Kemp as CEO Denmark, Jonas Sjögren as CEO Sweden/Finland, Harald Strømme as CEO Norway, Hans van Rijn as Business Development Director, Eivind Landsverk as Programming & Content Director and Quinton Holland as CFO. Also on the senior team is Jan Andreassen, the leader of Discovery’s Nordic business, who will serve as a key member of the integration team, working closely with Ravn and the rest of senior management to counsel on operational and strategic issues for the combined entity. Finally, Darren Campbell from Discovery will serve as Vice President of Human Resources.

The SBS Nordic acquisition includes the #2 commercial television portfolio in Norway with four networks and an overall viewership share of 34%; the #3 commercial television portfolio in Sweden with two networks and an overall viewership share of 22%; the #3 commercial television portfolio in Denmark with four networks and an overall viewership share of 19%; and the #3 commercial television portfolio in Finland with two networks and viewership share of 10% in the key demo. The acquisition also includes SBS Nordic’s 19 radio stations, including the #1 radio portfolios in Sweden and Denmark, as well as several digital brands.

Discovery’s TV brands in the Nordic region include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, Investigation Discovery, Discovery World, Discovery HD Showcase and Animal Planet HD.

Broadcast
Digg Is Building Its Own Top-Priority News Reader

Digg Is Building Its Own Top-Priority News Reader

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After the news of Google Reader’s impending death, the Digg team moves its skunkworks news reader project to the top of its list. Following Google‘s announcement that it will be killing Google Reader come July 1, the Digg team announced its own impending news reader, which it’s … Continued