Happy Holidays to all. A little peace in the Balkans would be a nice. I think we should be getting some more affiliations announced out of Pompano over the next couple weeks that will go a long way to establishing the value of VDAT and its model and partnering:)) This company has just begun to get the attention it will. Content, Hollywood quality production capabilities, the proven leadership of managemnt and now the rollout and recognition of the importance of broadband access over the net.
Norden
Internet video sector boosted by Broadcast.com deal
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By Eric Auchard
NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - The planned $5.7 billion
merger of Internet media network Yahoo! Inc. YHOO.O and
Broadcast.com Inc. BCST.O, the top supplier of audio and
video programs over the Web, speeds the day when Internet
viewers will watch and listen to video instead of reading
endless pages of static text.
Investors responded Thursday by bidding up the stocks of
not only Yahoo and Broadcast.com, but a host of rival players
in the field of Internet broadcast services and software.
Already, many Internet users are gearing up to view
thousands of video channels over personal computers or cable
televisions using high-speed Internet links.
Millions use Internet audio software to tune into hundreds
of radio stations, investor conference calls and football games
carried over the Internet.
The video-viewing technology has been spotlighted over the
last six months to watch President Clinton's grand jury
deposition tape, John Glenn's space flight and the Victoria
Secret fashion show.
"You are seeing a scarcity value start to pop up in this
segment of the Internet market, said Abi Gami, a stock analyst
with William Blair & Co of Chicago. "Some very valuable assets
are being taken off the table for the first time."
He compared the Yahoo-Broadcast.com merger with deals like
the proposed merger of AtHome Corp. ATHM.O and Excite Corp.
XCIT.O and the pact between online news and commerce company
CNet CNET.O with General Electric Co.'s GE.N NBC network.
Such combinations pave the way for the convergence of the
Internet and television broadcasting, analysts believe.
Toward that end, motion picture company Trimark Holdings
Inc. TMRK.O last month agreed to license at least 50 films
from Trimark's library, including its "Leprechaun" horror
series and "Eve's Bayou" for free or pay-per-view.
"There's a feeling that if you don't go and acquire the
next best player, you will be shut out," Gami said of the rush
by investors to snatch up Internet video stocks, both for their
long-term potential and for their near-term status as takeover
targets.
InterVu Inc. ITVU.O, a behind-the-scenes broadcaster of
Internet audio and video programs, surged 30 percent to $57.87,
up $13.50. RealNetworks Inc. RNWK.O, the top supplier of
audio and video software to Web programmers like Broadcast.com,
jumped 12.5 percent to $137.50, a gain of $15.31 on Thursday.
Both stocks traded actively on the Nasdaq stock market.
RealNetworks' stock acclerated after analyst David
Readerman of San Francisco brokerage Thomas Weisel Partners
started recommending the Seattle-based company with a "buy"
rating.
"In our view RealNetworks is the leading arms merchant for
streaming media software," Readerman said. Streaming media is
the computer industry phrase for programs that deliver audio
and video programming over the Internet.
Another Internet video company attracting attention was
Visual Data Corp. VDAT.O, a company that specializes in
producing original Internet video programming. The Pompano
Beach, Fla., firm has more than 300 camera crews to film Web
events. The stock rose 87.5 cents to $13.94.
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Other gainers included AudioHighway.com AHWY.O, a
supplier of audio programming, which rose $1.69 to $12.75.
Meanwhile Yahoo stock swelled $7 to $175.37 shortly after
midday, while Broadcast.com gained $10 at $128.19.
Many more firms specializing in Internet video programming
are set to go public in the coming year, Gami noted.
Bill Relyea, an analyst with brokerage Josephthal & Co.,
said InterVu differs from Broadcast.com in that it sells its
broadcast services under the brand names of its many radio,
television and other media partners.
InterVu delivers Web broadcasts of 650 radio stations
worldwide, and news and information broadcasts for Time Warner
Inc.'s TWX.N CNN, financial news provider Bloomberg, and
MSNBC, a joint venture of General Electric Co.'s GE.N NBC and
Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O.
REUTERS
Rtr 15:02 04-01-99
Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service |
