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ITV has joined the Open Media platform, giving free and open access to premium ITV content to the Bebo community of 40 million users worldwide. According to a release on the Bebo site, ITV will have a member profile on Bebo, and the ITV profile will host numerous media channels, each promoting individual programmes. Bebo users will be given the opportunity to become Fans of programmes meaning they will be notified when new content is uploaded to the profiles.

The broadcasters first channel launch will be US acquisition Gossip Girl, ITV2, available at http://www.bebo.com/gossipgirl from today, with other channels planned for rollout later to include, amongst others, ITV2 Comedy shows.

Each channel will be branded with programme-specific skins designed by itv.com. Users may adopt or use the programme skins from ITVs Bebo profiles on their own - potentially creating thousands of mini show posters in the online space. Users will also be able to integrate skins and video content into their own profiles potentially creating thousands of brand champions for ITVs programmes and channels.

The programme channels will draw on the itv.comsBrightcove video player with video content to include teaser clips and interviews. Blogs, galleries, a wall for fans to post comments, polls, forums and links back to the official channel home (itv.com) may also accompany the profiles. Users are able to select clips and embed the ITV Brightcove video player into their profiles, helping to promote clips among their peer groups.

Full Release

The folks at PEHub are reporting that ManiaTV Network Inc., a Denver-based Internet television network, has raised $5.5 million in Series C funding, according to a regulatory filing. DAG Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Benchmark Capital, Centennial Ventures and Intel Capital. ManiaTV has now raised around $23 million in total VC funding since late 2004.

The ManiaTV Network delivers pop culture entertainment to more than 10 million youth and young adult viewers every month. Having launched in September 2004, ManiaTV offers a variety of leading edge programming focused primarily on the categories of Music, Comedy, and Hollywood. All shows on our network are hosted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with hosts ranging from Hollywood celebrities like Tom Green, Dave Navarro, and Jamie Kennedy, to our very own in-house celebrities like Christy, Megan, and Jonny Schoolbus.

ManiaTV’s business model is built on a foundation of show sponsorships, offering blue chip advertisers and leading consumer brands a variety of unique, high value advertising opportunities for reaching and connecting with the youth and young adult markets.

www.maniatv.com

So the authorities in Pakistan have ordered their Internet service providers to block access to YouTube because it contains “blasphemous” content and material considered offensive to Islam”. Officials said that the site had been blocked because it contained controversial sketches of the Prophet Mohammed which were republished by Danish newspapers earlier this month.  

With millions of clips posted daily, YouTube and the Internet as a whole have largely become a repository for videos of egotistical clowns, extroverts promoting sleaze and sex, and ripped-off clips from mainstream TV. Some would argue that there is reason to call for a more widespread censorship of the Internet and others that should free expression continue to prevail.  No doubt YouTube will argue that they don’t create the content, they merely facilitate it. But in a world that is hemorrhaging morality by the day this stance may one day be seen as an abdication of responsibility.

Thomson has announced that Moovyplay has selected NexGuard™, Thomson’s state-of-the-art content security solution suite, for implementation into its portable movie rental service. Moovyplay is a venture developed by Paris-based CPFK, France’s leader in DVD rental services with 2200 outlets under three retailer brands: Video Futur, Cinebank and Video Pilote.

 The partnership marks the first integration of a digital video watermarking solution into a portable video device. NexGuard will be embedded into customized handheld devices created both by Moovyplay and Archos, which will allow customers to conveniently rent movies by loading dozens of titles at one time from an in-store kiosk onto their device.

To kick-off the partnership, “Moovyplay Césars 2008 Limited Edition” devices were recently used as movie screeners for selected panel members of the 2008 César Awards. The Césars Awards is the national film award ceremony of France and this year’s winners will be announced on February 22 in Paris.

“Thomson is committed to preventing content piracy across multiple platforms by offering a broad range of security solutions for the digital landscape,” said Jean-Luc Moullet, vice president of Thomson and head of the Software and Technology Solutions business. “The partnership with Moovyplay continues Thomson’s track record of delivering digital security innovations that facilitate the growth of digital entertainment.”

The NexGuard watermarking solution will dissuade unauthorized copying and 

[Read more]

Google is to sell display ads in video through a partnership with YuMe, an online video advertising network. Apparently YuMe will serve InVideo overlay adverts as part of Google’s AdSense for video beta advertising program. YuMe publishers who are current AdSense customers will also now have the opportunity to accept AdSense for video ad placements.

Current YuMe publishers utilizing AdSense for video to monetize their content include VidShadow, Mondo Media and JoeCartoon, to name a few.

YuMe investors include Accel Partners, BV Capital, and Khosla Ventures.