Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
HEY IS STOCK STILL SLEEPING IN OR WUT??? TELL HIM TO WAKE UP!!! WE NEED SOME BEERS!!!!
Mr. Peeps
SOUNDS GOOD OR HOW ABOUT THEM MARS ONES??? J/K
AT LEAST YOU'RE GETTING READY. HERE GOES DA KABOMMMMMM!!!
Mr. Peeps
COOL MAN...WELL, YES, A BKMP BLAST OFF WOULD MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR SURE. IMO, I THINK SOMETHINGS COMIN'! HOLD ON TO YOUR SEAT.
MR. PEEPS
WUD UP TOOFY!!! BEEN AWAY AND A'LURKIN A BIT. READY FOR SOME BKMP BLAST OFF!!! HOW YA BEEN?
Mr. Peeps
Sheesh! I'll join you for a beer if you hand over that trucker clock!!!
Mr. Peeps
"THE SPORT HAS FINALLY ARRIVED..."
Thursday, May 31, 2007 - MMAWeekly.com
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4030&zoneid=13
Mixed martial arts, particularly the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has seen a surge in popularity in the last couple of years powered by the Spike TV reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ Before the sport found it’s way on cable television it was driven by the internet fueled by hardcore fans.
There was a time when getting mentioned by a mainstream publication was a hope, a mirage in the desert. Today mixed martial arts has caught the eye and gained the attention of the biggest news outlets and respected names in sports coverage.
“Some amazing things happened for the sport this week, the cover of ESPN the magazine, the cover of Sports Illustrated, playing so much on SportsCenter. It’s absolutely shocking and surreal,” UFC president Dana White commented Saturday night at the UFC 71 post fight press conference.
ESPN recently jumped on board the mixed martial arts bandwagon by showing highlights of the UFC 69 main event welterweight title bout between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra, but their coverage of UFC 71 was unprecedented.
“We knew this was going to be a big fight just from the weigh-ins.” The UFC president commented. “We had over 3,000 people at the weigh-ins for this fight.”
The UFC weigh-ins have become an event of their own. The fighters stepping on the scale for UFC 71 was broadcast live on ESPN News, YahooSports.com, NBCSports.com, as well as the UFC’s website.
‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and the UFC marketing machine have played significant roles in the sport's recent exposure, but Dana White gave credit where credit is due. He credited the fighters. “The reason this sport is where it is right now is because of what you saw here tonight. These guys come out and they fight. There’s a lot of hype behind these fights, and these guys actually live up to the hype. That’s one of the million reasons we’re doing as well as we are and boxing is dropping.”
UFC 71 was announced as a sold-out crowd of 14,728 with live gate revenue of $4.3 million. The pay-per-view buy rate is expected to approach or surpass sales records for an MMA event.
Modestly, White stepped around the question of expected pay-per-view buys of UFC 71 saying, “This was a big fight. Chuck is not only the biggest superstar in MMA; he’s a superstar in the sports world period. What made this fight so interesting and exciting was Rampage Jackson was the last guy to beat him, so people wanted to see that fight. We’ll find out in a couple of days how many people wanted to see it."
Asked about the widespread coverage of the UFC and ESPN giving the sport it’s just due, Dana White said, “It’s big. The sport has finally arrived...”
Ultimate fighting kicks violent image and pulls in crowds
Mon Mar 12, 2007 5:27PM EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUSL0850525820070312?pageNumber=1
By Sonia Oxley
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Ultimate fighting has shed its no-holds-barred image and reinvented itself as exciting and safe to become one of the fastest growing spectator sports in the United States.
Branded barbaric by critics in the 1990s because it had no rules, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) brand was bought out in 2001, and under president Dana White biting, eye-gouging, head-butting and strikes to the groin are among things banned.
The fighters, who wear just a pair of shorts and fingerless gloves, use mixed martial arts to overcome one another on an eight-sided mat in a cage.
Despite the efforts to distance the sport from the free-for-all image by introducing judges, weight classes and five-minute rounds, some critics denounce it as little more than a glorified brawl more suited to a bar on a Saturday night.
But the packed arenas and rising television viewing figures show that something about it is appealing to the public.
Tickets, often priced at more than $500, for arenas that hold several thousand people sell out within days and figures show millions watch it at home. U.S. media reports say UFC generates more pay-per-view revenue than boxing in the United States.
Unsurprisingly, given the cost of tickets, the sport attracts celebrities. Actors George Clooney and Pamela Anderson are among the high-profile fans.
"Every time we're in Vegas, it's the who's who of Las Vegas, the who's who of Hollywood and then all our hardcore fans, the 18-34s," White told Reuters.
The big money is not just limited to watching the sport, with the top fighters earning millions of dollars per year.
"It's a very exciting sport," said British fighter Michael Bisping. "Sometimes it's blink-and-you-miss-it action. It's the purest form of combat that there is."
Fighters and organizers are still battling to improve the sport's image, which was tarnished in the early years when it was banned from several U.S. states and taken off cable television under political pressure.
"People looking from the outside see it and think that it's violent and that these guys are violent brutes but that's not really the case at all," said White, who was in Britain to promote next month's first UFC fight in the country.
"Most of the guys who fight in the UFC are college-educated guys, they have families, they're normal good guys."
There is even a politician on the UFC's books -- Mirko Cro Cop is a member of the Croatian parliament and former policeman.
DISCIPLINED ATHLETES
Bisping said the fighters were not respected enough in terms of their athletic quality.
"A lot of people just think it's two thugs getting in a cage and fighting, which isn't the case," said Bisping, who worked as an upholsterer before winning the U.S. reality television show 'Ultimate Fighter' last year that landed him a UFC contract.
"It's highly disciplined athletes who train as hard as any other athletes in the world."
Experts attribute the sport's growing popularity partly to the 'Ultimate Fighter' television show, which was available on cable television rather than pay-per-view and pulled in audiences of up to 10 million.
People who had seen that show got interested and signed up for the pay-per-view UFC fights.
"After the first series of Ultimate Fighter, they at the time had their biggest ever pay-per-view audience ... double what they had before," said David West, who writes for several ultimate fighting publications.
The introduction of rules and referees has helped ensure injuries are kept to a minimum and the UFC says there have been no serious injuries or deaths from the sport, unlike from boxing, mostly because fighters get fewer blows to the head.
"You get a few bumps and bruises here and there and that's about it," said Bisping.
Mixed martial athletes gear up for documentary
Reuters
By Gregg Goldstein
http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN3047420520070501
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The bone-crunching sport of mixed martial arts is coming to the big screen.
The feature, now in production, will follow six to eight top athletes from the EliteXC league, which has appeared on Showtime, in pay-per-view events and live via streaming on ProElite.com. ProElite is producing with Bombo Sports & Entertainment.
Mixed martial arts, a less violent and more complex version of ultimate fighting, combines judo, karate, tae kwon do, jujitsu, wrestling, boxing and other established fighting techniques. MMA is still controversial, and events have been approved in fewer than half of U.S states.
Among the EliteXC athletes who will be profiled in the documentary is Gina Carano, a successful fighter who recently transitioned from Muay Thai fighting to MMA and was a big hit on the Showtime card in February.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Ex-Cisco Bigwig Volpi to Head Joost?
Former Cisco executive Mike Volpi is reportedly headed to Joost to be the online video company's next CEO.
Jim Duffy, Network World
Thursday, May 31, 2007 12:00 PM PDT
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,132458/article.html
Former Cisco executive Mike Volpi is reportedly headed to Joost to be the online video company's next CEO.
According to blogs Paidcontent.org and GigaOM, Volpi is in the final stages of negotiations with the company. A Joost spokesman said the company does not comment on rumor and speculation.
A call to Volpi's home was not immediately returned.
Current Joost CEO Fredrik de Wahl plans to leave the company following a recent closure of US$45 million in financing, according to Paidcontent.org.
Volpi was a high-ranking executive at Cisco before resigning for personal reasons in February. His departure coincided with a management reorganization at the company, but he said then that that had nothing to do with his decision to leave.
Instead, he said he wanted to join or start a company where he could leave his own imprint.
He left one at Cisco. Volpi is credited with helping Cisco grow to the $35 billion company it is today through acquisition. He was involved in about 70 acquisitions during his tenure at the company, which began in 1994.
Volpi also was considered an heir apparent to John Chambers as Cisco CEO.
Joost was formed by the founders of Internet telephone company Skype.
Creative Artists Agency - Assisting Joost
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Artists_Agency
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) is one of the most powerful talent and literary agencies in American show business. Previously headquartered in a I.M. Pei-designed building in Beverly Hills, the agency represents a vast array of actors, writers, directors, and athletes, as well as a variety of companies and their products.
Joost signs Creative Artists to scout out programs
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2242528720070522
Tue May 22, 2007 3:53PM EDT
STANFORD, California (Reuters) - Joost, the Internet television service backed by global media players, said on Tuesday talent scouts Creative Artists Agency (CAA) will help it lure big-name Hollywood programming to its service.
Joost, which was founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, who also started Web telephone calling company Skype, already has signed up name-brand programming and top advertisers for its service, although it remains in test mode.
The Luxembourg-based company offers 150 broadcast-quality television channels over the Web across a range of genres from films to soccer to cartoons to documentaries.
Joost aims to combine TV-like viewing with the wide choice and user control of the latest generation of Web services.
It is seeking to offer whole TV shows from both established producers and independent professional videomakers, in contrast to YouTube, the world's most popular online video watching service, which specializes in short, user-generated programs.
"CAA will provide Joost greater access to programming through our relationships with networks, studios, record labels, artists and independently-controlled content libraries," Michael Yanover, head of business development at CAA, said in a statement.
Earlier this month, it received around $45 million from five backers, including the biggest Internet financing names in Silicon Valley, China and Europe. Joost has signed as a backer YouTube's biggest antagonist -- media conglomerate Viacom Inc., along with sister company CBS Corp.. It also has struck deals with 31 brand advertisers globally.
So far, Viacom has agreed to supply Joost with programs from MTV Networks, BET Networks and its film studio, Paramount Pictures. CBS has agreed to provide "CSI" crime series, CBS Evening News, and "Survivor."
UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson
May 26th, 2007 : Grand Garden Arena, MGM Grand
In what many believe will be the mega-fight of the summer, Liddell will meet Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in an attempt to avenge his loss to the last man who defeated him. Liddell will face his greatest challenge to date as The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization presents UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Tickets priced at $50, $100, $200, $300, $500, $750.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 people with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Bernard Hopkins; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena is also home to the annual FOX Billboard Music Award and the annual Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children Benefit.
Mr. Peeps
More info on "Big" John Michael McCarthy"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCarthy_(referee)
He will be doing after the bell coverage for UFC 71 on TFN too!
Mr. Peeps
NAW!
Mr. Peeps
Widely regarded as the top referee in mixed martial arts (MMA), John McCarthy will be the man in charge of the Octagon during the UFC 71 main event between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell and Quinton Rampage Jackson on May 26, according to FightNetwork.com.
UFC 71: ‘Big’ John McCarthy to ref Liddell-Jackson
http://ufcmania.com/2007/05/11/ufc-71-big-john-mccarthy-to-ref-liddell-jackson/
Mr. Peeps
Nice find Seabee!
Mr. Peeps
NEW FIGHT NETWORK RADIO LOGO ON TFN HOME PAGE!!!
INCLUDES LOGOS FROM SIRIUS SATELLITE AND HARDCORE SPORTS RADIO 186.
YOU CAN START LISTENING TOMORROW! OH YEAH!!
Mr. Peeps
Nice find Wendel. Good to see you back!
Mr. Peeps
Newsweek - May 6, 2007
Audio: Joost: The Revolution Will Be...Trashing the Tube.
Listen to the audio program hosted by Newsweek's Steven Levy.
Enjoy!
Mr. Peeps
Try:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15173613/site/newsweek/?bclid=824006610
OR
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid403535612/bclid824006610/bctid859951012
Wuz up Ranzy!! King Sandy be in the house tonight! He's joost going to have to PR some biz next week for us.
Mr. Peeps
Well he's missing all the free beer over here. Ah well, he's probably having a good time over there. Gulp!
Mr. Peeps
WUT! Is he drunk or wHut!!! He's got to get his ass back over here!
Mr. Peeps
OH YES!!! Now come over to stock's bar! come get a cool one.
Mr. Peeps
LOL! We got to get toofy over too. Well, the police might come.
Mr. Peeps
that's why i need a fast beer
Mr. Peeps
THanX...didn't see you over there so I didn't know if you saw it or not. Cool, now where's my beer. Sheesh!!
Mr. Peeps
Hey Stock, Wuz up!?
Read this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18617900/
Mr. Peeps
Hope your pics came out well.
Mr. Peeps
Nada mucho today. About to go do some shopping. I picked up a McCafe today. Not too bad for the price. Got me a Caramel Latte. Hmmmmm. I still like Starbucks better. How about yourself?
Mr. Peeps
Viacom bought the company (formerly BET Holdings II) from owners Liberty Media and former chairman Robert Johnson for $3 billion in 2001.
http://www.answers.com/topic/bet-holdings-inc
http://www.blackpress.org/betbuyout.htm
Mr. Peeps
Don't know. It is what it is I guess.
Mr. Peeps
Hope so Neal!
Mr. Peeps
Hola Tina! Gracias!! Como estas?
Mr. Peeps
HOLY $HIT! THE FIGHT NETWORK SCREEN SHOT ON COMPUTER FOR JOOST ARTICLE ON BUSINESS WEEK ONLINE!!! HUGE!!!! Got to run but be back later!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18617900/
Mr. Peeps
Net TV gets juiced
$45 million Joost investment shows networks are serious about TV online
By Catherine Holahan
Updated: 5:56 p.m. ET May 11, 2007
NBC executives had two reservations about putting full-length episodes of their current lineup online, says George Kliavkoff, NBC Universal's chief digital officer. The first was that no one would watch. The second was that everyone would watch — and then stop watching TV.
It was the former concern that seemed most likely to derail the company's digital effort. Conventional wisdom held that the computer was for clips, that people liked snacking on short movie trailers, TV clips, and strangers' two-minute home videos. How else to explain the millions flocking to YouTube, the video-sharing site acquired by Google? But how many TV fans would bother to watch a 30-minute TV show on a small player or a 17-inch screen, especially if they have a 42-inch-plus, high-definition screen waiting at home?
Lots of them, apparently. Since last fall, when many networks began streaming full-length episodes of their prime-time shows online, Web surfers have shown a willingness to sit in front of the computer and watch TV-length programs. NBC has had 100 million streams of its shows since last fall. "Lots and lots of people are doing this, and they are sitting through entire episodes," says Kliavkoff.
It's that growing desire to watch online TV for increasingly long stretches that helps explain the enthusiasm for Joost, the Internet television service begun by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom. The service, which has been available to invited users, boasts the ability to deliver full-screen, high-quality video content on the computer. On May 10, the company said it got $45 million in funding from Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, CBS, Viacom, and the Li Ka Shing Foundation. "Joost allows content owners to reach an audience of any size at any time where the viewer can 'lean back' to enjoy an immersive yet interactive video experience," Roelof Botha, general partner of Sequoia Capital, said in a statement.
The change in TV watchers' habits also explains why companies such as News Corp. and NBC Universal are partnering to launch their own tools and sites for premium online TV content. If people are watching long-form content on the Web already, even before the long-awaited devices that promise to beam computer content to the big screen, then millions more will watch when quality improves. "This is an opportunity," says Kliavkoff, who also serves as the interim CEO of News Corp. and NBC's joint venture.
Warner Bros. sees Joost and similar services as a chance to make extra advertising money from older shows that are no longer in syndication as well as from newer series. The company is offering a channel of its sci-fi shows through Joost and plans to offer more programming through similar services such as on Time Warner's AOL In2TV site.
"There are a lot of places where you go and have a device that has Internet access with you," says Craig Hunegs, executive vice-president for business management at Warner Bros. Television Group. "I would imagine that there are people at work who are spending time watching television in their office that never had a television in their office before."
Network executives and analysts agree that the desire to "time shift," to watch prime-time programming at other times of day, is driving the consumption of full-length TV dinners, rather than two-minute snacks. Many viewers use the Internet as a convenient way to catch up on favorite shows they have missed or try out shows that they never were around to see before. "People are using the Web really as a substitute for their VCR and their DVR," says James McQuivey, principal media analyst at Forrester Research, referring to digital video recorders, such as TiVo.
Mania TV, a popular online network featuring original and live celebrity programs, has viewers for its hour-plus shows, says Peter Clemente, chief marketing officer at Heavy. On average, viewers watch more than 20 minutes straight. If you don't count those passing users who come in occasionally to see one short clip, perhaps on a friend's recommendation, the average viewing time increases to 43 minutes, says Clemente. "There is a large segment of the population out there that is looking for good premium content and is willing to invest their time," says Clemente.
That willingness to watch makes networks happy — provided they don't watch so much PC that they stop watching TV. Networks such as NBC now argue that the Web increases television viewing by getting new audiences interested in shows they otherwise may not have watched. As the quality improves, however, more people might simply opt to watch on demand, where they only have to sit through a few commercials, rather than a few dozen, and don't have to worry about rushing home. "When enough of these shows are in broadcast quality, people will say, 'If I don't make it, I can always catch it on the Internet later,'" McQuivey says. "It's a slippery slope."
The networks are loath to cannibalize their audience. But they also don't want to ignore digital distribution and end up getting passed by or inadvertently fueling piracy — as some say the music industry did when it failed to jump on the digital bandwagon early. That's why networks are hedging their bets, investing simultaneously in making the TV experience better with high-definition shows and in efforts to distribute shows online.
Right now, many networks are largely saving their current prime-time shows for their own online sites, or refusing to air them online at all, and giving services such as Joost shows from the archives. However, if Joost proves popular, they're likely to release more from the store. After all, if IPTV set-top boxes take off, there might not be a distinction between streaming online and TV on demand. That's why McQuivey thinks the networks invested in Joost. "They were all putting a bet, saying, 'We believe in Internet-delivered television.'"
Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
No problem NRA. The names sound pretty close though. Glad to see you posting here when you can. Good luck to you and I hope it all works out for us.
Take care,
Mr. Peeps
Hey NRA, I think you have the wrong transfer agent. Ours is American Heritage Stock Transfer, not Select American Stock Transfer. Hope you are doing well.
Mr. Peeps
Thanks Ovation! Take care! See you in the a.m.!
Mr. Peeps
Yes, Mr. Peeps has to get some Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!! Nice to see you and the rest of the crew here tonight. Thanks for the jello shots. See ya tomorrow Stock!
Mr. Peeps
YEP, pretty sad! Well, he asked for it anyways. I'm off to bed. Have a great night ovation. See ya tomorrow!
Take care,
Mr. Peeps
lburr2, take it easy and have a good night too. See you tomorrow!
Mr. Peeps