Next Great Thing

Crazed Britney Supporter Gets TV Deal [c|net News]
8-million hits later, the “Leave Britney Alone” YouTuber signs a deal for his own TV show.

Murdoch on Free WSJ: “Looks Like the Way We Are Going” [WSJ]
Following in the New York Times’ footsteps, the Wall Street Journal is considering eliminating its $99 online subscription fee in favor of an all-free site. But with online-newspaper ad demand dropping, it’s unclear if WSJ can attract enough new readers to make up for the $50 million a year that service currently generates.

Apple’s iPhone a Tougher Sell in Europe [NYT]
Apple introduced the iPhone to Europe yesterday, but questions remain as to how well it will sell there. European iPhones, identical to those in the U.S., won’t take advantage of Europe’s more advanced 3G wireless networks. And with a cost of £269 ($538) in Britain and 399 euros ($555) in Germany, some might wait for that $200 price cut.
–Related: Google’s anticipated gPhone may run on 3G technology [DigiTimes]
–More: Ever wonder what your iPod really costs? iSuppli reports that Apple’s $149 4GB iPod nano and $199 8G version cost the company just $58.85 and $82.85, respectively. Talk about markup! [Engadget]

Report: 120 Million Worldwide To Use Mobile TV by 2012 [ComputerWeekly]
Juniper Research says 120 million people in 40 countries will spend $6.6 billion on mobile TV by 2012, and that the U.S. will its be the largest single market. The report also says that niche TV shows will dominate programming, and that revenues will likely come more from subscriptions than advertising.
–Related: The Jack Myers Media Business Report estimates that advertisers currently spend $500 million on mobile advertising By 2009, $2.4 billion will be spent on mobile ads, representing 1% of all advertising buys, the report predicts. [ClickZ]

Viacom Focuses on Special-Interest Sites and Content Ownership [MediaPost]
Viacom’s CEO says future success lies in tapping the young male audience through special-interest sites like MTV’s new TheDailyShow.com and a re-launched SouthParkStudios.com. He also announced plans to move away from licensed programming and towards ownership, so that content could be used across TV, web and mobile platforms.
–Related: CNN drops Reuters in bid to own more of its content [NYT]

Facebook and MySpace: Two Very Different Social Networks [Fortune via CNN]
Facebook has been all the hype in the social networking world this year, but MySpace, still thriving, is a very different creature. Between music, TV shows, and advertising, this $800 million a year operation may be the template for the “media company of the future.”
–Related: Digg adds social network capabilities, including full user profile pages and messaging features [TechCrunch]
–More: Facebook’s investors announced a $10 million fund for Facebook application startups, with grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000. [Reuters]

Circuit City Revs Up for Halo 3 [PRNewswire va CNN]
With less than one week to go before the much-anticipated release of “Halo 3,” Circuit City announces that 91 superstores across the country will open at midnight Sept. 25 to sell the game. The heat is on: back in 2004, “Halo 2″ generated a record-setting $125 million in the first 24 hours.
–Related: “Halo” is more than just a game, it’s a marketing success [iMedia Connection]
–More: UK retailer Argos releases game early, blaming technical glitch. [MCV]
–More: Microsoft shoots down rumors that early “Halo” players will be banned from Live [MCV]

Google Enters Madison Avenue, And Ad Firms Aren’t Happy [Subscription required]Google hired a well-known advertising executive yesterday to find new ways to promote the company’s products in advertising. While Google insists that it has no plans to get into the ad design business, some on Madison Avenue disagree–and are worried.