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Yahoo! News Goes Local

Advertisers take note.. Yahoo! has launched a Beta version of their Local News application.  No word of pricing yet, but it will certainly help to more effectively target Yahoo!'s enormous subscriber base.  Also, if you are a local news provider, you will be able to submit your site to Yahoo! for review, and they may include you in their local feeds. Here is a link to the latest local Boston news. Not too shabby. 

Broadband Group Sets Online Video Ad Guidelines

Posted: MediaDaily News, November 30, 2005

IN-STREAM ADS THAT RUN AS pre-roll or mid-roll should not exceed 30 seconds, according to new guidelines of the Interactive Advertising Bureau released Tuesday. The final guidelines, released by the IAB in conjunction with its broadband committee, also recommend at least 200 Kbps for encoded bit rates--and state that at a minimum, viewers should be able to start and stop the ads and adjust the volume. The guidelines also say it's "recommended and acceptable" to give users the ability to fast-forward, rewind, pause, and zoom during the ads--but also state that the fast-forward button need not be enabled while the ad is playing. --Gavin O'Malley