TV

Viacom, Google Filings Unveiled in $1 Billion Copyright Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 18, 2010 - 9:13am.
Los Angeles - Google (NASD: GOOG) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) have submitted motions for summary judgment in the $1 billion copyright infringement suit Viacom filed three years ago against YouTube. Both companies' filings included potentially damaging details on the other's actions, with YouTube employees accused of uploading copyrighted clips, and Viacom taking pains to mask its own uploading of clips to the site.
tags: Video | Law | Lawsuits | TV | Movies | Google | Viacom | DMCA | Copyright |

Google, Intel, Sony Collaborating on Google TV Platform

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 18, 2010 - 7:43am.
New York - Google (NASD: GOOG), Intel (NASD: INTC) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) are collaborating on a new Google TV platform that will combine Google's software and Intel's chips into devices made by Sony that will let TV viewers access online programming and services, The New York Times reported, citing sources. Google intends to open its Android-based TV set-top box platform to developers, with a software kit set for release in coming months.
tags: Video | TV | Sony | Search | Google | Intel | Google TV |

Studios, Cable Co.'s Launch $30M Movies on Demand Promotion

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2010 - 8:02am.
Los Angeles - The major Hollywood studios and cable TV providers have partnered on a $30 million national TV, print and online marketing campaign to promote movies on demand services. The campaign, entitled "The Video Store Just Moved In," will include a dedicated website at CableVideoStore.com.

Verizon Files Patent Claims Against Cablevision Over Set-tops

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 18, 2010 - 8:49am.
Washington - Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has filed patent infringement claims against Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), alleging some of Cablevision's set-top boxes are infringing on five of its patents, the Associated Press reported.

American Film Institute to Shutter Digital Content Lab

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2010 - 12:23pm.
Los Angeles - The American Film Institute (AFI) will shutter its Digital Content Lab, a workshop where video producers explored interactive television and other emerging technologies, due to a lack of funding, NewTeeVee reported. AFI will still produce its upcoming DigiFest in November, and hopes to resurrect the Digital Content Lab in another form sometime in the future.

XpanD to Sell Line of Universal 3D Glasses

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 17, 2010 - 11:06am.
Los Angeles - XpanD has announced plans to begin selling 3D glasses the company says are "compatible with virtually any monitor capable of playing 3D-ready content." Available in 12 colors, the glasses will cost $125-$150 when they go on sale in June from retailers including Best Buy and Sears. Most of the 3D television models that have gone on sale recently offer at most two pair of 3D glasses.

tags: TV | Retail | 3D | XpanD |

Comcast to Offer 3D Broadcast of The Masters on TV, Web

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2010 - 11:20am.
Los Angeles - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) plans to offer a 3D broadcast of the upcoming 2010 Masters golf tournament, which it was announced today will feature the return of Tiger Woods. The Comcast 3D feed will be available on 3D-enabled televisions and computers from a dedicated cable channel and the Masters.com website. About two hours per day of 3D coverage will be broadcast from the tournament, which runs April 8-11.

tags: Sports | TV | Comcast | 3D | The Masters |

Spotify Inks Finland Deal With TeliaSonera for Web, Mobile, TV

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2010 - 10:59am.
London - Streaming music service Spotify has signed a deal with telecom TeliaSonera, which will be the exclusive seller of Spotify's premium service in Finland. TeliaSonera will offer the service to its 1.6 million customers across broadband, mobile and IPTV services.

CBS to Offer 3D Broadcasts of NCAA Final Four in Theaters

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2010 - 9:30am.
New York - CBS (NYSE: CBS) Sports announced on Wednesday that it will offer the NCAA Men's Final Four, semifinals and championship games in 3D broadcasts screened in up to 100 movie theaters equipped with 3D digital cinema technology.
tags: Sports | TV | NCAA | CBS | LG | 3D | Cinedigm |

Samsung, Panasonic Begin Selling 3D Televisions in U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2010 - 9:06am.
New York - Consumer electronics firms Samsung and Panasonic began selling their new 3D television models this week in the U.S., while Sony (NYSE: SNE) plans to enter the market in June. Samsung is offering a $3,000 bundle that includes a 46-inch television, 3D-compatible Blu-ray player and two pairs of 3D glasses, while Panasonic is selling a $2,900 bundle -- exclusively at Best Buy stores -- that includes a 50-inch plasma TV, 3D-compatible Blu-ray player and one pair of 3D glasses.

"Battlestar Galactica Online" Multiplayer Game Coming in Fall

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 9, 2010 - 12:06pm.
San Francisco - NBC Universal has tapped publishers Bigpoint and Unity to create a massively multiplayer online game based on its "Battlestar Galactica" series on the Syfy network. Developed at Norway-based Artplant, "Battlestar Galactica Online" will allow gamers to play as humans or cylons when it launches exclusively on Syfy.com for a 30-day period in the fall.

NFL Dumps Sprint for Verizon; Plans Mobile RedZone Channel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 9, 2010 - 8:38am.
New York - The National Football League (NFL) announced on Tuesday that it has signed a new four-year agreement with Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) to handle its mobile services, replacing former partner Sprint (NYSE: S), which had held the contract for the past five years. The Wall Street Journal pegged the value of the deal at $720 million.

Apple Debuts First iPad Commercial During Oscars

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 8, 2010 - 11:39am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) debuted its first TV commercial for its forthcoming iPad tablet computer last night during the Academy Awards telecast, which can be viewed at a link below. The device is slated to begin shipping on April 3; pre-orders will be taken starting on March 12.

Google, DISH Testing TV, Web Programming Search Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 8, 2010 - 10:30am.
New York - Google (NASD: GOOG) is testing a TV and Web video programming search service with satellite TV provider DISH Network (NASD: DISH), The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

CBS Offers $9.99 'March Madness' App With 3G Streaming Video

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 8, 2010 - 9:12am.
Los Angeles - CBS (NYSE: CBS) is expected to launch a "March Madness" application for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone that offers live streaming video of the basketball tournament over a 3G connection.

"American Idol" Contestants Forced to Dump Social Media Profiles

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 5, 2010 - 11:22am.
Los Angeles - Contestants on the current season of "American Idol" have been made to shutter existing profiles on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, and instead have posted notes to fans to follow them on the "official" American Idol feed on Twitter. Several reports speculate that the reasoning was to make it more difficult to ascertain the popularity of a contestant, based on their popularity on social media.  

MTV Taps OurStage to Promote Emerging Artists

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 4, 2010 - 10:53am.
New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks Music Group announced on Thursday that it has partnered with OurStage, an artist discovery site, to develop promotional activities for emerging talent. MTV will launch "Needle in the Haystack" to promote one new OurStage artist each week, as well as provide OurStage artists with opportunities to license music for use in MTV on-air programming. MTV will also utilize OurStage to source artists for the next installment of CMT's Music City Madness Competition, as well as for a new iteration of MTV's "$5 Cover."

EchoStar to Appeal Court Loss in Ongoing TiVo Patent Case

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 4, 2010 - 9:10am.
Alviso, Calif. - TiVo (NASD: TIVO) announced on Thursday that the U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling that found DISH Network (NASD: DISH) operator EchoStar (NASD: SATS) guilty of continued infringement of its digital video recorder patent. "This ruling paves the way for TiVo to receive the approximately $300M in damages and contempt sanctions awarded to us for EchoStar's continued infringement through July 1, 2009," TiVo said in a statement.

NCAA Opens March Madness Online Video Vault

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 3, 2010 - 12:53pm.
Denver - The NCAA on Wednesday announced the launch of an online video vault containing past NCAA men's basketball tournament games. The NCAA Vault, powered by Though Equity Motion, lets fans search for individual plays and highlights for individual athletes and teams, covering games from the Sweet Sixteen through championship matchups since 2000.

TiVo Introduces New 'Premiere' Digital Video Recorders

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 3, 2010 - 11:08am.
Alviso, Calif. - TiVo (NASD: TIVO) on Wednesday introduced a new line of digital video recorders, the TiVo Premiere, which offers direct access to broadband video services from Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster, as well as video podcasts and YouTube content.
tags: Video | TV | TiVo | DVR | TiVo Premiere |