TV

Webby Awards Winners Named; Colbert is 'Person of the Year'

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 6, 2008 - 11:26am.

New York - The winners of this year's Webby Awards were announced on Tuesday, with special achievement honors going to TV host Stephen Colbert, film director Michel Gondry and musical artist will.i.am. Colbert was named the Webby Person of the Year for the innovative ways he uses the Internet to interact with fans of his show, while Gondry was recognized in part for inspiring user-generated content with his new film, "Be Kind Rewind," and will.i.am for the songs and Internet videos he produced for Barack Obama.

Microsoft Adds TV Shows from NBC, Others to Zune Web Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 6, 2008 - 10:48am.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) announced on Tuesday that it has added more than 800 downloadable TV show episodes from NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Liberty Media (NASD: LINTA) and other providers to the online store for its Zune portable media player. Notable in the deal is NBC Universal's inclusion, as the company's programs disappeared from Apple's iTunes Store in December following disputes over pricing and bundling. "Partnering with Zune will allow us to develop innovative content offerings for their customers, including flexible pricing and packaging options beginning this fall," said JB Perrette, president of NBC Universal Digital Distribution.

Analysis: Raising the a la Carte Alarm

Authored by Paul Sweeting on May 6, 2008 - 10:17am.
The talk of the digital media blogosphere over the weekend was a report by written by Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffet headlined, And Now for the News...The Emperor Has No Clothes. It's well worth a read if you can get your hands on it. For those who can't (and even those who can), digital maverick Mark Cuban has a looong post on his blog about the report in which he reproduces many of the juiciest parts.

NBC Offers Full Episodes of "The Office," "30 Rock" on iPhone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 8, 2008 - 12:10pm.

New York - Despite its much-publicized removal of its programs from Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store in December, NBC (NYSE: GE) has begun offering streaming full-length episodes of shows including "The Office" and "30 Rock" for free on the iPhone, Silicon Alley Insider reports. The episodes, which are broken into four parts, included standard TV ads at the end of each segment.

tags: Mobile | Video | TV | Apple | NBC | iPhone |

Live Universe Acquires TV Listings, Video Site MeeVee

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 8, 2008 - 11:51am.

Los Angeles - Live Universe, the company started by MySpace founder Brad Greenspan, has acquired MeeVee, a provider of TV and online video listings, for an undisclosed sum, TechCrunch reports.

Social News Service Mixx Forges Partnership with CNN

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 7, 2008 - 1:29pm.

McLean, Va. - Mixx, an online social news start-up that allows users to submit news stories, vote on their favorites and view the most popular on the site's front page, said on Wednesday that it has forged a key partnership with CNN. Under the deal, users of CNN.com will be able to add CNN headlines and articles to Mixx's platform through "add to" Mixx buttons on CNN.com story pages.

tags: Social Networking | TV | News | CNN | Mixx |

Web-based Ad Agency Spot Runner Gets $51 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 7, 2008 - 7:29am.

Los Angeles - Spot Runner, a Web-based advertising service that helps local businesses create ads and place them on TV and radio, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $51 million in new financing.

Personalized Content Search Firm Jinni Raises $1 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 7, 2008 - 6:36am.

Herzliya, Israel - Jinni, a developer of personalized content search and discovery technology, has raised a $1 million first round of financing from Start-Up Factory, Globes Online reported.

Entertainment Rights to Bring Classic Kids Shows Online

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 6, 2008 - 12:07pm.

London - Entertainment Rights, a U.K. media group that holds children's programming rights, on Tuesday announced new Web distribution deals that will bring shows like "He-Man," "She-Ra," "Rocky & Bullwinkle," "Fat Albert" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost" to YouTube, Joost and Babelgum. YouTube will get a Retro Heroes channel featuring 2-5 minute webisodes, while Babelgum and Joost will feature select long-form programming.

Biddle to Market Networked Blu-ray Content Service in U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 6, 2008 - 12:05pm.

Burbank, Calif. - Dreamer, a Korea-based interactive TV developer, said on Tuesday that it has opened an office in Burbank, Calif. to market its Biddle technology, a platform that lets content distributors deliver customized, interactive programming and services to networked Blu-ray Disc players or PlayStation 3 consoles. Dreamer said its Biddle platform is currently in use by over one million subscribers in Korea.

Mobile TV Firm ROK Buys IPTV Provider Jalipo for $16.8 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 6, 2008 - 8:02am.

London - ROK Entertainment Group, a provider of mobile TV delivery technology, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Jalipo Ltd, a U.K. provider of IPTV services, through the issuance of 600,000 ROK shares in a transaction valued at about $16.8 million.

NBC News Launches iCue Educational Site

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 5, 2008 - 12:07pm.

New York - NBC News (NYSE: GE) on Monday launched iCue, a free online collaborative learning site that incorporates gaming, discussion and video resources. The iCue (Immerse, Connect, Understand and Excel) site was designed using research from the MIT Education Arcade, which explores integrating gaming and peer collaboration into traditional learning activities, and includes hundreds of videos from the NBC News archives.

tags: Games | TV | News | NBC News | iCue |

Mark Cuban: Will The Ala Carting of Video on the Net Lead to Disaster?

Authored by Mark Cuban on May 5, 2008 - 6:17am.
Craig Moffett of Bernstein Research wrote an amazing report entitled And Now for the News...The Emperor Has No Clothes". If you can get a copy, read it. Starting with the disappointing but expected news that journalism is no longer a service consumers desire to pay for, he moves on to the problems facing Internet video. He does a far better job than I ever did explaining the failings of Internet video and the expectation of free content. This is the report I wish I had blogged.

Google TV Ads Now Available to U.S. Advertisers

Authored by Ned Sherman on May 2, 2008 - 7:52am.

Mountain View, CA - CNET reports that Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on its AdWords blog that Google TV Ads, a program that has been in beta since June 2007, is now available to all U.S.-based advertisers. The program allows advertisers to reach over 13 million households nationwide on 94 channels. Like with Google’s AdWords service, which places ads on its Internet search pages, advertisers using Google TV Ads will bid for placement using an online tool that shows estimated costs to run a particular campaign and allows advertisers to increase or decrease their bids before placing them.

Rentrak Calculates Top Films of 2006-2007 Across Platforms

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2008 - 11:32am.

Portland, Ore. - The top-grossing films of 2006-2007 in the U.S., when including box office sales, DVD and VHS sales and rental estimates, and video-on-demand viewing, were "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Disney), "Transformers" (Paramount) and "Cars" (Disney), according to data compiled by Rentrak. The only R-rated film to crack the top 20 was Warner Bros.' "300," while the majority were either action or family films rated PG-13. Rentak tracks data from 51 million set-top boxes, more than 10,000 retail and 12,000 home video locations, and 35,000 movie screens across North America and other countries around the world.

ZeeVee Device Transmits Web, PC Video to HDTVs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2008 - 11:30am.

Littleton, Mass. - ZeeVee on Thursday announced the launch of its ZvBox, a $499 device that lets users transmit Internet TV, online video and computer content to all HDTVs in the home. The ZvBox connects to a computer's monitor output and turns it into a new HD channel called Zv, which is then broadcast across existing cable wiring to all HDTVs in the home. The Massachusetts-based company has raised funding to date from Alpond Capital and JLL Ventures.

tags: Video | TV | HD | ZeeVee | ZvBox |

Sezmi Introduces Hybrid TV Delivery Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2008 - 11:10am.

Belmont, Calif. - Sezmi on Thursday introduced its next-generation television platform, an alternative to cable and satellite services that combines digital over-the-air local broadcasts, broadband-delivered video, and channels beamed to the Sezmi set-top by local TV stations over unused portions of the broadcast spectrum.

tags: Video | VOD | TV | MovieBeam | Building B | Sezmi |

AT&T to Launch Mobile TV Service on Sunday

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2008 - 10:09am.

San Antonio, Texas - AT&T (NYSE: T) plans to launch its AT&T Mobile TV service for cell phone users on Sunday, providing its customers an alternative to Verizon's similar V CAST service.

ICO Global Signs Content Deal with Discovery

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2008 - 12:45pm.

Reston, Va. - Following the launch of its North American satellite earlier this month, ICO Global Communications said that it has signed a deal with Discovery Communications, which will provide content for the alpha trials of the company's new mobile interactive media service, known as ICO mim. Under the deal, similar to one the company signed with NBC Universal, ICO may select up to three Discovery channels for its live mobile television trials this summer.

Shareholders Approve Macrovision Deal for Gemstar-TV Guide

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 30, 2008 - 12:13pm.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Four months after first announcing plans to acquire Gemstar-TV Guide (NASD: GMST), Macrovision (NASD: MVSN), a provider of anti-piracy technology and informational databases, said that shareholders from both companies have now approved the $2.3 billion deal.