Archives

Samsung, Cable TV Firms Launch Multi-Million Dollar HDTV Ad Campaign

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:25am.
New York -- Consumer electronics firm Samsung Electronics has partnered with major U.S. cable TV operators on a multi-million dollar marketing campaign for high-definition television (HDTV), Reuters reported on Tuesday. Samsung and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), a trade group of the top U.S. cable TV operators, is funding the campaign that will encompass TV, print and Internet ads and tie-in heavily with the 2004 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. An element of the promotions will offer consumers a $100 discount when they purchase a Samsung HDTV model and subscribe to HDTV service from a cable TV provider.
tags: HDTV | Cable TV | Samsung | Multi-Million |

USDTV Launches First U.S. "Over-the-Air" Digital TV Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:23am.
New York -- U.S. Digital Television, Inc. (USDTV) on Tuesday launched the first "over-the-air" digital TV subscription service in the U.S. The $19.95 per month service will broadcast local, national and popular premium channels "over-the-air" in digital and high-definition formats utilizing unused digital spectrum from broadcast partners. Initially launching in Salt Lake City, Albuquerque and Las Vegas, the service will be available in 30 markets by the end of the year. USDTV has partnered with Chinese manufacturer Hisense to make the proprietary set-top boxes needed to receive the service, which will be sold for $99 at retailers including Wal-Mart. Programming offered will include Fox News Channel, Starz, ESPN, Disney Channel, Discovery, Food Network and Lifetime. New York-based USDTV said that it recently closed on $8.5 million in private equity funding from NexGen Investments and Stonebridge Capital; investors said they will also fund an additional $12 million based on USDTV's successful completion of certain initiatives.
tags: U.S | Digital TV | USDTV | Over-the-Air |

NCAA to Offer Live Streaming Video of Basketball Tournament Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:23am.
Redmond, Wash. -- NCAASports.com announced on Tuesday that it will once again offer live online video streaming coverage of games from the first three rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. For $9.95, subscribers will gain access to live streaming of 37 games from the first three rounds of the tournament, plus access to on-demand archives of games from later rounds, game highlights and press conferences. The organization is working with television broadcast partner CBS and Web partners CBS SportsLine.com and Microsoft to deliver the streams in Windows Media format.
tags: Games | Videos | NCAA | Basketball Tournament |

Nationwide DSL Provider Speakeasy.net Raises $24 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:22am.
Seattle -- Speakeasy.net, a provider of nationwide DSL high-speed Internet services, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $24 million in its fourth round of venture capital financing. Venture capital firms 3i and BV Capital led the investment round; existing Speakeasy investors Ares Management, Cornerstone Ventures, Matthew G. Norton and Granite Ventures also participated. The company will use the funds to complete its network infrastructure, to launch a Voice-over IP (VoIP) service, and to expand its specialized services for online gamers.
tags: VC | DSL | Nationwide | Speakeasy.net |

Akamai to Distribute Streaming Content for Major League Baseball

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:21am.
Cambridge, Mass. -- Content delivery network services provider Akamai Technologies announced that Major League Baseball Advanced Media has signed a multi-year agreement with the company to provide distribution the streaming audio and video feeds of baseball games on the Internet. The system is expected to be ready by baseball's opening day on March 28. The deal still leaves Major League Baseball without a partner to encode and deliver the game content, following the collapse of an agreement with former partner, RealNetworks. That company has separately sued Major League Baseball over a contract that stipulated games must be offered online in RealNetworks' streaming format.
tags: Baseball | Akamai | Major League |

BMG Licenses Songs to Wippit P2P Digital Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:20am.
London -- Wippit, provider of a U.K.-based legal, peer-to-peer file-sharing service, announced that it has signed an agreement with major record label BMG, which will license 10,000 tracks from its catalog to be made available to Wippit subscribers. However, Wippit said BMG songs will be available only to U.K. and Ireland subscribers from a central BMG server -- and will not be able to be shared on the peer-to-peer network. Wippit also has a deal in place with fellow major label EMI and some 200 independent record labels. The service charges a $54 annual fee that lets users trade songs freely as well as burn them to CD and transfer them to portable devices on a limited level.
tags: P2P | BMG | Musics | Digital Music |

Game Console Maker Infinium Labs Effects 4-for-1 Forward Stock Split

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2004 - 5:19am.
Sarasota, Fla. -- Infinium Labs, developer of a PC-based video game console, announced on Tuesday that it will effect a four-for-one forward stock split, in order to increase the total number of shares available and better position the company for potential investors. In order to have enough shares available to implement the stock split, Florida-based Infinium will simultaneously increase the number of authorized shares of its stock from 50,000,000 to 200,000,000 shares. The transaction is expected to become effective after April 15. Infinium Labs plans to show working models of its Phantom game console for the first time at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May.
tags: Games | Infinium Labs | Stock | Split |