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EU Extends Review of Microsoft, Time Warner Acquisition of ContentGuard

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2004 - 2:49am.
Brussels -- The European Commission on Monday extended a deadline for reviewing the proposed joint ownership of ContentGuard, a Maryland-based digital rights management company, by Microsoft and Time Warner. The Commission will now make its decision on whether to launch an in-depth review of the deal by Aug. 25. Aiming to get a better foothold in the market for technology that prevents illegal copying of CDs and DVDs, Microsoft increased its stake in ContentGuard four months ago and said that Time Warner would join it in acquiring most of the rest of the company from Xerox. Usually, the EU has one month to decide whether to approve a proposed deal or to launch a more in-depth investigation if one of its member states raises antitrust concerns. So far, the Commission has not clarified its reasons for extending the deadline.
tags: Microsoft | Time Warner | EU | ContentGuard |

Australian Broadcaster Suspends Internet Radio Over Olympics Rights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2004 - 2:47am.
Sydney -- The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has suspended the majority of its Internet radio webcasts, in light of restrictions placed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) on Olympics coverage. The broadcaster did not secure rights to broadcast Olympics highlights on its Internet radio stations, many of which are simulcasts of terrestrial stations that are featuring regular Olympics news updates. "The IOC has restricted rights so that we can't mention the Olympic Games at all, so therefore we can't stream any station that has news bulletins," Ian Vaile, head of content for new media and digital services for the ABC, told CNET News.com. As a result, ABC has shut down streaming at most of its Internet radio stations for the duration of the games.
tags: Internet | Radio | Broadcaster | Australian | Olympics Rights |

AOL Launches Free Fantasy Sports Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2004 - 2:46am.
Dulles, Va. -- America Online said on Monday that it is launching a series of free fantasy sports offerings. The company said that its Fantasy Sports@AOL service will couple the fantasy games -- which allow participants to draft teams in particular sports and compete against the statistics of other fantasy teams -- with player information, news, stats, analysis and the option to receive immediate updates. There will be costs associated with managing leagues, though AOL said that prices will be "up to half off" prices offered by competitors such as ESPN and CBS Sportsline. AOL plans to offer games for all major professional and college sports. Registration for its NFL and college football games opened today. More than 15 million people participate in fantasy sports games each year, AOL said.
tags: Games | Sports | Fantasy | AOL |

Lottery-Funded Program to Equip 150 U.K. Theaters for Digital Projection

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2004 - 2:45am.
London -- The U.K Film Council announced on Monday that it is launching a $24 million program, funded by Britain's National Lottery, to equip U.K. theaters with digital projection capabilities. The Digital Screen Network plan aims to upgrade around 200 screens in 150 theaters with digital projection equipment. In return, the digital cinemas are being asked to commit to showing a broader range of films on a regular basis, such as smaller-budget productions and films made by local filmmakers, film clubs and schools. "At the moment if you don't live in a major city, your film choices can be fairly limited. The aim of this revolutionary new scheme is to give as many cinema-goers as possible from every location in the UK the opportunity to see a much wider variety of films," said Pete Buckingham, head of the U.K. Film Council's distribution and exhibition fund.
tags: Theaters | U.K | Lottery-Funded | Equip | Digital Projection |

Discovery Communications Acquires Educational Programmer AIMS

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 16, 2004 - 2:44am.
Silver Spring, Md. -- Discovery Communications, which operates cable TV networks including The Discovery Channel, announced on Monday that it has acquired AIMS Multimedia, a producer of educational programming including the DigitalCurriculum video-on-demand service. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Chatsworth, Calif.-based AIMS' programming will be integrated with Discovery's newly formed Discovery Education unit, which offers over 35,000 educational video-on-demand segments.
tags: Discovery Communications | Educational | AIMS |