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ArchivesSenate Committee Approves 2009 Digital TV Transition, $3 Billion SubsidyAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:29am.
Washington - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee this week approved a bill that sets April 7, 2009 as the date that broadcasters will switch off their analog signals and begin broadcasting digital television signals to U.S. viewers. The timetable was passed over objections from Senators including John McCain (R-Ariz.), who wanted the switchover to happen as early as late 2006. The bill as passed also schedules an auction for the recovered analog spectrum that broadcasters will be giving up, which will occur on Jan. 28, 2008. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the auction will bring $10 billion, of which $3 billion will be used to fund a converter box subsidy program, to help those who can't afford the costly new digital sets purchase a device that will enable their analog sets to receive digital signals. Another $1.5 billion will be spent on a national alert system and to improve emergency communications services. A House Energy and Commerce Committee bill currently being circulated promotes a date of Dec. 31, 2008 for the digital TV transition, but provides just $990 million for a converter box subsidy. The National Journal reported that a committee vote on the House bill will likely be held next Wednesday.
Warner Becomes Second Studio to Back Both Blu-ray and HD DVD FormatsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:27am.
Los Angeles - Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced that it will also support Sony's Blu-ray Disc format in the next-generation DVD format war, after previously saying it would support Toshiba's rival HD DVD format. With the announcement, Warner becomes the second studio, after Paramount Pictures, to pledge to release movies and other content on both Blu-ray and HD DVD. So far, none of the studios to originally back Blu-ray have announced plans to also support HD DVD. Responding to Warner's announcement, Toshiba said in a statement that it understood the studio's "commitment to listen to a broad array of opinions and to continue to make technical evaluations of each format," but Toshiba still "strongly believes the HD DVD format will eventually win broad support as the more superior format, and in cooperation with our partners, we are committed to bringing HD DVD products first to market early next year in the U.S." Earlier this week, analyst firm Forrester Research predicted that Sony's Blu-ray would emerge as the standard next-generation DVD format.
Google Shares Surge 12% as Profits Increase Seven-FoldAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:26am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Shares of Google gained more than 12% on Friday to close at a new 52-week high of $339.90 after the search engine giant said that its quarterly profit increased more than seven-fold to $381.2 million as its revenue doubled to $1.05 billion. Google's market value briefly surpassed $100 billion for the first time when its stock price increased to a high of $346.43 before retreating slightly. The company benefited greatly from a continuing surge in online advertising. "Although this is typically a slower season for Internet properties, we had another exceptional quarter," said Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO. "We are very pleased with how well this is working at scale."
U.S. Toughens Sentences for Uploaders of Pre-Release Copyrighted WorksAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:21am.
Washington - The U.S. Sentencing Commission this week increased penalties for those offering pre-release copies of albums, movies and other content on the Internet, including on file-sharing networks, as part of an emergency set of rules passed to bring sentences in line with those laid out by the recently passed Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, CNET News.com reported. The prison sentences for those convicted of offering works before their commercial releases will be increased roughly 40%, while judges will be given new discretion to "estimate" how many files a defendant is offering in determining an appropriate sentence. Under the Family Entertainment and Copyright Act, anyone offering a pre-release work, regardless of whether or not it is downloaded by any third parties, will face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,0000.
Copyright Office to Launch Online Pre-Registration Service on Nov. 15Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:18am.
Washington - The U.S. Copyright Office announced on Friday that it will begin allowing content creators to "pre-register" their works, that is, to register for copyright protection before the work is actually completed, through an online service beginning on Nov. 15. The entertainment industry had lobbied for such a service, claiming it needs protection against Internet piracy for works like music albums and motion pictures, which are often leaked while still in the production process. The Copyright Office said that pre-registration will be available for "motion pictures, sound recordings, musical compositions, literary works being prepared for publication in book form, computer programs (including videogames), and advertising or marketing photographs." To be eligible, the creator of the unfinished work "must certify that the work is being prepared for commercial distribution and that he or she has a reasonable expectation that the work will be commercially distributed to the public."
Apple Faces Class Action Lawsuits Over iPod Nano Screen ScratchesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:16am.
Seattle - A number of law firms this week announced class action lawsuits against Apple Computer, over consumer complaints that the company's new iPod Nano digital music player scratches too easily. Apple sold a million Nanos during the device's first 17 days on sale. The company previously agreed to replace a small number of Nano players whose screens were found to crack easily, buy Apple claimed this was because of a manufacturer's defect. It has maintained that the Nano is made of the same polycarbonate used in other versions of the iPod, and is thus no more prone to scratching. Plaintiffs contend that the devices "scratch excessively during normal usage, rendering the screen on the Nanos unreadable," according to the complaint filed by the Seattle-based law firm of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro in federal court in San Jose, California. An Apple representative declined to comment on the suit for CNET News.com.
Bertelsmann's Arvato to Launch Secure File-Sharing ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:14am.
Frankfurt, Germany - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann announced on Friday that it plans to launch a legal peer-to-peer file-sharing service in Germany by the end of this year, the Associated Press reported. The service, called GNAB, will utilize a decentralized peer-to-peer network of users who will then download content among one another that originates from centralized company servers. Bertelsmann's Arvato unit will operate GNAB, which will expand outside Germany in 2006 and also license its file-sharing technology to third parties. "We can offer our customers and all users of the platform a maximum of quality and security thanks to our secure file-sharing technology," Arvato chairman and CEO Hartmut Ostrowski told AP. GNAB has licensed tracks from several labels, including Sony BMG -- which is co-owned by Bertelsmann -- ensuring the service offers around 1 million songs at launch.
Yahoo to Hike Price of Digital Music Service to $12 Per MonthAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:12am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Yahoo said this week in an e-mail sent to subscribers of its Yahoo Music Unlimited that it plans to raise the cost of the service, which debuted at an industry low of $6.99, to $12 per month at the end of October. The price hike affects those subscribers interested in transferring songs to portable devices, while those content to listen on their computers will continue to pay the lower rate. While Yahoo's premium music service will now cost $11.99 per month, or $9.99 per month if a user signs up for a full year, it is still priced below similar offerings from competitors RealNetworks and Napster, which charge $14.99 a month for unlimited downloads to portable devices.
SanDisk to Acquire Matrix Semiconductor for $250 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:10am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - SanDisk, a manufacturer maker of flash storage cards, said that it has signed a deal to acquire Santa Clara, Calif.-based Matrix Semiconductor, a developer of 3D integrated circuits, for about $250 million. The deal consists of $12 million in cash, and the remainder in SanDisk stock. Matrix's 3D memory is used for storage applications that do not require multiple rewrites and where low cost is the paramount consideration, such as video games, music and other content, or for archiving. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
BSkyB to Acquire Broadband Firm Easynet for $373 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:08am.
London - Satellite broadcaster BSkyB announced that it has agreed to acquire Easynet, a U.K.-based broadband telecommunications firm, for approximately $373 million. The Rupert Murdoch-controlled broadcaster said the deal would allow it to break into the U.K. broadband Internet market and offer so-called "triple-play" broadband, TV and telephony services. "This positions Sky very well to take a leading position in what we think is a very attractive and fast-growing segment of the market," Murdoch said. "We've reached a point where integration into a home entertainment platform will be both viable and attractive to customers, and we expect to see rapid convergence between pay-TV penetration in the marketplace and broadband penetration." The acquisition will also put BSkyB into direct competition with such heavy hitters as incumbent telecommunications firm BT Group Plc and newly merged cable firms NTL and Telewest.
Handleman Company Acquires Games Firm Crave Entertainment for $72 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:06am.
Troy, Mich. - The Handleman Company, a distributor of CDs and other recorded music formats to music retailers, announced on Friday that it plans to acquire Crave Entertainment, a developer of video game hardware, software and accessories, for $72 million. Newport Beach, Calif.-based Crave Entertainment distributes its products to more than 30,000 retail stores, and reported sales of $240 million for its most recent fiscal year. The company released "The Bible Game" earlier this week for PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. "The acquisition of CEG expands our customer base, broadens our product line and will be immediately accretive to earnings," said Handleman chairman and CEO Stephen Strome. "Video game software is one of the fastest growing entertainment product lines, with industry growth expected to exceed an 8% compounded annual growth rate over the next four years."
Report: U.K. Legal Movie Download Market Will Mature by 2010Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:04am.
London - According to market research firm Screen Digest, the U.K. broadband movie market is set to boom over the next five years, the Register reports. Screen Digest predicted that, by the year 2010, every home in the U.K. will have downloaded at least one movie using a broadband connection. Over the same period, legal movie downloading will be worth more than $106 million in the U.K. and more than $299 million across the rest of Europe, Screen Digest said. "Although there are still issues in terms of bandwidth, download times and general consumer familiarity with the Internet as a means of consuming movies, these issues are becoming less significant," analyst Arash Amel told the Register.
Former Intermix CEO Pays $750K to Settle Spyware ChargesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:02am.
New York - Brad Greenspan, the former CEO of Intermix Media -- a company recently ordered to pay $7.5 million to settle charges it distributed spyware that delivered unwanted pop-up ads -- has been ordered by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to himself pay $750,000 for his role in the matter. "Internet marketing companies have gotten away with unethical and illegal software downloading practices for too long," said Spitzer. Last month, Intermix, which owns social networking site MySpace.com, was purchased by News Corp. for $580 million.
U.K. Mobile Operator O2 to Trial 3.5G NetworkAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:00am.
London - O2, a U.K.-based mobile network operator, announced that it has teamed up with Manx Telecom and Lucent Technologies to launch, on the Isle of Man, Europe's first commercial "super-fast" 3.5G network. O2 claims that its HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) network is about three times faster than today's commercial 3G UMTS networks. "With the first deployment in Europe of HSDPA, the launch of i-mode in the U.K. and Ireland, coupled with our mobile TV trial in Oxford, O2 will gain invaluable insights into how to extend our multimedia services in order to enhance people's lives and develop applications that they are willing to pay for," said O2 CTO Dave Williams. The network will be launched on Nov. 1.
Stanford University to Offer Free Audio Content on iTunesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 7:58am.
Palo Alto, Calif. - Stanford University announced this week that it will offer Stanford-related audio content for free through Apple's iTunes Store. The school will offer audio content such as faculty lectures, campus events like book readings and play-by-play of football games, and music produced by Stanford students.
Ex-Sony Game Developers Launch Indie Studio, Machine UnionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 7:57am.
San Diego - A group of ex-developers from Sony Computer Entertainment America on Friday announced the launch of a new development studio, Machine Union. The San Diego-based developer, which will focus on titles for next-generation consoles, began work on its first undisclosed project in July. "The game project we chose to develop presents new gameplay mechanics we hope the player finds extremely captivating," said Machine co-founder and general manager Geoff Houston. "Our engine takes advantage of next generation hardware capabilities and is designed to be easily retargeted to multiple consoles."
AOL to Offer Sneak Peek at Disney's "Chronicles of Narnia"Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 7:55am.
Dulles, Va. - America Online said on Friday that it has signed a deal with Walt Disney Studios to offer movie fans a first look at photos, artwork, behind-the-scenes video and extended footage from the upcoming movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." Features about the film will be promoted across AOL's network, including such sites as Moviefone.com, AOL.com and AOL CityGuide.
Bryan Media Testing IceTV Mobile TV ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 7:53am.
Phoenix, Ariz. - Bryan Media, an ad agency and production house, on Friday announced plans to launch a mobile TV service next year. IceTV will offer both live and on-demand local and national cable TV channels. Arizona-based Bryan Media said IceTV is completing a beta test with eight live channels, and plans to go to market with up to 16 channels in the first quarter of 2006.
U.K. Cable TV Firm ntl to Deploy Scientific-Atlanta HD Video RecorderAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 7:51am.
Atlanta - TV set-top box manufacturer Scientific-Atlanta said that U.K. cable TV firm ntl, which claims 3.3 million subscribers, will deploy Scientific-Atlanta's first MPEG-4 high-definition digital video recorder for European cable operators. The device features three video tuners, a 160GB hard drive, and the capability to distribute stored content to multiple rooms in the home.
Jamdat Mobile Releases Sony's "SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Mobile Recon"Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 7:49am.
Bedminster, N.J. - Wireless entertainment publisher Jamdat Mobile on Friday announced the release of its mobile game version of Sony Computer Entertainment America's "SOCOM; U.S. Navy SEALs Mobile Recon." The game is available for Verizon Wireless subscribers for $7.49, or else $3.99 for monthly access.
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