Alviso, Calif. - CBS (NYSE: CBS) announced on Thursday that it has entered into a research partnership with TiVo (NASD: TIVO), and will subscribe to the company's StopWatch DVR ratings service, which provides second-by-second measurement of program and specific commercial ratings for both live and time-shifted viewing. NBC Universal also subscribes to TiVo's StopWatch. "TiVo...offers us the opportunity to analyze television viewing behavior and develop strategies to maximize the impact of our advertisers' messages and product placement arrangements in this new non-linear viewing environment," said CBS chief research officer David F. Poltrack.

New York - The Weinstein Company has partnered with News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace on a contest that asks users to submit an original horror short film for potential inclusion on the DVD release of George Romero's "Diary of the Dead." MySpace users will choose ten finalists for the "Diary of the Dead Video Contest," with Romero then choosing five shorts to include on the DVD.

Los Angeles - Former Random House editor in chief Daniel Menaker has launched a new Web video series that will feature roundtable interviews with a group of writers, Variety reports. Scheduled to launch on March 3, Titlepage.tv will be produced by Menaker and Brown Hats Productions. "One shouldn't have to have to live in New York City and pay $150 to some elite festival in order to be part of literary culture," Brown Hats head Odile Isralson told Variety. "If we have anything to do with it, you can be having dinner in Gillette, Wyo., and enjoy a great hour of conversation about writing with your dessert and coffee."

Santa Monica, Calif. - GSN, a cable TV network joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media, on Thursday announced plans for "Bingo America," a new interactive TV trivia and game show slated to premiere on March 31. Viewers will be able to download free bingo cards online and play along with on-air contestants, answering trivia questions in return for bingo letters. An instant win Bonus Game at the end of the show will also let users receive bonus numbers via text messaging on their cell phones.

New York - TitanTV, a provider of online TV program listings, on Thursday announced the launch of a new syndication program for TV affiliate websites, which will allow them to attract viewers with programming like "Jury Duty" and "Animal Rescue" via a customized, branded video player. TitanTV has acquired exclusive online rights to the programs, and also produces its own original shows; the service will additionally enable stations to share their own local content with others in the network. The company said it is trying to do for station websites what TV syndication pioneer King World did, offering local stations shows like "Wheel of Fortune" and "Oprah" against which they could advertise.

New York - Sony (NYSE: SNE) on Thursday launched eStories, a new section of its eBook Store that will feature more than 1,000 short stories from American authors, including Philip K. Dick, Mike Resnick and R.L. Stine. The eStories, which can be read on a PC or Sony's Reader digital book device, will be priced from $0.99 to $1.99 each and sell from both Sony's eBook Store and Borders Online eBook Store.

Draper, Utah - Sequoia Media Group, whose aVinci Experience product line allows consumers to create slideshows, DVDs and other media from their personal photos and videos, has signed deals that will enable customers to include music from Warner Music, EMI, Sony BMG, Rhino, Walt Disney Records and others. The aVinci service is available as an online service, as a kit with software included on disc, and via media creation kiosks, and creations may be shared via social networks and blogs.

New York - Univision Online, the interactive subsidiary of Univision Communications, and the National Football League (NFL) announced on Thursday that they will jointly manage and operate NFLatino, the official U.S. Spanish-language website of the NFL.

New York - A&E Television Networks, which is jointly owned by ABC, Hearst Corp. and NBC Universal, announced on Thursday that it has tapped Crisp Wireless to produce and manage mobile websites for its A&E Network, History Channel and BIO properties. Features will include TV listings, program descriptions and photos, polls and trivia games, and downloadable wallpapers and ringtones.

New York - The New York Times News Service has signed a deal to provide content to V-me, a new national, Spanish-language network that is partnered with public TV. The two media companies will collaborate on a new weekly program called Paginas del New York Times, the companies announced on Thursday. The show will offer topical stories and features covering global politics, lifestyle, economics, culture and entertainment -- "all presented from a U.S. Hispanic perspective," according to the announcement.

Alviso, Calif. - TiVo (NASD: TIVO) said on Thursday that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld its claim that rival EchoStar (NASD: DISH), operator of the DISH Network satellite TV service, was infringing on one of its digital video recorder patents, and must pay $74 million in damages, now $94 million with accrued interest.

Los Angeles - CBS's (NYSE: CBS) Showtime Networks pay-TV unit announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Internet TV distributor Brightcove, on an eco-friendly plan to offer Primetime Emmy Awards voters the option to watch full seasons of its original series online, instead of receiving the usual bulky DVD mailings.

Madrid - A new study from a Spanish authors' and publishers' society claims the country is Europe's worst offender when it comes to illegal music downloading, its citizens having grabbed over 1.2 billion tracks last year, Billboard reported.

New York - DirecTV (NYSE: DTV), the nation's largest satellite TV service with over 16.6 million customers, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with audience measurement firm TNS Media Research, to develop what they say will be the largest U.S. national TV audience measurement panel ever created.

Washington - Over one-third (36%) of U.S. television households are unaware of the looming switchover to digital television broadcasting, set to take effect just over a year from now, while "major confusion" exists among the remaining consumers who are aware of the transition, according to a new survey from Consumer Reports National Research Center. An estimated 11% of American homes that rely exclusively on over-the-air analog broadcasts -- or about 23 million people -- will be unable to watch TV at all if they take no action before the switchover to digital.