Seattle - Amazon.com has added DRM-free songs from major label Warner Music Group to its Amazon MP3 store. The move marks the first major foray for Warner into selling music in the MP3 format, without digital restrictions. "We believe that giving consumers the assurance that the music they purchase can be played on any device they own will only encourage more sales of music," said Michael Nash, senior vice president, digital strategy and business development for Warner Music Group.

Horsham, Pa. - Motorola (NYSE: MOT) on Thursday introduced the Motorola Mobile TV DH01, a portable media player capable of receiving live and on-demand TV programming. The device is smaller than a paperback book, sports a 4.3-inch screen, and will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month.

San Francisco - Video search engine Truveo said on Thursday that its index now includes more than 100 million online videos -- a 20-fold increase from a year ago. Based on current growth rates, the company expects top one billion searchable videos by 2009.

Washington - XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) said on Thursday that it has reached a deal with the Chicago-based Content Factory to carry Dan Patrick's national sports radio show starting on Jan. 21. "The Dan Patrick Show" on XM Sports Nation (channel 144) will air weekdays from 10-noon ET. Patrick, a former anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter program, premiered his new syndicated radio show in October.

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ (NASD: THQI) announced on Thursday that its Heavy Iron Studios is developing games based on Disney/Pixar's upcoming digitally animated film, "WALL/E." Titles for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, DS, PC and mobile platforms will be released alongside the film this summer.

Los Angeles - Despite a 45% increase in digital sales, overall U.S. music album sales fell 9.5% in 2007, the Associated Press reported, citing data from Nielsen SoundScan. Physical album sales totaled 500.5 million in 2007, down 15% from a year ago; however, when digital tracks are counted in tens, to represent an album's typical length, album sales dropped 9.5% overall.

London - U.K. digital music sales during the week of Christmas nearly doubled from the previous year, to just under three million, while total download sales for 2007 topped 77 million, a 50% increase from 2006, according to data provided by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) trade group.

New York - Media company Landmark Communications is putting its Weather Channel TV network and website up for sale, and could draw more than $5 billion at auction, The New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the auction. Suitors reportedly include NBC, News Corp. and Comcast.

Arlington, Va. - More than 50% of U.S. households now own a digital television, according to new research by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

San Francisco - Active Athlete, a San Francisco-based online media company that connects advertisers with sports enthusiasts, said on Thursday that it has acquired San Francisco-based GolfBuzz, a developer of publishing tools and technologies dedicated to the golf community.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Macrovision (NASD: MVSN), a provider of anti-piracy technologies that also recently acquired content database firm All Media Guide, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with movie and TV show download service CinemaNow, to enable video content from CinemaNow to be downloaded directly to Macrovision-enabled devices such as digital TVs, set-top boxes and network attached storage devices.

Los Gatos, Calif. - Online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Korea's LG Electronics, to develop a set-top box that will allow consumers to stream movies and other video from the Internet to HDTVs.

Los Angeles - Twistbox Entertainment, a producer and publisher of mobile entertainment content, said on Thursday that it has agreed to merge with Mandalay Media, a development stage company.

New York - PR Newswire, an electronic press release distribution service, announced on Thursday that it will acquire Hispanic PR Wire, LatinClips and Hispanic Digital Network.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA") now has made available the coupons for consumers to use to buy converter boxes that will allow analog television sets to pick up the digital signals of television stations. We have written about the NTIA program before, here. Digital signals are now available in most markets, and these signals will be the only signals available from full power television stations after the February 17, 2009 digital conversion deadline. The coupons, valued at $40, will be available until they run out (and, by most estimates, Congress has not appropriated enough money for every household to get coupons).