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$300 Version of NIN Album Sells Out; #1 on Amazon MP3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:21pm.

Los Angeles - A $300, limited edition of 2,500 version of Nine Inch Nails' new album "Ghosts I-IV" has sold out from the band's website just a day after the album went on sale in various formats and was made available for limited free download. The band's publicist says that the $5 downloadable version of the album was also propelled to the top spot at the Amazon MP3 store, the only place it was available for purchase other than NIN.com. Frontman Trent Reznor released the first nine tracks off the 36-track instrumental album for free download; other purchase options include a $10, 2 CD set and $75 limited edition deluxe package.

MySpace Produces Online Safety PSA, Website

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:19pm.

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace online social network announced on Friday a new Internet safety public service announcement, safety-related website, and partnerships with nonprofit organizations iKeepSafe and Enough is Enough. The PSA, which will encourage parents to talk with teens about the Internet use, will air over the next two months across Fox broadcast and cable networks. "MySpace is stepping-up our safety education efforts," said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace's chief security officer. "We believe that parents are the first line of defense when it comes to protecting teens in the offline and online worlds, and they should have as many educational resources as possible to safeguard their families."

BBC Makes iPlayer TV VOD Service Available on iPhone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:18pm.

London - The BBC announced this week that it has made its iPlayer, a Web-based service that lets U.K. citizens watch the broadcaster's programming on demand, available on Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone. Programming will not be accessible over the EDGE cellular network; instead, users will have to be within range of a Wi-Fi network to access the iPlayer.

tags: Mobile | Video | TV | Apple | BBC | Cellphones | iPhone | iPlayer |

Unicorn Media Introduces Video Entertainment Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:15pm.

Austin, Texas - Unicorn Media on Friday launched a beta version of its planned free entertainment site, which aims to offer professionally-produced digital video content from filmmakers, videographers and production companies from all over the world. The company says its focus is on video quality, and will launch HD streaming later this year. "We're not building a system to provide intermittent humorous distractions in peoples daily lives," said A.J. McGowan, CTO at Unicorn Media. "We're building the system people will use for all their digital entertainment." The Tempe, Ariz.-based company says it will pay artists as much as 50 percent of the advertising gross receipts earned from their specific content.

MySpace to Launch Webisode Series for Spanish Rapper Porta

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:14pm.

Madrid - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace has signed a deal with Intuition Films and graphic design firm Koncept to create a Spanish-language webisode series featuring Spain-based hip-hop artist Porta, Variety reports. The 10-webisode series, "Porta, en boca de tantos," will launch on MySpace next Tuesday, coinciding with the release of Porta's first album.

Thomson's Technicolor Digital Cinema to Equip ArcLight Cinemas

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:13pm.

Paris - Thomson (NYSE: TMS) said on Friday that its Technicolor Digital Cinema unit has signed an agreement to provide digital cinema systems for ArcLight Cinemas. The deal includes ArcLight Hollywood and the Cinerama Dome theater in Hollywood.

Kodak to Power Digital Cinema for Santikos Theatres

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 12:11pm.

Hollywood - Kodak (NYSE: EK) announced on Friday that San Antonio-based Santikos Theatres will install Kodak Digital Cinema systems at 126 of its screens. The theater chain is the first to select Kodak for a circuit-wide digital cinema deployment.

Endemol Digital Media: Product Development Manager–Casual Games

Authored by dmw on March 7, 2008 - 11:14am.

Endemol Digital Media is creating a dedicated team to focus on casual game development, and requires a Product Development Manager.

classifieds tags: Jobs | Classifieds |

CBS Radio Strikes Deal to Power AOL Radio

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 11:13am.

New York - CBS Corp.'s (NYSE: CBS) CBS Radio announced on Friday an agreement with Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL, to power AOL Radio and drive advertising sales for the service's more than 200 streams, in addition to its own more than 150 radio station streams and custom channels.

Endemol Logo

Authored by Scott Goldberg on March 7, 2008 - 11:13am.
Endemol Logo

Netflix Authorizes $150 Million Stock Repurchase Program

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 10:12am.

Los Gatos, Calif. - Online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) announced this week that its board has authorized a $150 million stock repurchase program, which will run through the end of 2008.

tags: Deals | Movies | Netflix | Buybacks |

Infogrames Makes Offer to Acquire Rest of Atari

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 9:46am.

New York - Struggling video game publisher Atari (NASD: ATAR) announced on Friday that it has received an offer from France-based majority shareholder Infogrames, to acquire Atari outright for $1.68 a share, representing a 1% premium over the company's closing share price on Thursday.

Mobile Games Firm Glu Moves Closer to Superscape Acquisition

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 9:37am.

San Mateo, Calif. - Mobile games publisher Glu Mobile announced on Friday that its bid for U.K.-based fellow publisher Superscape has received acceptances representing 81% of the company's shares.

Report: Google, Microsoft May Make Offers for Digg

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 9:06am.

Los Angeles - Digg, the social news aggregation site where users vote on what they think are the most important news stories, is working with investment bank Allen & Co. to set up a possible sale, with Google and Microsoft among likely suitors, TechCrunch reported, citing a source very close to the deal.

Digg logo

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 9:04am.
Digg logo

NPR Chief Executive Departs Abruptly After 10-Year Term

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 8:34am.

Washington - National Public Radio (NPR) announced on Friday that CEO Ken Stern will leave the network by "mutual agreement," abruptly ending his 10-year stint as a top executive at NPR.

tags: Radio | Music | Moves | NPR | Ken Stern |

Gazprom to Acquire Russian Vid-sharing Site RuTube for $15M

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 7, 2008 - 8:23am.

Moscow - The media division of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom will acquire RuTube, a Russia-based video-sharing site based that claims 5.5 million monthly visitors, for about $15 million, Russian News & Information Agency (RIA Novosti) reports.

Steve Ballmer on the Yahoo Deal and MS Online Ad Strategy

Authored by Jay Baage on March 7, 2008 - 4:31am.


Don't miss Guy Kawasaki's recent fireside chat with Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer (embedded above) at Mix 2008 - no softball questions here, but an entertaining and informative session that is well worth watching, even if you have to download Microsoft's Silverlight player to see it...