Los Angeles - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV is reportedly developing a reality show produced by Mark Burnett based on its forthcoming karaoke video game "Rock Band 2," if casting calls posted to Craigslist in Los Angeles are to be believed, Variety reports. "The creator of 'Rock Star' and 'The Apprentice,' Mark Burnett and MTV bring you the first show based on the new game 'Rock Band 2,'" reads the ad, which is looking for "four people to form their own band and show us their stuff live on stage for the chance to win the Ultimate Rock Band Experience."

Waterloo, Ontario - BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) (NASD: RIMM) on Thursday announced new partnerships with TiVo (NASD: TIVO), MySpace (NYSE: NWS), Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Ticketmaster (NASD: TKTM) that will bring new content and services to its devices. Under the deals, BlackBerry owners will soon be able to view TV listings and schedule recordings on their TiVos; access an optimized version of MySpace with integrated push-based messaging; and access Microsoft Live Search. BlackBerry was also named the official smartphone of Ticketmaster, and the companies are developing an application that will facilitate browsing and purchasing of tickets.

London - U.K. rock band Marillion has partnered with Web marketing firm Music Glue to make its fifteenth studio album available as a free download from peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, Billboard reports. A widget developed by Music Glue launches a video message from the band for file-swappers, and invites them to download the double-album as DRM-free Windows Media files. A deluxe CD version of the album will also go on sale from the band's website from Oct. 20.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV is set to launch a new Web-based interactive TV social game, "Backchannel," that lets viewers comment on shows like "The Hills" in real-time, and garner points when their comments are liked by others, as well as when they predict which comments from others will become popular. The company partnered with game developer Area/Code on Backchannel, which will make its debut during the season premiere of "The Hills" next Monday.

San Francisco - Greystripe, a distributor of ad-supported mobile games, said on Thursday that it has partnered with NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) to provide its entire catalog on NBCU's mobile properties. Under the deal, Greystripe will also distribute select NBCU mobile games from NBC, Bravo and Sci Fi Channel through its 100 partners.

New York - Digital music and video distributor The Orchard (NASD: ORCD) said on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Wu Music Group for the rights to distribute legendary hip-hop troupe Wu-Tang Clan's catalog to digital retailers. In addition to Wu-Tang Clan, the deal also includes offshoot releases from U-God, Wu-Syndicate, Killarmy, Shyheim, West Coast Killa Beez, Black Knights and others.

Burlington, Mass. - Burst Media, a provider of online advertising services, on Thursday announced the launch of the Burst Entertainment Network. The Network consists of more than 150 websites that reach 21 million unique visitors and deliver nearly 70 million ad impressions each month. The Burst Entertainment Network targets film and TV fans, as well as gamers and music aficionados.

London - Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (NYSE: SNE) announced it has partnered with Universal Music Group to release a version of its "SingStar" karaoke game for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 that features Swedish pop band ABBA. The game represents the first artist-branded iteration of "SingStar," which to date has sold more than 13 million units and generated sales of more than 2 million downloadable tracks from the online SingStore.

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS) on Thursday named former UCLA standout Kevin Love as the cover athlete for its NCAA Basketball 09 title. Love was the fifth pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, and later traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game is scheduled to be released later this fall for the , PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 systems.

Washington - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008, which would give the Justice Dept. authority to prosecute civil copyright cases, expand seizure powers in civil copyright cases, and create a Cabinet-level "piracy czar" to coordinate all of the government's various anti-piracy initiatives. The bill was lauded by Hollywood, and criticized by librarians and consumer and digital civil liberties groups including Public Knowledge and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who in a joint letter sent to the Committee called the bill an "enormous gift of federal resources to large copyright owners with no demonstration that the copyright owners are having difficulties enforcing their own rights."

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) is refuting claims made by NBC (NYSE: GE) that it made any special considerations on pricing or bundling of content at its iTunes Store that prompted the broadcaster to return its programming to the store, CNET News.com reports.

San Francisco - Nearly half of U.S. "tweens" (ages 8-12), or about 20 million young consumers, are using cell phones, according to a report from Nielsen Mobile.

London - Following a year-long investigation into the workings of OiNK, a BitTorrent tracker site shut down by U.K. and Dutch authorities, four of the people arrested for sharing music on the service have been charged with copyright infringement, allegedly for uploading a single CD, TorrentFreak reported.

Los Angeles - Venue owner and concert promoter Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) announced on Thursday that it has signed a multi-year deal with SMG, to be the exclusive ticketing agent for the company's 216 venues.

New York - Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has paid about $127 million for a 6.4% stake in The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), The Times reported, citing a regulatory filing. Slim "has a history of buying depressed assets he can later sell at a profit, and several analysts familiar with his investments say they see the purchase of the Times Company in that vein," the paper noted.

Dulles, Va. - As discussions continue about the possible sale of all or part of AOL, owner Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) revealed that advertising at the unit has slowed significantly in recent weeks, Bloomberg reported.