Washington - Trying to appease federal regulators, XM Satellite Radio and rival Sirius said on Monday that they will allow customers to purchase subscriptions on an a la carte basis following their planned merger. [more..]

Atlanta - Cumulus Media, the nation's second-largest radio company behind Clear Channel, announced on Monday that it has agreed to a merger deal, through which it will be sold to an investor group led by company chairman, president and CEO Lew Dickey, and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, for about $1.3 billion. [more..]

Los Gatos, Calif. - Online DVD rental service Netflix announced that it will lower the prices of its two most-popular subscription plans by $1, in part to counter price cuts at the online service of rival Blockbuster. [more..]

New York - Hip-hop artist 50 Cent has sued online advertising firm Traffix, Inc., alleging the company illegally used his image in an advergame called "Shoot the Rapper," the Associated Press reported. [more..]

Chicago - Video game publisher Midway Games is facing eight separate class action lawsuits, filed on behalf of shareholders who allege the company either failed to disclose or misrepresented facts related to its performance, and engaged in insider trading. [more..]

New York - Former Columbia Records president Steve Greenberg on Monday announced the relaunch of his independent record label, S-Curve Records, which will now include music publishing, artist management and complete digital services. [more..]

Arlington, Va. - Seventy-two percent of U.S. adults have access to a broadband connection and more than half of American households now subscribe to broadband, according to new research by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). [more..]

London - Premium TV, a provider of Internet TV distribution and other services, has agreed to be acquired by billionaire Len Blavatnik's Access Industries. [more..]

San Francisco - Social networking site Hi5 has raised $20 million in a new round of venture capital financing, led by Mohr Davidow Ventures, TechCrunch reported. [more..]

Baltimore - New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the Baltimore-based venture capital firm focused on technology and life sciences, said on Monday that it has invested $10.5 million in Chicago-based MediaBank, the developer of a technology and services platform for media buying agencies and advertisers. [more..]

New York - Takkle, the provider of an online social network for high school sports, said on Monday that it has secured an undisclosed sum of additional financing, led by Sports Illustrated and the New York City Investment Fund. [more..]

Waltham, Mass. - Awareness, Inc. (formerly known as iUpload), a provider of social media technologies to businesses, announced on Monday that it has raised $7 million in its first round of financing, from Greylock Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. [more..]

London - Harmony Media Group, the parent company of digital film publishing provider Filmnight Digital and online/mobile content distributor Saffron Digital, announced on Monday that it has raised $4.5 million in a new funding round, led by Beringea Capital. [more..]

Jay Baage blogs about how the initial hype for the iPhone has died off and that many (more or less) negative stories about the iPhone are turning up instead. [more..]

Scott Karp blogs about how mobile devices such as the iPhone will be symbols of unrealized potential until the mobile networks catch up. [more..]

Rohit Bhargava blogs about Virgin's debut on the American domestic airtravel market and its innovative offerings such as a way to connect to fellow passangers via a device built into the back of seat console - something Virgin calls a "seat to seat chat." [more..]

New York - Researchers at a computer security firm have uncovered a flaw in Apple's iPhone that would allow hackers to take over the device, using a Wi-Fi connection or website with malicious code, and retrieve personal information or even use the commandeered iPhone to make calls, The New York Times reported. [more..]

Washington - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sent a new wave of 408 "pre-litigation settlement letters" to 23 U.S. universities, where users of campus networks are suspected of copyright infringement of music via file-sharing services. [more..]

Los Angeles - The University of Kansas has instituted a "one-strike" policy for campus music downloaders, in response to letters threatening litigation against students sent to the university by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Ars Technica reported. [more..]

Tokyo - Japanese consumer electronics firm Hitachi has announced plans to release the first Blu-ray camcorder, Wired News reported. [more..]

New York - A&E Television Networks, a joint venture of The Hearst Corporation, ABC and NBC, announced on Monday the launch of two mobile TV channels -- A&E Mobile and The History Channel Mobile -- on the MobiTV service offered by several U.S. carriers. [more..]

Burlingame, Calif. - Virgin America, the low-fare airline scheduled to launch on Aug. 8, said on Monday that it will offer the Current TV network's programming on an exclusive channel on its in-flight entertainment system. [more..]

London - Video game publisher Eidos said on Monday that it signed a three-year deal with in-game advertising firm Double Fusion, which will serve ads within 10 upcoming Eidos game titles. [more..]