Englewood, Colo. - EchoStar Communications, operator of the DISH Network satellite TV service, announced this week in an SEC filing that the company will change its name to DISH Network Corporation, in connection with an anticipated spin-off of its set-top box-related businesses to a new company called EchoStar Holding Company. [more..]

Santa Clara, Calif. - Macrovision, a developer of media anti-piracy technology and content distribution services, announced on Friday that it has agreed to acquire Gemstar-TV Guide International, a provider of electronic program guides for digital TV services, and the publisher of TV Guide, in a transaction valued at $2.8 billion. [more..]

Los Angeles - Movie Gallery, the movie rental chain that purchased Disney's Moviebeam set-top-based download service for $10 million less than a year ago, will shutter the service on Dec. 15, BetaNews reports. [more..]

New York - IMAX, the large-format theater chain, announced on Friday that it has partnered with movie theater owner AMC Entertainment, to install 100 IMAX digital projectors at AMC locations in 33 U.S. markets, effectively doubling IMAX's current footprint in North America. [more..]

London - Disney's Internet group said this week that it will launch a dedicated site in the U.K. next week that will showcase its movies, music, video games and community offerings, Reuters reported. [more..]

Los Angeles - 56.com, a video-sharing website in China, has raised $20 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Hikari Private Equity, VentureBeat reported. [more..]

New York - The owners of Sterogum, an indie music blog founded in 2003, have exchanged their equity stakes in the venture for a share of music-focused social network Buzznet, in a deal that valued Stereogum at around $5 million, The New York Post reported. [more..]

San Francisco - Red Room Omnimedia Corp. has raised $1.25 million from angel investors including Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and Chronicle Books CEO Nion McEvoy, and launched a private beta test of its new social network for authors, Red Herring reported. [more..]

Silver Spring, Md. - Freewebs, a provider of Web development tools, said that it has changed its name to Webs.com, with its expansion into online social gaming. [more..]

The Peacock is doing well enough, it seems, to reject seven-figure ad deals, as it did today by turning down an offer from conservative group Freedom’s Watch [more..]

A Microsoft Santa Claus bot created to talk to children took on a curriculum of its own this week when it began saying, “It’s fun to talk about oral sex, but I want to chat about something else…” [more..]

Culver City, Calif. - Sony's Columbia Pictures said on Friday that it will offer a sneak peak at the first 10 minutes of producer Judd Apatow's upcoming film "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" on three of News Corp. unit Fox Interactive Media's sites this weekend, including MySpace, IGN.com and RottenTomatoes.com. [more..]

London - Major record label EMI has signed a deal to make DRM-free audio and video content available for purchase through BoxOffice365, a download store operated by the British Internet Broadcasting Co., Billboard reported. [more..]

Chicago - USTelematics, a provider of Web-connected, in-car entertainment systems, said on Friday that it has added Apple iTunes functionality and services. [more..]

Los Angeles - MovieTickets.com, a provider of advance online movie ticket sales, announced on Friday that it has signed a deal to provide its services for Starplex Cinemas, a Dallas-based theater chain with 23 theaters and 216 screens nationwide. [more..]

Hong Kong - Mobile games developer Artificial Life said this week that it has signed a licensing deal with Paramount Digital Entertainment, to create mobile games based on the studio's "Braveheart" and "Shooter." [more..]