Washington - Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), chairman of a Senate antitrust panel, said in a Tuesday hearing on the proposed XM-Sirius satellite radio merger that he is skeptical the deal won't eliminate competition or increase prices for consumers, the Associated Press reported. [more..]

Dallas, TX - John Antioco, Blockbuster chairman and chief executive, will leave the movie-rental company by the end of the year. The announcement on Tuesday comes after harsh critisism from the investor Carl Icahn who has argued that Blockbuster's lagging performance did not warrant Antioco's multi-million dollar bonus. [more..]

Washington - A group of radio broadcasters including Clear Channel, and the Digital Media Association -- which represents large webcasters like Yahoo, AOL and Live365 -- have joined National Public Radio in submitting challenges to royalty rates for music webcasting set earlier this month by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). [more..]

Dothan, Ala. - Movie Gallery, the nation's second-largest rental chain behind Blockbuster, announced on Tuesday plans to launch an online video rental service in mid-to-late 2007, entering a market dominated by Netflix and Blockbuster. [more..]

New York - CBS announced on Tuesday that it has acquired MaxPreps, a nationwide online high school sports network. [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts announced on Tuesday that it will invest $105 million for a 19% stake in Korean online game developer Neowiz. [more..]

Washington - LG Electronics expects retailers to charge about $60 for the converter boxes that will be needed by viewers to receive digital TV signals on analog TV sets, once the switch to digital broadcasting happens in February 2009, Reuters reported. [more..]

New York - Viacom's MTV Networks announced on Tuesday that it has posted the entire third season of its "The Andy Milonakis Show" for download on iTunes this week, in advance of the season's broadcast premiere on April 27. [more..]

New York - Online ad spending grew 35% in 2006, leading all other sectors in an industry that saw 4.6% overall growth during the year, according to a report from Nielsen Monitor-Plus. [more..]

Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America announced on Tuesday that it will offer its next software update for the PlayStation 3 on March 22, which will add features including Folding@home, a project that will allow Stanford University to utilize participating PS3 owners' computing power for medical research. [more..]

New York - Cellufun, a distributor of free, ad-supported multiplayer mobile games, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $3 million in its first round of venture capital financing, led by Longworth Venture Partners. [more..]

Huntington Beach, Calif. - HowFamous.com, an online talent contest community, said on Tuesday that it has raised an undisclosed sum in angel funding from a group of Orange County, Calif. investors. Launched in 2003, Huntington Beach, Calif.-based HowFamous.com claims 10,000 registered contestants competing in various music, modeling, writing and video categories, for both prizes and exposure. Contest sponsors have included House of Blues and LG Electronics. The funds will be used for marketing, operations and business development. [more..]

Atlanta - Kaneva, a 3D virtual world that integrates social networking, media sharing and collaborative communities, announced on Tuesday that it will open a public beta of its site tomorrow. A 2D version of the site has been live since June 2006, while a private beta launched in January. Users can create a customized avatar, a virtual house to live in, and watch and share their videos, photos and music in a 3D environment. Kaneva (from the Latin for "canvas") founder and CEO Chris Klaus' other venture, Internet Security Systems, was recently acquired by IBM for $1.5 billion. [more..]

San Francisco - In-game advertising firm Engage on Tuesday announced that it has broadened its offering, and is now the first network that reaches console, TC and mobile video game players across multiple channels. San Francisco-based Engage said it offers advertisers dynamic in-game, static product and brand integration, video game commercial placement, advergame development, and "Second Life" in-world brand strategies. [more..]

San Jose, Calif. - Japanese mobile game publisher Namco Networks said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to publish Japanese mobile carrier KDDI's large catalog of mobile game titles from Japanese publishers and developers in North America. [more..]

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts on Tuesday announced the release of its "UEFA Champions League 2006-2007" title for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and PSP. The only official game based on the European soccer tournament is also available in Europe for the PC and as a mobile game. [more..]

Edison, N.J. - Video game publisher Majesco on Tuesday shipped its "Cooking Mama: Cook Off" title for Nintendo Wii to retailers. Developed by Office Create and licensed from Taito, the game is a follow-up to a title released in 2006 for Nintendo DS. [more..]

Agoura Hills, Calif. - THQ announced on Tuesday that it has shipped its "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl" PC game to retailers. The first-person shooter title, falling into the survival-horror action genre, was developed by GSC Game World. [more..]