New York - Investors at video game publisher Take-Two Interactive ousted five of the company's six board members on Thursday -- including CEO Paul Eibeler -- in a shake-up that followed multiple controversies at the company, including stock options backdating and a scandal surrounding its "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. [more..]

Washington - Countering the notion that Web users have generally shorter attention spans, a study has found that Web news readers have a greater attention span than print news readers. [more..]

San Francisco - CNET News.com reports that Apple's much-anticipated iPhone has been given a release date of June 11. [more..]

Silver Spring, Md. - Discovery Communications, the media company behind such cable TV channels as The Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet, said that it will buy out Cox Communications' 25% stake in the company for $1.27 billion in cash. [more..]

Los Angeles - Toshiba announced this week that it is slashing the price of its entry-level HD DVD players, with the cheapest HD-A2 model to begin selling for $399, as of April 1. [more..]

Mountain View, Calif. - Kaleidescape, the maker of a home entertainment server, announced on Friday that it has won a court victory over the DVD Copy Control Association, in a case that focused on the ability of the device to make copies of DVDs for storage and personal use. [more..]

Baltimore - Advertising.com, the online ad unit of AOL, will provide ad management services for the new Internet distribution network announced last week by NBC Universal and News Corp. [more..]

London - Major record label SonyBMG's U.K. unit has announced that it will no longer accept demo submissions via physical CDs, instead directing bands hoping to land a record deal to websites where they can upload music, video and photos, Reuters reported. [more..]

Chatsworth, Calif. - Image Entertainment, a licensor, producer and distributor of DVDs and CDs, announced on Friday that it has signed an agreement to sell the company to an investor group for about $132 million. [more..]

Los Angeles - Gemstar-TV Guide International, a provider of electronic program guides for digital TV services, announced that it has acquired Aptiv Digital, a developer of set-top box software, for about $16 million in cash. [more..]

Washington - The Newseum, a 250,000-square-foot news museum scheduled to open near the National Mall in October, said that it has landed a $6 million sponsorship from Atlanta-based media giant Cox Enterprises and the James M. Cox Foundation. [more..]

Topanga, Calif. - Zaadz.com, an online social network "founded on the principles of conscious capitalism," announced on Friday that it has received an investment from Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. [more..]

San Francisco - RealNetworks plans in May to hike the price of its Rhapsody Unlimited streaming music service from $10 to $13 per month, Wired reported on Friday. An e-mail sent to existing subscribers notes that those who sign up for an annual subscription can lock in the current rate. [more..]

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple announced on Friday that it has signed a deal with Major League Baseball to sell video highlights for the 2007 season on the iTunes Store. Offerings will include "MLB.com Daily Rewind," a 25-minute daily highlight show, and two weekly "Games of the Week," featuring full versions of the best games from the National and American Leagues. Each highlight video will sell for $1.99 each; a month of Daily Rewind shows can also be purchased for $7.99, and a Season Pass for Games of the Week will cost $19.99. [more..]

Darmstadt, Germany - Media conglomerate Viacom's German unit announced that it has partnered with 10TACLE Studios, to develop and launch a multi-user 3D online world based on the MTV brand in 2008. The virtual world will give users access to MTV media content, as well as a large number of online games. "The joint production and marketing of online games relating to the MTV brand world for the multi-user 3D online world will enable us to transfer the lifestyle and emotionality conveyed by the MTV brand to the online community," said 10TACLE CEO Michele Pes. [more..]

Carlsbad, Calif. - NTN Buzztime, a provider of interactive TV trivia games found in bars and restaurants, announced on Friday that it has sold its NTN Wireless Communications unit to HM Electronics. The company expects to see $2 million in proceeds from the deal. The unit, which provides wireless solutions to improve efficiency and customer service, generated $6.1 million in revenue in 2006. Carlsbad, Calif.-based NTN said the sale is in line with its plan to narrow the scope of its business to its core entertainment division [more..]

Agoura Hills, Calif. - Video game publisher THQ announced on Friday that it plans to publish "WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008" in the fall. The title is currently in development for Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and wireless devices. [more..]