New York - Video game publisher Take-Two, creators of the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, is now the subject of a formal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into its stock options granting practices, the company said in a regulatory filing. [more..]

Lyon, France - French video game publisher Infogrames -- the parent company of Atari -- announced on Thursday that Bruno Bonnell, founder, chairman and CEO of the company will depart after 24 years with the company. [more..]

New York - Major League Baseball (MLB) announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal with cable TV video-on-demand firm In Demand to carry its all-access Extra Innings subscription package, following a similar deal with satellite TV provider DirecTV. [more..]

Bangkok - Despite the removal of a YouTube video that mocks Thailand's beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the government has not yet lifted its country-wide ban placed earlier this week on the Google-owned site, the Associated Press reported. [more..]

Hong Kong - The first TV show in China to feature an openly gay host debuted on the Internet on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Phoenix, a satellite TV provider in China, launched the hour-long talk show "Tongxing Xianglian" ("Connecting Homosexuals") on its PhoenixTV.com website, with clips also slated to appear on the satellite channel. [more..]

Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet, a provider of in-room broadband and interactive entertainment services to hotels, announced on Thursday that it has completed its $380 million acquisition of rival On Command from Liberty Media, creating a network that serves more than 1.8 million hotel rooms in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. [more..]

San Francisco - In the wake of major label EMI's decision to sell unprotected songs on iTunes and other services, Microsoft said it plans to begin selling songs for its Zune player without digital rights management (DRM) security that restricts their use, CNET News.com reported. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - Azureus, the provider of a file-sharing program that uses the BitTorrent protocol, on Thursday announced the launch of Vuze (formerly codenamed Zudeo), a peer-to-peer service that will deliver high-definition programming from providers including the BBC and Showtime Networks. [more..]

Silver Spring, Md. - With a strong focus on interactive applications and online content, Discovery Communications announced plans on Thursday for a television network -- called Discovery PlanetGreen -- focused on "green lifestyle" programming. [more..]

Newton, Mass. - ExtendMedia, a provider of online video distribution technology, has raised $12 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Venrock Associates and TVM, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

New York - Mobile content developer and publisher Cellfish, a unit of Lagardere, announced that it has raised an additional $10 million for its first round of venture capital financing, bringing the round's total to $60 million. [more..]

Seattle - RIPL, a provider of advertising-supported music and photo-sharing services, has raised $2 million in its first round of funding, PEHub.com reported, citing a regulatory filing.
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Los Angeles - The Daily Reel, an entertainment site that aggregates videos from a range of third-party sites, has raised seed financing in "the high six figures" from Prism VentureWorks, PaidContent reported. [more..]

London - eListeningPost, a provider of e-mail-based digital music marketing services, has announced that record labels Warner Music, V2 and Independiente have signed on to utilize its services. Warner Music's Korova imprint will e-mail a video preview of a single off a new album from artist Cornelius to his fan base; a link to preview a new track from Independiente artist Travis will be seeded on music services like Last.fm, PlayLouder and Drowned in Sound. V2 will promote tracks and videos from its artists Bebel Gilberto, The Rakes and Duke Special. The e-mails from eListeningPost will contain links to purchase music; U.K.-based eListeningPost also teamed with 24/7 Real Media to sell advertising space within the messages. [more..]

New York - Automakers Hyundai and Jaguar have announced plans to offer HD Radio receivers, which can access digital signals broadcast by terrestrial radio stations, on several 2008 model year vehicles. Hyundai will offer HD Radio on its real-wheel drive premium sports sedan, slated for introduction in 2008, while Jaguar will offer HD Radio on its 2008 luxury XJ sedan. Jaguar said the option will be available for around $500. Developed by iBiquity Digital, HD Radio programming is currently offered by more than 1,200 AM and FM radio stations in the U.S. [more..]

Sacramento, Calif. - Digital Music Group, Inc. (DMGI), a digital distributor of independent music, TV and video, announced on Thursday that it has begun offering its film and video catalogs through the Amazon Unbox video download service. Sacramento, Calif.-based DMGI's library features over 4,000 hours of video, including episodes of "Gumby," "I Spy" and "the Mr. Bill Show." [more..]

Santa Clara, Calif. - The Travel Channel, a cable network operated by Discovery Communications, said on Thursday that it has partnered with travel search company SideStep as part of the redesign of its TravelChannel.com website. Visitors to the site can now research and book air, hotel and car rentals by using a new feature powered by SideStep. This new booking engine searches more than 600 airlines, 150,000 hotels and 30,000 car rental locations worldwide. [more..]

San Antonio, Texas - AT&T announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Vivendi's Blizzard Entertainment to offer a 14-day free trial of the popular "World of Warcraft" massively multiplayer online game. The AT&T blue room gaming site will host the offer, which figures as the longest free trial of the game available online. "World of Warcraft" currently claims 8.5 million players, while AT&T counts 12 million high speed Internet lines. [more..]

Toronto, Canada - FUN Technologies announced on Thursday that its WorldWinner unit has renewed an agreement with AOL, to provide skill-based cash and prize tournaments on AOL Games and Games.com. Under the deal, Toronto-based WorldWinner will develop a co-branded site where AOL players can compete against each other, and others in the WorldWinner network in games like "Scrabble," "Luxor" and "Bejeweled 2." [more..]