Viacom

Paramount to Distribute Movies on Kingston Flash Drives

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2009 - 11:36am.

Fountain Valley, Calif. - Kingston Digital, a maker of flash memory-based products, said on Monday that it has partnered with Viacom's Paramount Digital Entertainment to deliver full-length movies on Kingston USB flash drives and SD cards.

tags: Movies | Viacom | Paramount Digital Entertainment | Kingston Digital |

EPIX Movie Channel Launches on Verizon FiOS TV Friday

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2009 - 3:28pm.

New York - Verizon (NYSE: VZ) will launch the multi-platform pay-TV movie channel EPIX on its FiOS TV digital TV service on Friday, with a $9.99 per month price tag. EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate, aims to eventually become a pay-TV movie channel as well, but to date has not announced any carriage deals.

Paramount Debuts "Circle of Eight" Series on MySpace

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 12:14pm.

Los Angeles - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Digital Entertainment on Tuesday announced the exclusive premiere on MySpace (NYSE: NWS) of its original supernatural thriller webisode series, "Circle of Eight." Produce in association with Mountain Dew's Green Label Studios, the 10-part series combines elements of gaming and social media to propel the story. Following the end of its exclusive run on MySpace in December, the series will be made available for rent from Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

Nickelodeon Buys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $60M

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2009 - 8:20am.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon children's TV network announced on Wednesday that it has acquired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise from creators The Mirage Group for $60 million.

"Rock Band" Game Released for iPhone, iPod touch

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 12:07pm.

Los Angeles - Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS), along with Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Games and developer Harmonix, on Tuesday announced the release of "Rock Band" for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. The $9.99 game includes a full-band Bluetooth multiplayer mode, 20 full-length songs, and the ability to purchase additional songs from within the game.

EPIX Pay-TV Joint Venture to Launch on Oct. 30

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 13, 2009 - 12:22pm.

New York - EPIX, the pay-TV and online video-on-demand joint venture between Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate, announced on Tuesday that it will officially launch on Oct. 30. The service, which to date has not yet announced carriage partners except for Verizon's FiOS TV, will at launch offer content include Madonna's "Sticky and Sweet: Live from Buenos Aires," "Iron Man" and "Eddie Izzard: Live From Wembley."

Report: YouTube Employees May Have Uploaded Viacom Clips

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 6, 2009 - 8:12am.

San Francisco - Viacom (NYSE: VIA), the media conglomerate that filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, may have uncovered evidence that YouTube employees themselves uploaded Viacom content to the site, CNET News.com reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the case. The evidence is reportedly found in emails, which "indicate that YouTube managers knew and discussed the existence of unauthorized content on the site with employees but chose not to remove the material," CNET reports.

EPIX Web Service to Offer 3,000+ Movies on Demand

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 21, 2009 - 8:58am.

New York - EPIX, the pay-TV and video-on-demand movie service joint venture between Viacom (NYSE: VIA), Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate, announced on Monday that it plans to offer at least 3,000 films online via EPIX Megaplex, the online version of its service.

ColbertNation.com to Stream Musical Guests' Albums

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 16, 2009 - 12:16pm.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Comedy Central announced on Wednesday that its ColbertNation.com website will stream full albums from upcoming musical guests. The Flaming Lips' new double album "Embryonic" will be the first to get the treatment, and will stream following the band's appearance tonight, until Monday. The album is slated for release on Oct. 13. Other upcoming acts who will stream albums include The Mountain Goats, who will appear on the show on Oct. 6.

Broadcasters, Advertisers Team to Study Audience Ratings

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 10, 2009 - 9:06am.

New York - A consortium of 14 broadcasters, ad agencies and advertisers announced on Thursday that they are joining forces to explore new ways to measure audiences across traditional and new media. Founding members of the Council for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) include Time Warner (NYSE: TWX); News Corp. (NYSE: NWS); Viacom (NYSE: VIA); NBC Universal (NYSE: GE); Disney-ABC (NYSE: DIS); CBS (NYSE: CBS) Paramount; Discovery (NASD: DISCA); Starcom MediaVest; Mediabrands; WPP (NASD: WPPGY); Omnicom (NYSE: OMC); Unilever (NYSE: UL); AT&T (NYSE: T); and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).

Blockbuster Cuts Size of Viacom Debt by $50 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 8:08am.

Dallas - Video rental giant Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) announced on Wednesday that it has reduced the amount of letters of credit maintained for former parent company Viacom (NYSE: VIA) by $50 million, from $75 million to $25 million, in a bid to improve liquidity.

tags: Movies | DVD | Viacom | Blockbuster |

Rhapsody, MTV to Host Preview of New Jay-Z Album

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2009 - 10:40am.

Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV announced on Monday that their Rhapsody music service joint venture will exclusively preview Jay-Z's new album, "The Blueprint 3," for two weeks prior to its official release on Sept. 11. The preview stream will also be available from MTV's The Leak. Rhapsody will also be the exclusive retailer of the album from Sept. 8-10, and will host two exclusive bonus tracks

Report: U.S. Breaks Web Video Viewing Records in July

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 28, 2009 - 10:12am.

Reston, Va. - Over 158 million U.S. Internet users watched online videos during July -- the largest audience ever recorded -- and streamed a record 21.4 billion videos during the month, according to a report from Internet audience measurement firm comScore.

Paramount Enters Trial with DVD Rental Kiosk Firm Redbox

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 26, 2009 - 1:21pm.

Hollywood Calif. - DVD rental kiosk firm Redbox, a unit of Coinstar (NASD: CSTR), announced on Wednesday that it has signed a trial licensing program agreement with Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Home Entertainment, to provide Paramount DVD releases to Redbox kiosks through the end of 2009. Paramount will provide its titles to Redbox on the same date as their official release date -- a source of contention for a number of other studios that has resulted in ongoing litigation. Redbox also agreed to destroy its used Paramount DVDs rather than put them up for resale. Paramount then has the option to extend the program to 2014.

Record Number of U.S. Internet Users View Online Videos in June

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 17, 2009 - 10:38am.

Reston, Va. - More people watched online videos in June than during any other month since the birth of the Internet, according to new figures from Internet audience measurement firm comScore.

Dell to Sell Nickelodeon-branded PC for Kids

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 12, 2009 - 8:01pm.

San Francisco - Dell (NASD: DElL) has partnered with Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon children's cable network on a co-branded PC for kids, Reuters reports. The 10-inch Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition netbook will feature a "green slime" hue, and designs featuring characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly. It will also offer embedded links to Nickelodeon online content.

Music Joint Venture Rhapsody Lays Off 9% of Staff

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 6, 2009 - 9:54am.

Seattle - Rhapsody, the digital music service joint venture between RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks, is laying off 9% of its employees, All Things D reported. Most of the cuts are coming in the service's editorial department, including writers, radio programmers and product managers.

Paramount, Mountain Dew Team on Interactive Web Thriller

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 5, 2009 - 11:04am.

Los Angeles - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Digital Entertainment announced on Wednesday that it has signed Mountain Dew (NYSE: PBG) to sponsor "Circle of 8," an original interactive thriller produced by Milchan/Van Eyssen. The series is billed as a "studio-quality episodic thriller that invites audiences to participate in the fate of its characters," with "numerous plots and engaging interactive elements will provide unprecedented opportunities for unique consumer experiences." It will debut exclusively on MySpace in October, before being redistributed as a full-length feature film showcasing choices made by audiences online.

Studios Sue Pirate Bay, Demand Shutdown of File-Sharing Hub

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 28, 2009 - 10:01am.

Stockholm, Sweden - A coalition of Hollywood movie studios, including Disney (NYSE: DIS), Universal, Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Columbia, Sony (NYSE: SNE), NBC (NYSE: GE) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount, have filed suit in Sweden, asking a court to shutter file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay. The four operators of The Pirate Bay have already been found guilty of copyright infringement and sentenced to jail time and fines; that ruling has been appealed.

Watch C-SPAN Interviews From DMW's Digital Media Conference East

Authored by Jay Baage on July 27, 2009 - 10:04am.

Washington D. C. - In case you missed Digital Media Conference East last month, you might enjoy these C-SPAN interviews with key leaders in the world of new media (embedded above), who spoke at the conference on panels about digital media trends, social media and more. The people interviewed are Ned Sherman, CEO and Publisher, Digital Media Wire, Kuk Yi, Managing Director, Best Buy Capital, Rick Cotton, EVP and General Counsel, NBC Universal as well as Dina Kaplan, COO & Co-Founder, blip.tv. And don't miss the upcoming first annual West Coast version of the event, Digital Media Conference West, on October 28 in San Francisco.

Paramount to Distribute Movies on Kingston Flash Drives

EPIX Movie Channel Launches on Verizon FiOS TV Friday

Paramount Debuts "Circle of Eight" Series on MySpace

Nickelodeon Buys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $60M

"Rock Band" Game Released for iPhone, iPod touch

EPIX Pay-TV Joint Venture to Launch on Oct. 30

Report: YouTube Employees May Have Uploaded Viacom Clips

EPIX Web Service to Offer 3,000+ Movies on Demand

ColbertNation.com to Stream Musical Guests' Albums

Broadcasters, Advertisers Team to Study Audience Ratings

Blockbuster Cuts Size of Viacom Debt by $50 Million

Rhapsody, MTV to Host Preview of New Jay-Z Album

Report: U.S. Breaks Web Video Viewing Records in July

Paramount Enters Trial with DVD Rental Kiosk Firm Redbox

Record Number of U.S. Internet Users View Online Videos in June

Dell to Sell Nickelodeon-branded PC for Kids

Music Joint Venture Rhapsody Lays Off 9% of Staff

Paramount, Mountain Dew Team on Interactive Web Thriller

Studios Sue Pirate Bay, Demand Shutdown of File-Sharing Hub

Watch C-SPAN Interviews From DMW's Digital Media Conference East

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