Los Angeles - Film studio Lionsgate is in talks to offer content on Google's YouTube, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Details of the agreement are still being negotiated, but it would create a Lionsgate-branded, ad-supported YouTube channel that would offer clips from movies and TV shows; full-length content was not mentioned. Lionsgate head of digital media Curt Marvis told THR the deal could see Lionsgate's YouTube clips feature links to purchase full-length downloads elsewhere.

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Thursday announced that new release movies from the major Hollywood studios will now be made available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store on the same day as their DVD releases, and will be priced at $14.99. Participating studios include 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS), The Walt Disney Studios (NYSE: DIS), Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Paramount Pictures (NYSE: VIA), Universal Studios Home Entertainment (NYSE: GE), Sony Pictures Entertainment (NYSE: SNE), Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios.

New York - Media conglomerate Viacom (NYSE: VIA) announced on Monday that it has formed a joint venture to create a premium TV channel and video-on-demand service that will feature classic and new movies and TV shows from five studios. Scheduled to launch in the fall of 2009, the service will feature programming from Viacom's Paramount and Paramount Vantage, MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF).

Santa Monica, Calif. - Independent film studio Lionsgate on Monday announced a partnership with Apple (NASD: AAPL) to provide digital copies of select films that can be easily transferred from a DVD or Blu-ray disc into iTunes for viewing on a PC, Mac, video iPod or iPhone. The first Lionsgate releases to feature an iTunes Digital Copy will be "Rambo" and "The Eye."

Hollywood, Calif. - Video game developer Brash Entertainment said on Wednesday that it plans to publish a video game based on the "Saw" horror film franchise from Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures in October 2009. The "Saw" game will utilize the Unreal 3 game engine, and be developed for next-generation platforms.

Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) is close to making deals with most of the major movie studios that will see their films put up for sale at the company's iTunes Store, BusinessWeek reports. While the Financial Times previously reported that Apple had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox (NYSE: NWS) to offer downloadable movie rentals, sources told BusinessWeek that Apple is close to deals for rentals and/or sales with Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), Paramount (NYSE: VIA) and Lionsgate.

Santa Clara, Calif. - VUDU, the developer of a set-top box that features on-demand movies licensed from the major studios and many independents, announced on Thursday that it has signed deals with Universal, Paramount and Lionsgate to add HD movies to its service. The HD films will be available to VUDU owners during the traditional home video and video-on-demand windows. Santa Clara, Calif.-based VUDU's Internet-connected set-top box went on sale last month for $399; consumers also pay fees to rent or permanently purchase titles from the rotating library of 5,000 films.

Los Angeles - Film studio Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury distribution unit plans to test the waters with a TV simulcast of "The Tom Green Show," a weeknight, Web talk show hosted out of the former MTV star's home in the Hollywood Hills, Variety reported. The plan is to sign around eight TV stations to carry the show in a late-night slot for about two months; after the test, these stations will then have priority in offering the series.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Movie studio Lionsgate announced on Wednesday that it has invested an undisclosed sum in video entertainment site Break.com.

Los Angeles - Brash Entertainment, a start-up game developer that plans to focus on games based on licensed film, TV and music properties, announced on Monday that it has raised $400 million in its first round of financing, led by ABRY Partners.

Los Angeles - Electronics retailer Best Buy and video rental firm Blockbuster are signing deals with movie studios in preparation to launch some form of video download stores, Variety reported. The news was leaked by Canadian film studio Lionsgate's CEO Jon Feltheimer on Thursday, during a conference call with analysts in which the companies were listed alongside Apple and Amazon.com as having signed digital distribution deals with the studio. Neither Best Buy nor Blockbuster have so far announced plans to launch movie download stores.

CBS SportsLine, an Internet sports media organization and part of CBS Interactive, today announced that Jason Kint has been named to the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager. Kint, who most recently served as Vice President Sporting News, General Manager Online Division, will oversee programming, product development, marketing, technology and general administration of CBS SportsLine.
www.cbs.sportsline.com

Los Angeles - News Corp.'s MySpace online social network on Tuesday announced the debut of MySpace Trailer Park, a page on the site that will host premieres of new movie trailers. Launched in conjunction with Lionsgate, the first trailer to premiere on the site will be for the film studio's "Good Luck Chuck," due out on Aug. 24. Trailers will premiere on Trailer Park 3-6 months prior to a film's theatrical release, and a few months prior to the launch of a film's MySpace profile page.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Universal Music Group's Geffen Records announced on Tuesday that it is accepting song submissions from unsigned artists for potential placement on the soundtrack to the upcoming film "Bratz" from Lionsgate. A&R executives at Geffen will review songs forwarded from today through May 15 for the soundtrack, which is set for release on July 31.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Canadian film studio Lionsgate announced on Monday that it will make more than 150 of its films available for purchase and download from Apple's iTunes Store this month. The deal includes titles like "Terminator 2," "LA Story," "Basic Instinct" and "The Blair Witch Project." The iTunes Store's film library now includes over 400 titles; the site has sold a total of over 1.3 million movies.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Canadian film studio Lionsgate announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Habbo, to allow members of the online teen community to provide feedback on a potential filmmaking endeavor. Habbos will be able to view ten different animated shorts based on the Habbo World -- featuring styles ranging from CGI to Flash to 2D animation -- and vote on whether Lionsgate should produce and distribute a longer feature film based on one of the styles for release on DVD and the Internet.

Las Vegas - Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Canadian film studio Lionsgate, to distribute high-definition films to video game consoles through its Xbox Live Video Marketplace. The service lets gamers purchase and download movies and TV shows to their Xbox 360 video game consoles over the Internet. Lionsgate films to be added to the service include "The Blair Witch Project," "Saw III" and "Requiem for a Dream." Other providers distributing content through the Video Marketplace include Warner Bros., CBS, TBS, Paramount Pictures and MTV Networks.