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Skyrider Introduces Peer-to-Peer Networking Platform

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 3, 2006 - 4:59pm.
Mountain View, Calif. - Skyrider on Thursday officially announced the launch of its new peer-to-peer networking platform. The company's first product, which it will announce in the fall, will allow both businesses and consumers to utilize file-sharing to distribute and monetize media content. Founded in 2003, Mountain View, Calif.-based Skyrider has received an undisclosed sum of initial funding from Sequoia Capital and Charles River Ventures. The company also said it recently named Ed Kozel, formerly a managing director at private advisory services firm Integrated Finance, Ltd., as its new chief executive.
tags: Tech | P2P | Content Delivery | Networks | Skyrider |

Networks: Despite Ad-Skipping, TiVo Will Increase TV Viewership

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2005 - 3:28am.
New York - Contrary to earlier fears that the ability to skip commercials enabled by digital video recorders like TiVo would negatively impact TV networks, a report issued by the six major networks this week predicts the technology will actually increase viewership, Reuters reported. "For most of the top television programs, the audience will be greater for these programs as DVR penetration increases," David Poltrack, head of ratings research for CBS, told Reuters. "The DVR is going to increase viewership to major network television programs." The report, issued by CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, the WB and UPN, found homes with the devices watched an average of 5.7 hours of television daily, versus 5.1 hours for homes without digital video recorders. The networks also found that, while 90% said they skipped all or most commercials, 58% paid attention to them while fast-forwarding, and 53% went back to view an ad of interest.
tags: TV | TiVo | Networks | Viewership |

N.Y. Times: Networks Experimenting With "Mobisode" Cell Phone Format

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 17, 2005 - 2:14am.
Los Angeles - The New York Times recently reported on "mobisodes," the one-minute mobile TV shows for cell phones, that network TV producers including Fox, MTV, Disney and Warner Bros. are currently experimenting with. Fox commissioned 24 mobisodes of a spin-off for its popular drama "24," which used non-union actors to cut production costs, and has also produced serials based on its "The Simple Life" and two original properties. "This is going to be a situation where we all try a bunch of different things because we are trying to figure out what is the right business model," Kevin Tsujihara, an executive vice president of Warner Brothers Entertainment, told The Times. "It will take time to evolve."
tags: Mobile | N.Y. Times | Mobisode | Networks |

CNET: Hollywood Offering Colleges Copyright Monitor Software for Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 19, 2004 - 4:35am.
San Francisco -- Trade groups representing movie studios and record labels are developing a tool that universities can install on their networks to handle compliance with requests to remove copyrighted files from trading on peer-to-peer services, CNET News.com reported. The Automated Copyright Notice System (ACNS), developed jointly by Vivendi Universal Entertainment and Universal Music Group, is an open-source, royalty-free system that schools and ISPs can use to implement their policies when a user receives a "takedown notice" to remove copyrighted content from the network, either disabling the user's Internet access or informing them of other disciplinary measures. Firms including BayTSP and MediaSentry have begun to either test ACNS or offer it as a solution to their customers on behalf of the entertainment industry. "We're helping the ISP or university with policy enforcement," BayTSP CEO Mark Ishikawa told News.com. "We're not dictating the policy, but we're saying, 'Here's a tool to help with automating the process.' We're the friends of the ISP." News.com noted that the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on Monday implemented a system similar to ACNS for the 7,500 faculty and staff that live on its campus.
tags: CNET | Software | Hollywood | Networks | Colleges |

Napster, IBM Launch Bandwidth-Conserving Application for Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 10, 2004 - 6:27am.
Los Angeles -- Napster on Wednesday announced a new "Super Peer" application that uses IBM technology to help businesses, universities and Internet service providers conserve bandwidth while facilitating the streaming and download of digital music. The system utilizes IBM eServer BladeCenter systems running Linux, along with IBM support services to cache popular Napster content in on-site servers managed by Napster, reducing bandwidth and preserving the service quality of other network traffic. Both Penn State University and The University of Rochester, which reached deals with Napster to offer their students access to Napster at reduced costs, will launch the IBM Super Peer application on their networks.
tags: Napster | IBM | Networks | Bandwidth-Conserving |

Court Tosses Suit Brought by ReplayTV Owners Against Studios, Networks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 12, 2004 - 3:48am.
San Francisco -- A federal court has thrown out a case brought by owners of ReplayTV personal video recorders against Hollywood movie studios and TV networks, which asked for a ruling declaring that device features like skipping commercials and forwarding shows to other ReplayTV owners are legal. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper on Friday ruled that essentially there was no need for a "declaratory" ruling because Hollywood had already dropped its case against ReplayTV maker Sonicblue, so ReplayTV owners had no legitimate fear of being sued. The ruling did not legalize the controversial features however, which were deleted from newer ReplayTV devices when Sonicblue was acquired by the parent company of Japanese consumer electronics firms Denon and Marantz.
tags: Law | Court | Studios | Networks | Tosses |

File-Sharing Service StreamCast Networks Gets $1.2 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 1, 2003 - 8:26am.
Los Angeles -- StreamCast Networks, distributor of the Morpheus peer-to-peer file-sharing software, announced that it has received $1.2 million in new financing in the form of a convertible loan. A federal judge last week ruled in a lawsuit filed against StreamCast by the entertainment industry that the company's software -- which lets users connect to one another's PCs and download music, video and other files -- does not infringe on copyrights. The company also announced this week the launch of Morpheus version 3.0, as well as the return of former CEO Michael Weiss as head of the company.
tags: File-Sharing | StreamCast | Networks |