Los Angeles - Continuing the recent trend of artists and labels offering full-album streaming previews of records before their physical release dates, upcoming albums from Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear (Warp Records) and Iceland's Sigur Ros (EMI) have been posted on MySpace and AOL's Spinner.com, respectively.

Los Angeles - Contentious talks between writers and producers, over how to split revenues from DVD sales and Internet-based distribution of films and television shows, may result in a writers' strike, FT.com reported.

New York - Viacom's MTV Networks on Thursday unveiled a redesigned TVLand.com website, which now features full-length streaming episodes of classic TV series including "The Andy Griffith Show," "Leave It To Beaver" and "Gunsmoke." In coming months, episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Hogan's Heroes" and "Just Shoot Me" will also be added. The site will also feature movie trailers, a radio player with over a dozen channels, and a blog on the TV Generation from former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres.

Los Angeles - Aniboom, a multi-platform animation network that features the work of independent animators from around the world, announced on Thursday that it is launching a branded, ad-supported animation channel on the Joost streaming TV service. The content will include original shorts created by some of the 3,000 animators who have partnered with the Aniboom Creators Studio to pitch and produce content for revenue-share opportunities.

Paris - BlogMusik, a French site that let users stream MP3 files available on the Web for free, and was subsequently shut down in February at the hands of copyright society SACEM, has re-launched as a copyright-compliant site called Deezer. While Deezer has secured agreements with SACEM, the company said it is still in talks with major music labels and the Society for the Management of Independent Producers' Rights (SPPF). Deezer said it already has hundreds of thousands of users, and has developed its browser-based service in 16 languages.  

Seattle - RealNetworks announced on Wednesday that it has won a patent infringement lawsuit brought against the company by San Francisco-based Friskit, over technology that lets users easily search for and listen to streaming media.

Boston - Buzzwire on Monday announced the launch of a beta test of its streaming mobile media service, which lets users create their own customized audio and video programming channels and access them on their 3G mobile phones. The service's initial library includes nearly 5,000 media sources, including over 1,700 live Internet radio stations. The company is backed by Matrix Partners and Spark Capital, and plans a formal launch of its service in the fall.

New York - The National Hockey League (NHL) announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Internet TV delivery provider NeuLion, to offer non-local games streamed live over the Internet. At the start of the 2007-08 season, subscribers to NHL Center Ice Online -- which will cost $169 for the season -- will be able to watch up to 40 games per week live online. Viewers will also be able to watch multiple games at once, and will have access to additional footage like morning skates, pre-game interviews and post-game commentary.

New York - Joost, a peer-to-peer streaming TV service, has partnered with Viacom's VH1 to offer a preview of the entire season of its forthcoming series, "I Hate My 30s," on the service ten days in advance of its broadcast premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Viacom, a Joost investor, also signed a comprehensive content partnership with the company in February. Joost has also secured content partnerships with Warner Music Group, Turner Broadcasting and Sony Pictures TV.

Los Angeles - Lala.com, an online marketplace that lets users swap CDs and recently launched a feature allowing users to stream their complete iTunes libraries from an online locker, has taken the new streaming feature offline indefinitely, Ars Technica reported.

Salinas, Calif. - Streaming audio and video advertising is on track to grow 38% this year, to $1.37 billion, according to a report from AccuStream iMedia Research.

Los Angeles - ABC said the high-definition programs it plans to begin offering online next month won't match the picture quality offered on cable or satellite HD, due to the high degree of compression it will employ to conserve bandwidth, TVWeek.com reported. The files of select episodes of shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," "Ugly Betty" and "Desperate Housewives" will be offered at 24 frames per second and be viewable on 1,280 x 720 screen resolutions. "Our main goal is to present the best quality experience to the consumer," Disney-ABC Television Group spokeswoman Karen Hobson told TVWeek.com. "We're not trying to compete with HDTV. We just want to offer the consumer flexibility."

Hong Kong - CTS Media, a Hong Kong-based provider of in-stream video advertising technology and services, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $8 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Disney's Steamboat Ventures.

Tarrytown, N.Y. - On2 Technologies, a developer of digital video compression and streaming technologies, announced on Tuesday that it will acquire Hantro, a Finland-based developer of video technology for mobile devices, for about $58.4 million in cash and stock.

Sacramento, Calif. - Digital Music Group Inc. (DMGI), a digital distributor of independently owned music, TV and film content, said on Tuesday that it will offer its film and TV programming through the Joost streaming TV service. DMGI controls the rights to more than 4,000 hours of video, including episodes of "Gumby," "I Spy" and "The Mr. Bill Show."

Oakland, Calif. - Pandora, an online radio service that automatically creates stations based on each user's particular musical tastes, has turned off access to non-U.S. residents, saying it does not have the necessary music licenses to offer its service in other territories.

New York - Joost, a peer-to-peer-based, streaming TV service designed by the creators of Kazaa and Skype, on Tuesday expanded its beta test and announced that campaigns from 32 advertising partners will launch on Joost this month. Joost beta testers now have an unlimited number of invitations to join the beta they can send to friends and family. The company also announced that Turner Broadcasting will distribute content on Joost, including programming from its CNN and Adult Swim networks. Programming from Hasbro, the NHL, Sports Illustrated and Sony Pictures Television is slated to become available later this month.

New York - A federal jury charged with determining whether Yahoo's Launchcast streaming radio service infringed major record label Sony BMG's copyrights found in favor of Yahoo last week, ending a six-year dispute.

London - The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an international record label trade group, on Friday announced the signing of new licensing agreements between European royalty collection societies that will make it easier to license music for streaming across several territories.

Leiden, Netherlands - Joost, the peer-to-peer-based streaming TV service founded by the creators of Kazaa and Skype, announced on Thursday that it has signed 32 advertising partners for the launch of its service. Global advertisers will include Coca-Cola, HP, Intel and Nike; European partners include IBM, Nokia, Vodafone and Warner Bros; and U.S. advertisers will include Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Motorola, Procter & Gamble and United Airlines. Joost also announced a partnership with The Interpublic Emerging Media Lab, where several of the advertising agency's clients will work jointly with Joost to develop creative marketing campaigns on the service.