Breaking Digital Video NewsSony to Launch Online Entertainment Store in 2010Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:23am.
Tokyo
- Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced plans on Friday to launch a new online store next year that will sell books, music and movies next year, and deliver content to
networked televisions and other devices. The company did not provide many
details about the "Sony Online Service," as it is tentatively being
called, but is expected to be positioned as a competitor to Apple's iTunes
Store.
tags: Games | Video | TV | Sony | Apple | Movies | Publishing | Books | iTunes Store | Sony Online Service |
Studios Sue Swedish ISP, Demand Closure of OpenBitTorrentAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 11:54am.
Los Angeles - Several Hollywood movie studios have filed suit against a Swedish
ISP that is hosting OpenBitTorrent, an independent BitTorrent file-sharing
tracker site that was launched in the wake of the The Pirate Bay's announced
sale to Global Gaming Factory, TorrentFreak reported. The studios sued hosting
provider Portlane, demanding that it shutter the OpenBitTorrent website.
tags: Video | Law | Lawsuits | P2P | Music | Copyright | The Pirate Bay | OpenBitTorrent | Portlane |
The Pirate Bay Permanently Shutters File-Sharing TrackerAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 8:41am.
Stockholm, Sweden - Marking "the end of an era,"
the operators of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay on Tuesday shut down their
BitTorrent tracker, which grew over six years to become the largest hub for
finding copyrighted materials for download in the world, TorrentFreak reported. "Now that the
decentralized system for finding peers is so well developed, TPB has decided
that there is no need to run a tracker anymore, so it will remain down! It's
the end of an era, but the era is no longer up2date," the Pirate Bay
wrote on its blog. "We have put a server in a museum already, and now the
tracking can be put there as well."
EPIX to Premiere Pilot of First Original Series in 2010Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:44am.
New York - EPIX, the pay-TV
and online video joint venture from Viacom (NYSE: NWS), Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate, announced on
Friday that actor Sam Shepard will star in Lionsgate's "Tough Trade,"
the first original series pilot destined for the EPIX service. Production on
the pilot, which is slated to debut on EPIX in 2010, begins next month.
IFC Inks Deal to Distribute Indie Films on NetflixAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:42am.
New York
- IFC Entertainment has signed a deal with online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX),
to distribute 53 independent films on the service, Variety reports. The deal
includes "The Thin Blue Line," "Return of the Secaucus
Seven" and "Following." IFC's
catalog is also available via iTunes, Blockbuster and Amazon.
Report: Video Viewing on Social Media Sites Doubles in YearAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:56am.
New York - Internet users now spend nearly double the amount
of time watching videos on social networking sites than they did just one year
ago, according to newly released figures from Nielsen.
YouTube Debuts Automated Closed CaptioningAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 12:01pm.
Mountain View,
Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on
Thursday that it has combined its automatic speech recognition technology with
the YouTube close captioning system, to offer automatic captioning of YouTube
videos. The company acknowledged that the automatic captions "will not
always be perfect," but can improve accessibility and help translate
videos into other languages. YouTube also added automatic caption timing, so
that users captioning videos by hand can simply create a text file, and let
Google's automatic speech recognition sync their captions to the video.
Movie Gallery to Test Digiboo Digital Download KiosksAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 11:57am.
Los Angeles
- Digiboo, a new digital media firm that is developing digital movie kiosks, on
Thursday announced a distribution deal with Movie Gallery, the parent company
of Hollywood Video and Movie Gallery stores. A pilot program will see Digiboo
kiosks placed in up to 100 of Movie Gallery's stores. The kiosks allow
consumers to plug in a portable flash drive, and select from 1,000 titles to
rent or purchase, which are then downloaded to the drive in under 30 seconds.
In-Game Video Ad Firm NeoEdge Merges With OffspringAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:22am.
Mountain View,
Calif. - NeoEdge, a provider of
in-game video ad insertion services, announced on Thursday that it will merge
with Offspring, a developer of casual online games.
Vevo to Debut Music Video Portal on Dec. 8Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 1:23pm.
New York
- Vevo, the music video joint venture between Sony Music and Universal Music
that will use technology from Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, is set to launch on Dec. 8, the
company announced via its Twitter feed. The labels hope the standalone site will
help them further monetize their music videos -- which are the most-watched
content on all of YouTube.
Blockbuster Expands Online Game Rental Pilot to SeattleAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 1:19pm.
Dallas - Video rental chain
Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) on Wednesday announced that it will expand a pilot test of its
online game rental service to Seattle, after
launching in Cleveland
earlier this year. The $7.99 Games By Mail service is available to Blockbuster
Online movie rental subscribers, and allows unlimited monthly rentals with one
game out at time.
EMI First Record Label to Bring Music Videos to HuluAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 1:03pm.
London
- U.K.-based EMI has signed a deal to become the first major record label to
feature its music videos on Hulu, the video portal joint venture between NBC
Universal (NYSE: GE), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and Disney (NYSE: DIS).
YouTube Direct Aims to Connect Citizens, JournalistsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 12:28pm.
San Bruno,
Calif. - Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube on
Tuesday introduced YouTube Direct, a new application that aims to place citizen
journalism videos in front of media organizations for potential rebroadcast. Users
can upload newsworthy videos directly to the application. YouTube said outlets
including ABC News, Huffington Post, NPR, Politico and the Washington Post are
already using the application to source news video.
Cox, NBC Universal Trial Dynamic VOD AdsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 12:27pm.
Atlanta
- Cable TV provider Cox Communications and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) on Tuesday announced a
trial of dynamic advertising on Cox's video-on-demand service. The trial will
see different ads rotated into on-demand prime-time programs including NBC's
"The Office" and USA's
"Monk." Up to four ads or promos will be served to viewers at the
beginning, as well as within the program.
PBS, NPR Stations Debut Forum Network Lecture SiteAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 12:26pm.
Boston - PBS, NPR and WGBH on Tuesday re-launched the Forum
Network, a national digital media lecture service and website that provides
free educational content featuring thinkers, scientists, policymakers, artists,
authors and community leaders. The site began as part of Boston's WGBH, but through funding from PBS,
NPR, CPB and the Lowell Institute, was re-launched as a national platform.
YouTube Inks Deal to Add Univision Spanish-language ContentAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 1:20pm.
San Bruno, Calif.
- Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube on Monday announced an agreement to add content from U.S.
Spanish-language broadcaster Univision to its site. The deal includes
full-length content from Univision's three networks -- Univision, TeleFutura
and Galavision -- as well as footage from celebrity interviews and special
events.
Report: Despite Economy, Entertainment Subscriptions Hold UpAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 12:48pm.
Port Washington,
N.Y. - While fewer Americans
subscribe to newspapers and magazines, the subscription model continues to either
maintain popularity or grow in areas including television, music, games and
mobile services, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group.
Microsoft to Launch Zune Brand Outside U.S. Next YearAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 12:22pm.
London - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) plans to
launch its Zune entertainment distribution brand outside the U.S. next year, the Financial Times
reported.
NBC Universal Among Authors of Verizon Copyright LettersAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 12:05pm.
San Francisco
- NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is among the studios on whose behalf Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is sending its ISP
subscribers notices that they are suspected of violating copyrights on
filesharing networks, CNET News.com reported, citing multiple unnamed sources.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was reported last week to
have engaged Verizon to deliver copyright letters on its behalf; an undisclosed
number of other studios and copyright owners have made similar requests.
Sezmi Raises $25 Million, Launches Personalized TV ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2009 - 9:45am.
Belmont, Calif.
- Sezmi, the developer of a TV service that combines traditional TV content,
movies and Internet video, announced on Monday that it has raised $25 million
in new funding, and launched a pilot of its service in Los Angeles.
tags: Deals | VC | Video | TV | Sonic Solutions | Morgenthaler Ventures | Index Ventures | Omni Capital | TD Fund | Sezmi | Roxio CinemaNow | Legend Ventures |
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