Real-time bidding is gaining traction with publishers keen to wring more out of their online inventory. Now rival French publishers are joining forces for a united pitch to advertisers. Read more at paidContent »
Umpteen hardware and software brands are re-making Android in to their own mobile operating system, scrubbing any trace of Google. Russia’s government could be the next to jump aboard. Read more »
Facing off against Sainsbury’s with a string of digital content vendor acquisitions, Tesco is now buying e-book store maker Mobcast for £4.5 million to translate its success in the aisles to the net. Read more at paidContent »
Another European startup is trying to be a Zynga or a Playfish in its local language. Spain’s Playfish is raising money for the effort, seven months after formation. Read more at paidContent »
The veteran venture capital firm is raising another $250 million fund to invest in early-stage and growth-stage tech companies working in Israel and around the world. Read more »
Wi-Fi, 4G, smart grids and the Internet Of Things are leading to a radiowave logjam, the European Commission fears. It wants license holders to hand over spectrum usable by a new generation of waveband-sharing technologies. Read more »
Many may consider China a copycat country. But some of its biggest tech players are taking western ideas and improving upon them. Baidu shows off its own steps forward in several product categories. Read more »
iTunes Store may be huge, but it still isn’t truly global. After recent Latin America expansion, Apple’s service could be ready for a South Africa launch, an industry source says. Read more at paidContent »
Apple’s tablet is now considered a better buy than it’s smartphone, a survey suggests. But the data likely reveals iPhone 5 anticipation more than a grand product shift. Read more »
Sony VP Michael Aragon is trying to realise the corporation’s dream of uniting home electronics hardware and digital content. But, to do it, he will need to rely on rivals’ gadgets, as well as its own. Read more at paidContent »
Simon Fox may be exiting a traditional company plagued by declining analogue content, but that will remain his top challenge, after news publisher Trinity Mirror named him its new CEO. Read more at paidContent »
Carrier bundling will help grow music subscription income by 46 percent a year, one analyst forecasts. Spotify continues on that road by allying with Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Read more at paidContent »
Can Call Of Duty’s realist shooting make up for World Of Warcraft’s diminishing fantasy fan base? Vivendi’s Activision-Blizzard is battling to hold on to its sought-after subscription success. Read more at paidContent »
Internet radio stream aggregator TuneIn took $16 million investment this summer. Why does it need the money? To improve discovery and build out an ad-supported Netflix of radio, CEO John Donham tells paidContent. Read more at paidContent »
The app start-up has made waves by aggregating text web articles as though they were magazine pages. Now it wants to do the same for video. Read more at paidContent »
Australian broadcaster ABC is sending Doctor Who back in time. It is putting episodes online just after they premiere in the UK, hoping viewers will turn away from pirated copies. Read more »
The trailblazing firm may need more VC cash to cover its losses as it builds a global streaming behemoth, a disclosure reveals. So who gets what value from Spotify, and how could that change after another investment? Read more at paidContent »
Barnes & Noble’s first overseas retailer for its Nook e-reader will be the respected UK department store John Lewis. But shoppers won’t find Nook Color nor Nook Tablet on British shelves yet. Read more at paidContent »
Google is offering viewers more and more sports content, seemingly without having to shell out money on direct licenses. Now it has highlights from seven more tournaments, but is still lacking the world’s most-watched club soccer contest. Read more at paidContent »
France-based unlimited-music service Deezer is fast expanding in to new global markets. But the expansion doesn’t yet appear to have upgraded its subscriber count. Read more at paidContent »
Data-driven social public relations are the order of the day for a San Francisco marketer, as it acquires a UK social marketing agency. Read more at paidContent »
Supermarkets already dominate much of physical entertainment retail – now they are arming themselves to compete on internet screens. In the latest chapter, Sainsbury’s is tapping Rovi to fight Tesco’s Blinkbox, while Tesco cans music downloads for We7′s streams. Read more at paidContent »
Online advertising is now a multi-billion dollar industry. But it still languishes far behind ye olde television commercials for effectiveness, consumers say in a new survey. Read more at paidContent »
Many mobile viewers have happily watched YouTube videos with minimal advertising exposure. But now Google is introducing skippable in-stream ads from its web player to mobile devices. Read more at paidContent »
Subscription media services are rapidly seeing consumers build up libraries in their rental ecosystems. But, as they become more popular, operators must keep it easy for users to go back to the content they love and pay for. Read more at paidContent »
Local is hot, at least for Axel Springer. The German publisher is buying a local portal, meinestadt.de, as a vehicle to gain exposure for local online classified advertising. Read more at paidContent »
The UK publisher of 230 local newspapers has set ambitious digital growth targets for its new CEO’s turnaround. So far, Johnston’s online gains are going slow from a low base. But the most interesting part of its strategy may lay ahead. Read more at paidContent »
There is no doubt the second-screen TV viewing phenomenon is growing, at least among viewers of a certain age. But what are people really using their additional device for whilst watching the box? Read more at paidContent »
China’s online video market is set for strong growth – so much so that the leading services are merging to share the costs of expansion. Read more at paidContent »
The company has free rein to repeat its bullish declarations that it will out-bid incumbent BSkyB for UK movie rights. But what exactly will that take? Let’s compare the two outfits’ abilities to spend on premium digital content as they vie for European customers. Read more at paidContent »
Waves of music labels are keen to join a recently-launched new platform that promises higher returns than big-name streaming services. But can Drip.fm, which charges the same for just a few tracks each month that Spotify does for millions, entertain users as well as owners? Read more at paidContent »
Digital-replica magazine circulation has grown fast this year. But, so far, the emerging sector is still too tiny to have any positive impact on an industry whose overall circulation goes on declining. Read more at paidContent »
The newspaper is an ardent advocate of free and open online journalism. But that doesn’t mean it won’t charge on devices where and when it can. Read more at paidContent »
A new agency that charges “TV-like” internet services to have their content standards regulated has proved controversial in the industry. But ATVOD has been given wholehearted backing to continue its work. Read more at paidContent »
Pay-TV leader BSkyB is the latest to turn the iPad in to a TV remote control. Its approach relies on the tactility of the entire tablet screen and requires an additional WiFi dongle. Read more »
Buoyed by better results than expected from its first European foray, Netflix will head north this winter – a move which means it now competes with Lovefilm in a majority of the Amazon brand’s markets. Read more at paidContent »
The New York Times is looking to BBC director-general Mark Thompson to steer it toward a digital news future. But who is Thompson, and what do his eight years’ UK public service leadership say about the man coming to Manhattan? Read more at paidContent »
A 38-year-old Englishman becomes the first to be jailed for linking to illegally-hosted movies and TV shows. The method of his prosecution troubles piracy campaigners but delights entertainment owners. Read more at paidContent »
Distributors are passing the buck and regulators are openly contradicting each other. UK VOD services may take heart as another regulator decision is overturned. But the rulings and counter-rulings leave liability for internet video in flux. Read more at paidContent »
Nine months after aiming to triple its business base, the FilmFlex UK online movie service is preparing to supply another service with PPV films from this autumn. But can its clients compete with Netflix and Lovefilm? Read more at paidContent »
