A group of Hollywood studios, including Walt Disney, NBC Universal and Warner Bros., have thrown their support behind Viacom in its lawsuit against YouTube, filing an amicus brief arguing against the video sharing site’s defense in the long-running copyright infringement case. Read more »
FiOS TV users won’t get their Epix and HBO Go content from a third-party CDN, but from Verizon’s own servers. This could save cable networks money, and help Verizon to manage its network. Read more »
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said the cable company will soon streamline the authentication process for its TV Everywhere offering, making it easier to access from PCs while also making the content available on the iPad and other consumer electronic devices. Read more »
It used to let consumers get their online video for free, but now Boxee is one step closer to collecting revenue, as it will enable content partners a range of payment options that they can charge use to charge end users, including pay-per-view or subscription options. Read more »
Firefly is combining banner advertising with video and monetizing the mix through pay per action. The company was able to secure clients like Hyundai, Nissan and Asics for its beta test and is now opening its doors for everyone. Read more »
Sorenson Media is trying to differentiate itself from the competition with a pay-as-you-go model for video hosting. Read more »
U.S. Lets Hollywood Disable Home TV Outputs to Prevent Piracy; the film industry can block outputs on home television equipment so studios can offer first-run movies while preventing viewers from making illicit copies, FCC regulators ruled. (Bloomberg) Mediacom Taps Concurrent To Aggregate Viewing Metrics; under the […] Read more »
Last month’s launch of the iPad marked a period of excitement in which seemingly every online video vendor announced its support for the Apple tablet. And just as there were a string of vendor announcements around the iPad launch, as companies like Brightcove, Encoding.com, mDialog and […] Read more »
Thomson Reuters is coming out with a new on-demand video site as a companion to its wire news service, enabling subscribers to access video reports from its reporters, as well as a number of media partners and financial analysts. The new service, called Reuters Insider, will […] Read more »
VMIX, a provider of white-label video management services, has added new features to its analytics suite that provide to its customers more granular and real-time data about the videos they’re distributing. The new tools include the ability to track multiple metrics in a graphic or table […] Read more »
Cable provider Cox Communications is rolling out a new program guide that will improve search and discovery of broadcast and on-demand TV content. The new Trio program guide, which will be released as part of Cox’s Plus Package, will be available on Cisco tru2way set-top boxes […] Read more »
It’s baseball season, and Will Ferrell’s most recent turn as disgraced Venezuelan pitcher “Rojo” Johnson at a minor league baseball game in Round Rock, Texas got us thinking about the most memorable pitches we’ve seen over the last few years. Ferrell is no stranger to sports, […] Read more »
Viacom vs. YouTube Is a Microcosm of the Entertainment Industry; even as thousands of artists and labels are embracing the internet, the top management at the big labels are behind laws that could give their companies the power to shut down any tech firm that attempts […] Read more »
Netflix is expanding its use of cloud infrastructure, moving some of its customer-facing and back-end operations onto Amazon Web Services (AWS). After using AWS for more than a year, a number of the most visible portions of its website — including member movie lists, Netflix search […] Read more »
CBS may have the most aggressive plans to enable viewers to watch web video on the iPad, but so far, that’s all they are — plans. The broadcaster has made only a limited number of promotional clips available for viewing on the tablet device, along with […] Read more »
Harmonic announced today that it has agreed to acquire video server and storage infrastructure company Omneon in a stock-and-cash deal worth $274 million, in a bid to boost its product portfolio for the production, management and distribution of digital media. The acquisition, which is subject to […] Read more »
Online video viewers are tuning in to more broadcast content, driving increases in the number of views and the amount of time spent watching traditional TV fare through the web, according to new data from Brightcove and TubeMogul. The Online Video & the Media Industry quarterly […] Read more »
RCN to Expand TiVo ‘Premiere’ Rollout; RCN is beginning to market TiVo’s new Premiere box as its primary DVR in and around Washington, D.C., and it plans to expand the rollout to New York and other cities soon. (Light Reading Cable) Half of Flat Panel TVs […] Read more »
It was just a few years ago that Adobe’s Flash revolutionized video publishing by enabling media companies to reach a vast number of consumers with a plugin that ensured a consistent rich media experience across multiple operating systems and browsers. Now, Brightcove might be at the […] Read more »
Video conferencing firm Skype is readying a new feature that will allow up to five users to video chat at the same time, according to a report by the Associated Press. For years, group conferencing has been one of the most sought-after new features for the […] Read more »
Avatar Gives News Corp. a Big Bump; the film’s performance helped push News Corp.’s quarterly earnings above Wall Street’s expectations, generating revenue of $8.8 billion and earnings of 32 cents per share. (MediaMemo) Sky Planning iPad TV Service In Germany; Sky Deutschland, News Corp.‘s German pay-TV […] Read more »
Multisource video news analyzer Newsy announced this morning that it has raised $2 million in a second round of funding from undisclosed angel investors. Newsy president Jim Spencer said in a statement that the funding will be used to build revenue, distribution and marketing partnerships, as […] Read more »
Interactive TV startup ActiveVideo Networks is boosting the availability of on-demand gaming through set-top boxes by buying TAG Networks. With the acquisition, ActiveVideo will add TAG’s gaming capabilities to its CloudTV interactive streaming platform, enabling developers to create games that can be accessed directly through their […] Read more »
Google is putting more money behind its TV ads, with a strategic investment in TV ad targeting startup Invidi. The search giant is leading a $23 million Series D financing round, which also includes existing investors such as WPP’s GroupM, Motorola,Menlo Ventures, InterWest Partners, EnerTech Capital, […] Read more »
ABC released one of the first major video applications available on the iPad, but the recent release of the 3G version of the Apple tablet unearthed a flaw in the app — namely, that it wouldn’t stream video over AT&T’s mobile network. That has since been […] Read more »
Time Warner Cable Taps Microsoft Mediaroom for IPTV Test; it’s still unknown when the MSO will launch the test (possibly later this year) or how many homes will be involved, but people familiar with the project say TWC plans to apply what it learns in that […] Read more »
Clicker has added live streams to its online video programming guide, enabling users to now easily search for and find online programming as it happens. Clicker Live, which is launching today, aims to catalog all the premium live shows that are being broadcast for free on […] Read more »
Nielsen is further extending its online reach with the acquisition of online video measurement firm GlanceGuide, which it will use to provide advanced analytics for video served over the web. GlanceGuide’s technology is designed to measure viewer engagement, and as such will offer a new metric […] Read more »
Cotendo has raised a $12 million Series C financing round to bolster its growing business for dynamic site acceleration and small object delivery. The funding round, which was led by Tenaya Capital and includes existing investors Sequoia Capital and Benchmark Capital, will enable the content delivery […] Read more »
Blip.tv is teaming up with 7-Eleven on a branded web reality series which will follow two teams as they race across the country to Indianapolis Motor Speedway while buying all their needs — including gas and food — at 7-Eleven convenience stores. Read more »
YouTube Developing Self-serve Rental Model; YouTube engineers are working on a self-service method that will give moviemakers the ability to upload and provide their streaming content for rent. (MediaPost) Hollywood Video Closes Doors; the movie-rental chain, which filed for bankruptcy in February for the second time […] Read more »
Dish Network will be joining Comcast, Time Warner Cable and others in offering online video services along with its pay TV packages. But with the launch of its new TV Everywhere initiative, the satellite TV provider could add a component that others haven’t yet enabled, allowing its subscribers to access on-demand video on multiple devices. Read more »
After posting record box office sales in the U.S. and worldwide, James Cameron’s Avatar can add another record to its trophy case after being tops in first-week Blu-ray disc sales. According to sales data from Nielsen, the sci-fi action flick sold more Blu-ray discs in its […] Read more »
On Microsoft’s IE blog this morning, Dean Hachamovitch, general manager for Internet Explorer, reiterated his support for HTML5 and H.264 as the codec of choice for web video shown through the next generation of its web browser, IE9. On first blush, Microsoft’s backing H.264 in the […] Read more »
The latest indication that Apple is trying to strong-arm publishers to adopt HTML5 and H.264 came today, as Steve Jobs reportedly claimed by email that a patent pool was being assembled to “go after” Ogg Theora and other open source codecs. Read more »
Broadcast Networks Set for 20% Gain in Upfront Market; ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox should net approximately $8.26 billion in prime-time advertising commitments, up 20% from the $6.88 billion in 2009, according to research from Barclays. (AdAge) Howcast Is Now Available on BlackBerry; the DIY video […] Read more »
At Green:Net today, venture capitalists said that there was opportunity for money to be made by companies focusing on metering and smart grid technologies. But they also identified some other opportunities. Read more »
Carbon pricing will become an important part of corporate accounting. But pricing aside, executives at today’s Green:Net conference said that carbon software can give companies a view into other inefficiencies in their operations. Read more »
Microsoft and Google are both working on applications for monitoring and controlling energy usage in the home. At Green:Net, the Internet giants laid out their strategies for enabling consumers and utilities to keep track of their power consumption. Read more »
At Green:Net today, former California governor and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown said you can’t turn to government to drive innovation in green technology, but that it needs to work together with entrepreneurs to foster innovation. Read more »
