The third quarter saw many parts of the traditional media business in flux. Other developments included the rollout of new device-based content ecosystems, red flags and red ink for traditional consumer electronics makers, and a resurgence of consumer purchases of movies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
As traditional book publishers are increasingly signing self-published authors, Hollywood studios are also looking to self-published books for their next blockbuster. Last month, Universal acquired the film rights to “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Now Fox and Ridley Scott have acquired the rights to sci-fi series “Wool.” Read more at paidContent »
Netflix has scored a big coup in bringing back one of the most critically acclaimed TV comedies of the past decade. Variety reported that Netflix has finalized a deal with 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television to create new episodes of Arrested Development. Read more »
Warner Bros. has confirmed its movies won’t disappear from streaming sites when they hit HBO’s pay TV service. The closing of this so-called “HBO window” could go a long way toward making digital ownership of UltraViolet titles more appealing to consumers. Read more »
A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction against Zediva, essentially ordering a shutdown of its streaming-DVD-rental service. The decision comes less than six months after the launch of the service, which aimed to avoid licensing fees by renting and streaming DVDs over the Internet. Read more »
20th Century Fox released a viral video last week that supposedly documents African soldiers giving an ape an AK-47, only to have the monkey open fire on them. The video has attracted millions of views on YouTube, but also provoked a wave of racist comments. Read more »
Movieclips.com confirmed that it has raised an additional $6 million in venture funding. While its founders declined to discuss what the funding is for or who was part of the most recent investment, they said a big announcement was in the works. Read more »
Surprise! New video rental service Zediva is being taken to court for copyright infringement. The MPAA filed suit Monday on behalf of six Hollywood studios, claiming that Zediva illegally streams their films over the Internet without licensing the content from rights holders. Read more »
Good news for TV musical fans: Netflix is expanding its on-demand streaming service to include the first season of Glee, in addition to shows like Sons of Anarchy, Ally McBeal and The Wonder Years from 20th Century Fox. Read more »
With the Blu-ray release of Unstoppable, 20th Century Fox is unveiling a new feature that will allow owners of the Blu-ray disc to copy the movie to their Android mobile devices. But will the feature actually make people want to own physical movies again? Read more »
Netflix subscribers, we have good news and bad news. First, the good news: The company has added a ton of new streaming content, including all prior seasons of TV shows such as 24 and Bones, as well as movies including Aliens, Being John Malkovich and The […] Read more »
Hollywood studios together with cable operators launched an ad campaign today aimed at educating consumers about on-demand video rentals available directly through their local cable providers — and making up for the shortfall generated by declining DVD sales. 20th Century Fox, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Rogue, Sony […] Read more »
Movieclips.com, the online video site for distributing short-form clips of Hollywood movies, has expanded the availability of its library, opening up the site for viewing worldwide. The company has also released an API for others to develop applications that take advantage of its video selections. That’s […] Read more »
Warner, Fox Try to Get Redbox Lawsuits Dismissed; the film studios asked a US district court to throw out Redbox’s lawsuits, saying that it has failed to show any antitrust violations or any illegal agreements with retailers such as Walmart or Best Buy. (Video Business) Canoe […] Read more »
So James Cameron’s 3-D Fern Gully remake hasn’t just revolutionized film technology — as depicted by the sketch comedy troupe Free Love Forum, it’s also inspiring a whole new generation of bootleggers. The irony, of course, is that a quick Google search confirms that torrents for […] Read more »
