Warner launches streaming service: like Netflix, without the new stuff
Would you pay $10 a month to rewatch Gilligan’s Island? Warner Bros. thinks some people will, and launched a video service to do so. Read more at paidContent »
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Connected consumer third-quarter 2012
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 »
Amazon gets West Wing, Fringe from Warner
Deal brings the Aaron Sorkin-penned political drama The West Wing and the Fox sci-fi/fantasy series Fringe exclusively to members of Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service, as well as purchasers of its Kindle Fire tablet Read more at paidContent »
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Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in Q1
In the first quarter of 2012 all eyes were on the screen, both big and small. Apple’s new Retina display pushed video streaming, and broadcast-TV streaming service Aereo’s launch was quickly followed with litigation. These events and more are discussed in a new quarterly report. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
UltraViolet Studios: HBO Blackout Will Lift In Time For Wal-Mart Launch
Don’t worry, we’ll work this out in time for the big dance. That is the essential message from top home entertainment officials who are stil… Read more at paidContent »
Wal-Mart Will Start Selling Cloud Storage At 3,500 Stores Next Month
photo: Wal-Mart
We told you it was coming — and it did. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) has formally announced its support for Hollywood’s struggling UltraViolet movi… Read more at paidContent »
Chinese VOD Rush Continues – Lionsgate Signs Latest Deal
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) became the latest Hollywood studio to make an online movie distribution deal in China, announcing Monday that it has r… Read more at paidContent »
Can't Say We Saw It Coming: Redbox Re-Ups Universal Deal With 28-Day Window
photo: Eddie Does Japan
Yesterday, we suggested that video-rental chain Redbox might have to cave on its demand for 28-day release window with Universal, and wind u… Read more at paidContent »
Why Redbox Might Have To Agree To 56-Day Windows, Too
photo: Eddie Does Japan
The last year has been pretty good to Redbox. The rental kiosk chain is about to embark on a new streaming venture with Verizon, and has bee… Read more at paidContent »
Cloud Concerns? Fox And Warner Bros Will Offer New Content-Storage Service
photo: Corbis / Vigfus Birgisson
Perhaps impatient with the progress of UltraViolet, Hollywood’s ambitious cloud-based movie-storage plan, two movie studios are launching th… Read more at paidContent »
Industry Moves: Yahoo; Warner Bros.; Future Publishing
– Yahoo: In a reorganization of Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) EMEA, Marketing VP James Tipple and Marketing Director Andrew Cocker have left the compa… Read more at paidContent »
Why UltraViolet Produced More Questions Than Answers At CES
The UltraViolet initiative left the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week with an important new retail channel in Amazon (NSDQ: A… Read more at paidContent »
Ultraviolet Movement Picks Up New Backer: Samsung
Samsung has rolled out a new line of Blu-ray players that support Ultraviolet, thus joining the ranks of entertainment brands that support t… Read more at paidContent »
What Warner Bros.’ 8-week DVD window really means
A lot has been made of Warner Bros. and its new eight-week window for DVD rental firms. But the new window is unlikely to change much for companies like Netflix, Redbox or Blockbuster. While Netflix users will wait longer, Blockbuster and Redbox users likely won’t. Read more »
Netflix Faces Higher Prices For HBO, Agrees To Doubled DVD Delays From WB
photo: Shutterstock / S.Dashkevych
Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) is facing changes to its DVD business with two Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) programmers after months of CEO back-and-forth a… Read more at paidContent »
Louis Vuitton Sues Warner Bros For Using Fake Bag In Hangover II
A studio that has been a champion of stopping piracy is now facing awkward accusations that it showed counterfeit luggage in a hit movie. Read more at paidContent »
Facebook's Video Views Rising, But Mostly For Discovery
Consumers are increasingly using Facebook for video – but, despite studios and broadcasters hosting more of their content on the social netw… Read more at paidContent »
Flixster hands out iTunes codes to unhappy UltraViolet users
How bad are things for Hollywood’s UltraViolet initiative right now? So bad that Warner Bros., the studio behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, is giving away coupon codes for the movie to Apple’s iTunes store to placate unhappy customers. Read more »
Warner Bros. turns to Twitter to promote #UltraViolet
The next step in Hollywood’s effort to educate consumers about its UltraViolet digital rights locker came from Warner Bros., which is taking to Twitter with a promoted trend aimed at getting Harry Potter fans excited about streaming the title to their computers and other devices. Read more »
AnyClip ramps up monetization, snags another studio deal
AnyClip is adding another Hollywood studio to its list of content partners, with clips from Warner Bros. films now available. It’s also bolstering monetization opportunities from those clips, by enabling viewers to purchase full-length films directly through its proprietary video player. Read more »
CW Cuts Another Streaming Deal: Current Season Shows To Hulu, Hulu Plus
photo: CW's Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is headed to Hulu Plus. On the heels of a past-season, library deal with Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) that could be worth as much as $1… Read more at paidContent »
In Fight Over DVD Window, Warner Bros Cuts Off Blockbuster From New Films
Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) has refused to give DVD rentals chain Blockbuster (NSDQ: DISH) its latest films, including The Hangover Part II and… Read more at paidContent »
UltraViolet’s next problem: It’s popular — on eBay
Hollywood’s UltraViolet cloud locker service is finding some new friends in unlikely places: A German blogger reported that he was able to access the site with a coupon code he bought on eBay. The big problem: Codes trade for far less than studios would like. Read more »
Is Facebook the way to go for new web originals?
Last Tuesday marked the premiere of two very different web series — a teen-skewing action comedy produced by a major studio and an independent sci-fi thriller — with one major similarity: They both chose to debut exclusively on Facebook. Could this be the new normal for web content? Read more »
Netflix Goes For Fountain Of Youth With Full-Season CW Deal
Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) has locked in a full slate of teen angst from now through the 2014-15 season. The four-year pact covers full past seaso… Read more at paidContent »
Warner Bros. closes HBO window ahead of UltraViolet launch
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 »
Time Warner’s Bewkes: ‘Cordcutting Hasn’t Arrived’
Warned by an interviewer at today’s Goldman Sachs conference hat he was about to talk about cordcutting, the subject that won’t go away, Tim… Read more at paidContent »
Sheen vs. Kutcher: Guess who was #winning?
Comedy Central heavily promoted its Roast of Charlie Sheen on Twitter, and it looks like the bet may have paid off: Twitter users commented more than twice as much about the roast than about the season debut of his former show Two and a Half Men. Read more »
Hotfile sues Warner Bros., claims wrongful takedowns
Warner Bros. systematically abused an automated takedown system provided by Hotfile, the file host claims in a countersuit against the studio. The claims made by Hotfile include information on the behind-the-scenes actions taken by Hollywood to enforce its rights against file sharing on cloud file hosts. Read more »
Adfonic Raises £4.7 Million To Grow Its Mobile Ads Auction Business
If you think Android is a fragmented marketplace, take a look at mobile advertising: while there are clearly a few very big players like Goo… Read more at paidContent »
Hulu Japan Launches With Movies, TV From CBS, Sony, Fox & More But No Ads
Hulu’s first offering outside the U.S. is live: Hulu Japan, a subscription service with “hundreds” of films and thousands of hours of TV. Fo… Read more at paidContent »
Could Portal: No Escape be the next fan film to go legit?
The release of a short film set in the universe of Valve Software’s popular Portal video game series has people excited over the possibility that director Dan Trachtenberg could bring his vision to a full-length version. But is such a move really likely? Read more »
Time Warner to lean on Flixster for Ultraviolet rollout
Through the DECE’s UltraViolet format, Warner Bros. and other studios will begin making movies available for sale this year that can be purchased and watched on a number of different devices. Key to Time Warner’s introduction of these services will be its Flixster social discovery app. Read more »
Zediva is nuked, Hollywood rejoices
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 »
Movieclips raises another $6 million
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 »
Is Facebook the Next MySpace? For Media Sales, Maybe.
The entertainment industry has its eyes set on Facebook, hoping that the site will help to sell VOD rentals for Hollywood blockbusters like The Dark Knight and indie flicks alike. However, history teaches us that social networks can’t help you sell stuff that no one wants. Read more »
Warner Buys Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes, Plans VOD Service
Warner Bros. is buying Flixster, and it plans to turn the site into a VOD service tied to the UltraViolet cloud DRM scheme. Part of the deal is also the movie reviews site Rotten Tomatoes. The studio promises that Rotten Tomatoes will continue to be independent. Read more »
RapidShare Starts Selling Games. Are Movies Next?
The controversial file hoster RapidShare has taken a first step towards entering the digital content business: The company launched a download store for video games last week, and it is promising its end users to enable the sale of any kind of file soon. Read more »
Two Studios Hold Out On YouTube Movie Rental Deal-Piracy Is The Issue
Word leaked earlier this week that YouTube (NSDQ: GOOG) was going to start renting out premium movie content, putting it in a position to co… Read more at paidContent »
MPAA Goes After DVD Streaming Service Zediva
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 »
