05/05, 10:35am
PrimeTime2Go BBerry Live
As previewed at CTIA, Quickplay today took its PrimeTime2Go mobile TV live for BlackBerry smartphones. The subscription service gives owners unlimited access to TV shows from multiple networks, including ABC, NBC and SciFi, and relies on a relatively transparent system to provide the videos; chosen episodes are downloaded in the background whenever the phone is on a Wi-Fi connection. Owners can also follow seasons and receive new episodes as soon as they're made available.
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04/30, 12:10pm
Disney Joins Hulu
Disney this morning said it has obtained an equity stake in Hulu. The deal, which puts three Disney executives on the Hulu board, gives the studio equal influence along with original founders NBC Universal and News Corp. (Fox) in addition to the ability to publish content on the streaming web video service. Most of its initial lineup will center on current and back-catalog TV shows from ABC and Disney, such as Lost and Dancing with the Stars, but should also include "popular library titles" from Walt Disney Studios.
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04/06, 8:50am
YouTube in Sony Movie Talk
Google's video site YouTube is in discussions with Sony Pictures to carry the latter's full movies, a leak hints. Without mentioning sources, CNET asserts that YouTube hopes for a license to play the movies on its site. Most of the terms of the deal aren't specified, though expectations would likely see YouTube pressing for free, ad-sponsored versions of the movies. Neither company has agreed to comment on the slip.
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03/27, 2:00pm
Disney Hulu Rumor
Multiple sources speaking with paidContent today claim that Disney is in "serious" talks with Hulu to bring TV shows to the web service. The media giant would bring over at least ABC's TV programming, such as Lost, and would potentially involve the Disney Channel and other networks that aren't heavily dependent on cable and satellite TV. In return, Disney would get an equity stake in the primarily NBC- and Fox-run venture.
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03/04, 9:20am
Disney Mulls Online Video
Disney chief Bob Iger late yesterday said his company is considering its own online video service. Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Media and Telecommunications Conference, the executive says the service would be subscription-based and could follow a potentially Netflix-like model with online downloads, DVD mailings, or both. It's not known whether the proposed service would be limited to streaming or else allow full downloads, though it would draw on Disney's own catalog of movies and TV shows.
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01/23, 9:05am
Boxee adds ABC to TV
The creators of the Boxee media streaming software have expanded network coverage to include ABC, according to an announcement. The addition is designed to coincide with the season premiere of Lost, and brings with it episodes from a number of other ABC shows such as Scrubs, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. Other studios on Boxee include CBS, NBC and Fox, the latter two coming by way of Hulu.
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10/16, 9:55am
iTunes HD for four majors
Apple has announced that all four of the major basic-cable TV networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- are now selling shows at the iTunes Store. During the initial launch of HD programming on iTunes, most content was limited to NBC. ABC material in HD now includes the likes of Lost, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives; CBS shows include various versions of CSI, plus NCIS and Numb3rs.
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03/11, 9:50am
Hulu Public Tomorrow
The Fox and NBC-Universal joint project Hulu will leave its private beta stage tomorrow, the companies revealed on Tuesday. The web-based service will soon allow all US residents with high-speed Internet access to stream TV shows and movies over Flash for free through dynamic ads that appear at key segments; in a new version, users can even pick which ads they see, Hulu's operators note. On its official debut, the service will also add TV shows produced by Warner Bros. and will have both NBA and NHL highlight reels as well as full-length historical NCAA basketball games.
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02/26, 8:00pm
Showtime top sellers
During a conference discussing the company's quarterly results, CBS Corporation CEO Leslie Moonves pointed out that her firm's Showtime division currently has six shows in the iTunes top sellers group according to setteB. The Showtime shows at in the top sellers group include "Weeds," "Dexter", "David Chapelle," "The Tudors", "This American life" and "Californication". The top standing shows from all channels are, in order,: "Terminator: the chronicles Sarah Connor (WB production and broadcast by Fox) followed by" Lost "(ABC)," Wildfire "(ABC Family)," Family guy: blue harvest "(Fox) , "Breaking bad" (Sony production for AMC), "Family guy" (Fox), "Terminator: the chronicles Sarah Connor (WB production and broadcast by Fox)," Lost "(ABC)," Paradise Hotel 2 "(Fox Reality) and" Lost "(ABC). Note that none of these shows come from the general CBS network.
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12/06, 5:40pm
Internet video habits
The number of Internet users regularly watching video online has finally risen above the halfway mark, suggests a new survey by the research group Horowitz Associates. Whereas 45 percent watched video weekly in 2006, and 71 percent watched monthly, these figures have jumped to 61 and 86 percent in 2007, respectively. 27 percent of Internet users are also said to have a cellphone or media player with video abilities, such as an iPod; of these though, only 35 percent watch video weekly, while 62 percent do so monthly.
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