June 26 - 12:40pm EDT   Canadian rent-by-mail DVD service Zip.ca said today that it's in talks with Sonic Solutions, the owner of the Roxio CinemaNow movie download service, to bring the first large-scale movie download service in Canada. The partnership will allow PC and portable multimedia device users to download TV shows and movies, making it somewhat akin to the streaming feature Netflix offers its US customers; it's not clear if Zip would shadow this format. [full story]

June 25 - 10:55am EDT   Sonic Solutions, the company behind Roxio, on Thursday announced its streaming movie service CinemaNow will be made available for the Nintendo Wii. Sonic will partner with Fujisoft to bring the former's content to the game console via the latter's video-on-demand Everyone's Theater Wii service. While the announcement only covers Japan, its successful integration potentially leads to the service arriving in other countries as well. CinemaNow offers more than 1,500 streaming movies, short films, and concerts to buy or rent. [full story]

April 17 - 9:15am EDT   If accurate, a rumor floated today will see Best Buy leap into its own online movie store. Entertainment magazine Variety claims to have heard from movie studio executives that the retailer is talking to CinemaNow and "other online movie services" to establish a link between itself and one of these services. While what's involved is uncertain, Best Buy is likely to arrange for a cut of the revenues for each movie viewed and may promote hardware with that movie service's features built-in. [full story]

April 7 - 9:05am EDT   Blockbuster yesterday submitted a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing that reveals the company doesn't believe it can continue business. The video store is no longer certain that it can remain a "going concern" and may have to stop operations and close its doors if its financial situation doesn't improve in the near future. The warning comes in spite of a $250 million refinancing loan having been put in place just last week; Blockbuster now says there is "no assurance" that it can meet the requirements of the transaction before it's completed on May 11th. [full story]

March 25 - 7:45am EDT   Blockbuster today said it would start delivering movies and TV shows over TiVo's DVRs. The tie-in will give users about 10,000 combined movies and TV shows that can be purchased or rented from any Series 2, Series 3 or HD series device. The company is offering movie rentals for between $2 and $4 and permanent movie purchases between $15 and $20. As part of the deal, Blockbuster says it will also start selling TiVo units in its retail stores. [full story]

January 16 - 5:05pm EST   What sounds like a frivolous lawsuit was filed in a California court at the start of this year against retail giant Walmart and online video rental company Netflix. The lawsuit alleges that, by letting Netflix take over its struggling online DVD rental business nearly four years ago, the two companies have created a monopoly and have driven Blockbuster to raise its subscription rental prices by $3 to match Netflix' pricing scheme. [full story]

January 14 - 2:45pm EST   Blockbuster and Sonic Solutions on Wednesday announced a multi-year agreement that will have the former deliver its library of digital movies and shows to home and portable electronics devices with Internet connectivity and Sonic software. The companies will also merge their digital libraries – including Sonic's recently purchased CinemaNow – and offer them under the Blockbuster brand, to create one of the largest VOD services on the market. [full story]

November 25 - 1:15pm EST   As promised earlier this month, video and game rental giant Blockbuster on Tuesday announced it would begin selling the previously introduced 2Wire MediaPoint player, a hub that brings video-on-demand (VOD) movies over the Internet to users' TVs. The set-top box connects to the Internet via an Ethernet link or built-in Wi-Fi module and, unlike similar products from competitors, does not require a monthly subscription or minimum rental requirement. Blockbuster promises DVD quality movies with the ability to fast-forward, rewind and pause capabilities, as well as saving movies for viewing later. The player has an HDMI connection for connecting it to HDTVs. [full story]

November 10 - 1:10pm EST   Confirming earlier rumors, Blockbuster has announced plans to build a set-top box that will stream digital movies to TVs. The company's CEO, Jim Keyes, further notes that the the device will be associated with its Movielink rental and purchase service, but has not provided details on costs, capabilities or hardware specifications. A release is expected sometime during the holiday season; also in development is support for Blockbuster streaming through Intel chips inside IPTV hardware. [full story]

July 1 - 10:50pm EDT   Video retailer Blockbuster tonight said it has withdrawn its offer to buy Circuit City. The company provides few details as to the reason for its sudden exit but says that a combination of "market conditions" and the process of due diligence, or examining the health of Circuit City as a business, have led it to believe that a takeover of the electronics chain is not in its best interests. Blockbuster still argues that the idea of unifying media and electronics under one name but that it will have to do so through its own stores rather than Circuit City's locations. [full story]

May 28 - 2:50pm EDT   Blockbuster will soon launch a pilot program of in-store movie downloads, says the company's CEO. James Keyes revealed the information at an annual shareholder meeting Wednesday, noting that a trial will take place sometime within the next month, and involve store visitors inserting a form portable device into a kiosk, and copying movies in a process that should take approximately two minutes. At present the major issue is said to be studio support, as Blockbuster is still negotiating for available content. [full story]

May 13 - 5:15pm EDT   Activist investor Carl Icahn may use his clout to instigate a proxy battle that pushes Yahoo towards accepting a Microsoft takeover, CNBC says. Those talking to Icahn allegedly say he will push for the nomination of three or four candidates to Yahoo's board of directors that would favor a Microsoft buyout, giving just enough influence on the ten-person board to have it vote in favor of the acquisition that it has resisted in the past. Dissatisfaction with Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft offers could make this simple, the sources explain. [full story]

May 9 - 10:15am EDT   Circuit City today sent mixed responses to Blockbuster's proposed takeover of the company. The suffering electronics retailer now says it will let both Blockbuster and its backing investor Carl Icahn conduct due diligence, effectively letting the movie rental house explore Circuit City's finances to judge whether the buyout would be practical. Circuit City warns, however, that the agreement isn't a sign that it has finished investigating Blockbuster's bid and that the company believes it can succeed without help from an outside buyer. [full story]

April 24 - 4:30pm EDT   Last week saw video and game rental chain Blockbuster make a public $1 billion bid for electronics retailer Circuit City. At that time, Blockbuster accused Circuit City of not providing information the suitor requested to make a definitive proposal. Yesterday, investor group Wattles Capital Management, representing Blockbuster, sent a letter outlining the reasons for such disclosure to Blockbuster's board members. Circuit City's same-day response questioned Blockbuster's ability to finance such a deal in light of the rough economy. [full story]

April 21 - 3:50pm EDT   Sony's anticipated PlayStation 3 video store could be available as soon as this summer and with wide support, sources tell the LA Times. The console maker is allegedly in talks with multiple major studios and would open the store with a mixture of full-length movies and TV shows. No information has yet been supplied as to which companies are likely to be onboard or whether Sony will offer any videos in HD. [full story]