Disney is reportedly considering imposing a 28-day delay between DVD or Blu-ray movie releases and availability through rental chains such as Netflix and Redbox. The company's chief executive, Bob Iger, noted the potential strategy change during a quarterly conference call with investors and analysts.
Amazon on Wednesday officially confirmed earlier rumors that it has inked a deal with cable provider Viacom to bring its TV shows to Amazon's Instant Video streaming service. As part of the deal, Amazon will allow customers to access thousands of episodes from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT, and Logo. This will include past seasons of shows like Chappelle's Show, Hot in Cleveland, Jersey Shore, Yo Gabba Gabba, and iCarly, among others.
Disney has partnered with NTT DoCoMo to release a pair of new Android-powered smartphones. The phones are part of a new range of smartphones to be sold exclusively under the 'Disney Mobile on DoCoMo' brand. The first of the two models (F-08D) will be launched in late February with the second (P-05D) due to follow in March, both Japan only.
A new exposé of some of the actions behind the scenes of SOPA's rejection has shown the fundamental disconnect between the MPAA and differing points of view as well as signs that there may be progress, if slow, on an alternative. MPAA president and former Democratic senator Chris Dodd explained to The Hollywood Reporter that he had been "assured" there would be no major opposition from the White House and was caught unawares when the administration suggested it would veto either SOPA or its Senate equivalent PIPA if they passed a vote. MPAA members had started to "pick up signals" of resistance at the start of January, but they sincerely thought they had made concessions and felt "bitterly betrayed" as a result.
The Walt Disney Company in its 2012 proxy statement (below) indirectly confirmed that the late Steve Jobs' family or his trust won't be seeking a board position at the Disney shareholder meeting on March 13. Although the family is the largest individual shareholder with a 7.7 percent stake, no mention is made of them in the filing beyond their investment. It also shows that Jobs' option holdings were gone at the end of Disney's fiscal year.
Online UK movie service Lovefilm has signed a deal with Disney UK to bring a library of TV series from ABC Studios to its subscribers. Branded as ABC TV On Demand, the portal will give members access to full seasons of shows such as Lost, Castle, Desperate Housewives, and more. Shows will air as full seasons soon before the next one airs on UK paid or free TV networks.
Hulu followed in Netflix's footsteps Sunday by launching its first fictional, original TV series. Battleground covers a fictional political campaign in Wisconsin and is produced by JD Walsh, 500 Days of Summer's Marc Webb, and Hagai Shaham. It should be followed up by more documentaries, including a second season of Morgan Spurlock's A Day in the Life and Richard Linklater's new Up to Speed.
Cable provider Comcast has renewed its distribution deal with Disney, signing on for another 10 years. Programming from ABC, ESPN and 68 other channels or services is included in the deal, as is streaming to portable devices such as notebooks, iPhones and iPads through dedicated apps. Under the deal, Comcast will pay more money to Disney with each successive year as license fee schedules are introduced over time, which will more than likely translate to increased bills for Xfinity users.
Movie studios are trying to get Amazon Instant Video on to the new UltraViolet cross-platform movie rights system, insiders divulged Wednesday. At least Sony and Warner Bros. were said by Bloomberg sources to be negotiating a deal. In ideal circumstances, a viewer could buy a Blu-ray or a digital format movie and have rights to play it on the Kindle Fire or another Amazon-friendly device.
Disney CEO and President Bob Iger, who was recently appointed to Apple's board of directors, has bought a million dollars' worth of the stock out of his own pocket on the open market, according to an SEC filing. Iger fills the seat vacated by Arthur Levinson when he became Chairman of the company in October. He bought 2,670 shares at around $375.
Before the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, he had begun moving his assets into trusts in order to avoid undue tax liabilities. According to securities filings reported by Yahoo Finance, Jobs' 138 million shares of the The Walt Disney Company -- a majority of his fortune, worth about $4.6 billion -- will go into a trust managed by his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs. What will happen to the rest of holdings, such as his $2 billion in Apple stock, remains unclear.
Google's YouTube rentals saw the slightly unexpected addition of Disney movies on Wednesday. Both its live and animated movies, as well as Pixar's CG movies, are now available on the web- and Android-based store. Key rival DreamWorks is also making the leap.
In all Apple's newest board member, Disney CEO Bob Iger, has actually received about $84,376 in Apple stock, notes Fortune. The 142 shares mentioned previously actually represent only restricted ones. On top of this Iger is getting 75 shares of common stock, hitting the $84,376 total based on a closing price from Tuesday, when the executive was awarded his investments.
The newest Apple board member, Robert Iger, will reap at least $50,000 a year from his added work, an Apple SEC filing reveals. Iger is slated to get a "standard $50,000 annual retainer" for his position, paid in quarterly installments. He is also however being granted 142 Apple shares, which vest in February. At current prices, the shares are together worth almost $55,000.
Disney and YouTube announced they are working on a collection of co-branded family-friendly videos that will be available online. Disney Interactive will produce and program the videos for both Disney.com and YouTube. Free online video tailored to Disney's core audiences will be made available on both outlets in early 2012. The first project will be a short-form original video series based on Disney Interactive's hit mobile game "Where's My Water? ($0.99, iTunes) and its main character Swampy.
In an odd decision, Google may go into traditional TV, insiders may have divulged Thursday. The YouTube owner would use its Google Fiber in both Kansas City rollouts to include TV and possible VoIP phone service, the Wall Street Journal was told. Early talks were said underway with Discovery, Disney, and Time Warner to supply content.
CBS chief Les Moonves may have inadvertently confirmed Apple's negotiations for a streaming TV service during the company's fiscal results call. He claimed that CBS had turned down a deal for a service because it would have split ad revenues. The executive didn't give details of what the service would have involved.
Disney and its ABC division on Monday recommitted themselves to Internet video Monday with separate deals for Amazon Instant Video and Netflix. Both deals give it access to all prior seasons of both active and recently ended shows as well as back catalog access. Amazon's deal gives it both access to on-demand Instant Video as well as unlimited access for Prime subscribers.
With yesterday's report that Hulu is no longer for sale, a new report from SAI sources suggests it's still considering a sale to Google. Google did make the largest bid for the streaming service, though it also wanted concessions that Hulu wasn't willing to make. Google's bid, at about $4 billion, was more than twice as big as Dish Network's $2 billion.
Hulu in a brief note said it had decided to stop its attempted selloff. The statement, which had the support of Disney, investor Providence Equity Partners, and Fox's parent company News Corp., claimed that each of the owners though there was too much of a "unique and compelling strategic value" for each of them to sell. It would instead center on existing plans.
Yahoo is reportedly out of the increasingly uncertain bidding process for Hulu, a claimed leak said late Sunday. The search engine has allegedly been identified by the WSJ sources as the original mystery bidder but also to have exited entirely. The internal turmoil following Carol Bartz' firing and the possibility of a sell-off were attributed to the departure.
Earlier rumors of Hulu going back on its decision to sell itself off are proving true, two sources have told SAI. The bids, while they are still rolling in, aren't as high as initially hoped. Hulu's parent companies are reportedly looking for $2 billion for the online service.
Disney Mobile will soon launch a series of apps called Appmates that will turn Apple's iPad into a game board. The first is a rolling road that can be used in conjunction with toy cars from Disney/Pixar's Cars 2 blockbuster movie. The app requires special toys the iPad will recognize rolling across the screen, but the interface is touch-based, and there is no Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cables needed to play.
DreamWorks late Sunday revealed that it had struck a deal with Netflix to provide its animated movies. The deal, unofficially estimated by a consensus of NY Times analysts to be worth $30 million, will bring movies like Monsters vs. Aliens or the Shrek series to the streaming service. It's not evident how long the deal will last other than multiple years, starting in 2013.
Roku has added some Disney-made short video segments to its online lineup, ZatzNotFunny learned. The on-demand mix includes entertainment and advertisement clips or promos for Disney's feature-length movies and is free to users. The content numbers in the hundreds thus far, but is said to expand in the months to come.
Check-in service Gowalla has announced on Thursday the release of new iPhone (App Store) and Android (Market) apps that include a feature called Social Guides. They include places friends recommend, advice from experts and the best of what's local in particular cities, parks and other regions. The launch covers 60 cities and shows off photos, highlights and experiences from friends and experts.
(Update: Netflix responds) Netflix took a large hit on Thursday after Starz said it had broken off talks to renew a content deal. Under current conditions, the TV channel provider would pull the movies and other pay TV content it licenses out to Netflix on February 28, 2012. Its statement tried to portray Netflix as cheapening its service and that it was purportedly doing its content a service by shopping for deals elsewhere.
Hulu on cue has launched Hulu Plus for Japan. The country is the first outside of the US to get Hulu and gives it a very different business model. Plus is the only option in the country and costs the equivalent of $19 per month, almost twice as much as the $8 it does in the US.
Despite his resignation earlier today as CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs is not planning to vacate his seat on the Disney board of directors, reports Bloomberg. Jobs is Disney's largest individual shareholder, with a 7.4 percent stake in the company. Though the Bloomberg report quoted unnamed sources "with knowledge of the matter" as its source, the story echoes earlier reports from CNBC.
ABC will join Fox in requiring users to log in while viewing online TV content. This solidifies earlier rumors that the Disney-owned network will do this, sources said to AllThingsD. During an earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger indicated he back distributing his company's content over nontraditional outlets like Hulu and Netlfix as long as it doesn't disrupt the current relationship with cable companies.
Disney is following in the footsteps of the Fox book by requiring online TV show viewers to be pay TV subscribers and log in with a cable ID. According to a Wednesday GigaOM report, the company is working on deals with content distributors to allow this. Thus far, cable networks like CNN and HBO are already requiring such logins.
Talk of iTunes Replay bringing cloud movie streaming might have come too soon. Insiders claimed Monday that Apple didn't have deals with at least four of six major movie studios. Any deal would be months off at best, CNET was told.
Apple is one of those considering making a bid for Hulu, a pair of sources claimed Thursday. The company is supposedly in "early talks" that could lead to a buyout if all went well. It wasn't clear from Bloomberg tips what stage of the bidding process Apple had reached or how serious Apple's intentions were.
Amazon.com and CBS Corporation on Wednesday announced they have entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement that will let Amazon Prime customers stream CBS TV shows. The deal will see 2,000 additional episodes from 18 CBS TV shows such as The Tudors, Cheers, and the complete Star Trek series collection, among others. Also, later this summer, regular Amazon Instant Video customers will get access to dozens of CBS shows.
Fox's executive VP of Global Research and Technology Strategy Danny Kaye was hopeful Apple and Disney would both use the new UltraViolet media locker copy protection system. He noted in an interview that all but Disney among the studios had signed on, and that just that it was holding out "doesn't mean that [Disney] won't." He was also convinced in speaking to Pocket-lint that Apple was going to sign onboard and that it was just being conservative before leaping in.
New tips Sunday ruled out Netflix as one of the candidates to buy Hulu. The movie streaming service hasn't been actively involved, sources for the WSJ said. Hulu also reportedly hasn't been actively interested, in part since it would create overlap and reduce the number of suppliers, not increase them.
For the past few weeks, rumors have swirled around the possible sale of Hulu. Today, Disney CEO Bob Igor confirmed that Disney, NBCUniversal and News Corp., the TV streaming service's owners are indeed looking to sell off. Igor declined to provide a timeframe for a deal or to hint who might be the acquirer.
Hulu's shopping itself around also includes Amazon, AT&T, and Verizon, insiders revealed Tuesday. The companies are part of a "short list" that included Microsoft as its first stop last week and will include Yahoo and Google next. AllThingsD's sources didn't learn how Microsoft had reacted but also heard Hulu will bring up the idea to Facebook, Liberty Media, Netflix, and Samsung.
More details regarding the upcoming and expected sale of Hulu have been dug up by AllThingsD. Hulu's content partners, including known deals for Disney and Fox, have extended their licenses and these will stay in place after a sale of the video streaming company. Comcast/NBCUniversal will be forced to follow these partners, and the content from the three will be mainly exclusive to Hulu.
Hulu has responded to a proposed buyout by shopping itself around to a very wide range of companies, insiders have said Monday. The TV streaming site has been reaching out to "media, technology and communications" firms to see how interested they might be. The WSJ understands Hulu could still go unsold.
Tipsters said Friday that Hulu was wrapping up a deal to keep getting ABC and Disney shows. A pair of sources said a rough deal had already been set that would keep shows going in return for more than the 2.5 minutes of ads Hulu normally runs. The deal seen by AdAge could be completed within "weeks."
Two insiders said Tuesday night that Hulu was considering selling itself after having been given a buyout offer. The source hadn't been identified but, according to CNBC's Julia Boorstin, was "not Google." Hulu hadn't decided what to do about the offer other than exploring its possibilities.
OnLive swung into action ahead of E3 on Thursday with the unveiling of a gamepad that should work on nearly every platform. Its Universal Wireless Controller can directly control the streaming game service from not just Macs or Windows PCs but also the MicroConsole, Android tablets like the HTC Flyer, the iPad, and some Vizio TVs. Bluetooth is available for those devices that can use it but is braced by a USB adapter that can plug directly into devices that normally want a wired link.
Disney head Bob Iger in his discussion at D9 said he wouldn't be on stage for Apple's iCloud unveiling. While he liked the idea of having a media locker as it got around storage limits, he gave a direct "no" to the idea he might show on June 6. The talk didn't rule out prospects of iCloud video lockers but cast doubt on there being a need for public support from a movie studio.
Walker Digital has filed its second round of technology industry lawsuits in less than a month, court documents show. The new campaign revolves around US Patent 6,263,505, System and Method for Supplying Supplemental Information for Video Programs. The patent explains a way of synchronizing separate audio or video with a live or recorded program.
Time Warner Cable on Friday shot back at the need to pull some channels from its TWCable TV iPad app by adding 17 new ones. Although it had to pull some key Discovery-, Fox-, and Viacom-owned stations, it now has major networks such as A&E, CNN, Disney, ESPNnews, IFC, and MSNBC, among others. It also managed to add Fox News despite the apparent deadlock.
Tips on Friday had Netflix near a major deal that would give it access to all of Miramax's movies. An agreement that would be "well north of" $100 million would allow streaming for the next five years. The Reuters tip had few other details but was supported by a WSJ rumor corroborating similar terms.
Investors have voted to re-elect Apple CEO Steve Jobs to the Disney board of directors, according to Bloomberg. An early count reportedly shows 74 percent of votes going to back Jobs and 12 other nominees. "The Walt Disney Company considers itself fortunate to have Steve Jobs as a member of its board of directors," reads an e-mail statement. Jobs did not attend the meeting, despite being the most powerful individual shareholder with 7.29 percent of Disney stock.
Yet another group is now opposing Steve Jobs' re-election to the Disney board of directors. Advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. has issued a report recommending Jobs' replacement, noting that the Apple CEO was missing from 75 percent of Disney board meetings in 2010. "We believe that in light of Mr. Jobs' continued medical problems, shareholders would be better served by a director able to make the necessary commitment to the company," the report says. "We note that this is the third time in four years where Mr. Jobs has been unable to meet this attendance threshold."
The Walt Disney Company's annual shareholder meeting may prove more contentious than Apple's recent meeting, with some controversy surrounding the presence (and attendance) of Steve Jobs. A large shareholder group, Institutional Shareholder Services, has raised questions about Jobs' attendance at Disney board and committee meetings, and the powerful AFL-CIO union has announced it has voted against Jobs being returned to the board, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.
