07/10, 11:30am
No News Corp e-book reader
In a recent interview, Rupert Murdoch has denied rumors of News Corp. developing its own e-book reader. When prompted on the possibility of the development of such a device, the CEO responded to the Wall Street Journal by saying he "[doesn't] think that's likely" to occur in the near future. Murdoch did, however, expand on it, hinting News Corp. is involved in talks with hardware manufacturers on wireless readers for books, newspapers or magazines.
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05/20, 5:05pm
Hulu coming to the UK?
The free online video-on-demand (VOD) service, Hulu, may be expanding for the first time to a market outside of the US, with a launch in the UK as soon as September, the UK's Telegraph reported on Wednesday. Sources close to the negotiations tell the daily newspaper that Hulu is in talks with the UK's ITV and Channel 4 for content partners, and the service would bring over more than 3,000 hours of American TV content. Content from the BBC is also being negotiated.
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05/06, 3:50pm
News Corp. reader coming?
The all-encompassing News Corp. media company founded by Rupert Murdoch is said to be "looking at hardware" to bring the latest news and entertainment content from its many assets to users, according to a Wednesday report that is citing knowledgeable sources. Such a device would deliver content in a "user-friendly way," and though no specifics have been given to the Daily Beast about the device, Murdoch himself commented on the possibility of such a gadget last month.
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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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04/09, 1:00pm
Sony confirms Google talks
Sony has confirmed this week's earlier rumors that it is engaged in talks with YouTube on posting full-length movies on the free video service site, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. If the deal goes through, it would see the first major US studio to do so on a large scale, and the full-length films would be offered for viewing for free, likely supported by ad sales in the stream.
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07/03, 9:10am
Yahoo AOL Deal Resurfaces
Yahoo is still entertaining the prospect of a full deal with AOL even in the wake of ending talks with Microsoft, alleged sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Those claimed to be aware of negotiations say AOL's parent company Time Warner is still interested in handing AOL to Yahoo in exchange for a minority stake in the search engine company. The talks aren't said to be as in-depth as when Yahoo still faced the threat of a hostile Microsoft takeover.
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07/02, 8:45am
MS Joint Yahoo Bid Rumor
Microsoft is actively exploring bringing other companies into a deal that would dismantle Yahoo as it's known today, says the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cites anonymous sources aware of discussions who say Microsoft is still interested in buying just Yahoo's search business but has asked both News Corp. and Time Warner about merging what would be left of Yahoo into one of their respective properties, such as MySpace or AOL. A meeting between Microsoft and Yahoo was scheduled for Monday but canceled because Microsoft has so far been unsuccessful in lining up a partner, according to the report.
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04/05, 11:35pm
Microsoft 3 Wk Yahoo
Microsoft on Saturday applied pressure to Yahoo by submitting a letter directly to the search engine firm's board of directors, setting a deadline for the company to accept Microsoft's $31 per share takeover offer. Citing deteriorating economic conditions, the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft refused to increase its bid and gave Yahoo a total of three weeks to accept the $44.6 billion bid as originally made in late January before it would be "compelled" to bypass the board and bring a lower-priced offer directly to Yahoo's shareholders. This will include launching a proxy battle by stepping up pressure to elect a more takeover-friendly board of directors at Yahoo, Microsoft said.
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02/18, 1:20pm
Musical 'Hulu' on MySpace?
News Corporation is planning a musical equivalent of its Hulu video venture with NBC, a new report claims. News is allegedly after a deal with the four major music labels -- EMI, Warner, Universal and Sony BMG -- who would each provide equity for a new opeartion. It would be carried and controlled by News' MySpace division, but the intent is to create a shared portal, where people would be able to listen to DRM-free music in exchange for subjecting themselves to advertising.
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