Together with AOL, HBO tried to build a website around comedy video in February of 2007. Like an awkward TV pilot that couldn’t find its groove, “This Just In” was shuttered by August. Now, in a second go round, the Time Warner cable channel will play the part of investor. HBO is committing an undisclosed amount of capital to buy a stake guessed to be about 10 percent of internet comedy shop FunnyorDie.
Traditionally, end-user video and film distribution services (movie theaters, TV channels) competed with each other by geography or a unique programming schedule. As a viewer you watched what was on local channels, or you tuned in to one place that was showing the programs you were itching to see. The internet video world is a different animal but, still in its early stages, it remains something of an experimental lab; especially with regard to professional Hollywood content.
Cable companies have been driving their use for years. Building B, now called Sezmi, is pitching a unique flavor of their own. Vudu has an on-demand-only version. Netflix just began offering a variant with Roku. Tivo’s got a few too. Still, for all the history, experimentation and evolution, despite the massive volume in use around the country, the days of the TV set-top box may be numbered. At least that’s the case for Cable TV decoding boxes thanks to a new deal.
Tuesday, Sony signed an agreement with the 6 largest cable operators in the U.S. (Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Communications, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House Networks) to standardize technology that will allow future TV’s to receive “two-way” cable services without the need of a separate, decoding, cable box.
The deal will pave the way for more “interactive” TV features in the future.
When the phrase “live entertainment” is used in a word association game, most people aren’t likely to jump up and down screaming rebroadcast or replay. The phrase also isn’t likely to conjure thoughts of a big screen unless one is part of the staging. For most people, “Live Entertainment” is, well, … live. It’s the energy of a packed house, the buzz of the crowd. It’s Broadway. It’s concert halls and small clubs. It’s the spectacle of a show revealed second by second. Sony is hoping in the right settings, with the right context, that “live factor” won’t be so important; that replays will catch on.
The big merger news this week was supposed to come Friday with the expiration date of Electronic Arts hostile takeover for Take Two. Unfortunately, a number of people didn’t get the memo. Instead, Thursday became the big day for M&A activity with not one but two major announcements lighting up the news wires.
On one front, CBS stepped up to rescue CNET from the grips of activist shareholders by means of a $1.8billion cash tender offer. Elsewhere, financier Carl Icahn went public with his plans for Yahoo. He’ll begin the process Microsoft was unwilling to initiate: a tender offer to take control of Yahoo’s board of directors.
Three major deals in a week – two of them hostile and one something of a white knight rescue… it almost seems like we’ve slid back to the 80’s. Click to Read More
Yesterday’s rumor is today’s fact. It’s now official: HBO programming will air on Apple’s iTunes under a variable pricing model. Taking advantage of routine “iTunes Tuesday” updates, the Time Warner network and Apple confirmed the suspicions.
Effective immediately, iTunes will host HBO programming. Breaking tradition, the shows will cost either $1.99 or $2.99 per episode. Current programming from other outlets is currently priced at just $1.99. Most of the shows offered (Soprano’s, Deadwood) do robust DVD sales and part of the justification for flexible pricing seems to be to reduce the potential for channel conflict between the two different distribution methods. At $2.99, the increased price won’t erase the “digital discount” but it will make price differentials between DVD buys and Digital Downloads less dramatic.
The as yet still unscheduled premiere of iPhone 2.0 is getting closer and the frenzy is building. With it, the rumors and speculation are picking up pace. Two new iPhone whispers and one iTunes story have been passing down the AppleVine to start this week.
1. iPhone 3G Debut Date
Throughout April, iPhone product shortages fueled speculation Apple was thinning inventory in anticipation of the next iPhone product. For the most part, the consensus was this channel inventory adjustments would build through June. At that point, likely at Apple’s developer conference, the iPhone 3G would be introduced. Occasionally, a whisper here or a rumor there has suggested an earlier (or later) delivery date could be the D (delivery) -Day too.
This weekend, news reports that Apple was no longer taking iPhone orders at their online US and UK stores brought the whispers of a possible day in May delivery Click to Read More
