E-Commerce News: Television

HBO Swings iTunes Deal With Some Premium Pricing

Tuesday - May 13, 2008

Leave it to the network that brought us Tony Soprano to break Apple's iTunes video pricing model. The Time Warner subsidiary and Apple on Tuesday announced that some HBO programming is now available at the online store, with a few shows priced at $2.99 per episode. Apple is selling episodes of "Sex and the City," "The Wire" and "Flight of the Conchords" for $1.99 each; episodes of "The Sopranos," "Deadwood" and "Rome" are priced at $2.99. The company is also offering entire seasons of these shows for sale. [More...]

Defunct TorrentSpy Slammed With $110M Judgment in MPAA Suit

Thursday - May 8, 2008

A federal judge in Los Angeles has awarded the MPAA $110 million in compensation from Valence Media, operator of the now-defunct file-sharing Web site TorrentSpy. U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ordered Valence Media to pay $30,000 for each copyright infringement of nearly 3,700 movies and television programs that were downloaded. The MPAA took TorrentSpy to court in February 2006. [More...]

Cablevision Shells Out $500M for Sundance Channel

Wednesday - May 7, 2008

Cablevision Systems is buying the Sundance Channel, a cable network founded by Robert Redford, for $496 million, the New York-area cable TV company announced Wednesday. The Sundance Channel will become part of Cablevision's Rainbow Media programming division but will continue on as a distinct network. Rainbow also includes the independent movie channel IFC, AMC and WE tv. [More...]

Sezmi: A Set-Top Mash-Up

Sunday - May 4, 2008

A startup is betting that people are tired enough of their cable and satellite bills to take a look at an alternative pay TV system that combines a number of different technologies to deliver programming. Silicon Valley-based Sezmi revealed a system Thursday that amounts to a way for phone companies and local TV broadcasters to team up for an end run around satellite and cable. [More...]

AT&T Wireless Delivers a Little Bit of TV

Friday - May 2, 2008

AT&T announced the launch of its new AT&T Mobile TV service Thursday. Beginning May 4, subscribers to the service with a handset designed for mobile viewing will have access to as many as 150 simulcast or time-shifted programs, including live sporting events. The service will finally roll out in 58 markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and others, roughly five months behind schedule. [More...]

'Rock Band' Helps Drum Up 33 Percent Profit Growth for Viacom

Friday - May 2, 2008

Entertainment conglomerate Viacom, riding a wave of success from a video game launch and a strong showing by its television enterprises, reported a 33 percent increase in first-quarter profit Friday. Viacom, which owns the Nickelodeon, MTV and BET networks as well as moviemaker Paramount, reported earnings of $270 million, or 42 cents per share, from January through March. [More...]

Warner Bros. Resurrects The WB Online

Tuesday - April 29, 2008

More than a year after it shut down The WB Television Network, Warner Bros. said Monday it is bringing back the brand as an advertising-supported, video-on-demand site. Warner will launch a beta version of TheWB.com sometime early next month as part of a larger push to capitalize on new channels for distributing video content. [More...]

Wireless Sales Steer Verizon to Strong Q1

Monday - April 28, 2008

Telecommunications giant Verizon Communications reported a strong profit boost for its first quarter as growth in its wireless business and its fledgling video service helped compensate for losses in its traditional home phone segment. The numbers from Verizon and those from competitor AT&T, which reported strong results last week, suggest the major carriers are not being pressured by the slowdown in the U.S. economy. [More...]

TV, Online Ad Sales Lift Scripps Q1 Earnings Above Estimates

Thursday - April 24, 2008

Media company E.W. Scripps said Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 23 percent from the same period a year ago, mostly because of higher ratings and ad sales at its HGTV and Food Network. Net earnings were $84.1 million, or 51 cents a share, for the January-March period compared with $68.5 million, or 42 cents a share, a year ago. [More...]

You Call This HD?

Monday - April 21, 2008

In Brent Swanson's basement home theater, there should be nothing drab about "Battlestar Galactica." He's got a high-end projector that beams the picture onto a wall painted like a silver screen, and speakers loom in the corners, flanking two big subwoofers. Yet when he tuned in Sci Fi HD for a recent episode filmed in high definition, the image was soft. [More...]

Web Video Viewership Balloons by Two-Thirds

Thursday - April 17, 2008

Internet users watched more than 10 billion videos in February, according to a comScore report released Wednesday at the annual meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas. The comScore data shows that the number of videos viewed online has risen by two-thirds since February 2007. Roughly 73 percent of Internet users in the U.S. viewed video online in February. [More...]

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