UK cable operator Virgin Media has secured a deal with ITV to show some of the broadcaster’s programming through its on-demand service. ITV will make 40 hours of its programming from channels ITV 1, 2, 3 and 4 available each week. Programmes will be available for seven days after they are broadcast. Some 500 hours […]

Over 80 copyright holders including video portal Joy.cn, film distributor PolyBona Film, and record label Orange Sky Entertainment have formed an anti-piracy alliance, and are suing China's largest video-sharing site Tudou. In May 2008, Joy.cn filed suit against Tudou for unauthorised use of its video content, which Tudou resolved in November with an out-of-court settlement […]

Netflix and LG Electronics will soon introduce TV sets that can screen Netflix movies directly from the Web without an external box. Netflix, which is seeking to equip all home-entertainment screens with instant movie-viewing capability, also announced other partnerships, including one with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 to embed the movie software in its game consoles. Netflix […]

Video search engine blinkx has unveiled an Enhanced Metadata Enrichment solution for publishers, as part of the blinkx Advanced Media Platform. Based on patent-protected technology, the blinkx Advanced Media Platform enables media publishers and aggregators to manage and monetise video content to its greatest potential. “An Enhanced Metadata Enrichment solution does more than just help […]

ITV is changing the name of its on demand player to ITV Player. The move is part of the broadcaster's aim to create a recognisable brand as their content becomes available on other platforms and coincides with a recent deal with BT to show ITV content on their video-on-demand (VOD) service BT Vision. The re-brand, […]

Despite dropping its pursuit of pay-per-click ad network MIVA last month after being rebuffed, Blinkx's now restarted the reverse-takeover bid after recording strong earnings last week ($19 million), the new bid is far less than the$41 million first offered back in August, but is still 108 percent up on MIVA's Tuesday close. MIVA's share price […]

Hulu, the video website owned by News Corp and NBC Universal, hopes to expand internationally and is interested in Britain, France, Germany and Japan. Peter Smith, President of NBC Universal International, told reporters that his firm would love to roll out the online video joint venture further but that there were no concrete plans to […]

ITV has signed an agreement with BT to supply a range of current and library programming to customers of BT's digital TV service, BT Vision – ITV's first deal of this type with a VOD operator. BT Vision customers will also be able to enjoy a range of library content on demand.

BBC Future Media & Technology director Erik Huggers and chief operating officer Kerstin Mogull are shuffling personell, in what looks like further multimedia integration and a response to BBC.co.uk overspending. Anthony Rose, who was brought in from KaZaA last year as head of media technology, becomes controller of the Vision & Online Media Group. User […]

Video rental giant Blockbuster plans to rollout a consumer set-top box in time for the Christmas shopping season in the US that will deliver movies over the Internet to via its Movielink service. Blockbuster acquired Movielink, a video-on-demand service initially launched with backing from the Hollywood studios, in 2007. …