A 23-year-old North Carolina man who co-founded a website offering illegal downloads has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and criminal copyright infringement in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Matthew David Howard Smith admitted that he designed many of the features of NinjaVideo that allowed visitors to obtain high-quality downloads of content, […]
It’s “more likely than not” that new online video streaming providers such as Amazon will offer premium tiers, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said at a Goldman Sachs conference. Liberty’s Starz channel ended negotiations to extend its carriage deal with Netflix over price. The current arrangement, he says, is “inconsistent” with the way consumers receive […]
There are tipping points in all things. Not very long ago, it seems to me, technology companies, including CA vendors, were going to their pay-TV operator customers and trying to persuade them that the fantastic new functionality they had invented should be deployed. The response was often lukewarm; when your current business model produces profits […]
BT has announced that it will be offering its broadband customers three months free and unlimited access to a PlayPack of more than 100 video games to mark the launch of OnLive’s instant-play game service. The OnLive Game Service is the new on-demand video gaming platform that delivers the latest video games instantly over a […]
Polish pay TV operator Cyfra Plus has confirmed plans to enhance its service later with the launch of a 3D channel, expanded HD line-up and a free web TV service. The operator has already aired some 3D content but is planning on increasing its output, including additional sports events and at least two movies in […]
Streaming platform Roku has confirmed the addition of Disney to the Roku Channel Store. Now, all Roku customers can access hundreds of short-form video clips from Disney.com including music videos, movie trailers and more. “We’re delighted to be the first player to stream this collection of Disney videos to consumers’ TVs,” said Roku Founder and […]
AETN UK, a joint venture between A+E Networks and BSkyB, is rebranding as A+E Networks UK. The new company name and logo is part of a rebranding that will see the company adopt a new look and a new mission statement. Tom Davidson, managing director for A+E Networks UK, says: “At A+E Networks UK we’ve […]
Netflix and Discovery Communications have made an agreement to bring episodes of shows including “Man vs. Wild” and “River Monsters” to the streaming service. The deal is the first major move by Discovery to make full episodes of its TV shows available for instant streaming, expanding well beyond the short clips that are now available […]
The BBC has launched a new version of its homepage in beta. The emphasis is shifted from news, sport and weather to the iPlayer, which was still in its infancy when the current homepage was launched in 2008. The new site is clearly built for the tablet age. The entire homepage fits inside the screen […]
A coalition of US film and television companies has written to every member of the Senate, urging them to pass online piracy measure the PROTECT IP Act (short for Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011). The letter was signed by the Motion Picture Association of America […]