Google ‘s YouTube and Universal Music are in talks to create a premium online music video service. If they reach a deal, the service could mark a significant step forward in Google’s attempt to generate revenue from YouTube, which it acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006. They are in talks to create a stand-alone site […]

A fifth of subscribers to Sky Movies – at least 891,000 UK households – hadn't watched a single movie on the service in an entire month, according to a YouGov survey on subscription movie viewing habits conducted on behalf of BT Vision. 50 per cent of Sky customers surveyed spend more than £45 (E50.6) on […]

ZillionTV is hoping to do for the set-top box market what Hulu has done for the PC. The startup, backed with content and investments from ABC/Disney, Fox, NBC/Universal, Sony and Warner Bros., has announced plans to offer ISPs a set-top box that will stream content to subscriber’s TVs. Customers will have the option to rent […]

Walt Disney Co was considering moves like creating a subscription-based online video club to capture online consumers as well as revenue that is being lost to piracy, Chief Executive Robert Iger said. Iger told analysts at the Deutsche Bank conference “We’ve also seen a pretty dramatic shift in how people consume entertainment with computers and […]

Shares in Premiere slumped as it emerged its former owner Leo Kirch had won the rights to market Bundesliga football for the next six years. Kirch, now aged 81, saw his media empire implode in 2002 in Germany's then largest bankruptcy. Kirch is still suing Deutsche Bank for E1.6 billion over the collapse of his […]

Time Warner is developing an initiative dubbed TV Everywhere that will allow viewers to watch networks such as CNN, Cartoon Network and TNT online – as long as they can prove they subscribe to cable, satellite or a telecom TV service. “If you want to watch your favourite TV network or shows through broadband on […]

Telenor has rejected the demand from the IFPI to block access to the Swedish website The Pirate Bay, and says there is no legal basis for the demand for ISPs to control or assess the content users download. Telenor says it does not condone pirating of material and illegal file sharing. In Telenor’s opinion, expressed […]

French media giant Vivendi posted a loss in the fourth quarter as falling stock markets forced it to write down the value of its stake in film and television powerhouse NBC Universal. Vivendi reported a net loss of E1.38 billion in the fourth quarter after writing down its 20 per cent stake in the joint […]

The English Premier League has called for tighter laws against IT theft to stop the unauthorised online broadcasting of football matches. One website which links to unauthorised live broadcasts of Premier League and other matches now attracts more traffic than the sites of broadcasters such as ITV, according to a report by a BBC programme. […]

Cash-strapped Setanta and ITV are seeking to renegotiate the payment terms of their £425 million (E474m) rights deals with the UK Football Association for coverage of FA Cup and England international football matches. According to reports Setanta has delayed making a payment of £10 million on its £150 million contract while ITV has met its […]