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TW Yahoo white knight?

Yahoo and Time Warner have reportedly stepped up talks to create an alternative to Microsoft's offer for the web company. The WSJ reported talks centre on a deal that would fold Time Warner’s AOL Internet unit into Yahoo. Last month Microsoft made a $41 billion offer to buy Yahoo, which was rejected as undervaluing the […]

March 6, 2008

Hulu: Advertisers need to be creative

The head of online video site Hulu has called on advertisers to think outside the 30-second box for web video ads. In comments made at an Interactive Advertising Bureau meeting, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar suggested advertisers adopt different models for streaming video ads. Instead of simply repurposing 30 second TV spots, Kilar said, advertisers must […]

March 5, 2008

YouTube live streaming

YouTube plans to launch a live streaming service later this year, in a bid to take on internet TV services. The live channels will enable users to create live feeds of news events, entertainment and even 24-hour “lifecasts”. The live streaming channels could also include live music, breaking news stories and other entertainment content. The […]

March 5, 2008

Disney launches Stage 9

Disney-ABC Television Group has launched an experimental new media content studio Stage 9 Digital Media. Stage 9 was designed to “bridge the gap between user-generated content and traditional production,” said Ann Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, in a release. It will premiere with a comedy series “Squeegees”, that is […]

March 5, 2008

Premier League fights streaming

The UK Premier League has won High Court injunctions against three websites accused of illegally streaming its live football matches over the net. The sites had been re-distributing signals from rightsholders like Sky Sports. It's been a growing problem for the league over the last few years as the global audience grows for the English […]

March 3, 2008

Man United online

Manchester United football club is to roll out a free, desktop news service for fans that will offer video, match results and news in real time. Users will be able to download the tool from the Manchester United site from the end of March, and it will automatically update with the latest news and multimedia […]

March 3, 2008

Pakistan lifts YouTube ban

The Pakistani government has lifted a national ban on visiting YouTube. Late last week, the country ordered Pakistani ISPs to block the video-sharing website because of content deemed offensive to Islam. But now the restrictions have been lifted after a national outcry. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority has told ISPs to allow access to the site; […]

February 29, 2008

Web to TV show flops

The highly touted web-based drama series “quarterlife” proved a network television flop in its NBC debut, drawing the network’s worst ratings for its time slot in at least 20 years, Nielsen Media Research reported. NBC had high hopes for the made-for-Internet series, a show about young adults designed to appeal to the very audience group […]

February 29, 2008

iPlayer dominating downloads

BBC iPlayer is already looking dominant in the UK download market. Traffic for ITV’s broadband TV service has remained flat over the past two months, while the BBC’s rival iPlayer offering has seen massive growth following a major marketing push. ITV.com’s video traffic hit a peak in November but has dropped off slightly since then. […]

February 27, 2008

Pakistan bans YouTube

Pakistan’s government has banned access to the video-clip website YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies posted on the site. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority told the country’s 70 Internet service providers that the popular website would be blocked until further notice. The banning temporarily brought the site down in some other areas. Pakistan is not the only […]

February 26, 2008