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Hulu to go part-pay?

Two of the partners in Hulu — News Corp. and NBC Universal hinted at an investor conference that they are investigating the possibility of further monetizing the online video venture, including charging a subscription for the service. “Are we looking at it with a view toward adding subscription services and pay per view? Yes we […]

September 16, 2009

AT&T video portal

AT&T has publicly launched the beta version of a video portal — which serves up free TV shows and movies to any Internet user, and promises even more to U-verse TV customers — with content from more than a dozen programming partners. The site, http://entertainment.att.net/tv, promises U-verse TV customers “bonus content” if they log in […]

September 8, 2009

YouTube to offer pay movies?

YouTube is reportedly in negotiations with major Hollywood studios for a deal that would see full-length movies on the service. It would put YouTube, owned by Google, in direct competition with services from Netflix, Amazon and Apple, which allow users to buy or rent movies online. YouTube, which already offers some older movies on its […]

September 8, 2009

BBC on blinkbox

BBC Worldwide has struck a deal to make hundreds of hours of content available via the UK online video service blinkbox. Popular titles on DVD, such as Top Gear, Gavin & Stacey, Spooks and Planet Earth, will cost users £1.89 (E2.19) an episode to download from which is still finalising what it will charge for […]

August 24, 2009

Microsoft Video Player first figures

Microsoft Video Player has had almost 170,000 views of in the first fortnight since it launched in the UK, says the Guardian. Microspft launched a pilot of the MSN Video Player on 3 August after the banning of Project Kangaroo by competition regulators in February. The first figures on usage show that after 11 full […]

August 19, 2009

Sky on Canvas warpath

BskyB has written to the BBC Trust expressing "serious concerns" about its handling of Project Canvas. The Trust's conduct of a consultation process on Canvas "will only serve to undermine further industry confidence in its ability and inclination to act as a genuinely independent regulator of the BBC", Sky said. Since February, the Trust has […]

August 18, 2009

62% of US online adults watch video

The share of online adults who watch videos on video-sharing sites has nearly doubled since 2006, according to a survey by the Pew Research Centre’s Internet & American Life Project. Audiences for Web sites like YouTube and Google Video continue to grow swiftly across all demographic groups, far outpacing the adoption rates of many other […]

July 29, 2009

First Retail Deal for FetchTV,

IP Vision's FetchTV, the first Freeview+ IPTV service to offer its users access to video-on-demand (VOD) and catch up content direct to their TV screen with tied-in subscription model, has its first retail deal with John Lewis. The SmartBox provides free access to a growing range of web video services. Users are able to watch […]

July 18, 2009

Volpi blames VOD squeeze for Joost demise

Joost was squeezed out of the market by broadcasters setting up their own VOD channels admits Mike Volpi, who resigned as CEO. He said that in April, when Disney joined the Hulu joint venture, it became pretty clear Joost had to do something else — it is becoming a white label video provider. Explaining how […]

July 8, 2009

BBC Huggers: future is Canvas

The BBC’s director of new media and technology Erik Huggers says that the future for free-to-air digital platforms like Freesat and Freeview is ‘unclear’ – suggesting that only IPTV and Project Canvas venture will give consumers the services and features that they need. Huggers said that, despite work on adding HD to Freeview and continued […]

July 7, 2009