US television streaming service Hulu will ramp up its spending to create and acquire content to $500 million this year, a 67 per cent increase, Chief Executive Jason Kilar has said. The service has grown to two million subscribers, from 1.5 million subscribers at the start of the year, Kilar told an advertising industry conference. […]
UK independent online entertainment retailer ShopTo.net has acquired VoD streaming service FetchTV. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in May 2012. FetchTV brings SmartBox set-top box technology and the FetchTV streaming and movies on demand expertise. FetchTV boxes are sold by the likes of Tesco, Currys and PC […]
Hot on the heels of securing the rights to an iconic sporting event – the Boat Race – the BBC has confirmed the Global BBC iPlayer has secured the rights to two more iconic sporting events from the UK – the Grand National horserace and the London Marathon. In April 2012, coverage of both will […]
Liberty Global’s European cable operations in Germany (Unitymedia and Kabel BW), Netherlands (UPC), Austria (UPC) and Switzerland (upc cablecom) have reached agreements with ESPN for carriage of sports channels. With a combination of renewals and new launches, ESPN America HD, ESPN America and ESPN Classic will be available to European households that get their television […]
Marking the 50th anniversary of the franchise, the entire James Bond film catalogue, from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, will be available on Sky Movies from October 2012. Customers will be able to enjoy all of the titles from the iconic franchise, as well as upcoming releases, in HD and without commercial interruption. The twenty-two official Bond titles […]
The BBC is planning a considerable increase in its 3DTV output. An – as yet – unnamed drama shot in 3D is being planned. This could refer to the widely anticipated 3D version of Doctor Who, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2013 and where ‘multiple specials’ are known to be under consideration. The BBC’s […]
The Global BBC iPlayer has secured the rights to its first ever sporting event – the Xchanging Boat Race. Subscribers around the world can share in the drama of the one of world’s oldest sporting rivalries, the annual race on the River Thames between the crews of Oxford and Cambridge Universities. This year’s event – […]
Following earlier deals to add linear channels to its BT Vision IPTV service, the operator has added a fourth linear channel in a fortnight by signing a contract to stream the popular FX UK service. BT Vision customers will soon be able to watch FX hit shows such as zombie drama The Walking Dead and […]
Blinkbox has signed a deal with Disney UK & Ireland to offer Disney Film and TV titles for rent or purchase in the DVD window. Michael Comish, CEO and co-founder of blinkbox said: “We are excited to be working with Disney to bring even more current and classic entertainment instantly to our blinkbox customers, from […]
YouTube has announced a movie rental partnership with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures despite the media company’s $1 billion copyright violation suit against the video website. YouTube said it would offer online rentals of nearly 500 Paramount films, adding to its growing catalogue of feature-length movies. Viacom is currently appealing a court ruling against its $1 billion […]