Advanced Television

VOD

Pay TV headed for Xbox

Microsoft is said to be planning a Web-based pay-TV service that it can build onto its Xbox Live platform say US reports. Microsoft is working with Comcast and Verizon to bring TV to the Xbox 360 connected game console. Within the next few weeks, Comcast will make Xfinity On Demand content available to Xbox users, […]

September 30, 2011

Kindle turns Fire on Apple

Amazon has unveiled its colour tablet computer, the Kindle Fire which at $199 is less than half the price of Apple’s iPad. It runs a modified version of Google’s Android operating system. But its most compelling proposition is its direct connection to Amazon’s ocean of content – books, music, magazines, videos and films – not […]

September 29, 2011

Miramax signs with Hulu Japan

Miramax has signed a multi-year agreement to bring its films to Hulu subscribers in Japan. Beginning immediately, Hulu subscribers in Japan will be able to instantly watch a wide variety of Miramax movies on multiple platforms, including Internet-connected living room devices such as TVs, Blu-ray players, and gaming consoles — in addition to PCs, tablets and […]

September 29, 2011

Ergen’s DISH bids top for Hulu

DISH Network, the number two US DTH platform, has bid for Hulu to add it to a growing portfolio of content delivery platforms that includes Blockbuster. Headed by Charlie Ergen, DISH has reportedly offered more than Yahoo or Amazon with a figure said to top $1.9 billion. However, such is the frenzy for the $500 […]

September 28, 2011By Chris Forrester

Tablet users willing to pay for digital content

FTI Consulting has found in a new consumer survey that tablet users in the US are not only ardent consumers of digital content but also are more willing to pay for online subscriptions.  These results suggest that well-formulated digital media strategies may offer new revenue prospects to traditional media. In a study, FTI Consulting compares […]

September 28, 2011

Netflix secures Borgias for US

Netflix, the Internet subscription service for TV shows and movies, has secured the rights for the North-American premiere of Tom Fontana’s Borgia series. The distributor Beta Film/Munich has confirmed that Borgia will be given its first US showing on the VoD provider, which has over 25 million subscribers in the US, Canada and Latin America. […]

September 28, 2011

LoveFilm and StudioCanal content deal

LoveFilm and StudioCanal have signed an exclusive long-term deal in the UK and Germany giving LoveFilm members access to the portfolio of new and library movies from the international film distributor for a 12-month window. UK and German members of LoveFilm will be the first to instantly stream all of StudioCanal ‘s latest and future […]

September 28, 2011

Virgin Media: ‘TiVo will beat Sky+’

A new report on UK cable operator Virgin Media’s prospects (from investment bankers Morgan Stanley) says that TiVo’s functionality will make life very hard for YouView or BSkyB. Virgin’s senior staffers say that their TiVo box, now rolling out to its customer base, will beat to the punch the UK’s digital terrestrial service YouView and […]

September 27, 2011By Chris Forrester

FilmFlex on Film4oD

FilmFlex Movies, one of the largest movies-on-demand service providers in Europe, backed by joint venture partners Sony Pictures Television (a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company) and The Walt Disney Company EMEA, has confirmed the launch of a ‘download to rent’ option on Film4oD, Film4’s online film-on-demand service. Download to rent, which saves the movie to the […]

September 27, 2011

Netflix lands DreamWorks streaming deal

DreamWorks Animation, the company behind successful movie franchises such as Madagascar and Shrek, has agreed a deal to stream its films and television specials through Netflix, replacing an existing agreement with HBO, reports the New York Times. The deal is characterised by the companies as the first time a major Hollywood supplier has chosen Web […]

September 26, 2011By Colin Mann