TiVo is suing Verizon and AT&T claiming infringement of patents used in their DVR systems. TiVo claims infringement of its so-called "time warp" patent and two others. The time warp patent was at the center of another dispute with Dish Network and EchoStar. They were ordered in June to pay $192.7 million to TiVo and to stop providing the Dish DVR service. That ruling, by a federal judge in the same jurisdiction as this new suit, is under appeal. The fight with Dish has been going on since 2004. TiVo claims AT&T and Verizon also infringe on …

Outcast is shifting the content and sales strategy for its digital video network at gas pumps. The company has announced new partnerships with CBS, HGTV and CNET and is bringing all sales operations for the network in-house. Outcast thinks CNET content may offer a good environment for consumer electronics or mobile devices, while CBS' expertise in supermarket content is a natural fit for consumer packaged-goods. The media deals end an exclusive arrangement with NBC Universal, which formerly handled all content for Outcast (formerly known as Fuelcast). By broadening its content relationships and taking control of all sales, Outcast hopes …

NBC is tweaking its Sunday "Football Night in America" pre-game program by focusing more on the "Sunday Night Football" game itself. Bob Costas and the play-by-play team of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will chat up the game in the first 15 minutes of "Football Night" in addition to discussing the NFL news of the day and other sports developments. , "We want to provide greater context for the game," says NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol. In another change, Costas will host the show from the stadium rather than from NBC headquarters in New York. Dan Patrick and Keith …

Video from Vogue's style.com is now available through Boxee, joining a lineup which includes Netflix, Pandora, Last.fm, Wired.com and Flickr. The content from style.com includes fashion video and stills, including runway, backstage, and front-row footage. "Style.com extends Vogue magazine to the Internet, offering comprehensive runway coverage with over 50,000 photos, trend reporting and social, celebrity and fashion news and interactive forums," says Boxee. The new distribution channel gives Vogue increased access to eyeballs on computer-linked TV sets and the iPhone. Boxee is a platform that integrates personal and public media. It also has a social networking component that …

A New York hedge fund snapped up the Creative Loafing newspaper chain for $5 million during a bankruptcy auction yesterday. The new owner promises to keep its six free alternative weeklies running as normal. Atalaya Capital Management made the winning bid for the alternative weeklies in Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C., and Sarasota and Tampa, Fla. Bidding began at $2.32 million by the chain's longtime owners, the Eason family. Creative Loafing borrowed roughly $40 million in 2007 to buy Washington City Paper and the Chicago Reader. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Tampa …

Aegis Media's outdoor specialty shop Posterscope USA has opened new offices in Las Vegas and Miami. Managing director Jaime Konzelman will run the Las Vegas outpost. Previously, Konzelman worked at out-of-home agency Vector Media and at Luxor Hotels. Beatriz Planas will serve as managing director of the Miami office. Planas most recently was sales manager for Lamar Advertising of Puerto Rico. She was also a consultant with BGF Group, serving OOH media companies in Puerto Rico. In the past two years, Posterscope has also expanded to St. Louis, Seattle and Denver. Worldwide, the agency has 38 offices …

For the second year, Showtime is promoting its programs in partnership with Metropolitan Home magazine. From Sept. 12 to Oct. 18, Showtime's programs, such as "Californication," "Dexter" and "Nurse Jackie" will be re-imagined by interior designers throughout the rooms of twin Tribeca penthouses in New York City. Two rooms for each program will be transformed by 14 renowned designers. Showtime is expecting this year's event to attract more than 10,000 visitors. The network will promote and cover the design show in Metropolitan Home's November issue. "The house allows visitors to get a deeper insight into the [key] characters …

If the ad industry recovers modestly next year, as many people anticipate, it probably won't help Viacom. That's according to analyst Richard Greenfield of Pali Capital. He is dropping his prediction for Viacom's 2010 U.S. ad sales to a decrease of 3%. He previously estimated a 2% increase. Greenfield's position is that the cable network conglomerate, which includes MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central, has had a hard time hanging onto viewers, and advertisers are following suit. "Viacom's ratings remaining mostly down year-over-year during Q3" he says. "It feels aggressive to say that Viacom could turn its …

Comcast-owned sports cable network Versus may be off DirecTV as of Sept. 1 due to a conflict over an increase in carriage fees. Versus earns about 18¢ per subscriber and is asking for more, per SNL Kagan. Versus is available in 75 million homes, up from 62 million three years ago and has made strides recently with the NHL playoffs and Tour de France. The network, which rebranded from Outdoor Life Network in 2006, carries college football and has three games featuring top-20 teams set for September. It also carries five Pac-10 games and a handful of Big …

The publisher of The New York Observer is launching a new weekly newspaper on Sept. 15 dedicated to commercial real estate in New York. The Commercial Observer will have a press run of 10,000 copies and will go to industry professionals at a subscription price of $240. Jared Kushner, owner of The Observer Media Group, belongs to a family that is involved in New York commercial property. "Commercial real estate in this city is going through historic transitions, and we want to capture this," he says. The new weekly will draw writers from the New York Observer …