• Networks Block Web Programs From Being Viewed on Google TV
    ABC, CBS and NBC are blocking TV programming on their websites from being viewable on Google Inc.'s new Web-TV service, exposing the rift that remains between the technology giant and some of the media companies it wants to supply content for its new products. Video site Hulu, whose owners include Disney, NBC Universal and News Corp., also blocks its video from being played through the Google TV interface. Full-length episodes of shows like NBC's "The Office," CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and ABC's "Modern Family" can't be viewed on Google TV, a service that allows people to …
  • NBC Local Media Sets 'Nonstop' Launch Dates
    NBC Local Media is rolling out its nonstop multicast channels, adding the 24/7 channels in Philadelphia Oct. 25 and Washington, D.C. Oct. 27. A Chicago Nonstop channel is set for early November, while a joint Los Angeles-San Francisco-San Diego channel, called California Nonstop, will launch in late December or early January. KXAS Dallas and WTVJ Miami will also debut their channels around the dawn of the New Year. The model allows them to run content cross-platform. Each channel will feature around eight hours of local programming, as well as franchise programs such as Talk Stoop and lifestyle shows such as …
  • NPR Funding Questioned After Firing Williams
    Conservatives and some liberals say NPR went too far in axing a longtime news analyst for saying he gets nervous on planes when he sees people in Muslim dress, and at least one U.S. senator said he would start the ball rolling in cutting federal funding to the network. In response to the firing, South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint planned to introduce legislation to end federal funding for NPR. Federal grants provide less than 2 percent - or $3.3 million - of NPR's $166 million annual budget. It is funded primarily by its affiliates, corporate sponsors and major …
  • Users Will Pay For iPad Content
    Although the iPad is still relatively new, early indications are that a majority of users are willing to pay for content on the tablet -- whether it's apps or games -- and that books and video are the two most popular forms of media they choose to consume on the iPad, with magazines a close third, reports GigaOm. That's the takeaway of a Nielsen study on connected devices. The survey also found something that will likely pique the interest of advertisers looking to the iPad as a new opportunity: Users said they spent longer with the content they …
  • Seth Green Lets Fans Take 'Control'
    Seth Green and Digital Broadcasting Group may have a budding Web video hit on their hands. The high-concept series "ControlTV," which allows viewers to both watch and (sometimes directly) influence a 25-year-old guy's life live via the Internet, is attracting viewers. Soon after the series Oct. 6 debut, an initial flood of traffic crashed the show's servers. But after it added streaming capacity, users have become increasingly engaged in "ControlTV," which lets fans vote at least a dozen times a day on what Los Angeles transplant Tristan Couvares does with his life. Those decisions range from what Couvares should …
  • Netflix May Offer U.S. Web Service In '10
    Netflix, a by-mail DVD rental service, may add a streaming-only service in the United States this year, as it expands its reach in the digital market. Shares in Netflix jumped more than 9% after it posted better-than-expected third-quarter subscriber growth. "Pure streaming could become Netflix's core offering in the U.S., with discs being offered as a supplement for an additional charge," CEO Reed Hastings said. Concerns persist now about the rising cost of paying studios to stream more movies and TV shows, amid intensifying competition and lofty-looking share valuations. Netflix has paid a big price to provide content through partnerships …
  • NPR Fires Williams For Muslim Remark
    The war of words around Islamaphobia has claimed another victim. NPR fired senior news analyst Juan Williams late Wednesday after remarks he made on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News program. On Monday's "The O'Reilly Factor," O'Reilly asked Williams, a Fox contributor, if he thought the U.S. was facing a "Muslim dilemma." "I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot," said Williams. "You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, …
  • Moonves Predicts Evening News Shift
    CBS Corp. Chairman Leslie Moonves recently predicted a fast-changing newscast format because viewers now keep on top of the news through cable channels, the Internet and mobile technology. At a college talk, he said it's too expensive to support the newscasts as they are now. He said the programs could become like "Nightline," focusing on a couple of different stories, or the Sunday morning political talk shows. Viewership is flat or down at all three broadcasts this year compared to last - 1% at the ratings leader, NBC's "Nightly News," 3% at "World News" and 6% at at the …
  • Wheeler To Head FCC Broadband Effort
    Former cable and wireless communications lobbyist Tom Wheeler is heading an FCC Technology Advisory Committee on wireless broadband, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced. Wheeler is a managing director of Core Capital Partners, a Washington-based venture capital firm with some $350 million under management. As a member of the Obama transition team, Wheeler worked with broadcasters on the DTV conversion and was involved in the decision to delay the final analog TV shut down from March to June. The FCC is looking to recover 300 MHz (or an estimated $120 billion worth) for mobile broadband by 2014 as part of …
  • Publicis' 3Q Revenue Beats Expectations
    In another sign of recovery for the global ad biz, Publicis Groupe today raised its full-year revenue projection after posting a better-than-expected third-quarter revenue gain of 9.2% to $1.85 billion vs. the same period a year ago. Analysts had predicted a 7% growth spurt and overall revenue of $1.25 billion.,br> Publicis said it could finish 2010 with growth of 6% in organic terms, a measure that excludes the impact of currency fluctuations and acquisitions. (In July, the target exceeded 3.5% for the full year.) CEO Maurice Levy reiterated that his firm would outperform the ad market this year. Recent …
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