04/20, 12:30pm
Appeal against iiNet rejected 5-0 in High Court
The High Court of Australia has ruled against an appeal filed by major Hollywood studios in a three year-old copyright infringement case. The studios sued Internet service provider iiNet Ltd. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the case was brought on by 32 members of the Australian Federation against Copyright Theft (AFACT) that include Warner Bros., Disney, Fox, and Paramount Pictures, among smaller, independent distributors and TV networks. The court found that iiNet had no responsibility for copyright infringements perpetuated by its customers and had no technical means of preventing it.
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04/19, 7:45pm
Hulu steps up original video content
Hulu used its turn at upfronts for TV content to reveal that it was adding four original shows beyond those teased earlier in the year. The strategy would be headlined by The Awesomes, a superhero comedy show due in 2013 that would draw on Saturday Night Live actors Seth Meyers and Michael Shoemaker. A nearer-term committed show, the 2012 basketball series We Got Next, would have The Game's Hale Rothstein and Kenya Barris along with The Office's Danny Leiner.
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04/07, 5:20pm
Apple gains a studio for cloud video downloads
Apple edged closer to having a complete iTunes in the Cloud on Saturday with previous holdout Universal adding support. Movies from the studio can now be re-downloaded on any device with an Apple ID, or streamed directly to an Apple TV. The expansion adds hundreds or more videos to those from existing supporters like Sony Pictures.
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03/26, 10:40pm
Netflix skips reviving sci-fi series
Netflix has reportedly dropped its possible acquisition of Terra Nova. Sources said that Netflix and Fox's 20th Television were "unable to come to terms," The Hollywood Reporter had heard. It's unclear what had been the point of dispute.
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03/26, 4:35pm
Kim Dotcom calls indictment MPAA-sponsored
Kim Dotcom, the MegaUpload founder who was arrested and his site shut down by the US government, is now speaking out quite vigorously against the government and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). He stated that Megauplaod wasn't a host for pirates, but instead a legitimate service that was likely shut down for political reasons, TorrentFreak reported. He goes on to call his indictment as being MPAA-sponsored and allegedly has evidence that will prove his innocence.
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03/20, 4:10pm
Aereo expands countering lawsuits
Aereo on Tuesday grew its countersuits against TV networks to include several more networks. Fox, PBS, Univision, WPIX, and WNET were all targeted under a complaint that wanted the judge to rule that Aereo wasn't violating the networks' copyrights. It had already sued ABC, CBS, and NBCUniversal a week ago.
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03/14, 11:15am
Good news for BSkyB, deadline extended to July
UK satellite TV service BSkyB was given a reprieve as the Competition Commission pushed back its deadline on ruling that BSkyB's deals with six major Hollywood studios were uncompetitive, according to The Guardian. The government watchdog extended the date of its final ruling to July because it has added Netflix and LoveFilm to its investigation. Netflix launched in the UK and Ireland in January, while LoveFilm recently added a streaming service to its rent-by-mail service.
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03/13, 3:35pm
Walmart kicks of UltraViolet service, now in beta
Walmart has officially announced its UltraViolet conversion service, letting users digitize their existing DVD and Blu-ray movies. Viewers will have the ability to bring a movie into one of the more than 3,500 participating stores in the US and have their movies added to a Vudu account, after which they can stream it at any time.
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03/12, 12:20pm
Fox, Universal, WB tapped for initial deals
HBO is relaxing terms on streaming content to services like iCloud, according to a company spokesman. To attract viewers, the cable network regularly buys exclusive rights to movies; these windows usually start six months after a title's disc release, and persist for roughly a year. HBO's terms frequently prevent movies from being sold online or through video-on-demand services during a window.
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03/08, 10:25am
Netflix may take up discarded Fox show
Netflix may take its strategy of focusing on self-produced content to a new stage by snapping up the Fox TV show Terra Nova, an insider found late Wednesday. The Internet streaming service was said by The Hollywood Reporter to be taking advantage of Fox's decision to shop around the sci-fi series to other networks after its first season. Talks were early, and it wasn't clear how much of a frontrunner Netflix might be.
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03/07, 5:00pm
iTunes in the Cloud and 3G App Store get new limit
A studio veteran divulged Wednesday that the iTunes in the Cloud access coming hand-in-hand with the new Apple TV and iTunes 10.6 doesn't include Fox and Universal. Either was tangled in HBO deals that gave the premium cable network brief exclusives that conflicted with the re-download rights, AllThingsD heard. HBO confirmed the issue but expected to find "common ground" that would clear full access.
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02/29, 1:15pm
Media on multiple devices, supports UltraViolet
Some of the same studios that developed the the UltraViolet digital standard are launching a new initiative to make content available across multiple devices. SanDisk, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Western Digital
have formed a new working group dubbed the Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA) to develop a new digital rights management (DRM) protocol that would make digital media available across multiple devices and through the cloud. The group will develop the system under the working title "Project Phenix."
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02/08, 11:40am
Amazon now offers Viacom content, library at 15K+
Amazon on Wednesday officially confirmed earlier rumors that it has inked a deal with cable provider Viacom to bring its TV shows to Amazon's Instant Video streaming service. As part of the deal, Amazon will allow customers to access thousands of episodes from MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Spike, VH1, BET, CMT, and Logo. This will include past seasons of shows like Chappelle's Show, Hot in Cleveland, Jersey Shore, Yo Gabba Gabba, and iCarly, among others.
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01/15, 6:05pm
Hulu starts up own online-only TV series
Hulu followed in Netflix's footsteps Sunday by launching its first fictional, original TV series. Battleground covers a fictional political campaign in Wisconsin and is produced by JD Walsh, 500 Days of Summer's Marc Webb, and Hagai Shaham. It should be followed up by more documentaries, including a second season of Morgan Spurlock's A Day in the Life and Richard Linklater's new Up to Speed.
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12/16, 7:50am
Fox tries iTunes for new Avatar technique
Fox is trying what it claims is a first for take-home movies with an upcoming iTunes Extras Special Edition version of Avatar ($20 pre-order, iTunes). The James Cameron action movie will let viewers see and control simultaneous views of 17 key scenes the movie that include the completed picture, the rough-computer generated framing, and the live motion capture. Green Screen X-ray will also let viewers selectively see the raw live action side of the content just by dragging the "X-ray" over parts of the scene.
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11/18, 8:20pm
Netflix gets lock on Arrested Development return
Fox and Imagine Television confirmed a major deal on Friday to get new episodes of Arrested Development. The agreement outlined by Variety would revive the cult hit TV show starting from early 2013. It reportedly won out in a fierce bidding competition with traditional TV that included Showtime, among others.
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11/03, 9:55pm
CBS says Apple planned stream TV with shared cash
CBS chief Les Moonves may have inadvertently confirmed Apple's negotiations for a streaming TV service during the company's fiscal results call. He claimed that CBS had turned down a deal for a service because it would have split ad revenues. The executive didn't give details of what the service would have involved.
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10/13, 8:15pm
Hulu says studios see it as too valuable
Hulu in a brief note said it had decided to stop its attempted selloff. The statement, which had the support of Disney, investor Providence Equity Partners, and Fox's parent company News Corp., claimed that each of the owners though there was too much of a "unique and compelling strategic value" for each of them to sell. It would instead center on existing plans.
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10/09, 11:55pm
Yahoo rumored jumping ship from Hulu deals
Yahoo is reportedly out of the increasingly uncertain bidding process for Hulu, a claimed leak said late Sunday. The search engine has allegedly been identified by the WSJ sources as the original mystery bidder but also to have exited entirely. The internal turmoil following Carol Bartz' firing and the possibility of a sell-off were attributed to the departure.
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09/26, 12:30pm
Amazon Instant Video gets big boost from Fox deal
Amazon on Monday scored an important content deal with Fox just ahead of its Kindle tablet event on Wednesday. The deal will give access to recent and classic movies as well as older TV shows. While not getting very current content, it will bring Amazon's content up significantly to 11,000 movies and TV shows.
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09/06, 4:30pm
Google may try for very special Hulu bid
Google's bid for Hulu may involve a much more elaborate prospect than anyone else, insiders gave out Tuesday. Amazon, Dish, and Yahoo are all offering conventional bids of up to $2 billion, but Google is now thought to have said "there's enough money" for a much more involved deal. Tips to AllThingsD didn't identify what the intentions were, but the amount was enough that Hulu would have normally thrown it out were it not for the cash involved.
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09/06, 11:00am
Rare exception to restrictive network policies
Fox is doing a rare TV show giveaway on the US iTunes Store, reports note. The network is currently offering the pilot episode of New Girl, a sitcom will only officially premiere on September 28th. Show downloads should remain free until around that date, after which people will have to pay normal iTunes prices. Variety comments that the giveaway may mark only the second time a US broadcaster has given away a complete sneak peek, the first instance being Fox's failed series Lone Star.
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09/01, 1:35am
Hulu Plus now active in Japan
Hulu on cue has launched Hulu Plus for Japan. The country is the first outside of the US to get Hulu and gives it a very different business model. Plus is the only option in the country and costs the equivalent of $19 per month, almost twice as much as the $8 it does in the US.
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08/26, 5:00pm
Apple sheds mention of TV show rentals
(Update: official explanations) Apple has dropped the 99-cent TV show rentals that it used to launch the second-generation Apple TV. Along with dropping the option from the store itself, the Apple TV product page no longer makes mention of the option. Rentals are now limited to movies, and TV shows are back to being purchase-only.
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08/22, 2:00pm
Fox delay of Hulu TV shows results in more piracy
The decision of Fox to start an eight-day TV show delay online has been met with a spike in piracy, TorrentFreak reported. Last Monday, Fox began the eight-day delay on Hulu and its own Fox.com website. Fox hopes to have encouraged viewers to sign up and pay for its programming to watch the TV shows as they air.
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08/16, 2:50pm
ABC working on authenticating online video views
ABC will join Fox in requiring users to log in while viewing online TV content. This solidifies earlier rumors that the Disney-owned network will do this, sources said to AllThingsD. During an earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger indicated he back distributing his company's content over nontraditional outlets like Hulu and Netlfix as long as it doesn't disrupt the current relationship with cable companies.
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08/10, 4:30pm
Future Disney deals to require log-in for web TV
Disney is following in the footsteps of the Fox book by requiring online TV show viewers to be pay TV subscribers and log in with a cable ID. According to a Wednesday GigaOM report, the company is working on deals with content distributors to allow this. Thus far, cable networks like CNN and HBO are already requiring such logins.
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08/08, 8:35am
iTunes Replay may be months off
Talk of iTunes Replay bringing cloud movie streaming might have come too soon. Insiders claimed Monday that Apple didn't have deals with at least four of six major movie studios. Any deal would be months off at best, CNET was told.
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07/29, 9:30am
Qriocity coming to Xperia minis on Monday
Sony on Monday, August 1 will begin the phased roll-out of its Qriocity service for Xperia smartphones. At first, the Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro will get access. Available content to rent or buy will include movies and TV shows from NBC and its partner Universal, Paramount, Sony, Fox, and Warner Bros., in addition to local and more independent studios.
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07/26, 7:45pm
Fox demands 8-day delay on Hulu shows
Fox on Tuesday night set out to shelter traditional TV with a long hinted-at plan to delay TV shows on Hulu for non-subscribers. Free viewers will face an eight-day delay for access to Fox TV shows unless they either pay for Hulu Plus or can prove they subscribe to a conventional TV service. Only satellite provider Dish Network is so far cleared to give users same-day access in the strategy, which starts up August 15.
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07/21, 3:45pm
Fox to offer digital copies of movies this fall
Fox will become the first movie studio to bring movie downloads to Google's Android platform this October. The first movie will be X-Men: First Class, a digital copy of which Blu-ray disc buyers will be able to download and sideload onto their Android devices. The service will at first be available in the US, the UK, France and Germany.
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07/20, 11:05am
Amazon and CBS deal dampens Hulu buy rumor
Amazon.com and CBS Corporation on Wednesday announced they have entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement that will let Amazon Prime customers stream CBS TV shows. The deal will see 2,000 additional episodes from 18 CBS TV shows such as The Tudors, Cheers, and the complete Star Trek series collection, among others. Also, later this summer, regular Amazon Instant Video customers will get access to dozens of CBS shows.
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07/10, 8:55pm
Netflix and Hulu mutually uninterested in deal
New tips Sunday ruled out Netflix as one of the candidates to buy Hulu. The movie streaming service hasn't been actively involved, sources for the WSJ said. Hulu also reportedly hasn't been actively interested, in part since it would create overlap and reduce the number of suppliers, not increase them.
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07/05, 5:25pm
Hulu talks to Amazon, ATT, Verizon, more
Hulu's shopping itself around also includes Amazon, AT&T, and Verizon, insiders revealed Tuesday. The companies are part of a "short list" that included Microsoft as its first stop last week and will include Yahoo and Google next. AllThingsD's sources didn't learn how Microsoft had reacted but also heard Hulu will bring up the idea to Facebook, Liberty Media, Netflix, and Samsung.
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06/27, 6:25pm
Hulu content to stay exclusive after sale, more
More details regarding the upcoming and expected sale of Hulu have been dug up by AllThingsD. Hulu's content partners, including known deals for Disney and Fox, have extended their licenses and these will stay in place after a sale of the video streaming company. Comcast/NBCUniversal will be forced to follow these partners, and the content from the three will be mainly exclusive to Hulu.
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06/27, 9:15am
Hulu shopping itself to diverse mix of companies
Hulu has responded to a proposed buyout by shopping itself around to a very wide range of companies, insiders have said Monday. The TV streaming site has been reaching out to "media, technology and communications" firms to see how interested they might be. The WSJ understands Hulu could still go unsold.
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06/24, 4:30pm
Hulu close to Disney deal following Fox
Tipsters said Friday that Hulu was wrapping up a deal to keep getting ABC and Disney shows. A pair of sources said a rough deal had already been set that would keep shows going in return for more than the 2.5 minutes of ads Hulu normally runs. The deal seen by AdAge could be completed within "weeks."
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06/21, 6:00pm
Hulu rumored selling itself off
Two insiders said Tuesday night that Hulu was considering selling itself after having been given a buyout offer. The source hadn't been identified but, according to CNBC's Julia Boorstin, was "not Google." Hulu hadn't decided what to do about the offer other than exploring its possibilities.
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05/03, 5:25pm
Vudu adds TV shows for first time
Vudu chose Tuesday to throw itself into more direct competition with iTunes and Netflix by carrying TV shows. The deal gives it access to shows from ABC, AMC, Fox, HDNet, Palm, Showtime, Sony, Starz, and The CW, such as Weeds and The Walking Dead. As a paid service, its episodes will show a day after the air date rather than weeks or months like on Netflix.
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04/26, 4:20pm
Fox, Paramount blame piracy for YouTube exit
Fox and Paramount have supposedly backed out of YouTube's imminent major movie service in an attempt to force action on piracy. Unofficial comments from the two claim that they won't get onboard as long as Google is indexing pirate video sites in its search engine and allowing them AdSense placement. Disney, not mentioned before, was also leaning the same direction, The Wrap said.
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04/25, 10:55pm
YouTube may intro major movie service
YouTube's largely public plans for a major studio movie service could be realized as soon as this week or next, studio executives purportedly said Monday. The service would initially work through a video-on-demand rental system, presumably streaming, rather than permanent sales. Some studios like Lionsgate, Sony, Warner, and Universal would be onboard, The Wrap heard, but Google has allegedly had trouble getting support and would have to forsake movies from Fox and Paramount for the initial unveiling.
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04/15, 9:40pm
Time Warner Cable iPad app gets channels back
Time Warner Cable started the weekend with word that it had recovered some of the channels for the TWCable TV iPad app (free, App Store) that it had lost to disagreements just weeks earlier. The streaming app now has Discovery's namesake channel as well as Animal Planet and TLC. Fox News, FX, and National Geographic have also arrived along with Lifetime Real Women, Military History, Sundance Central, and Wedding Central.
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04/08, 6:50pm
Netflix said landing complete Star Trek TV deal
Netflix may land a key deal to show every Star Trek episode ever made. The company reportedly confirmed that it would have access to all five storylines, ranging from the classic 1960s show through to Enterprise. TrekMovie understood that all but Deep Space Nine would go live on July 1, with the holdout coming October 1.
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04/07, 5:25pm
Time Warner Cable demands iPad app court judgment
Time Warner Cable on Thursday launched a preemptive strike against Viacom in hopes of getting a legal right to broadcast the network's shows through its iPad app. The motion for a declaratory judgment asked a Southern District of New York court to say that the TWCable TV app was within TWC's broadcast rights. Viacom had threatened legal action but would be barred from any measure if a judgment came in TWC's favor.
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04/01, 12:40pm
Time Warner Cable adds 17 channels to iPad TV app
Time Warner Cable on Friday shot back at the need to pull some channels from its TWCable TV iPad app by adding 17 new ones. Although it had to pull some key Discovery-, Fox-, and Viacom-owned stations, it now has major networks such as A&E, CNN, Disney, ESPNnews, IFC, and MSNBC, among others. It also managed to add Fox News despite the apparent deadlock.
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04/01, 11:35am
Netflix gets more Fox TV deals
Netflix on Friday landed another of its key content deals by expanding its relationship with Fox. The deal will dip into more classic shows like Ally McBeal and The Wonder Years but also give access to parts of more current content, such as the first season of Glee and the the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy. Some movies will also be coming, but unlike most of Netflix's recent deals, will have to wait until after the pay TV window expires.
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03/31, 5:15pm
Time Warner pulls Fox from iPad TV app
Time Warner Cable partly bowed to pressure on Thursday and said it would pull channels like Fox from its TWCable TV iPad app. It spun the withdrawal by saying it would concentrate on "enlightened programmers" who saw the value of tablet streaming. The decision also gave it incentive to attack Fox, Scripps, and other holdouts, ironically accusing them of greed by limiting how they could access TV.
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03/30, 8:55pm
Fox tells Time Warner to remove channels from iPad
Fox on Wednesday said it had given a cease-and-desist letter to Time Warner Cable asking it to pull Fox channels from the TWCable TV iPad app. The studio believed Time Warner didn't have rights to stream its shows on Apple's tablet, even over the app's home Wi-Fi limitation. Time Warner hadn't said to Bloomberg if it would contest the letter but in a post on its company blog reiterated its view that its home TV rights included the iPad.
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02/22, 4:00pm
CBS brings classic TV shows to Netflix
CBS today showed a rare willingness to bring its TV shows to a subscription Internet service today and gave Netflix some key content. Classic shows such as Cheers, Star Trek and Twin Peaks will now be viewable through a streaming plan, as will two newer shows, Flashpoint and Medium. The non-exclusive deal lasts for two years and has an option for a two-year renewal.
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01/27, 1:45am
Hulu could move to bundles and toss free video
Hulu is considering a major shakeup of its business model that could move away from its free format and towards a paid service with live TV, insiders claimed early Thursday. While it wouldn't drop the current model, the service is pondering the option of mimicking cable services by offering live TV in package bundles as well as video on demand. The plan would still be under discussion, the WSJ heard.
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