Fox Joins Major Network Blockade of Google TV

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles – News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) Fox network has begun blocking
its TV programming from being accessed by Google TV, the company’s new device
and corresponding service that merge TV and Web video content and search,
GTVHub.com reported.

Fellow major networks ABC, CBS and NBC have also blocked
access via Google (NASD: GOOG) TV, as has the Hulu video portal.

"We’re in the early
phases of Google TV and already have strong partnerships with Best Buy,
Logitech and Sony, among others," Google said in a statement to
PaidContent.

"We are excited about the opportunities our new platform
creates for both established media companies like Turner and HBO, and tens of
thousands of content creators large and small.

"Google TV enables access to all
the web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is
ultimately the content owner’s choice to restrict users from accessing their
content on the platform."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2craj9u
(GTVHub.com)

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-confirmed-fox-blocking-google-tv

http://www.google.com/tv

Report: Facebook to Introduce Web-based Email on Monday

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
2

Palo Alto, Calif. – Facebook is expected to introduce a Web-based
email service on Monday, which is being unofficially referred to internally as
a "Gmail killer," TechCrunch reported, citing sources. Such a service
would likely provide users the option of opening an email account with an
@facebook.com address.

The email service could also potentially integrate
Facebook features like photos, events and local deals, and prioritize emails
based on the strength of social connections with various contacts.

That
Facebook would refer to the rumored email service as a "Gmail killer"
is worth noting in light of the recent dispute between Google (NASD:  GOOG) and Facebook over
email contacts.

After Google stopped allowing Facebook to access a user’s Gmail
contacts to help build their Facebook friend lists — due to what it called
Facebook’s refusal to share data with third parties — Facebook created a
technological workaround that restored access to Gmail contacts.

Google did not
block the workaround, but is now prompting Facebook members using the
workaround with the option of filing a complaint over the Facebook’s "data
protecionism."

 

Will You Consider Switching from Gmail to Facebook Email?

Related Links:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/11/facebook-gmail-titan

http://tinyurl.com/25b2lbp
(All Things D)

http://tinyurl.com/2ew56uk
(DMW previous coverage)

Party Planning Service Punchbowl Acquires Rival Socializr

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Framingham, Mass. – Punchbowl.com, an online party-planning
service, on Friday announced that it has acquired Socializr.com, a similar
service created by Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams in 2006.

Financial terms
of the transaction were not disclosed.

San Francisco-based Socializr has raised
a total of $2.25 million in venture capital financing, from backers including
Rembrandt Venture Partners.

Massachusetts-based Punchbowl plans to migrate
Socializr users to its own service, which currently counts over one million
registered users.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2dzcauo
(Punchbowl blog)

http://tinyurl.com/2vp5vfx
(TechCrunch)

http://www.socializr.com

Akamai Files Patent Claims Against Rival CDN Cotendo

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cambridge, Mass. – Content deliver network services provider
Akamai (NASD: AKAM) this week filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Cotendo, a smaller
rival.

Filed in federal court in Massachusetts, the lawsuit — to which the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a co-plaintiff — alleges that Cotendo
is infringing on three of Akamai’s patents.

Founded in 2009, Sunnyvale,
Calif.-based Cotendo has to date raised $22 million in venture capital
financing.

Akamai has previously sued rivals Digital Island and Speedera for
copyright infringement, eventually settling the matters by acquiring those
companies.

For its part, Cotendo said in a statement that it believes Akamai’s
lawsuit has no merit, and will defend the suit vigorously.

"We want to
thank our customers and partners, who have shown their strong commitment and
support," said Cotendo CEO Ronni Zehavi. "We will continue to deliver
innovative services to the market."

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/23fa6bu

http://www.akamai.com

http://www.contendo.com

Harmonix

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Viacom Looks to Sell "Guitar Hero" Game Developer Harmonix

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Viacom (NYSE:  VIA) plans to sell its Harmonix game development
studio, which created the "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"
music video game franchises, the company said in its quarterly financial
report. Viacom acquired Harmonix for $175 million in 2006, and since then it
has operated as part of the company’s MTV Games unit.

The music game market
generated a total of $1.7 billion in 2008 before it began to lose steam.

In its
most recent quarter, Viacom reported charges of $260 million on Harmonix
goodwill and the writedown of "Rock Band" assets.

"Our decision
to exit this business strategy is to focus on what we do best, and that’s
creating world class entertainment," Viacom president and CEO Phillip
Dauman said during an earnings call Thursday.

"The console games business
requires expertise we don’t have. For us, this is all about focus."

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2f9zuu5
(PDF)

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/11/viacom-sells-harmonix

ZeniMax Media Aquires European Developer MachineGames

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Rockville, Md. – Video game developer and publisher ZeniMax
Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, announced on Friday that it
has acquired MachineGames, a European development studio.

Financial
terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Established in 2009 in Sweden,
MachineGames was founded by members of Starbreeze Studios, the firm behind
games including "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher’s
Bay" and "The Darkness."

MachineGames is working on an unannounced
project for ZeniMax’s Bethesda Softworks.

 

 

Related Links:
http://www.zenimax.com/news_pressrelease11.11.10.htm

http://www.machinegames.com

Newsweek, The Daily Beast Merge; Tina Brown Named Editor

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Washington – In a merger of old and new media, Newsweek
magazine announced on Thursday that it will merge with New York-based The Daily
Beast, an Internet-focused publication, to form a new joint venture. The news
comes just months after Sidney Harman acquired Newsweek from The Washington
Post Company for just $1 plus the assumption of the magazine’s debt.

The Daily
Beast, created two years ago, is owned by Barry Diller’s IAC (NASD:  IACI) and run by Tina
Brown, who was has been named the new editor-in-chief of both publications.

The
new joint venture — called The Newsweek Daily Beast Company — will be owned equally
by IAC and Harman.

"What does this exciting new media marriage mean?" wrote
Brown in a blog posting. "It means that The Daily Beast’s animal high spirits
will now be teamed with a legendary, weekly print magazine."

Brown has led
various magazines including the Tatler in the U.K., Vanity Fair and the New
Yorker.

 

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2ezu2jo

http://tinyurl.com/2cxwxgf

Digital Ticketing Firm Veritix Secures $100 Million Credit Line

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cleveland, Ohio – Veritix, a provider of digital ticketing
solutions, has secured a five-year, $100 million line of credit from Rockbridge
Growth Equity, TicketNews.com reported.

The company intends to use the funding
in part to generate new business through upfront payments to venues, teams and
promoters.

Cleveland, Ohio-based Veritix was in 2008 through the merger of
Flash Seats and Vertical Alliance. Customers include four NBA teams.

Veritix is
aiming to compete with both market leader Ticketmaster, and fellow upstarts
including Comcast-Spectator, Outbox Enterprises, TicketFly, TicketBiscuit and
AudienceView Ticketing.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/27njbvg

http://www.veritix.com

Report: Mobile Photo App Instagram Raising VC Funding

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – Instagram, a developer of mobile photo
alteration applications, is raising a first round of funding seeking a
valuation of about $20 million, CNET News.com reported, citing sources.

One source told CNET Sequoia Capital is positioned to be the lead investor in the
round.

Previous Instagram backer Andreessen Horowitz this week also invested $5
million in Instagram rival Mixed Media Labs, developers of the PicPlz mobile
photo application.

The move prompted speculation that the potential conflict of
interest signaled that Instagram would be sold.

 

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20022550-36.html

http://www.instagr.am

1...1,1271,1281,129...1,464Page 1,128 of 1,464