Siano Raises $23.5 Million for Mobile Digital TV Chips

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Netanya,
Israel – Siano
Mobile Silicon, a manufacturer of mobile digital TV receiver chips, announced
on Tuesday that it has closed a $23.5 million fourth round of funding.

Participating in the round were all of the company’s existing investors, including
JVP, DFJ-Tamir-Fishman, Star Ventures, Walden Israel and Bessemer Venture
Partners.

Founded in 2004, Israel-based Siano makes digital TV chips found in
mobile, portable and handheld devices in emerging markets like China, Brazil
and Europe.

Customers include Samsung, Motorola, Huawei and Dell.

The company
will use the funds to build sufficient product inventory, and to develop new
products and penetrate new markets.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u263d

http://www.siano-ms.com

Arbitron CEO Resigns After Violating Company Policy

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Columbia,
Md. – After just a year on the
job, Michael Skarzynski has resigned as the president and CEO of Arbitron after
the board of the radio ratings firm determined that he violated an undisclosed
company policy, unrelated to its financial performance.

The company has named
board member William Kerr, the chairman and former CEO of Meredith Corp., as
his replacement.

The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that the resignation
is related to Skarzynski’s testimony six weeks ago before a Congressional
subcommittee, in which he answered allegations that the company’s Portable
People Meter (PPM) technology undercounts minority radio listeners.

Rep.
Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), who chaired the subcommittee, said on Monday that
Skarzynski may have "intentionally misled" the panel.

 

Related Links:
http://arbitron.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=653

http://snipurl.com/u261s
(Washington Post)

Epix Pay-TV Channel Signs Carriage Deal with Cox

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Epix, the pay-TV
and online video channel joint venture between Viacom (NYSE: VIA), its Paramount
division, Lionsgate and MGM, has reached a carriage agreement with Cox
Communications, the nation’s third-largest cable TV provider, Silicon Alley
Insider reported. Currently, Epix is only available on Verizon’s FiOS TV
digital TV service, for $9.99 per month.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u1sgp
(Silicon Alley Insider)

http://ww2.cox.com

http://www.epixhd.com

Ad-supported Download Site FreeAllMusic Licenses Universal

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Atlanta
– FreeAllMusic.com, an ad-supported music download service, announced on Monday
that it has signed a deal licensing major record label Universal Music Group’s
catalog for its service. Currently in a private beta, FreeAllMusic.com offers
users up to 20 free downloads per month, at a rate of five per week — provided
they watch "one brief video commercial per download." Users’ music
selections and sponsoring brands — which currently include Coca-Cola, Warner
Bros. TV, Lionsgate and Zappos — are then promoted externally via an opt-in
digital advertising network.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u1s6y

http://www.freeallmusic.com

Netflix Likely to Offer Streaming Video on Nintendo Wii

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Las Vegas
– Netflix (NASD:  NFLX) is likely to make its streaming video service available on the
Nintendo Wii console, adding to the feature already popular for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3, according to remarks made by CEO Reed Hastings, Barrons.com
reported. Hastings
reportedly referred to the chances of Netflix streaming on the Wii as
"excellent," and said a deal should "work out over time."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u1s86
(Barron’s)

http://snipurl.com/u1s82
(NewTeeVee)

http://www.netflix.com

Tucker Carlson Launches News Site The Daily Caller

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Washington
– Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel, the former chief
policy advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney, on Monday formally launched national
news website The Daily Caller. The site features what Carlson termed
"straightforward" original reporting on national news, as well as a
healthy dose of political commentary. Content also features articles, photos
and video from sources such as the AP, TechCrunch and E News, among others. Initial
advertisers include the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Broadband for
America, National Mining Association, Southern Company and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u1sj7

http://dailycaller.com/letter-from-tucker

http://dailycaller.com

Spain Empowers Judges to Close Websites on Piracy Claims

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Madrid – The government of Spain has approved
new legislation that will empower the country’s courts to shutter or block
access to websites offering unauthorized downloads of music and video content,
Variety reports.

Under the new law, copyright owners will be able to file
infringement complaints with an intellectual property commission within the
country’s ministry of culture, which will then forward them to judges.

For
their part, judges will have four days to decide whether to temporarily shutter
a website while further investigation is conducted.

 

Related Links:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013577.html

Google Apologizes to Chinese Authors Over Books Index

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Beijing
– Google (NASD: GOOG) has apologized to Chinese authors over its dealings with them in
regard to its massive book-scanning project, the Associated Press reported.

"Following
discussions and communications in recent months, we do believe that our
communication with Chinese writers has not been good enough. Google is ready to
apologize to Chinese writers about this," Erik Hartmann, the head of Google
Books for Asia-Pacific, wrote in a letter to the Chinese Writers’ Association.

One Chinese author named Mian Mian already sued Google in Chinese court over
the inclusion of her work in the digital book index; AP reports that the judge
told the two parties to hold settlement talks.

Google said in its letter that
it will make a complete inventory of all the Chinese works it has scanned to
date, and work with Chinese writers on a settlement proposal, with the aim of
reaching a formal agreement by June.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u1rm1
(AP)  

Universal Music Sues Grooveshark for Copyright Infringement

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

New York – Major record label Universal Music Group has sued
music download service Grooveshark, alleging that the site is offering pre-1972
Universal recordings for free, Courthouse News Service reported.

The suit seeks
an injunction, and punitive damages for unfair competition and copyright
infringement from Grooveshark parent company Escape Media Group.

Universal alleges that Grooveshark "uses the lure of free access" to its tracks
to drive traffic and advertising revenue.

Grooveshark was also sued by major
label EMI for copyright infringement in June 2009, but in October EMI dropped
its suit and instead licensed its recording and publishing catalogs to the
site.

 

Related Links:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/01/08/23474.htm

http://snipurl.com/u1rfh
(Hypebot)

http://snipurl.com/u1rix
(DMW previous coverage)

http://listen.grooveshark.com

Google News Stops Adding Associated Press Articles

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Mountain View, Calif. – Google (NASD: GOOG) is no longer hosting new articles published
by the Associated Press on its Google News site, perhaps the result of
difficult licensing renegotiations between the two parties, Search Engine
Land reported.

While
older AP articles are still accessible on Google News, no new articles from the
news organization have been posted to the site since Dec. 24.

"We have a
licensing agreement with the Associated Press that permits us to host its
content on Google properties such as Google News. Some of that content is still
available today. At the moment we’re not adding new hosted content from the
AP," the company said in a statement.

 

Related Links:
http://searchengineland.com/wheres-ap-in-google-news-33164

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-google-stops-hosting-new-ap-content/

http://news.google.com

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