Justice Dept. to Lead Antitrust Probe of Comcast-NBC Universal

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Washington
– The U.S. Justice Dept. will take the lead in the government’s review of
Comcast’s (NASD:  CMCSA) proposed $30 billion deal to take over NBC Universal, according to
published reports. While antitrust approval from the Justice Dept. will be
needed in order for the deal to proceed, it will also be reviewed by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Under the terms of the deal, which was
announced in December, Comcast and NBC Universal would merge into a joint
venture, with Comcast owning 51% and NBC Universal 49%.

General Electric (NYSE:  GE), which
currently controls NBC Universal, would be entitled to sell off its stake in the venture over the next seven years.

The proposed deal has drawn
criticism from a range of public-interest groups, who argue that Comcast,
already the nation’s largest cable TV provider, would gain undue control over
the distribution of video content.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tzux0
(WSJ)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10428338-93.html

Google Sweetens Bid for Video Encoding Firm On2

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

New York
– Google (NASD: GOOG) has increased by nearly 25% its offer for On2 Technologies, the video
encoding firm it bid $106.5 million for in August 2009.

The extra 15 cents per
share from Google boosts the offer to about $133.9 million, and constitutes the
company’s "final offer."

Google said that by raising its offer,
"On2’s stockholders will receive additional value for their On2 common
stock that Google and On2 believe better reflects the value that On2’s
stockholders would have received had the acquisition closed closer to the time
of its announcement in August 2009."

Following the announcement of the
deal, investors in On2 filed lawsuits in New York
and Delaware
seeking to block the deal, saying it undervalued the company, and benefitted
the On2’s management, board and employees more than investors.

 

Related Links:
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/ir_20100107.html

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

http://www.on2.com

Report: Online Holiday Spending Rose 4% in 2009

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Reston, Va. – Americans spent $29.1 billion online
this past holiday season, a 4% increase from the prior year, according to new
figures from market research firm comScore. "The 2009 online holiday
shopping season was a positive one as its growth rate slightly surpassed our
forecast and returned to solidly positive rates after nearly a full year of
marginally negative growth," said Gian Fulgoni, comScore’s chairman.

Fulgoni credited effective retailer promotions, guaranteed shipping offers and
an East Coast blizzard that forced many holiday shoppers to buy online.

The
heaviest online spending day of the year — and of all time — occurred on
Tuesday, Dec. 15 ($913 billion).

It was one of nine individual spending days to
surpass $800 million during the holiday season.

Cyber Monday (Monday, Nov. 30),
propelled by aggressive retailer promotions, ranked as the second heaviest
spending day at $887 million.

 

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

Free, Licensed Music Download Service Jamendo Seeks Buyer

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Luxembourg
– Jamendo, the provider of a website featuring free music downloads, published
via Creative Commons licenses, is actively seeking a sale or merger of the
company and has held talks with at least one suitor, TechCrunch reported.

Founded
in 2000, Luxembourg-based Jamendo last raised funding in June 2007 from Mangrove
Capital Partners, but has since failed in its attempts to raise a $2.15 million
follow-up round.

Along with free downloads, Jamendo also operates an online
marketplace where music may be licensed for use in multimedia projects, and as
background music.

The company told TechCrunch the service counts 2,300 paying
customers, and generated about $430,000 in 2009.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tzu8a
(TechCrunch)

http://www.jamendo.com

Jive Acquires Social Media Monitoring Firm Filtrbox

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Portland,
Ore. – Jive, a provider of social
media tools for businesses, announced on Thursday that it has acquired
Filtrbox, a social media analytics firm.

Financial terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.

Portland, Ore.-based Jive
said it will integrate Filtrbox’s real-time social media monitoring
capabilities into its own platform, to help businesses see what consumers are
saying about their brands in social media conversations.

Founded in 2007, Boulder,
Colo.-based Filtrbox has to date raised about $2 million in venture capital,
from backers including Flywheel Ventures and True Ventures.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tzu4h

http://www.filtrbox.com

Motorola Acquires Video DRM Provider SecureMedia

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
2

Schaumberg,
Ill. – Motorola (NYSE: MOT) announced on
Thursday that it will acquire the assets of SecureMedia, a developer of
software-based digital rights management (DRM) and security systems for
Internet video.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded
in 1996, Massachusetts-based SecureMedia has to date raised over $4 million in
venture capital, and was acquired by MediaXstream for an undisclosed sum in
April 2008.

The company’s DRM technology has been approved by all the major
film studios and TV networks.

Motorola said that SecureMedia will become part
of its Home & Networks Mobility business.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tzu3l

http://www.securemedia.com

Jelli Lands $2 Million for Listener-Programmed Radio

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Mateo,
Calif. – Jelli, the developer of
an interactive terrestrial radio service, has raised $2 million in new funding
from angel investors, VentureBeat reported.

Backers include Josh Kopelman,
Zappos COO Alfred Lin, TriplePoint Capital and Peter Sperling.

San Mateo,
Calif.-based Jelli offers a listener-programmed format for traditional radio
stations, where users can collaborate to create playlists, and vote in
real-time to take a song off of the air.

The company is currently broadcasting
a program with Live 105 in San
Francisco, and plans to offer a nationally syndicated
program in the first quarter of 2010.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/tztym
(VentureBeat)

http://www.jelli.net

SeaChange to Acquire VividLogic for $14 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Acton, Mass. – SeaChange International, a provider
of software and hardware for video-on-demand (VOD) systems, has entered into an
agreement to acquire VividLogic, a privately owned, California-based company
that provides software and services to cable television service providers,
set-top box manufacturers and consumer electronics suppliers.

Under the
agreement, SeaChange will pay $12 million in cash upon the closing of the deal
and $2 million will be paid on the one year anniversary of the closing.

SeaChange
said that the combination of its existing in-home technologies and the VividLogic
platforms will enable it to capitalize on the market shift towards IP-delivery
into and within the home.

 

Related Links:
http://www.schange.com/News/SeaChange-Acquires-VividLogic.aspx

http://www.vividlogic.com

Netflix OKs 28-Day Window on Warner Titles; Expands Catalog

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Gatos,
Calif. – Online DVD rental
service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) on Wednesday announced a new agreement with Warner Bros. Home
Entertainment Group (NYSE: TWX), which will create a month-long window before new release
DVDs from the studio are available on the service. Warner, which said that the
window will give it "the opportunity to maximize the sales potential of
those titles," will in turn be providing Netflix with a greater selection
of catalog and direct-to-video titles. The studio also renewed and expanded its
deal to allow Netflix members to instantly stream its titles.


 

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

http://www.netflix.com

Sony Mistakenly Posts "Armored" Movie on PlayStation Network

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment accidentally made the Screen Gems film
"Armored" — still currently in theaters — available for download
from its PlayStation Network service for a few hours last week, Variety
reported. "It was removed from the service as soon as we became aware of
the issue and we have taken steps to ensure this won’t happen again," a
Sony spokesperson told Variety. The film was available long enough, however, for it to have been uploaded to various file-sharing networks. A DVD release date for the film has not yet
been set.

Related Links:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013371.html

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