New York – Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) on Friday asked a federal court
to declare that existing carriage agreement gives it the right to stream live
video from Viacom (NYSE: VIA) networks to its subscribers in their homes via its new iPad
application. After launching the live video streaming iPad app on March 15, Time
Warner Cable received complaints from Viacom, as well as Fox (NYSE: NWS) and
Discovery (NASD: DISCA), and removed those channels from the app.

The company said the app
has now been downloaded more than 360,000 times, and currently features live
streaming of 43 channels.

"We have steadfastly maintained that we have the
rights to allow our customers to view this programming in their homes, over our
cable systems, without artificial limits on the screens they can use to do so,
and we are asking the court to confirm our view," said Time Warner Cable
executive vice president and general counsel Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum.

"We’re
at an impasse with a handful of network owners, and we need an impartial third
party to referee the situation and confirm that our interpretation is
correct," the company says in a blog post.

"We thought the most
efficient way to settle this would be to go before a judge and ask for a
decision that, while noncombative, would establish the rights that we bargained
for. If we weren’t completely certain that we had the rights to distribute
television to our customers’ iPads within their homes, we wouldn’t be asking
for the court’s attention."

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110407006721/en

http://tinyurl.com/4yk5tkj
(TWC blog)

http://tinyurl.com/3dpx9yf
(DMW previous coverage)

London – Video search index Blinkx announced on Friday that
it will acquire Burst Media, the operator of an online ad network, for $30
million.

Blinkx said the deal will bring its 35 million hours of indexed video
to Burst’s audience of over 130 million unique users.

The company will create
contextually relevant video channels for Burst’s network of publishers.

"Up
until now, the primary barrier to further television advertising budgets moving
online has been online video’s inability to match the sheer scale of audience
that television can deliver," said Blinkx CEO Suranga Chandratillake.

"We
are extremely excited about the Acquisition as it will allow us to overcome that
challenge: by fusing blinkx’s unique patented technology and large video index
with Burst’s massive reach, we will have the potential to create personalised,
online television that is watched by hundreds of millions of users."

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/62agtzh

http://www.blinkx.com

http://www.burstmedia.com

New York – SocialFlow, the provider of a social media
optimization platform, announced that it has raised $7 million in its first
round of funding, led by Softbank.

Also participating were Softbank NY, RRE,
Betaworks, Highline Venture Partners, AOL Venture Partners, SV Angel and a
group of angel investors.

Founded in 2010, New York-based SocialFlow says its
platform can determine in real-time the Twitter topics that people are engaged
in, and how likely they are to take an action on a tweet, then publishes the
best tweet when audiences are most receptive.

Customers include The Economist,
eMusic and the New York Public Library.

The company will use the funds to accelerate
development of its platform.

Related Links:
http://www.pehub.com/101373/socialflow-inks-7m-series-a/

http://www.socialflow.com

Irvington, N.Y. – Flat World Knowledge, a publisher of free
and open online college textbooks, has raised an additional sum of funding from
publisher Random House to close its second round of financing.

The company
announced the $15 million round in January, which was led by Bertelsmann
Digital Media Investments and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Founded in 2007, New
York-based Flat World publishes works from academic authors under a Creative
Commons open license, which allows students to read them free online, or
purchase them in print and digital formats.

The company said more than 1,600
professors at over 900 colleges in 44 countries have adopted Flat World books.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3we2g2t

http://www.flatworldknowledge.com

Redwood Shores, Calif. – Rocket Fuel, a provider of digital
advertising services, has raised $6.6 million in its third round of venture
capital financing, led by Northgate Capital.

Previous backers Mohr Davidow
Ventures, Labrador Capital Fund, Nokia Growth Partners and Wilson Sonsini
Goodrich & Rosati also participated.

Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Rocket
Fuel counts more than 300 customers for its digital ad services, and says ads
from its Rocket Fuel Network are seen by over 150 million a month.

The company
will use the funds for new product development, and to expand business
development, sales and marketing efforts.

Related Links:
http://www.rocketfuel.com/press/seriescrelease.html

http://www.rocketfuel.com

New York – Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) ESPN on Thursday released a "TV
Everywhere" app that lets subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Bright House
Networks and Verizon FiOS TV watch live video via Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod
touch. The free WatchESPN app is available to download today; ESPN said an
iPad-optimized version will be available in May, while versions for other
smartphones and tablets are in the works.

Related Links:
http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2011/04/07/watchespn/

http://tinyurl.com/3z2xw38
(GigaOM)

Redwood Shores, Calif. – Game publisher Electronic Arts’ (NASD: ERTS)
BioWare unit said on Thursday that it has partnered with Japanese anime
distributor FUNimation, and anime studio T.O Entertaiment to create an anime
feature film adapted from its "Mass Effect" game franchise.
Production has already begun on the project, which is slated for digital and
home video release next summer.

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110407005391/en

http://masseffect.bioware.com

London – Mobile music ID service Shazam generated $16
million in revenue during its fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, Music Ally
reported, citing a regulatory filing. That compares with $11.9 million in
revenues for the prior year. The company currently counts around 80 million
users, and says it is now adding about a million new users each week.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/654zphn
(Music Ally)

Grapevine, Texas – Video game retail store chain GameStop (NYSE: GME) on
Thursday announced the launch of a social commerce storefront on Facebook. The
company tapped Adgregate to power the store, which will offer pre-orders on
anticipated titles, and allow consumers to earn and redeem points on purchases
made in Facebook via its PowerUp Rewards program. GameStop’s Facebook page
counts 1.8 million fans.

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110407005244/en

http://apps.facebook.com/gamestopshop

New York – Fowndr is currently accepting applications to
join its new social network, designed exclusively for entrepreneurs and
founders of start-ups to discuss new projects and share resources, The New York
Times reports. The London-based site is slated to launch in the coming weeks.
"The network is going to be based around trust, including who members
decide to invite to the service and how they share their knowledge,"
Fowndr head Stu Green told The Times.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3l6krh4
(N.Y. Times)

http://fowndr.com