New York – The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) on Thursday launched
subscription tiers for access to its digital offerings in Canada, and said the new paywall would be erected for readers elsewhere on March 28. The paper will charge $35 for
four weeks of full digital access — or about $455 a year — which includes
online, smartphone and tablet platforms.

A subscription that includes access
via an iPad or other tablet, plus the Web will cost $20 for four weeks, while a
smartphone plus Web subscription will cost $15.

The company’s website will limit free
access to 20 links per month, while its homepage and Top News sections will
remain free on smartphones and tablets.

Print subscribers will receive
full digital access at no additional charge.

The Times added that it plans by
June 30 to begin selling subscriptions via Apple’s iTunes Store, giving up a
30% cut of that subscription revenue to Apple.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/48482nr

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/03/new-york-times-digital-subs/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20044250-261.html

Boca Raton, Fla. – FriendFinder Networks, the publisher of
Penthouse magazine and operator of social networks including FriendFinder.com
and Cams.com, announced on Thursday that it has once again filed for an initial
public offering (IPO) of shares.

The company did not say how much it hopes to
raise, but said it would use the net proceeds to repay a portion of its debt.

Florida-based
FriendFinder previously filed to raise $460 million, but later reduced this sum
to $220 million before withdrawing the offering last year, citing "market
conditions."

The company said it carries $510 million in debt, and counted
196 million worldwide users of its sites as of December.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4mbpe9n

http://tinyurl.com/4p69xr5
(PaidContent)

http://www.friendfinder.com

London – The Filter, the developer of a content
recommendation engine, has raised an undisclosed amount of third round funding,
according to PaidContent, which estimated the investment amount at $1.3
million.

Backers included existing investors Peter Gabriel and Eden Ventures,
and four new angel investors, CEO David Maher Roberts told PaidContent.

The
U.K.-based company’s recommendation engine is used by NBC, Dailymotion and others.

The Filter will use the funds for expansion of its U.S. operations and further
product development.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/49atc75
(PaidContent)

http://www.thefilter.com

Chicago – Groupon, the group buying service and chief rival
of LivingSocial, could be valued as high as $25 billion when it prices its
initial public offering (IPO), which could happen later this year, Bloomberg
reported. Citing two people with knowledge of the situation, the news service
said the two-year-old company would likely be valued at a minimum of $15
billion.

The news comes three months after Google ended its pursuit of Groupon,
after offering a reported $6 billion for the company.

Chicago-based Groupon now
operates its daily discount email service in more than 500 markets, with more
than 70 million users.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4olxo3x
(Bloomberg)

http://www.groupon.com 

McLean, Va. – USA Today publisher Gannett (NYSE: GCI) on Wednesday named
former CNN executive David Payne as its senior vice president and chief digital
officer. Payne most recently served as the president and CEO of video ad
technology start-up ShortTail Media, and before that was the senior vice
president and general manager of CNN.com. Gannett said its digital business has
grown 44% over the past two years and, now sporting annual revenue of nearly $1
billion — about 18% of its total revenue.

 
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/45lr7by

San Francisco – Twitter has added the ability for users to
utilize HTTPS secure connections when accessing Twitter.com, following similar
steps taken by Facebook and other sites. "This will improve the security
of your account and better protect your information if you’re using Twitter
over an unsecured Internet connection, like a public WiFi network, where
someone may be able to eavesdrop on your site activity," Twitter said. The
company hopes in the future to make HTTPS the default setting for all.

Related Links:
http://blog.twitter.com/2011/03/making-twitter-more-secure-https.html

Austin, Texas – In a bid to return to its musical roots,
Viacom’s MTV is launching The Hive, a new website that will offer music news,
reviews, opinion writing and multimedia features. The site will also serve as a
database of 30 years of music videos, and as a portal for other music-related
MTV projects like the Music Meter and Live in NYC.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4zfqzed
(PaidContent)

http://www.mtvhive.com

New York – Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) said on Wednesday that, due to
"overwhelming" demand for the ‘TV Everywhere’ app it released
yesterday that lets subscribers watch live programming online, the company has
temporarily reduced the number of channels available on the iPad app to 15
channels. The company said the move will "ease strain on the
authentication process," adding the full 30 channel line-up will be
restored as quickly as possible.

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110316006269/en

Santa Monica, Calif. – Film studio Lionsgate said it has
launched the first move ticket deal with social shopping service Groupon.
During a two-day promotion, Groupon will offer tickets to Lionsgate’s and
Lakeshore Entertainment’s "The Lincoln Lawyer" for $6, through online
ticketing service Fandango.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4n9sbdk

http://www.groupon.com

Seoul, Korea – Electronics firm Samsung has launched a 3D
video-on-demand service in its home country of South Korea, CNET reports. At
launch, the service includes 3D features from DreamWorks, and will also offer
trailers, children’s content and music videos. The new service is being made
available via the company’s Samsung Apps marketplace.

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20043702-17.html

http://www.samsung.com