CES: New “Better” TV Sets?
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, January 13, 2012 · 
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The Leichtman Research Group recently released some interesting data concerning television set ownership in the United States. There is an HDTV-capable TV set in 69% of U.S. households. Further, 48% of U.S. households have more than one HDTV, and one-third have more than two HDTVs. On the analog side, 45% of TV sets in households are not HDTV-capable, and nearly 60% of all TV sets in the United States are non-HDTV. Read more
Amazon and NBC Announce Streaming Deal
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, July 29, 2011 · ·
Just a week after announcing a similar arrangement with CBS, Amazon on Thursday announced that it had reached agreement with NBCUniversal. The arrangement provides for streaming rights and nonexclusive access to NBCUniversal’s film library.
The programming will be available through Amazon Prime, the annual membership service. For the price of $79, Amazon Prime members are allowed two-day shipping on purchases. The streaming service is available to the members at no additional cost.
ION TV to Air Starz Movies
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, July 15, 2011 · ·
For the first time, ION has acquired first run rights for films. In a deal with Starz Media, ION will run six films in its “Big Movie Weekend” starting in November.
ION Chief Operating Office Brandon Burgess said that the arrangement provides an outlet for independent content creators. The Starz-owned films are distributed through Anchor Bay Films and Overture Films, also owned by Starz Media.
In related news, ION’s prime-time numbers are encouraging. Total viewers is up 17% while the critical 18-49 demographic increased 12.5%. The movie roll out with Starz will run through 2013.
Hulu Up for Sale, 1M Paid Subs within Reach
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, July 11, 2011 · ·
For several weeks now, the trade press has been buzzing with rumors that Hulu is up for sale. Last week Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the three media companies that own the online video portal — News Corp., Disney and Comcast’s NBCUniversal — are “committed to selling” the site. Iger did not reveal when a sale would occur, but predicted it was inevitable.
Nearly a dozen companies are rumored to be actively involved in discussions with Hulu, including Amazon, AT&T, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Verizon and Yahoo. Read more
AMC Network in Play?
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, July 8, 2011 · ·
Spun off last week by Cablevision, the former Rainbow Media Holdings may be the acquisition target for one of several media companies. Rumor has it that Disney, News Corp. and Time-Warner each may have an interest in buying the newly renamed AMC Networks.
AMC Networks owns AMC, IFC, WE TV and the Sundance Channel. AMC also owns IFC Films and international programmer and TV program distribution unit. Speculation is that a deal for AMC Networks could run in the $3 billion range.
None of the organizations has commented publicly on the rumor. Of course if a deal is to go through it will provide the wining content provider with even more market power in retransmission consent negotiations.
Major Broadcasters and Baseball Sue ivi TV
Posted by Steve Fravel on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 · ·
Citing a commitment to protect their rights, CBS, Fox, NBC, WPIX, Disney, Cox, PBS and the office of the commissioner of baseball have filed suit against ivi TV in the U.S. District Court of New York. The filing indicates copyright infringement and secondary infringement. ivi TV launched its online pay video service two weeks ago claiming that it was within its rights to retransmit TV station signals. Read more
ivi Faces Legal Action from Broadcasters
Posted by Jesse Ward on Thursday, September 23, 2010 · ·
As predicted, ivi, the new online, live TV service is facing legal action.
A group of companies including NBC Universal, CBS Broadcasting, Fox Television Stations, Disney, Major League Baseball and others have sent cease-and-desist letters to the video start-up. The letters allege that ivi does not have permission from the content owners to rebroadcast the programming. Read more