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Time Warner moves ahead on premium on-demand

Time Warner Inc. could offer premium video-on-demand as early as the first quarter for $20 to $30 per movie in a trial, the company’s CFO said Thursday.

Time Warner is considering making movies available for rent on pay television services shortly after their theatrical release and before their DVD release, Chief Financial Officer John Martin said at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in New York. Get the full story »

Walgreens, ‘Dr. Oz Show’ encourage flu shots

Deerfield-based Walgreens and the syndicated “The Dr. Oz Show” from Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions are teaming on a multi-platform campaign to encourage flu vaccinations.

Redbox signs convenience store deal

Redbox is hoping more people will grab a movie at the convenience store, along with that lottery ticket.

The dollar-a-night movie rental kiosks are expanding into EZ Mart Stores, Inc., Fastrac Markets, Murphy Express and VPS Convenience Store Group, thanks to a deal signed this week that will add locations in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest. Get the full story »

Motorola shows off new Android phone on ‘Oprah’

To see more photos of the Motorola Defy, click here.

Motorola Inc. unveiled a new Android mobile phone on Monday’s season premiere of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

The device, called the Motorola Defy, will be available through T-Mobile in time for the holidays, the Schaumburg-based communications equipment company said in a press release without releasing further details on pricing and dates. The phone uses Google’s Android operating system, which is the basis for almost all of the smartphones in Motorola’s portfolio.

The Defy has a 3.7-inch touch screen and is built to be scratch-resistant, water-resistant and dust-proof, Motorola said. Get the full story »

Roger Ebert to produce new movie show

From The Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert and his wife Chaz announced Friday that they will produce a weekly film-review program called “Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies,” which will be a half hour long. The program continues the 35-year-old run of a reviewing format first introduced by Gene Siskel and Ebert and later by Ebert and Richard Roeper.

Netflix to add more streamed movies

Netflix Inc. has reached an agreement to license first-run theatrical movies distributed by Nu Image/Millennium Films for online streaming during the “pay TV window,” when they’re usually available on premium TV channels.

Shares rose 3.11 percent, to $146.20, in late afternoon trading. The stock has more than doubled so far this year.  Get the full story »

Martha Stewart to lead Hallmark Ch. makeover

Martha Stewart has a knack for transforming dated rooms into design showpieces. Now she’s undertaking another major renovation: the Hallmark Channel.

Beginning Monday, Stewart will provide eight hours of programming each weekday as part of an ambitious revamp of the Hallmark Channel. After pinning its fortunes on the broad appeal of sentimental made-for-TV movies and reruns of such classic shows as “The Golden Girls” and “Little House on the Prairie,” Hallmark plans to focus on home and lifestyle improvement and cooking shows.

‘Oprah’ final season to include Book Club pick

The first week of the final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will include a selection for Oprah’s Book Club.

A Harpo spokeswoman said Thursday that Winfrey will announce her 64th and latest pick during a live episode airing on Sept. 17. That would be 14 years to the day that Winfrey announced her first book club selection — Jacquelyn Mitchard’s “The Deep End of the Ocean” — on Sept. 17, 1996.

Apple TV could help Netflix growth

Shares in Netflix Inc. neared their all-time high on Thursday, after Apple Inc. said that the company’s streaming video service would be added to a new version of Apple TV.

The tie-in with Apple TV, a smaller, cheaper version of Apple’s earlier web-to-TV product, could cement Netflix’s dominance in the online movie rental business. Get the full story »

Google reported in talks for iTunes competitor

Google Inc. is in talks with music labels on plans for a download store and a digital song locker that would allow its mobile users to play songs wherever they are as it steps up its rivalry with Apple Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.

Google Vice President of Engineering Andy Rubin has been leading conversations with the labels about what a new Google music service would look like, according to these sources. Get the full story »

Tribune Co. to launch digital channel Antenna TV

Tribune Co., following the lead of WCIU-Ch. 26 parent Weigel Broadcasting, is launching a service supplying digital subchannel programming for local TV stations. Antenna TV, beginning Jan. 3, will deliver a round-the-clock slate of vintage TV series reruns and movies from Sony and DLT Entertainment to a secondary digital channel of WGN-Ch. 9 and those of other Tribune Co. stations.

Will Eisner be Tribune Co.’s next chairman?

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on July 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Michael Oneal and Sallie Hofmeister

Former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner is in discussions that could lead to his return to the media spotlight — as chairman of the now-bankrupt Tribune Co.

The Chicago-based media company’s largest creditors are having preliminary conversations with prospective candidates who could operate Tribune Co. once it emerges from bankruptcy, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.

Eisner, who has been dabbling in the digital world as an investor since stepping down from Disney in 2005, is among the candidates under consideration to replace Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell as chairman of the reorganized company. Get the full story »

Apple in talks with media giants to rent TV shows

Apple is in talks with several media conglomerates to allow consumers to rent TV shows through iTunes according to a report in Bloomberg Tuesday, which cited three unnamed sources familiar with the situation.

Apple is in serious discussions with News Corp. to allow viewers to rent programming from its Fox network for 48 hours, the report said, adding that Walt Disney and CBS are in talks with Apple as well.

Representatives from Apple, Walt Disney, News Corp. and CBS declined to comment. Get the full story »

Sony to boost capacity of PlayStation 3 by 33%

Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3 will feature higher-capacity hard drives in North America this fall to let consumers to download more games and entertainment, the company said Tuesday.

The game console will come with about 33 percent more storage capacity than previous versions, but at least one analyst said that it is not likely to be a major selling point. Get the full story »

Blockbuster gets debt reprieve as losses mount

Blockbuster Inc. has won its second debt-payment deadline extension in as many months, but the struggling video rental chain reported a wider loss and warned it might have to liquidate, sending its shares plummeting more than 20 percent Friday. Get the full story »