With the channel’s New Year’s Day launch creeping up, OWN, the new cable network from Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, has reached a deal with Cablevision Systems Inc. to carry the service.
Filed under: Media
Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
Dec. 28, 2010 at 10:14 a.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Bankruptcy, Chicago executives, Media, Newspapers, Personnel moves Gerry Spector exiting as COO of Tribune Co.
Tribune Co. Chief Operating Officer Gerry Spector, a long-time associate of real estate billionaire Sam Zell, is leaving the Chicago-based media company he has helped lead since Zell took it private three years ago.
Sears rolls out its answer to Netflix
Sears Holdings Corp. has launched its online movie download service, Alphaline Entertainment, allowing Sears and K-Mart customers to download movies the day they are released on DVD.
The service runs on Sonic Solutions’ RoxioNow platform, and the companies are working to make the services available on portable media players, mobile phones and high-definition televisions under a multi-year agreement. Plans for the service were first announced in June. Get the full story »
Xtranormal starts charging to use animation tools
Animation website Xtranormal, whose cartoon-making tools have spawned viral videos of cuddly puppies debating such topics as quantitative easing in stilted monotones, is no longer offering free, unlimited use of its tools. Get the full story »
Logitech denies delay in Google TV set-top boxes
Logitech International SA Monday denied Google Inc. had asked the Swiss electronics firm to suspend production of television set-top boxes until the U.S. Internet giant irons out software problems.
“Suggestions that production of the Logitech Revue companion box might need to be halted to address software issues are unfounded. As those familiar with the product know, it is not necessary for Logitech to make changes to the companion box to accommodate future enhancements to Google TV,” Logitech spokeswoman Nancy Morrison said in a statement to Dow Jones Newswires. Logitech was addressing a report in trade publication Digitimes that Logitech is delaying shipments through January. Get the full story »
Dec. 27, 2010 at 8:54 a.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Advertising/Marketing, China, International, Media Playboy pin hopes for turnaround on growth in Asia
February marks the start of the year of the rabbit in the Chinese lunar calendar.
It may be an auspicious sign for Playboy Enterprises Inc., which opened a nightclub in Macau last month as it seeks to expand its business by licensing the trademark bunny head logo on lifestyle products in Asia, its fastest growing region.
The company, founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953, also plans to open a Playboy Mansion in 2012 in Macau, a former Portuguese colony on the southern coast of China, and has been busy cutting deals to sell Playboy-branded merchandise across Asia.
Dec. 23, 2010 at 10:42 a.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Entertainment, Media, Movies, Technology, Video Blu-ray picking up slack left by sagging DVDs
Blu-ray is emerging as a holiday hero for Hollywood as the film industry grapples with the rise of digital video and a persistent slump in its most profitable source of revenue — DVD sales.
A combination of the weak economy, online piracy and low-cost rental and streaming services has driven continued declines in DVD sales this year, but strong growth in Blu-ray, premium-priced discs that offer a higher quality home viewing experience, suggests consumers still have an appetite for physical home movie products. Get the full story »
FCC chief sets conditions for Comcast, NBC deal
The head of the Federal Communications Commission is laying out regulatory conditions to ensure that cable giant Comcast Corp. cannot stifle video competition once it takes control of NBC Universal.
The conditions are intended to guarantee that existing subscription television services and new online video services can still get access to NBC content. Get the full story »
Playboy shares rise on upgrade
From The Street | Playboy Enterprises shares were up 1.5 percent in afternoon trading Wednesday after Caris analyst David Miller upgraded the company to above average from average, and raised his price target to $6.50 from $5 on his belief that founder Hugh Hefner has the means to take the company private. Get the full story>>
Angelica Huston confronts CareerBuilder over apes
A CareerBuilder.com Super Bowl 2006 ad. (Chicago Tribune)
CareerBuilder’s 2011 Super Bowl ad is already drawing attention from PETA activists.
PETA said it learned earlier this month that the company was planning on using chimpanzees in the ad, which prompted actress Angelica Huston to write a letter to Matt Ferguson, the company’s CEO, urging him to watch her 2008 video on the abuse of ape actors.
Huston said chimpanzees are often physically and emotionally abused during training, and that when they grow too strong to handle, they are kept in small cages at roadside zoos or “warehoused in horrifying conditions on training compounds.” Get the full story »
Apple TV sales expected to rise to 1 million
Apple expects sales of Apple TV to top 1 million units this week, showing that the device is gaining traction in bringing the Web to TV. Get the full story »
Anderson Cooper’s new show adds Chicago stations
Local affiliate stations from around the country are giving the thumbs-up to a syndicated daily talk show with CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper.
In the past 10 days, some 40 stations have inked for “Anderson” for their schedules this fall, making the New York-based show a firm go for the upcoming season. They come on the heels of launch clearances with Tribune’s WPIX in New York and Fox outlets in L.A., Chicago and Boston. Get the full story »
Blockbuster plans to shed 182 more stores
Bankrupt video rental chain Blockbuster Inc. plans to close 182 stores by the end of the first quarter as it tries to find a way back on its feet.
The largest U.S. video rental chain plans to close 72 stores by Jan. 1 and 110 more in the first quarter of 2011, according to documents filed Friday in Manhattan’s bankruptcy court. Get the full story »
Dec. 20, 2010 at 5:30 a.m.
Comments Off
Filed under: Consumer electronics, Internet, Media, TV, Technology, Telecommunications Google TV faces delays amid poor reviews
From the New York Times News Service | The Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas was meant to be the great coming-out party for Google’s new software for televisions, which adds Web video and other computer smarts to TV sets. Although Google already has a deal with Sony for its Internet TVs, other television makers — Toshiba, LG Electronics and Sharp — were prepared to flaunt their versions of the systems.
But Google has asked the TV makers to delay their introductions, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, so that it can refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception. The late request caught some of the manufacturers off guard. And it illustrates the struggles Google faces as it tries to expand into the tricky, unfamiliar realm of consumer electronics, and drum up broad interest in a Web-based TV product that consumers want. Get the full story »
