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Sony Corp. is betting on being able to bring music to consumers’ living rooms by offering millions of songs through a digital jukebox connected to popular devices such as TV sets and games consoles.
The new service called Music Unlimited Powered By Qriocity was launched in the United States Thursday, offering 6 million songs on demand through the cloud-based network that 60 million Sony PlayStation gamers use to play video games online. Get the full story »
Comcast surpassed analysts’ estimates for its earnings in the final quarter of 2010 — its final period before adding NBC Universal to its mix. The company’s operating income grew rose 10.8 percent for the quarter. Revenue was up 7.2 percent to $9.72 billion.
Now the work begins. Despite all of the talk about the importance of fixing the ailing NBC broadcast network or the glamour of entering the movie business, Roberts said the first priority of his lieutenant, NBC Universal Chief Executive Steve Burke, would be “to maintain the strong momentum and focus of the cable channels.”
Bill Bellis, whose hire as WFLD-Ch. 32 new chief meteorologist was first rumored in October and officially announced in mid-November, is set to finally make his Chicago debut as Amy Freeze’s replacement on the station’s 9 p.m. newscast Feb. 23.
Bloomberg News | The Robert R. McCormick Foundation, onetime one of the largest shareholders in Tribune Co., opposes the remaining two reorganization plans for the media giant, because neither would end lawsuits against shareholders, including the foundation, that made billions of dollars in the company’s leveraged buyout.
Tower Ticker | The Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago’s WGN Channel 9 said Tuesday that they have extended their broadcast partnership through the 2015-16 season.
The value of the deal was not announced.
The news comes a day after pro basketball’s Los Angeles Lakers announced a new 20-year local TV deal with Time Warner Cable that will take the franchise off over-the-air television beginning with the 2012-13 season, except for national network broadcasts.
Apple is launching a long-awaited subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music bought through its iTunes App Store.
The plan calls for publishers to set the price and length of subscription, marking a break from the previous practice of “newsstand sales” under which each issue of a magazine, for instance, would be bought separately. Get the full story »
Tribune Co. said Friday that the long-awaited creditor vote in the media company’s 26-month-old bankruptcy case will allow both restructuring plans competing for a judge’s approval to move forward toward confirmation hearings scheduled for March 7.
The vote provided no surprises. Each of the two competing plans won support from the creditor alliance that proposed it and suffered rejection from the other side.
Tribune Co. owns the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other media properties. Get the full story »
So how much is Hugh Hefner’s iconic Playboy Mansion really worth?
The issue has arisen in a lawsuit accusing the 84-year-old media mogul of trying to take Playboy Enterprises Inc, the publisher known for nude centerfolds, private in a sweetheart deal at other shareholders’ expense.
In an amended complaint filed February 4 in Delaware Chancery Court, shareholders complained that an October 2010 appraisal valued the 29-room Los Angeles mansion at $54 million, 45 times higher than the $1.2 million shown on Playboy’s books. Get the full story »
Sports Illustrated said Friday that it’s offering new digital subscription plans, including one that bundles the printed magazine with versions that are available online, on Android smart phones and tablets, as well as forthcoming devices.
Time Inc., the owner of the magazine and the publishing arm of Time Warner Inc. , has yet to reach an agreement with Apple Inc., maker of the iPad tablet and iPhone, to sell the subscriptions on iTunes, but its new offerings are part of a broader effort to create a subscription platform that allows customers to sign up once and access publications in any medium, including print. Get the full story »
Tribune Co. plans to invest $53 million in its Food Network partnership in connection with the cable channel’s launch of a second culinary channel last year, a source close to the transaction confirmed Friday.
The Chicago-based parent of the Chicago Tribune and other media assets expects to file a motion regarding the investment with the bankruptcy court in Delaware Friday, the source said. Tribune Co. has been operating under Chapter 11 protection since December 2008. Get the full story »
Blockbuster Inc., which filed for bankruptcy last year, is preparing to put itself up for sale after creditors disagreed on plans to give the chain more cash, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Get the full story »
Google Inc.’s YouTube is in talks to buy video producer Next New Networks, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Get the full story »
Magic Johnson, who last year passed on a deal to buy Ebony and Jet magazines, will become chairman of Vibe Holdings, the owner of the magazines Vibe and Uptown and the Soul Train TV show. Get the full story »
Crain’s Chicago Business and the Chicago Reader each announced the appointment of new top editorial executives on Monday.
Jim Kirk, who has been managing editor of the non-profit Chicago News Cooperative for the last nine months, is joining Crain’s as chief of editorial operations, beginning Feb. 24. The new top editorial post will have him overseeing Crain’s growing number of content-based businesses. The Chicago Reader reported Mara Shalhoup, editor of parent Creative Loafing’s alternative weekly in Atlanta, will be its next editor, effective Mar. 7.
