Google Inc. is working on a major overhaul of YouTube as it tries to position itself for the rise of televisions that let people watch online video in their living rooms, according to people familiar with the matter. Get the full story »
Inside these posts: Streaming video
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Dish Network wins Blockbuster auction for $320M
Dish Network Corp. won Blockbuster Inc. in a bankruptcy auction for about $320 million, a move that could see the second-largest U.S. satellite TV provider tapping the movie rental chain’s online content to strengthen its offerings. Get the full story »
Netflix back up after 4-hour outage
Netflix Inc. suffered a service outage Tuesday night that left customers unable to view movies or television shows through its online streaming service or through devices such as Roku. The California-based content provider said Wednesday that the service was fully restored.
“Netflix is up and on as usual,” said Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey, via email. “Last night we had an unanticipated and rare technical issue that interrupted the service for about four hours, since fixed.” Get the full story »
Free streaming video for Amazon Prime members
Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday added a streaming-video service offering for its $79-a-year Amazon Prime members, an expected move by the online retailer as it looks to more directly compete with Netflix Inc. Get the full story »
Amazon buys Lovefilm, Britain’s Netflix
U.S. online retailer Amazon.com is to buy the 58 percent of British DVD and games rental firm Lovefilm it does not already own for an undisclosed price, it said on Thursday.
Lovefilm, whose Europe-focused business has a similar model to U.S. video rental firm Netflix Inc., has built a movie rental-by-mail business and has also started streaming digital movies. Get the full story »
Skype to buy mobile video company
Skype has agreed to buy Qik, a service that lets users stream video from their smart phones, for an undisclosed amount.
The price tag has been reported to be about $100 million, though Skype said it won’t provide terms. The deal is expected to close this month. Get the full story »
Netflix raises prices, offers stream-only service
Netflix introduced a new plan Monday that, for the first time, relies solely on video streamed over the Internet rather than the DVDs that it has mailed to customers since the company was founded more than a decade ago.
The shift demonstrates how quickly consumers have transitioned from physical media players to digital entertainment that can be browsed, watched again, or discarded without ever having handled a disk. Get the full story »
