Amid an emerging rivalry between traditional pay TV operators and rising star Netflix Inc., CBS Corp.’s Showtime pay TV service confirmed Wednesday that back seasons of current original series like “Dexter” and “Californication” will not be available on Netflix’s streaming service as of this summer. Get the full story »
Inside these posts: Television
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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 »
FCC exploring role in TV programming disputes
Federal regulators will explore whether they can do more to protect consumers from losing their television signals because of disputes over the fees that subscription-video providers pay broadcasters for their programming. Get the full story »
Online viewers still loving regular TV, poll shows
A TV display at a Best Buy. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
The Pay TV industry has heatedly debated this fall whether consumers are dropping their cable or other TV subscriptions to watch more TV content online. A new study by Nielsen, commissioned by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, argues that most people who watch at least some content from the Web on their TV sets are “cord keepers” rather than “cord cutters.”
The study, called “Life is a Stream,” surveyed 769 people 18-49, and used eight focus groups to explore the viewing habits of consumers who watch at least some TV shows and movies from the Internet on their TV sets. That group makes up about 11 percent of the U.S. population, according to the study’s authors.
One key finding of the survey, which will be unveiled this week: 84 percent of such viewers reported that they are watching the same amount, or more, regularly scheduled TV since they started streaming or downloading content to watch on their TV set. Importantly for TV distributors, 92 percent of these entertainment enthusiasts subscribe to a pay TV service, with only 3 percent reporting plans to give up their subscription. Get the full story »
DuPree leaves WBBM to reunite with Ebert
Don DuPree, who was hired by WBBM-Ch. 2 15 months ago as assistant news director, is leaving the station after next month’s elections. DuPree is the former director of “Siskel & Ebert” and executive producer of “Ebert & Roeper and the Movies.”
Toshiba does away with glasses in new 3-D TVs
Toshiba Corp. believes it has a solution for television viewers who like 3-D but hate the glasses. The Tokyo-based company on Monday unveiled the world’s first high definition liquid crystal display 3-D television that does not require special glasses — one of the biggest consumer complaints about the technology.
Dish Network says Fox has blocked 19 TV channels
Dish Network Corp. said on Friday that News Corp.’s Fox Networks has demanded a higher transmission fee and blocked its access to 19 regional sports networks and other programing.
Dish Network, the No. 2 U.S. satellite operator, said Fox was demanding a new contract with an “unprecedented rate increase of more than 50 percent.” Get the full story »
Aug. 24, 2010 at 4:47 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Entertainment, Internet, Media, TV, Technology, Video, Wireless 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 »
LCD makers hit with lawsuit for alleged price-fixing
The Illinois Attorney General’s office said it filed suit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court against 22 major companies for allegedly fixing the prices of liquid crystal display screens used in computers, televisions and cell phones.
The companies named in the lawsuit include Hitachi, Ltd., Epson Imaging Devices Corp., LG Display Co., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corp., and Toshiba Corp.
In addition to seeking to stop the alleged activity, the suit asks the court to award as damages the overcharges paid on purchases of the affected items. Get the full story »
Google in deal to sell ads on DirecTV channels
Satellite television provider DirecTV Inc. said Wednesday it has signed up Google Inc. to sell commercial time on some of the channels it carries.
Gadget census pits Chicago against D.C.
When President Barack Obama moved from Chicago to the White House, he also moved to an area with 53 percent more BlackBerries, according to a recent study that pits cities against one another in terms of the gadgets they use.
And if it seems like every hipster in Chicago is rocking out to streaming music at work and on the train, that’s because they are — 45 percent more than their counterparts in Washington, D.C. Compared to D.C., you also won’t see too many Chicagoans watching television on an iPhone or reading books on their gadgets: 66 percent more of us own three or more TVs and we have 50 percent fewer e-Readers per capital than our nation’s capital, according to the gadget census, conducted by Retrevo.com, an electronics review and shopping site. Get the full story »
Oprah network gives Rosie O’Donnell a show
Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell at the launch party for "O, The Oprah Magazine" in New York. (Brad Rickerby/Reuters)
Just as Oprah makes her exit, Rosie O’Donnell is coming back to daytime — with a show on the new Oprah Winfrey Network.
The network provided few details about the show except to say that it would be a one-hour daily “fun, uplifting show” based in New York. The show is scheduled to air sometime in 2011, after the network’s Jan 1 launch on the Discovery Health Channel. Get the full story »
‘Oprah’ hits ratings low, trails ‘Judge Judy’
Oprah Winfrey announces during a live broadcast that television show will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air. (AP/Harpo)
From the New York Post | “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” had it lowest ratings in it 24 years on the air during the week of June 28, falling to a 2.9 rating. It has never fallen below 3.0 in its entire run.
“Oprah” averaged 3.8 million viewers, almost 2 million viewers less than “Judge Judy,” which has now beaten “Oprah” 14 out of the past 16 weeks. Get the full story >>
Comcast SportsNet Chicago to replay Hawks games
Comcast SportsNet Chicago plans to replay the 16 postseason victories that gave the Chicago Blackhawks their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years over five days, beginning July 10 and culminating July 14 with a late-night encore telecast of the victory parade and rally.
