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WAL-MART has shutdown its video download service less than one year after launching. This marks Wal-Mart’s second failure in new distribution paradigms for video. The retailing giant canceled its online DVD rental service two years ago. WARNER MUSIC will join the march away from DRM by offering its tracks protection-free on Amazon’s MP3 download service. Continue Reading →

THE NFL will allow NBC and CBS to simulcast Saturday night’s Patriots/Giants game. This will be the first tri-network simulcast since Super Bowl I. NBC and CBS will carry the NFL Network feed of the game, featuring announcers Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said “We have taken this extraordinary step because Continue Reading →

NEWS CORP. will sell 8 owned-and-operated FOX stations to private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners for $1.1 billion. The deal includes stations in a mix of large and mid-sized markets including Cleveland, Denver and Milwaukee. After the sale, News Corp. will be left with 27 O&O’s. Oak Hill recently bought nine other mid-sized stations Continue Reading →

THE FTC has approved GOOGLE‘s $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, but the deal still requires acceptance by the European Commission. In conjunction with its decision the FTC released a set of guidelines for the burgeoning online ad industry, recommending greater consumer control over privacy and online tracking. Privacy issues have been a major concern surrounding Continue Reading →

Neuros, which brought us the OSD machine that’s supposed to make it easy to record any digital media, then play it on any device, has released their new “Unlocked” standard they hope will catch fire.   Customers disagree about how good the OSD is, and how easy to use (which probably means it’s a techie Continue Reading →

VIACOM and MICROSOFT have signed an extensive multi-platform partnership. Viacom content will be distributed on Xbox Live and MSN with the two companies splitting revenue. Microsoft will sell and serve display advertising for Viacom sites and purchase advertising on Viacom’s TV and web properties. Lastly, Viacom will produce casual games for MSN and Windows and Continue Reading →

NBC has decided to use reruns from USA Network and internationally-produced shows to help fill the void created by the writers strike. The network will air the “Monk” and “Psych” reruns on Sunday during prime-time. According to Ben Silverman, two shows are currently being produced for NBC outside the US using foreign writers not bound Continue Reading →

NBC officially announced that Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien will return to the air on January 2nd without their writing staffs. Conan expressed his support for the writers and said his show “may be terrible” without them. Ratings have dropped off considerably during reruns, with both shows losing over 30% of their audience. THE FCC Continue Reading →

THE WGA will attempt to force studios to bargain individually, breaking up the AMPTP group negotiations. The Guild claims it has the legal right to demand one-on-one bargaining. Meanwhile, David Letterman’s independent production company will seek an interim deal with the WGA that would allow Letterman to return with his writing staff intact. Jay Leno, Continue Reading →

If you’re working in the media business today, you have to be thinking about the five most important digital consumer touchpoints: email, websites, paid search, display ads and video. And, if you’re like most of my clients, this is an ongoing, dynamic, relatively expensive process.   Over the past few months there have been some Continue Reading →