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Adobe and Time Warner are expected to form a video partnership. While plans are unknown, the deal most likely relates to digital rights management, measurement and monetizing content. The deal could spur multi-platform distribution methods Jeff Bewkes hinted at during a recent Ad Age interview. It is also the first sign that media companies are willing to build video technology in house, rather than rely on third parties.
The White House decided not to distribute President Obama’s weekly address on YouTube. Instead of using the defacto streaming video service, President Obama’s address was distributed on WhiteHouse.gov with an in-house streaming video player. Chris Soghoian of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, noted “The fact that they are paying for a video solution speaks to privacy issues. The only way I can see they are doing this is that it gives them a finer grain of control over the privacy issues.”
Microsoft has begun testing Kumo, it’s new search engine. The refresh and name change may be a chance to rebrand its Windows Live Search product. According to comScore, in January Microsoft accounted for only 9.9% of web searched, with Yahoo taking 22.2% and Google 58.5%.
Sources say that CBS is set to renew Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Both Warner Bros. sitcoms are expected to get multi-season deals. Two and a Half Men, which is expected to get three more seasons, is the number one primetime comedy. If true, the deal could settle a $49.5 million lawsuit Warner Bros. filed against CBS over Two and a Half Men becoming a hit.
Netflix and South Park have signed a deal to stream episodes of the show on its Watch Instantly service. South Park, which had been courting both Hulu and Joost, went with Netflix after the company offered them cash for the show. The move is another example of Netflix bolstering its Watch Instantly product with popular content.