Disney

NBC has announced its plans for a modified upfront. In April the network will release a 52-week schedule of staggered show premieres and then hold small presentations for advertisers in New York, LA and Chicago. On May 12 it will host a “spotlight event” in New York to present the full range of advertising opportunities Continue Reading →

JEFF ZUCKER delivered the NATPE keynote yesterday, warning that the television industry is undergoing a “forest fire.” He discussed his decision to reduce pilot season and possibly curtail upfront expenditures as necessary steps toward “making less waste.” Zucker’s goal is to make NBC everywhere – from NBC.com to Hulu and beyond. He said the industry’s Continue Reading →

HBO will soon begin testing HBO on Broadband, a service that will allow current subscribers to watch the channel’s content online. The service requires a PC application that offers both automatic downloads and live streams of HBO channels. The service will enter a trial period this week in Green Bay and Milwaukee before spreading to Continue Reading →

NBC officially unveiled “NBC Everywhere” and expanded the digital out-of-home network to include two new platforms. Ideacast will now carry NBC@TheGym, which will bring MSNBC and CNBC content to over 900 fitness centers. University Network will add NBC on Campus, bringing NBC content to “high traffic areas” on 181 college campuses. Existing platforms include screens Continue Reading →

BILL GATES opened CES with a clear statement of purpose, declaring that “All media will be software driven.” Gates handed the stage over to Microsoft president of Entertainment & Devices Robbie Bach to describe the company’s digital media initiatives. Bach announced that Xbox Live will gain content from MGM, Showtime, The Disney Channel and ABC. 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 →

STRIKE NEGOTIATIONS have broken down, signaling a turn for the worse in the ongoing labor dispute. The AMPTP claims the current problems stem from “radical demands” being made by the WGA, such as the right to join strikes on behalf of other industry guilds. The producers are insisting that the WGA remove certain demands before Continue Reading →

The Writer’s strike has been going on just a bit too long now. Both sides are back at the negotiating table. That’s good. Talking is a good thing. However, if you are going to talk, it’s better if you know what you are talking about. Before we start, I want to make it clear that Continue Reading →

FACEBOOK made further concessions in its war against user privacy. Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologized on the company blog for “a lot of mistakes” surrounding Beacon — admitting the company did a “bad job” with its release. Most importantly, he announced that users will now be able to completely opt-out of Beacon. VERIZON has rolled out Continue Reading →

AMAZON unveiled Kindle, its new e-book reader on Monday. The device allows users to download e-books from the Amazon store wirelessly using Sprint’s EV-DO network. Over 90,000 books are available, with new releases priced at $9.99 and classics as low as $1.99. The device is already drawing some negative reviews, with several commentators questioning the Continue Reading →