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SPRINT, COMCAST, GOOGLE, TIME WARNER and INTEL will team to invest in WIMAX. The unlikely alliance is set to invest $3.2 billion in WiMax, a wireless broadband technology that is likely to supercede 3G in a few years. If the venture is passed by legislators, the group would have a 2 year advantage over AT&T and VERIZON, who are just beginning to plan for the post-3G era.
TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE will announce that GRAND THEFT AUTO 4 earned $500 million dollars in its first week. The company sold six million copies of the video game far exceeding analyst predictions that the game would sell five million copies in its first two weeks on the market. By blowing away sales predictions, Take-Two now has some leverage in dealing with a hostile takeover by ELECTRONIC ARTS.
APPLE will experiment with allowing more than one company access to sell the iPhone in Italy. For the first time Apple is abandoning its exclusive rights to the iPhone, giving both VODAFONE and TELECOM ITALIA rights to sell the iPhone. While the iPhone has sold over 5 million units in the US, getting rid of its exclusive deal with AT&T could reap massive rewards for Apple, as unlocked iPhones used on other networks have been a major problem for Steve Jobs and Co.
The NFL NETWORK has filed a discrimination complaint with the FCC against COMCAST. The football network, which has struggled to be included on cable platforms, says Comcast is violating the law by giving Comcast owned sports channels wider distribution than the NFL Network. The NFL Network has had serious problems since it’s inception with cable providers not willing to provide the network a spot on their first tier of channels.
The SCREEN ACTORS GUILD and the ALLIANCE of MOTION PICTURE and TELEVISION PRODUCERS have officially halted negotiations without reaching a deal. The AMPTP claims that “SAG simply refused to recognize fundamental business and labor practices that have already been accepted by directors, writers and producers.” With their current contract expiring on June 30th, a lack of a deal would halt nearly all productions, effectively crippling an already beaten Hollywood economy.