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NBC UNIVERSAL plans to launch NBC Direct this November. The service allows consumers to download NBC shows for free, for one week immediately following broadcast. Downloaded shows will contain commercials that cannot be skipped, and will expire after one week. NBC U plans to offer paid, commercial-free downloads by mid-2008. ABC has struck a deal Continue Reading →

FOX has drawn much criticism over its decision to censor certain parts of this Sunday’s Emmy broadcast. The network “bleeped” Sally Field’s acceptance speech when she used the word “goddamn.” However, a 2004 ruling by the FCC specifically declared that “goddamn” was not indecent. Comedian Ray Romano received similar treatment, when the network dropped the Continue Reading →

On September 10, 2007 the Today show added a fourth hour of programming. There wasn’t too much fanfare as the industry and most of the audience knew it was coming. It will be produced by my good friend and industry superstar, Amy Rosenblum and I’m sure her team will not disappoint. You can expect an Continue Reading →

VERIZON has filed a lawsuit looking to overturn the FCC’s rules for the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. The lawsuit claims that the auction rules are “arbitrary and capricious,” and overstep the powers of the Commission. The auction is scheduled to begin on January 16, 2008. VIACOM is finally getting into the social-networking game. This Continue Reading →

HULU will acquire MOJITI, a Beijing-based startup. Mojiti allows users to annotate videos, leaving comments at specific points for others to see. Its technology will be used extensively on Hulu.com, the joint online venture of News Corp. and NBC Universal. The deal is estimated to be worth $10 million. MYSPACE has signed a deal with Continue Reading →

THE FCC has approved a dual must carry regulation. Cable operators will be required to carry both digital and analog channels of certain local stations for three years following the shutdown of the analog TV signal, which occurs on February 17, 2009. The regulation is considerably less onerous than Chairman Kevin Martin’s push for perpetual Continue Reading →

ABC is seeking partners to more widely distribute its online programming, signaling a change in its go-it-alone strategy. The network is in talks with several web sites, including AOL, Comcast, MSN, and MySpace. ABC isn’t opening up completely, however. It is insisting that all partners use its own video player, to ensure that viewers have Continue Reading →

By the time you read this, everyone who writes about celebs and entertainment will have had a field day with Britney Spears’s spectacularly terrible performance on MTV’s VMA 2007 show.  To the level that anyone cares about the Britney litany, people will talk about this performance for years.  It has surely marked the end of Continue Reading →

The branch manager asked me if I had a copy of the letter with me. I didn’t. She said that I could fax or email it to her when I got back to my office. Email? Yes, the bank managers could now send and receive email. It’s 2007, wow — way to be hi-tech! OK, Continue Reading →

Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief at iLounge.com has written an extremely disturbing post today entitled, Apple Locks TV Out In New iPods, Breaks Video Add-ons. If you’re thinking about purchasing a new iPod, you should give it a look. Continue Reading →