FCC

BEST BUY has stopped selling all analog TV sets and has ordered stores to pull unsold sets from the shelves, ensuring an all-digital holiday season. The mandate is an aggressive and bold move to prepare for the upcoming digital transition. The retailer has committed to selling digital-to-analog convertors and will stock them by early January. Continue Reading →

WARNER MUSIC has lost MADONNA from its stable of artists, in a high-profile deal that only adds to the record industry’s woes. Madonna has signed a deal worth $120 million with LIVE NATION, the concert promoter. The arrangement includes rights to three new studio albums, merchandising, and concert tours. The news follows a recent uptick Continue Reading →

GOOGLE will announce a new service that turns the AdSense network into a video distribution tool. Web sites will be allowed to embed ad-supported YouTube content that is contextually relevant to their site, similar to how they currently embed relevant ads. The move will give video creators a distribution channel that extends beyond YouTube.com, as Continue Reading →

GOOGLE‘s entry into the mobile phone market will come purely as a software provider, according to the NY Times. The search-giant has been working for two years on a mobile Linux-based operating system, which it will offer to handset makers for free. The company is seeking to extend its advertising dominance into the mobile market, Continue Reading →

MICROSOFT is expected to make several major online video announcements today, at DigitalLife in New York. The company is rumored to be adding fullscreen, ad-supported video content to Windows Media Center. Content will include Fox Sports videos, full-length music concerts, and individual shows such as the popular Arrested Development. Ads will be served by YuMe Continue Reading →

AMAZON is now going head-to-head with iTunes. The company launched its digital music store yesterday, offering 2.3 million tracks. Songs cost as little as 89 cents, come at a high bitrate, and not one of them is crippled by DRM. As a result, they work with almost any device on the market. Universal and EMI, 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 →

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 →

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 →