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TOSHIBA is planning to retire the HD DVD format. Reuters reports that the company is in the final stages of planning its exit from the high-def disc market, handing Blu-ray the role of industry standard. The move comes just days after Wal-Mart ended support for HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray. MTV NETWORKS has acquired Continue Reading →

This week, Greg Sandoval posted a story on CNET about revver.com. The article says that Revver (the online video site) has fallen on hard times and the company, which raised almost $13 million in venture capital, is on the block for “$300,000 to $500,000, as well as the assumption of the company’s debt, which is Continue Reading →

TIME WARNER will spin off AOL’s Internet access business from its web division and cut 100 jobs in the restructuring. AOL’s dial-up business is still profitable but in obvious decline. The company is also actively exploring a sale of the 84% of Time Warner Cable that it currently owns. During Time Warner’s quarterly conference call, Continue Reading →

SUPER BOWL XLII was the most-watched sporting event on record and the second most-watched TV program in history. Nielsen says an average of 97.5 million viewers watched the Giants-Pats contest. The most-watched program is still the M*A*S*H finale, which drew 106 million viewers in 1983. THE FCC is facing a lawsuit from six cable programmers 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 →

THE FCC launches the highly-anticipated 700 MHz spectrum auction today. Bidding is anonymous and will last two months before winners are declared. Daily updates will be available on auctions.fcc.gov. NBC clarified its stance on pilot season, saying it will not cancel any pilot orders for the upcoming season but will scale back in the future. Continue Reading →

THE DGA has reached a three-year deal with the AMPTP that delivers significant new media advances. The Guild will have jurisdiction over content created for the web and residuals for downloads will be based on distributors’ gross instead of the 20% of producer’s gross used under the home video agreement. Directors will receive .3% of Continue Reading →

Wireless HD, BluRay, IP-enabled television monitors and very, very thin flat screens dominated the consumer electronics show this year. Officially dubbed, International CES 2008, the show featured 1.85 million square feet of exhibition space, 2,700 exhibitors, 25 thousand international attendees and over 140,000 participants. Las Vegas, a city literally built for tourism, is always overwhelmed Continue Reading →

VIACOM and MICROSOFT have signed an extensive multi-platform partnership. Viacom content will be distributed on Xbox Live and MSN with the two companies splitting revenue. Microsoft will sell and serve display advertising for Viacom sites and purchase advertising on Viacom’s TV and web properties. Lastly, Viacom will produce casual games for MSN and Windows and Continue Reading →

NBC officially announced that Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien will return to the air on January 2nd without their writing staffs. Conan expressed his support for the writers and said his show “may be terrible” without them. Ratings have dropped off considerably during reruns, with both shows losing over 30% of their audience. THE FCC Continue Reading →