Boxee and Hulu can’t reach an agreement, so Boxee creates a workaround (and launches an app store)

Boxee and Hulu can’t reach an agreement, so Boxee creates a workaround (and launches an app store)

When Boxee was forced to pull Hulu support a few weeks ago, users were outraged. And rightfully so. It’s not like Boxee, a software media center startup, was blocking the advertisements Hulu was showing, it was really just another way to view the content, almost… Continue Reading

Fox’s new plan to spur DVD sales: Rip out the extras from rentals

Fox’s new plan to spur DVD sales: Rip out the extras from rentals

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the possibility that movie rentals were eating into DVD and Blu-ray sales. Between Netflix and video-over- the-Internet solutions, renting movies is now easier than ever, and there’s little incentive left to buy most films. This is a… Continue Reading

Hulu channels Michael Corleone, Boxee support also whacked

Hulu channels Michael Corleone, Boxee support also whacked

Hulu, it seems, is tying up some loose ends.

Earlier today, it was revealed that the online streaming service had pulled its content off of CBS-owned TV.com — but that’s not all. It has also requested its content be removed from the media center software startup… Continue Reading

iTunes cuts the price of 24. A sign of falling prices?

iTunes cuts the price of 24. A sign of falling prices?

I received an unexpected email tonight from the iTunes Store, telling me that my season pass to the Fox show 24 had been reduced in price from $67.99 to $59.99. Even stranger, Apple decided to give me a $10 iTunes gift certificate because of it… Continue Reading

20 seasons in, The Simpsons lands on iTunes

20 seasons in, The Simpsons lands on iTunes

It looks like Apple has a sense of humor. Despite a recent episode of The Simpsons that mocked Apple and its chief executive Steve Jobs, the long running comedic cartoon has finally found itself on iTunes tonight.

But don’t get too excited just yet — it’s… Continue Reading

Hulu could catch YouTube in 2009 — in revenue, not traffic

Hulu could catch YouTube in 2009 — in revenue, not traffic

Maybe you’ve read some of the headlines this morning about the NBC and Fox-backed online video site Hulu “catching” or getting “bigger” than YouTube. Hopefully you read deeper into those articles, because while the headlines suggest that Hulu is catching YouTube in traffic, that’s not… Continue Reading

Finally, I can avoid watching Bulletproof Monk on YouTube too

Finally, I can avoid watching Bulletproof Monk on YouTube too

YouTube is set to announce a deal with movie studio MGM that will allow for some of its content to be viewed on the extremely popular online video site, The New York Times reports. This deal, which had been previously rumored (though the studio involved… Continue Reading

Is Hollywood forming DECE to wage a digital content war against Apple?

Is Hollywood forming DECE to wage a digital content war against Apple?

Digital rights management (DRM), for better or worse, is still the cornerstone of digital content. But the name has such a negative connotation now that major players in the entertainment and electronics industry appear to be trying to change it.

According to Reuters, some of the… Continue Reading

Joost’s desktop client is toast

Joost’s desktop client is toast

Since early on in its testing phase, I found Joost to be a compelling take on Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Let me rephrase: I found the idea of Joost to be compelling. It offered free video content on the web in a way that was somewhat… Continue Reading

Roundup: Obama’s big Bay Area night, Xbox 360 sells out in Japan, Hulu going international and more

Roundup: Obama’s big Bay Area night, Xbox 360 sells out in Japan, Hulu going international and more

Here’s the latest action:

Obama Bay Area event sets fund-raising record — Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama visited the Bay Area and racked up $7.8 million in fund-raising, a record for a single event, according to Draper Fisher Jurvestson’s Steve Jurvetson, who, with his wife Karla Jurvetson,… Continue Reading

Hulu gets more serious about HD content (still not that serious)

Hulu gets more serious about HD content (still not that serious)

Hulu, the online streaming video site backed by NBC and Fox, has been nothing short of successful. The usage numbers are very good and the amount of free, ad-supported content is arguably better. If there is a knock that can be made against it though… Continue Reading

Comscore: Online video traffic surged in December — mostly to YouTube

Comscore: Online video traffic surged in December — mostly to YouTube

Updated

Online video sites saw more growth in December, according to Comscore, gaining more than 2.5 million unique viewers over November to reach nearly 141 million people in the US. YouTube once again sucked up the majority of the new traffic, seemingly at the expense of… Continue Reading

Roundup: Google and Sprint, VC tax, future of VCs, and more

Roundup: Google and Sprint, VC tax, future of VCs, and more

1) Rumor: Google to buy Sprint?
2) The U.S. House of Representatives passes VC tax
3) Berkeley Bionics brings exoskeletons to market
4) Fox Interactive Media may start its own ad network
5) Railpower Technologies to steam on, for now
6) Zuckerberg, speaking grandly
7) Are Facebook’s ads illegal in New… Continue Reading

Fox Interactive streamlines ad operations

Fox Interactive streamlines ad operations

Fox Interactive Media, the parent company of MySpace, Fox.com, AskMen, IGN and a host of other websites, has hired a firm called Operative to help it streamline its ad operations.

MySpace ad only turned a profit of $10 million in a year, we reported in August,… Continue Reading