NBC Universal grabbing at women, buys Oxygen Media for $925M

NBC Universal grabbing at women, buys Oxygen Media for $925M

NBC Universal said it will pay $925 million to acquire Oxygen Media, the female-focused cable network co-founded by Oprah Winfrey, continuing NBC’s aggressive effort to own the female demographic.

NBC already owns iVillage, one of the largest women-oriented content and advertising sites online, which NBC bought… Continue Reading

Roundup: Joost’s API, Fliqz’s easy video toolbar, NBC-iTunes rift, more

Roundup: Joost’s API, Fliqz’s easy video toolbar, NBC-iTunes rift, more

Here’s this morning’s roundup of the latest action:

Joost opens widget API to developers: Joost, the oft-hyped online video site started by the founders of Skype, has soft-launched an application programming interface this week. It is trying to get third-party developers to build widgets on top… Continue Reading

Providence invests $100M into NBC-News Corp. video site

Providence invests $100M into NBC-News Corp. video site

The YouTube-like site being formed by NBC Universal and News Corporation has received $100 in financing from a Rhode Island investment firm, Providence Equity Partners.

The New York Times’ Brad Stone has the story, saying the deal places a value of $1 billion on the venture,… Continue Reading

WorldWide Biggies latest company to join video bubble

WorldWide Biggies latest company to join video bubble

Albie Hecht, a well-known producer for some Paramount’s successes (including Academy Award nominee Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events, the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie), has just gotten a whopping $9 million in a first round of financing for his new entertainment studio company.

Investors in New York’s… Continue Reading

Healthline gets $21M more to extend health search engine

Healthline gets $21M more to extend health search engine

Giant players such as Google and Microsoft already provide health care-focused search sites, but they aren’t that impressive.

San Francisco’s Healthline, however, is focusing solely on health search, and is making surprising headway. It has six million monthly unique users, and is the only search engine… Continue Reading

Roundup: Solar-motorbike, Webwag, Marchex, Google Gadget Ventures, more

Roundup: Solar-motorbike, Webwag, Marchex, Google Gadget Ventures, more

Here’s the latest (updated) action:

The solar-powered motorbike from SunRed in Spain — Read the little story about how the company hopes to make a prototype soon, and needs venture capital to do so.

Marchex launches huge Web site — The public company said it has launched more than… Continue Reading

Ad network Adify gets $19M to build out vertical ad network model

Adify, the Belmont, Calif. company offering an online advertising network product that charges a lower fee to publishers, said it has raised $19 million in a second round of financing today.

That’s a lot of cash, but is probably necessary to keep Adify in the running,… Continue Reading