Category: media

“Advertisers and investors have watched the entry of DVRs into the mass market, led by TiVo, with a wary eye for several years. Some predicted the features that let viewers skip ads and watch programs at their convenience would spell the death of ad-supported broadcast TV and its prime-time programming schedule. But in their research on the use of DVRs, the television networks said the technology offered an opportunity to attract viewers who might otherwise miss shows when they first air.”

Under intense media and consumer pressure, Sony has agreed to recall 2 million CD’s bacuse of a malicious software anti-piracy measure. “Sony BMG has used the XCP copy-protection software on 49 titles from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan and produced an estimated 4.7 million music CDs. Around 2.1 million units have been sold on to consumers. The software, developed by a British firm, First4Internet, installs itself on a personal computer used to play the CD in order to guard against copying, but it leaves the back door open for malicious hackers.”

“More than 1,000 TV writers want their benefits improved to parity with scribes of comedies and dramas, and about a dozen of their representatives interrupted a discussion Tuesday involving the entertainment presidents of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and the WB at the Waldorf Astoria. They dumped leaflets on the hotel’s banquet hall tables.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting inspector General says that he found no criminal violations by Kenneth Tomlinson. “His report, however, documented a series of Tomlinson-led initiatives that were undertaken without the knowledge of CPB’s board or that directly violated the agency’s statutes and procedures. Tomlinson, the former chairman threatened to withhold federal funds if PBS refused to ‘balance’ its programming with more conservatives and he hired lobbyists, consultants and two ombudsmen without the board’s knowledge or approval, according to a five-month investigation and report by the CPB’s inspector general, Kenneth A. Konz.”

A poster for the classic 1926 German film “Metropolis” has been sold for a record $690,000 to a private collector from California, the London gallery that arranged the sale said Tuesday. The sale beat the previous record for a movie poster of $453,500, set in 1997 by a poster for the 1932 film “The Mummy.”

AOL and Warner say they’ll launch a new video-on-demand service and make 100 old TV series available online. “Company officials said the shows will be available on demand, meaning computer users who search six new Web-based television channels on AOL.com will be able to choose when they watch the shows and which episodes to view. The companies, both part of media giant Time Warner Inc., will profit by sharing revenue from advertising, including banner ads and four 15-second streaming video ads per 30-minute episode.”

Sony’s anti-piracy measure in DVDs which leaves home computers open to hackers might have struck hundreds of thousands of computers. “Each installation of Sony’s rootkit not only hides itself and rewrites systems drivers, it also communicates back to Sony and the creators of the software, British company First 4 Internet and Phoenix-based SunnComm Technologies, who handled the Mac side for Sony.”

“Sony has a long — and, until recently, successful — history of making big bets on and indulging the creative visions of top filmmakers and actors like Jim Carrey. That strategy has yielded blockbusters. But over much of the past year, Sony’s strategy has stopped working. Outside of ‘Hitch,’ the studio hasn’t seen one of its films gross more than $100 million in domestic theaters since October 2004’s The Grudge.”

“This American Life” is 10 years old, and it has changed public radio. “The program has become a full-fledged brand, complete with a pair of movie projects, a record deal with Shout! Factory and a television version of the show awaiting a green light from cable’s Showtime channel. Few thought Glass’ quirky, narrative-driven radio hour would have either the impact or the longevity it has enjoyed. The show’s episodic style tied together by the host’s soft-spoken narration was initially a tough sell.”

Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have concluded that former CPB chairman Ken Tomlinson repeatedly broke the law in the name of routing out “liberal bias”. “A scathing report by the corporation’s inspector general described a dysfunctional organization that violated the Public Broadcasting Act, which created the corporation and was written to insulate programming decisions from politics.”