Redbox parent Coinstar is in a grabby mood this week, not only teaming with Verizon to create a streaming service to compete with Netflix, but buying Blockbuster Express kiosk-operator NCR’s entertainment vision, meaning all its rival kiosks will probably be taking on a reddish hue. [More]
entertainment
Verizon Wants To Take On Netflix In Entertainment Streaming
By 12.7.11
Dipping its toes into the waters inhabited by Netflix and Amazon, Verizon is planning to launch its own streaming video system. The company’s aggressive plans call for its service to potentially reach 85 million households. [More]
Turn Couch Potato Time Into A Workout
By 11.28.11
Being a sports fan requires you to spend several hours a weekend in front of your TV, and three-hour commitments every Saturday and Sunday to cheer on your favorite college and NFL teams can make it tougher to squeeze in weekend workouts. No matter how much the pathetic teams to which you’re devoted make your blood boil, you’re still not burning many calories when you’re watching TV. [More]
Netflix Loses 800K Subscribers In Third Quarter
By 10.25.11
While no business likes to lose 800,000 customers in the span of a few months, such a drop could pass for good news in the Netflix halls in these post price-hike days. [More]
Report: Disney Blocks Johnny Depp From Talking To ABC Stations About "The Rum Diary"
By 10.25.11
Things get weird and ugly when journalism collides with the inelegant demands of outlets’ corporate masters. A Houston TV reporter alleges Disney prevented reporters from ABC affiliates from interviewing Johnny Depp at the Austin Film Festival because he was there to promote the upcoming movie The Rum Diary while his film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has just come out on home video. [More]
McDonald's Serves Up TV To Go Along With Your Burger, Fries And Regret
By 10.18.11
The McDonald’s corporate types must think the ambiance of their dining rooms may be a little lacking. Perhaps that’s why they are testing the McDonald’s Channel, a roundup of news and entertainment segments, tailored to each community, that will play as you succumb to the siren song of empty calories. [More]
Netflix Lands Deal To Stream Old Seasons Of CW Shows
By 10.14.11
The revolving door that is Netflix’s streaming service has lined up another entrant. The company nailed down a deal to stream previous seasons of scripted CW TV shows starting the year after they air. [More]
Disney To Run 3D Re-Release Idea Into Ground
By 10.6.11
Never afraid to exploit a good idea for all its worth and more, the studio that brought you Bambi II announced it will capitalize on the success of its 3D theatrical re-release of The Lion King by using its cattle prod to jolt four more golden geese back to life. [More]
Netflix One-Ups HBO By Snagging DreamWorks Deal
By 9.26.11
When Netflix started upped its prices for subscribers by splitting streaming and disc rentals into separate subscriptions, the top brass said it would use the additional funds to secure streaming deals. Now the company has something to show for the promise, having secured a deal with DreamWorks for programming that currently goes to HBO. The agreement goes into effect in 2013. [More]
Report: Dish Will Launch Blockbuster-Branded Streaming Service Next Month
By 9.5.11
The likes of Netflix, Hulu and Amazon will reportedly face some new competition, when Dish Network finally justifies its purchase of Blockbuster by starting a video streaming service in October. [More]
Starz Won't Renew Netflix Deal When It Expires In February
By 9.2.11
Come March, Netflix’s array of video streaming options could be considerably thinned. Starz announced it’s stopped negotiating an extension with Netflix and all its movies and TV shows will vanish from the service when the current deal expires February 28. [More]
Apple Stops Renting TV Episodes, Now Only Sells Them
By 8.29.11
By renting and selling TV episodes via iTunes, Apple presented an a la carte alternative to subscription TV. Now it’s funneling viewers toward the more expensive option by eliminating the 99-cent rental option and only selling episodes, mostly in the $2-$3 range. [More]
Facebook Adds Miramax Films To Stable Of Movie Streaming Rentals
By 8.23.11
Facebook is lining up deals with movie studios to put their films online for streaming rental, making agreements with Universal last week and Miramax this week. Using special apps for the services, you pay 30 Facebook credits — $3 per film — and have a 48-hour window to watch the movies. [More]
8 Simple Rules For Sitting Near Me In A Movie Theater
By 8.16.11
Ringing cell phones, incessant texting, screaming kids and chattering neighbors can all make moviegoing a harrowing experience. There’s an unwritten social contract that anyone in a theater should know to adhere to, but too many people seem unaware of its existence. [More]
Fewer Kids' Movies Featured Smoking Last Year
By 7.15.11
Anti-smoking groups have long pressured Hollywood to decrease smoking in kids’ movies, and studios have apparently listened. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says there were 72 percent fewer smoking incidents in kids’ movies in 2010 than in 2005 levels, dropping from 2,093 instances to 595. Smoking in PG or G-rated films plummeted 94 percent (from 472 instances to 30) in that span. [More]
Do DVD Rental Store Closures Make Summer Road Trips Tougher?
By 6.17.11
Now that spotting an open Blockbuster location is a novelty that merits a double take, and scores of other video rental chains have vanished, movie fans who want to rent some DVDs for the road have had to change the way they operate. Redbox remains an option for nightly rentals, and Netflix will still ship out discs via the mail, but gone are the days you can stop by a rental store, browse and pull some discs off the shelves and not have to return them for a week or so. [More]
Despite Blu-ray Price Cuts, Video Disc Sales Are Dwindling
By 6.9.11
Home entertainment studios seem to have gotten over the whole “let’s try and charge $30 for all new Blu-ray movies” thing, with prices generally closer to the $20 range. But general price cuts still haven’t sparked the Blu-ray bonanza Hollywood was hoping for. [More]
Time Warner Plans Flixster-Based Cloud Service That Lets You Upload Your DVDs
By 5.26.11
When cable company execs unwind at home, probably in front of Netflix-streamed videos like most everyone else, they no doubt daydream about ways to seize some of Netflix’s market share-gobbling momentum. After all, it seems the old “overcharge for hundreds of channels no one really wants so they can get the few that they do” plan is losing steam. An idea cooked up by Time Warner Cable, though, seems so promising it must be too good to be true. [More]
