Entertainment

With a few notable exceptions -- the Internet, primarily -- advertising spending has declined for the second quarter in a row, according to a report released Tuesday from TNS Media Intelligence. Total advertising expenditures in the first half of 2007 slipped by 0.3 percent to $72.59 billion versus ...

Warner Bros. Entertainment is launching a new multifaceted, multimedia Web site that will let people immerse themselves in, and even play the part of, their favorite Warner Bros., Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics characters. Called "T-Works," the endeavor is being described by Warner Bros.

Last week Apple publicly announced the breakup between its iTunes music and video store and NBC Universal, noting NBC's desire to dally with modified retail pricing plans and potentially force Apple to sell episodes at $4.99 each. Holding fast to its insistence on selling online TV shows at exactly...

Sony has reportedly turned its attention to creating products and services that will enable users to download television programming and movies. The service will use the company's struggling PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable video game platforms as well as the company's high-definition Bravia t...

The Electronic Frontier on Wednesday issued a report critical of the music industry's litigation campaign to reduce digital piracy. "Today, downloading from P2P networks is more popular than ever, despite the widespread public awareness of lawsuits," the report declared. "At the same time, the lawsu...

The video download site that media heavyweights News Corp. and NBC hope will become a YouTube alternative for commercial downloads finally has a name: Hulu. The long-anticipated site also has a delayed launch time frame, with an October "private beta" launch. The two companies had previously said th...

SoundExchange has agreed to implement a cap on the royalty rates large Internet radio webcasters must pay, the organization announced Thursday. The Copyright Royalty Board recently ruled that webcasters must pay a $500 minimum fee per station or channel, regardless of the overall number of stations ...

The Internet is beginning to overtake TV as the preferred medium of consumers around the globe, according to a new survey sponsored by IBM. In the survey of more than 2,400 households in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Australia, the IBM Institute for Business Value found that ...

Visitors to YouTube will now find advertisements temporarily appearing at the bottom of some videos as the Google-owned site experiments with ways to draw revenue to itself and to those who produce the clips. Initiated with little fanfare, the advertising program currently involves only videos creat...

Wal-Mart, the world's largest music retailer, has entered the DRM-free music download fray. Its decision to sell unrestricted 256 kpbs MP3 songs from record giants EMI and Universal may well be the tipping point that lets consumers easily buy popular, legitimate online music capable of playing on mo...

MTV and RealNetworks have formed a joint venture that will utilize Verizon Wireless' distribution capabilities in an effort to dislodge Apple's vise-like grip on the online music space. As part of the iTunes-killer venture, MTV is merging its Urge music service with RealNetworks' Rhapsody. One of th...

In the latest report from the front lines in the high-definition format wars, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have both jumped with both feet into the HD DVD camp, the companies announced Monday. The commitment by the companies, both of which are owned by Viacom, will include all movies d...

A Russian court acquitted Denis Kvasov, chief of now-closed online music site AllofMP3.com, of copyright violations in a case widely seen as a test of Russia's commitment to protecting intellectual property under global agreements. The site sold individual music tracks at below market value without ...

The competitive environment that characterizes today's broadband and value-added services landscape should certainly grow a variety of digital lifestyle products and services, including home networking. Consumers are also primary beneficiaries of increased competition among carriers. Case studies re...

Google's YouTube is seeking to depose high-profile comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as part of its defense of a $1 billion copyright infringement suit filed by Viacom, parent company of the Comedy Central network where they serve up their fake news and political digs. Stewart, who hosts "Th...