Entertainment

Joost, the video-on-demand site boasting the world's first broadcast-quality Internet television service, hung out its open sign Tuesday with the announcement of its commercial launch. The site also entered the final beta stage, allowing beta testers to issue an unlimited number of invitations to fr...

Sirius Satellite Radio posted strong first-quarter results Tuesday, cutting its losses from a year ago on a surprising surge in new subscriptions. Sirius, which is trying to close a merger with rival XM Satellite Radio later this year, lost $144.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the quarter that en...

Google filed documents with the U.S. District Court Monday, addressing the $1 billion lawsuit it faces from Viacom. In the response, filed in the Southern District of New York, Google contends that it has not violated the rights of the media conglomerate based on a provision of the Digital Millenniu...

Telecommunications giant Verizon posted higher revenue but lower net income for its first quarter Monday, as continued investment in its TV-ready fiber optics network weighed on profits. Still, the results showed Verizon continuing to win customers for its next-generation FiOS service and benefiting...

Congress has introduced new legislation designed to overturn a controversial royalty fee increase that threatens to wipe out many Internet radio broadcasting firms. If the "Internet Radio Equality Act," introduced this week by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), is passed, it w...

Cable giant Comcast's profit rose 80 percent in the first quarter, the company stated. One-time gains aided results, and demand for the company's triple play bundle of Web, TV and calling services remained robust. The Philadelphia-based company's revenue for the quarter hit $7.38 billion, a 32 perce...

Yahoo has teamed with digital entertainment company Gracenote to provide supposedly official lyrics to hundreds of thousands of popular songs. Yahoo said the lyrics, for songs from almost 100 music labels, will be free. The company also stressed that, unlike lyrics widely available at other Web site...

Over the last 18 months, how often have you heard rumors that an online music service from Amazon was imminent? Plenty, no doubt, so much so that it seems Amazon has redefined the term "imminent" in much the same way that Google redefined the term "beta." Nevertheless, the rumor has arisen again, re...

Just two days after it accepted a sweetened merger agreement with a private investment group, Clear Channel announced Friday that it will sell its TV group. Rhode Island-based Providence Equity Partners will buy the group of 56 TV stations for $1.2 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourt...

Clear Channel Communications accepted a new, increased bid to buy the company Wednesday, but there is widespread skepticism on whether the offer will be enough to satisfy shareholders. Clear Channel, the largest radio broadcaster in the United States with nearly 1,200 stations, was offered $39 a sha...

AOL is hoping new interactive programs scheduled to be broadcast on its Web portal will snap up valuable advertising dollars that agencies normally shell out on television shows. Time Warner's AOL Internet division on Tuesday announced the production deals for five new Web-based programs in conjunct...

In an expected but by no means insignificant move, Google will begin selling 30-second ads to run on hundreds of radio stations operated by Clear Channel Radio. The deal is part of the search engine giant's determined expansion beyond the Internet, and it's one that should bring much-needed revenue ...

Devin Gordon's article "Why TV is Better than the Movies," provides good fodder for discussion about the changing nature of the content business, particularly movies and television in the age of the Internet download. Both TV and film face similar threats -- highly fragmented audiences, the challeng...

Hoping to expand its reach and capture more advertising revenue, CBS has struck deals with ten Internet-related companies that will distribute its content over the Web. With its so-called CBS Interactive Audience Network, the veteran broadcasting company will become "the most widely distributed prof...

Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, is acquiring movie ticket sales portal Fandango and launching a new Web site to help people locate online video content. The new site, to be called "Fancast," will complement Fandango, which will continue to sell movie tickets, said Comcast. Both will be ...