Entertainment

Microsoft came up with a hulking win in the gaming world today, announcing that it had cemented exclusive rights to develop and publish multiplayer, online games using Marvel super heroes. No financial terms were released. Marvel's lineup includes the "Hulk," "Spider-Man," the "Avengers," "Fantastic...

In what could be the clearest sign yet that Web-based television is just around the corner for many consumers with broadband connections to the Internet, Japan-based Nippon TV has said it would launch an online pay-per-view program later this year. The service, to be known as The Second Nippon Telev...

College students at one of the universities partnered with Napster for free access to its subscription-style music offering give the service high marks, but more than seven out of every 10 still buy music from Apple's market-leading iTunes Music Store. The University of Rochester released results of...

In a move that could dramatically accelerate the adoption of streaming movies online, Intel has said it would invest in a new company established by actor Morgan Freeman that seeks to make first-run films available for downloads even before they reach stores on DVD. Intel made an unspecified investm...

Though more consumers are testing out digital downloads, portable MP3 players and streaming music from satellite and Web sources, many more still rely on tried-and-true technologies such as portable CD players and traditional FM radio for their music, according to a new report. The study from Framin...

Hard on the heels of a partial victory for music and movie studios before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has continued to pressure consumers who it says illegally swap music, filing a new batch of more than 700 copyright infringement la...

Adding yet another wrinkle to the emerging music-on-mobile-phones trend, satellite radio provider Sirius has announced a partnership to provide some of its streaming programming directly to Sprint users. Sirius and Sprint said they struck a deal to make select programming available to certain phone...

In what could be a glimpse into the future of mobile-driven commerce and a preview of how hand-held devices might enable a range of consumer purchases, a Japanese carrier has launched a service that uses mobile phones to identify, locate and purchase music heard on the radio or elsewhere. The servic...

Taking a page from other rivals of the market-leading iTunes Music Store from Apple, Microsoft's MSN Music is close to adding a subscription-style offering to its existing pay-per-download model. MSN Music is expected to add the monthly subscription option made popular by RealNetworks, Napster and o...

Microsoft pulled back the curtain on its next generation console, Xbox 360, and announced some impressive features, but that and the fact that it beat its rivals to the public's eye, may not give it an edge in the market, one analyst said. "The market is going to be more evenly split this round -- r...

Microsoft announced today that Philips Electronics has agreed to use its software for playing digital audio and video on its semiconductors and consumer electronics products. Analysts called the deal a significant win for Microsoft. Under the terms of the non-exclusive deal, Philips said it will sup...

Yahoo has added a subscription service to its digital music offerings as the portal bids to use its vast resources, name recognition and experience in e-commerce to shake up what is rapidly becoming one of the most crowded niches in online business. Yahoo Music Unlimited, as the service is known, op...

Bidding to grab market share from both iTunes and Napster, RealNetworks today said it would launch an upgrade of its Rhapsody subscription music service that allows users to listen to songs they download on portable MP3 players. The new version of Rhapsody is just the second subscription-style servi...

America Online today announced that it has reached agreements with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to bring thousands of music videos to AOL Music, which reaches more than 22 million music fans a month. AOL spokesperson Ann Burkart told the E-Commerce Times that the deal enhances the In...

"I want my MTV" is being replaced with, "I want my Xbox," as Microsoft plans to unveil the second version of its Xbox video game console with a half-hour MTV television show hosted by "Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood next month. Although gaming enthusiasts still do not know the name of Microsoft...