E-Commerce

Joost, an Internet television service that promises high-quality streaming of licensed TV content, got a big hand Thursday from industry heavyweights CBS and Viacom. The two companies, along with three other venture capital firms, have invested a collective $45 million, Joost reported. Joost, which ...

The billion-dollar lawsuit between Viacom and YouTube feels like a rerun. Haven't we seen this show before? New technology from an upstart company is rapidly adopted by millions of users, transforms traditional media distribution and stretches the legacy copyright framework to its limits. Maybe thes...

The lawsuit IBM filed against Amazon for multiple patent violations has ended amicably, with Amazon agreeing to pay undisclosed license fees. The legal battle over the disputed technologies began with much fanfare last fall, when IBM filed a complaint alleging that Amazon had infringed five of its p...

Marketers assume that Googling for information is an automatic response the instant a Web surfer opens a browser. For many Internet users, the theory is true. However, many people bypass search engines altogether in favor of a technique called direct navigation. Direct navigation is when a user dire...

Google's YouTube-related legal struggles have mounted in recent days, with NBC Universal and Viacom lending support to a California journalist's copyright infringement suit against the video-sharing site, and a third lawsuit filed by England's top soccer league. Both NBC Universal and Viacom -- whic...

Every interaction an enterprise has with customers, partners or suppliers instigates a new trail of data that can create a deluge effect over a short period of time. Experts predict that within a few years, it won't be uncommon to see enterprises with networks and databases storing over 100 TB of in...

Television once represented the Holy Grail for advertisers. As millions of consumers tuned in to watch their favorite dramas and sitcoms, it presented advertisers with unprecedented opportunities to reach millions of target customers quickly and easily. As technology has advanced, television's grip ...

Microsoft and Yahoo have reportedly discussed a possible merger or other strategic alliance, a move that would dramatically alter the online landscape and could provide Microsoft with the weapon it needs to better battle with search and advertising giant Google. The two firms have held preliminary t...

Time Warner has reported first-quarter profits that outperformed Wall Street expectations, mostly on the strength of its rise in new cable video, Internet and phone subscribers, as well as strong online ad sales. Shares of the world's largest media company rose more than 3 percent as it reported a 4...

New York-based Cablevision Systems has agreed to sell itself for more than $10.5 billion in cash to the family who founded the company. The Dolan family, which founded the company in 1973, will assume Cablevision's debt on top of the $10.5 billion price tag, bringing the total to $23 billion. During...

Online advertising and marketing firm 24/7 Real Media saw its shares soar to a 52-week high on the strength of rumors that Microsoft was nearing a deal to buy the company for about $1 billion. Shares of 24/7 Real Media jumped more than 24 percent to a yearly high of $13 Tuesday on rumors that the so...

The 2008 presidential campaign season may be gearing up, but there's also another race afoot that has nothing to do with politics. It's the race for consumers' hearts and wallets that's being run by cable companies and telcos, and triple play bundles are the most recent heat. "Over the last several ...

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...