News

We’ve all been there — lazily relaxing on the couch, when an engrossing TV or movie show wraps up and is inexplicably followed by something that you just don’t want to watch. The channel needs to be changed but the remote is out of arm’s reach. Wouldn’t it be nice just to tell the TV to change the channel itself? Soon, you may be able to do just that. Your TV will be able to follow your command, but for now you’ll still need the remote in hand. Eventually, however, the remote won’t be mandatory and someday, your TV may even talk back. Read More ›

Hollywood and its supporters are feeling something akin to a hangover following the sidelining of the Stop Online Piracy Act and a companion bill in the Senate. It’s been just over a month since an Internet blackout called attention to the legislation, and an accompanying protest forced congressional leaders to put it on hold. Although emotions have been somewhat diffused, frustrated lobbyists and skittish lawmakers don’t seem in a hurry to jump back into the fray to try and craft a compromise. The election year makes it even less likely that Congress will act on something if it appears the legislation could become a liability. Read More ›

People are lining up to sue sites like Yelp and Ripoff Report over their users’ misbehavior, but courts continue to slam the door in their face. A new report shows the sites’ traditional legal shield is still strong, but that some are trying to use intellectual property laws to crack it. In “2011 State of the Law Regarding Website Owner Liability for User-Generated Content,” Internet lawyer Catherine Gellis offers a helpful update of websites’ ongoing effort to fight off lawsuits created by their users. Read More ›

Advertisers are getting mixed signals about what constitutes TV. The medium once was represented largely by the Big Three, but is fast becoming (with apologies to Thomas Hardy) the Madding Crowd. Our children and grandchildren will never know a time when television consisted of ABC, CBS and NBC, with a few local stations thrown in for good measure. The industry jeered in the 1980s, when News Corp. came along with what was considered a bold, quixotic move in launching a fourth network — Fox. (Though none of the rivals are laughing now, we suspect Rupert Murdoch wouldn’t attempt the same stunt in today’s media climate). Read More ›

Just how serious is Comcast about attracting Latino and African-American viewers? After all, in order to land NBCUniversal, the cable giant was required to commit to minority targeted programming. On Tuesday, Comcast said it would will carry four new independent channels from Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Sean “Diddy” Combs, “Desperado” director Robert Rodriguez, and Spanish language TV veteran Constantino “Said” Schwarz. Whether or not Comcast diversified willingly, supporters say that there is a real financial opportunity to attract an underserved demographic — provided the company takes the time to create a credible slate of programming as opposed to simply making a few token gestures. Read More ›

Comcast — looking to take a bite out of Netflix’s hide — this week is launching Xfinity Streampix, a new multiscreen subscription video service that provides movies and full series of past-season TV shows that will be included in several premium bundles and offered for $5 per month with other video packages. To launch Streampix, the cable operator has cut licensing agreements with Disney-ABC Television Group (for TV shows only), NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Cookie Jar. Read More ›

Bravo said a neuroscience study it commissioned shows advertising is much more likely to resonate when shown during a program with related content — i.e., food brands during “Top Chef.” The study, conducted by Melbourne-based Neuro-Insight, gauged the live brain response of 150 people using 24 ads in categories ranging from automotive to entertainment to retail. The ads were within six series on Bravo and competitive networks, and compared consumers’ brain reaction to ads related to the content with those where there was no direct link. Read More ›

Gannett Co. aims to increase annual revenue by 2% to 4% over the next four years as part of a new plan to revitalize its ailing publishing operations and expand growth businesses like its local marketing services. As part of that effort, Gannett—publisher of more than 80 daily newspapers, including USA Today—plans to pursue bolt-on acquisitions to help it expand its revenues, Chief Executive Gracia Martore said Wednesday. Gannett also plans to return $1.3 billion to shareholders by 2015, through dividends and a $300 million share buyback program, Ms. Martore said. Read More ›

On a seasonably cold Monday night in Manhattan earlier this month, four hedge fund managers–who oversee more than $20 billion in assets between them–gathered in a private back room of The Modern, Danny Meyer’s bustling, upscale restaurant adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art. They dined on Alaskan king crab salad and foie gras terrine, beef tenderloin with butternut squash, venison loin and chestnut petit beurre. Over several bottles of wine, they discussed big spending and big banks. Even Meyer himself made a table-side appearance at the end of the two-and-a-half-hour meal to discuss his various restaurant investments. Read More ›

The U.S. radio industry took in $17.4 billion in advertising in 2011, up one percent from the year earlier and the second year in a row that it grew. Digital revenue grew most, up 15 percent to $709 million, followed by revenue generated by off-air events, which grew seven percent to $1.5 billion. Network revenue grew three percent to $1.1 billion while radio’s biggest contributor, spot advertising, was the only category to fall — dropping percent to $14.1 billion. The figures come from a report released Friday by the Radio Advertising Bureau, which acknowledges that the $17.4 billion total revenue figure might actually be underestimated due to the absence of some data related to political expenditures. Read More ›