Media Maverick

Rumors are zinging around tech blogs and media companies about why Netflix might be pursuing partnerships with cable companies.

Some of the theories are that Netflix needs help adding subscribers; or that Netflix wants to become the Internet service for the cable providers that don't have any online presence; or that it wants to become a cable station; or maybe it wants to join forces in the hopes of obtaining lower streaming rates from cable companies.

A Netflix spokesman declined to comment.

What we do know is that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is talking to cable companies about a … Read more

AOL plans to layoff as many as 40 employees, and the cuts will come mostly from the company's instant-messaging and e-mail units, according to a published report.

Eric van Miltenburg, senior vice president of operations, and Jason Shellen, who was overseeing AIM, are also leaving, according to AllThingsD, which broke the story.

Tim Armstrong, AOL's chief, is supposed to be leading a turnaround of the company. In the past year, however, revenue has continued to fall as top executives shuffle in and out.

A company representative wasn't immediately available to comment.

AOL is now facing a challenge … Read more

Turntable.fm, the service that allows users share music within virtual "rooms," is closing in on becoming a fully licensed service, CNET has learned.

A cross between Napster and radio, Turntable has already signed EMI to a recorded-music deal and is close to penning agreements with Universal Music Group and Sony, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the talks.

The music service is also still in talks with Warner Music Group. A spokesman for EMI declined to comment. Representatives from Turntable.fm and the other labels did not respond to interview requests.

A legal Turntable will potentially … Read more

Not all of the major Hollywood studios are participating in Apple's new iCloud feature that enables users to store their movies and TV shows on Apple's servers.

Apple announced upgrades to its Apple TV system at its iPad press event yesterday. Among them were 1080p support, better navigation and the ability to re-download video from Apple's iCloud.

AllThingsD reported yesterday that Fox and NBC Universal are holdouts and that the reason has to do with exclusive licenses that those studios have with Time Warner's HBO.

This is the same contractual obligation that plagued the UltraViolet platform … Read more

Apple still has no subscription video service, and without it, Apple TV is nothing to get excited about, one industry analyst says.

As part of Apple's press event for the iPad today in San Francisco, the company announced that Apple TV would get an upgrade. The system will support 1080p movies and TV shows. Navigation was improved. Movies and TV shows will be supported in iCloud so they can be accessed from iPads and iPhones as well.

Dan Rayburn, principle analyst for research firm Frost & Sullivan, is unimpressed. He argues that Apple TV could be so much more, … Read more

It wasn't as if Pandora investors needed much to send them stampeding out of the stock.

Pandora shares are trading this morning at $10.82, down more $3.43 or 24 percent, a day after the company failed to meet analyst expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended January 31.

Skepticism has dogged this company ever since it announced plans to go public a year ago. Any misstep was bound to spook Wall Street.

Pandora's revenue for the period fell short of estimates while the company's losses grew from the same time a year earlier. Fourth-quarter … Read more

An Amazon exec posted to his LinkedIn account that he's currently vice president of original television at Amazon.

Only there is no original TV programming at Amazon--at least not yet.

Fortune magazine spotted the LinkedIn post from Joe Lewis, a new Amazon hire. Lewis is a former production exec at 20th Century Fox, so it's not the like the janitor was making the claim.

Fortune reported that Lewis' title was removed from his LinkedIn page after the magazine called. His title later resurfaced as vice president of production at Amazon Studios.

Amazon did not respond to questions from … Read more

Google is rebuilding Android Market.

The Internet giant, looking to create a more comprehensive source for movies, apps, music, and e-books, is folding Google Music and Google eBookstore into one store, now renamed Google Play, according to Jamie Rosenberg, director of digital content for Google. The changes go into effect today.

Google Play marks a radical departure from Android Market, which has been a fixture of the company's mobile platform since the debut of Android more than three years ago. The move is a tacit admission that offering apps, games, and e-books--the main features of Android Market--isn't enough … Read more

Music video powers MTV and Vevo are finally back together again.

All of Vevo's music videos, which include clips from three of the four largest record labels, reappeared at MTV.com and its other Web sites on Friday.

CNET broke the news in December that the companies had reached an agreement after more than a year since those Vevo's videos owned by Universal Music Group disappeared from MTV sites. A Vevo spokeswoman declined to comment and an MTV representative wasn't immediately available.

The financial terms were not released.

Meanwhile, Vevo is sure making a lot of news … Read more