viacom

MTV's 'Soundtrack' jumps on stage

MTV might've strayed away from music these days--My Super Sweet Sixteen, anyone?--but the entertainment mainstay's latest project aims to both bring it back to its roots and propel it into the social Web. Ambitious, yes.

It's called "Soundtrack," and it's an "interactive music guide for TV." If you're watching a heated moment of cattiness between Lauren and Audrina on The Hills and are dying to know what song's playing in the background, you can log on and find out exactly what it was. Then you can purchase the MP3, … Read more

Why it matters what Chad Hurley watches

What will it mean for YouTube if founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen have, like many of us, entertained themselves by watching pirated videos found on their site?

Viacom will likely argue that YouTube is guilty of contributory copyright infringement if computer records show employees know unauthorized clips from shows, such as Hogan Knows Best or The Hills, are on the site and don't do anything to remove them.

According to legal experts, YouTube's response is likely to go something like this: "How are we supposed to know what's copyright material and what isn't?" … Read more

Viacom, YouTube agree to mask user data

YouTube will be allowed to mask important user information from records it must turn over to Viacom, Google said in a blog post Monday.

"Viacom and the other litigants have backed off their demand for YouTube user viewing histories," Google said in a statement. "We have reached agreement to anonymize the data."

A Viacom spokesman declined to comment.

The move comes after a federal court earlier this month ordered Google's YouTube to hand over usernames, IP addresses, and viewing histories to Viacom, parent company of Comedy Central and MTV. This ignited a controversy over Internet … Read more

What Google should now demand from Viacom

Viacom, having rudely ignored the user information I provided for them just a week ago, is now demanding to know whether any YouTube employee watched, or even, deep disgrace, uploaded any Viacom material onto the site.

If they did, then, under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, they lose their claimed status as an ISP and merely become an IPS.

That's an Infernal Profit Squirreler.

Although I have no donkey in this derby, I am moved, by Viacom's refusal to accept my data, to offer Google some requests they might want to put to their TV 1.0 adversaries:… Read more

Google, Viacom now clashing over YouTube employee records

Update: at 9:05 p.m. PDT Saturday to include Viacom's response.

Viacom wants to know which videos YouTube employees have watched and uploaded to the site, and Google is refusing to provide that information, CNET News has learned.

This dispute is the reason the two companies, and lawyers representing a group of other copyright holders suing Google, have failed to reach a final agreement on anonymizing personal information belonging to YouTube users, according to two sources close to the situation.

As part of Viacom's $1 billion copyright suit against Google's YouTube, a federal judge ordered the video-sharing site … Read more

The 404 138: Where the show is now called The 202

Today's show starts off a bit rough. Wilson's still gone and our guests Rana Sobhany and Eric Litman are nowhere to be found, so it's the Jeff and Justin show for the first half. We do our normal thing and chat about old people getting it on until BAM! Rana and Eric arrive and all is well again. They give us the scoop on their newest business venture, Medialets, and we also discuss the YouTube versus Viacom lawsuit. Thanks for coming on the show, guys! Episode 138 Download today's podcast

YouTube can't blame Viacom for ad woes

news analysis A big audience doesn't automatically mean big profits.

That's the lesson that YouTube and Google are learning the hard way, according to a story published Tuesday evening by The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper's Web site reported that YouTube is generating $200 million in ad sales and is stilling failing to meet its revenue expectations.

Other startling revelations in the piece include a plan by Google to allow preroll and postroll advertisements to appear on YouTube, and that it has identified 105 problems with YouTube's ad sales. Another surprise came when it was suggested … Read more

News.com Daily Podcast: Image problems for Microsoft, Viacom

Since filing a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube, Viacom has battled its image as a corporate bully, denying consumers the ability to watch its shows where and how they want. Their struggle could be a lesson to other companies fighting over copyright protections. Meanwhile, Microsoft is still having trouble getting its Vista message out to the public. A new tool that tests compatibility with Vista faltered on launch day, a year and a half after Vista's release.

Those stories, and the rest of the day's headlines, in today's daily podcast. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today'… Read more

Viacom won't soon shed image as corporate bully

Despite winning an important legal victory against Google last week, Viacom's public image is taking a beating.

Ever since Viacom, parent company of MTV and Paramount Pictures, filed a $1 billion copyright suit against Google's YouTube last year, Google has won kudos for championing the rights of Internet users. On the other side, Viacom was blasted by critics who accused it of trying to lock down information and block people from enjoying South Park and The Daily Show.

Neither of these two perceptions is entirely accurate. But what is true is that there is little Viacom--or any other … Read more

First YouTube user information revealed to Viacom after yesterday's court order

Yesterday, a judge ordered Google to reveal YouTube users' information.

The search meg(ood)alopoly has already expressed its disappointment at the ruling.

"We are disappointed," said Google's legal counsel.

Viacom's legal counsel was equally depressed by the proceedings:

"The information that is produced by Google is going to be limited to outside advisers who can use it solely for the purpose of enforcing our rights against YouTube and Google," he said. "I can unequivocally state that we will not use any of this information to enforce rights against end users."

I … Read more