nbc

MSNBC Interactive News, a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal, announced Monday that it has acquired EveryBlock, a start-up that provides hyperlocal news down to the block level. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

EveryBlock received its funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It also won that organization's Knight News Challenge, which awards start-ups that have the most innovative media ideas. When it won that award in 2007, the Knight Foundation required EveryBlock to make its code freely available to the public. Its code is available now on the company's site. … Read more

"How do I calculate the size of meatballs?" That was the title of one of the seminal Intel science projects that late-night comedian Conan O'Brien covered in a segment last night on NBC's "The Tonight Show."

O'Brien was at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, billed as the world's largest pre-college science fair. Intel is one of the sponsors of the "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien," which launched recently with the retirement (from that show) of Jay Leno.

"Even though Intel is one of the world'… Read more

Microsoft said Thursday that it has landed a deal to help NBC Universal sell television ads.

Starting this fall, NBC will make some of its national and cable advertising inventory available for Microsoft to sell via its Admira system, which uses demographic data to help ad buyers reach the market segments they are seeking.

The two companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. The TV ad market is yet another area where Microsoft finds itself in competition with Google, although both are upstarts trying to shake up the traditional means of buying and selling television ads. Internet … Read more

CARLSBAD, Calif.--NBC Universal's chief executive said the changing economics of television means that networks have to change the way programming is done.

There's room for hits and there's room for inexpensive programming, Jeff Zucker said Thursday, speaking at the D: All Things D conference.

"What's gone is the middle," Zucker said. "You cannot sustain just average programming."

That also means shows have less time to mature, he said. Zucker noted that "Seinfeld" would probably not make it in today's environment, noting it did just so-so in an initial … Read more

Sure, for a year now, YouTube has trailed Hulu in the number of TV shows and films it offers, but in recent months all the momentum appeared to be with Google's video site.

That was until Thursday, when Hulu announced a partnership with Disney that at least one industry analyst believes has smashed YouTube's chances of becoming an online hub for top TV shows and feature films.

Disney will provide Hulu with full-length ad-supported episodes from ABC, SoapNet, and ABC Family. Some of the shows include "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "Ugly Betty," … Read more

Disney's ABC Enterprises announced Thursday that it has entered into online-video joint venture Hulu, currently a partnership between NBC Universal, News Corp., and investor Providence Equity Partners.

This means that TV shows from Disney-owned channels like ABC, SoapNet, and ABC Family will be coming to Hulu. Among them are "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy," "Ugly Betty," and "Scrubs." There will also be Disney movies available on the ad-supported streaming video site, but a press release did not name any of them. Content will be available "soon," the press release explained.… Read more

When it comes to offering full-length content on the Web, YouTube isn't ready to yield to Hulu.

On Thursday, the San Bruno, Calif.-based video site of Google announced that it had reached agreement with notable entertainment companies, including Sony Pictures, Lions Gate Entertainment, and CBS (publisher of CNET News) to offer visitors full-length TV shows and feature films.

What this means is that YouTube wants to become a one-stop shop for everything video.

The strategy seems obvious. YouTube already has more than 100 million people visiting every month to watch a mixture of short clips created by amateurs … Read more

NBC and the cable companies are teaming up to make it really annoying for you to watch the Winter Olympics onlione. Brian Cooley sums up their plans well, and it's today's title. We also discuss fiber-eating alien insect and solar power beamed down from space.

Episode 952

Amazon ‘adult’ book-delisting fail: Error or troll? http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10218626-83.html

Cut fiber line knocks out state courts’ communications http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/4949649/

Report: KKR, Warburg, others join founders for Skype buyback from eBay http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10218837-93.html… Read more

The Walt Disney Company is discussing a deal to take an equity stake in Hulu in exchange for providing the video portal with ABC programming, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed sources, news blog PaidContent says that it's not clear how much of ABC's content would be involved, but a final deal could include ESPN, the sports cable behemoth that has been a goldmine for Disney.

Representatives from Disney and Hulu were not immediately available.

The talks between the two companies reportedly are "serious," but a final deal has not been reached, according to two … Read more