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Apple sells 200 million TV shows, but is that a big deal?

Apple said Thursday that it has sold 200 million TV episodes on iTunes. This might sound like a lot, but the money that TV networks see from the deal may still be relatively small.

The company also announced that the download store would offer high-definition TV shows from all four of the major broadcast networks--CBS, Fox, ABC, and NBC--and that it had sold 1 million HDTV episodes since last month.

To put the 200 million number into context, Peter Kafka at Silicon Alley Insider figured it this way: Apple sold the 200 million episodes over three years. If each show … Read more

NBC to launch 'locals only' Web sites

NBC Local Media announced today that it will launch Web sites that target "locals only" by providing news, entertainment, and information from around the community. The sites will feature content from print and online publications in the area, as well as local bloggers and TV stations to provide visitors with all the information their city has to offer.

"These sites are a departure from what we've done in the past and the next step in our mission to provide truly relevant local content to consumers on the media platform of their choice," said John Wallace, … Read more

Microsoft ready for Silverlight's second act

Updated 9:20 a.m. PDT, with comments from conference call and at 10:20 with additional comments regarding Silverlight and the iPhone.

Microsoft on Monday announced, as expected, that it is ready with a final version of its Silverlight 2 media player.

Silverlight 2 will be available for download starting Tuesday, Microsoft said. Among the new features are support for digital rights management technology, improved cross-platform support and deep zoom technology. Microsoft also announced a range of new partners including AOL, Blockbuster, CBS College Sports, Toyota, and Yahoo Japan.

Microsoft also disclosed some numbers for the Olympics work it did with NBC. … Read more

Slide adds CBS, Comcast, Time Warner to its friends list

Slide, the start-up that brought sheep-flinging to the social-networking world, has inked deals with several major content companies, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

San Francisco-based Slide makes software tools that let people add some personalization--in the form of slideshows, guestbooks, skins, or virtual pets--to their pages on all the major social networks.

Now the company is expanding its reach to include somewhat more sophisticated media. On Thursday, it plans to announce deals with several major media companies that would allow people to view clips of popular TV shows on social-networking sites, according to the Journal.

The … Read more

Gates takes U.S. financial crisis in stride

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appeared on the NBC Nightly News Wednesday speaking with Tom Brokaw about the current economic crisis. Gates wasn't concerned about the state of the U.S. economy in the long run. Historical data would support his longer-term view, but that won't make the current disarray and uncertainty about the economy any less scary for investors riding the daily, nausea-inducing roller coaster.

Brokaw observed that Gates seemed to be cool, or not terribly worried, about the U.S. financial crisis. "The U.S. economy in the long run is going to do very, very … Read more

NBC finds formula for fighting piracy

NEW YORK--The days when anyone, anywhere could post a funny clip from Saturday Night Live or The Office on to YouTube and share them with millions of appreciative viewers are quickly disappearing.

Executives at NBC Universal say they have found a "template" for protecting videos from online piracy. By the looks of things, they might be right.

The company is seeing unprecedented success at removing unauthorized videos posted to the Web and cited last month's Olympic Games and the recent SNL skit with actress Tina Fey as proof. More than 99 percent of all the Internet video … Read more

GE brand to grace Internet-ready TVs in 2009

A joint venture between General Electric and Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Tautung will market LCD TVs next year in the U.S. The new company, called General Displays & Technologies, plans to introduce its first GE-branded models next spring, joining the likes of Westinghouse and Polaroid that leverage well-known brands to appeal to buyers in a crowded, confusing HDTV marketplace.

The GE TVs won't mirror the bare-bones features of those other brands, however, and we presume pricing will be accordingly higher. The most-interesting feature from our perspective is Internet connectivity.

"We are developing advanced, Internet capabilities for content delivery to televisions, without the need for a PC. This includes IPTV through cable, satellite, and advanced fiber-optic television connectivity," said Mike McConnaughey, the new firm's CEO. "The long-term strategy is to allow consumers to customize their viewing experience by downloading widgets and a variety of services directly to their HDTVs."

The company will partner with NBC Universal, a subsidiary of GE, to develop an open platform for content delivery.

… Read more

Apple refutes NBC's pricing-policy claims

Apple has taken issue with NBC's claims that the media conglomerate was able to change pricing policy at Apple.

NBC Universal executives have suggested that they agreed to start selling downloads of TV shows on iTunes only after being allowed more flexibility to set prices for its wares on iTunes. That's just not correct, Eddy Cue, the vice president in charge of Apple's iTunes Store, told CNET News on Wednesday evening.

On Tuesday Apple announced at the company's "Let's Rock" press gathering that NBC shows were returning to iTunes. A year ago, NBC … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 806: Battlestar Monk

On today's show, we reveal a huge spoiler: Monk is the 12th Cylon. (Apologies to any of you who don't watch that show.) This is vaguely related to the news that NBC's return to iTunes comes shackled with variable pricing. In other news, RIM releases its first ever flip phone, and amazing space-based solar power arrives (bad news for birds). Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 806

CERN’s big collider now in action http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10037565-76.html

Flipping out: RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 debuts http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-10036487-7.html

Congress questions … Read more