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Sony to offer TV channels across Internet?

Sony appears to be joining a growing field of tech companies wanting to take a bite out of the cable TV business.

The electronics and entertainment giant has approached "several big media companies" about distributing their content over the Internet to the Sony PlayStation 3 and other TV-connected devices, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Sony has already pitched the idea to Comcast's NBCUniversal, Discovery Communications, and News Corp., people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

Sony declined to comment, the newspaper reported.

The report would appear to be a fulfillment of Sony CEO Howard Stringer's pronouncement this week … Read more

Online viewers turning to game consoles, study finds

Video game consoles have become the most popular way for U.S. consumers to watch online entertainment content on their TVs, according to a new report from market researcher Strategy Analytics.

While the PC remains the most popular device for watching stuff online, more people are turning to game consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Sony's PlayStation 3. Some 12 percent of U.S. households use the game platforms to watch online movies, TV shows or videos--more than the percentage that connect PCs to TVs via HDMI, researchers found.

The report also found that 65 percent of … Read more

What's missing from the Kindle and Nook? Support for printed books

Having just come from the unveiling of the latest Nook e-readers, I'm feeling more than ever that the future of reading will come in tablet form. I'm already "that guy": I read all my latest books on my iPad via iBooks or the Kindle app. And yet, there's something big--something obvious--that e-readers are missing. It's something that magazines, newspapers, DVDs, and Blu-rays have already figured out.

A way to marry print books and digital ones.

I see bookstores around me closing every day. I'm part of the problem. Here's the vile thing I do: I browse through a bookstore like a vulture. I finger through books. When I find one I like, I buy it, right there, on my iPhone--on the Kindle. The bookstore loses the purchase. I'm a horrible person. And yet, I'll keep doing it. Because those big, bulky physical books don't come with download codes to get e-versions, and right now, I'd rather choose digital. There has to be another way.… Read more

Two new money-making platforms for social content creators

"If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold." That simple comment by Andrew Lewis on a MetaFilter post in 2010 did a great job, I think, of capturing some of the subconscious discomfort users accumulate as they put more and more of their lives on social networks like Facebook. But two new social products on display at the Web 2.0 Summit earlier this week, Chime.in and Mightybell, turn the equation around a bit, allowing social network contributors to take some of their content and turn … Read more

Netflix reportedly getting kid-friendly with new tab

Select Netflix members have been getting a new tab labeled "Just For Kids" in the main menu of the Netflix Web site, according to a GigaOm post.

When clicked, the tab opens a sliding bar of characters from a number of kid-friendly sources, including Nickelodeon and Disney, GigaOm explains. A click on one of those characters opens up a new page with access to TV shows and films starring that character. "Each episode is previewed with a screenshot," the post says, "and there is barely any text at all. Everything is optimized for instant playback … Read more

Hulu expanding to Japan

Hulu is going international for the first time with plans to expand its subscription service to Japan later this year.

The company didn't give too many specifics in yesterday's blog announcing the move. But it sounds like Japanese consumers will be getting their own version of Hulu Plus with access to films and TV shows across PCs, TVs, smartphones, and tablets, all for one monthly price.

Why Japan? The company cited a few reasons for expanding its service to Japanese customers.

Noting that Japanese audiences are "passionate" about video content, Hulu said it sees an "… Read more

'Mad Men' makes its way to Netflix streaming

The critically acclaimed "Mad Men" is now available on Netflix's streaming service.

According to the company, all four seasons of the show are available for users to start streaming right now. Future seasons of the show will be added each year after they air on the AMC network.

In April, Netflix acquired the rights to stream "Mad Men." At the time, the Los Angeles Times reported that the company paid $900,000 per episode just to get its hands on the show. Netflix never confirmed that report.

The addition of "Mad Men" to … Read more

Netflix, NBC renew contract; more shows for streaming

While everyone continues to go mad over the Netflix price hikes, at least the online rental service is holding on to some of its Hollywood studio contracts and adding more content.

However, some of that new content will likely not be enough to please subscribers who are upset over the fact that unlimited DVD rental plus streaming plans start at almost $16 now.

Netflix recently lost a whole slew of Sony-owned content from its digital library, and it's had issues with other studios and networks, namely Showtime, in the last year. Considering many subscribers and the media can now … Read more

Is UltraViolet on track with effort to seed cloud?

While much of Hollywood appears to be helping pave the way for cloud film services, there are still some nagging questions about how much support there is for the technology.

Certainly, lots of people are saying they're on board. Most of the top Hollywood film studios--with the exception of Disney--are part of a consortium that has developed UltraViolet, a set of technical standards they hope will act as the bedrock for the next-generation home video format. UV is designed to ensure that consumers will be able to play their movies and TV shows through a wide range of cloud … Read more