NBC

Netflix and NBC Universal have extended their partnership to bring several of NBC's top shows to the rental company's streaming service.

The two companies say they have entered into a "multiyear deal" that starts next week, but they didn't specify how long that deal is good for.

Under the new arrangement, "hundreds" of "Saturday Night Live" episodes from the past 35 years, as well as "day-after broadcast" of the show's next three seasons, will be available on Netflix Instant Streaming. NBC is also offering every previous-season episode of &… Read more

NBC Universal is afraid that the Apple TV service will "devalue" its content and has no plans to bring its shows to Apple's set-top box anytime soon, according to the Reuters news agency.

"We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content," NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker said at the Goldman Sachs investor conference yesterday. "We thought it would devalue our content."

ABC and Fox see it differently. Both of those networks will be offering their television programming to Apple TV customers for 99 cents per rental. But … Read more

With concerns both inside and outside Washington over Comcast's bid to take over NBC Universal, one congressman is proposing a set of conditions that the cable giant should first meet.

Rep. Rick Boucher, who heads the subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, outlined his proposals in letters written on Monday to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. Boucher asked the agencies to approve the merger but under the stipulation that customers don't receive any less content than they do today.

Although the congressman is in favor of the deal, he did express concerns that … Read more

Though Comcast showed improvement in both sales and subscribers, costs related to its pending buyout of NBC Universal took a bite out of earnings for the second quarter.

On Wednesday, the cable company reported a net profit of $884 million for the quarter ended June 30, an 8.6 percent drop from the $967 million earned in the year-ago quarter. Comcast attributed the decline to the $22 million in operating expenses and the $37 million in financing costs it incurred over the NBC Universal deal, resulting in $59 million in total transaction costs for the quarter.

But sales rose 6 … Read more

Hulu, the online TV and film portal, has finally rolled out a subscription service, according to a note posted to the site on Tuesday.

For $9.99 a month, subscribers of Hulu Plus get access to a full season's worth of their favorite TV shows--and even past seasons in some cases--and "not just a handful of trailing episodes" that the free-version of Hulu offers, according to CEO Jason Kilar, who wrote the note.

Hulu Plus marks the first time the service has charged for content and it's arrival has been long anticipated. Supported by Disney, NBC … Read more

Our verdict on Facebook's privacy retool: well ... we're tough graders. Also today, will Steve Ballmer show up at the WWDC keynote? Palm loses its mobile UI design guy to Android, which is good news for Android, but continuing bad news for Palm and WebOS. Also, introducing Darth Vader's Dog.

On today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast, the guys share the mics with longtime friend Clayton Morris of "Fox and Friends" and co-host of the Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe.

Anyone who listens to our show on a regular basis knows that very little preparation goes into each episode, but we always have a great time with Clayton, and today we spend the first half of the show talking about Jeff's appearance on NPR's All Things Considered, where he spent some time speaking with host Robert Siegel about his concerns over racism in multiplayer video games. After Wilson spends some time drooling over Siegel's baritone radio voice, Clayton tell us about his humble beginnings in the broadcasting industry and even does a few spot-on impersonations of New York's local television anchors.

After the break, Clayton tells us about his brief but educational sojourn into the armpit of the Internet that is Chat Roulette. Acting as the illegitimate child of Omegle and Skype, the site uses your Webcam to pair you up in a video chat room with a stranger on the Internet.

Clayton and the three of us attempt to describe the most common shared experience on CR: what might seem like a completely innocent Web site used to create new friendships across the world quickly falls flat on its face as you're faced with the worst the Web has to offer. Racism, misogyny, nudity, and pornography are just a few of the scenes you'll witness, so enter at your own peril, and don't forget to breathe...it's just a Web site.

Today on Buzz Out Loud, fun kills and companies kill fun. Apple kills all the good boob stuff in the App Store, Google's building its Daemon-Skynet empire by getting into the power business, and Italy thinks 3D glasses can give you pink-eye. Also, Microsoft and Yahoo finally get that search deal done, about a thousand episodes after anyone cares. And Helen calls again and breaks Molly. --Molly

Microsoft, Yahoo Deal Will Boost Competition vs. Google, DOJSays http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Search-Engines/Microsoft-Yahoo-Deal-Will-Boost-Competition-Vs-Google-DOJ-Says-871199/ … Read more

Which is better? Watching half-baked highlights of the Winter Olympics or competing against Michael Phelps?

The answer might not seem obvious to you. After all, perhaps you're not a terribly good swimmer and you're sure you'd embarrass yourself, your family and anyone who might be interested in you on a come-hither basis.

However, what if you competed against the great Olympic swimmer to see who was better at putting golf balls into a plastic cup? Surely you would have a chance. Phelps has terribly short legs and a long torso. This might encourage him to overbalance.

Are … Read more