The rising cost of video on the Web (week in review)

Things are changing fast in the Web video space, with Netflix and Fox raising the ire of frequent users.

Netflix said that while it "hates" upsetting customers by raising prices as much as 60 percent, the customer backlash to the rate hike announced last week would likely stifle growth and hurt earnings in the short term. But in the long run, Netflix expects the price hike to yield some important benefits and may help the company hit a key benchmark: generating $1 billion in revenue during a single quarter.

No doubt, many Netflix subscribers won't be impressed with that figure since some of that money will be coming out of their pockets. For people who hoped Netflix would reverse its decision on the price increase, the company's remarks suggest that isn't going to happen.
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•  Netflix revenue up but misses analyst expectations
•  Don't call Netflix's CEO 'Greed' Hastings just yet
•  'Mad Men' makes its way to Netflix streaming

Meanwhile, Fox Network put up a de facto pay wall around its content when it announced it will begin delaying Web access to many of its popular TV shows to give cable and satellite TV providers greater exclusivity with programming. Beginning August 15, only those people who subscribe to a participating video distributor will be able to view TV shows on an Internet portal the day after shows air on the network.

All other viewers who are used to seeing episodes of "The Simpsons," "Bones," and "Glee" for free the next day on sites such as Hulu or Fox.com will now have to wait eight days to catch their shows. The service is seen as a defensive move designed to preserve advertising rates and subscription levels in the face of mass defections to free Web-based video services.
•  Wave goodbye to free Internet TV

More headlines

Google+ traffic dropping already?

Google's social-networking experiment saw fewer U.S. visitors last week, according to data released by Experian Hitwise.
•  Google+ name policy 'frustrating,' Google confesses
•  Google VP: Why Google+ requires real names
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•  How to delete your Google+ account

Anonymous urges PayPal boycott, condemns FBI

The hactivist group expresses outrage at the FBI following recent arrests and exhorts PayPal users to drop the "corrupt and greedy" service for its actions against WikiLeaks.
•  U.K. police say they've arrested LulzSec's 'Topiary'
•  Anonymous lashes out at Norway massacre suspect

Why spectrum debate is tied to debt ceiling plan

Congress may consider authorizing wireless spectrum auctions as it comes up with a plan to fix the budget and raise the debt ceiling.
•  Analyst: Debt ceiling showdown will affect IT spending

Report: Facebook iPad app 'hidden' in iPhone code

According to TechCrunch, users can access the long-awaited iPad app by executing some code in the social network's iPhone app from a jailbroken tablet.

iPhone 5 to launch in early September, report says

Piling on to the existing stack of news reports, the China Times says the next iPhone is coming the second week of September.
•  Survey: 35 percent of consumers will pounce on iPhone 5

Google's Schmidt to testify before Congress on Sept. 21

A date has finally been set for Eric Schmidt's appearance before a Senate panel, which will mark the most significant Capitol Hill appearance any Google executive has made in the company's history.
•  Researchers probe Google's geolocation database

House panel approves broadened ISP snooping bill

By a 19 to 10 vote, a House committee votes to require Internet service providers to keep track of what their users are doing for one year in case it would be useful for future police investigations.

Apple forces Amazon to alter Kindle app

Amazon, Barnes & Noble Kobo have complied with Apple's new rules and removed any links to their online e-bookstores from their iOS apps.
•  Amazon reportedly ramping up 7- and 10-inch tablets

Fuel economy deal pushes average to 54.5 mpg

Automakers and the White House are said to be close to a deal that will set the average fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks through 2025.

Also of note
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•  HTC: We'll negotiate with Apple over patent disputes
•  Former Microsoft server boss heads to Juniper Networks