But as those services start to dabble in creating their own shows, big media companies could get another bump, by helping the new guys make new content.

CBS, for instance, makes about 20 shows at its own production facilities, primarily for itself. But the broadcaster may end up producing something for Netflix, CEO Les Moonves said today during the company’s earnings call.

Moonves didn’t offer any other details on the discussions, and said he wouldn’t until there was a signed deal. Netflix offered up even less information: “Anyone and everyone who produces content is looking to do deals with Netflix,” Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said via email.

Last week, Netflix launched “Lillyhammer,” its first original series, and later this year it will debut “House of Cards,” a David Fincher/Kevin Spacey series. Twentieth Century Fox — which like this site is owned by News Corp. —  is also producing a new run of “Arrested Development” for Netflix.

The company has also reportedly reached a deal with Lionsgate to produce “Orange Is the New Black,” a new series from the creator of Showtime’s “Weeds.”

Meanwhile, Moonves says CBS continues to talk to other players who are in the market for the stuff he’s already made. Verizon and Redbox have already announced plans to launch a new subscription video service, and while Moonves wouldn’t name names — Google? Apple? — he didn’t dissuade analysts from anticipating more buyers for his stuff.

“There are a lot of conversations,” he said this afternoon. “It’s hard to predict whether they’ll be a major deal. But we’re talking to an awful lot of people.”

Netflix will foot at least part of the bill for an unspecified number of new episodes, which will be produced by News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox studio (News Corp. also owns this Web site) and will start running in 2013. The new shows will be exclusive to Netflix streaming video subscribers, at least for its initial “window.”

That fits the content strategy CEO Reed Hastings has been laying out for a while: He wants to create an $8-a-month version of HBO, delivered over the Web, stocked with stuff you can’t get anywhere else.

That’s why Hastings has spent the last year or so cobbling together a slate of exclusive movie deals (like a recent DreamWorks pact) and TV shows (like a recent deal with CW), and that’s why he’s already committed to a deal to produce “House of Cards,” a new Kevin Spacey/David Fincher miniseries next year. At the same time, he is losing a Starz deal that gave him access to movies from Sony and Disney.

Netflix has been noodling with the notion of using digital distribution to revive dormant TV shows or extend the life of ones that are about to be canceled, for some time.

Others are contemplating the same thing: Producer Jeff Kwatinetz, for instance, is trying to get financing to film new episodes of two ABC soaps — “All My Children,” which went off the air in September; and “One Life to Live,” which goes off the air in January.

Saving old shows that couldn’t generate enough viewers to justify a broadcast network’s support, but which still have a loyal following, has particular appeal to Netflix. The company’s executives believe they can “algorithmically bring an audience to a show,” using recommendation engines, over an extended period of time.

In this case, the company is bringing back a show that’s been off the air for five years, but which still has a very vocal fan base. In October, show creator Mitchell Hurwitz said that “nine or 10″ new episodes of “Arrested Development” were in the works, which would function as a prelude to a to-be-filmed movie.

But Hulu Plus can’t show subscribers all of the episodes of all the shows in Hulu’s catalog. Rights issues mean that certain shows will flit on and off the service, and it’s up to subscribers to figure that out for themselves.

Example: “Modern Family,” ABC’s award-winning hit sitcom, disappeared from both Hulu and Hulu Plus this summer after its first season. Now it’s back. But both services are only offering shows from the current season–there’s no way to go back and catch up on last year’s shows, even if you’re paying.

I think, but haven’t been able to confirm, that this has to do with DVD sales for the show, which is produced by News Corp.’s (NWS) 20th Century Fox. I’ve got queries into both Fox and Disney’s (DIS) ABC to try to confirm.

Meantime, here’s what Hulu has to say:

Yes, the first season of Modern Family is no longer on Hulu Plus. We acknowledge this can sometimes be confusing for TV fans, so we do all we can to provide as much advance notice as possible when shows are slated to come down. Below is an example from our Saturday Night Live show page on Hulu Plus. You’ll notice it says “New episodes are posted Sunday afternoons and are available for 17 days.” This is consistent across all our content.

Of course, we keep content on Hulu and Hulu Plus for as long as possible. We can’t offer a specific reasons why a particular video may be taken down, as streaming clearances differ from show to show.

And sure enough, if you head to each show’s Hulu page, you’ll find a different set of availabilities.

Regular Hulu users can only see the last five episodes of “The Family Guy,” for instance, while Hulu Plus subscribers can see all nine seasons. But even if you’re a paying customer, Hulu can only show you five episodes of “The Simpsons,” period.

Meanwhile, the last season of “Lost” fell off both the free and paid services last month, and the other five seasons will go away at the end of the year. Etc.

To be fair to Hulu, it’s certainly not the only service negotiating the frustrating rights/windows patchwork. Everyone who deals with digital media has to navigate this stuff. And none of it makes sense to viewers who just want to watch their shows, when they want to watch them.

But the patchwork is a bigger deal for Hulu, because the service’s primary pitch is that it’s a one-stop shop for all your TV viewing (or at least your broadcast TV viewing). Instead it’s really closer to a half-stocked Super Target: There’s a lot of stuff in there, but you still may not find what you need.

Hulu competitor Netflix (NFLX) offers lots of TV shows via its paid streaming service, too. But it pointedly doesn’t play up the presence of any particular show–Reed Hastings and company simply tell consumers that they’ll find shows they like.

But if you’ve ponied up $10 a month for Hulu Plus and find that you still can’t watch a show that aired a few months ago, you may not be cool with that at all.

Gaps in Hulu’s free service may not be as frustrating for users, because they’re not out any cash. But it is a problem for the joint venture as it ponders a public offering, premised on the notion that its TV partners/owners–ABC, Fox and GE/Comcast’s NBC–are in it for the long haul.

But if Hulu can’t tell users that it has all the rights it needs, how can it convince investors?

Meanwhile, a similarly confusing story:

Netflix (NFLX) wouldn’t release details about the pact, and hasn’t put out a press release announcing it, as it had with earlier deals with Time Warner’s (TWX) Warner Bros, GE’s (GE) Universal and News Corp.’s (NWS) 20th Century Fox.

But spokesman Steve Swasey confirmed that Netflix and Sony have reached another “28-day” arrangement, similar to the ones Netflix has reached with the other three studios.

Swasey wouldn’t release other details, but we can guess that the deal follows the pattern established with the precedent Netflix set in its January deal with Warner: Netflix agrees not to rent Sony’s (SNE) movies for the first 28 days after they go on sale. In return, it will pay the studio a reduced fee when it does rent the discs, and will get more movies to offer via its growing Web streaming service.

This seems like a win-win for the both sides: The studios get to wring every last penny out of their DVD business, and Netflix gets to build up the business it really cares about–delivering movies to your home via the Web.

But analyst Rich Greenfield, who wrote about the Sony deal in a note published Tuesday (registration required), says these deals have only been good for Netflix: Its costs have gone down, and its subscriber base has increased, but the studios have continued to see their DVD sales slip. “Clear victory for Netflix,” he writes.

His logic:

“* The studios have essentially played right into Netflix Founder and CEO Reed Hasting’s plan to reduce DVD costs to fund his company’s aggressive digital media rights acquisition plan.
* Netflix is rapidly bringing down its physical [cost of goods sold] by reaching delayed release window deals with studios and using fresher digital content to shift consumer behavior to streaming, reducing the number of DVDs utilized per customer per month (lowering its mailing costs).
* We suspect the Netflix window needed to be substantially longer than 28 days to justify the price reduction the studios have given Netflix – meaning a six month window might have impacted Netflix subscriber trends, whereas 28 days simply has not. Unfortunately studios were more focused on bolstering sell-through, which is largely complete within the first month of a DVD’s release, rather than damaging the long-term prospects of Netflix.
* Netflix continues to aggressively purchase digital movie rights having recently acquired rights to Relativity Media content and EPIX content, with Starz content increasingly important for Netflix to renew (at far higher costs) when their current agreement ends in 12 months.

It’s not surprising that the movie is using Twitter as a launching pad. Hollywood studios have been some of the prominent, um, friends of Twitter’s new ad platforms.

Twitter launched Promoted Trends–the most conventional ad platform it has used so far–with a “Toy Story 3″ campaign from Disney’s (DIS) Pixar, and Disney was also the first to use Twitter’s new “@earlybird” e-commerce promotion, for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” News Corp.’s (NWS) 20th Century Fox has bought Promoted Trends time for its “Predators.”

It is a little surprising that Sony is buying ad time now for a movie that won’t show up until the fall. All of the earlier Twitter movie campaigns have been timed to films’ opening weekends, which makes sense, given Twitter’s “whatishappeningrightnowatthisverysecondimustknownow” vibe.

But given that Internet typists like myself are busy typing away about the ad buy, it’s obviously a success.

And! A good excuse for me to show off the new trailer for the David Fincher/Aaron Sorkin collaboration, featuring a choral version of Radiohead’s “Creep.” Looks excellent.

MR. MOSSBERG: Have you ever watched a movie on an iPhone or an iPad?

MR. CAMERON: The iPad I would do. The iPhone is just too small for me. Now, I think other media, whether it is news, sports or whatever it is, that is fine. But I would not watch a movie that way. To me there still has got to be some shred of sanctity in the film-watching experience.

Okay, the iPhone is too small, from a sanctity perspective. But what about the Vibrant Galaxy S Series Smartphone from T-Mobile? That’s an excellent device for viewing “Avatar,” say Samsung and News Corp. (NWS), which owns both 20th Century Fox and, um, this Web site. They’re including a copy of the movie with each new phone, preloaded on a two-gig external memory card.

To be fair, the Vibrant, which runs Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, features a four-inch screen. And Apple’s (AAPL) handset has a mere 3.5 inches. So perhaps that’s enough to change Cameron’s mind.

The movie studios have worried that Redbox’s $1-a-day rental model, which now accounts for nearly one out every $5 spent on DVDs, undercut every other revenue stream they had. But several big studios–including Sony (SNE), Lionsgate (LGF), Disney (DIS) and Paramount, a unit of Viacom (VIA)–have figured out how to live the company.

Meanwhile, three others–Time Warner’s (TWX) Warner Bros., News Corp.’s (NWS) 20th Century Fox and GE’s (GE) NBC Universal–have been fighting Redbox in court.

Make that two others. Warner Bros. just announced a settlement with Redbox. And given Warner’s size and clout, you have to wonder how much longer the two other studios will need to keep fighting.

This settlement looks an awful lot like the one that Warner and Netflix agreed to earlier this year. Which is to say: Warner got pretty much what it wanted–protection of its 28-day DVD sales “window”–and the other side argues that it’s okay, really.

The theory is that by giving up the ability to get movies to consumers right away, Redbox saves money on the DVDs it does get and will have access to a wider selection. Redbox also says this will help the company if its wants to get into digital distribution. Though unlike Netflix (NFLX), Redbox is a long away from being a plausible player in digital.

But make no mistake. This is a costly window and one that Redbox wouldn’t agree to unless the studios had regained the upper hand. From Pali Research’s Rich Greenfield, via a clairvoyant note (title: “It’s Not Easy Being Redbox, with 2010 Set to Get Even More Challenging; Provides Hope For Movie Biz”):

While Redbox management declined to answer a question related to whether there business would be impacted by 10% from a 30-day window (that Redbox agreed to and stopped pursuing workarounds), we believe 10% is far too low. Redbox relies on the new-release business, if it did not, it would not be suing three studios. We suspect the impact is closer to 35-50% than 10% (albeit Redbox’s cost per DVD would come down), particularly as once a window is established the studios will spend heavily to hammer home to consumers that movies are available other places before Redbox (which generate higher gross profit dollars to the studio per transaction than via Redbox).

Release:

WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND REDBOX ANNOUNCE A MULTI-YEAR DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

Companies Agree to 28-Day Window for DVD and Blu-ray Titles

BURBANK, Calif. And OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill, February 16, 2010 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and redbox today announced a new multi-year distribution agreement that will make Warner Bros. new release DVD and Blu-ray titles available to redbox customers after a 28-day window. The agreement also marks the end of the lawsuit that redbox filed against Warner Home Video in August 2009.

“We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to sit down with redbox and negotiate an arrangement that benefits both parties and allows us to continue making our films available to redbox customers,” said Kevin Tsujihara, president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. “The 28-day window enables us to get the most from the sales potential of our titles and maximize VOD usage.”

The new arrangement provides redbox with reduced product costs, sufficient quantities of product and optimal stock levels four weeks after street date as well as extends redbox’s access to Blu-ray titles, which redbox is currently testing in select markets. The agreement also provides Warner Bros. the opportunity to maximize the sales of new release titles as well as video on demand and other forms of digital distribution.

“This agreement enables redbox to fulfill our commitment to providing consumers affordable and convenient home entertainment,” said Mitch Lowe, president, redbox. “By agreeing to a delayed release date, redbox can now acquire Warner Home Video titles at a reduced product cost, preserving value for our consumers and increasing customer access to Warner titles at redbox locations nationwide.”

Warner Home Video and redbox will be implementing delayed availability during the month of March and will reach a four-week window by March 23 with the release of The Blind Side. The new agreement will run through January 31, 2012. Redbox has also agreed to destroy Warner Home Video content following its lifespan in kiosks.

“The 28-day window for redbox balances the economics of our relationship while continuing to offer great value to their customers,” said Ron Sanders, president, Warner Home Video. “This accord establishes a mutually beneficial relationship that will foster an ongoing and productive partnership.”

Warner Bros. is currently a leader in many home video categories including total video (DVD and Blu-ray combined), Theatrical Catalog video, TV on DVD, and Blu-ray and will ensure the DVD rental company access to sufficient quantities of Warner Home Video titles including The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Box, The Informant!, Where the Wild Things Are, The Blind Side, and Sherlock Holmes.

As Business Week reports, first Target (TGT) and now Wal-Mart (WMT) have imposed strict limits on the number of DVDs any one customer can buy at one time. That’s going to make it harder for DVD kiosk rental service Redbox to get around the refusal of some studios–including Warner Home Video, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox–to sell new releases directly to the company, which rents movies for a dollar a day. Redbox is in litigation with all three studios over the issue.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

While Internet companies such as Google use baked goods as names for their key strategic initiatives–recent ones related to its Android mobile operating system were called Donut and Eclair, for example–aggressive media giant News Corp. is definitely not going for sweetness in its unusual selection of a code name for its high-profile digital content effort.

That would be Project Alesia, a moniker that comes from a vicious siege from ancient times widely considered to be one of the more decisive battles in history.

And that is apparently what top News Corp. (NWS) execs think is the best way to describe their plans for stopping the decimation of premium content in the digital age and transforming their business to take advantage of new means of distribution, according to numerous sources BoomTown spoke to this week about the unusual name.

“It takes a lot of determination to succeed in what is one of the biggest challenges newspaper and all media has ever faced,” explained one source. “So, the real path to success will require ingenuity and staying on course over time…which was critical to that military victory.”

Interestingly, said several sources, the Project Alesia name was picked by James Murdoch, chairman and CEO of Europe and Asia for News Corp.

Widely considered the heir apparent to his father, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch is apparently a dedicated reader and student of Roman history.

But it has actually been the elder Murdoch who has been cast as the obvious general so far, conducting a recent series of public verbal attacks on Internet targets, especially Google (GOOG).

He has accused the search giant of “stealing” content, for example, while other News Corp. execs have echoed his gibes in various high-profile forums.

But James Murdoch has been a key player behind the scenes in the digital strategy, several sources said, an effort that also includes News Corp. Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller and Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton.

(Full disclosure: News Corp. unit Dow Jones owns this site.)

Of this top group, it is James Murdoch–who has slowly been emerging as a more high-profile player, especially internationally–who found inspiration in the past.

To understand why, you’ll first need a short and truncated history lesson, which I culled from a variety of sources online and off:

Taking place in September 52 BC in what is now France, the Siege of Alesia (also referred to as the Battle of Alesia) pitted Rome’s famed leader, Julius Caesar, against the Gallic tribes under the unified command of Vercingétorix of Averni.

More important–besides being cited as one of the best uses of siege warfare and “circumvallation” (see more about this below)–the battle of Alesia is considered a turning point in the bitter wars conducted by the Roman Republic to tame the Gauls, who had finally united as a single force in opposition to the Roman invasion.

The hard-fought win–in a battle where the Roman army was outnumbered five-to-one, outside a hilltop fort in Alesia–is often credited with reinvigorating Rome’s power over Gaul. After the loss, Gaul became a province of the Roman empire and was pretty much subdued for the next 500 years.

Alesia is often cited as one of Caesar’s greatest military victories and the fallout from it later led to his ascension to ultimate power in Rome (which was soon followed by his infamous assassination).

That’s not the ultimate end News Corp. is envisioning, of course, sticking with Alesia’s main themes of “perseverance” and innovation, said several people with knowledge of the digital content efforts.

And, no surprise, in the digital battles between traditional media and interlopers from the Web, guess who has been cast as noble Caesar and who plays the role of marauding heathens?

You know, the ones who even cast their women and children out of the fort into the middle of the siege when food started to run out? That would apparently be the Googlers of Silicon Valley, although if it were them, the food would be organic!

Not all comparisons are the same, said a source. For example, consider circumvallation, which is essentially the building of a series of encircling fortified walls around the enemy. Contravallation is also also part of the strategy, to protect from attacks by enemy reinforcements attacking from the outside.

One could easily imagine that this means creating pay walls around premium content or de-indexing it from search sites like Google, both of which News Corp. has publicly talked about doing.

Not so!

“Traditional media companies are interested in investing in innovation too, so the idea of just putting up walls around content is a red herring,” said the source. “The idea is to find new ways of distributing media that also makes money, because why should journalism in [digital] ones and zeros be any different?”

Of course, with new stats showing sites like Google News and Yahoo (YHOO) News as the place consumers are going to get more and more of their news, that is a big issue in a longer fight, which will grind on for a very long time and well before any side can ever declare victory.

And here is a clip from a 2001 movie, “Vercingétorix,” about the Siege of Alesia, not made by News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox Hollywood studio, starring that actor dude from “Highlander” (aka my fave movie of all time). It does not end well for Google, oops, the Gauls:

[The 1899 painting at the top is by Lionel-Noël Royer.]

If you want to get Hollywood movie studio types irked, mention Google (GOOG). And if you want them steamed, bringing up Netflix (NFLX) will usually work.

But if you want to see the tops of their heads blow off, Redbox is just the ticket.

Except not to their movies, it seems, if the major movie studio execs have their way in an ever-growing legal battle with the DVD-rental kiosk company.

Three of them have become embroiled in lawsuits with Redbox, even as the DVD market contracts.

Well, not for Redbox–which is located in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., and is wholly owned by Bellevue, Wash.-based Coinstar (CSTR).

It is seeing strong rental growth due to its $1-a-night price for first-run movies, which the company distributes via its 15,000 freestanding machines in supermarkets and convenience stores, as well as in big chains like McDonald’s (MCD), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Walgreens (WAG).

Redbox is arguing that once it buys DVDs from the studios through wholesalers, it can charge any price it wants.

Studios beg to differ, claiming that bargain-basement pricing is hurting the market and that Redbox should not get the goods until after the first month of release of movies into the DVD market.

“These guys are simply grossly undervaluing our content,” said one studio source, in what is a typical sentiment. “We get the windowing model is changing, but we can’t just give these guys our stuff at a low, low price to essentially enable them to give it away…and that’s exactly what they wanted us to do.”

Thus, it’s a perfect set-up for legal high jinks about the issues of steep discounting, windowing and the price for premium content.

Redbox recently sued Warner Home Video, owned by Time Warner (TWX), for denying it the opportunity to buy DVDs without being required to wait a month or more to rent them out.

It has previously gone after NBC Universal’s Universal Studios Home Entertainment, owned by GE (GE) and 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp. (NWS), for similar release restrictions.

And while some studios are holding fast to fighting price declines represented by consumer-friendly, idiot-proof tech solutions like Redbox, others are not.

Redbox has inked deals with Sony (SNE), Lions Gate (LGF), Paramount, a unit of Viacom (VIA), and also gets movies from Disney (DIS).

It’s a fascinating case to watch–yet another wrinkle in the what-is-content-really-worth question that has been plaguing all traditional media.

Unfortunately for those companies, the kids seem to love it, as you will see from this video I did while renting movies at our local Safeway (SWY) with my seven-year-old son, Louie, at a small competitor to Redbox with about 1,400 outlets called DVDPlay.

We use both, but Louie–like a lot of consumers–is most definitely a fan of the Redbox method.

Here’s the video:

[Full disclosure: News Corp. owns Dow Jones, which owns this site.]

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090831/louie-swisher-hearts-redbox-but-hollywood-not-so-much/feed/ 4 http://allthingsd.com/20090812/dvd-kiosk-war-heats-up-redbox-sues-20th-century-fox/ http://allthingsd.com/20090812/dvd-kiosk-war-heats-up-redbox-sues-20th-century-fox/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:41:34 +0000 Eric Savitz http://voices.allthingsd.com/?p=14323 The battle for control of the DVD rental business continues to heat up.

Redbox, the Coinstar (CSTR) unit which operates more than 15,000 DVD rental kiosks around the country, today announced that it has filed suit against 20th Century Fox over new proposed distribution terms which would prevent Redbox from renting the studio’s DVDs to consumers until at least 30 days after they are released to the public.

As I noted in my May 18 column in Barron’s, Redbox has a similar suit pending against Universal Studios. The issue: Redbox rents movies for $1 a day. The price is so low that the studios fear that consumer will be incented to stop buying DVDs, thus wrecking a lucrative component of studio revenues.

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]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090812/dvd-kiosk-war-heats-up-redbox-sues-20th-century-fox/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20090406/news-corp-gives-a-wolverine-review-a-thumbs-down-way-way-down/ http://allthingsd.com/20090406/news-corp-gives-a-wolverine-review-a-thumbs-down-way-way-down/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:18:48 +0000 Peter Kafka http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/?p=5993 We’re still waiting to see how this one plays out. But it’s possible that Roger Friedman may be the first person to ever get fired for a positive movie review.

Bear with me, because it’s a bit knotty: Last week, Friedman, a gossip columnist for News Corp.’s FoxNews.com, wrote up a glowing review of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” the newest X-Men movie from News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox studio. The problem is that the movie won’t be released until May, and Friedman was reviewing an unfinished “work copy” that got leaked to the Web last week amid much hubbub.

And the real problem, according to Friedman’s employers, was that his review appeared to endorse online movie piracy. So he’s been fired.

Or has he? News Corp. (NWS) officials say he’s already gone. Here’s their official statement:

“Roger Friedman’s views in no way reflect the views of News Corporation. We, along with 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, have been a consistent leader in the fight against piracy and have zero tolerance for any action that encourages and promotes piracy. When we advised Fox News of the facts they took immediate action, removed the post, and promptly terminated Mr. Friedman.”

But Fox News’s statement is more circumspect and less specific: “This is an internal matter that we’re not prepared to discuss at this time.” I haven’t heard back from Friedman yet, but last night he was telling Variety that he hadn’t been canned.

We should know more soon: A person familiar with the matter told me that Fox News officials will be meeting to discuss Friedman’s fate this morning. The Huffington Post and Gawker have heard the same thing. No idea whether this is just a formality, necessitated by the fact that the scandal broke over the weekend, or whether Fox News chief Roger Ailes is really considering keeping Friedman on. I’ll update when I hear more.

UPDATE: It’s official. Friedman is out. Per Fox News: “Fox News representatives and Roger Friedman met today and mutually agreed to part ways immediately.  Fox News appreciates Mr. Friedman’s ten years of contributions to building foxnews.com and wishes him success in his future endeavors.  Mr. Friedman is grateful to his colleagues for their friendship and support over the past decade.”

Until then, I encourage anyone who’s interested in this to head to RopesofSilicon.com and check out Friedman’s original post, which Fox News has now taken down (you’ll need to zoom in with your browser to make the thing legible). I see why Friedman’s employers (who are ultimately my employers too since this site is owned by News Corp.’s Dow Jones) are arguing that his column “promotes piracy.” It does wax on about how easy it is to watch pirated stuff on the Web these days.

But since he’s obviously not the first person to note that–I don’t think we can even call it an open secret at this point–I’m wondering if there isn’t something else at work here. Anyone have any bright ideas?

Meanwhile, here’s a preview of the film. Go ahead, and press play if you’d like–it’s officially sanctioned.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090406/news-corp-gives-a-wolverine-review-a-thumbs-down-way-way-down/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080501/ddv20080501/ http://allthingsd.com/20080501/ddv20080501/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 17:59:00 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080501/ddv20080501/

[ See post to watch video ]

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080501/ddv20080501/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080501/kinda-takes-the-wind-out-of-your-sales-eh-bewkes/ http://allthingsd.com/20080501/kinda-takes-the-wind-out-of-your-sales-eh-bewkes/#comments Thu, 01 May 2008 07:00:44 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080501/kinda-takes-the-wind-out-of-your-sales-eh-bewkes/ Hollywood is finally embracing day-and-date film releases.

Yesterday, Time Warner (TWX) CEO Jeffrey Bewkes said that Warner Bros. plans to experiment with VOD releases day-and-date with DVD later this year. And now this morning, Apple (AAPL) announced that a number of major and independent movie studios have agreed to make their films available on iTunes day-and-date with DVD–$9.99 for library title purchases and $14.99 for new release purchases. Among the studios participating in the deal: 20th Century Fox (NWS), Walt Disney Studios (DIS), Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures (VIA), Universal Studios Home Entertainment (GE), Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE), Lionsgate (LGF), Image Entertainment (DISK) and First Look Studios (FRST.PK).

An impressive lineup and one that clearly heralds a shift in the movie industry’s view of digital distribution. A shift in iTunes movie purchases as well–upward. The removal of Hollywood’s typical 30-day lead time on DVD releases will no doubt boost new-release sales on iTunes, assuming customers don’t mind paying $14.99 for films that lack the extra features and picture quality of their DVD counterparts. It will boost movie studio revenues as well. With no manufacturing and reproduction costs to speak of, margins from day-and-date download releases are presumably quite high.

So much for that hard-fought DVD format war …

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080501/kinda-takes-the-wind-out-of-your-sales-eh-bewkes/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great/ http://allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:04:22 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great/ Note: Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski is off sick today. This post is being filed from notes taken at the Macworld keynote at San Francisco’s Moscone Center by Associate Editor John Sullivan. Check back later for Paczkowski’s take on the proceedings.

After a week of rumor buildup and speculation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s Macworld keynote seemed almost subdued. He gave the crowd what it expected in terms of new iPhone apps and additional iTunes features, and then finished with the announcement it had been primed for: the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest laptop computer.

Jobs began his keynote a few minutes past 9 a.m. For the barely contained crowd (Moscone West was packed), the aura of anticipation was heightened by rock and hip-hop music blaring over the speakers. After the lights came down, the crowd hooted and yelped. Then, after a Mac Guy/PC Guy video (about what a terrible year it was for PC guy, who finishes by telling Mac Guy he’s “gonna copy everything you did in 2007″), Jobs took the stage in his uniform black turtleneck and blue jeans, declaring: “Clearly something is in the air today.”

After noting that 2007 was an “incredible” year, an “extraordinary” year, capped by the “revolutionary” iPhone, Jobs announces that he will address four things:

1. Leopard:

   This was the most successful release of Mac OS X, Jobs notes, with 5 million units sold. He quotes reviews from Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal (and co-executive editor of this site), David Pogue from the New York Times and Ed Baig of USA Today.

   As for Time Machine: For backing up files, it works great, he says. Today, he’s announcing a companion product: a backup appliance called Time Capsule. Plug it in, turn it on, enable Time Capsule on all your machines: one with 500 gigabytes ($299) and another with one terabyte ($499). “We want people backing up their content,” he says. “[This] is a perfect companion to Leopard.”

2. iPhone:

   “Got some great news for you,” Jobs announces. “Today is the 200th day the iPhone is on sale. Sales of 4 million so far. What does this mean for the smart-phone market?” He quotes research: RIM had most sales (39%); Apple had 19.5%; Palm 18%. First 90 days, iPhone equaled Palm, Motorola and Nokia sales combined, Jobs says.

   SDK for the iPhone is coming in late February, Jobs continues, but: “We wanted to give something today.” He lists “great new features”: maps with location; Webclips to customize home screen; SMS messaging to multiple people; chapters capability for video; and support for Lyric.

   Map app looks much more localized, customizable; drop a pin, move a pin. Developed in conjunction with Google, Jobs says.

   SMS more than one person: With the new app, you can message multiple recipients–one click and you can send multiple messages.

   Webclips: We worked with Google on this app, Jobs notes again. The icons can be added to screen of iPhone. Jobs demos a “jiggle” function to edit Webclips and rearrange them. This feature can add up to nine home screens to the iPhone.

   How do we make maps work? Jobs asks: Skyhook Wireless, which mapped Wi-Fi hotspots and located 23 million of them. “Isn’t that cool? It’s really cool,” Jobs enthuses. Triangulation is the key, he says, noting that’s what Google is doing.

   “All of this is available today as a free update to all iPhone users,” he proclaims, to applause.

   Then, almost as an afterthought: iPod Touch. “We’ve decided to add five apps”: maps with Wi-Fi location, mail, stocks, notes and weather–all of which will be built in to new models, with a upgrade available to existing users for $20.

3. iTunes:

   “We sold our four billionth song this month,” Jobs notes, adding that on Christmas Day, iTunes sold 20 million songs. It has sold 125 million TV shows and 7 million movies.

   But, he adds, we think there’s a better way to deliver movies: iTunes movie rentals. Not like music, which you buy to listen to a thousand times. You watch a movie once. Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, Lionsgate, New Line are all on board, plus (big applause): 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Universal and Sony. “We have every major studio supporting us: really, really great films…We’re gonna launch with 1,000 films by the end of February.” And you can watch them anywhere, Jobs notes: Mac, PC, iPhone–anywhere with broadband. When you rent, you get a 30-day window to watch a movie, with a 24-hour start/stop time frame. Plus, he notes, you can transfer them around your devices, too. Cost: $2.99 for library titles, $3.99 for new releases.

   Jobs repeats point that all movies can be moved to a different device: e.g., iPod or PC. But what about flat-screen TV? “All of us have tried,” Jobs says of that hurdle, “and we’ve all missed.” But now, he adds, we’re back with Apple TV, Take 2: No computer, but it still syncs with TV.

   The iTunes movies can also be rented in high definition with Dolby 5.1 sound. You can get podcasts, photos from Flickr and .Mac. Finally, Jobs mentions a YouTube connection: 50 million videos. So you can buy TV shows and music and play this iTunes content on TV too.

   The HD-quality option is $1 more, Jobs says: $4.99 for new releases. (Demo: Jobs shows free preview function for “Blades of Glory,” as well as an almost instantaneous download and play of movie). Full DVD quality. Then, he gives an HD demo of “Live Free or Die Hard”: “Very strong,” Jobs opines.

   TV shows: Over 600 shows, he notes, at $1.99 per episode. All can sync with PC or Mac.

   Podcasts: lot of HD podcasts, very cool. “HD content streaming free.” Shows “incredible” clip from Teton.

   For Apple TV: free software upgrade for current owners. But because “We want to make Apple TV even more accessible,” starting today, Jobs says, the new price is $229 (from $299).

   “I think we’ve got it all together,” Jobs says, noting Apple has a great working relationship with Fox. He then introduces Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox Filmed Entertainment: “When you get down to it, there are two things,” Gianopulos says. “Make great movies, and give them to audience in as many ways as they want.” People want choice, he adds, viewing options, access, control and availability.

   “This is the coolest thing we ever heard,” Gianopulos says. “Music, then iPod. Phone, then iPhone. Apple does things in innovative ways. We’ve been working on DVD…[his Blu-ray mention draws applause]…But we also don’t want to deny the viewer the option of having a copy”–a physical copy of the movie. He shows first one, a take-off on “Star Wars.” “It’s an exciting beginning with Apple,” he concludes.

4. MacBook Air.

   Jobs is back: “There’s something in the air,” he repeats. “As you know, Apple makes the best notebooks on the planet. Today, we’re introducing a third kind of notebook: MacBook Air.” After comparing all subnotebooks, he announces: “There was room for improvement.”

   So, MacBook Air stats: .76 of an inch at thickest part to .16 of an inch at thinnest. “We’re talking thin here; let me show it to you now.” He picks up a manila envelope and produces the aluminum device; crowd oohs and ahs at its size. Yet it has a full 13.3-inch display; “gorgeous” Jobs says. It also has a built-in camera; full-size back-lit keyboard; multi-touch gesture function–in short, Jobs says, “We’ve taken things we’ve learned from iPhone and now they’re in our computers.”

   How did Apple do it? Three things: battery; 1.8-inch drive; 80GB hard-disk drive (or 64 SSD, as an option). The laptop’s board is the size of a pencil. “An amazing feat of engineering,” Jobs notes. “And we didn’t compromise on performance: speedy processor: Intel Core 2 duo.” Jobs mentions Apple’s great relationship with Intel; “We asked them to consider smaller packaging on their chip: They came up with the same chip in a package that is 60 percent smaller, and that’s why we were able to build the MacBook Air,” Jobs remarks.

   Then Intel CEO Paul Otellini comes onstage and delivers his take on how the two companies collaborated on meeting the challenge. In short, a commitment to innovation drove the effort.

   Bottom line: After more discussion of the MacBook Air’s features, Jobs mentions price: All these features–along with a battery that gives five hours per recharge–for $1,799. Audible “wow” from the audience.

   One other side of MacBook Air, Jobs adds: environmentally conscious: aluminum case; arsenic-free glass; mercury-free and bromide-free components, plus less packaging.

So, Jobs concludes, “The thinnest notebook in the world joins MacBook and MacBook Pro, the best in the industry.”

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great/feed/ 5 http://allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great-2/ http://allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great-2/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:04:22 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great/ Note: Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski is off sick today. This post is being filed from notes taken at the Macworld keynote at San Francisco’s Moscone Center by Associate Editor John Sullivan. Check back later for Paczkowski’s take on the proceedings.

After a week of rumor buildup and speculation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s Macworld keynote seemed almost subdued. He gave the crowd what it expected in terms of new iPhone apps and additional iTunes features, and then finished with the announcement it had been primed for: the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest laptop computer.

Jobs began his keynote a few minutes past 9 a.m. For the barely contained crowd (Moscone West was packed), the aura of anticipation was heightened by rock and hip-hop music blaring over the speakers. After the lights came down, the crowd hooted and yelped. Then, after a Mac Guy/PC Guy video (about what a terrible year it was for PC guy, who finishes by telling Mac Guy he’s “gonna copy everything you did in 2007″), Jobs took the stage in his uniform black turtleneck and blue jeans, declaring: “Clearly something is in the air today.”

After noting that 2007 was an “incredible” year, an “extraordinary” year, capped by the “revolutionary” iPhone, Jobs announces that he will address four things:

1. Leopard:

   This was the most successful release of Mac OS X, Jobs notes, with 5 million units sold. He quotes reviews from Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal (and co-executive editor of this site), David Pogue from the New York Times and Ed Baig of USA Today.

   As for Time Machine: For backing up files, it works great, he says. Today, he’s announcing a companion product: a backup appliance called Time Capsule. Plug it in, turn it on, enable Time Capsule on all your machines: one with 500 gigabytes ($299) and another with one terabyte ($499). “We want people backing up their content,” he says. “[This] is a perfect companion to Leopard.”

2. iPhone:

   “Got some great news for you,” Jobs announces. “Today is the 200th day the iPhone is on sale. Sales of 4 million so far. What does this mean for the smart-phone market?” He quotes research: RIM had most sales (39%); Apple had 19.5%; Palm 18%. First 90 days, iPhone equaled Palm, Motorola and Nokia sales combined, Jobs says.

   SDK for the iPhone is coming in late February, Jobs continues, but: “We wanted to give something today.” He lists “great new features”: maps with location; Webclips to customize home screen; SMS messaging to multiple people; chapters capability for video; and support for Lyric.

   Map app looks much more localized, customizable; drop a pin, move a pin. Developed in conjunction with Google, Jobs says.

   SMS more than one person: With the new app, you can message multiple recipients–one click and you can send multiple messages.

   Webclips: We worked with Google on this app, Jobs notes again. The icons can be added to screen of iPhone. Jobs demos a “jiggle” function to edit Webclips and rearrange them. This feature can add up to nine home screens to the iPhone.

   How do we make maps work? Jobs asks: Skyhook Wireless, which mapped Wi-Fi hotspots and located 23 million of them. “Isn’t that cool? It’s really cool,” Jobs enthuses. Triangulation is the key, he says, noting that’s what Google is doing.

   “All of this is available today as a free update to all iPhone users,” he proclaims, to applause.

   Then, almost as an afterthought: iPod Touch. “We’ve decided to add five apps”: maps with Wi-Fi location, mail, stocks, notes and weather–all of which will be built in to new models, with a upgrade available to existing users for $20.

3. iTunes:

   “We sold our four billionth song this month,” Jobs notes, adding that on Christmas Day, iTunes sold 20 million songs. It has sold 125 million TV shows and 7 million movies.

   But, he adds, we think there’s a better way to deliver movies: iTunes movie rentals. Not like music, which you buy to listen to a thousand times. You watch a movie once. Touchstone, Miramax, MGM, Lionsgate, New Line are all on board, plus (big applause): 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Universal and Sony. “We have every major studio supporting us: really, really great films…We’re gonna launch with 1,000 films by the end of February.” And you can watch them anywhere, Jobs notes: Mac, PC, iPhone–anywhere with broadband. When you rent, you get a 30-day window to watch a movie, with a 24-hour start/stop time frame. Plus, he notes, you can transfer them around your devices, too. Cost: $2.99 for library titles, $3.99 for new releases.

   Jobs repeats point that all movies can be moved to a different device: e.g., iPod or PC. But what about flat-screen TV? “All of us have tried,” Jobs says of that hurdle, “and we’ve all missed.” But now, he adds, we’re back with Apple TV, Take 2: No computer, but it still syncs with TV.

   The iTunes movies can also be rented in high definition with Dolby 5.1 sound. You can get podcasts, photos from Flickr and .Mac. Finally, Jobs mentions a YouTube connection: 50 million videos. So you can buy TV shows and music and play this iTunes content on TV too.

   The HD-quality option is $1 more, Jobs says: $4.99 for new releases. (Demo: Jobs shows free preview function for “Blades of Glory,” as well as an almost instantaneous download and play of movie). Full DVD quality. Then, he gives an HD demo of “Live Free or Die Hard”: “Very strong,” Jobs opines.

   TV shows: Over 600 shows, he notes, at $1.99 per episode. All can sync with PC or Mac.

   Podcasts: lot of HD podcasts, very cool. “HD content streaming free.” Shows “incredible” clip from Teton.

   For Apple TV: free software upgrade for current owners. But because “We want to make Apple TV even more accessible,” starting today, Jobs says, the new price is $229 (from $299).

   “I think we’ve got it all together,” Jobs says, noting Apple has a great working relationship with Fox. He then introduces Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox Filmed Entertainment: “When you get down to it, there are two things,” Gianopulos says. “Make great movies, and give them to audience in as many ways as they want.” People want choice, he adds, viewing options, access, control and availability.

   “This is the coolest thing we ever heard,” Gianopulos says. “Music, then iPod. Phone, then iPhone. Apple does things in innovative ways. We’ve been working on DVD…[his Blu-ray mention draws applause]…But we also don’t want to deny the viewer the option of having a copy”–a physical copy of the movie. He shows first one, a take-off on “Star Wars.” “It’s an exciting beginning with Apple,” he concludes.

4. MacBook Air.

   Jobs is back: “There’s something in the air,” he repeats. “As you know, Apple makes the best notebooks on the planet. Today, we’re introducing a third kind of notebook: MacBook Air.” After comparing all subnotebooks, he announces: “There was room for improvement.”

   So, MacBook Air stats: .76 of an inch at thickest part to .16 of an inch at thinnest. “We’re talking thin here; let me show it to you now.” He picks up a manila envelope and produces the aluminum device; crowd oohs and ahs at its size. Yet it has a full 13.3-inch display; “gorgeous” Jobs says. It also has a built-in camera; full-size back-lit keyboard; multi-touch gesture function–in short, Jobs says, “We’ve taken things we’ve learned from iPhone and now they’re in our computers.”

   How did Apple do it? Three things: battery; 1.8-inch drive; 80GB hard-disk drive (or 64 SSD, as an option). The laptop’s board is the size of a pencil. “An amazing feat of engineering,” Jobs notes. “And we didn’t compromise on performance: speedy processor: Intel Core 2 duo.” Jobs mentions Apple’s great relationship with Intel; “We asked them to consider smaller packaging on their chip: They came up with the same chip in a package that is 60 percent smaller, and that’s why we were able to build the MacBook Air,” Jobs remarks.

   Then Intel CEO Paul Otellini comes onstage and delivers his take on how the two companies collaborated on meeting the challenge. In short, a commitment to innovation drove the effort.

   Bottom line: After more discussion of the MacBook Air’s features, Jobs mentions price: All these features–along with a battery that gives five hours per recharge–for $1,799. Audible “wow” from the audience.

   One other side of MacBook Air, Jobs adds: environmentally conscious: aluminum case; arsenic-free glass; mercury-free and bromide-free components, plus less packaging.

So, Jobs concludes, “The thinnest notebook in the world joins MacBook and MacBook Pro, the best in the industry.”

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20080115/jobs-at-macworld-2008-isnt-that-great-2/feed/ 0