distributor

YouTube Hands Out $500,000 to Video Makers, Prepares to Spend a Whole Lot More on Next New Networks

Peter Kafka in Media on December 22, 2010 at 3:38 pm PT

Google hands out 500 $1,000 checks to video makers who make cheap, popular clips. It will spend many times that amount to acquire Next New Networks, which specializes in…cheap, popular clips.

AOL Boasts About Its Supersized Video Offering, and Puts Ran Harnevo in Charge

Peter Kafka in Media on November 23, 2010 at 9:59 am PT

A couple of months ago AOL laid out $65 million for video distributor 5Min Media. What did it get for its money? A lot of video! And a new executive, too.

Hulu's Jason Kilar Talks About Plus, IPO, Renovations and More!

Kara Swisher in News on July 7, 2010 at 5:15 am PT

This week on BoomTown’s grand summer tour of digital Los Angeles, I popped into the Santa Monica, Calif., offices of Hulu, the premium online video distributor that has been one of the few big hits for Hollywood in the digital sector. As it turned out, Hulu was in the midst of renovations to its HQ, even as it tinkers with its longtime advertising-supported business model. Thus, it was a good time to get up into the ever-smiling grill of its CEO, Jason Kilar, to talk about a wide range of subjects.

Apple Makes Good on Steve Jobs’s Promise, Invites Other Advertisers. But What About Google’s AdMob?

Peter Kafka in Media on June 8, 2010 at 5:15 am PT

Last week, Steve Jobs promised that his iPhone and iPad would be open to outside ad networks. Yesterday, Apple made good on his promise, by changing the terms of its developer agreement. Good news for some mobile ad networks. But what about Google?

Early Nexus One Sales Just 865,000 Short of iPhone Sales

John Paczkowski in Mobile on March 16, 2010 at 6:30 am PT

Google may be a formidable search company, but as a mobile device distributor, it’s a piker. After 74 days at market, Google’s new Nexus One “super-smartphone” has sold just 135,000 units, according to a new estimate from analytics outfit Flurry.

iPad TV?

John Paczkowski in News on February 5, 2010 at 4:31 pm PT

Could Apple’s future as a multichannel video distributor lie not with AppleTV but with the iPad? Might the “best of TV” iTunes subscription offering the company has been pitching to TV networks since last November be primarily intended for that device and not the company’s sleeper AppleTV platform?

The Netflix and Warner Bros. Pact: Subscribers Wait for New Movies, Get More on the Web

Peter Kafka in Media on January 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm PT

Here’s a marriage of convenience: A pact between Netflix and Warner Bros. that gives both sides some of what they want, at least for now. The rental service agrees not to offer the studio’s movies for the first 28 days after they go on sale. In return, it gets more movies to offer via its growing Web streaming service.

Analyst: Palm Is Not Toast

John Paczkowski in News on December 15, 2009 at 1:00 pm PT

Investors poised to write off Palm as a legitimate contender in the smartphone market may want to hold off in light of some recent developments that suggest 2010 may be a strong year for the company. With a Verizon relationship clearly in the works, some 500 webOS applications available and a high-end and low-end device on which to run them, the highly competitive smartphone sector appears to be developing an … appreciation for Palm.

How to Make Money With Web Video: Books and DVDs

Peter Kafka in Media on September 17, 2009 at 6:28 am PT

Eric Spiegelman has a Web video hit on his hands. “Old Jews Telling Jokes,” a series of short clips featuring exactly what the name suggests, is popular, viral, and cheap to make. But he still can’t cover his costs with Internet advertising. Enter the ancillary products, like a new book deal.

Is The Pirate Bay Really Going Legit? Of Course Not.

Peter Kafka in Media on June 30, 2009 at 6:32 am PT

You can hear the head-scratching going on at movie studios and music labels across the world: What just happened to The Pirate Bay? Reports out of Sweden are murky at best. But supposedly, a Scandinavian software outfit is buying the world’s most notorious file-sharing site for about $8 million and will create a service that pays copyright owners when people download their work. But let’s be honest: That’s never going to happen.