revenue stream

Hulu Plus, Take Two: How's $4.95 a Month?

Peter Kafka in Media on October 21, 2010 at 1:47 pm PT

Hulu is considering cutting the price of Hulu Plus, the subscription service it began testing in June, sources tell me. I’m told the video site is talking about slashing its $9.95 per month fee in half, to $4.95.

Bit.ly URL Shortener Raises $10 Million

Peter Kafka in Media on October 7, 2010 at 1:24 pm PT

Bit.ly, the start-up you’ve probably used recently to send someone a shorter version of a Web address, has raised another round of funding. The service, spun out of the Betaworks incubator, says that the RRE VC fund led the round, and that partner Eric Wiesen will join the company’s board.

iPad Production Is on Track. No, It’s Not. Yes, It Is.

John Paczkowski in News on March 4, 2010 at 8:59 am PT

Seems there’s a bit of disagreement over those rumored iPad production issues we’ve been hearing about. Last week, Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek warned that a bottleneck at Apple’s manufacturing partner might limit initial availability of the device or even delay its launch. Then yesterday, Digitimes–not the most reliable of sources–published a report suggesting there would be no such inventory issues or delays. Now, ThinkEquity analyst Vijay Rakesh has issued a note echoing Misek’s claim.

Warner and Redbox Settle Up; Consumers Will Wait to Watch

Peter Kafka in Media on February 16, 2010 at 1:19 pm PT

Redbox, which looked like a major problem for Hollywood a few months ago, may be a little more palatable after all. Now Redbox renters, like Netflix subscribers, will have to wait a month to watch their favorite new movies.

Watch Hollywood Crater in a Single Sentence

Peter Kafka in Media on February 1, 2010 at 11:57 am PT

DVD sales are collapsing, nearly as quickly as music sales did over the last decade. Just ask MGM, which saw sales drop off a very steep cliff in just a couple of years. And remember this when you hear talk of Hollywood’s resurgence or the coming boom in 3-D.

The Music Industry’s Cautionary iTunes Tale Resonates with Publishers–And Apple

Peter Kafka in Media on January 27, 2010 at 6:41 am PT

Look who has learned one of the most important lessons of the music industry’s love-hate relationship with iTunes: Apple. It shows in Steve Jobs’s approach to book publishers, which is designed to assuage their fear that e-books will cannibalize their old business.

The New York Times Officially Starts Construction on Its Pay Wall: “Metered Model” Coming 2011

Peter Kafka in Media on January 20, 2010 at 6:39 am PT

After much consideration, the New York Times has finally decided to start charging readers for access to its Web site. But not for a while: The Times says it will introduce a “metered model” for NYT.com in 2011.

Is YouTube Ready for Primetime? Google Wants to Stream TV, for a Fee.

Peter Kafka in Media on December 1, 2009 at 3:00 am PT

YouTube, which is already trying out the movie rental business, wants to get into TV too. Google’s video site has been trying to convince the TV industry to let it stream individual shows for a fee. It envisions something similar to what Apple and Amazon already offer: First-run shows, without commercials, for $1.99 an episode, available the day after they air on broadcast or cable.

Condé Nast’s Offering for Apple’s Mystery Tablet: Wired Magazine

Peter Kafka in Media on November 18, 2009 at 1:19 pm PT

Here’s yet another content creator that’s convinced Apple has a tablet device in the works: Condé Nast says it will have a digital version of Wired magazine ready for the purported gadget by the middle of next year and will eventually create similar versions for all of its 18 titles. But Condé, like other publishers, says Apple won’t actually talk to the company about its plans for the device–or even acknowledge that it has plans.

Apple’s iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month

Peter Kafka in Media on November 2, 2009 at 8:34 am PT

Would you pay $30 a month to watch TV via iTunes? That’s the pitch Apple has been making to TV networks in recent weeks. The company is trying to round up support for a monthly subscription service that would deliver TV programs via its multimedia software, multiple sources tell me. The industry finds this idea both tempting and terrifying.