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• Dish fights TiVo again in court

  Posted Jun 02 2008, 12:04 PM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: Tivo, Kim Peterson, Dish Network
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  Dish Network is heading toward two options: shut down DVR service for its customers or license technology from TiVo. Neither one is particularly palatable, so the company filed a lawsuit against TiVo Friday to buy some time. Today, TiVo shares are down 9% to $7.66 as investors freak out about the litigation. Dish shares are pretty much unchanged.

  This is a huge deal to Dish because two years ago, the courts told it to stop selling DVRs to customers. (This was after a jury found that Dish's sister company, EchoStar, infringed on TiVo's DVR software). Luckily, Dish got the courts to place that injunction on hold as long as the appeals process was taking place. But the courts refused to hear an appeal earlier this year.   Read More...

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• News worth reading today

  Posted May 28 2008, 09:53 AM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: Google, AOL, Netflix, Tivo
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  Some headlines that caught my eye today:

  Who has the worst customer service? MSN Money went snooping, and Time Warner's AOL topped the list. I agree, having seen AOL's horrible service firsthand. Short version of a long story: A family member with Alzheimer's could no longer speak -- let alone remember his AOL password -- and AOL wouldn't let his wife discontinue the service because she wasn't the primary account holder. His wife had to pay for years, and threaten legal action, before AOL canceled the account. Thanks, AOL.

  Delaware has the best broadband. A new report says Delaware tops the country when it comes to the number of Internet connections using "high broadband" -- meaning speeds exceeding 5 Mbps. About 60% of Delaware's Internet connections fall into this category. Rhode Island and New York round out the top three. I was surprised to see Nevada and Oklahoma next on the list, given that vast rural areas aren't the best environment for fast broadband.   Read More...

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• Blockbuster's set-top box plans

  Posted Apr 10 2008, 12:36 PM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: Blockbuster, Netflix, Tivo
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  Blockbuster is feeling the love again in its love-hate relationship with the Internet, and this time I think the company is serious. The Hollywood Reporter says Blockbuster is making a set-top box for streaming movies to TVs, and could announce the service this month. The device would be tied to Movielink, the online movie service for PCs that Blockbuster bought last year. 

  It's an ambitious move for a company that has never figured out the Internet. Blockbuster has bumbled around while Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, TiVo and others found ways to marry video and the Web. Blockbuster went guns blazing after Netflix two years ago, pouring money into its DVD-by-mail service before deciding to pull back and retrench.

  Now, Blockbuster is making some smarter moves. For one thing, it's actually doing something with Movielink. And by offering a streaming box, it avoids the messy license and DRM issues that come with a downloading service. But Blockbuster faces some real problems, which may be why its stock price only rose less than 2% on the news today.   Read More...

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• TiVo might have some life left

  Posted Nov 29 2007, 03:01 AM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: Comcast, Tivo
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  Poor TiVo. The company pioneers the DVR business only to watch the market being taken over by cable and satellite. It's hard to sell your DVR to people when Comcast is practically forcing a DVR set-top box into their hands. 

  Luckily, TiVo is working out some deals that might keep it in business, and some of them were announced this week.

  First, NBC agreed to place TiVo "tags" in its commercials, so that viewers can click the TiVo remote during an ad to get more information about the product. And to counter the legendary TiVo ad-skippers, NBC signed up for a TiVo service that measures audience viewing behavior on a second-by-second basis. Basically, the network is going to test advertising campaigns to see which, if any, can hold on to its audience during commercials. Good luck -- that fast forward button is a very good thing indeed.   Read More...

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• DVD sales drop. Can Hollywood still profit?

  Posted Nov 14 2007, 03:11 AM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: Netflix, Tivo
  Rating:

  DVDs used to be the profit makers for movie studios, but a new report says DVD sales are tanking this year -- and suggests Hollywood is headed into the red.

  DVD sales have fallen for the last three years after soaring by 75% between 1999 and 2004, according to the report, by Global Media Intelligence. In the first half of this year, DVD sales in the U.S. dropped by 12.5%.

  I haven't seen enough solid clues about why DVD sales are down. I don't think the next-generation formats, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, are mainstream enough yet to eat into the DVD market. Maybe more cable and satellite options, such as on-demand programming, are factoring in. DVD player sales are down 15% over the past year, after dropping 24% the year before.   Read More...

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