Today is sad day for Netflix customers. The online video rental supplier has just announced an agreement with Warner Bros. that will forever alter your online rental experience. Now should you wish to rent a Warner Bros. flick you’ll have to wait out a 28-day holding period after the film’s initial DVD release date.

Of course the partnership rooted in money-making greed — Warner Bros. wants you to buy the DVD instead of rent it —was to be expected. But the new deal is a first of its kind, and we could soon see several other studios follow in Warner Bros. footsteps.

Both companies would like you to know that the deal also guarantees that Warner Bros. will add more direct-to-video and streaming titles to the Netflix collection.

It’s the end of an era and the end of the new release rental as we know it. While we mourn the loss of new release rental freedom, we’d like to point out that RedBox is every bit the rebel, and the enemy of the entertainment industry. So if you can stomach getting off the couch, hit up one of their kiosks and you’re still likely to find Warner Bros. new releases for rent on the cheap.

[via The Business Insider]

Tags: Film, netflix, redbox, rental, trending

Go to Source

The move by Warner is an effort to squeeze all the potential profit it can from its new releases. Warner says under the deal Netflix will benefit by paying the studio less for new releases. The agreement also expands the license for Warner Bros. streaming content allowing Netflix to offer its members more movies they can watch instantly.

"We’ve been discussing new approaches with Warner Bros. for some time now and believe we’ve come up with a creative solution that is a ‘win-win’ all around," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix.

"We’re able to help an important business partner meet its objectives while improving service levels for our members by acquiring substantially more units than in the past after a relatively short sell-through window. At the same time, we’re able to extend the range of choices available to be streamed to our members."

Warner Bros. says 75 percent of new release sales occur in the first four weeks of availability. New releases from all suppliers account for about 30 percent of Netflix shipments. Look for more studios to follow Warner’s lead.

Related Articles:

> Netflix Strikes Deal With Samsung

> Netflix Now Streaming ABC Shows

> Netflix Announces Contest Winner… Finally

Go to Source

Now that Time Warner and AOL are officially dissolved, those behind the deal – originally valued at $164 billion – are speaking out.

This morning, former Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin and AOL co-founder Steve Case discussed the deal on CNBC as we approach its tenth anniversary.

Most newsworthy from the fascinating discussion: Levin apologized for the deal and said he takes sole responsibility for “the pain and suffering and loss” that was caused. The former CEO also encouraged others in the business world – especially those from disgraced financial companies like Citigroup and AIG – to stand up and take responsibility for what they’ve done.

The full segment, which includes commentary from Case as well, is included below:

Tags: gerald levin, media, steve case, time warner, video

Go to Source

Merlin’s association with indie artists and late arrival to the music scene (it launched in January of 2007) set it apart from the so-called Big Four.  Just the same, Merlin’s a major force, with members in more than 25 countries, and names like Cat Power, Tom Waits, and The White Stripes linked with it.

So it’s quite noteworthy that, according to Andrew Orlowski, a Merlin spokesman stated, "After more than a year of negotiations, MySpace Music has finally offered Merlin a deal that is acceptable to its members, members who represent 10% of the global music market."

What’s more, "The same eligibility and level of participation will be offered to all independent labels licensing content to MySpace Music."

Of course, the details of the arrangement haven’t yet been made public, which leaves a lot of questions unanswered.  But it looks like MySpace, which acquired Imeem just yesterday and launched MySpace Music Charts the day before, is really on a roll on the music front.

Related Articles:

> MySpace Picks Up Imeem

> MySpace Launches New Music Charts

> MySpace’s "New Moon" Webcast Brings In 3m Viewers

Go to Source

Well, on December 9th, that union will be no more.

You can read the wordy Time Warner press release, but you’ll probably either fall asleep or your head will explode, before you reach the end. Instead, we’ll turn to trusty Reuters to translate the announcement into plain English:

Time Warner shareholders of record on Nov. 27 will receive an AOL stock dividend for every 11 shares of Time Warner common stock they hold…Based on the closing price of Time Warner’s stock at $32.35 and its 1.17 billion outstanding shares, the ratio would effectively value AOL’s market capitalization at around $3.44 billion…AOL common stock will begin trading on a ‘when-issued’ basis on the New York stock Exchange on Nov. 24 and will start trading under the ‘AOL’ symbol on Dec. 10.

Of course, it’s been almost 6 month months since Time Warner announced the AOL spin off, but now we finally get a date to watch. On December 9th, former Google exec and AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, will get to show us what he–and AOL–are made of!

Comments

Go to Source

Nearly nine years after what many consider the worst merger in history, AOL and Time Warner will finally be divorced.

AOL-Time Warner, first created in 2000 when AOL purchased Time Warner for $164 billion, will officially dissolve on December 9th when AOL will be spun off as its own, independent company. Time Warner shareholders will receive one AOL share for every 11 Time Warner shares that they own.

It’s clear to many that AOL has fallen dramatically from his high point in the early 2000s, when its Internet dial-up business was booming. Now though, the company’s only valued at around $5.7 billion, the valuation Google set when it sold its 5% of AOL back to Time Warner in July.

Still, the company has been making a lot of moves recently, hiring former Google executive Tim Armstrong as CEO and hiring journalists to ramp up its content business at rapid speed. In fact, we think that AOL could be a sleeping social media juggernaut that has the power to become a player once again. December 9th is just the beginning of a new journey for AOL.

Tags: aol, time warner

Go to Source

We thought it was a little bizarre when Microsoft decided to sponsor a Family Guy special to promote Windows 7.

Not only does Seth McFarlane’s cartoon creation skirt the line when it comes to show content and characters, but the show staff actually uses Macs. That’s why we weren’t exactly surprised when Microsoft got cold feet and backed out of the deal.

Warner Bros must have a much thicker skin, because they’ve just swooped in to the rescue and will use the sponsorship to hawk their new movie Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie and staring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

Contact Music is reporting that the deal was announced over the weekend by Fox, with the episode set to air next Sunday. Given that Warner Bros doesn’t need to sell software to families, we think the studio probably makes a better advertising bed-fellow for the show than Microsoft, although Sherlock Holmes doesn’t hit theaters until Christmas.

Tags: entertainment, Fox, warner bros, Windows 7

Go to Source

Sponsor

MOG All Access is a browser-based service that will offer more than 5 million on-demand tracks from a number of major and indie record labels. Similar to Grooveshark the service will require no installation; however, unlike Grooveshark, MOG will not provide a free music service beyond its initial trial period.

Says Hyman, “The problem with free services is that if too many people use them, you can’t offset the licensing fees with ad revenue. There’s only so much you can do with advertising, but the subscription model ensures that you’re running something sustainable.”

For the cost of five monthly iTunes purchases, users gain access to a huge catalogue of on demand music and music reviews. While MOG’s editorial service and MOGtv channel will remain free to the general public, the subscription service will offer easy access to songs, radio recommendation features and a plethora of popular tunes. Because Hyman has negotiated for full access to files, his service will not be bound by the same streaming radio restrictions as Pandora. Hyman was also excited to announce that mobile device integration with the iPhone and Blackberry is expected before the end of 2009. And if the low cost of the upcoming subscription service isn’t promising enough, MOG’s first mobile release will boast the same offline caching features that make Spotify’s US launch so widely anticipated.

With data from more than 700 of the top music blogs and an editorial lineup that already draws more than 9.5 million unique monthly visitors, MOG’s recommendation service will offer more than just your run-of-the-mill selection. The community of music mavens appears poised for total noise domination and if competitors are smart, they’ll fire back before the new year.

Discuss

Go to Source