AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Variety
Network hops retro train to Television City
CBS Consumer Products has launched a new licensing push for its classic TV titles, under the new umbrella brand Television City.
Unveiled this week at New York’s licensing show, the Eye has identified at least 150 shows to start licensing under the Television City banner. Shows being pitched to marketers, [...]

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Silicon Alley Insider
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes says synergy is “B.S”. CBS CEO Les Moonves has a different view.
How else to explain the recent tie-up between CBS’s venerable “60 Minutes” and Moblogic, the Web newsy show spun out of Wallstrip?
In the clip below, see host Lindsay Campbell, who normally does slightly off-kilter, Webified commentary and [...]

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paidContent.org
During the TV upfront period, which began last week, online publishers have realized they have to try a little harder to capture advertisers’ attention. With that likely in mind, Hulu says it has expanded its distribution network to CNET’s (NSDQ: CNET) TV.com video guide and viewing site (which eventually will be owned by CBS (NYSE: [...]

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Red Herring
CBS on Thursday agreed to acquire pioneering Internet media company CNET Networks for $1.8 billion in cash.
“There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks,” CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said in a statement.
Shares of CNET gained $3.46, or 43.52 percent, to $11.41 by closing trading.
The deal comes [...]

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NewTeeVee
Wow, just when we question those EQAL guys’ reasoning for doing something dumb by pulling a hit series, they show they have something much more interesting up their sleeves. Today at CBS’ upfront, a major partnership between the network and the just-funded startup was announced.
Under the terms of the deal, CBS will have a first [...]

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The Hollywood Reporter
Adobe is set to enter the online video arena today with the launch of Adobe Media Player, loaded with content from MTV Networks, CBS, Universal Music Group and others.
Although it joins a crowded market, the service has a built-in advantage as it uses the same Flash video format employed by Google’s YouTube. It [...]

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Big media in little places: CBS, DoubleClick, expand widget ad options - Vetnure Beat
Big media is getting into widget advertising, in order to reach people on sites across the web. One example: Media conglomerate CBS is launching a local widget ad network today, with the goal of drawing more traffic to its own web sites [...]

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Microsoft Lands Deals With Movie, TV Titans - The Wall Street Journal
Microsoft Corp. will get to use movies and television programming from several large entertainment companies under new deals that may help it better compete with Apple Inc.’s iTunes online service and rivals such as software maker Adobe Systems Inc.
Microsoft said it reached agreements with [...]

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TV Week
Online Competitors Become Partners in Cross-Promoting Shows to Viewers
A CBS viewer isn’t likely to see the network run a promotion for NBC’s “Heroes” or ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” But on the Internet, cross-promotion of online video shows has become a way of business—and one that’s paying off.
Last month, online video-sharing site blip.tv formed a partnership [...]

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Multimedia Games Create TV-Show Buzz - The Wall Street Journal
Last month, hundreds of people around the country spent hours of their free time on the Web and out on the streets in search of clues that would help them solve a complex puzzle called “Chain Factor.”
It wasn’t some school assignment or the latest experiment in [...]

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