Mon, 31st January

Netflix on a roll as streaming catches on
David Gelles reports that Netflix is shifting its focus from posting DVDs to customers to streaming programming to computers, televisions and tablet devices. In November it introduced a streaming-only option for $7.99 per month. That plan now accounts for more than a third of all new subscriptions.

Sources: ft.com

Mon, 31st January

Could 3D television be dangerous to watch?
Alex Hudson reports on recent safety advice that has said 3D TV is not suitable for children and asks whether that means that the technology is a health risk.

Sources: bbc.co.uk

Mon, 31st January

DreamWorks CEO denies 3D TV safety risk
Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, has denied that 3D TV is dangerous for children, saying that safety guidance "does not seem to be based on any meaningful research or medical advice".

Sources: bbc.co.uk

Fri, 28th January

Legal Free Music Downloads and Bootleg Movie Download Sites
There are few legal free music download sites online in comparison to the number of bootleg movie download sites online, yet more people seem to download free music than download free online movies legally or otherwise.

Sources: mycontentbuilder.com

Fri, 28th January

Google takes stand against illegal downloads
Internet users who illegally download copyrighted media will have to work a little harder from now on. Search giant Google said that in the US it was adjusting the autocomplete feature on its search service so that it no longer includes copyright infringement related terms. That means searchers will have to type in the full name of their searches without getting any hints of popular file-sharing terms from Google's algorithms. The main targets are any words that have the word 'torrent' in them, or other terms relating to downloading services such as Rapidshare, and Megaupload.

Sources: monstersandcritics.com

Thu, 27th January

Piracy Hot List: 'King's Speech' Leaks Online
The Hollywood Reporter reported in advance of The King's Speech leading this year's Oscar contenders with 12 nominations, the film was wildly downloaded off of torrent websites last week.  King's Speech was the second most pirated film last week, according to TorrentFreak.   Sony's The Green Hornet topped the list of most pirated site.  Other films in the list included 127 Hours, The Social Network, and Inception.

Sources: hollywoodreporter.com

Thu, 27th January

Is this truly the year when Video-On-Demand takes off?
Screen Digest Senior Analyst Richard Broughton argues that ultimately, Video-On-Demand content has to be paid for — either by a consumer directly through Pay Per View or subscription, or by an operator wanting to bring down churn and enhance net additions / by an advertiser placing adverts next to the VOD assets.  Longer term, whether this business model fragmentation will crystallise into a clearer trend depends very heavily on competition, from Over-The-Top (OTT) services but also from inside the pay-TV space.

He concludes that for pay-TV operators aiming to keep ahead of OTT rivals and retain customers, the issue becomes not if they can afford the content, but how long can they afford not to place the content on their service.

Sources: dvd-intelligence.com

Tues, 25th January

City superwoman plans to save UK film industry
City "superwoman" Nicola Horlick today pledged to rejuvenate the British film industry with a plan to make 25 hit movies in three years. The fund manager outlined an ambitious £2 million project - Derby Street Films - which already has the backing of senior Hollywood figures. Her plan comes after the Government's decision to axe the UK Film Council. Ms Horlick, 50, said the fund aimed to raise capital from private investors and that she was currently in the process of buying rights to scripts, books and ideas.

Sources: thisislondon.co.uk

Tues, 25th January

Just 100 users responsible for two-thirds of illegal file sharing
A team at Carlos III University of Madrid examined the behaviour of users who published over 55,000 files on the two main portals of BitTorrent, Mininova and The Pirate Bay. They collected the names, ISPs and IP numbers of publishers, and the IP numbers of downloaders. They found that just 100-odd users were responsible for 66 percent of content published and 75 percent of downloads.

Sources: techradar.com

Tues, 25th January

The Pirate Bay music-sharing site will 'scare music industry'
The Pirate Bay has hinted that its next venture is to be a music-sharing site that will 'scare the music industry'. This is according to a source close to The Pirate Bay who believes that what is about to be launched could have massive implications on the whole of the music industry.

Sources: techradar.com

Fri, 21th January

Gaming industry lose 'billions' to chipped consoles
People who play illegal copies of video games on chipped or modified consoles cost at least £1.45 billion in lost sales in 2010. The Association of UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE), which speaks for the games industry, says it's not just money that's being lost. It also estimates that it's resulted in 1,000 fewer jobs in the industry.

Sources: bbc.co.uk

Fri, 21th January

Global digital music sales slowing despite copyright infringement crackdown
Industry looks to subscription services such as Spotify to help reverse drop in total worldwide music sales of up to 9% in 2010. The crackdown on websites aiding distribution of copyright infringing content such as LimeWire and Pirate Bay failed to stem falling music sales last year, according to industry figures that show that the global growth in digital music halved in 2010.

Sources: telegraph.co.uk

Thurs, 20th January

Is there a future in online DVD rental?
Following the Amazon buyout of LoveFilm, The Guardian ran a poll, asking is there a future in online DVD rental? The results were as follows: 51%: No, streaming and downloads are the way forward 49%: Yes, not everyone has access to fast broadband.

Sources: guardian.co.uk

Thurs, 20th January

The future of the TV is online
The Daily Telegraph reports from yesterday’s Media Convention, which covered topics including new local TV stations, the importance of the web in the UK’s creative industries, and how content, watched in new and traditional ways, will continue to be king. At the centre of this new vision is a television that is connected to the internet and offers a tailored big-screen version of the web, mixed with everybody’s TV favourites.  The products mentioned include Google TV, Apple TV and a new product, the Boxee Box.

Sources: telegraph.co.uk

Thurs, 20th January

I love TV innovations – so why am I a 3D refusenik?
Maggie Brown blogs in today’s Guardian about the merits of 3D technology.  One million people have already watched a 3D broadcast in British pubs, via Sky Sports.  She compared the current take up of 3D with the spread of HD, where every production is converting to the new technology, but she admits remaining a ‘3D refusenik’ until she’s convinced she is missing out.

Sources: guardian.co.uk

Thurs, 20th January

Amazon buys remaining stake in Lovefilm DVD service
Lovefilm, which began with postal subscriptions, has moved into online streaming as the internet retailer Amazon has agreed to buy online movie rental service.  Amazon, which already had a significant stake in the London company, said Lovefilm had a "productive and innovative" future.  Lovefilm chief executive Simon Calver commented that "the deal is a winner for the members who love Lovefilm because of its value, choice, convenience and innovation in home entertainment.  With Amazon's unequivocal support we can significantly enhance our members' experience across Europe."

Sources: bbc.co.uk

Wed, 19th January

Why is online piracy considered socially acceptable?
I was at a dinner party a few days ago in a posh bit of London. Just after pudding, the conversation looked like it was heading towards the economy and Coalition cuts. Anxious to avoid an infra dig showdown (it was a diverse group), our host skilfully steered the conversation to music, an area in which I imagine she thought there would be only gentle aesthetic disagreement. And, for a while, the table was engrossed in amusing celebrity tittle-tattle and a bit of mild snobbery.

But then something odd happened. It began with Lucy, a very Left-wing Oxford undergraduate, but soon it encompassed a venture capitalist, a graphic designer and even a solicitor. One by one, everyone else at the table admitted not just to downloading vast quantities of music illegally, but to thinking that there was absolutely nothing wrong with doing so.

Sources: telegraph.co.uk

Wed, 19th January

Vaizey praises on air/on sale
The Government is encouraging EMI and Warner to join the on air/on sale revolution after welcoming the move to same day radio and retail release by many of the industry’s record labels.Creative Industries minister Ed Vaizey says he welcomes the decision by Sony and Universal to spearhead the move to same day radio and retail release dates because it answers consumer demand in the digital age and also discourages piracy.“The internet has revolutionised the way we consume music and industry must respond to the change in demand,” says Vaizey, who in a major departmental shakeup today now reports solely to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is taking on much of Business Secretary Vince Cable’s portfolio including the implementation of the Digital Economy Act

Sources: musicweek.com

Wed, 19th January

US Piracy Bill opponent under pressure
Supporters of an anti-piracy Bill introduced into the Senate last year appear ready to put some pressure on one of the legislation's chief opponents.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, was instrumental in blocking the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) late last year. COICA was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and passed in that committee unanimously. But it was derailed when Wyden opposed it. Individual senators can place holds on pending legislation. Since the legislation was introduced very late in the prior congressional session, Wyden's opposition forced supporters to wait until Congress reconvened. Now that Congress is back to work, Leahy has said he will again try to get COICA passed. The Bill already has the backing of the major Hollywood film studios and record labels, but a mostly new group of supporters sent a letter today to US Attorney General Eric Holder, praising him for past anti-piracy efforts and asking for his support in getting COICA passed.

Sources: zdnet.com.au

Mon, 17th January

Universal and Sony Music plan 'instant pop' to beat copyright infringement
Dan Sabbagh reports that Britain’s two biggest record labels are acting to combat copyright infringement by making new singles available for sale on the day that they first hit the airwaves.

Sources: guardian.co.uk

Fri, 14th January

Sarkozy’s New Year’s resolution: to catch 10,000 illegal downloaders a day
France 24 reports that the French government has stepped up its campaign against illegal downloaders this month, promising to catch some 10,000 per day. For French Web users, the New Year has ushered in the second phase of the government’s crackdown on illegal downloading. Some 10,000 out of the estimated 70,000 daily illegal downloaders will be targeted under the so-called “Hadopi” law — up from the current 2,000.

Sources: france24.com

Thurs, 13th January

Study: Illegal downloaders too lazy for BitTorrents
Despite all the hoopla over illegal BitTorrent sites, that’s not where the majority of illegal downloading is taking place. In fact, despite huge efforts to curb it, the availability of direct downloads continues to fuel the most illegal downloads.

Sources: tgdaily.com

Thurs, 13th January

Movie-streaming service LoveFilm jumps onto its first Internet set-top box
Despite the recent trend for set-top boxes like Apple TV and the Boxee Box bringing online video content to the living room, LoveFilm, often described as “The European Netflix”, hasnŐt as yet been available on any of them. Yesterday that changed, although not with any of the usual suspects. LoveFilm has announced its movie streaming service is now available for Sony’s SMP-N100 network media player, an Internet-connect device that offers Sony Bravia Internet Video support along with video, audio and photos from connected USB devices.

Sources: thenextweb.com

Wed, 12th January

BPI Blames P2P for Sales Decline, Ignores Streaming, Singles Growth
Although the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has repeatedly claimed a rise in total music industry revenues over the last several years, says that rising digital music sales aren’t making up for lost physical CD sales even though music fans are no longer forced to buy an entire $20 physical album, just the few tracks they want tracks for 99 cents apiece.The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) still suffers from the same delusions as its cousin from across the pond – the RIAA – in the belief that illegal downloading is solely to blame for the continued decline in CD sales.

Sources: zeropaid.com

Wed, 12th January

Piracy website attracts billions of visits
A study by anti-fraud firm MarkMonitor has offered a snapshot into the changing nature of online piracy. It monitored illegal traffic levels on 43 file-sharing sites and found that they generated more than 53 billion visits per year. The top three - RapidShare.com, Megavideo.com and Megaupload.com - generated more than 21 billion visits. Such sites are becoming as popular as peer-to-peer methods of accessing illegal content. The study only used a small sample of sites suggesting that the problem could be in fact much bigger. "The numbers are staggering," said Charlie Abrahams, vice president of MarkMonitor. The study was put together following requests from the US Chamber of Commerce to identify trends and rogue sites.

Sources: bbc.co.uk

Wed, 12th January

China vows tougher punishments for copyright piracy
China has arrested more than 4,000 people for violating intellectual property rights (IPR) since November and will enforce tougher punishments to combat the "rampant" problem, a senior government official said on Tuesday. Gao Feng, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security's Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau, told a news conference that his agency had uncovered more than 2,000 cases since China launched a six-month campaign to beef up enforcement of intellectual property rights last November.The financial value of the cases totalled 2.3 billion yuan ($348 million), Gao said, adding that the number of arrests, cases and financial value represent a tripling from the same period a year ago. China's lax enforcement of intellectual property rights could feature in trade talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and his counterpart Hu Jintao, when the Chinese president visits the United States next week.

Sources: reuters.com

Tue, 11th January

UltraViolet lights way to lifetime movie watching rights
Giants from Hollywood, technology and retail are out to rev up digital film sales by letting people buy lifetime rights to watch movies on whichever devices suit their fancies. The DECE alliance has set up an UltraViolet platform for film lovers to create free accounts in the Internet "cloud" where versions of movies they buy in DVD or digital formats are stored in online "lockers." "If you buy a movie, it comes with a copy in the cloud," Warner Brothers Digital Distribution president Thomas Gewecke said during a DECE panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show that ends Sunday in Las Vegas.

Sources: independent.co.uk

Tue, 11th January

TalkTalk told govt has no plans to scrap DEA
The government has again said it has no plans to repeal the Digital Economy Act (DEA), despite complaints from BT  and TalkTalk. These two broadband providers have been granted the right to a judicial review of the piece of legislation, with each insisting it infringes the basic rights and freedoms of internet users in the way it seeks to clamp down on illegal filesharing.

Sources: cable.co.uk

Tue, 11th January

Plan B: Working Class Need More Film Breaks
Rapper turned actor/director Ben Drew, aka Plan B, believes there are fewer opportunities in the film industry for working class kids. Speaking at the launch of the Orange Rising Star nominations at Bafta's  headquarters, Drew said he believed that young people from middle class backgrounds have more chance of breaking into the industry than those from poorer families.

Sources: sky.com

Mon, 10th January

Firms to challenge new digital law
John Aston reports that BT and TalkTalk will go to the High Court in March to challenge legislation aimed at tackling illegal filesharing and protecting intellectual property rights online. The Coalition says it has no plans to repeal the Act.

Sources: dailyexpress.co.uk

Mon, 10th January

Intel unveils chip to thwart film copyright infringement
US computer chip giant Intel has introduced a new generation of chips to thwart film copyright infringement and enable quick handling of data-rich video. Intel worked with major US and India film studios, including Warner Brothers, DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox to craft copyright-guarding technology into the chips.

Sources: brecorder.com

Mon, 10th January

The rise of 3D
Steve Dinneen reports on the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and argues that the technology world will remember 2011 as the year that 3D went mainstream.

Sources: cityam.com

Mon, 10th January

Behind the music: Why we need HMV
Helienne Lindvall reports that HMV has announced it will close 40 of its high street stores due to a drop in profits over Christmas. The decline in sales has been attributed to severe weather, competition from online retailers and illegal downloading.

Sources: guardian.co.uk

Fri, 7th January

HMV to close 60 stores after gloomy Christmas
Shares in entertainment retailer HMV dived 20 per cent yesterday as it issued a profits warning on poor Christmas sales, set out plans to close 60 stores and raised fears it could breach its bank loans.

Sources: dailyexpress.co.uk

Fri, 7th January

Digital fails to offset fall in DVD sales
Matthew Garrahan wrote in today’s FT that, “The digital distribution of film and music failed to offset sharp falls in sales of CDs and DVDs in 2010, with media groups fearing that concerns about the long-term health of retailers such as Borders and HMV could intensify pressure on the industry over the next 12 months.”

Sources: ft.com

Fri, 7th January

Amazon Must Fast-Forward Video Plans
Martin peers has written an article in today’s Wall Street Journal stating that Amazon is struggling to make an impact in the film and music download arena, especially in the US.

“Amazon does offer the sale and rental of movie downloads. There is no sign it has gained much traction in that competitive business. Even so, Hollywood executives say Amazon is trying to license content from major film studios so it can start a Netflix-like unlimited subscription service for streaming movies or TV shows. So far with limited progress, though, as the company appears unwilling to write the kind of big check expected by studios.”

Sources: wsj.com

Fri, 7th January

Shaw to Send E-mails Warning of Illegal Downloading
American ISP Shaw Communications will begin sending out warning e-mails to customers who choose to use their Internet connection to download content illegally.

The move comes from a request by Warner Brothers Entertainment, who wants Shaw to warn customers about downloading copyrighted movies and music.

Sources: chrisd.ca

Thu, 6th January

Digital music sales fail to offset piracy losses
Sales of albums and singles in 2010 fell 7 per cent from a year earlier to 119.9 million, according to figures released by the British recorded music industry body BPI yesterday.  While digital album sales rose almost a third to 21 million, CD albums fell from 112.5 million to 98.5 million.

Geoff Taylor, BPI chief executive, said that while the growth in digital sales was positive, "legal downloads are unable to offset the decline in CD sales because they are dwarfed by illegal competition". He said that "meaningful action to tackle illegal downloading remains absolutely critical if we are to stabilise British music sales, let alone return to growth," adding that otherwise investment in digital services and British musical talent would dry up.

Sources: independent.co.uk

Thu, 6th January

Lovefilm eyes benefits of pay-TV movie ruling
The FT reports that Lovefilm is has expressed interest in a possible loosening of British Sky Broadcasting’s grip on movies shown on UK pay-television.  Simon Morris, chief marketing officer of Lovefilm, said on Wednesday that a recent European Commission statement about BSkyB’s arrangement with the six largest Hollywood studios was “very interesting to us”. 

Mr Morris said Lovefilm was watching with interest to see if similar treatment was handed out on UK pay-TV movie rights. “We will be interested in the Competition Commission review and we are a possible beneficiary of it. But it is not our strategy to sit and wait for anything to happen. We are ambitious and want to grow through our strategy of range of films available, good value and convenience.”   Lovefilm also announced on Wednesday a deal with Icon, the studio owned by Mel Gibson, for 12-month exclusivity on the pay-TV rights to its 2010 slate, including titles such as ‘Precious’, ‘A Single Man’ and ‘Nowhere Boy’.  These rights, which have in the past gone to BSkyB, will mean the 1.5m Lovefilm subscribers will be the first to see the films on UK screens, although distribution is limited to PCs, Sony PlayStation 3s and the latest-generation televisions that are directly connected to the internet.  BSkyB declined to comment.

Sources: ft.com

Wed, 5th January

HMV to close 60 stores as sales and shares slump
Shares in music and books retailer HMV Group have fallen 24% after revealing falling sales, weak profits and trouble meeting the terms of a bank loan. The firm - which also owns Waterstone's bookshops - plans to close 60 stores in the next 12 months in order to get costs under control. It said Christmas sales were down 10%, and warned profits would be at the lower end of forecasts. Business was hit by the severe weather and "challenging trading conditions". Like-for-like sales for the crucial five weeks to 1 January were down 10.2% on last year, due to a 13.6% slump at its HMV music stores in the UK and Irish Republic.

Sources: bbc.co.uk

Wed, 5th January

HMV Christmas sales hit by severe weather
Music chain HMV delivered more dismal sales figures today after its peak trading season was "significantly undermined" by severe weather. The group reported a 13.6% slump in HMV's like-for-like sales in UK and Ireland in the five weeks to January 1 and said profits for the year to April were set to be near the bottom of the current range of City forecasts. As well as the disruption caused by snow and ice before Christmas, HMV said its core entertainment markets remained weak and underlined the urgency with which it needed to carry out its turnaround strategy.

Sources: independent.co.uk

Wed, 5th January

Sony in cloud-based streaming push
Sony is set to steal a march on rivals Spotify and Apple by becoming the first company to launch a cloud-based music streaming service in the highly lucrative US market. Sir Howard Stringer, Sony chief executive, is expected to announce at the Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas details of Sony’s Music Unlimited launch in the US.

Sources: ft.com

Wed, 5th January

Black Ops Is The Most Pirated Games
Call of Duty: PC game Black Ops is the most widely pirated in 2010, according to TorrentFreak.

Sources: coffetoday.com

Wed, 5th January

New Intel Core chips to fight piracy
Intel the processor powerhouse has revealed plans to build anti-film piracy smarts into the new silicon. A new feature called Insider is designed to fight the trend for grabbing films to save to your hard drive from online streaming services. The upside will be giving users access to more 1080p streaming as studios are made more confident that Intel has made it much trickier for pirates.

Sources: electricpig.co.uk

Tue, 4th January

Validating video’s value
The entertainment conversation must move away from talk about which format is winning or losing and focus on the great choices now offered by video, cinema and television, and the convenience to consumers now that convergence has become a reality, says British Video Association Director General Lavinia Carey.

Sources: cueentertainment.com

Tue, 4th January

Is Amazon falling in love again?
Amazon is circling Lovefilm in a move expected to value the movie rental service at around £200million. The online retail giant already owns 42 per cent of Lovefilm after merging its own DVD rental business with the website in 2008.

Sources: express.co.uk

Tue, 4th January

Television in 2011: Google TV v YouView
Shane Richmond commented on the future of internet TV:“The web is about to come to your television. It might be that your new TV has web applications built-in or perhaps you’ll connect via a set-top box. Either way, surfing the web and watching television via apps will soon be the norm, at least if Google has its way. There’s no UK launch date for Google TV so far but they will be hoping to beat YouView into the shops. YouView, a partnership between the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 ITV, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva, is an internet television platform that, like Google TV, will bring app-driven services to the TV. It’s due for release by the middle of next year.”

Sources: telegraph.co.uk