|
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told attendees at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York that streaming video will grow to replace cable as the viewing option of choice within 3-5 years. In reality, streaming video could leapfrog ahead of cable even sooner than that, but as Netflix gets ready to renew contracts with Hollywood studios, he might want to keep his cards closer to his chest.
Studios still prefer cable, where they have more control over their content. Starz, you might recall, opted not to renew its contract with Netflix, a decision that was reportedly made because Netflix refused to charge subscribers a premium for access to Starz content. Studios want the consumer to expect premium channels and content to cost more, and Netflix's all-you-can-consume media buffet threatens that mindset.
Regardless, studios will only be able to fight the transition to streaming for so long, and despite some recent bumps in the road, Netflix intends to not only ride the wave, but create them.
"We have got to get as big as we can before the rest of the world catches up," Hastings said, according to an AP report.
Netflix isn't alone, and Hastings identified one competitor in particular that keeps him up at nights.
"The competitor we fear the most... is HBO Go," Hastings said. "The two of us will compete for a very long time."
Both Netflix and HBO Go are spending billions of dollars on content every year, putting them a league of their own. Verizon could emerge as another competitor, but at this early stage, the chatter didn't elicit so much as a casual shout out by Hastings. Read more at.... |
|
|
It really was just a couple weeks ago that the European Court of Justice ruled that requiring ISPs to filter the internet was not reasonable. That ruling was on a specific case coming out of Belgium, but it's apparently not stopping a Belgian anti-piracy group (not a party to that original case), called BAF, the Belgian Anti-Piracy Federation, from sending letters to every ISP in Belgium, threatening to take them to court if they don't block access to The Pirate Bay.
This is because a court did rule that two Belgian ISPs had to block access to 11 of TPB's domains. BAF is now warning other ISPs that if they don't do the same, it'll take them to court over the same issue, and some are already complying. Of course, as with pretty much any other block, this effort appears to be having the opposite effect. TorrentFreak asked someone from TPB about all of this:
“This will just give us more traffic, as always. Thanks for the free advertising,” we were told.
And he appears to be right.
A few days after the verdict was announced The Pirate Bay registered depiraatbaai.be, a new domain not covered by the court order. Today, just a few weeks later, this domain is already the 124th most-visited in Belgium, on its way to enter the top 100.
Indeed, the years of legal procedures and subsequent blackmailing are easily circumvented by registering a $15 domain.
It's kind of amazing that the "anti-piracy" folks still haven't figured this out yet.Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
Read more at.... |
|
|
Sharp, Samsung, and half a dozen other liquid crystal display (LCD) panel makers may have colluded to fix prices earlier in the decade, according to claims brought on by a class action lawsuit. The display makers agreed to settle the case for a combined $388 million, of which Sharp, Japan's largest panel maker, will fork over $105 million.
According to Bloomberg, Samsung's portion comes to $82.7 million. Samsung is the world's leading TV maker in terms of volume and sales. Chimei Innolux Corp., which is the biggest display panel maker in Taiwan, will pony up $78 million.
These latest proceedings are likely the last in what's been an ongoing price fixing saga. The companies involved are accused of jacking up prices for displays used in TVs and computer monitors sold between 1999 and 2006. Prior to this class action settlement, LG, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, and Sharp had admitted guilt following a U.S. Justice Department investigation and agreed in 2008 and 2009 to pay $585 million in criminal fines, Bloomberg reports.
As part of the class action settlement, all eight companies denied any wrongdoing. Read more at.... |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 445 of 453 |
