Uncategorized

MESA News – Apr. 17

Studios/Suppliers

SAG, AMPTP reach tentative deal
By Dave McNary of Variety – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | FROM VARIETY: Guild’s national board expected to approve More
Sony promotes two in emerging markets team
By Cheryl Cheng – 04/16/2009
APRIL 16 | London-based executives to grow studio’s global portfolio More

OPINION: Pirates cuffed
By Paul Sweeting – 04/17/2009
Paul Sweeting is editor of Content Agenda
APRIL 17 | The music and movie companies scored a major legal victory in the battle against unauthorized file-sharing Friday when a court in Sweden convicted the four founders of The Pirate Bay, one of the world’s most widely used BitTorrent tracker sites. More

NBC Universal profits down 45%
By Dade Hayes of Variety – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | FROM VARIETY: Parent company GE gains 1% to close at $12.39 More

Pirate Bay operators found guilty
By Ed Meza of Variety – 04/17/2009
APRIL 15 | FROM VARIETY: Swedish file-sharing site judged to be illegal More

 

Image, Nyx agree on fourth merger amendment
By Susanne Ault – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | Nyx has option to delay merger to May 4 More

Cinema Guild signs ex-New Yorker label
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | Deal includes new Project X titles, 11 previously released More

Sarkozy to revive France’s anti-piracy bill
By John Hopewell of Variety – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | FROM VARIETY: Law will target online copyright theft More

Nyx fails to pay $1 million to Image
By Susanne Ault – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Companies to negotiate third merger amendment More

MOD executives Phillips, Gordon on leave
By Jennifer Netherby – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | Kiosk company’s countersuit against Lieberfarb dismissed More

Virgil Films to distribute B-Side films
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | First release will be documentary Crawford More

Hannah tops Easter box office
By Dave McNary and Pamela McClintock of Variety – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: Disney pic wins weekend with $34 million More

Retail

Retailers split Blu-ray/DVD combo sets for rental
By Susanne Ault – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | Two-for-one packs help save money, increase title depth More

Fox re-thinks separate rental, sale DVDs for libraries
By Susanne Ault – 04/16/2009
APRIL 16 | Channel expects to get sell-through discs that include bonuses, digital copy More

Systemax to buy Circuit City’s brand for $6.5M
By Alan Wolf of TWICE – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | FROM TWICE: Company to pay retailer percentage of sales More

Blockbuster debt downgraded by S&P
By Danny King – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | Ratings service cites ‘liquidity issues’ More

Legend to release RiffTrax on DVD
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | Online series features MST3K commentators More

Shout! to distribute Hasbro’s Transformers, G.I. Joe
By Susanne Ault – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | Multi-year deal also includes My Little Pony More

High-Def

Blu-ray player shipments to total 12 million in 2009
By Susanne Ault – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | Futuresource believes falling prices will drive demand More

Blu-ray consumer base expands to females, family
By Susanne Ault – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | Studios release high-def titles around Mother’s Day More

Blu-ray Q1 sales nearly double in 2009
By Susanne Ault – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | About 9 million units sold so far this year More

Entertainment spending will increase in 2009
By Susanne Ault – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | Report: Majority of consumers plan to spend more on DVD, other segments More

3D@Home group marks first year
By Susanne Ault – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Progress made toward developing home entertainment standards More

Warner bows Inkheart Blu-ray, DVD, digital copy combo
By Susanne Ault – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Studio targets release to families considering high-def More

Philips’ sales of DVD players, TVs plunge
By Danny King – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Parent company, consumer division take Q1 loss More

Indies price Blu-ray close to standard DVD
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/13/2009
APRIL 13 | E1 gives equal pricing to both formats More

Technology

Blu-ray technology takes features to mobiles
By Jennifer Netherby – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | App for iPhone, BlackBerry, others launching next week More

Netflix, DirecTV allow scheduling through mobiles
By Danny King – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | Subscribers can use iPhones, Blackberries More

AMG to become first 3D network
By David S. Cohen of Variety – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | FROM VARIETY: Kerner to offer stereo technology for viewers More

3D@Home group marks first year
By Susanne Ault – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Progress made toward developing home entertainment standards More

Philips’ sales of DVD players, TVs plunge
By Danny King – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Parent company, consumer division take Q1 loss More

VOD/Downloads

YouTube logs film, TV deals
By Marc Graser of Variety – 04/17/2009
APRIL 17 | FROM VARIETY: Company pacts with major Hollywood studios More

Best Buy plans online movie service
By Susanne Ault and Jennifer Netherby – 04/16/2009
APRIL 16 | Chain, CinemaNow in talks for downloads More

German iTunes adds feature films
By Ed Meza of Variety – 04/16/2009
APRIL 16 | FROM VARIETY: Store offers pics from studios and indies More

Netflix to boost 2009 streaming spending by 33%
By Danny King – 04/15/2009
APRIL 15 | Company will spend $100 million on digital delivery this year, analyst says More

Osiris acquires about 400 titles from Westlake
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/14/2009
APRIL 14 | Assets include Christmas films, The Pajama Game More

Videogames

Videogame revenue falls 17% in March
By Susanne Ault – 04/16/2009
APRIL 16 | Industry attributes decline to absence of Easter during month More

Target launches videogame reservation program
By Susanne Ault – 04/16/2009
APRIL 16 | Retailer also to reward customers with $5 gift card More