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Hulu Moves to Zap Free TV

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:50:32 CDT

Using Hulu to avoid paying for cable may not work for much longer: The TV site plans to implement a new "authentication" model, forcing viewers to prove they're pay TV customers by signing in with their cable or satellite account number, sources tell the New York Post , adding that it's...

Quiet Startup Might Change Business of Online Video

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:37:07 CDT

There's a startup company you've probably never heard of, but chances are you've seen its work, writes Michael Humphrey in Forbes . It's called Ooyala, and it powers an enormous number of videos across the web. ESPN highlights, Miramax movies, videos that appear on the sites of Rolling Stone , TV Guide...

Iraq's 'King of Clubs' Appears Online

Mark Russell — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:58:25 CDT

He was the king of clubs. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest-ranking member of Saddam Hussein's government still at large, appears to have turned up in an online video posted yesterday, railing against Iraq's government, reports the AP . In the hour-long video, which appears on a website linked to the Baath...

Larry King Back With Internet Show

Kevin Spak — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 10:17:26 CDT

He's baaaack. Larry King will strap on his suspenders once more to host an online-only TV show on a new network financed by Carlos Slim Helu, the New York Times reports. The new network, which will be called Ora.tv, will be officially announced today. King says the show will...

Netflix Was Supposed to Beat Cable, Not Join It

Kevin Spak — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:43:26 CST

Netflix's rumored attempt to bring its content to cable on-demand boxes isn't sitting well with Rebecca Greenfield of the Atlantic , who reads the report thusly: "The streaming service 'of the future' would join forces with the established companies we'd hoped it would help us get away from." Part of the...

Netflix Rebounds, Shares Surge

Mark Russell — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:11:32 CST

After Netflix's miserable third quarter of 2011—which saw its share price plunge 75% , some 800,000 customers quit , and the Qwikster debacle —the video rental giant reversed much of those losses and posted stronger-than-expected results for the last quarter, reports Reuters . Netflix's revenue jumped 47% to $876 million, about...

Viral Video Says: Diss Iowa at Your Own Peril

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:49:05 CST

Thinking about dissing Iowa as a state with a bunch of hillbillies whose opinions don't really matter? Think again. A new, pleasantly aggressive video created by Iowans Scott Siepker and Paul Benedict reminds us that Iowa was among the first states to legalize gay marriage, boasted the first female lawyer...

Louis CK Makes a Cool Million off Web Video

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:53:05 CST

The wild success story of Louis CK and his self-produced comedy album gets even wilder : The album, available via his website for just $5, sold 200,000 copies as of Tuesday, grossing the comedian a cool million ... in just 12 days. A quarter of that money will go to the...

Louis CK Makes $200K in 4 Days on Web Video

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:47:21 CST

Comedian Louis CK has scored nice profits by taping, producing, and distributing his stand-up special by himself and without the help of a network or studio. In what he calls an "experiment" to cut out the middlemen and keep prices low, CK hired a camera team to tape two of...