NBC Universal to buy Sparrowhawk Media
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NBC Universal said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy Sparrowhawk Media, which owns the international operations of the Hallmark Channel, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
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TV programming used to come in neat, fixed packages that ended on the hour or half-hour. But broadband Internet is changing those neat packages, and on Wednesday NBC Universal announced a new distribution format. Its news, entertainment, and sports programming now will be available for distribution via widgets.
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NBC Universal is preparing to buy  Sparrowhawk Media, the private-equity backed owner of the  Hallmark channel, for 175 million pounds ($351 million) to make  its biggest foray into Britain&#39;s TV industry, a newspaper said.
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Media conglomerate NBC Universal aims   to more than double revenue from its digital businesses to   about $1 billion by 2009 from an estimated $400 million this   year, a source familiar with its plans said on Monday.
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General Electric Co&#39; NBC Universal  unit said on Wednesday it will launch &quot;widgets&quot; of television  shows like &quot;Meet the Press&quot; and &quot;NBC Nightly News with Brian  Williams,&quot; allowing users to post NBC content on blogs and Web  sites.
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Vivendi said Wednesday its Universal Music arm had agreed to buy BMG Music Publishing in a $2.1 billion USD deal. In return, BMG parent Bertelsmann AG has agreed to pay $60 million to settle litigation surrounding its support of Napster.
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NBC Universal is holding discussions to buy Sparrowhawk Media, which owns the international operations of the Hallmark Channel, for around $350 million, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
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NBC Universal has decided not to renew its contract to sell television shows on iTunes, becoming the second major media company to challenge Apple Inc's dominance in digital entertainment.
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NBC Universal cuts new content partnership days after a rift emerges with Apple.
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(InfoWorld) - Contract negotiations between Apple and NBC Universal regarding video content in iTunes are getting nastier and staying public. In a statement, NBC disputes Apple's characterization of the companies' contract renegotiation and says that its TV programs will be available on iTunes through early December. Late last week,Â Apple said that NBC wanted to increase the price for its video contentÂ so much that iTunes would have to sell individual TV shows for $4.99, instead of $1.99, like the rest of the available programs. Because Apple wasn't willing to agree to that price hike, NBC declined to renew its contract, Apple said. So that it wouldn't have to stop selling programs in December -- the middle of the TV season -- when their contract ends, Apple said it wouldn't offer any NBC shows for the upcoming season. But Apple may have a bigger battle on its hands if it does pull those shows from the iTunes video store. In its statement, NBC said that all returning series including new episodes would be available on iTunes through the end of the contract. NBC also said that rather than asking to double the wholesale price of its programs as Apple contends, it wanted to offer end-users more flexible pricing, including bundling packages of shows for a set price. Apple has mostly stuck to a policy of flat pricing despite pressure from content owners to allow for variable pricing. The exception is in the music store where a selection of songs that come without copy protection cost more. Both companies took jabs at each other in their statements. Apple called NBC's suggested pricing change a "dramatic price increase." NBC responded thus: "It is clear that Apple's retail pricing strategy for its iTunes service is designed to drive sales of Apple devices, at the expense of those who create the content that make these devices worth buying." NBC also sells programs on Amazon.com and very soon plans to start offering its shows and others for free on Hulu.com, a joint venture company with News Corp. So far, sales in the iTunes video store are relatively low. During 2007, the store should generate about $300 million, according to estimates from Forrester Research.
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NBC Universal announced plans today for a service that will make popular NBC programs available to download free to personal computers and other devices.
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News Corp. and NBC Universal said on  Wednesday they signed five more content deals for their new  online video venture including ones with the Sundance Channel  and TV Guide.
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WPP Group GroupM media-buying agencies  have reached a nearly $1 billion deal to buy advertising time  across NBC Universal&#39;s television and digital properties, an  agency spokesman said on Wednesday.
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NBC Universal has decided against renewing its contract to sell digital downloads of television shows on Apple Inc's iTunes after failing to come to an agreement on pricing, the New York Times reported in its online edition on Friday.
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NEW YORK The National Broadband Company, NBC Universal&#39;s Web syndication service (NBBC), will merge into the unnamed NBCU/News Corp. joint online video venture.
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News Corp. and NBC Universal said on  Wednesday they have named their new online video joint venture  Hulu.
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NBC will start offering limited free downloads of shows such as "Heroes" and "The Office" as part of its bid to expand the digital distribution of its programs and compete with Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store, the network announced Wednesday.