More than a third now watching TV in the UK

According to The Telegraph, research published yesterday says that a third of television viewers now watch their favourite programmes online, on computers and mobile phones.

A total of 34 per cent of those questioned said they watched TV shows on the internet while for students the figure was even higher at 56 per cent, meaning more students are viewing programs on their laptops than on television sets. Only 39 per cent of students said they watched programmes in the traditional way while more than half of those questioned over the age of 65 generation said they had watched a programme online in the past year.

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“The Social Network” Movie Launches a Facebook-Themed Website

Columbia Pictures has just launched the official website for The Social Network, 500MillionFriends.com. David Fincher’s take on the Facebook story is highly anticipated by film fans and social media addicts alike. Mashable reports.

The site opens into a large-form portal with photos, videos and cast information, all arranged in a very Facebook-like collage.

The new site carries on the same theme used in the teasers, trailers and TV spots for the film.

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Google in talks for movie rental service

YouTube's fledgling movie rental program may soon be getting some Hollywood muscle in the crowded fight for domination of digital movie and television content distribution, reports News.com.

YouTube-parent Google is negotiating with major Hollywood studios to stream movies from their catalogs to a pay-per-view basis by the end of the year, according to a report in The Financial Times.

The service is expected to stream movies on demand for $5 each, according to the report, which cited sources with knowledge of Google's plans.

A YouTube representative declined to comment on the report, saying "We have nothing to announce at this time." The move would put Google in competition with Apple.

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SideReel Tracks TV Shows Online, Wherever They Are

There are a handful of Web sites that are vying to be the one-stop shop for finding programming on the Web. Some, like the three-year-old site SideReel, are trying to get an edge by not only offering links to legitimate sources of shows, like network sites, but also letting users share links to sites where illegal copies are available for instant viewing. Bits reports.

According to Roman Arzhintar, SideReel’s chief executive, SideReel receives nine million unique visitors a month and has been profitable for nearly two years, although he declined to discuss specifics. To date, the start-up has received $1.5 million from angel investors.

SideReel, based in San Francisco, lists around 17,000 shows, or half a million episodes.

Although the majority of the show episodes listed on SideReel are from legitimate sources, it includes lots of pointers to sites with pirated versions.

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"The Net" may become a TV series

Director Irwin Winkler wants to turn his 1995 thriller "The Net" starring Sandra Bullock and Dennis Miller into a modern Internet drama.

"The Net" was adapted as a TV series once before, unsuccessfully in1998 starring Brooke Langton.

[Variety via tvtattle.com]

SideReel surpasses 1M visitors per day

According to Valor.tv, video sharing website SideReel, which raised $1.5 million in angel funding since 2007, recently hit a milestone of one million visitors per day to its Web site, a place where people watch their favorite TV shows.

SideReel currently indexes 17,000 TV shows, amounting to more than 500,000 episodes.

While Roman Arzhintar, founder and CEO of SideReel, wouldn't say how much SideReel is making on its advertising and affiliate fees from Apple's iTunes and Amazon referrals, he said that the company is making enough to pay competitive salaries for 15 employees in San Francisco and 10 contractors, plus enough left over to reinvest in the company.

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Comic acts top YouTube earners' list

According to the BBC, comic acts dominate a new list of the biggest-earning independent video makers on YouTube.

US satirist Shane Dawson made $315,000 from his films, which have amassed 431.7m hits in the past year, according to tracking site TubeMogul.

Other self-made comedy acts on the list include The Annoying Orange, at two, and a teenager behind helium-voiced character Fred.

Their incomes are made through advertising revenue on the website.

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Studios sue to stop advertising on pirate web sites

Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Co. have teamed up in a new legal effort to choke off the air supply of various web sites that post and index links to pirated movies. Reuters reports.

The two studios are suing Triton Media, alleged to have provided advertising consulting and referrals for nine websites identified as "one-stop-shops" for infringing works.

The two studios identify www.free-tv-video-online.info, supernovatube.com, donogo.com, watch-movies.net, watch-movies-online.tv, watch-movies-links.net, havenvideo.com and piratecity.org as providing users access to content that has been unlawfully reproduced.

The web sites are said to either host infringing content themselves or link to other third-party web sites that have infringing content.

... The two studios aren't the first to attempt to crack down on piracy by targeting so-called facilitators. Adult entertainment publisher Perfect 10 sued Mastercard and Visa in 2004, alleging the two credit card companies provided "crucial transactional support services" to pirate websites. A district court dismissed the case, and later the Ninth Circuit upheld it, determining that Perfect 10 had failed to support any theory of liability against the defendants.

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YouTube Debuts New Movies Section With 400 Free, Full-Length Films

YouTube has launched a new Movies category on its website, gathering about 400 full-length films, free of charge.

What can you find there? Loads of Bollywood flicks, a bunch of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chanfilms, obscure horror movies and cartoons, among many other sections.

Read full article in TechCrunch.

Twitter and texting while TV watching on the rise

The number of people using the internet while watching television is on the rise, with a new study by YouGov showing that 40 per cent of 18-24 year olds browse social networking sites while watching TV. [via TechRadar]

YouGov is calling this 'media stacking' and it has revealed that 86 per cent of those asked (with the 18-24 age group) have chatted about a show through digital channels while watching the programme on TV.

It seems that 56 per cent will text while watching TV and 55 per cent will use Facebook and other social networking sites to comment on a show.

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Tobacco firms' web impact probed

The tobacco industry may be using websites such as YouTube to get around a ban on advertising cigarettes, a study says. The BBC reports.

Researchers in New Zealand studied the video-sharing site and found a number of pro-tobacco videos "consistent with indirect marketing activity by tobacco companies or their proxies".

They say governments should consider regulating such content on the net.

Tobacco companies have always denied using the net to promote cigarettes.

... The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control, focused on YouTube.

The researchers searched for five tobacco brands and analysed the first 20 pages of video clips containing any reference to the firms. The content studied had been uploaded by users.

The authors analysed 163 clips, of which 20 appeared to be "very professionally made," they say. The dominant brand on YouTube was Marlboro

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iTunes to rent TV shows for 99 cents

In a move that could further popularize online and mobile video, Apple's iTunes store this fall may begin renting TV programming to viewers for 99 cents per episode, according to a report from Bloomberg News, reports CNN.

The report, which cites three unnamed sources familiar with the situation, said Apple "is in advanced talks" with News Corp. to offer Fox programming for rental through iTunes.

The digital files would be available to renters for 48 hours after they were purchased, and new episodes would go online within 24 hours of airing on television, according to the report.

Apple also is in reported talks with CBS, NBC and Disney, which owns ABC, to offer similar deals.

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Toshiba plans 'no-glasses 3-D TV'

According to Orange News, Japanese electronics maker Toshiba says it is developing technology for a 3-D TV that will not require special glasses.

Spokeswoman Yuko Sugahara said such technology was in the works but she refused to comment on a report in the Yomiuri newspaper that the Tokyo-based company plans to start selling the new 3-D TVs by the end of the year.

The TVs send different images at various angles to create an illusion within a viewer's brain of dimension and depth, and watching the 3-D images will not be tiring on the eyes.

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The Wand Remote Control

A magic television remote wand. Or a "buttonless remote control that can learn up to 12 infrared codes from existing remote controls and replay them when the user makes one fo 12 predefined gestures".

[via The Guardian]

Seen before: Harry Potter-like Want as TV Remote

The Future of TV Is Not on Cable

A must read article by Ryan Lawler in NewTeeVee on the end of an era for cable and how cable companies are not seeing the writing on the wall.

... Consumer behavior is fundamentally changing, and it starts with the young people who don’t see the need for cable.

I’ve used the analogy before, but I’ll use it again. When I graduated back in 2000, the vast majority of my friends had used mobile phones to connect with family, friends and with each other during our college years. When we went out into the workplace and started getting our first apartments, we didn’t bother getting landline phones. We just didn’t see the need for it. What followed in the last decade was a groundswell of declining landline penetration and massive growth in the number of consumers willing to go mobile-only.

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New Numbers Reveal: Cord Cutting Is Real

U.S. pay TV subscriptions have declined for the first time in history this quarter, according to new data from SNL Kagan, reports NewTeeVee.

Maidenform business perks up thanks to partnership with Mad Men Stylist

Following an article in UK's Daily Mail earlier this month, on how women are discarding their thongs in favour of larger underwear, today's New York's Daily Mail writes that 'Mad Men' has helped Maidenform perk up profits and boost the bra industry. Maidenform is a brand of women's underwear that's been around since 1922.

Maidenform has a new partnership with Janie Bryant, the costume designer who makes the ladies of "Mad Men" look boldly busty.

Maidenform's bras range make it possible for women to follow the curvaceous figure of Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) and the svelte shape of Betty Draper (January Jones) straight from the small screen to the Macy's dressing room.

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Previously: - Man Men Style Leads the Way in Women's Lingerie

Now Showing on YouTube: Google’s “Loss of Mojo” Animation

Spotted on Digits, an online video called “Google’s domination of the world and loss of mojo.”

YouTube Dedicates Homepage To Homelessness On Sunday

Activist and frequent HuffPost blogger Mark Horvath will be taking over YouTube's homepage "with videos that smash stereotypes about America's most forgotten citizens."

Videos from Horvath's blog and YouTube channel, InvisiblePeople.tv, will be featured on the front page for 24 hours to expose the humanity of the tens of thousands many Americans ignore every day.

[via The Huffington Post]

Previously: - The Homeless in America on Invisible.tv

Related:

-- Pathways to Housing Installation. A traveling installation in New York City reminds passerby about the challenges facing the city's homeless population and empowers viewers to take action.

"The Big C" a huge hit on TV and online

"The Big C" had a huge night Monday night, bringing in its biggest premiere night in eight years at the network, reports NBC Network.

Linney's much-awaited premiere lived up to the hype, bringing in 1.583 million viewers, according to the network. That alone was impressive. But if you combine that with Showtime's effective marketing plan which allowed fans to watch the first show online for two weeks prior to the official kick-off -- and you have a hit.

To date more that 1.6 million have taken advantage of the online offer. That brings the cumulative views for the show to over 3 million.

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Real or fake? Federer's impossible shot

A video featuring tennis star Roger Federer doing an amazing tennis trick has quickly gone viral on YouTube. 1.7 million views at the time of this posting.

[Mashable via stuff]

YouTube launches YouTube Charts

YouTube has just launched YouTube Charts, giving a clear view of how your favorite videos and creators stack up against each other. You can sort charts by “today,” “this week” and “all time.”

[via YouTube Blog]

Google TV plan is causing jitters in Hollywood

Many worry that Silicon Valley will upend the entertainment industry just like the Internet ravaged the music and newspaper industries. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Google revolutionized the way people access information. Now it wants to transform how people get entertainment.

The search giant is touting an ambitious new technology, called Google TV, that would marry the Internet with traditional television, enabling viewers to watch TV shows and movies unshackled from the broadcast networks or cable channels on which they air.

Users would need to buy a TV or set-top box with Google software that could connect to the Internet, along with a keyboard to type commands. Users could also use their iPhone or Android phone to operate Google TV.

The prospect of Google getting into television frightens many in Hollywood, who worry that Silicon Valley will upend the entertainment industry just like the Internet ravaged the music and newspaper industries.

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Japan's Mobile-TV Fight

A battle between Japan's two biggest wireless carriers over mobile-television technology has raised a dilemma in the country: continue to choose home-grown innovations that may isolate Japan or risk backing a standard based on nascent technology from the U.S.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Miso uses badges and check-ins to make television social

Miso, available as an iPhone app, has just launched an app for Android. It lets users check-in when they watch their favorite programs, be they live or on-demand. Androinica reports.

Users make comments/status updates when watching a new program and have the option to announce to their friends, allowing them to encourage others to watch the same program.

Miso also can provide tips on what to watch by seeing what your friends have just checked into and what’s trending among other Miso users. Maybe you haven’t heard of a show called Leverage, but maybe you’ll check it out if it’s the 4th-most-popular show at a given moment. Throw in comments and chats about shows, Miso becomes a discovery tool.

Read full review.

Weeds Seasons Six - First Episode Online before TV launch date tonight

Showtime is offering a preview of Weeds's first episode of Season Six, "Thwack", on their website before it launches tonight, but it's already available in full on several video sharing sites.

Facebook Launches Live Video Channel

Facebook has launched a Facebook Live video channel to keep streaming information from Facebook headquarters.

For the most part, Facebook Live will be used to showcase Facebook products and how people are using those products, Facebook Marketing Manager Randi Zuckerberg said in a phone interview to The New York Times]

Showtime let you watch The Big C online before premier date Tuesday

Though Showtime is premiering their new series The Big C Monday August 16 at 10:30 pm on television, there is no need to wait, you can watch it in full on Showtime's website.

Mad Men Furniture and Clothing Now Up for Auction on eBay

As the storyline of Mad Men moved out of Sterling Cooper to their newly created firm Sterling Cooper Draper & Pryce, the office furniture from Sterling Cooper is for sale on ebay.

It's also a charity auction, in their own words:

The ten-day charity auction will also feature a variety of vintage ‘60s furniture and props from the show’s iconic Sterling Cooper ad agency, including a number of pieces from the offices of Don Draper and Roger Sterling. Additional items include a dress worn by Betty at the Stork Club, one worn by Joan in the famous lawn-mower episode, and the dress worn by Bobbie Barrett during her night on the town with Don.

[via Gawker]

53 gay porn pirates face new round of P2P lawsuits

On Monday, Lucas Entertainment filed its first such lawsuit targeting 53 BitTorrent users alleged to have shared its pornographic film Kings of New York. arstechnica reports.

... Lucas Entertainment presented the judge with a list of 53 IP addresses, all of which are said to have visited gay-torrents.net ("a private website known for its vast index of videos depicting gay pornography") and then shared the film in question.

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