Deals: At presstime,
Dealb%k reported the
Yahoo talks with
Softbank and
Alibaba had collapsed.
Online TV: Aereo (formerly
Bamboom)
says it will launch a new platform for NYC residents starting March 14.
The platform will encompass 20 broadcast nets (including all the
biggies) streamed via devices such as
AppleTV and
Roku. Aereo's newest member of its board of directors –
IAC's
Barry Diller – is putting his money where his mouth is leading the charge on a $20.5M Series A financing. Get the press release
here.
D.C.: Lots of chatter on the
FCC's sports blackout rules as five Senators
Tom Harkin (D-IA),
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI),
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ),
Richard Blumenthal (D-CN) and
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
say the Commission should fix
its rules. A lot of oxen could get gored
here so expect virtually all players to be weighing in.--- The FCC has
released a map (to right) showing areas which are potentially
eligible for funding of mobile broadband services through its $300M
reverse auction schedule for September. Find the interactive map
here.
Music Biz: 13M "social media comments" helped drive the
Grammys to a near-record (2nd place actually) audience. While
Whitney Houston's deal no doubt boosted the numbers,
CBS also credits its hard work to drive online interest. More from
AllThingsD. ---
Sony Music hiked its price on
Whitney Houston's greatest hits set by 60% on the UK
iTunes after her death. Music fans are disgusted.
The Guardian has more; and at press time Sony said it was a "mistake."
Mobile:
Cisco predicts video will represent more than 70% of mobile data traffic in just 4 years.
Click here for the press release.
In Court: A recent
Supreme Court decision (Golan
v Holder) has held that
Congress can give copyright protection to works that were previously part of the public domain. Why is this important? Lots of reasons, but for one we reference the brewing battle between
Warner Bros. and
Disney over who can claim what 'Wizard of Ox' trademarks.
Hollywood Reporter has the Oz story. The legal eagles at
Coat's & Bennett have more on the Supremes.
More news in The Morning BRIDGE ... first thing tomorrow. (And PS: Happy Valentines!)•
