The online video streaming site Hulu has proven a hit with folks who just can’t get enough current and archived video programming from Fox and NBC—now, Hulu as picked up another major player was the Walt Disney Company has reached a deal to bring its content to Hulu, as well as take an ownership stake in the joint Fox/NBC operation. Disney is the parent company of the ABC broadcast network; the move means that of the major U.S. broadcast networks, only CBS programming won’t be included in Hulu’s offerings.
Tag Archive: Disney Channel
Broadcast Networks Jump on iTunes HD
Apple has announced that Fox and CBS are now offering high-definition television shows for sale via the iTunes store, joining ABC and NBC. High-definition shows joining the iTunes lineup include installments of CBS’s CSI franchise along with Numb3rs and NCIS; Fox shows available in HD on iTunes will includqe Bones, House, and Prison Break.
Tallied up, iTunes now carries more than 70 primetime shows from major broadcast networks, along with television programs from cable networks like Sci-Fi, Comedy Central, Bravo, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, HBO, Showtime, and more.
Cingular Launches 3G Phones, Video Service
Cingular Wireless today took the wraps off Cingular Video a new on-demand video service for two new 3G mobile phones. For $20 a month, subscribers will be able to download entertainment, news, sports, weather, and other video clips, as well as segments of their favorite shows from networks like ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN, ESPN, Disney, and the Cartoon Network. For an extra $5 a month, users will also be able to access short 3-5 minute clips of HBO programming like The Sopranos.
Disney Launches Preschool Online Service
Think maybe your preschool-aged child isn’t spending enough time with the computer? Is perhaps falling behind his or her peers in technology savvy? Or maybe you’re worried Johnny’s mousing skills just aren’t up to snuff for a four year-old?
Never fear, Disney’s got the solution for you! Disney Online today launched a new “broadband subscription product” dubbed Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online. For $49.95 a year (a free trial is available) Disney lets kids interact with their favorite Disney Channel characters in a “safe, ad-free” environment filled with fun and engaging activities, puzzles, and games which entertain preschoolers while developing important “kindergarten readiness skills.”
iTunes 6 Sells Videos, TV eps for $1.99
Apple Computer today unveiled iTunes 6, an update to its jukebox and online music store software. But the most-lauded new features don’t have anything to do with music: instead, Apple has started selling downloadable video.
iTunes 6 lets both Mac and Windows users purchase and download from a library of more than 2,000 music videos, six short films from Steve Jobs’ “other” company Pixar Animation Studios, and in an first-of-its-kind deal with Disney, iTunes is also offering ad-free current and recent episodes from ABC hits Desperate Housewives and Lost, the new Frank Spotnitz drama Night Stalker, as well as the Disney Channel shows That’s So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The price? iTunes-simple: $1.99 per video, film, or episode. Although information isn’t available at this writing, licensing restrictions may restrict video purchase to U.S. citizens with credit cards; hopefully, Apple will soon post information about international availability.
Verizon’s FiOS TV Signs Disney, Woos Fox
Telephone carrier Verizon announced today it has signed a long-term agreement with the Walt Disney Company to provide programming for Verizon’s nascent video and television service FiOS TV, which it plans to start offering in Keller, Texas this week and to as many as three million customers by the end of 2005. FiOS TV’s expanded basic programming will include Disney services ABC Family, ABC News Now, Disney Channel, Toon Disney and SOAPnet, as well as seven ESPN channels. Verizon will also be able to retransmit content of ABC’s owned and operated stations under the agreement.
AFI Spotlights Nouveau Media
American Film Institute publicized the AFI Digital Content Festival, to be held on July 20 at AFI’s Hollywood Campus. The daylong event presents the best new digital and interactive content, with presentations including content created for cable and satellite television, mobile devices, games and broadband.
“With the Digital Content Festival, as well as in our year-round Digital Content Lab, AFI raises the bar for content and technology companies alike. Our intention is to inspire great work in these exciting new media forms and to provide a common ground for everyone who wants to create great entertainment in our shared digital future,” stated AFI’s Director and CEO, Jean Picker Firstenberg.
ATI Xilleon To Power USDTV Set-Top Boxes
USDTV has pioneered a unique “over-the-air†subscription service featuring digital and high-definition formats utilizing unused digital spectrum from broadcast partners. ATI’s NXT2004 enables thecrystal-clear digital reception of the broadcast signal while ATI’s XILLEON delivers the digital image to the TV screen.
In addition to ATI, USDTV is also collaborating with: Chinese set-top box manufacturer Hisense Company, Ltd., and technology companies Dotcast, Winegard Company, and ServicePower. USDTV’s broadcast partners include: FOX News, STARZ!, ESPN, ESPN 2, Disney Channel, Toon Disney, Discovery Channel, TLC, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Home & Garden Television and The Food Network.


