November 12
Fox Joins Broadcasters in Blocking Google TV LinkBy Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — News Corp.’s Fox has joined broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC in blocking access to full episodes of shows when searched from Google TV’s Web browser, according to a person at Fox familiar with the matter.
The move took effect Wednesday, about three weeks after other broadcasters blocked access. The delay was because Google TV had just launched and wasn’t in enough homes to be seen as a top priority, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Tech blogs had reported on the development earlier.
The Sony television that comes with Google TV software can still access networks like any regular TV, just not the online versions. The Logitech set-top box that comes with Google TV also does not interfere with regular TV signals.
Broadcasters want to block viewing over Internet-connected TVs because it is less profitable than regular TV.
There are fewer ads for online episodes, and cable and satellite TV providers pay broadcasters millions of dollars for the right to retransmit signals over their services. Allowing online viewing through sets in the living room could jeopardize the revenue that is generated from pay TV subscriptions.
Google reiterated a statement issued earlier when the other broadcasters blocked their online shows, saying “it is ultimately the content owner’s choice to restrict users from accessing their content on the platform.”
TV Crew Gets Miner Certifications To Shoot ‘Coal’
By Vicki Smith
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Ten videographers with Spike TV are now certified apprentice coal miners, ready to head underground and start filming a West Virginia reality show.
They completed the same 80-hour training required of all new miners in West Virginia, and they passed their certification tests Monday.
State safety inspector Bill Tucker says they won’t be doing any mining work, but legally, they could.
Mine safety officials were concerned about the threat of accidents when Spike announced plans for the show “Coal” last month.
But Tucker says producers have gone the extra mile, and he’s confident they’re taking all the right precautions.
Spike spokeswoman Debra Fazio says filming at Cobalt Coal’s McDowell County mine could begin in a week or so.
Warner Bros To Buy Harry Potter Studio In EnglandLONDON (AP) – The U.S.-based entertainment company Warner Bros announced on Monday plans to buy and expand the English studios where the Harry Potter films are made.
Warner Bros said it will invest roughly 100 million pounds ($161 million) in a major expansion of the Leavesden Studios.
Chairman and chief executive Barry Meyer said the investment will give Warner Bros a full-time production base in Britain.
“For 86 years, Warner Bros has been intrinsically involved in film production in the U.K.,” he said. “Our multimillion-pound investment in creating a state-of-the-art, permanent U.K. film production base further demonstrates our long-term commitment to, and confidence in, the skills and creativity of the UK film industry.”
The purchase price was not announced. Further details are expected to be released Wednesday. The enlargement program is set for completion in 2012.
Tony Awards Producers Choose New Home for the ShowBy Mark Kennedy, Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The Tony Awards ceremony, left homeless after losing its long-term space at Radio City Music Hall, has found a smaller theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for the telecast.
The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, joint producers of the show that honors the best of Broadway, said Wednesday that the June 12 event will be broadcast live from the Beacon Theatre by CBS.
The Art Deco theater has 2,870 seats and opened in 1929 as a showcase for vaudeville, musicals, opera and movies, and has hosted concerts by the Michael Jackson, James Taylor, Radiohead and Queen. The Dalai Lama taught in it in 1999 and former President Bill Clinton ended his 60th birthday celebration at the Beacon with a private Rolling Stones concert. Both Radio City and the Beacon are operated by Madison Square Garden Inc.
Ask.com Laying Off 130 Workers in Search Retreat
By Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Ask.com is laying off about 130 engineers as it abandons its own technology for indexing and recommending websites.
The retreat announced Tuesday is aimed at cutting Ask.com’s costs while sharpening its focus on finding answers to search requests posed in the form of a question.
As part of that shift, Ask.com is closing its offices in Edison, N.J., and Hangzhou, China. That will reduce Ask.com’s work force of about 400 employees by nearly one-third and concentrate its remaining offices in the San Francisco Bay area.
Ask.com will rely on formulas developed by another search engine to process general-purpose requests that aren’t posed as questions. It didn’t disclose the identity of its new search provider, citing a confidentiality agreement.
Google Inc. has been delivering ads alongside Ask’s search results for nearly year.
Despite that business partnership, Ask.com had still been trying to build a better search engine than Google. That crusade intensified after IAC/InterActiveCorp bought Ask.com and its affiliated websites for $2.3 billion five years ago.
