warner

FCC extends review process for Verizon-cable deal

Federal regulators said today they needed more time to review Verizon's deal to acquire spectrum from the cable providers and cross-sell cable and wireless services.

The Federal Communications Commission extended the typical 180-day review period by 21 days to give it sufficient time to examine the reams of documents that were submitted late by Verizon and the cable companies. Opponents have lauded the FCC's move, claiming the agency has "stopped the clock" on the deal, signalling deeper concerns about the transaction. But the move only marks an extension, and not an actual pause, in the process. … Read more

1.5 million card numbers stolen

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

1.5M card numbers compromised Comcast, Time Warner don't allow access to HBO Go on Xbox and Roku Free Photoshop CS6 preview Angry Birds cartoon series Developer defends Girls Around Me app Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Verizon dangles mobile video as hook for its cable deal

Verizon's new argument to regulators on its cable deal: give us the OK and we'll start offering better mobile video.

CEO Lowell McAdam is eager to win regulatory approval for Verizon's cross-selling and spectrum deal with several cable providers. One such benefit would be pay-TV subscribers getting access to more mobile video, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lowell said the integrated service would be available to cable subscribers or customers of its own Fios TV service.

Verizon and the cable companies are in the midst of defending a $3.9 billion deal that would send a valuable … Read more

TiVo strikes back against Motorola in patent suit

The week is just getting started, and we already have a new patent infringement lawsuit on our hands.

The twist this time is that it is a counter suit from TiVo against both Motorola and Time Warner Cable.

A little over a year ago, Motorola filed a lawsuit against TiVo over patent infringement related to digital video recorders -- some of which focused on patents stemming from as far back as the 1990s.

Now, TiVo has filed counterclaims with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Motorola and Time Warner Cable (one of Motorola's customers) infringed upon the … Read more

My DIY Cable Card install was simple--how was yours? (poll)

Remember Cable Card? It's still around, quietly allowing owners of TiVos and Home Theater PCs, via devices like the HDHomeRun Prime, to get the full complement of cable TV programming without having to use the company-issued DVR or cable box.

At CNET we've tested a few Cable Card products, including TiVos and the now-defunct Moxi DVR. The latter product was still hanging around the CNET offices so I decided to test it out for myself at home.

I called up Verizon (I'm a Fios TV subscriber) last week, told the rep I had a third-party DVR and … Read more

Time Warner Cable tries to cap broadband data usage--again

Time Warner Cable is at it again.

The company this week announced the launch of a usage-based pricing plan in Southern Texas. The service is available to customers in San Antonio, Laredo, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Value, and the Border Corridor, the company said in a blog post.

Dubbed the Essentials Plan, the offering limits subscribers to 5GB of data usage a month in exchange for a $5 discount to their monthly bill. Time Warner Cable says customers can opt-in or opt-out of the deal at any time, and subscribers will get a "meter" to let them … Read more

Fox, Warner want secure, high-def film players

Hollywood hasn't given up trying to persuade consumers to buy and collect movies or on digital rights management.

Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox are partnering with Sandisk and Western Digital to develop antipiracy devices in an effort to secure 1080p high-definition movies once they're in the wild.

The companies announced today that they have formed a new consortium called Secure Content Storage Association (SCSA). The group will create the standards which they hope will be adopted by makers of Blu-ray players, tablets, and smart TVs. As of yet, the SCSA doesn't have a device to show … Read more

Warner cut off Netflix to profit from Whitney's death? Not true

The rumor mill turned out to be wrong this time.

News that Warner Bros. yanked Netflix's streaming rights to Whitney Houston's hit movie "The Bodyguard" went viral a couple of days ago. The company's purported greedy goal was to make a "very large amount of money on the DVD sales" from "all the publicity after Whitney Houston's passing," according to Dan McDermott, the host of Web show Google Plus Week.

However, after Peter Kafka from AllThingsD reported that the story was bogus, McDermott apologized and announced that both he and … Read more

Time Warner Cable now streams to your desktop

Time Warner Cable, which last year unveiled its first iPad app, has just launched a beta version of the software for computer streaming.

The new app lets cable (and data) subscribers stream live TV to their Mac or Windows PC while in the home.

The app's features include "Live TV" of a limited number of channels, a seven-day program guide, control of the set-top box (to watch on the TV screen) and the PC (to watch on the computer screen), DVR management, and a search function.

"Ever since launching the TWC TV app for the iPad, … Read more

Is HBO's investment in Netflix-like firm a strategy shift?

At a time when HBO tries to downplay the suggestion that any significant rivalry exists between it and Netflix, managers there have worked to acquire a Netflix lookalike in Australia.

And get this: the name of this video rental service HBO bought is Quickflix.

Seem familiar? The name sounds like a blend of Netflix and the company's ill-fated spinoff, known as Qwikster. HBO's managers had to know how it would look for the premium cable channel to invest $10 million in a company with a name like that.

Not surprisingly, some media outlets are writing that HBO's … Read more