entertainment

Amazon and PBS have expanded their streaming partnership.

The companies announced on Wednesday that Amazon's Prime Instant Video service will now included "hundreds of additional episodes" of "Nova," "Masterpiece," and several other PBS shows. More PBS Kids shows, including "Arthur" and "Caillou," will also be available.

The wildly popular "Downton Abbey" has also been worked into the deal, with Amazon becoming the "exclusive video subscription home" to the third season of the acclaimed series. Earlier this year, Amazon announced that it will exclusively carry all &… Read more

Vdio, the online movie and television service from the makers of Rdio, is now open to anyone in the U.S. and U.K.

Rdio announced the news on its blog Wednesday, saying Vdio is no longer available solely to those people who have Rdio subscriptions.

Rdio launched Vdio in April as a competitor to similar services from Apple and Amazon. The offering lets users buy, rent, and share movies and television shows with others in real time. In addition to Web-based viewing, Vdio lets users access its programming from the iPad through its mobile application.

Vdio is available now … Read more

Netflix streaming is heading to the Netherlands.

The company said Wednesday that the service will be available in "late 2013," adding that its streaming service will offer "Hollywood, local and global TV series and films, including critically-acclaimed Netflix Original Series such as 'House of Cards' and 'Arrested Development' whenever and wherever they like on tablets, phones, TVs, game consoles and computers."

Last year, Netflix made a significant push into Europe by launching its streaming service in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. The service is also available in the U.K., Ireland, and the small island country … Read more

Sony is once again being squeezed by one of its biggest investors to split itself up by spinning off its entertainment division.

Third Point hedge fund founder Daniel Loeb sent a letter on Tuesday to Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai urging him to set up a semi-independent board to run a spun-off and public entertainment company, Reuters reported. Loeb recently upped his fund's investment in Sony to 70 million shares, or almost 7 percent of the company, a stake worth around $1.4 billion.

Loeb has argued that Sony has been unable to successfully run its entertainment division, which includes … Read more

The high camp era of the 1960's Batman TV show, and video game-influenced "choose-your-own-adventure" stories, will come to DC Entertainment's digital comics this summer with new digital storytelling techniques to draw in readers.

At a "Future of Storytelling" event that DC Entertainment parent company Warner Brothers held on Tuesday in New York City, DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson said that the new comics will appeal to fans of the classic Batman TV show and the current series of Batman: Arkham video games.

"These are our latest steps in a methodical digital strategy," … Read more

Amazon and Viacom have inked a deal that will deliver "thousands of episodes" of popular shows to the e-retail giant's streaming-video service.

According to the companies, they have signed a multiyear deal that will bring hundreds of shows from Nick Jr., MTV, and Comedy Central, including "Tosh.0," "The Backyardigans," and others, to Amazon's Prime Instant Video streaming service. The shows will be available exclusively on Prime Instant Video.

All of the shows are available to customers in the U.S. Lovefilm, Amazon's streaming service in the U.K. and Germany, … Read more

Close your eyes and imagine money. Lots and lots of money. Stacks and stacks and bags and briefcases full of... oh, you get the picture.

Now, imagine you were to possess such vast sums of cash. What would you do with it? Update your antiquated wardrobe? Purchase a new home or 5? Bid on a space date with Leo DiCaprio? Write a check for a $15 million black-diamond iPhone? Yes, there is such a thing; you can find out more about it in the gallery below.

Over the weeks to come, we'll take a look at some of the most ultra-luxurious tech out there, starting with a few seriously blinged-out smartphones and tablets. Some of the grandiose gadgets you'll see in this week's collection might make you roll your eyes, while others might inspire you to pick up a few hundred extra hours at work. … Read more

Superman has been able to leap a tall building in a single bound since he was created in 1938, but author Grant Morrison's ideas seem to know no limits.

DC Entertainment held a press event recently to celebrate the conclusion of Morrison's seven-year run writing Batman, in which he posited that all of Batman's adventures, from his dark crime-busting origins, to the crazy science-fiction romps of the 1950s, to what he calls the "hairy chested love-god" tales from the 1970s, to today's Dark Knight, have all happened to the character.

Morrison's authorial interests … Read more

There's big, then there's really big, and then there's colossal, which might be a good word to use when describing a near 46,000-pound Lego X-Wing that made a triumphant debut Thursday in New York's Times Square.

The full-size replica, about 42 times the size of the Lego "Star Wars" X-Wing (#9493) set available on store shelves, celebrates the debut of Cartoon Network's "The Yoda Chronicles," which premieres on May 29 at 8 p.m. … Read more