jeff bewkes

Netflix intimated today as part of the company's second-quarter earnings that it could partner with HBO in the future.

HBO, the top pay-TV service, appears to have been caught off guard by the comment but it doesn't appear the Time Warner-owned company wants anything to do with Netflix.

In a letter to investors from Netflix, CEO Reed Hastings wrote: "As for HBO, they continue to do great work with HBO GO, which is now available to most U.S. households that subscribe to the premium service. While we compete for content and viewing time with HBO, it … Read more

To some, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes might appear to be a foe of Web distribution.

Remember, he was the guy who last year compared Netflix with the Albanian army--the view that the popular company would remake film distribution, he said, was a little like saying the tiny country's army would conquer the world. Time Warner has also made it clear Netflix subscribers won't be streaming episodes of HBO hit shows, such as "True Blood" or "The Sopranos," anytime soon.

Because Time Warner, one of the world's largest and powerful media companies, … Read more

The rumors from last week about Apple being "on the edge" of launching a cloud movie service, which would enable iTunes users to stream movies from Apple's servers and then re-download them to other devices, are at best premature.

Apple has yet to sign cloud agreements for feature films with at least four of the top six film studios, according to multiple film industry sources who spoke to CNET. Apple has indeed pursued such agreements, which CNET reported in May, but Apple's negotiations could drag on for months before the company acquires cloud rights from all … Read more

On the heels of reporting a a whopper fourth quarter, Netflix shares hit a 52-week high of $211 in this morning's trading.

Netflix shares today jumped more than 15 percent to hit $211.30 after closing at $183.03 yesterday following its quarterly earnings report. Wall Street is obviously thrilled with the 3 million new subscribers that Netflix reported adding in the quarter ending December 31. The total number of Netflix subscribers stands now at more than 20 million.

The report released yesterday showed that the company blew past the street's profit expectations. The consensus among analysts was … Read more

Time Warner's very public bashing of Netflix in recent weeks is a result of the media conglomerate's frustration over having to bid against the Web's top video-rental service for Warner Bros. content, says a Netflix executive.

If it weren't for Netflix bidding up the price, Time Warner, parent company of pay TV service HBO, would have an easier time acquiring Warner Bros. content after the licensing deal between the studio and HBO expires in 2014. That is what Ted Sarandos, Netflix's content-acquisition chief, said today at a conference in Miami, according to PaidContent. Presumably, this … Read more

The witty John Paczkowski has come up with his list of the best quotes from the D6 conference. (See our full coverage here)

Following is a small sample:

"Guys like us avoid monopolies. We like to compete."--Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates

"AOL is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Web. We don't get no respect."--Jeff Bewkes, president and CEO, Time Warner

"I didn't leave business school to go bankrupt."--Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on his first days at Microsoft

"Hollywood is a community that's so inbred, it's a wonder … Read more

Updated at 3:47 p.m. PDT to include questions from audience.

CARLSBAD, Calif.--Yahoo's Jerry Yang and Sue Decker may have gotten a tough time from Walt Mossberg, but perhaps they should consider themselves lucky.

Next up at the D6 conference here was Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes. A humorous video poked plenty of fun at the executive culminating in a discussion of whether D host Kara Swisher would cut off Bewkes' genitalia.

Clearly prepared, Bewkes came onstage covering his crotch.

Probably a good idea. In the first 30 seconds, Swisher fired off questions on everything from The … Read more