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Broadcasters ABC, Fox, Univision, and PBS Files Charges Against Aereo TV Service

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:21:56 +0000

Aereo is a $12 per month cloud-based TV service that streams over-the-air channels to Internet devices. However broadcasters like ABC, Fox, Univision, and PBS has filed a complaint against Aereo claiming that the cloud TV service is infringing their copyright. The man behind Aereo is InterActiveCorp’s Barry Diller. The broadcasters are pushing to shut off the service despite the company’s plans to launch the service on March 14th. Aereo uses over-the-air signals that are free to everyone and retransmits them to individual “dime-sized antennas.” Aereo was planning on launching the service in Brooklyn first. The broadcasters are seeking damages and a permanent injunction. [paidcontent]

ABC News Takes Us Inside Foxconn [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:37:23 +0000

A couple of days ago, I wrote about how ABC was going to air a documentary about Apple’s supply chain. ABC reporter Bill Weir has just posted a video discussing what life inside of the factory is like.

Apple called Bill Weir one day after 250,000 Apple users called on the company to build the first “ethical” iPhone. Protests were planned at Apple stores around the world. The protests were planned after a monologist named Mike Daisey travelled to Foxconn and met people that came off 13-15 hour shifts on the Apple lines. He described a 13 year old who spent a lot of her time cleaning iPhone screens.

In the news report, Weir wrote:

The voices are robot feminine and they never shut up, each chirp a surreal announcement that another new iPad is about to be born.

“Okay.” “Okay.” “Okay.”

The factory floor is spotless under the bright fluorescent lights and with hypnotic rhythm, thousands of hands reach into a conveyor belt river, bringing each gliding gadget to life one tiny piece at a time.

“Okay.” “Okay.”

A supervisor will bark the occasional order in Mandarin, but on this line the machines do most of the talking while the people work in silence.

Their faces are blank as they insert a chip or wipe a screen or plug in a diagnostic cable to hear that everything is “Okay.”

Their faces are blank as they insert a chip or wipe a screen or plug in a diagnostic cable to hear that everything is “Okay.”

And they will repeat that motion and hear that fembot voice a few thousand more times before lunch.

It is just an average day at Foxconn.

Check out the video below:

video platform video management video solutions video player

ABC To Air Documentary About Apple’s Supply Chain On February 21st

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:35:20 +0000

This past January, the New York Times published a tough report about the conditions at Foxconn’s manufacturing factories that are used for building Apple’s iPads and iPhones. The report by the New York Times interviewed former Apple executives and it made Apple look pretty bad. Now Apple is granting ABC Nightline full access to their Chinese supply chain. ABC’s Bill Weir traveled to Shenzhen, China for an exclusive look in Apple’s supply chain.

Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to the New York Times by saying “We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain. Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern.” Apple opened their full supply chain to the Fair Labor Association.

Here is a quote from ABC’s Weir about his trip:

For years, Apple and Foxconn have been synonymous with monster profits and total secrecy so it was fascinating to wander the iphone and iPod production lines, meet the people who build them and see how they live. Our cameras were rolling when thousands of hopeful applicants rushed the Foxconn gates and I spoke with dozens of line workers and a top executive about everything from hours and pay to the controversies over suicides at the plant and the infamous “jumper nets” that line the factories in Shenzhen. After this trip, I’ll never see an Apple product the same way again.

ABC will be spreading their coverage access on “Good Morning America,” “World News with Diane Sawyer,” ABCNews.com, “ABC News Radio,” and “ABC Newsone.” The first footage of the trip will air on “ABC Nightline” on Tuesday February 21st at 11:35PM EST. ABC’s parent company is Disney Corporation. Disney CEO Bob Iger is currently on the board of directors at Apple. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his family are the largest shareholders of Disney.

Fox Denies Hulu Next-Day Streaming Programs

Riley Kennysmith — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:13:28 +0000

Hulu’s potential buyers may be edging away from a deal after Fox’s decision to limit the streaming to Hulu. Fox has decided to limit the streaming of programs, allowing only paying customers access to next-day streaming and letting non-paying users wait eight days for the programs to stream. Television networks like Fox are upset by the traffic Hulu drains from their own websites. The New York Times reports that ABC may follow Fox’s suit. [Mashable]

Hulu Close To Extending Content Deal

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 13 May 2011 06:45:45 +0000

Hulu is currently in negotiations to extend the right to stream TV programs on their website provided by NBC, Fox, and ABC. This would be an extension to a deal that News Corp., Disney, and NBCUniversal signed two years ago.

The deal is being negotiated with Hulu CEO Jason Kilar and executives from News Corp. and Disney. NBCUniversal gave up their Hulu board seats as part of the Comcast merger agreements. Providence Equity Partners also has a vote in the discussions.

[AllThingsD]

ABC Anchor Christiane Amanpour Chased By Pro-Mubarak Riot [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:17:07 +0000

Christiane Amanpour is an ABC anchor that was conducting interviews in Egypt. It turns out that she ended up in the wrong part of town because a pro-Mubarak riot chased her into her car and shouted that they do not like Americans. Check out the video below:

FCC To Allow Comcast-NBC Merger If Show Exclusivity Stops On Hulu

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:35:31 +0000

In December 2009 Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) made a deal to acquire NBC from General Electric. This deal is facing scrutiny from the government. The FCC said that one of the proposed conditions if they allow the deal to take place is that NBC would no longer have the exclusive rights to their shows on the Internet. This means that Hulu would not be the only web video service that has the rights to stream NBC shows. The three owners in Hulu are NBC, ABC, and FOX. [AllThingsD]

Netflix Signs A Deal With Disney To Stream ABC Shows

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:08:34 +0000

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has signed a deal with The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) to stream ABC, Disney, and ABC Family shows. That means you can watch shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical. [ZDNet]

Hulu Plus Now Available On The Sony Dash

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:54:12 +0000

Hulu Plus is now integrated on the Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer device. To access the thousands of movies and shows from ABC, Fox, and NBC, you will need to pay $9.99 per month. The 7-inch Sony Dash touch screen also has access to over 1,000 free applications. The device retails for about $199. [CNET]

ABC, CBS, and NBC Not Allowing TV Shows To Appear On Google TV

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:06:10 +0000

ABC, CBS, and NBC stated that they are not going to allow full length episodes of their shows on Google TV. However they will allow promotional clips when browsing with Google TV. Google TV lets you access the web browser and YouTube from your TV screen.

Logitech and Sony both started selling devices running Google TV this month. “Google TV enables access to all the Web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owners’ choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform,” stated a Google spokeswoman.

Fox is not blocking Google TV from playing full episodes on their website, but a final decision has not been made yet. Hulu, a video streaming service owned by NBC, Disney, and News Corp. is blocking Google TV too.

[WSJ]