channel

When we got an early preview of Vudu last year, company reps told us off the record that its Internet video-on-demand box would someday offer adult-entertainment content. Well, that day has finally arrived with word that Vudu has consumated a deal with AVN Media Network to create the AVN Channel on Vudu, "robust with AVN reviews and ratings, etc..."

According to a press release from AVN, "The AVN Channel will include hundreds of the latest standard and high-definition titles from the leading adult studios including Wicked, Vivid, Hustler, and many others. This is the first stand-alone content … Read more

After a process that took more than a year and officially set the record for the most ridiculous merger mulling in the history of the United States, the FCC finally approved the XM-Sirius merger by a 3-2 vote down party lines.

And although its treatment of this deal was bad enough over the past year and a half, the final outcome is even worse. It not only solidifies my belief that NAB has the ear of the FCC, but that both organizations are extremely concerned that satellite radio will finally become a major force in radio.

According to reports, "the companies agreed to a three-year cap on prices, set aside 8 percent of their channel capacity for minority and noncommercial programming, and agreed to pay $19.7 million for past FCC rule violations. The companies also agreed to bring interoperable radios to the market within a year."

On top of that, the FCC will embark on a new initiative to explore the possibility of including HD radio functionality into the XM and Sirius radios. That said, it didn't go so far as to make it a requirement just yet.

And while some believe that this deal is a major blow to terrestrial radio, I think that argument is hogwash. The reality of the situation is that XM and Sirius were led around by the nose while the FCC and companies like Clear Channel did everything they could to weaken the two firms.… Read more

I often joked in the past that Fibre Channel switching leader Brocade Communications Systems followed an "old woman who swallowed a fly" acquisition strategy. To bolster its market position, Brocade grabbed Fibre Channel director vendor McData which purchased CNT which purchased Inrange. What was once a market with over a half dozen vendors is now centered on two: Brocade and Cisco Systems.

Even in this enviable position, Brocade faced two dilemmas: One, Fibre Channel itself will be challenged by 10, 40, and 100GbE moving forward. Ethernet, as you know, is the domain of Cisco, Extreme Networks, and Hewlett-Packard … Read more

With as much as 60 percent of Red Hat's $680 million in FY 2008 revenue coming through its partner channel, The VAR Guy reaches a cogent conclusion: "Red Hat-driven solutions are likely a multi-billion channel opportunity now."

Granted, Red Hat's top competition like Microsoft pushes even more through its channel, but let's not forget that Microsoft is a proven entity. Red Hat, on the other hand, is training a new generation of VARs and system integrators to work with Linux and open-source solutions. It has to be both evangelist and business at the same time.… Read more

GameStop, a leading video game retailer, has decided that it will no longer stock Microsoft's Zune players, citing poor sales. And while I don't quite agree with my fellow-blogger Don Reisinger that this is the beginning of the end for Zune, it's hard to see any silver lining in the news.

Microsoft's entry into the consumer electronics space came with a thorny channel problem. Microsoft sells the vast majority of its products through PC makers, who bundle Windows (and often Office and other software) on new PCs, and through well-established partners who specialize in selling to … Read more

NEW YORK--On Tuesday night, the Discovery Channel hosted a few hundred guests at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium for a preview of When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, filling the audience up with cocktails called "The Liftoff" (a tequila sunrise in a rocket-like champagne glass) and then packing us all into the planetarium's theater to watch some cool retro space visuals.

The miniseries got its start when Discovery embarked upon a project to archive old NASA footage in a high-definition format as a commemoration of the agency's 50th anniversary. It evolved, … Read more

Just two days after it launched 22 relatively high-interest HD channels, Dish Network has stopped broadcasting the 15 specialty Voom HD channels. The channels, which Dish has long been interested in dropping to make way for more popular channels, include names like GamePlay HD, Treasure HD, Kung Fu HD, and Monsters HD, and programming most viewers have never heard of.

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Ever since DirecTV launched a slew of national high-definition channels last October and November, it's been the only place most Americans can get their Cartoon Network, Sci-Fi, and Bravo networks in high-def. On Monday, Dish network caught up somewhat, announcing the activation of a total of 22 new high-def channels, including those three and many other national, high-interest channels--as well as a few lower-interest ones, including World Fishing Network HD. Twenty of the channels are supposed to go live Monday, and the last two, the regional sports networks (RSNs) Comcast Sports Network Bay Area HD and Comcast Sports Network New England HD, will be activated Wednesday, according to the company. Check out the full list of new channels on the official press release.

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When it comes to your weather-knowing needs, The Weather Channel Desktop 6, which moved out of beta this past week, contains a wealth of meteorological and atmospheric information that goes far beyond three-day forecasts. Of course, it does that, too. The app can predict weather for as short a period as the next 12 hours or as extended a span as the next 12 days. There's a storm watch and pollen count for your physical well-being and reports on cloud behavior over local golf courses, lakes, and amusement parks to help plan your day.

The Weather Channel Desktop also … Read more