| News covering the digital entertainment industry |  |
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- Disney details its Infinity game service for multiple platforms
 The Disney Infinity interactive game platform will be available this year for consoles, mobile devices and the Web, company executives say. Infinity incorporates characters from Disney's "Monsters University," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Incredibles" franchises, along with related figurines for game play. A starter pack will cost $79.99, a play set will be priced at $34.99 and figures will be sold for $12.99 each, Disney says. TechCrunch
(1/15)     
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Disney deal will expand services on AT&T U-verse: AT&T has completed a multiscreen deal with Walt Disney that will give U-verse subscribers access to more content. The agreement includes the return of ESPN 3D, the addition of Disney Junior and increased on-demand content from ABC, ESPN and Disney across TVs, computers and wireless devices. The deal also includes the upcoming ABC News-Univision platform, which will offer a news and lifestyle service aimed at English-dominant and bilingual Hispanics. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
(1/15), Multichannel News
(1/15), MediaPost Communications/Media Daily News
(1/15)
- "Downton Abbey" is headed to iTunes under early-access deal
Holders of an iTunes "season pass" will get access to new episodes of "Downton Abbey" before they air on PBS, the network announced. The entire third season of the series, which has never been available on the Apple platform, will be released on iTunes on Jan. 29, the same day it comes out on Blu-ray and DVD, but nearly three weeks before the final episode airs on television. Home Media Magazine
(1/15)
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- ComScore: Ads account for large portion of online-video views
Nearly a quarter of all videos viewed online in December were advertisements, according to a report from comScore, which found that more than half the U.S. population watched a video ad during the month. Google sites and the BrightRoll Video Network captured the top two spots, with the platforms together accounting for about 3.8 billion of the 11.3 billion total online-video ads streamed or downloaded in December. ClickZ
(1/15)
| Monetizing Content | | |
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- Analysts: Search tool could help Facebook monetization efforts
Facebook's new internal-search feature could turn into a profit mill for the company, but first it has to work out the kinks, analysts say. Justin Post of Bank of America Merrill Lynch says Graph Search will increase engagement with the site and may eventually lead to monetization strategies involving features such as localized business suggestions. CNET
(1/16)
| Integrated Marketing | | |
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- Starbucks chief touts mobile, social media for marketing
Mobile and social media are powering a "seismic change" in consumer behavior, and retailers need to respond by putting these new platforms front and center in their marketing strategies, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz says. "The level of investment capability in these new platforms, especially mobile, is mission-critical to our companies. It can't be an afterthought –- that capability needs a front seat at the table," he said. Mobile Marketer
(1/16)
| eBooks, Tablets and More | | |
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- Analysis: Set-top boxes are here to stay
DISH Network was among the multichannel-video providers that demonstrated "souped up set top boxes" at the International CES, Shalini Ramachandran writes. Consumers continue to prefer the equipment over smart TVs and video-equipped gaming consoles largely because set-tops boxes have storage for recording shows. Next-generation boxes will have at least a terabyte of storage while allowing for multiple concurrent recordings and greater engagement with Internet-based video. The Wall Street Journal/Digits blog
(1/11)
| Spectrum/Broadband | | |
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- Groups criticize Globalstar Wi-Fi plan as inefficient
A proposal by satellite provider Globalstar to add a fourth Wi-Fi channel to its service package is generating a backlash from industry groups that say the plan amounts to an unfair and inefficient use of unlicensed spectrum. In comments to Globalstar's November filing with the Federal Communications Commission -- which were due Monday -- the Wi-Fi Alliance, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and others in the industry argue that the company's plans may negatively affect performance by leaving less bandwidth for other users. ITWorld.com/IDG News Service
(1/14)
| Entertainment Matters at CES | | |
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2013 International CES in one word: Innovation
The Consumer Electronics Association® announced that the 2013 International CES® was the largest in the show's 45+ year history, with 1.92 million net square feet of exhibit space. The previous record was 1.86 million net square feet of space at the 2012 International CES. More than 3,250 exhibitors unveiled about 20,000 new products at the 2013 CES, drawing more than 150,000 attendees, including more than 35,000 from more than 170 countries outside the U.S. Major product launches occurred across all 15 product categories at the 2013 CES. In wireless/smartphones, highlights include the launch of Sony's Xperia Z, the Huawei Ascend Mate and ZTE Grand S. In video displays, LG featured its touch-screen Ultra HD, Sony launched the first Ultra HD OLED display, Samsung featured its bendable OLED and Hisense launched its transparent 3DTV. Digital Health and fitness launches included new products from Fitbit, Withings and BodyMedia. Audi and Lexus featured driverless vehicle technologies. Read more on CESweb.org.
| SmartQuote | | |
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 | Given Facebook's large scale, getting users to search on the platform is a significant opportunity; if Facebook can generate just one paid click per user per year, the company could add $500 [million] in annual revenue."
--Justin Post of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as quoted by CNET
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