Netflix sells Blu-ray for an extra buck

Netflix to raise rates for Blu-ray

Netflix next month will raise subscriber rates for customers who want access to Blu-ray discs by $1 a month, the company said this week. Netflix, which began testing such pricing increases in August, also plans to make its video-streaming service available to owners of Apple's Macintosh personal computers by the end of the year. The largest U.S. movie-rental service via mail will start charging the extra $1 a month for its 800 Blu-ray titles on Nov. 5, Jessie Teitz, VP of marketing at Netflix, revealed on the company's blog today. Company spokesman Steve Swasey confirmed the plans.


Studies Aim To Show How Well Online Ads Work—And How
Two new studies being released Wednesday promise answers to some of the questions that plague marketers about online advertising. In particular: do online ads drive purchases? And how? Research from male-centric entertainment site Break.com claims, naturally, to understand men's online behavior. The company, which commissioned the study by Hall and Partners, polled a national sample of roughly 500 males between 18- and 34 who go online at least once per month. Break found that 59 percent of males notice online ads, while 47 percent made a purchase as a result of one.

Hollywood Takes a Stab At Creating Online Video Standards
The Web lacks a standard way of organizing and playing media files, let alone gearing the playback for the growing variety of TV, computer and mobile screens. That’s the problem the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) hopes to address in a new standards effort it will kick off this month. The move could be the first of several steps addressing issues in Internet video and music for users, content producers, distributors and consumer electronics companies. The news marks the second major gambit from entertainment and technology companies in recent weeks to make it easier to access premium online content across a broad range of systems.


Online Video Advertising Market in India Doubles Each Year
Online video media advertising is on an upward rise across the globe including India. Zoom business head MK Anand said, “Potential online video advertising market in India is estimated at Rs 600 million. Video streams originating from India is doubling year-on-year.” Viewers are increasingly shifting from TV to internet for their favorite shows and videos. This change has happened in the last three years, especially after the advent of web 2.0. The web is no more driven by text but has become interactive.Citing a ComScore data (March-July 2008) Zoom digital head Sameer Pitalwalla said, “Per month, an average of 5.03 billion online videos are viewed in UK, US, Germany and France. This clearly states the significance of consumption of online videos globally as well.


Kangaroo decision delayed until February
The Competition Commission’s decision on Project Kangaroo, a joint venture between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to establish a single platform for on-demand, internet TV, has been put back from 14 December 2008 to 8 February 2009, to give the broadcasters extra time to supply documentation.