Mark Cuban and Avner Ronen met in person for the first time just before their Pay TV vs. Internet debate here at South by Southwest Interactive—about 20 minutes before their session was interrupted by a fire alarm. But they argue like a married couple that’s been together for 20 years, complete with sharp barbs....
Read more »
Battery Ventures has closed a new $750 million, giving it nearly $4 billion under management—and providing another sign for soothsayers looking for proof of recovery in venture capital action. The veteran VC firm, which prides itself on multi-stage investments, says Battery IX gives it the flexibility to make small investments in startups and larger...
Read more »
News Corp.. (NYSE: NWS) Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch celebrates his 79th birthday with a cameo on his own Fox Business Network. Among the topics ... the newspaper ad model not dead yet (if we were Gawker we’d have to follow that with “neither am I”); iPad will attract more media and eventually a...
Read more »
Another e-reader company is finding it more difficult than expected to deliver devices. Pre-order customers for the Plastic Logic Que proReader are getting an e-mail from CEO Richard Archuleta about an extended delay in delivering the device, highly anticipated because of its sleek form factor and large screen. During CES, where Que was one...
Read more »
MySpace (NYSE: NWS) pulled up the curtain a little this week, letting in some light on a makeover still very much in progress and marking a debut of sorts for Co-Presidents Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn as a team. By walking reporters through their road map, the two hope to move the story from...
Read more »
In another bit of EMI news, less vital to the company’s future than today’s latest change at the top, OK Go and Capitol Records have parted ways after nine years through mutual agreement. OK Go asked; EMI agreed. OK Go is best known for its viral videos—and was touted by previous EMI management...
Read more »
Barring a last-minute fix or change of strategy, at midnight Tuesday Hulu.com will switch from a co-host for online video of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to a referral engine for the popular shows. Viacom (NYSE: VIA) execs like to call it a test but after 21 months it’s...
Read more »
Canada continues to stick it to the U.S. when it comes to hockey. Not only do they get the gold medal, now Canadians can watch Hockey Night in Canada streamed live on Yahoo Canada for the rest of the season. (For those who made it through the Vancouver closing ceremonies, the table top hockey...
Read more »
Variety followed up Sunday’s Academy Awards with a different batch of envelopes, handing out pink slips to eight editorial staffers—including chief film critic Todd McCarthy and theater critic David Rooney—in its latest reorg. Reed Business Information has sold or plans to sell most of its U.S. titles that rely heavily on advertising but has...
Read more »
The search for revenue by deconstructing the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) into its most valuable pieces for various platforms continues. Up next: the New York Times Book Review for e-reader. NYT marketing exec James Dunn mentioned the new subscription effort during a session of the Digital Publishing Alliance (DPA) and E-Reader Symposium, according...
Read more »
Twitter search for #Media