Tag: Amazon.com

Amazon.com expands content licensing deal with NBCUniversal

MUMBAI: Online retail major Amazon.com has announced an expanded content licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Cable and New Media Distribution that will bring programmes to Prime Instant Video.

Prime Instant Video offers more than 40,000 movies and TV episodes for Prime members to stream on Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other connected TVs and devices – all at no additional cost.

Prime members will have exclusive unlimited subscription streaming access to prior seasons of the following NBCUniversal shows:

NBC‘s dark fantasy drama ‘Grimm‘, based on the collection of Grimm Fairy Tales
USA Network‘s legal drama ‘Suits‘ and serialised spy thriller ‘Covert Affairs‘
NBC‘s new psychological thriller ‘Hannibal‘, based on the novels by Thomas Harris and produced by Gaumont International Television, available later this year
Syfy‘s new futuristic sci-fi and drama series ‘Defiance‘ will be available early next year
In addition, the announcement will add several shows to Prime Instant Video including ‘Smash‘, as well as Syfy drama series ‘Alphas‘, ‘Eureka‘ and ‘Warehouse 13‘. Also available are children‘s programmes including ‘Curious George‘ and ‘Land Before Time‘, which will both be available in Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, the content service that brings together books, games, apps, movies and TV shows.

Amazon director of digital video content acquisition Brad Beale said, “We listen carefully to our customers to find out which TV shows and movies they find the most entertaining. Our expanded agreement with NBCUniversal gives Prime members access to even more exclusive content that they can stream instantly, at no additional cost. Compelling shows like ‘Covert Affairs‘, ‘Defiance‘, ‘Grimm‘, ‘Hannibal‘ and ‘Suits‘ are big wins for our customers and we look forward to adding more titles soon.”

NBCUniversal Cable and New Media Distribution president Frances Manfredi said, “We‘re excited to expand our relationship with Amazon by adding great NBCUniversal content to Prime Instant Video. With Amazon, we‘re giving our established viewers a chance to catch-up on what they missed while simultaneously reaching and engaging new audiences who may not have seen these great series on their premiering networks.”

May 17, 2013
BBC Worldwide in content deal with Amazon.com

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide and BBC World are partnering with online retail giant Amazon.com in the US to provide nearly 400 hours of content for Amazon Unbox- a new digital video download service.

BBC programming spanning genres including comedy, drama, science fiction, documentaries and news will be available to download to rent, with numerous titles making their US digital premiere.

Customers will be easily directed to BBC content through various routes. In addition to being able to seek BBC content using the Amazon Unbox search engine on the home page, various BBC links will also be featured on the home page to take customers directly to dedicated BBC pages.

BBC Worldwide VP, programme management and digital media, Americas Beth Clearfield, says, “We are confident that Amazon customers will enjoy discovering new BBC programs as well as finding their favorites via this new technology, and will be enthralled by the breadth of BBC programming now accessible to them on Amazon Unbox.

“We continue to explore different avenues to share our content with an expanding audience, and are delighted to participate with Amazon.com in the launch of this exciting new platform.”

BBC Worldwide director digital media, Simon Danker says, “We are thrilled to be part of this service and the growth of BBC Worldwide’s Digital Media business is a key part of the company’s overall strategy. Following this deal, we’ll be working with partners globally to maximise our presence in this arena.”

Key titles from BBC Worldwide making a digital premiere in the US include shows like Little Britain, Keeping Up Appearances, League of Gentlemen and Yes, Minister. There wil also be Jane Austen period dramas Emma, Mansfield Park and Jane Eyre as well as documentary series Blue Planet, Life of Birds and Walking with Dinosaurs. There will also be drama series such as House of Cards and Miss Marple.

Other titles include Ripping Yarns and Shakespeare with Macbeth, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Romeo & Juliet plus BBC titles from Independents such as Coupling (Hartswood Films), Ballykissangel (BallyKea/World Productions)and In The Footsteps of Alexander The Great (Maya Vision).

September 27, 2006
IBM files patent infringement lawsuits against Amazon.com

MUMBAI: IBM has filed two patent infringement lawsuits against online book and retail major Amazon.com for unspecified damages.

The lawsuits come after nearly four years of attempts by IBM to resolve its concerns with Amazon.com over infringement of IBM’s patents.

The suits were filed in two District Courts for the Eastern District of Texas: one suit in the Tyler Division and the other suit in the Lufkin Division.

IBM Technology and Intellectual Property senior VP Dr. John E. Kelly III says, “We filed this case for a very simple reason. IBM’s property is being knowingly and unfairly exploited. IBM is one of the world’s leading creators of intellectual property and one of the most progressive in embracing new, highly collaborative ways of driving and managing innovation.

“Everything we do is premised on the fundamental principle that IBM’s intellectual property is one of our core assets, and represents the work product of tens of thousands of scientists and engineers and billions of dollars of investment.”

IBM said that Amazon.com has willfully infringed and continues to infringe on a number of key IBM patents.

Dating back to September 2002, IBM says that it has notified Amazon.com numerous times of the infringement, but Amazon.com has shown no willingness to have meaningful discussions.

“When someone takes our property, without our permission through a license, we have no option but to protect it through every means available to us,” said Kelly.

IBM holds more than 40,000 patents worldwide and has been awarded the most US patents for 13 consecutive years. The company has a long history of licensing its patents covering e-commerce on fair terms. Over the past five decades, IBM has entered into numerous patent licensing agreements with companies that respect intellectual property rights in a broad range of industries. Many companies have licensed these five high-quality patents from IBM, as well as others, in “field of use” patent licenses.

June 17, 2006
Microsoft beats Google to win Amazon.com account

MUMBAI: Microsoft Corp. has snatched the Amazon.com account from Google. The internet retailer will now be using the Microsoft technology Windows Live to power its toolbar and the A9 online search engine.

Confirming the development to Reuters, A9 CEO David Tennenhouse said Google search was removed from the site on 30 April, following the expiration of that contract. He added that Windows Live presented a very powerful web search option that had previously been featured on the A9 site.

Microsoft launched Windows Live to win online advertising pie away from Google and Yahoo.

Amazon’s search engine A9 breaks down searches into various categories such as web searches, book searches and blog searches.

May 1, 2006
Amazon talking to Hollywood studios for online film downloads

MUMBAI: Online retail giant Amazon.com is considering the launch of a service that would allow visitors to download movies and television shows.

Media reports indicate that the move is aimed at offering an alternative to Apple’s iTunes. Amazon is believed to be in talks with Paramount, Universal and Warner Bros for the store.

The market for video downloads has gained momentum due to broadband penetration growing. Apple has been strengthening its iTunes offerings. The company just launched a new subscription service that lets consumers purchase TV shows through a monthly subscription.

AOL, meanwhile, also has been active in expanding its media offerings, creating a service through which users can download videos and other entertainment content. The company is also busy developing its own online TV properties. All of this comes as a challenge to the traditional retail outlets.

Reports further indicate that Amazon.com’s store is expected to allow users to buy, burn and keep DVD’s and differ from Apple’s current policy on its American store by only allowing visitors to download for viewing on the computer or iPod video.

March 13, 2006