ITV

Tag: Warner Bros.

  • Guba launches online video store with Warner Bros. Entertainment content

    Guba launches online video store with Warner Bros. Entertainment content

    MUMBAI: Guba, a leading online multimedia entertainment site, announced its new video service featuring Warner Bros. Entertainment content. This offering allows users to rent and buy, on a download basis, movies and television shows online. With the launch, Guba becomes the first US video sharing community to distribute licensed Warner Bros. Entertainment’s content online.

    Guba enables its users to search, upload and share video posted to Guba and Usenet. Guba transcodes video so that users can view content on a wide range of video formats and portable devices. Now, Guba enables users to download DRM-protected films and TV shows from Warner Bros. Entertainment.

    More than 200 of Warner Bros. Entertainment’s latest movie releases are currently available from Guba, including Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Everything is Illuminated, as well as catalog titles such as The Matrix, Batman Forever, and Best in Show. TV programming includes Babylon 5, Dukes of Hazzard, The Flintstones and The Jetsons. All video content can be downloaded and played on compatible home computers, streamed to the TV, and loaded onto portable devices.

    “Guba, has been working directly with the Motion Picture Association and has instituted filtering and security measures to ensure the protection of copyrighted films and television content,” said Warner Bros. Technical Operations executive vice president distribution technology and operations Darcy Antonellis.

    Rental prices start at $1.99 per movie for unlimited views during a 24-hour period. Viewers can buy extra viewing days for reduced fees without the need to download the film again.

    Guba also allows users to buy movies and television shows. Catalog films will retail for $9.99 and new releases, available on the same date that DVDs are released in stores, will retail for $19.99. Television shows will retail starting at $1.79 per episode. Users may keep permanent copies of purchased titles, load purchased titles onto portable devices, and stream purchased and rented content through their home network.

    “This new service brings premium studio content to an Internet audience in an easy-to-use and intuitive way, without the necessity of downloading additional software. For years we’ve been making access to online video easy — now we’re bringing that experience to Warner Bros.’s catalog of films and TV shows. Warner Bros. is a pioneer in internet distribution and is creating a new online video rental market. Warner has great content that I know our millions of monthly visitors will enjoy,” said Guba CEO and co-founder Tom McInerney.

    “We’re pleased to open our movie and TV content to Guba’s community through the launch of this service. Guba’s platform is user-friendly and easily accessible which is critical for the emerging online digital distribution market. With Guba, more Internet users will be able to legally and securely buy and rent our films and TV series. Warner is committed to providing our programming to fans when, where and how they want it, and this deal is another example of our commitment to do that,” said Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group senior vice president digital distribution Jim Wuthrich.

  • Panamsat launches US satellite for HDTV, IPTV

    Panamsat launches US satellite for HDTV, IPTV

    MUMBAI: Satellite provider PanAmSat has launched its Galaxy 16 satellite in the US.

    Launched into orbit by Sea Launch, Galaxy 16 is the 24th satellite in Panamsat’s fleet and its 11th over the US. The satellite, to be located at 99 degrees west longitude, will replace Galaxy 4R.

    Panamsat CEO Joe Wright says, “We promised customers that we would have the most extensive and reliable neighborhood of satellites in the US to deliver standard and HDTV television channels and Galaxy 16 expands on that reality.

    “We have also promised shareholders to build satellites in a capital efficient manner and to launch them with our customers’ design requirements. And that’s exactly what we’ve done: Galaxy 16 takes over for Galaxy 4R and the satellite is nearly sold out.

    “Galaxy 16 is a broadcasters’ dream satellite. With its remarkable power and expansive footprint reaching from Maine to Alaska and Hawaii, it can deliver today and tomorrow’s technological advancements. In addition to providing thevery clearest broadcast signal, this versatile spacecraft has the digital muscle to deliver IPTV, HDTV or VOD. Galaxy 16 is one blockbuster of a satellite for existing and emerging technologies.”

    With its 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band payloads, the satellite will be home to channels like ABC, Fox , Warner Bros., Buena Vista and Televisa as well as major customers such as National Public Radio (NPR) and Hughes Network Systems (HNS).

  • Hallmark buys rights to 39 Warner Bros feature films

    Hallmark buys rights to 39 Warner Bros feature films

    MUMBAI: The Hallmark Channel has announced that it has acquired the US telecast rights to 39 feature films from the Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, including the network TV premiere of March of the Penguins.

    With the network’s acquisition of the Academy Award winning documentary March of the Penguins, the Hallmark Channel executive VP programming David Kenin said, “Hallmark Channel is still bent on world domination and we are starting with Antarctica.”

    According to a release, the Hallmark channel is currently being distributed to a little more than 73 million households nationwide.

    In its attempts to bounce back, Kenin also added, “The deal will help to drive ratings, attract more sponsors and increase distribution for the network.”

    However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed, adds the release.

    The 39 Warner Bros. movie package acquired by Hallmark include, Troy, The In-Laws, The Bridges of Madison County, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Phantom of the Opera, among others.

  • Warner Bros inks deal with CinemaNow for download of TV content

    Warner Bros inks deal with CinemaNow for download of TV content

    MUMBAI: For the first time, television content from the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has been made available on a download-to-own basis in the US.

    The company has entered into a licensing agreement with CinemaNow Inc. Under this agreement, CinemaNow will be able to sell Warner Bros. TV’s products electronically. Customers can legally purchase and download content from Warner Bros. through the website, www.cinemanow.com.

    “We’re very excited to add Warner Bros.’ content to our electronic-sell-through offering and to be the first to make Warner Bros. Television’s product available on the open Internet for purchase,” said CinemaNow president Bruce Eisen.

    CinemaNow recently struck a licensing deal with Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

    The Warner Bros. TV series already available from 1 June include Babylon 5 and Dukes of Hazzard, with additional titles to be added soon. In addition, movies such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Matrix and 2001: A Space Odyssey are also available through this facility , informs an official release.

    Also, as soon as DVD releases hit retail stores, they will simultaneously be available on the site. These include, Firewall and 16 Blocks to be out on 6 and 13 June respectively. All content will be copy protected by Microsoft’s Windows Digital Rights Management software, adds the release.

    “This is an important step for our US distribution efforts,” said Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group SVP Digital Distribution Jim Wuthrich. “This is one more way for consumers to enjoy Warner Bros. high quality digital entertainment.”

    Besides Warner Bros., and Buena Vista, CinemaNow has agreements in place with content providers including 20th Century Fox Corp., ABC News, The Walt Disney Co., HDNet, Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., Miramax Films, NBC Universal, Sony Entertainment Corp. and Sundance Channel.

  • Ted Turner bids adieu to Time Warner

    Ted Turner bids adieu to Time Warner

    MUMBAI: For one so flamboyantly outspoken – he once famously challenged nemesis Rupert Murdoch to a face-off in the boxing ring – Ted Turner’s departure from the network he founded was pretty low key.

    There were none of the usual verbal fisticuffs, just a relatively quiet fading away for the maverick “former” media mogul as he bid goodbye on Friday to Time Warner inc, the media behemoth that had swallowed the network he created – CNN.

    The severing of all direct ties to Time Warner was made official Friday after Turner chose not to stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting.

    Expectedly, the two-hour meeting, held in Atlanta instead of the Time Warner’s headquarters in New York, was underpinned by the recurring theme of Turner’s legacy, which saw more than one senior executive, including chairman and CEO Richard Parsons, giving their eulogies to the now ex-vice chairman.

    The fact that all the paens sung about his “legacy” had nothing more than sentimental value was not lost on anyone, including Turner, who chose not to stay till the end of the meeting and left mid-way through it and headed for his home in upscale Atlanta.

    And he did throw in a not-so-gentle parting shot before he left saying, “I have been with the company and its successors for 35 years now. I just wished that the last five years, I could have made a bigger contribution. I didn’t have that opportunity, unfortunately, but I hung in there as long as the company, I felt, needed me — until the class-action lawsuits and the antitrust problems were resolved.”

    That about summed up the regret that Turner, 67, now officially part of Time Warner’s past, will always carry with him – not to have any say in the world’s first truely global news network CNN. Well maybe he still might. After all he remains the company’s largest individual shareholder.

    But that’s not on his mind at the moment anyway. He has his philanthropic work and he has his restaurant chain – Ted’s Montana Grill that serves bison meat – as his main priorities. Turner is chairman of the United Nations Foundation, which he started with a $1 billion pledge to the agency in 1997, and co-chairs the Nuclear Threat Initiative with former US senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.

    His final words to Time Warner shareholders: “I’ve done my best and, like (famed newsman) Edward R. Murrow said in that great Warner Bros. movie that was just released a month ago, good night and good luck.”

    CNN certainly could use some of that luck as it tries desperately to catch up with Murdoch’s news ratings leader Fox News, which has left Turner’s former network in its wake these past few years.

  • Warner Bros. associates with BitTorrent to distribute movies, TV shows

    Warner Bros. associates with BitTorrent to distribute movies, TV shows

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. will distribute its films and television shows over the internet using peer-to-peer technology developed by BitTorrent. The studio will also sell permanent copies of films and TV shows online that can be burned to a backup DVD, although the copy will only play on the computer used to download the film and not on standard DVD players.

    The company is planning to kick off the new initiative within six months and the service could be priced as low as $1. According to BitTorrent, movies will be sold for about the price of buying a DVD.

    “If we can convert 5, 10, 15 per cent of the peer-to-peer users that have been obtaining our product from illegitimate sources to becoming legitimate buyers of our product, that has the potential of a huge impact on our industry and our economics,” Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara has been quoted in media reports as saying.

    BitTorrent uses a technique called “file swarming” to distribute large files. Rather than download a single large file from one central computer, BitTorrent assembles files from separate bits of data downloaded from other computer users across the Internet.

  • Peter Roth extends tenure as president at Warner Bros.TV

    Peter Roth extends tenure as president at Warner Bros.TV

    MUMBAI: One of the most successful and respected executives working in television today, Peter Roth, has signed a long-term deal extending his tenure as Warner Bros. Television president, while expanding his duties to include oversight of the newly created Warner Horizon Television.

    The newly created television arm is designed to create lower-budget scripted and reality primetime series for network and cable. These announcements were made today by Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) group president Bruce Rosenblum.

    “Peter’s track record at Warner Bros. Television really speaks for itself, not just in the quantity of successful shows he’s launched, but more importantly, in the quality of the series created under his leadership,” said Rosenblum. “To say that we’re absolutely thrilled that Peter will be with us for many, many more years would be a gross understatement. He is truly the best in class. His creative instincts and execution, as well as his relationships with people both in front of and behind the cameras, from the writers’ rooms to the network boardrooms, are unmatched.

    “As the television business continues to change and business models evolve, Warner Horizon Television will enable us to take more creative risks,” continued Rosenblum. “We’re incredibly excited about the prospect of this new television arm at the Studio and know that it couldn’t be in better hands than Peter’s.”

    Roth joined Warner Bros. Television as its president in March 1999 and has maintained the company’s position as the industry’s preeminent producer of award winning primetime television series. In addition to being the most prolific television studio in Hollywood the last three years, WBTV has been the leading supplier of primetime series 16 of the last 19 television seasons. For the 2005-2006 season, WBTV placed 33 series on the primetime schedule, including a record 17 returning series, 11 new series and five midseason series.

    During his tenure, Roth has been responsible for such series as the multiple Emmy Award winning The West Wing, Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace, The O.C., Cold Case, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, George Lopez, Supernatural, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Nip/Tuck and The Closer, as well as the successful continuation of such series as Friends and ER.

    Prior toWBTV, Roth served as Fox Broadcasting Company president. There, he was responsible for the development and programming of the Emmy Award-winning Ally McBeal, That ’70s Show, Family Guy and King of the Hill. He also held posts as president of 20th Century Fox Television, Twentieth Network Television (currently 20th Century Fox Television), and of Production at Twentieth Network Television, where he oversaw such hits as the multiple Emmy Award winning Picket Fences, The X-Files, The Practice, Chicago Hope and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

    Before working at Twentieth, Roth was president of Stephen J. Cannell Productions, where he was involved with the creation and sale of such critically acclaimed series as 21 Jump Street, Wiseguy and The Commish.

    Roth began his television career at the ABC Television Network in children’s programming where he served as both a manager and later a director before moving into current programming where held both director and vice president posts, states an official release.

  • Warner Bros. announces deals in Ireland, Bulgaria

    Warner Bros. announces deals in Ireland, Bulgaria

    CANNES: Warner Bros., International Television Distribution has announced deals with Channel 6 in Ireland and Nova TV in Bulgaria.

    The new Irish network has taken a raft of drama and comedy series. Among the first-run series set to premiere on Channel 6 are The Closer, Related, Four Kings, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.

    Also, the channel has secured the free-TV rights to The Sopranos, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Without a Trace.

    The studio has announced a multigenre deal with Nova TV in Bulgaria, that gives the broadcaster the exclusive free TV rights to a range of current and library features, television series and miniseries, and animation. Key titles include The Matrix Reloaded, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, as well as Invasion, Nip/Tuck and Joey.

  • Warner Bros. TV Group ups Karen Miller as SVP

    Warner Bros. TV Group ups Karen Miller as SVP

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Television Group has promoted Karen Miller to the position of senior vice president for its Worldwide Television Creative Services. It was announced today by the company’s executive vice president Lisa Gregorian. Miller will be reporting to Gregorian.

    In her new position, Miller will manage the day-to-day operations of the Creative Services department, overseeing the conceptualization and design of all print, digital and on-air advertising and promotional materials for the Studio’s worldwide television marketing, sales and publicity initiatives, states an official release.

    She will work closely with the Studio’s internal marketing executives, providing creative counsel on the promotional campaigns for programming produced by Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Animation.

    Also, Miller and her department will guide the creative efforts of the Studio’s television distribution entities–Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution–enhancing their marketing efforts for television series and the pay, cable and broadcast windows of theatrical titles.

    Said Gregorian, “Karen has proven herself to be an invaluable executive who is able to combine her creative vision with business acumen. She is the perfect person to direct the efforts of the creative services department as it continues to meet the challenge of focusing consumer attention in an ever-competitive global television marketplace.”

    A 10-year veteran of the Studio, Miller most recently served as Warner Bros. Television Creative Services vice president, having been promoted to that position in 2005. Previously, she had been an art director in the Warner Bros. Television Creative Services department for five years. She joined the Studio in 1996 as a graphic designer for Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Prior to joining the Studio, Miller spent more than a decade with Conde Nast Publishing as associate art director for Architectural Digest magazine.

    In her distinguished career, Miller has been honoured with 18 PROMAX-BDA Awards, most recently receiving the 2005 BDA Design Award in the Magazine category for her efforts on behalf of The O.C. Insider.

  • Warner Bros promotes Jim Noonan as SVP

    Warner Bros promotes Jim Noonan as SVP

    MUMBAI: Communications and new media executive Jim has been promoted to the newly created corporate position of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group Worldwide Strategic Promotions & Communications senior vice president.

    It was announced by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara. Noonan will report to Tsujihara.

    Noonan spent the majority of his career as a high-profile communications executive before transitioning to the new media space in 2001 to head Warner Bros. Online and Wireless as senior vice president & general manager of those divisions.

    In his new post, he will be charged with creating strategic cross-platform, cross-divisional promotions for product distributed via the WBHEG’s businesses (including Warner Home Video, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment). In addition, Noonan will work with Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Corporate Communications team in overseeing WBHEG’s internal and external consumer and business communications, states an official release.

    Said Tsujihara, “We are fortunate to have someone in this role with Jim’s unique credentials across both the communications and new media spaces. The mandate of our group is to maximize the opportunities for cross promotion across multiple platforms and distribution windows, as well as across our own business units. And, as a new business unit, it’s crucial that we effectively and strategically communicate our messages to the press, our clients, consumers, retailers and adjacent industries. We’ll look to Jim to lead our efforts in both of these important areas.”

    During his five years at the helm of Warner Bros. Online, Noonan initiated Warner Bros.’ wireless efforts and oversaw the establishment of contractual relationships with major wireless carriers around the world, giving Warner Bros. access to more than 80 percent of mobile users worldwide.

    Noonan joined Warner Bros. Online in 2001 from Warner Music Group, where he had served for a year as senior vice president, Strategic Promotions, with a focus on developing WMG’s cross-divisional promotions and strategic alliances.

    Prior to joining WMG, Noonan served for seven years as vice president, corporate affairs for HBO, where he was responsible for overseeing all corporate affairs activities with print and electronic media, public policy issues and corporate relationships with HBO’s various public constituencies.