Chicago recently extended its 9 percent “amusement” tax — originally intended primarily for live shows and sporting events — to include an array of online services. Now, subscribers to streaming services such as Netflix, Xbox Live and Spotify are fighting back with a lawsuit that contends taxing such digital entertainment should be ruled illegal. The policy challenge in Chicago could prove significant to the larger media industry since its outcome could possibly shape how cities and states could tax parts of the Internet economy in the future. Continue reading Lawsuit Claims Streaming Tax on Digital Entertainment is Illegal

YouTube multichannel network Fullscreen plans to roll out a subscription video service that will feature original and licensed programming including series, documentaries and feature length movies. While pricing and other specifics have yet to be released, the SVOD service is expected to launch in the next few months. “We think there’s an underserved audience out there,” said Fullscreen CEO George Strompolos at Variety’s Entertainment & Technology Summit. “We want to create a premium video environment where the best work can be made by Fullscreen and other studios.” Continue reading Fullscreen Planning SVOD Service to Target Youth Audiences

Cablevision has agreed to an acquisition offer of about $17.7 billion by European telecom giant Altice, which recently struck a $9.1 billion deal for Suddenlink Communications. “The transaction would further realign an industry already in upheaval as cable and telecom companies seek greater scale and negotiating power with content providers,” suggests The New York Times. “But the takeover of Cablevision… could also draw significant concern from regulators, particularly as control of the telecom market shrinks to fewer and fewer players.” Charter Communications has agreed to purchase Time Warner Cable, and AT&T recently completed a $48.5 billion deal for DirecTV.

Sharp announced that it plans to offer an 85-inch Super Hi-Vision 8K display at the end of October for 16,000,000 yen (about $133,034). Designed for professional use, the LV-85001 is a monitor rather than a TV, but includes a tuner. “Coming in at 16 times the resolution of 1080p screens, the 7,680 x 4,320 pixel LCD panel uses Sharp’s IGZO technology,” notes Engadget. “To actually watch any 8K video, you’ll need to plug into all four of its HDMI inputs at once just to have enough bandwidth.” While the delivery of 8K video is likely a few years away, broadcasters can use Sharp’s new display to continue testing the technology.

Snapchat, the social service that bases its model on disappearing messages, updated its app this week to provide the option of making messages reappear. The update also includes new photo lenses and trophies for completing tasks. “Snapchat began letting U.S. users replay three messages for 99 cents, the first time the company has charged for any feature in the free program,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “With more than 100 million users logging on to Snapchat every day, those cents could begin to add up.” The move could also prove beneficial to Apple, since the company typically receives 30 percent of in-app purchases.

Premium cable channel EPIX — a joint venture between Viacom, Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and MGM — is getting ready to launch a new feature that will provide users with offline viewing capabilities on mobile devices, including Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, and Kindle Fire devices. The news follows Amazon’s recent announcement that its Prime members would be able to view Amazon Instant Video content offline. However, the EPIX feature will be included in the channel’s TV Everywhere apps, and will not be available to over-the-top subscribers. Continue reading EPIX is First Cable Network to Allow Offline Video Downloads

Virtual reality has a new first. The “Sleepy Hollow: VR Experience,” created for the Oculus Rift DK2 by Fox and Toronto-based Secret Location, was awarded an Emmy in the Interactive Media category for User Experience and Visual Design. An extension to Fox Television’s hit show, the project debuted at Comic-Con in San Diego. According to Engadget, “Another Emmy was handed to the team behind the ‘AMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience’ app, a 360-degree video based on the singer’s Blank Space music video, which has been viewed over a billion times.”

During its press event ahead of the Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced that it has renamed its Project Morpheus virtual reality headset as PlayStation VR. Sony’s device will compete with the likes of Facebook’s Oculus Rift, Valve-HTC’s Vive headset, and others expected to hit the market in the near future. “The company didn’t say exactly when PlayStation VR would ship, but it said that it would demo a bunch of titles in the Japanese market,” reports VentureBeat. “The hardware will be available to try on the show floor of the TGS, which draws tens of thousands of fans.”

Sony has reportedly been in preliminary talks with companies regarding its Crackle video-streaming service and the possibility of offering skinny bundles of video channels. “The result could be a dramatic expansion of distribution for the advertising-supported service now largely available through Internet-connected TV sets, gaming consoles and other online devices,” suggests TheStreet. Dish Network’s Sling TV and Verizon FiOS are among the services that already offer special packages with a limited numbers of channels. According to comScore, Crackle has 27 million unique users per month.

Analysts seem to agree that the most promising aspect of the recently unveiled fourth-generation Apple TV is its App Store. A wave of compelling apps could easily generate more interest in the device. Plex, for example, which works with Chromecast and Fire TV as a tool for organizing personal media libraries, and has long been sought after by Apple TV users, is planning an app for the new Apple TV. Plex co-founder Scott Olechowski has confirmed plans for a new app as the team awaits the tvOS developer beta. Meanwhile, a tvOS version of the cross-platform VLC media player is also being planned. Continue reading Plex and VLC Streaming Media Apps Are Coming to Apple TV

High-end fashion retailer Burberry announced yesterday that it has launched a channel on the Apple Music streaming service, featuring songs and videos from Burberry’s work with British recording artists through its Burberry Acoustic program. “The deal is the first collaboration between the two companies since Apple in 2013 hired away Angela Ahrendts, then Burberry’s chief executive, to become senior vice president of retail and online stores,” reports The New York Times. Apple is also partnering with luxury retailer Hermès on special editions of the Apple Watch.

Motion Picture Domain Registry has launched a new online domain — .film — exclusive to the movie industry, with the intent to combat cyber-squatting and online piracy. “The new domain, which will only be allotted to a film’s official site, is intended to help prevent third-party copy cats and help improve online search rankings for legitimate sites,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Big Talk Productions, Highland Film Group, Nu Image/Millennium Films, Paris Film and the Film Distributors’ Association are among the first to register film domain names with the go.film site.

Ars Technica reports that the Department of Justice and the FBI seized the domain of Sharebeast.com on Friday in another victory in the ongoing war against illegal file-sharing. Sharebeast, which represented the largest U.S.-based file-sharing service — and was one of the top sites for pirated music and TV files in the UK — included related domains such as albumjams and mp3pet.com. “This is a huge win for the music community and legitimate music services,” said RIAA chair and CEO Cary Sherman. “Sharebeast operated with flagrant disregard for the rights of artists and labels while undermining the legal marketplace.”

In the wake of pay TV subscriber losses and a falloff in content stocks, industry news has recently focused on the impact of the Internet, mobile apps and streaming services on traditional television. Disney chief operating officer Tom Staggs, who most analysts believe will be the successor to CEO Bob Iger, defended the future of ESPN and the programming bundle at an industry conference in Beverly Hills on Thursday. Staggs also suggested that Wall Street had overreacted to recent changes in the business and should not be so quick to dismiss the current model. Continue reading Disney COO Defends the Programming Bundle as TV Evolves

Facebook announced that it will allow journalists to use the social network’s Mentions app, which was originally designed as a VIP service to help celebrities — including actors, musicians and professional athletes — manage their social profiles. Now, any journalist or public figure verified by Facebook will have access to the app; an expanded list of trending topics, headlines and summaries; and the ability to monitor social chatter and conduct Q&A sessions from their mobile phones. Poynter.org suggests that the “update to Mentions means that more journalists may decide to use Facebook as another avenue for reporting and engagement, thereby solidifying the social network’s place as an arbiter of news.”