CBS and Time Warner Cable ended their contract dispute yesterday, restoring CBS, Showtime and related channels to cable subscribers in the New York, Los Angeles and Dallas markets. For one month, the two sides had been locked into a debate regarding fees related to rights for retransmitting content. Retaining digital rights in order to sell content to online distributors such as Netflix and Amazon was also an issue. CBS and TWC did not release specific information regarding terms of the agreement. Continue reading CBS and Time Warner Cable End Month-Long Contract Dispute

Amazon’s Web Services went down on Sunday due to a technical issue at a North Virginia data center. The outage was caused by a problem with a single networking device, and reveals that many companies do not distribute their Web services in different locations for service redundancy. This comes as Amazon is bidding on a CIA contract to manage their data services, and competitors are critical of whether Amazon can manage the demands of government data. Continue reading Amazon Web Services: Outage During Bid for CIA Contract

Earlier this week, we reported that Amazon may be expanding its AmazonFresh service to the New York City area. Amazon has more than 209 million active users that purchase all type of products, from TVs to pet food, and the company has expanded its services and processing centers in order to build loyalty and become a single source for all shopping needs. Its strategy has led to a growing customer base and significant increases in sales. Continue reading Retail: Amazon Pursues Cheaper Goods and Faster Shipping

As part of its move into the online shopping space currently dominated by Amazon and eBay, Twitter has hired Nathan Hubbard as the company’s first head of commerce. Hubbard was president of Live Nation Entertainment’s Ticketmaster until earlier this month. Twitter plans to initially enter e-commerce by offering retailers tools for selling goods and services inside tweets. Forrester projects e-commerce will be a $370 billion market in the U.S. by 2017. Continue reading Twitter Hires Commerce Chief, Plans to Offer Shopping Tools

Amazon may be launching AmazonFresh, its same-day grocery and local product delivery service, into the New York City area. AmazonFresh is currently available in Los Angeles and Seattle. This potential move may be a first step toward extending same-day delivery and leveraging the company’s extensive distribution network for future expansion. But as the company grows its reach, brick-and-mortar retailers are challenging Amazon on prices, offering the same or even lower rates. Continue reading Amazon May Expand Same Day as Competitors Lower Prices

More banking is done digitally today and new financial services are emerging from a variety of companies. Banks themselves are using third-party services for their customers. Banks may have a diminishing role in consumers’ financial lives, giving rise to companies that provide banking and other management services. Critics say banks are slow to innovate, while others suggest they are taking a careful, combined approach with physical and digital services. Continue reading Will Online Services and Apps Replace Local Bank Branches?

According to comScore’s monthly ranking of the top 50 U.S. Web properties, Yahoo sites stole Google’s lead in July with 196,564,000 unique visitors. Google sites, which have led in Internet traffic for the past two years, came in a close second for the month, with 192,251,000 visitors. Yahoo’s recent jump in traffic follows the company’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr in May. Yahoo has not found itself in comScore’s top position since May of 2011. Continue reading Yahoo Edges Out Google in U.S. Internet Traffic During July

Condé Nast recently announced a collaboration with Amazon where the online retailer will manage the publisher’s print and digital subscriptions. The “All Access” service will be available for Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair, WIRED and others. Additional titles will be added later in the year. The partnership will introduce Condé Nast to new Amazon customers, where they can manage their print and digital subscriptions with their Amazon accounts. Continue reading Conde Nast and Amazon Join in Print and Digital Magazines

Many entrepreneurs are attempting to recreate the shopping mall experience online in what is generally known as “social shopping.” Internet retailers such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy have made shopping online easy for large and small sellers. However, retailers are looking to make their sites more social, and create new opportunities. Startups are receiving venture funding, and established companies are adopting their own social features. Continue reading Social Shopping Is the New Mall for Electronic Commerce

Now that Barnes & Noble is getting out of the tablet business, the company announced it is launching free Nook Video Apps for Android, iOS and Roku devices. The new apps enable users to purchase or rent movies for streaming and includes integration with individuals’ UltraViolet collections. No longer keeping content exclusive to Nook devices, the retailer has also updated its Android and iOS e-reader apps with the ability to read Nook Comics titles, previously not available outside of the Nook ecosystem. Continue reading Nook Video Apps Now Available for iPad and Android Tablets

BitTorrent is primarily known for software that makes it easy to download and distribute pirated digital content. It is now attempting to change its negative image. In the past few months, the company has been actively attempting to convince musicians and content makers that it can help them earn money. The company is offering its BitTorrent Bundle as a way to encourage users to download content, and give creators a way to charge for it. Continue reading BitTorrent Trying Image Change as Legitimate Marketplace

Facebook is conducting tests with selected partners regarding a new payment product for online purchases on mobile apps. The service would allow any Facebook user that has provided their credit card to make purchases on partnering e-commerce mobile apps without having to enter billing information. The payment system could provide valuable data for itself and advertisers on shopper behavior and preferences in and out of Facebook. Continue reading Facebook Testing Mobile Payment Service, Rival To PayPal

Sony may have just moved ahead in the race to create an online version of pay television, thanks to a preliminary deal with Viacom to carry channels including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon via its planned pay TV service. Competitors in this space, such as Google and Intel, have yet to land such a major content deal. Sony hopes to launch an Internet service next year — streamed to its Bravia TVs and PlayStation gaming consoles — that will compete with companies that sell subscription TV services. Continue reading Sony to Carry Viacom Channels on its Internet Pay TV Service

The final season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” debuted with its best ever rating of 5.9 million viewers. Part of the high ratings can be attributed to Netflix, where subscribers can watch all previous episodes of the series, providing new viewers with a way to catch up prior to the new season. Along with the high ratings, there was a spike in illegal downloads of “Breaking Bad” episodes. This occurred despite the show being made available within hours across global regions. Continue reading Record Ratings and Illegal Download Spike for ‘Breaking Bad’

Two San Diego startups, Verance Corporation and PirateEye, have developed technologies to prevent and reduce media piracy. PirateEye uses cameras in theaters to scan for illegal recording, while Verance uses an audio watermark to determine if a video on a Blu-ray player is legitimate, and gives purchase options if the disc being played is a pirated version. Both Verance and PirateEye have received funding from film studios for their projects. Continue reading Startups Use Spy Cameras and Audio Tech to Stop Film Piracy