French video game developer Ubisoft is pushing for a more interactive television experience, one in which viewers have more control over what happens, similar to the control players have with games. As a new generation of game consoles get ready to hit the market, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot hopes to join forces with Hollywood to help make this happen. Game developers say consumers have a growing appetite for new entertainment experiences. Continue reading Ubisoft CEO Envisions New Wave of Interactive Entertainment

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

Netflix’s stock value has increased 178 percent during 2013, one of the best performing companies on the S&P 500 index. In order to maintain its edge, Netflix may need to be more like Amazon than HBO, with more of a focus on spending than a fixation on profit growth. But Netflix’s practice of dropping unpopular content may give competitor Amazon a new opportunity to secure exclusive rights to additional programming and gain ground over Netflix. Continue reading Netflix Spending More On Content While Dropping Content

Viacom and Twitter have announced a new partnership to deliver social video advertising campaigns centered on popular Viacom shows and events from MTV, VH1, CMT, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike and others. Viacom is the latest to join the growing list of media companies involved with the Twitter Amplify partnership program. The Viacom partnership will launch with the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 25. Continue reading Viacom and Twitter Partner on Social Video Ad Campaigns

DreamWorks Animation has signed a multiyear deal to produce original series for streaming video service Netflix. While financial details were not disclosed, the companies announced yesterday that more than 300 hours of programming are planned to debut exclusively on Netflix. A kids’ show based on DreamWorks’ summer movie “Turbo” will debut online in December. Netflix will also replace HBO as DreamWorks’ premium subscription video partner, beginning with this year’s theatrical releases. Continue reading DreamWorks Animation Passes on Cable in Favor of Netflix

Viacom and Amazon announced a multiyear deal earlier this week that will provide Amazon with exclusive rights to Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows aimed at children and preschoolers. The agreement, estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars, also includes content from Viacom networks MTV and Comedy Central. The deal with Amazon was inked after Netflix and Viacom failed to renew their licensing agreement. Continue reading Netflix Competitor Amazon Nabs Exclusive Deal with Viacom

Twitter is reportedly close to reaching partnerships with TV networks that would bring video content and advertising to the social site. Talks are underway with Viacom, Comcast and NBCUniversal, say sources, who note that the deal with Viacom would allow the micro-blogger to host TV clips on its site and sell ads alongside them. The push for TV coincides with Twitter’s expansion into music discovery and sharing with its new mobile app. Continue reading Twitter Pursuing Deals to Host Television Content and Ads

After two years of research, asking 9- and 10-year-olds what kind of content they want to watch on an iPad, the results are in: they don’t want to watch very much actual TV. So instead of simply making its programming available on the iPad, Nickelodeon designed its new app as a noisy, colorful collection of animated clips, music videos and more, including actual full-length episodes. Continue reading New Nickelodeon App is TV Everywhere Capable and More

Nick Jr.’s newest television project “Wallykazam” will first be introduced to the public as a mobile product. The show doesn’t come out until 2014, but educational apps based on the show’s characters and concepts will appear in app stores late next year. According to The New York Times, it is parents who are steering this industry shift. “Driving the change, at Nickelodeon and other preschool television brands, are parents who are increasingly putting mobile devices into preschoolers’ hands and laps,” notes the article.

As TV set ownership declines, tablet ownership is on the rise. “Eighty-eight percent of the parents surveyed said they owned a television, down from 95 percent in 2010,” according to new research commissioned by Sesame Workshop.

The research also shows just how striking educational app growth has been recently. “In October, 27 percent of United States households with children ages 3 to 5 had an iPad, up from 22 percent in April. In those households, 40 percent of preschoolers used the iPad for educational apps, up from 27 percent in April,” writes NYT.

The thinking at PBS is different now, a combination of digital and television. As the article notes, the network has “‘sent away’ a number of producers who came to PBS with ideas for television shows with no thought-out mobile component, telling them, ‘Come back when you have a plan.’”