Business

Writers Guild Locked in Dispute with Comcast Over Organizing Efforts on Shows Including ‘Chelsea Lately’

The Writers Guild of America, West is locked in a dispute with Comcast over its efforts to organize more than two dozen writers who work on shows that air on Comcast-owned networks,reports the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town blog. The…

Electronic Goodies High on the List of Presents People Want This Holiday Season–And Men and Women Have Different Desires; Guess Which Gadget Tops the List

According to a survey by CNET, the holiday gifts that people desire this year are heavily oriented toward consumer electronics, with differing choices for men and women, B&C reports. The top item overall is the Apple iPad, according to the…

Home Entertainment Story #1: Wait, Is This A Dream Within A Dream? No, It’s Not. Some Rental Kiosks Bump First Night Rental Fee To $3 For ‘Inception’

In a test of premium pricing, some DVD rental kiosks have raised the first night rental price to $3, reports the Los Angeles Times’ Company Town blog. The kiosk’s, found under the Blockbuster brand, on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010, started renting…

MTV, VH1 and Viacom Sued Over Reality Show

New York Daily News gossip columnists George Rush and Joanna Molloy have filed a $30,000 lawsuit against MTV, VH1, their parent Viacom and two production companies for breach of contract, reports Deadline.com. According to the suit, Rush and Molloy pitched…

Diller Steps Down as CEO of IAC; Company Buys Out Malone

Reuters reports that Barry Diller is stepping down as chief executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp, and that the company has bought out one of its largest shareholders, John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. Liberty sold its equity stake in IAC for $220 million…

FTC Proposes That Consumers Get a ‘Do Not Track’ Option Online So Their Browsing and Buying Habits Cannot Be Monitored; Billions of Dollars Could Be Affected

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed that consumers be given the option to ensure that their browsing and buying habits online NOT be tracked, The New York Times reports. Edward Wyatt and Tanzina Vega write in The Times that if…

Why Google May Be Willing to Pay $5 Billion For Groupon

"Google may be on the verge of clinching its biggest deal yet with a reported $5-billion bid for Groupon, the fast-growing company that is blitzing the Internet with daily coupon deals." So writes Jessica Guynn and Andrea Chang in the…

Comcast Open To FCC Help in Level 3 Brouhaha; Dispute Centers Around Internet Interconnection Fees

"Comcast is willing to have the Federal Communications Commission oversee negotiations with Level 3 Communications to resolve their dispute over Internet interconnection fees, the cable operator said in a letter to the agency Tuesday," reports Multichannel News. As the article…

Interested in Owning the ‘Kardashian Card’? Fuhgeddaboudit

Plans for the pricey Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard have apparently screeched to a halt after the card was widely criticized, ABCNews.com reported. Among the issues that alarmed the critics: the card’s hefty $99.95 annual fee. A lawyer for Kim, Khloe and…

Check This Out: What Do Netflix and Berkshire Hathaway Have in Common?

Shares of Netflix hit a record $200 on Monday, Nov. 29, 2010, giving the online-video and DVD rental service entry into an exclusive club of companies with expensive shares and high market value,reports Bloomberg News. Netflix is now one of…