Much to the consternation and some amount of ridicule from the fans, NBC Universal-owned cable channel Sci-Fi has gone Syfy. Yes, that’s the name of the new brand that launched today, on the networks and online. The renaming is a bid for something more memorable than the generic Sci-Fi branding…

I’m sitting outside on a lovely Friday morning, sipping a cup of tea and catching up on the news. What’s wrong with this picture? It’s the final Friday of Wimbledon and I’m reduced to either watching a pirated feed from a place where the broadcasters value live sports or following…

A flurry of stories this week bit again at Hulu‘s hoped-for upcoming UK launch, again betting on a September launch. There’s little new here - We learned nine months ago the News Corp/NBC/Disney (NYSE: DIS) US online TV venture wanted to open shop in the UK depending on the outcome…

Hulu has kept a tight lid on its ad sales data over the past year, but a new report from Screen Digest suggests that the premium online video site brought in nearly $45 million in ad revenue in 2008. The report looks at the state of the ad-supported online TV…

»  Will Threshold Entertainment’s lawsuit against Midway over rights to Mortal Kombat hurt Warner Bros.’ $33 million bid for some of Midway’s assets? [Variety] »  Jeff Zucker has sent NBCU’s CFO Lynn Calpeter to see what’s going on with Universal’s “process” because it hasn’t been working for them so far.…

Forget the international date line. I crossed the international tennis line when I flew to the UK this weekend, leaving behind a place where I could follow most of Wimbledon live online at no charge on NBC, which even will stream the finals live, and ESPN (NYSE: DIS)  for one…

Networks like A&E, Scripps, and possibly even *CBS* are ready to test whether the much-hyped TV Everywhere concept will serve as a lucrative business model for online video, but there is news that premium video sites like Hulu and TV.com are finally starting to deliver ad rates that are greater…

Update: The release is out with the details of the deal, here: “NBCU will sell advertising inventory through Microsoft’s Admira marketplace, enabling advertisers and agencies to plan and optimize media buys on NBCU’s national networks and local broadcast station, KNBC Los Angeles.” NBC is the first major TV network to…

In the two years since Jeff Zucker became president and CEO of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), he’s shifted the digital strategy more than once; played an important role in creating the joint venture dubbed “ClownCo” by doubters and transforming it into Hulu; approved putting thousands of Olympic hours on broadband;…

For NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), the analog buck and the digital dime both stop at the desk of Jeff Zucker. From that desk on the 52nd floor of 30 Rock, the NBCU CEO can see a wall full of flat-screen monitors, an expansive view of Manhattan and, on a Tuesday…

Just as *IAC* shuts down Black-centric search engine RushmoreDrive.com, comes news that NBCU is debuting TheGrio.com, its own news and online video property targeting African-Americans. The site features original video content, as well as news and clips aggregated from sources like msnbc.com. TheGrio.com will compete with Slate’s TheRoot.com, and the…

When Universal Music Group announced in April it was partnering with YouTube to create its own online music destination called Vevo, the first question that most asked was would other majors be invited to participate and if so would they follow?  Neither Universal nor Google (NSDQ: GOOG) shed much light…

If all goes as planned, Hearst and *Disney* could wind up as 50-50 partners in a joint venture combining A&E Television Networks with Lifetime Entertainment—eventually. *NBC Universal* would start with a stake in the combination as one of the three participants in the current AETN joint venture; Hearst and Disney…

An interesting remake of a TV programming deal may be in the works. Citing multiple sources, B&C is reporting that Hearst, NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and Disney (NYSE: DIS) are considering merging their A&E Television Networks joint venture with Lifetime, which is owned equally by Hearst and Disney through a…

Blog network Sugar Inc. is trying to transform itself into a diversified media company, with the purchase of another e-commerce startup and a foray into offline entertainment. Sugar said Monday it had purchased video shopping site Shopflick.com and had also raised $16 million in a third round of funding from…

Jean-Briac (JB) Perrette gains an expanded portfolio in the latest NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) management shift. Perrette was appointed president of NBCU Digital Distribution in 2006; he’s now president of “Digital & Affiliate Distribution and Content Distribution Strategy.” Yes, it’s possible to have too many words in a title but…

Nevermind the TV, or Boxee for that matter. Hulu, the JV video site, has launched a new desktop app, which is intended to take the online video experience and make it into more of a lean back experience. Think of it as a Media Center experience, with only Hulu content…

Clearly, we are a very long way from seeing Lost or 24 streamed live to the internet, but Hulu appears to be at least crawling in that direction.  First, it streamed presidential debates and several of President Obama speeches live, as well as ball dropping in Times Square on New…

Most cities can barely support two metro newspapers, but the race to become hyperlocal among media companies could recreate the newspaper battles of old. New York City is shaping up as a potential hot spot for a hyper-local media war, as both Huffington Post and NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) aim…