Entertainment and Arts

LOS ANGELES –  7-Eleven, the world's largest store chain, is quickly making a name for itself as a marketer that's open to digital experimentation.

LOS ANGELES — Film and TV star Kevin Pollak, whose career includes roles in such hits as "Usual Suspects" and "A Few Good Men," just inked deals with Amazon and Hulu for the entire library of his one-year-old Internet talk show, he told Beet.TV in an exclusive interview we snagged last week at the NATPE […]

LOS ANGELES — Disney’s Web original studio has a distribution deal for its I Heart Vampires series to run on BeeTV, the Japanese mobile broadcaster.

LOS ANGELES — The adult entertainment biz, long on the leading edge of cable and Web pay-per-view, is entering the world of 3-D video with Hustler's release of "This Ain't Avatar XXX," the company's biggest budget film to date.

NextNewNetworks, the New York-based producer and distributor of entertainment Web video, is going to greatly expand its offerings by creating a platform for hundreds of independent video producers.

Alloy Entertainment plans to launch four to six digital series a year and is also inking international distribution deals too for those shows.

One of the most exciting uses of video as performance art can be seen in the current Broadway production of Sondheim on Sondheim.

LOS ANGELES — Cable operator Cox announced that it is rolling out a new program guide for its customers that integrates linear channels,

SAN FRANCISCO — The Writers Guild of America, the big trade union representing film and television writers, is developing rules around writing original online video content. 

Epix, the premium HD movie channel co-owned by Viacom and Lion's Gate, has a big distribution deal with Dish Networks which adds 14 million more subscribers, Reuters reports.

SAN FRANCISCO — Comcast's TV Everywhere, an online service for its cable subscribers, is providing DVR-type functionality that is driving consumption of video on its Fancast by a factor 2X, according to Karin GIlford, Senior VP.

Blip.tv, the New York based video sharing and services company that publishes episodic Web video shows had 85 million video views in February, according to report by Will Richmond in VideoNuze.

AUSTIN – Fox TV Studios is using its new digital studio 15 Gigs as an incubator for new types of content that might also make the leap to the TV, said  Rachel Webber, director of digital strategy and development at Fox TV Studios. 

AUSTIN — YouTube Rental, the video sharing site's nascent pay-per-view service that launched in January with a handful of independent films, is becoming a paid platform for creators of education, travel, and entertainment programming, according to YouTube's Sara Pollack.

MILPITAS, CA — With social media usage across Facebook, Twitter, and niche social sites continuing to climb, it's inevitable that a number of start-ups will emerge to piggyback on the opportunity.

Premium cable network Starz Media has a new iPhone application and online comic books as part of its promotion strategy for its upcoming original series "Spartacus."

Fox Television Studios' new digital shop 15 Gigs is looking to ink deals with creative shops and Web producers as part of its mission to incubate Web talent for television.

Comcast-owned video destination Fancast.com lured 11.3 million unique visitors in October, nearly double its 6.5 million count in September, according to comScore.

NEW YORK, NY — Video is an essential part of Yahoo's business, CEO Carol Bartz told me yesterday at the company's news conference here.

CBS-owned TV.com plans to launch its first original Web series this month with a weekly recap of prime-time programming, the New Media Minute has learned. The show will be hosted by Web veteran Julie Alexandria. The show will include clips, commentary, and an interactive poll.