turner

Bleacher Report, one of the largest sports news sites on the Web, was acquired today by Turner Broadcasting System.

The San Francisco-based startup focuses on delivering targeted sports news to about 10 million unique users a month. But unlike many sites whose content is written by a limited in-house staff, Bleacher Report relies on a wide network of mainly volunteer contributing writers around the country and the world who are passionate about the teams they love and who pen opinion and reaction pieces at a heavy pace in exchange for a prestigious slot on the site.

Terms of the deal … Read more

Although Google TV's lack of support from content providers has proven troublesome for the platform, it appears that at least one network is ready to try its luck with the service.

According to GigaOm blog NewTeeVee, Turner Broadcasting, which owns both TBS and TNT, will bring full-length episodes of its shows, including "Closer" and "Falling Skies," to Google TV. In order for people to watch the shows, they will need to verify that they are, in fact, subscribers to Turner's networks, NewTeeVee says.

Google TV launched last year to much fanfare. However, soon after … Read more

You might be more willing to watch video ads online than you think you are.

According to The New York Times, Turner Broadcasting, which owns TBS and TNT, recently tested how long people will watch television shows online with few ads, compared to how long they will watch shows with a slew of ads embedded in them. Jack Wakshlag, the company's chief research officer, told the Times that when viewers were presented with more ads, they would still "spend approximately the same amount of time watching episodes online."

According to the Times, which cited Turner's internal … Read more

Nobody epitomized the AOL of the late 1990s better than David Colburn, the foul-mouthed, bully-boy deal maker who oversaw the company's ad empire. Soon after AOL acquired Time Warner--a deal that was presented to the public as a merger, creating a company with a market cap of $350 billion--a Time Warner executive scolded Colburn for being disrespectful.

"You talk like you're buying us," said the Time Warner exec. Legend has it that Colburn fired back: "We are, you putz!"

Colburn's underlings had T-shirts made with his statement emblazoned on the chest. In … Read more

Not long after Google acquired YouTube, the search engine offered nearly $600 million in guaranteed revenue if Viacom--the parent company of MTV Networks, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures--licensed its TV shows and films to YouTube, records show.

News of Google's offer was revealed in documents released on Friday by a Manhattan federal court and reviewed by CNET. In March 2007, Viacom filed a copyright lawsuit against Google and YouTube and it has become one of the most watched legal disputes in the tech sector.

In a deposition given by Google co-founder Larry Page on October 1, 2009, a Viacom … Read more

The Rolling Stones really were the world's greatest rock and roll band in 1969. That was 40 years ago, but if you need proof to verify the ancient claim, check out the "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones In Concert--40th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set."

The Stones' live shows of the '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s were spectacles of frenzied energy, extravagant sets, video projections, and lots of flash, but "Ya Ya" was the real deal. The five Rolling Stones were the show, and that was more than enough. If you're going to only buy one live Stones CD, get "Ya Ya."

The original album was recorded over two nights at Madison Square Garden; I was there at one of those shows. I had a great time and bought the LP as soon as it came out. Still have it.

Keith Richards and Mick Taylor's yin vs. yang guitar styles meshed perfectly on "Midnight Rambler" and "Sympathy For The Devil." Mick Jagger and Richards paid tribute to the man who invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry, with a romping "Little Queenie." The new box set includes the original version on CD, plus a five-song EP from the same shows, with unplugged performances of "Prodigal Son" and "You Gotta Move." Sound quality is really good for a 1960s-era live recording, but I prefer the sound of the single disc "Ya Ya" SACD that came out in 2002, at least when it's played on a SACD player. … Read more

I am a sucker for cool kitchen tech. Sleek and shiny gadgets, digital anything--I see them, and I want them, regardless of whether I need them. So what do I want right now? The new Media Chef from Belling.

This sweet-looking 8-inch screen is a digital cookbook--but it's so much more. It comes with 48 built-in cooking lessons and exclusive content featuring British celebrity chef Brian Turner.

The included remote lets you pause, rewind, and play easily, and when you're not using it as a cookbook, the display makes a stunning calendar, MP3 player, or digital photo frame. … Read more

Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it is planning to open its first stores this fall, with at least some of the locations likely to be right near an Apple store.

"As we progress on our retail strategy there will be scenarios where we have stores in proximity to Apple," a representative told CNET News. "We are on track to open stores in the fall time frame."

The fall timing is not surprising. One would assume Microsoft would want to have the stores open in time for Windows 7's October 22 retail launch and for the … Read more