Thought Equity, the big, Denver-based syndicator of premium video content has raised $28 million in capital from Investcorp. Earlier this year, we sat down with CEO Kevin Schaff about the company and the scope of its distribution deals with some 400 media companies. We have republished the interview today. Andy Plesser

The International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) will present its first awards program for excellence across multiple platforms on Thursday, January 12 in a two-hour awards program live from Venetian and streamed live on YouTube. Last month, the day the nominations were announed, we spoke with Paul Kontonis, chairman of the IAWTV and a VP at Digitas.   He said that the [...]

In a major development for Web-only entertainment content, Yahoo will announce at CES an agreement with Tom Hanks to bring his futuristic animation series to Web. In September at Yahoo's Santa Monica studios, we spoke with Erin McPherson, head of original programming, about the company's commitment to Web original content. We have republished that video tonight. Andy Plesser

Starting out the week-long CES conference in Las Vegas on Monday will be a highly anticipated press conference with LG Electronics.  For an exploration of changing capabilities of the smart TV, we spoke last month with Matt Durgin, Director of Smart TV Content at LG Electronics USA. He is interviewed in this segment by Ross Rubin, Executive Director and Principal Analyst, Connected [...]

Former ABC News president David Westin says that as the appetite for digital journalism is going up, the economics for original reporting has become increasingly troubled for established news organizations.  As a means to create a more equitable financial marketplace between news producers and content aggregators, Westin heads NewsRight, a news content licensing technology platform which launched on Thursday. He calls the [...]

The TV business has a ways to go when it comes to TV Everywhere, said Tricia Lynch, Director of Content Strategy & Acquisition at Verizon, with CNET's senior writer Maggie Reardon interviewing her for Beet.TV. In Verizon's case, it currently offers programming from HBO, Turner, Viacom, ABC-Disney and others as part of its TV Everywhere service and wants to add more, Lynch said. She [...]

As it expands into TV Everywhere rollouts with its authentication tools, Adobe is also reaching into the gaming space with tools to power high-end console games. We spoke to Adobe's Jens Loeffler, a technical evangelist for the company, about Adobe's work in authentication and gaming, with CNET's senior writer Maggie Reardon interviewing him for Beet.TV. Adobe Pass, the company's authentication [...]

The world of "smart," or IP-connected television sets, is evolving on many levels from new paid Apps to advertising around Apps, to video chat and soon, more games, says LG's Matt Durgin, Director of Smart TV Content, in this interview. Durgin is interviewed in this segment by Ross Rubin,  Executive Director and Principal Analyst, Connected Intelligence at NPD Group. On Thursday, Google [...]

As Comcast preps to sell wireless service on behalf of Verizon, that landmark deal is unlikely to affect Verizon's multichannel efforts to compete with Comcast in TV, said Tricia Lynch, Director of Content Strategy & Acquisition at Verizon, with CNET's senior writer Maggie Reardon interviewing her for Beet.TV. To be sure, the Comcast-Verizon pact that calls for the companies to partner on the [...]

TV and tweeting goes hand in hand. Nearly half of smartphone or tablet owners 18 to 24 are frequently discussing TV shows on social networks while watching TV, according to Futurescape. That's why agencies like Digitas are devoting more resources to exploring how brands can participate in the new field of social TV and connected TV, said Ashley Swartz, SVP/Leader iTV [...]

After a robust 2011, online video should enjoy another year of rapid growth. eMarketer has said online video ad spend should rise 40% this year. Marketers say they'll move money from TV budgets and non-video display budgets, but they're also expecting organic growth, according to a Break Media report. Look for pre-roll formats and mobile video formats to drive the business. [...]

About 80 million connected TVs should ship this year, up from 60 million last year, and tech giant Adobe Systems is aiming to play a role in capturing both browser-based and app-centric alternative viewing. We spoke to Adobe's Jens Loeffler, a technical evangelist for the company, and CNET's senior writer Maggie Reardon interviewed him for Beet.TV.   "From an evolution perspective, it's [...]

As it expands into TV Everywhere rollouts with its authentication tools, Adobe is also reaching into the gaming space with tools to power high-end console games. We spoke to Adobe's Jens Loeffler, a technical evangelist for the company about Adobe's work in authentication, and CNET's senior writer Maggie Reardon interviewed him for Beet.TV. Already, Adobe Pass, the company's authentication offering, is powering [...]

While industry titan Microsoft's swan song at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has grabbed headlines, the annual convention will be a major showcase for convergence and connected TVs. Indeed, given the spreading use of tablets and the increasing ease of cutting the cord, convergence is finally upon consumers and advertisers, said Ashley Swartz, SVP/Leader iTV Practice at Digitas, [...]

As part of its efforts to expand the reach of original Web shows, at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the International Academy of Web Television will offer two days of conference programming devoted to the business models behind original production for the Web, said Paul Kontonis, Chairman of IAWTV, in this interview with Beet.TV. The conference track is [...]

Internet services giant Akamai closed out 2011 with the purchase of mobile network acceleration software maker Cotendo in a deal that analysts say gives the company a greater berth in cloud computing. We caught up with Akamai's Industry Marketing Manager Andrew Grant in New York about the company's efforts on behalf of media clients. CNET's senior writer Maggie Reardon interviewed him for Beet.TV. He [...]

Although Windows phones have a small position in the U.S. marketplace, consumers are positively inclined to give the device a try, says Ross Rubin, Executive Director and Principal Analyst, Connected Intelligence at NPD Group. Rubin says the initial opportunity for Microsoft are budget-conscious consumers who are not users of the iPhone or the Android system. He calls the new OS "approachable [...]

The NFL, which limits live streaming in the United States to Verizon smart phones, will make its games available on tablets and computers for cable subscribers for the 2012 season, says Hans Schroeder, SVP of Media Strategy and Development, in this interview with Beet.TV. In a big digital distribution development for this season, the NFL is streaming the Super Bowl via [...]

Gearing up for increased demands for political news in 2012, NBC News has launched a portal for all the network's shows (on both NBC and MSNBC), news reports and for Web-only programming, explains Vivian Schiller, Chief Digital Officer of NBC News, in this interview with Beet.TV. The interview was conducted Wednesday, on the sixth floor of the NBC News headquarters, where [...]

The New York Times has created an iPad App to present the paper's fashion and style coverage called the Collection. The App also includes coverage from the International Herald Tribune. For an overview on the App and the opportunities of the iPad to uniquely present multimedia content, we spoke with Fiona Spruill, Editor of Emerging Platforms atThe New York Times. Andy Plesser