Audio Video News

DirecTV in the north: On August 13, DirecTV Group Inc. has received clearance from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move one of its satellites into an orbital slot controlled by Telesat Canada, a move that will expand DirecTV's reach to an additional 24 markets. The El Sugundo, CA–based satellite service should soon be serving as many as 130 markets, and could add as many as 7 million new customers to its existing base of 13 million. The company's new Canadian service should be in full operation by early October.

Projectionists vs pirates: The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has awarded $500 each to two theater employees who alerted law enforcement officials of patrons illegally using camcorders to record first-run films. Projectionists Tony Bahena and Scott Bergin $500 rewards after each stopped people from trying to record movies and alerted police. Surveillance device of choice: night vision goggles. The in-theater antipiracy effort has thwarted at least 16 such attempts since June 21, the organization reported. The MPAA also announced the indictment of three Las Vegas residents accused of selling bootleg copies of feature films at swap meets. Michael Young, 46 of Henderson, NV, and Kelly Ryan, 31, and Kristin Trueman, 21, both of Las Vegas, have each been charged with one count of criminal conspiracy to commit willful infringement of copyright and one count of willful infringement of copyright. If found guilty, the defendants could face up to five years in prison and $250,000 fines on each count of piracy. Young reportedly sold 40 unauthorized DVDs to undercover cops at a flea market on July 23.

Cuts at Miramax: Miramax Films cut its workforce by 13% on Friday, August 13. Citing a slackening production schedule, the film studio laid off 65 workers, most of them in its New York headquarters and a few in Los Angeles. The majority of jobs lost were among middle- and lower-level staff. The cuts could rise to as high as 35% of the Miramax workforce of 435, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Olympic gold for NBC: The network could rake in as much as $50 million in profits from its broadcasts of the Athens Olympic Games. With more than 70 hours of coverage each day on NBC, CNBC, Bravo, USA, and Telemundo, the broadcasts will cover all 28 Olympic sports and will include an unprecedented amount of high-definition programming, with a total air time in excess of 1200 hours, more than any other previous Olympics, and more than the last five summer Olympic Games combined.

TiVo rebates: Responding to pressure from other makers of digital video recorders, TiVo announced a rebate program effective Monday, August 9. The DVR pioneer is offering $100 rebates on its own brand as well as on others using TiVo technology. TiVo plans to spend up to $50 million in marketing by the end of January 2005.