Business briefs: Dish, Disney sign deal for Internet-delivered TV
LOS ANGELES – Dish Network and Disney have reached a landmark deal that envisions the day when Dish will offer a Netflix-like TV service to people who’d rather stream TV over the Internet than put a satellite receiver on their roof.
The deal announced late Monday paves the way for Dish to offer live local broadcasts from ABC TV stations and programming from ABC Family, Disney Channel, ESPN and ESPN2 over mobile devices, set-top boxes and other means, similar to how Netflix’s video streams are delivered today.
No start date for such a service was announced.
As part of the new rights deal, Dish Network Corp. agreed to disable – for three days after the initial broadcast – a function on its Hopper digital video recorders that allows people to automatically record and strip out commercials from prime-time weeknight programming. But that’s only for programs on ABC, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co.
With the deal, both sides are dropping a legal battle between them over the so-called AutoHop function, which had threatened to cut into the revenue of media companies like Disney by stripping out ads.
Dish customers will also gain access for the first time to Disney’s WatchESPN, Watch Disney, Watch ABC Family and Watch ABC apps.
Experts heartened by rise in manufacturers’ orders
WASHINGTON – U.S. manufacturing expanded more quickly last month as companies received more orders and boosted their stockpiles.
A measure of production fell to its lowest level in nearly five years, likely a casualty of severe winter weather. But the rise in orders raises the possibility that factory output will rebound in coming months, economists said.
The Institute for Supply Management, a group of purchasing managers, said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 53.2 in February from 51.3 in January. The increase only partly reversed a five-point drop in January from December.
Still, any reading above 50 signals growth. And economists were encouraged by the increase in both new and backlogged orders.
‘Olympus’ TV spots too realistic for FCC
LOS ANGELES – It turns out that using emergency warning tones in a TV commercial with images of the White House blowing up and the flashing words “THIS IS NOT A TEST” is frowned upon by the government.
The Federal Communications Commission said Monday it was fining three media giants $1.9 million for using the official warning tones in an ad for the movie “Olympus Has Fallen” that had some complainants jumping out of bathtubs and racing to the TV screen.
The companies have 30 days to contest the fines or pay up.
The ad aired 108 times on Viacom Inc. networks like BET and Comedy Central, 38 times on NBCUniversal channels like USA and Syfy and 13 times on the Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN in March 2013.
Two executives leaving in Microsoft shake-up
REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft said former Skype CEO Tony Bates and Chief Marketing Officer Tami Reller are leaving the company.
New CEO Satya Nadella announced the news in a blog post Monday.
Chris Capossela was promoted to executive vice president and chief marketing officer, while Mark Penn, the executive vice president of advertising and strategy, was named chief strategy officer.