On Demand

DISH Network generated a fair amount of news over the past couple of weeks at CES and beyond. Here is a round-up of recent major announcements from the company:

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been working on TVOT NYC Intensive 2011, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format.

Due to the large volume of news being generated this week by the Cable Show, we are covering today's stories in abbreviated round-up/summary form:

UK cable operator, Virgin Media, said Friday that it is adding content from ESPN's ESPN Classic channel to its TV Choice VOD service, starting February 14th.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue.

Here is the first of two round-ups of interactive TV/multiplatform video-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

Due to the large volume of news coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicked off Wednesday in Las Vegas, we are covering stories in this issue in summary/round-up form. We anticipate that it will take us several days to catch up with all the news generated by the show: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us. Our regular news coverage will return shortly.

Comcast said Tuesday that it is marking Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th-October 15th) with a range of dedicated VOD programming, including movies, specials that highlight the people, landscape, cuisine, culture and music of Latin America, and features on top Hispanic/Latino entertainers. "Comcast is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and will provide more Latin On Demand content for our customers," Kim Taylor, Comcast's VP of multicultural marketing, said in a prepared statement. "Our Hispanic Heritage Month programming will be available in both English and Spanish, offering the most Hispanic content available in your home anytime."

In a posting on the company's blog, Wednesday, OTT specialist Boxee's VP of marketing, Andrew Kippen, revealed that Boxee has begun "adding the foundations of a new Movie Library" that will complement a TV Show Library that it rolled out in January as part of its Boxee Beta launch (note: the TV Show Library is designed to allow Boxee users to browse and search for full-length TV shows from major networks across the Web).

Video delivery technology provider, Harmonic, on Tuesday launched the NSG HectoQAM (NSG 9000-40G), which it bills as the first universal edgeQAM solution to deliver up to 648 QAM's per two-rack-unit chassis (compared to the 144 delivered by the company's existing line of edgeQAM's). In addition to its high density, the company says, the NSG 9000-40G incorporates "pioneering" new technologies that are designed to improve efficiency and ease-of-operation, including Harmonic's new EQAM Virtualization software technology and frequency agility for flexible placement of QAM's across the spectrum.

DVD rental/OTT video company, Netflix, and Relativity Media, the financing and production company behind such current-release movies as "Get Him to the Greek" and "Grown Ups," said Tuesday that they have signed a long-term agreement, under which major theatrically released films owned by Relativity will be licensed exclusively to Netflix for streaming to its subscribers on its "Watch Instantly" service during the pay-TV window (note: Netflix subscriptions that include the "Watch Instantly" service are priced from $8.99 per month). Until now, such films have been distributed via Relativity's studio releasing partners to premium TV channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz.

Struggling video rental chain, Blockbuster, said Tuesday that the latest Philips Blu-ray players, the 5320 and 7320 (note: the devices are built by Funai Electric-subsidiary, P&F, which is the exclusive licensee for Philips consumer television sets and home theater systems in North America), feature its transactional VOD service, Blockbuster On Demand. "Blockbuster On Demand gives customers instant access to the very latest new releases on the same day as DVD and Blu-ray," Bruce Anderson, Blockbuster On Demand's SVP and general manager, said in a prepared statement. "These new Philips Blu-ray players are a great way for you to enjoy the latest hit movies or cinema classics and we are excited to enhance that experience."