Technology, Streaming Video | featured news

The Internet company signed a deal for exclusive streaming rights to past episodes of “Saturday Night Live” to gain an edge in a small market for digital video advertising.

Hulu, the privately held Internet streaming TV service, will generate about $695 million in revenue in 2012 and finish the year with more than 3 million paying subscribers, the company's CEO said on Monday.

Netflix’s video subscription service has trumped pay-TV channels and grabbed the rights to show Disney movies shortly after they finish their runs in theaters. The multiyear licensing agreement announced Tuesday represents a breakthrough for Netflix as it tries to add more recent movies to its popular service that streams video over high-speed Internet connections.

The Twitter hashtag #NBCfail – about the American network’s Olympic shortfalls — is covering a lot of ground. But a key early frustration was the online viewing experience.

A look at media coverage of the Summer Olympics: Even before NBC signed on for its coverage of the Summer Olympics in London on Friday, it drew a storm online for its decision not to stream the opening ceremony digitally. Despite the grumbling, it's a decision that may pay off for the network.

Larry King is returning as a talk show host this week, with his new home the Internet. "Larry King Now" is produced by Ora TV, a new digital venture backed by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Ora TV is announcing a deal to also make "Now" available through the online service Hulu and Hulu Plus.

Amazon.com Inc unveiled a new effort to develop original comedy and children's TV shows to distribute over the company's video streaming service.

Google is adding 600 movies from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to the titles it has available for rent on YouTube and also Google Play, its digital content store for Android-powered mobile devices.

Tom Hanks' long gestating Web series is coming to Yahoo. "Electric City," an animated futuristic series Hanks has been developing for years, will premiere on Yahoo this spring.

Move over, Web surfing. Netflix movies now take up more of the Internet pipes going into North American homes. A study published Tuesday by Sandvine Inc. shows that Netflix movies and TV shows account for nearly 30 percent of traffic into homes during peak evening hours, compared with less than 17 percent for Web browsing.