Mediagazer: Amazon Makes a Big Move, Snags Older HBO Shows for Web Streaming (Peter Kafka/Re/code)

5:00 PM ET, April 23, 2014

Top News:

Amazon and HBO Ink Exclusive Multi-Year Deal to Bring Award-Winning HBO Programming to Prime Members — For the first time ever, favorite HBO series like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Big Love, Eastbound & Down, Oz, Band of Brothers and Deadwood, as well as early seasons …

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Peter Kafka / Re/code:

Amazon Makes a Big Move, Snags Older HBO Shows for Web Streaming — You still can't get new HBO shows, like this season's “Game of Thrones,” without paying for TV. — But starting in May, you'll be able to get some of the premium cable channel's older stuff online — via an Amazon Prime subscription.

Gautham Nagesh / Wall Street Journal:

FCC to propose letting broadband providers give some traffic preferential treatment — FCC to Propose New ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules — Proposal Would Allow Broadband Providers to Charge Content Companies for Consumer Access — WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission plans …

Discussion: The Verge, Broadcasting & Cable, ZDNet, @zpower, @reckless, @tpdorsey, Ars Technica, @jeffjarvis, @thedextriarchy, Engadget, @scottthurm, @geraldfseib, Reuters and Re/code

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Gannett's broadcast revenue soars, circulation revenue slips — Revenue from broadcasting in Gannett's first quarter just about doubled over the same period a year earlier, the company announced in an earnings report Wednesday. Gannett attributed the 99.5 percent rise in broadcast revenue …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, NetNewsCheck Latest, USA Today, Reuters, Broadcasting & Cable, Gannett Company, Inc, TVNewsCheck.com, @abeaujon and Wall Street Journal

James Ball / Guardian:

The Upshot, Vox and FiveThirtyEight: data journalism's golden age, or TMI? — A New York Times site completes the trio started by Nate Silver and Ezra Klein. Maybe it's all a little too much information — An interactive feature on The Upshot presents five different rival models of the 2014 Senate race.

Angela Haggerty / The Drum:

Financial Times targets younger readership in digital campaign — A digital advertising campaign from the Financial Times has been launched to target a younger readership. — The campaign was created with digital agency Essence and will run on digital poster sites at London commuter stations as well as Facebook and Twitter.

Discussion: Financial Times

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Andy Coulson: I quit David Cameron role due to phone-hacking coverage — Prime minister's former spin doctor tells court of the reasons for his resignations from No 10 and the News of the World — Andy Coulson resigned as David Cameron's spin doctor in January 2011 because his ability …

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:
Andy Coulson denies ‘covering up’ phone hacking at News of the World

Discussion: BBC, The Independent, Sydney Morning Herald, Reuters, Bloomberg, Latest, thedrum.com, Associated Press, UK - The Huffington Post and Associated Press

Capital New York:

The 60-second interview: Ayesha Siddiqi, Buzzfeed Ideas editor — CAPITAL: Buzzfeed Ideas is now in its fourth week. What was your editorial vision for the site when you were hired, and how close to that vision has it been so far? — SIDDIQI: I've been very lucky to join a company that trusts my vision for this space.

Yuras Karmanau / Associated Press:

Pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine confirm they're holding Vice's Simon Ostrovsky captive — Pro-Russian Insurgents Hold Journalist Captive — DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine admitted on Wednesday that they are holding an American journalist who has not been seen since early Tuesday.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

AOL Launches Free Streaming Movies in Pact with Miramax — AOL is now playing in the movie biz. — The Internet media company inked a deal with Miramax to deliver a selection of its full-length films to U.S. users, available to watch for free (with ads) across a range of devices.

Discussion: Gigaom, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, FierceOnlineVideo News and Hollywood Reporter

Francesca Bacardi / Variety:

Facebook Exec Says Oculus Rift May Expand Into Movies — USC professor Jonathan Taplin and Cory Ondrejka, Facebook's VP of mobile engineering, addressed the future of mobile technology, specifically with regard to Facebook, in the keynote presentation at Tuesday's Hollywood IT Summit, held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, TheHill, The Raw Story and Engadget

Matthew Belloni / Hollywood Reporter:

Quentin Tarantino's Gawker Lawsuit Dismissed But Can Be Refiled — A judge grants the website's motion to dismiss the suit over the leaked “Hateful Eight” script because the director “failed to adequately plead facts establishing direct infringement” by people who clicked on the link.

Discussion: Variety, FishbowlNY, Deadline.com, Plagiarism Today, AceShowBiz.com, UPROXX, Sky News, Contactmusic.com, Guardian, Starpulse and @nicknotned

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

Megaupload Sues Hong Kong Over Unlawful Shutdown — Well over two years have passed since Megaupload was taken offline, and the U.S. Government still hasn't found a way to serve the Hong Kong based company. — During all this time the Hong Kong authorities have kept Megaupload's assets locked up …

Discussion: Softpedia News and @rothken

Cecilia Kang / Washington Post:

Justices test Aereo on copyright issue but raise concern about harming cloud services — The Supreme Court will decide the fate of Aereo, an Internet start-up that's frightening the TV industry with an old-school technology: the antenna. Technology reporter Cecilia Kang …