Video on Demand (VOD)

Burger King teamed up with DirecTV for their "Whopper Lust" campaign -- a channel that viewers can watch burgers spin and get rewarded with Whoppers.

Italian telephone company Fastweb launched Chili TV, a broadband video-on-demand service offering Web surfers a combination of free movies, rentals, and titles that can be purchased.

Verizon launched a new version of its Interactive Media Guide for FiOS TV subscribers in a few small markets with several new features, including a mosaic screen displaying thumbnail videos from the most popular channels at any given time.

A Silicon Valley-based social-TV/programming-discovery company which bills itself as having been founded by veterans of Google, Microsoft, IDEO, MTV Networks and Stanford University's artificial intelligence program has recently emerged from stealth mode with two new products and a partnership with MTV.

Rovi Corporation today announced TotalGuide xD, a customizable advanced media guide that connects and extends the cable video experience from set-top boxes to mobile devices, including tablets and smart phones. TotalGuide xD provides multiple system operators (MSOs) with a solution that addresses the rapid changes taking place within the digital entertainment market, as entertainment consumption quickly moves to an ‘anytime, anyplace' experience.

Digital video networking specialist, BigBand Networks, says that it will use next week's CableLabs Winter Conference (February 27th-March 2nd) to unveil a "hybrid approach" to managing HTTP adaptive streaming traffic which it claims will help cable MSO's to expand their broadcast TV and VOD services to their subscribers' IP-connected consumer electronics devices, such as iPads and other tablets, netbooks, PC's and gaming consoles.

Hulu signed a new content partnership with Viacom that will bring the entertainment giant's programs back to web video viewers - but much of it will be behind Hulu's new subscription pay wall.  

Today, for the first time, a full-blown 24/7 U.S. cable channel is now available directly to consumers, outside of the bundle, via a popular over-the-top device.

Internet connected TV's are on the rise according to media research publisher Futurescape. In five years almost 40% of TVs produced in the US will have at least one TV set in the home with internet connections. Samsung is a little bit more aggressive with their numbers. They predict 70% of all their TVs will be internet connected by 2014 even though they are only at 17% right now.