World Screen

REDMOND: Microsoft is releasing a software upgrade for the Xbox 360 that allows users to access new digital entertainment content, including video channels from the likes of YouTube, HBO and Epix, along with the enhanced features of voice-controlled and hand-gesture-based navigation and content search through Kinect. Partnerships are in place …

ATLANTA: Cox Communications is following in the footsteps of other U.S. cable operators such as Time Warner, Cablevision and DirectTV in launching an app for the iPad that works as an additional screen for viewers to get live streaming video. The Cox TV Connect app includes access to national cable …

LOS ANGELES: The half-hour comedy Web Therapy, which started as a web original before getting picked up for TV, has been given an order for a second season from Showtime. The series stars Lisa Kudrow (Friends) as Fiona Wallice, a self-professed and self-serving psycotherapist who treats patients via a webcam. …

LOS ANGELES: David Burtka is on board to serve as a correspondent for E! News as well as specials and live red-carpet coverage through a new talent deal with the celebrity- and entertainment-focused network. Burtka will begin reporting for E! News full time as of January 2012. The talent deal …

NEW YORK: Electus/Engine Distribution has secured international deals in more than 60 markets for A Michael Bublé Christmas, a holiday variety show set to air in the U.S. tonight on NBC. The special, hosted by Michael Bublé, a multi-Grammy-Award-winning Canadian artist, has been picked up by major networks internationally, including …

ARLINGTON: The Consumer Electronics Association has tapped Robert Kyncl, the VP of global content partnerships at YouTube, to deliver the Entertainment Matters keynote at the 2012 International CES. The CES is scheduled for January 10 to 13 in Las Vegas. Kyncl will discuss at CES the opportunity for the web as …

NEW YORK: News Corporation will “do what’s necessary” to grow Hulu as a business, Chase Carey, the deputy chairman, president and COO of News Corp., told the crowd at the UBS investor conference. “To have a franchise that has the reach and the brand and the audience that Hulu does …

NEW YORK: FilmBuff is partnering with international platforms You On Demand (China), Nyoo TV (India) and Voddler (Sweden), among others, to bring independent entertainment to global audiences. FilmBuff is also partnering with BigPond (Australia), FetchTV (Australia) and Rogers On Demand Online (Canada), in an extension on FilmBuff’s already existing worldwide …

PHILADELPHIA: Comcast Corporation has named Neil Smit as the CEO of Comcast Cable Communications, reporting directly to Brian Roberts. Smit, who joined Comcast in March 2010, also serves as the president of Comcast Cable and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s cable business. He reports to Roberts, the …

NEW YORK: Fitch Ratings’ 2012 outlook for the U.S. Media & Entertainment sector is stable, according to the credit agency’s latest report, which cites that OTT services are not expected to lead to widespread cord-cutting in the year ahead.  The outlook predicts that media companies have enough financial flexibility to …