nbc

Questions rise over Skype wiretapping

It's time to tap into the juiciest tech conversations for Monday:

Microsoft has not given a straight answer about whether its Skype service can facilitate law enforcement wiretapping of conversations. Previously, the online chat service was so heavily encrypted that the company went on the record about not being able to participate with wiretapping.

But Skype just made a change to its technology, and some say the changes make it possible to intercept a call. But when asked, Microsoft didn't admit if wiretapping was possible. It told Slate that Skype "co-operates with law enforcement agencies as much … Read more

3D Olympics channel available to 80 percent of households

After the 2010 World Cup, major sporting events broadcast in 3D have been few and far between. NBC and Panasonic aim to change that by offering a new dedicated channel delivering a massive 242 hours of coverage in the third dimension.

More important, chances are you'll actually have access to it. NBC says the channel will be available to nearly 80 percent of U.S. households, which includes nearly every major cable provider as well as Verizon's Fios TV and satellite provider DirecTV. Notable absentee from the list so far is Dish Network. … Read more

Aereo's founder has broadcast TV in a headlock--now what? (Q&A)

NEW YORK--Broadcast TV is the last frontier for Web video, and Aereo founder Chet Kanojia has just stuck a tiny antenna into the virgin turf to claim it for himself.

Last week, a federal district court denied a request for a preliminary injunction against Aereo that was sought by two groups of TV broadcasters. The injunction would have required Aereo, a Web TV service, to halt operations. In their lawsuits, broadcasters such as NBC, Fox, ABC and CBS (parent company of CNET) accuse Aereo of ripping off their programming without compensating them.

Aereo says consumers are the ones accessing this … Read more

Microsoft and NBC officially call it quits

The Internet partnership of Microsoft and NBC is officially over.

NBC News announced this evening that it had acquired full control of MSNBC.com from the software giant and was rebranding the site as NBCNews.com. NBC will continue to provide news content to MSN.com, a Microsoft news portal, which will reciprocate by sending traffic back to the network, NBC said.

For the short term, MSNBC.com will mirror the home page of NBCNews.com and eventually become the address of MSNBC TV.

"It'll have a new name and a new URL, but everything else will be … Read more

NBC Olympics to stream games live on mobile devices

NBC Sports and Adobe Systems have teamed up to give fans two apps that stream the Olympics live on mobile devices, record footage for playback, and share the experience through social media.

The apps -- a live-streaming app for the more than 3,500 hours of content, and a companion app loaded with additional content launched today. The apps are now available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch via Apple's App Store, and select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play. (For Apple users, the apps seems a bit hard to find in iTunes. Get them here and … Read more

Microsoft and NBC to part ways; MSNBC to lose the 'MS'

NBC Universal plans to buy back Microsoft's remaining control of the MSNBC.com site, putting an end to the two companies' partnership, the Daily Beast reported today.

The network will rebrand the Web site and drop Microsoft's "MS" to create NBCNews.com, unnamed sources told the Beast.

The companies plan to announce the split "within days," the report said, but a NBC representative told the news site that no deal has been struck yet. The site's employees, however, have been notified, according to the report.

Microsoft originally invested $220 million for a 50 … Read more

Comcast to pay $800,000 to settle FCC broadband probe

Comcast has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a Federal Communications Commission probe into the cable giant's broadband marketing practices after its merger with NBC Universal.

The settlement came after an FCC investigation found that Comcast representatives were not adequately marketing its standalone broadband service, a violation of a condition for the carrier's merger with NBC Universal that required Comcast to "visibly offer and actively market" the standalone Internet service for three years.

"Today's action demonstrates that compliance with commission orders is not optional," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. &… Read more

Networks are hopping mad over Dish's commercial skipping

In today's show, we're putting filters on Facebook, paying with our phones and watching the networks get hoppin' mad:

A battle is brewing in court between the major television networks and Dish Network's commercial-skipping Hopper DVR. The fight centers around a feature in the Hopper DVR called Auto Hop, which lets users instantly skip commercials for a show recorded the day prior from a major network during prime time. (No need for a fast-forward button!) Fox, NBC and CBS are suing Dish, arguing that commercial skipping violates copyright. And Fox added another layer to it, saying that … Read more

NBC to live-stream all sports from London Olympics

NBC is taking a big step with this summer's Olympics that is sure to please Internet viewers.

Reversing an earlier policy, the network is expected to formally announce tomorrow that all 32 sports at the Olympic Games in London will be streamed live at NBCOlympics.com, The New York Times reports.

"Whatever is on schedule that day, if cameras are on it, we'll stream it," Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media, told the paper. "The hot topic is always, 'Why don't you show all your sports live?' We … Read more