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Event tickets seller Ticketmaster says it is going to let artists and sports teams raise and lower the price of tickets to reflect demand while they’re being sold.
The idea is for promoters to get the most value they can from top-demand front-row seats and to cut the profit scalpers can reap from those. Get the full story »
Viacom Inc. said Friday that Cablevision Systems Corp. lacks the rights to show its popular cable channels on the cable operator’s new live TV iPad app. Get the full story »
Satellite television company Dish Network Corp can go ahead with its $320 million purchase of Blockbuster Inc, a bankruptcy judge ruled on Thursday. Get the full story »
A group of students from Chicago’s Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, a two-year digital media vocational school in the Loop, will be showing off 3D short films at the Tribeca Film Festival later this month as part of a new partnership with LG Electronics USA. Get the full story »
Poggled, a Chicago startup that provides deals on nightlife and bars, has raised $5.6 million in a round of funding that will let the company expand into new markets and build additional features for its mobile applications. Get the full story »
A Blockbuster at Foster and Pulaski in Chicago, Feb. 24, 2011. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
A bankruptcy auction for movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc kicked off with a $284 million bid from Dish Network Corp on Tuesday, quickly topped by bids from rival groups led by billionaire Carl Icahn and hedge fund Monarch Alternative Capital
The auction in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan will decide the fate of the movie rental chain, which filed for bankruptcy last September. The company put itself up for sale in February after a reorganization plan fell apart. Get the full story »
A bankruptcy auction of Blockbuster Inc. was set to stretch into a second day after preliminary talks between bidders and the movie rental chain’s representatives dragged on late Monday, a company spokesman said. Get the full story »
Heads up anyone with a Blockbuster gift card. Better use it right away.
As part of Blockbuster’s bankruptcy process, the movie rental company will not honor any of its gift cards after April 6, as technically the company will be sold to creditors. Get the full story »
Winfrey’s Chicago-based Harpo Productions confirmed Friday that the final original episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will air May 25. Winfrey announced live on the show in November 2009 that she would end its run after 25 years. She since has launched cable’s Oprah Winfrey Network.
From Bloomberg News | Actor Warren Beatty has won a suit against Tribune Co. over television and movie rights to Dick Tracy.
A man tries out a Nintendo 3DS, which displays graphics in 3D without the use of 3D glasses, in Paris on March 24, 2011. (Elodie Le Maou/AFP/Getty Images)
Having watched its once-mighty handheld-gaming business come under attack by touch-screen smartphones sporting $1 game apps, Nintendo Co. is betting big that it can keep gamers paying for what it considers a premium experience.
This weekend, the Japanese videogame giant will launch the 3DS as its latest entry into a fast-changing market. Modeled after its hugely popular DS console, the gizmo is the first gaming console dedicated to 3D games — without the need for special glasses. The device carries a price tag of $250, and games have been priced at $40 apiece. Get the full story »
Amid an emerging rivalry between traditional pay TV operators and rising star Netflix Inc., CBS Corp.’s Showtime pay TV service confirmed Wednesday that back seasons of current original series like “Dexter” and “Californication” will not be available on Netflix’s streaming service as of this summer. Get the full story »
The Sahara hotel-casino, a Rat Pack-era jewel of the Las Vegas Strip that age and a prolonged recession had tarnished, will close in May, owner SBE Entertainment announced Friday.
Chief Executive Sam Nazarian, the Los Angeles nightclub impresario who bought the Moroccan-themed casino in 2007 and vowed to restore its hipness, said in a statement that running the property was “no longer economically viable.” Get the full story »
Majestic Star Casino LLC on Thursday won confirmation of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan after striking deals to end a long-running dispute with the city of Gary and broker peace with tax authorities.
Judge Kevin Gross signed off on the restructuring scheme for Majestic Star at a hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del., clearing the way for some of the casinos controlled by Detroit mogul Don Barden to move ahead without him. Get the full story »
Tower Ticker | Eddie and Jobo are back with CBS Radio in Chicago, and Jack’s been jilted. If it’s not quite like old times at WJMK-FM 104.3, it will be closer than it has been.
Beginning at 1:04 p.m. Monday, the one-time oldies station will switch from the Jack FM variety format it’s embraced for almost six years to a mix of hits from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. Gone will be the disembodied recorded voice of Jack (Howard Cogan), replaced by actual live and local on-air personalities.
Rebranded as K-Hits, though the call letters won’t change, WJMK will also bring the long-time team of Ed Volkman and Joe “Jobo” Bohannon (nee Colborn) back not only to morning radio as 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekday hosts but also to CBS Radio, which cut them loose from WBBM-FM 96.3 in late 2008 with many months left on their multimillion-dollar contracts.
