Sony, NBC ink content deal for PlayStation (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Sony Computer Entertainment America will make movies and television programs from NBC Universal available to buy or rent through Sony’s PlayStation Network, the companies said on Tuesday.

Under the deal, films from Universal Studios Home Entertainment and programs from NBC will be offered for download through the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable in the United States.

With the addition of NBC Universal, Sony said its video service now features more than 1,300 movies and 4,500 TV episodes.

The content is being offered via the PlayStation Network, which has almost 9 million registered accounts in the U.S. and more than 20 million worldwide.
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(Reuters) Telecom firms eager to help U.S. spend $7.2 billion

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lobbyists, telecommunications industry officials and others crowded into a public meeting on Tuesday to influence the government’s $7.2 billion grant program for high-speed Internet expansion.

The meeting at the U.S. Commerce Department marked the first step in deciding which companies will benefit from broadband funding included in the Obama administration’s economic stimulus program valued at nearly $800 billion.

The funding aims to encourage broadband networks to connect rural and other unserved areas to the Internet.

“I think it’s safe to say that we are not as far ahead in this technology as we need to be,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, whose department will give out as much as $2.8 billion of the funds, told the meeting. Read more