AT&T announces the addition of eight HD channels to its AT&T U-verse TV channel lineup. U-verse TV now offers Animal Planet HD, CNN HD, Discovery HD, Science Channel HD, Starz Kids & Family HD, Superstation WGN in HD, TLC HD, VERSUS and GOLF CHANNEL HD.

With these additions, AT&T U-verse TV subscribers with the HD service option have access to a lineup of more than 40 HD channels in most markets, which is more HD programming than local cable providers in current U-verse markets.

The status of the STB within pay-TV households faces significant risk from the development of two-way, digital-cable–ready TVs, media centers, and residential gateways, among others. And STB manufacturers are responding in several ways.

STB manufacturers are adding new features, such as increased hard-disk space, DVD players, DVD burners, and home-audio solutions, which will better align STB functionality with consumer demands. Manufacturers also are attempting to improve electronic program guides and to incorporate more video gaming and Web-based services.

Amino and Antena 3 announce the first delivery of a live national TV channel over an IP satellite data link in Spain. Using Amino’s AmiNET125 IPTV STB, La Fundación Antena 3, a non-profit charity supported by Grupo Antena 3, is broadcasting a new free to view channel called FAN3 in hospitals.

With the FAN3 channel, La Fundación Antena 3 helps children in hospitals to recover by offering information related to their specific illnesses and treatments. Furthermore, FAN3 educates children and teenagers by fostering good habits to protect their health in an educative and enjoyable manner. FAN3 is broadcasted from Monday to Friday and its programmes include conventional content such as TV movies, series, cartoons, as well as healthcare and educational information.

Verizon expands its industry-leading FiOS TV service to more New York consumers, which is provided on the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network straight to customers' homes. Verizon is now taking orders for FiOS TV in parts of the Long Island communities of Malverne, Stewart Manor, Centre Island, East Williston and the Village of The Branch; in the Orange County town of Newburgh; and in Westchester County in the villages of Pelham Manor, Larchmont and Mamaroneck, the town of Mamaroneck and the city of Rye.

AT&T announces the launch of U-verse in parts of 51 local communities in the Columbus, Ohio area. AT&T is now taking orders for the service and will begin installing services for new customers on Dec. 24. AT&T will continue to increase U-verse availability throughout the area on an ongoing basis.

AT&T U-verse services are currently available in the following local areas: Bexley, Blendon Township, Bloom Township, Brice, Brown Township, Canal Winchester, Clinton Township, Columbus, Concord Township, Dublin, Etna Township, Franklin Township, Gahanna, Genoa Township, Grandview Heights, Grove City, Groveport, Hamilton Township, Harlem Township, Harrison Township, Hilliard, Jackson Township, Jefferson Township, Liberty Township, Lithopolis, Madison Township, Marble Cliff, Mifflin Township, Minerva Park, New Albany, Norwich Township, Orange Township, Pataskala, Perry Township, Pickerington, Plain Township, Pleasant Township, Powell, Prairie Township, Reynoldsburg, Riverlea, Scioto Township, Sharon Township, Shawnee Hills, Truro Township, Upper Arlington, Violet Township, Washington Township, Westerville, Whitehall and Worthington.

The National Basketball Association and Joost launch NBA Channel on Joost. The new channel will provide fans around the world with viewing access to “Instant Classic” NBA games and video highlight packages for the remainder of the 2007-08 NBA season.

As part of the new relationship, the NBA Channel will feature complete replays of memorable NBA games, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006, and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James’ sensational performance in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, in which he scored the Cavaliers’ final 25 points to lead his team to a 109-107 double-overtime victory.

msnbc.com debuted the beta version of its new video player. The new player provides both consumers and advertisers with an immersive and visually compelling TV-like viewing experience with a large, high-quality video stream, nearly instantaneous video start, and a full screen viewing mode option.

With the introduction of the player, msnbc.com is redefining the online video experience by making it easier and more enjoyable for consumers to watch and discover video news stories. Consumers now have more control over their video experience, and can use the news menu-style navigation tools to browse and shift seamlessly between each video segment. Msnbc.com's new time-based ad serving also gives consumers the ability to watch several different video clips without seeing another ad for at least three minutes.

Lava Software is now shipping Kenbushi Pro v7.2, a powerful media entertainment center with built-in file sharing and data backup. New features in this version include a complete Internet TV system with 180+ channels of high-quality content, simplified DVD and CD cover artwork downloads, a one-click setup wizard, powerful Internet download management tools, a regularly updated Internet TV program guide, and various enhancements and fixes. It is available as a free download for Windows 2000/XP/Vista and MacOS X.

Kenbushi Pro now includes a complete Internet TV system which operates like a Personal Video Recorder, with gorgeous program cover artwork, detailed program and episode descriptions, automatic downloading of new episodes of subscribed programs, easy downloading of previous episodes of programs, clear marking of new episodes, automatic bookmarking of partially viewed programs for easy playback continue, and tools to monitor and control monthly download usage.

MTV and Paramount Pictures are unleashing "JACKASS 2.5," the first-ever, studio-backed feature streamed in its entirety online. JACKASS 2.5 will be made available for free courtesy of BLOCKBUSTER at blockbuster.jackassworld.com beginning December 19th through December 31st, 2007. To mark this unprecedented event, Johnny Knoxville delivered a special message to the media on jackassworld.com, a new site and joint venture of MTV Networks and Dickhouse Productions that officially launches February 9th, 2008.

JACKASS 2.5 is every bit as unbelievable as the preceding movies, combining stunts, pranks and all new lows. JACKASS 2.5 includes never-before-seen footage and interviews, and features long-standing cast members Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Steve-O, Ehren McGhehey, Jason "Wee Man" Acuna, Preston Lacy and Ryan Dunn.

Sky Italia has entered into a multi-year renewal of its middleware license agreement with OpenTV. Sky Italia is Italy's premier provider of satellite television, offering a variety of programming choices to more than four million subscribers.

"We are extremely pleased with Sky Italia's decision to renew our relationship on a long term basis and explore OpenTV's full range of next generation middleware products," said Ben Bennett, OpenTV's Chief Operating Officer. "Our goal is to continue building on this strong partnership by ensuring our technology is aligned as closely as possible with Sky Italia's business needs; a long term partnership means OpenTV providing Sky Italia with proven and innovative solutions that help grow their business and retain customers through world-class enhanced, interactive and targeted services."

Verizon launches its industry-leading FiOS TV service in the greater Portland area. With the launch of its video service in Oregon, Verizon now offers FiOS TV in 13 states. Verizon delivers FiOS TV over the nation's largest digital, all-fiber network, which has earned certification from the independent Fiber to the Home Council for providing fiber all the way to customers' homes.

The launch of FiOS TV in the state makes a broad range of programming choices and superior picture quality available to 152,000 Oregon households initially, representing 410,000 potential viewers, where FiOS voice and Internet service are already available.

AT&T shared yesterday at its analyst conference in New York an updated 2008 and multiyear outlook and outlined its strategies for sustained double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share driven by advances in wireless, broadband, enterprise, IP data and a new generation of converged services.

AT&T also announced a major expansion of its AT&T U-verse services to include the company's Southeast region, with deployment now expected to reach approximately 30 million living units across 22 states by the end of 2010. AT&T expects that its U-verse services will represent a multibillion-dollar revenue stream by 2010.

Endorsed by the DSL Forum, the Next Generation DSL Summit is the leading DSL dedicated event to be held in Europe and will focus on the most up-to-date developments in the market including the evolution of multimedia services, the development and implementation of higher speed DSL technologies and strategies to optimise QoE and QoS and improve stability.

AT&T announces that Los Angeles-area customers now have access to a suite of new U-verse TV features that further differentiate the service from cable.

The new interactive features available to customers at no extra charge include:

• AT&T U-bar, which brings customizable weather, stock, sports and traffic information to the TV screen. Customers who also subscribe to AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet have the option to personalize the U-bar from their AT&T Yahoo! home page to display weather at a specified location, their personal stock portfolio and scores for their favorite sports teams.
• YELLOWPAGES.COM TV, an intuitive new way to search for local businesses and other information via AT&T U-verse TV.
• AT&T Yahoo! Games, available on the television screen, including Sudoku, Solitaire, JT's Blocks, Mah-jongg Tiles and Chess.

Video Furnace introduced a new low-cost digital set-top box for delivering video to network-connected television sets in the enterprise. Used in conjunction with the Video Furnace IP video distribution system, corporations, educational institutions, financial services firms, government agencies and other organizations can convert TVs into IP-connected devices and deliver live, broadcast and on-demand TV-quality video to television sets on their networks.