Disney

The free video site Hulu.com, which has been helping to change TV-watching habits, could undergo a change. On Wednesday, an executive with one of Hulu's parent companies suggested the popular video site could start charging for content next year.

Chase Carey, president and COO of News Corp., told the Broadcasting & Cable OnScreen Summit in New York City that the value of the content presented by Hulu isn't being served by a free-only model, and he hopes that it will evolve into a subscription model.

No Decision Yet

A newly revealed patent application and a new burst of rumors are providing more support to reports that Apple is planning a groundbreaking tablet computer. The application describes new forms of multi-touch interaction, and the rumors describe secret talks that Apple is having with newspaper and textbook publishers.

A pocos días del lanzamiento de la remasterización de la discografía de los Beatles y de un nuevo videojuego que ya hace las delicias de sus seguidores, la compañía Disney ha anunciado un acuerdo con Apple Corps, fundada por la banda, para producir un remake de la película Yellow Submarine.

A pocos días del lanzamiento de la remasterización de la discografía de los Beatles y de un nuevo videojuego que ya hace las delicias de sus seguidores, la compañía Disney ha anunciado un acuerdo con Apple Corps, fundada por la banda, para producir un remake de la película Yellow Submarine.

Hewlett-Packard is trying to stay ahead of the Web printing curve. On Tuesday, the computer and printer giant announced "new relationships and solutions" to make printing from the Web easier, including a "printer app" store.

"With the explosion of digital content on the Web," said Executive Vice President Vyomesh Joshi, "our goal is to enable consumers to print anywhere, anytime." HP is describing its announcements as a continuing part of a Print 2.0 strategy, responding to a trend of so much -- up to 50 percent of all printing -- coming from the Web.

HP App Studio

The United States has defeated China in a wide-ranging ruling at the World Trade Organization that could provide massive market opportunities for American makers of everything from CDs and DVDs to music downloads and books.

The verdict Wednesday finds definitively against China for forcing American media producers to route their business in China through Chinese state-owned companies. It could also set a larger precedent for others such as U.S. automakers claiming to be hampered by cumbersome distribution rules in the communist country.

Despite a down economy, The Walt Disney Company is getting a jump-start on the back to school shopping season with a line of products aimed at high-tech kiddies aged six to 12.

On Wednesday, Disney announced a partnership with ASUSTeK Computer to develop the Disney Netpal, a netbook computer for children designed to be Web-safe and user-friendly. ASUS makes the Eee PC netbook and leveraged its industry experience to help Disney develop the Netpal with parents and kids in mind. The netbook will list for $350 at retailers like Toys "R" Us and Amazon.com and will be available in late July.

Hulu may go from offering free online access to TV shows, movies and clips to a fee-based model, according to an executive from News Corp. Hulu is a joint venture between News Corp., NBC Universal, and Disney.

Over time, paying for some of the content on Hulu is a logical thing, said News Corp. Chief Digital Officer Jonathan Miller during an Internet Week event earlier this week. Miller, who was formerly at AOL, prefaced his comments by saying he won't attend his first Hulu board meeting until Monday, June 8, so his opinions are his own.

The Walt Disney Company on Thursday announced what many analysts have been predicting: It's buying a stake in online video-content aggregator Hulu.

Through a subsidiary of ABC Enterprises, Disney will join NBC Universal, News Corp., and Providence Equity Partners as a joint-venture partner and equity owner of Hulu. Disney is taking a 30 percent stake in the quasi-YouTube competitor.

Could cable subscribers one day go to the Web to watch their favorite TV channel, much like they do today with their television sets? That day is coming, at least according to Walt Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger, who clearly wants his company to be among the first to offer the capability. "We are certainly open to exploring that possibility," Iger said in a keynote speech on Apr. 2 to the annual Cable Show in Washington, D.C.