showtimes

Netflix has signed a licensing deal to stream reruns of the critically praised TV series "Mad Men"

According to The Los Angeles Times, after episodes appear on cable network AMC, the next place to experience the show's smart dialogue, clouds of cigarette smoke, and clinking martini glasses will be on Netflix's streaming service. Netflix paid as much as $900,000 per episode, the paper reported Tuesday.

As some executives continue to predict that the TV broadcasters and film studios would soon reduce Netflix's streaming-content supply, the Web's top video rental service continues to defy … Read more

Independent films have always been a valuable source of content for Netflix, but rarely was it more important than during a public relations crisis two weeks ago.

Showtime and Starz, two-high profile pay-TV services that supply Netflix, the Web's top video-rental service, with popular TV shows and films, announced that once their contracts ended they would reduce the amount of content they provide for Netflix's streaming service. Netflix's Watch Instantly service is seeing white-hot growth and managers are trying to stoke interest by acquiring more material to stream. Some Hollywood bosses have said they aren't comfortable … Read more

By and large, the big Hollywood film studios have clung to the idea that digital downloads should be priced the same as DVDs. Sony Pictures is trying to find out if there's a better way.

On Tuesday, Sony began selling downloads of two new releases for about 13 percent less than the $15 DVD price. At Amazon.com and iTunes, "The Tourist" and "How Do You Know" could be downloaded for $12.99. Elsewhere at Amazon, the disc sold for $15. Both movies were disappointments at the box office, so the reductions seem barely to … Read more

At a time when many in Hollywood see Netflix as a threat, Showtime Networks said it will significantly alter the licensing agreement it has for Netflix's streaming-video service.

This summer, when the current deal between Showtime and Netflix expires, Netflix's new streaming agreement doesn't include any rights to any of the first-run series that currently appear on the premium-cable service. Under the new deal, Netflix subscribers will lose access to such shows as "Californication and "Dexter." (Showtime is owned by CBS, parent company of CNET.)

While past seasons of "Dexter" will be … Read more

Those of you planning to catch a film this holiday weekend may want to check out the latest changes at Bing Movies.

The search engine's movie site has updated its lineup with some new features to help you decide what you want to see.

Users can now more easily see all the local theaters showing a particular picture rather than bouncing from one venue's site to another. Just search for or click on a title like the latest Harry Potter movie, and Bing lists all the theaters in your area where it's playing along with their showtimes … Read more

For the past several years, cable channel Showtime has been putting together an annual showcase for its original programming called the Showtime House. Different interior designers are called in to create rooms themed around shows such as Dexter and Weeds, and the entire thing is built into several floors of an NYC building (this year's version was at the newly open Cassa hotel and residences in midtown Manhattan).

As Showtime is our corporate cousin in the extended CBS family, several CNET editors visited the location during construction and made themselves available to consult with the designers on their technology questions. The end result was that the Showtime House was packed with cool high-tech gadgets, from 3D televisions to video games to Dyson's bladeless Air Multiplier fan. … Read more

Even though Showtime is owned by CNET parent company CBS, I know little about the network and have no influence over it. Which is unfortunate because I have something to say about news that Showtime may launch its own online streaming site. 

If my CBS colleagues at Showtime are reading this, here is a tip: Don't limit a streaming site to current subscribers only. You are locking yourself out of people like myself who would gladly pay a la carte for shows like Dexter, which I shouldn't watch because it gives me nightmares but I do anyway. … Read more

If I can tell you one thing about trying to TiVo Sunday night's Oscars, it's that being online during the ceremonies was definitely not a safe place to be.

This is the era of time-shifting, and I like to take full advantage of the fact that I can set my DVR to record something like the Oscars and then sit down later on and watch it at my leisure and yet still be surprised by what happens.

But just as the show was beginning, I switched over to TweetDeck to check something out on Twitter and was horrified … Read more

Dan Ackerman joins us on today's show to talk about his not-critically-acclaimed album "Tales Out of Night School" and the technology world in general. Be sure to check out his podcast Digital City on iTunes. Also, he give his opinion on digital-music distribution and makes fun of our game of marry/boff/kill with Ms. Natali Del Conte.

On today's show, we talk about the release of the new "Watchmen" movie. The first reviews are mixed. Justin is still holding out hope that the film will be watchable. In other movie and television news, Showtime, a sister company of CNET, is releasing Emmy screeners on iPods. Amazon finally gets the sense to pull a video game featuring rape simulation. The cast of "Seinfeld" rejoins on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Hopefully, Michael Richard won't drop any bombs on the show. Justin is disappointed that a sheriff in Cook County is finally starting to crack down on prostitution on Craigslist. And Matel releases a Barbie doll in China with a tattoo.… Read more