In a world where content is delivered on-demand, would on-demand advertising be a more relevant approach in the future of broadcasting?

Though ITV launched the service months earlier than the iPlayer, it has quickly been overhauled by the BBC's offering. Around 11m videos were viewed via the iPlayer in January, compared with just 2m for ITV.com  

Entertainment Media Research's 2008 survey (pdf) finds that social networks have a significant effect on content discovery, with 30% of users searching through them for new music.

The new range of plasma Viera HDTVs will be launched in the Spring in the States, giving the web giant even greater reach for its YouTube ad offerings.

The service is set to launch in the UK next week, with launch titles including The Matrix, Harry Potter, and Ocean's Eleven.

Xbox Live users can download movies for 250 Microsoft Points, which is equivalent to around £2 each, or pay more for high definition versions.

The venture, dubbed 'Project Kangaroo', will operate independently of the three broadcasters and offer video content from a range of providers.

Microsoft plans to add a new social networking option to its Xbox Live platform, by allowing users of the service to connect with friends of friends.

The Dashboard Update will be introduced on December 4, to allow gamers to find friends, send messages and invites, and to compare games.

All of which prompts the question: Is Microsoft trying to become 'the new Facebook'?

The problem this morning is I'm still no clearer on what it means or when it's going to matter.

While piracy may have played a role in the company’s demise, it is more likely that it has been ground down by pureplay online DVD rental firms, including one operated by mighty Amazon, which launched its service in late-2004. For starters, online DVD rental pureplays have much lower overheads than ChoicesUK, which seems to have been strangled by the costs of maintaining 170 shops and 1,800 employees.

But hold on. I’m starting to wonder whether the pureplays themselves will last the distance, in the face of changing consumer behaviour.

However, we reckon James is being a little hasty in his judgement, and is not seeing the bigger picture.

While the failure rate of Xbox consoles - as much as 33% by some estimates - is hardly a great advert for the Xbox, it hasn't been enough to dent the console's popularity beyond repair, and Microsoft has built up an enviable position, both in terms of market share and in securing an installed base of millions for future multmedia plays.

Spammers last week managed to overcome security protections on the Italian ISP's computers to send large amounts of junk mail, resulting in many destination service providers barring mail from Tiscali users.

Downloading speeds and reliability are holding back uptake of video on demand services, according to a new survey.

The survey, commissioned by content delivery network provider CacheLogic and carried out by YouGov, asked 2,400 UK adults about their attitudes to online VOD.

Index Ventures led the funding round with Sequoia Capital, while other investors included Hutchison Whampoa Limited and Cheung Kong Holdings, through the Li Ka-Shing Foundation.