If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Major US broadcasters are lining up their digital offerings for consumers, whether they like it or not.

"Television networks increasingly need to make content available to fans no matter where those fans are and what devices they are using," said Greg Ireland, IDC research manager.

Disney-owned ABC is the first major broadcaster to live-stream programming to iPhones and iPads starting this summer for residents of New York City and Philadelphia via WATCH ABC, including local news, daytime talk shows and prime-time dramas. Plans include expansion to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago and eventually, buy-in from all ABC affiliates.

"Many people are starting to wonder if cable is worth keeping, and they're thinking of cutting the cord and going online only since they can get content from Netflix, Amazon and other places,” notes NPR. “Live streaming is a way the broadcast industry is trying to cement the system they've had in place for a long time, even as more people are watching TV and video online. So, they're going where the viewers are going, but they're scared that people are going to cancel their cable subscriptions."Continue reading...

Three companies control most of the seed business in the world and one of them is Monsanto, the Missouri-based agricultural company infamous for producing genetically-modified crops and genetically-engineered seeds. The company's resistant seeds were of top concern in a recent patent lawsuit against an Indiana farmer. Not surprisingly, the Supreme Court came down on the independent farmer and declared Monsanto a win. 

The farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, purchased Monsanto soybean seeds that are resistant to weed killer and planted them one year. It was his actions after that year that got him into trouble. “Bowman v Monsanto revolved around what Bowman contended was a legal loophole in his license agreement with Monsanto: farmers are allowed to sell the second-generation seeds to grain elevators, which, in turn, are permitted to sell a mixture of undifferentiated seeds as ‘commodity grain,’” Forbes reports. “In other words, he maintained he was legally allowed to buy Monsanto’s seeds cheaper from a grain elevator rather than directly from the company.”Continue reading...

For what began as a bookseller,  Amazon has grown into a sizeable and powerful empire, but what’s an empire without its own money? The web retailer has now introduced its own virtual currency, Amazon Coins.

To introduce customers to the product, Amazon has dumped 500 coins (worth $5) into the accounts of every new and existing Kindle Fire user for them to use for apps or in-app purchases, TechCrunch reports. 

“With discounts of up to 10 percent when you buy Coins, this is a great way for customers to save money when they buy apps, games and in-app items,” said Mike George, vice president of apps and games at Amazon, in a statement. “We will continue to add more ways to earn and spend Coins on a wider range of content and activities—today is Day One for Coins.” The more ways to bring in revenue, the better, right?Continue reading...

In its latest collaboration with BuzzFeed, GE’s Wonderground allows users to explore five US cities via virtual tours, offering up bites of interesting trivia along the way. The multi-platform game avaialble via iOS or online makes use of the media site's photo content pages in order to immerse users in an eye-opening look through science, design and industrial technology. 

The game lets users explore New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, in which fun facts like "LAX is the 3rd busiest airport in the United States,” and “the Getty Museum hires goats each spring to eat away at brush around the hills of the building,” which are featured in the L.A. video, voiced by BuzzFeed’s EVP Video, Ze Frank, with the headline, "See what others miss."Continue reading...

It turns out that CGI babies aren't just winners for E*Trade. Evian has reprised its famous (and viral) dancing bambinos in a new ad, "Baby & Me."

The video is a follow-up to its viral smash hit, "Roller Babies," which was aired in 2009. The brand also released the interactive spot "Baby Inside" in 2011. 

"The babies embody 'Live Young', the evian mantra, and remind us that we are all youthful in our own, unique way,” said Jerome Goure, VP Marketing for Danone in a press release. “Babies are also the ultimate symbol of natural purity, exactly what evian water is.”Continue reading...

In its latest bid to become a multimedia platform, Twitter has officially announced Twitter #music, a web and app-based platform that allows users to stream trending music from the site. 

The company Jack Dorsey founded in 2006 now has over 200 million monthly users tweeting over 400 million time a day. After announcing multiple improvements to its API earlier this year, Twitter’s ad revenue is projected to generate $583 million this year and $1 billion in 2014, according to eMarketer. Now, as it builds channels to stream video content and music, the microblogger is setting itself up to become the golden-child of the emerging dual-screen media phenomenon. 

Rumored to have been soft-launched at California's Coachella festival, the Twitter #Music app is now available for download in the Apple App Store and can also be accessed on the web. “It uses Twitter activity, including Tweets and engagement, to detect and surface the most popular tracks and emerging artists," according to Twitter's blog. "It also brings artists’ music-related Twitter activity front and center: go to their profiles to see which music artists they follow and listen to songs by those artists. And, of course, you can tweet songs right from the app.”Continue reading...

Mazda continues to attempt to climb out of the fray in the US mainstream car market with a determined repositioning as more upscale. The brand continues to add to its tech chops by pushing its SkyActiv sub-brand in creative new ways as well.

The latest: a tie-up with the formidable Star Trek franchise, with a cross-promotion with the latest Paramount film in the sci-fi series, Star Trek into Darkness. With TV, digital, CRM, out-of-home, social media and retail fronts, Mazda is spotlighting the revamped 2014 Mazda6 as well as the SkyActiv powertrain technology. Mazda staged a similar partnership last year with Universal's The Lorax, that time spotlighting the Mazda CX-5 crossover.

One feature of the new platform is a Paramount Star Trek app that has five "interactive missions," one weekly leading up to the movie's May 17 premier. The app launches a scavenger hunt for Star Trek and Mazda content, ascension through the "Starfleet Academy" and merchandise, according to Marketing Daily.Continue reading...

The Kool-Aid Man used to crash through walls, wave his little stubby arms around and serve up a deep “Oh, Yeah!” whenever someone else stopped everything they were doing and yelled, “Hey, Kool-Aid!”

While Kool-Aid’s owners, Kraft Foods, still wants consumers saying “Oh, Yeah!” after sipping the fruity beverage, they are taking the brand through a modern update. After all, the brand took a 5 percent hit in revenue last year, falling to $338 million, according to the Clarion Ledger. It seems like the powdered drink mix, which has been around since 1927, is ready for a little change.Continue reading...