Media Roundup: Hulu Pulls Content From Boxee and TV.com, Playboy May Be Looking for Sale and More

Hulu pulls content from Boxee and TV.com, CBS responds — Hulu, the joint online video venture by FOX and NBC, has taken its content off of CBS-owned TV.com and the open-source video streaming software Boxee. According to Boxee, Hulu asked that the content be removed at the request of content partners. Hulu has claimed that contractual issue have forced the company to pull content from TV.com, however CBS has asserted that they are within their rights to continue streaming Hulu content. [Source: CNET]

Playboy may be looking for sale — After posting a $1.1 million loss in the forth quarter of 2007, Playboy Entertainment announced a $145.7 million loss in the same period of 2008. Subsequently, the company has informed investors that it is open to changing the direction of the magazine, and some are urging for a sale. Christie Hefner, daughter of founder Hugh Hefner stepped down from the CEO position last December. [Source: New York Times

NYT drops dividend -- In an effort to increase the amount of cash on hand, the New York Times has dropped its quarterly dividend payout. The company is also attempting to sell space in its Manhattan headquarters as well as unload its share in the Boston Red Sox to acquire more cash for debt payments. Last November, the company slashed the dividend payout from 23 cents a share to 6 cents a share. [Source: Editor & Publisher]

LA Times to lay off around 70 — The Los Angeles Times has begun its two phased effort to reduce the size of the newsroom. In the first phase the company is requesting voluntary departures and the rest of the 70 newsroom positions will occur after the paper’s California section is folded at the end of the month. [Source: MediaBistro]

E.W. Scripps posts loss — Newspaper publisher E.W. has announced a forth quarter loss of $48.8 million. Both online and print revenue fell for the company. However, E.W. Scripps did see an uptick in “pure-play” advertisers that purchased ads solely on the company’s Web sites, as opposed to purchasing a print and online package. E.W. Scripps owns newspapers in 15 markets, including the for-sale Rocky Mountain News. [Source: paidContent]

AP may put content behind pay wall — In an article in BusinessWeek magazine about the struggles of the news industry, Associated Press CEO Tom Curley confessed that his company was in informal discussions to place content behind a pay wall. The dip in the advertising market has led many publishers to reconsider giving away their content for free. [Source: BusinesWeek]