LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel said on Wednesday it will buy Current TV, the low-rated cable channel founded by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt in 2005, in a move that will boost its U.S. footprint.

Terms were undisclosed, but analysts estimated the deal could be worth as much as $500 million.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Netflix Inc said
the SEC sent it a “Wells Notice” warning it the agency may bring
a civil action against the company and Chief Executive Reed
Hastings because it said he violated public disclosure rules
with a Facebook post, a contention dismissed by Hastings
on Thursday.

“Netflix monthly viewing exceeded 1 billion hours for the
first time ever in June,” Hastings wrote in the post on the
company’s public Facebook page on July 3 which was accessible to
the more than 244,000 subscribers to the page.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A new book on Whitney Houston by her early producer seeks to tell the story of the rise to stardom of the pop diva who died nine months ago.

Emmy and Grammy-winning producer Narada Michael Walden, who produced many of Houston’s early hits, like “How Will I Know” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” appeared at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on Wednesday to discuss the book and perform some of the songs he collaborated on.

By Ronald Grover and Sue Zeidler

(Reuters) – Walt Disney gave a much needed boost to Netflix, becoming the first major Hollywood studio to use the video service to bypass premium channels like HBO that traditionally controlled the delivery of movies to TV subscribers.

News of the deal, which enables Netflix to stream Disney’s first-run movies to its subscribers, boosted Netflix shares by 14 percent.

By Ronald Grover and Sue Zeidler

(Reuters) – Walt Disney Co agreed to give Netflix exclusive TV distribution rights to its movies, becoming the first major studio to stream its movies to TV viewers via Netflix instead of distributing them to HBO, Showtime or other premium TV channels.

The agreement begins in 2016, after Disney’s current deal with Liberty Media’s pay-TV channel Starz expires.

Dec 4 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co agreed to give
Netflix exclusive TV distribution rights to its movies,
becoming the first major studio to stream its movies to TV
viewers via Netflix instead of distributing them to HBO,
Showtime or other premium TV channels.

The agreement begins in 2016, after Disney’s current deal
with Liberty Media’s pay-TV channel Starz expires.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Slot-machine maker Bally Technologies is exploring a bid for online poker game developer 3G Studios, in what would be the latest deal to combine online gambling and casino gaming on social media, said two sources with knowledge of the talks.

One source said several Bally Technologies executives were scheduled to visit 3G’s offices in Reno, Nevada on Tuesday to determine whether to make a formal bid.

LOS ANGELES, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Slot-machine maker Bally
Technologies (BYI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is exploring a bid for online poker game
developer 3G Studios, in what would be the latest deal to
combine online gambling and casino gaming on social media, said
two sources with knowledge of the talks.

One source said several Bally Technologies executives were
scheduled to visit 3G’s offices in Reno, Nevada on Tuesday to
determine whether to make a formal bid.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 16 (Reuters) – One of the law firms
representing Japanese pachinko tycoon Kazuo Okada in a bitter
legal dispute against Wynn Resorts Ltd has withdrawn
from the case, a lawyer from the firm said on Friday.

Paul Spagnoletti, an attorney with the New York offices
of Davis, Polk, Wardwell LLP, said his firm has stopped
representing the Japanese businessman, who is trying to reverse
Wynn’s decision to redeem Okada’s shares in the company at a
steep discount.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Writers with a script about
former four-star general David Petraeus’ sex scandal can do
lunch with anyone in Hollywood.

Studio executives have been huddled in meetings since
Monday, sifting through potential scripts that can be tweaked.
Agents have been called. Authors are getting e-mails.