Online streaming is one step closer to being the way that people watch movies. Neflix has signed a costly ($1 billion) deal to stream recent releases just 90 days after they appear on pay television. Films from Paramount, Lions Gate and MGM will be available under a deal with signed with Epix, a fledgling pay television service.

Netflix to Stream Films From Paramount, Lions Gate, MGM – Media Decoder Blog – NYTimes.com.

It’s not your typically marketing consultancy armed with a $20 million investment fund for good measure. NYC based Consigliere is being launched by 2 time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Michael Duda of Deutsch. Early backers include VC fund Zig Capital, Interpublic and Donny Deutsch.

NBA’s Nash, Deutsch’s Duda Team to Launch Startup – Advertising Age – Agency News.

Audio pioneer Sidney Harman, 91, has agreed to buy Newsweek for a reported $1. He will, however, take on the newsweekly’s liabilities and operating costs. It follows close on the tails of Bloomberg LLP’s acquisition of Businessweek in 2009, raising the question of whether running once formidable print publications has become a hobby for aging media tycoons. Newsmax, Avenue Capital, Fred Drasner, OpenGate Capital and Thane Ritchie were among the suitors that either dropped out of the running or were deemed unacceptable to Newsweek’s former owner, The Washington Post Company.

The Washington Post Company Agrees to Sell NEWSWEEK to Sidney Harman – Newsweek.

According to Microsoft’s annual 10-K filing, the company  made more money selling off holdings $600 million than on buying new acquisitions, $267 million.

Annual Report on Form 10-K.

A Gotham Media panel focused on the subject of “A Model for Success: Business Media” this week, and a group of business and financial media executives, reporters and gurus discussed what has made business media successful over the course of the last year. As the media market has been hit by both the Recession and a continuing downturn in the sector, business media has achieved a notable measure of success. A key factor is the business community’s willingness to pay for information that it finds useful, a factor that sets it apart from its consumer oriented cousins. This is in turn has spurred innovation. But there’s more to come…. Stay tuned for the implementation of pay walls this year.

Panel Includes:

Henry Blodget CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Business Insider

L. Gordon Crovitz Co-Founder, Press+; Fmr. Publisher, Wall Street Journal

Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson Media Editor, Financial Times

Brian Hecht Publisher, Premium Services, TheStreet.com

Phil Pearlman Director, StockTwits; Partner, Social Leverage

Jonathan Wald Adjunct Professor Columbia Journalism School, Fmr. SVP CNBC

Last week’s VC Forecast was a fount of insight and counsel for entrepreneurs and investors a lot. The panel delved deep into the way that efficiencies in technologies are changing not only the way they invest but also the size of their funds and their expected returns. First Round’s Howard Morgan and David Pakman of Venrock discussed how it costs much less than even a few years ago to get a start up off the ground. Larry Lenihan of FirstMark identified the “perfect” startup (tongue firmly in cheek). Charlie Federman of Crossbar addressed the dangers of taking in too much money in later financing rounds. And Danny Schultz of DFJ Gotham questioned the meaning and the value of “proprietary” technologies. Panel moderator Gene DeRose of House Party offered his own insights into the changing marketplace from his vantage point as an entrepreneur.

This week’s VC Forecast 2010 highlighted the difference between 2009 and 2010. Last year’s panel, held in the depths of the Great Recession, was appropriately downbeat and downcast. It was not a barrel of laughs. This year the mood was brighter and more optimistic, but cautiously so. Investments are being made but in a way that highlights the uncertainty of the economy and the fragility of new ventures. VC’s are spreading their bets, making lots of smaller investments across a range of companies. This also reflects the reality that these days it’s cheaper to start many if not most tech companies. There’s so much available in terms of open source and infrastructure that start ups don’t have to pay for and reinvent the wheel every time.

We will offer several highlight segments. This first one is an overview with panelists:

Moderator

Gene DeRose Co-Founder and Chairman, House Party

Panelists

Charlie Federman Managing Partner, Crossbar Capital

Howard Morgan Partner, First Round Capital

Lawrence Lenihan Jr, Founder, CEO, Managing Director, FirstMark Capital

David Pakman Partner, Venrock

Daniel Schultz Co-Founder and Managing Director, DFJ Gotham Ventures