Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Bret McKenzie, Flight of the Conchords, National Geographic Channel, New York City, Saddam Hussein, Television, Television program, Wall Street Journal
The second season of “Dogtown: Saving the Michael Vick Dogs” premiered last Friday night on the National Geographic Channel, attracting 3.1 million viewers and earning a 1.05 household rating. It was the network’s highest-rated second-season premiere and its top Friday-night opener. Multichannel News (9/8)
HBO’s comedy series Flight of the Conchords started production for season two in New York on ten new episodes. The series follows the musical/comedy pair Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie from New Zealand who now live and perform in New York City. The new episodes are scheduled to debut in early 2009. (Cynopsis 9/9)
Over two nights in December, HBO will present a four-hour biopic on the rise and fall of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The movie, which was co-produced with the BBC and aired in the U.K. last summer, begins with Saddam’s taking power in a 1979 coup and ends with his capture in Tikrit by coalition forces. Broadcasting & Cable (9/8)
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin should focus on the country’s transition to all-digital TV signals and not get sidetracked with trying to force a la carte programming on the cable industry, according to a letter to the FCC chief from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and co-signed by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. “Pursuing contentious policy initiatives, such as the unbundling of wholesale subscription television channels, would divert attention of the bureau at this critical time,” Inouye said. Multichannel News (9/8)
Subscribers of AT&T’s U-verse video service will be able to use the providers’DVR service with as many as eight TVs under a new policy designed to compete with rivals. AT&T, which already offers multiroom, or whole-house, service in the San Francisco area, said it would expand that policy to the rest of the country by year-end. The Wall Street Journal (free content) (9/9)
Mediacom Communications, the eighth-largest cable TV firm, announced plans to buy back 30% of its Class A common stock from Shivers Investments in a deal that is expected to close in the fourth quarter. The move gives Shivers $110 million in cash and full control of a newly formed Mediacom subsidiary with 25,000 basic-cable subscribers. CNNMoney.com/Associated Press (9/8) , CED Magazine (9/2008)
More than 635 million homes — half the world’s households — will watch digital TV by 2013, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms, and almost half of them — 290 million — will get it via cable TV. The study goes on to say that the worldwide total will reach 343 million by the end of this year, an increase of 67 million over 2007. The Hollywood Reporter (9/8)
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Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Apple, Bebo, Google TV Ads, NBC, NBC Universal, Sci Fi, SEC Championship Game, USA Network
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
After last year”s very public break up over pricing issues NBC Universal kissed and made up with Apple, returning to the iTunes platform just in time for the fall TV season. Most programs from NBC, USA Network, SCI FI Channel, Bravo, Sleuth and NBC News are once again available for $1.99/episode (the standard price for a TV show on iTunes.) But there also a few older shows up for 99 cents or, in some cases, free. Look for more programs to be added in the coming weeks from divisions such as Oxygen and NBC Sports. Season passes fluctuate in price from $5.94 for season one of Andy Barker P.I. to a pricey $54.99 for season one of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. NBCU programs are also available in HD for the first time priced at $2.99. Both companies positioned the reunion as a win-win. NBC gains the ability to price and package as it sees fit, not mention regaining access to iTunes’65 million users. Apple gets back one of its biggest program suppliers. NBC also says it is working with Apple to improve the platform’s copyright protection. (Cynopsis 9/10)
In a move meant to broaden its work in the business of selling TV advertising, Internet search giant Google will sell an unspecified number of commercials during shows on NBC Universal cable networks. The networks involved in the revenue-sharing pact include Sci-Fi, Oxygen, MSNBC and CNBC and, according to Michael Steib, the director of the growing Google TV Ads, “NBC Universal is a big win for us in terms of distribution growth.” The New York Times (free registration) (9/8) , The Wall Street Journal (9/9)
Through a deal with AOL ESPN.com will make its short-form online video content accessible directly through Bebo‘s Open Media platform in the U.S. ESPN will offer highlights from games and major sporting events as well as video clips from ESPN original programming. The content will be delivered via an ESPN video player that will be embedded within a tailored Channel Profile. (Cynopsis 9/10)
CBS Sports will stream the entire 2008 SEC college football schedule live on CBSSports.com free of charge this year. A total of 17 SEC match ups will be streamed on CBSSports.com, accessible via a link from all CBS affiliate sites, concluding with the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 6 (4 p ET.) (Cynopsis 9/10)
Amid growing scrutiny from government regulators in the U.S and Europe, Google is amending its privacy practices
and keeping the IP addresses of consumers who do searches on Google for a shorter period of time. The dominant search engine will keep server log data for only nine months now instead of 18 (which itself was a reduction put in place last year from an indefinite retention period). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/09/google-on-the-run-from-the-privacy-cops 9/9)
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Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: Apple, AT&T, Helio, iPhone, Mobile phone, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Mobile USA, Windows Mobile
Asus’ new smartphone runs on Windows software, but with a twist: The computer maker on Monday introduced its P552w touch screen for mobile professionals that uses a custom-made interface dubbed Glide that the company hopes consumers will find easier to use than the standard Windows Mobile on a touch-screen phone. InformationWeek (9/8)
Best Buy became the first large U.S. CE chain to sell the Apple iPhone on Sunday when it began offering the handsets in 970 full-size stores and 16 smaller outlets for cell phones. The company will sell the iPhone for the same $199 and $299 (with two-year contracts) thatAT&T&T and Apple charge in their retail outlets. Forbes/Associated Press (9/8)
Transpera, a company that serves up mobile video and targeted advertising to cell phones, announced new marketing agreements with cable programmers such as Discovery Communications, MTV Networks and the Travel Channel. VH1 already uses the service in conjunction with its Gametrailers.com offering, and Comedy Central will follow suit shortly. TVWeek.com (9/8)
Virgin Mobile USA announced plans to launch the Shuttle, the first handset released in the U.S. that will integrate recently acquired Helio content services. A new Helio a la carte plan, modeled after Virgin’s unlimited prepaid voice plan, will give Helio users unlimited minutes for a flat fee of $80. (Cynopsis 9/10)
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Filed under: TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
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h6{width:expression(“auto”,this.runtimeStyle.width=this.parentNode.offsetWidth);width/**/:auto;}}@media screen,projection{.udm ul h3,.udm ul h4,.udm ul h5,.udm ul h6{width:expression(“auto”,this.runtimeStyle.width=this.parentNode.currentStyle.width);width/**/:auto;}}@media screen,projection{* html .udm li{display:inline;}}@media screen,projection{* html .udm li,* html .udm ul li{display/**/:block;float/**/:left;}}@media screen,projection{.udm:not(:nth-child(n)) li,.udm:not(:nth-child(n)) ul li{display:block;float:left;}}@media screen,projection{* html .udm li,* html .udm ul li{clear:none;}}select{visibility:visible;}.udm .udmC{position:absolute;left:0;top:0;z-index:19020;width:auto;height:auto;filter:alpha(opacity=0);} <!—->class=”snap_preview_icon”> event, Apple has announced that an upgrade class=”snap_preview_icon”> to its rocky iPhone 2.0 firmware is on the way, and will be available starting Friday. Many users have been plagued by long backup times and connection issues since the 2.0 firmware (and the iPhone 3G) launched last July. Unfortunately, there was no mention of the much-awaited Push support for third party programs, which Apple had previously promised for a September release. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/09/apple-event-brings-few-surprises-promises-stable-iphone-firmware-for-friday 9/9)
Click the image below for the keynote.
Microsoft next week will introduce a wireless service to its Zune music player through which users can download music, one of several features the company will add to better compete against Apple’s iPod. The new Zunes will also enable users to tag and buy songs they hear on its FM radio, and Microsoft will begin selling versions with 16 gigabytes and 120 gigabytes of storage for $199 and $250, respectively. Detroit Free Press (9/9) , Reuters (9/8)
For home theaters with sun exposures, Runco has released a 100-inch in-wall unit that the company says provides a high-quality picture even in well-lit rooms. Runco designed the VideoWall VW-100HD, due in November for $40,000, to fit tight spaces and deliver a 1920 x 1080 resolution. ElectronicHouse.com (9/8)
