Items tagged with espn
If you're a cable-cutter who's hated to lose some key channels by dropping cable TV, you might just be in luck when YouTube rolls out what's in effect a replacement later this year. It's been rumored for quite some time that the company has wanted to offer a subscription-based service that would include a number of common channels - it'd benefit not just YouTube, but the channel owners, and of course, consumers, who'd end up getting a better deal than going with a traditional cable TV service. That price has been pegged at "under" $35/mo, which might seem a bit high, but the value will really come in when what's included is finally revealed. At the moment, it seems extremely likely that ABC,...
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Did you know that racing drones is a thing? Well it is, and it's captured the attention of ESPN. The sports media outlet inked a multi-year media distribution deal with the International Drone Racing Association (yes, that exists too) to bring the new sport of drone racing to a global audience with ambitious expectations. ESPN and IDRA view drone racing as the next big thing in the racing category alongside the likes of NASCAR and Formula 1. That's big company to be in, with NASCAR alone a multi-billion dollar sport with a huge spectator following, particularly in the United States. It seems like a stretch (to us) that remote controlled drones will attract the same buzz, but time will tell. "Drone...
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Move over ESPN and make room for Facebook in the sports world. Or more room, we should say. Facebook is already home to hundreds of millions of sports fans, and you might even follow a team or favorite athlete that posts updates in your news feed. The social network is taking things a step further with the introduction of Facebook Sports Stadium, a meeting ground where you can experience sports in real-time and talk trash with friends and family from around the world. The new stomping ground for sports fans serves up a chronological stream of posts and comments from friends. It also includes posts and commentary from teams, leagues, and professional journalists, plus live scores, stats, play-by-play...
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The next frontier in television is cutting the cord with traditional cable and satellite providers in favor of streaming content from the Internet. We've already seen it to some extent with services like Hulu and Netflix, but we're still waiting for that one unbeatable service to rule them all. Apple hopes to be it, provided it can make headway in negotiations with programmers. Therein lies the rub. Media companies have been painfully slow to adapt to the Internet era, choosing instead to cling onto old business models. A similar scenario played out when music made the transition from cassette tapes and CDs to MP3 files, and to some extent, we're seeing it yet again with artists like Taylor Swift...
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Professional gaming -- as in video games -- isn't new by any means. Fatal1ty (real name Johnathan Wendel) entered the scene way back in 1999 and pioneered the category by dominating in titles like Quake III Arena. Since then the category has only grown, albeit in the background of mainstream media. That might change as sports coverage giant ESPN launches a new esports vertical. ESPN's esports section aims to offer comprehensive coverage in the world of competitive gaming. Like other sections of the site, it will include video, news related to the category, offseason analysis and grades, and more. It will also offer reporting from the opening weekend of the North America League of Legends Champion...
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Well, that didn’t take long. Two weeks ago, word spread out that Verizon was ready to push new Custom TV FioS bundles that would allow customers to pick and choose what channels they wanted to pay for on a monthly basis. Customers are able to choose a basic package of channels, and then select from at least two of seven additional themed packages (i.e. Culture, Entertainment, Sports, etc.). So if you have no interest in sports at all, you wouldn’t have to purchase the Sports package. Needless to say, ESPN wasn’t too thrilled about this arrangement and quickly made its objections known. ESPN wants its cash no matter what, with The Wall Street Journal writing a week ago, “Verizon does not have...
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We learned last week that Verizon would be updating its FiOS TV service to give customers a lot more freedom with regards to their channel selection, and we followed-up over the weekend about ESPN's immediate objection to the move. Despite ESPN's objections, FiOS Custom TV is now open to Verizon customers. Isn't business fun? To be fair to ESPN, a contract is a contract, and as outsiders, it's hard or impossible to tell if Verizon is in fact breaking an agreement. Nonetheless, the move Verizon has made is a good one. I wouldn't go to the extent of calling it "great" quite yet, as there are quite a number of caveats, but it's still a lot better than what was available before. In order to take...
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Well, it sure didn't take long for the complaints to roll in. On Friday, we reported that Verizon would begin allowing FiOS TV customers to pick and choose channels on an a la carte basis, which is a great thing. Interestingly, the Canadian CRTC last month announced that beginning in 2016, cable providers would be required to offer a la carte offerings, so the appeal is clear. And let's face it, with the advent of services like Netflix, that might be the only way these cable providers could possibly attract new customers. Nonetheless, ESPN is raising a stink about Verizon's move, as it says it would be in breach of contract. The Wall Street Journal writes, "ESPN said that Verizon does not have...
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Dota 2, a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena game, has caught the attention of ESPN, which is planning to cover The International Dota 2 Championships. ESPN will air the tournament on its live multi-screen sports network, ESPN3, and is also planning an exclusive show previewing the final match on ESPN2 on Sunday at 8:30 pm Pacific (you can also catch it on digital platforms via WatchESPN). This is the next best thing to attending the tournament in person at KeyArena in Seattle, which is no longer an option since it's already sold out. The prize pool for the Dota 2 is over $10 million, the largest ever for a competitive gaming tournament, and likely a motivating factor for ESPN to add...
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Microsoft has always worked hard to pitch its Xbox 360 console as more than just a gaming box, but a legitimate media center, and those efforts continue with its upcoming Xbox One due out in November. Putting its money where its mouth is at, Microsoft in May announced a multi-year partnership with the NFL to bring exclusive interactive football experiences to fans at home on the Xbox One. Today Microsoft unveiled a few more details about that partnership. The NFL app on Xbox One will deliver to users interactivity to live games, stats, scores, highlights, and NFL.com Fantasy Football teams together on the TV. "Xbox One will personalize your NFL experience, for your team, with the best content...
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And just like that, the final nail in the coffin is hammered down. While sales of 3D HDTVs weren't ever remarkable, there was still a slim chance that the technology would garner enough traction to be profitable. But no more. The one and only at-home content hope for 3D was sports. Movies, sure, but mostly the technology would live or die based on the success of sporting events. ESPN 3D was one of the first major 3D channels, and ESPN was one of the first networks to invest heavily in 3D even before it was a proven medium. Sadly, it appears that the bet won't pay off. ESPN has announced, amidst cost-cutting efforts that have impacted jobs across the company, that ESPN 3D will cease by the year's...
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Does anyone remember Mobile ESPN? Believe it or not, ESPN was actually acting as an MVNO way back in 2006, sending specific sports-related alerts to users on flip-phones and dumb-phones, a year before the iPhone changed everything we know about the mobile arena. That venture didn't last too long, and as smartphones became the norm, ESPN focused efforts on simply polishing up mobile apps that could send push alerts. Essentially, it accomplished the same thing, but with a lot less of the burden on ESPN itself. But evidently there's an itch here that ESPN just can't help but scratch once more. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that ESPN is considering subsidizing wireless data plans for those...
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For AT&T U-verse TV subscribers, life just got a little better. If you're wondering why those monthly fees are so high, no doubt a solid chunk of 'em are headed to ESPN. But now, AT&T is joining the WatchESPN fray, giving U-verse TV patrons the ability to stream live ESPN channels on the go via the Web, mobile, or app. Oh, and through Xbox LIVE for Gold members. Just weeks ahead of the start of the MLB season and in advance of major sporting events like The Masters and NBA Playoffs, customers who receive ESPN's linear networks as part of their AT&T U-verse TV subscription can now stream live events and programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU from the convenience of their computers,...
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A couple of years ago, avoiding 3D was a full-time job. It was everywhere. It was on TV. It was on advertisements. It was in the cinema. But despite the huge marketing push, consumers at large still felt it was a joke, and it's tough to convince consumers to wear those funky 3D glasses while enjoying content. That said, there's still a market for at-home 3D content, and it's a bit too early to call the latest push a complete flop. To that end, those fortunate enough to be in Google's Fiber footprint will soon gain 3net and ESPN3D. Fiber TV uses fiber cables to deliver plenty of channels, as well as a Storage Box that you can fill with 500 hours of HD recordings, and a growing VOD library. And...
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Everyone enjoys a love story, right? And if you're a television fan, this is one love story you'll probably have an easy time blushing about. The Walt Disney Company and AT&T have just locked down a pretty substantial new agreement regarding distribution of content through the carrier's U-verse platform. It's a multi-year deal, which will bring Walt Disney Company's vast library of content to U-verse TV customers across televisions, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and internet-enabled televisions. As part of the new multi-year deal, AT&T U-verse will introduce several new services, including the full suite of authenticated WATCH products, ESPN 3D, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN...
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When Avatar and Clash of the Titans hit theaters in 2009, 3D was heralded as the next big thing. Standard movies were released with 3D versions and 3D TV channels were expected to change the way people watched TV. But today, the momentum for 3D TV has split from the momentum for 3D movies and 3D TV viewership isn’t where media executives expected it to be, according to a report by the Associated Press. In fact, The Nielsen Company has found viewership to be too small for its viewing-habit measurements. Obstacles to acceptance likely include the 3D glasses and the pricing, which is generally higher for 3D TVs than for standard HDTV sets. Throw in the additional charges that some...
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While AMC Theaters puts up a fuss about major motion pictures coming to VoD systems too soon after their theatrical release, ESPN is getting with the program. It's obvious that consumers want more mobile ways to consume content, so rather than urging people to torrent shows by giving them no other option, ESPN has just launched a killer new app that brings the cable channel's shows to the mobile realm. There are a number of "catches," though. WatchESPN is only available on iOS, so those who have the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad are invited, but everyone else is left outside. There's no Android version, no BlackBerry version, no WebOS version and no Windows Phone 7 version. Maybe those will come...
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This is it. It's really happening. 3D is taking over our lives, and there's nothing we can do about it. But is it really such a bag thing? There's no question that consumers have yet to truly speak on their acceptance or rejection of 3D in the home, but if there's any programming that could really spearhead things, it's sports. Sports is arguably the main reason that HD took off so quickly, and we're guessing that quite a few major organizations are hoping that sports can do the same for 3D.Starting this June (that's just a few months away), DirecTV will begin to broadcast ESPN 3D. ESPN 3D is easily the flagship 3D channel, and at the moment, we can't think of another 3D channel with as much...
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With March Madness kicking off in a matter of days, there's really no better time for this announcement to come. ESPN has managed to get themselves onto a variety of platforms: radio, television, Internet, mobile, etc. One thing that Sprint has going for them that all of the other U.S. carriers don't is a little deal with the nation's biggest sports broadcasting company, and for sports freaks, this may be all that's needed to sway them from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile.Starting this week, Sprint TV users will be able to watch ESPN Mobile TV, and if you subscribe to an "Everything Plan," Sprint TV access is already included for no extra charge. According to the company, ESPN Mobile TV coverage...
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The landscape of television is changing right in front of our eyes. Never before have we had so many content options and ways to consume that content, and it looks like the big media companies aren't shying away from the revolution.ESPN, which has already announced plans to introduce a 3D sports channel within the next year or so, could very well be making a serious play for online viewers. According to rumors in the New York Times, ESPN could "provide live streams of sporting events, similar to the ones available through ESPN 360, a service that is available from some high-speed Internet providers." Did we mention that it would be providing that via Xbox Live?Microsoft's console has been web-savvy...
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