broadcasting
Latest
Sony built a $2,500 smartphone for creators and broadcasters
If that price tag didn't make it immediately obvious, the Xperia Pro isn't for you or me. Sony's concept is a tantalizing one, especially now that broadcasters are experimenting with more mobile camera setups.
Major broadcasters sue nonprofit TV service over copyright infringement
CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox have joined forces in a fight against Locast, a nonprofit streaming service funded in part by AT&T Inc and Dish Network Corp. The service is marketed as a distribution alternative for people who can't get local TV signals through their antenna, but it's also earned a reputation as a free alternative for consumers who are tired of their cable bills. According to The Wall Street Journal, the four networks claim Locast is retransmitting their local TV signals without permission, therefore violating copyright law.
YouTube will exclusively stream 13 MLB games this season
YouTube has just made another major push with its sports broadcasting agenda, announcing a deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) that will give it exclusive rights to 13 games during the 2019 season. The games will be livestreamed for viewers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico for free on MLB's official YouTube channel, and on a forthcoming dedicated channel on YouTube TV.
Twitch's next streaming marathon includes 932 episodes of 'Pokémon'
Bob Ross. Julia Child. Doctor Who. Now you can add Ash Ketchum and Pikachu to the list of marathons Twitch has streamed. Starting August 27th and going all the way through 2019, Twitch will stream 16 Pokémon movies and 19 seasons of the franchise's TV shows. Next Monday starting at 10 AM Pacific the marathon begins with Pokémon: Indigo League on the TwitchPresents channel.
Twitch is giving the people what they want: GIFs
Twitch's next way of letting viewers interact with streams is with GIFs. The latest customization tool for the popular broadcasting service arrives via a partnership with Giphy, and the way it works sounds pretty simple. A broadcaster sets a location on the screen for where users can drop GIFs, and once a stream starts viewers click the Giphy icon to start searching for the perfect reaction to the 'caster's on-screen antics. From there, it'll overlay on the stream. Cool! Before you get any crazy ideas for trolling, GIFs will be curated for appropriateness.
Twitch allows everyone to customize streams with multiple tools
Twitch's work on Extensions -- video overlays and visual embellishments for streams -- keeps plugging along. Today the broadcasting service announced that now every user can turn on up to three different video overlays and a trio of below-player Extensions for their channel. It all sounds pretty easy to use, too. Just head over to the Extensions Manager on your channel dashboard and activate the six add-ons you want. To celebrate, there are even a handful of new Extensions available from developers, some explicitly made to be combined with one another.
Skype's call recording feature is made for podcasters
Here's a little trade secret: podcasters and radio show hosts use Skype a lot. It's helpful for adding remote guests with minimal fuss. You usually need to synchronize with a third-party app or device to record the call at the quality you'd like, though, and that can be a pain to set up. Mercifully, Microsoft is aiming to fix that. It's readying a Skype for Content Creators mode that records calls directly through NDI-capable software like Wirecast, Xsplit and Vmix. The feature provides "clean" copies of all call participants that you can easily drop into audio and video production apps, so you can focus more on posting your show and less on double-checking everyone's recordings.
NHK is ready to shoot slow motion 8K video
TV broadcasters are still wrapping their heads around 8K, but that isn't stopping NHK from pushing the technology forward. The Japanese industry giant is coming to the annual NAB trade show with a slew of 8K inventions, headlined by a high-speed camera. It's not exactly portable, but it can shoot 240 frames per second -- ideal for slow motion sports footage or reduced motion blur at full speed. Appropriately, there's dedicated hardware for stretching out playback at the extra-high resolution.
How to stream a paid UFC fight: pretend it’s a video game
Here's a fun one to start your week: On Saturday night, a Twitch streamer broadcasted the entirety of UFC 218 and, to skirt DMCA takedowns, he pantomimed like he was playing the UFC 3 video game. Yup, he streamed the mixed martial arts pay-per-view from Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit across his various social channels. AJ Lester went so far as to green-screen himself into the lower right corner of the broadcast, wear a headset and hold a (powered off) DualShock 4 for the entire fight. You can hear him twiddling the analog sticks and watch him play to the camera in the now-viral clip below.
FCC repeals restrictions on consolidation of media companies
Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed a handful of rules that it said were keeping the media industry out of the digital age, the Washington Post reports. The decades-old regulations were implemented in order to keep a diversity of perspectives within print, radio, and televised media outlets, but FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says they're out of date and don't reflect the current media landscape. "Few of the FCC's rules are staler than our broadcast ownership regulations," he said. "This agency finally drags its broadcast ownership rules to the digital age."
Razer’s new webcam and microphone are made for streamers
Razer is known as a gaming laptop, mouse and keyboard maker, but it actually offers a wide variety of products, like Xbox controllers, power banks, and even an upcoming phone. Razer also makes webcams like the Stargazer, which is built for streaming video games. Now Razer is upping its streaming game with two new "streamer certified" peripherals, a webcam with a built-in ring light called Kiyo as well as a USB condenser mic named Seiren X.
Tencent becomes the exclusive Chinese home of the NFL
The NFL has signed a deal with Tencent that'll see the Chinese giant becoming the exclusive home of the game for the next three years. As well as most pre and regular-season games, Chinese fans will be able to watch both the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. In addition, Deadline Hollywood says that ancillary shows, such as the Draft, Hard Knocks, Game Day and A Football Life are all included in the deal.
Twitch gives up-and-coming-streamers a cut of game sales
There's an additional avenue for non-Partnered Twitch streamers to make money. Now, in addition to earning money via Bits, Affiliate streamers can earn a five percent revenue share when viewers buy the game they're streaming, directly from their channel. "All Affiliates are automatically enabled to start earning from game sales starting today," according to a press release. "They only need to be playing a game that is available for sale on Twitch for a purchase button to appear on their channel page."
Sinclair buys Tribune Media to create a larger TV empire
It didn't take long for the rumors to come true. Sinclair Broadcast Group has confirmed that it's acquiring Tribune Media for $3.9 billion. The deal is the largest in Sinclair's history, and will add Tribune's 42 American TV stations to Sinclair's 173 -- that's a lot of broadcasters under one banner. The deal also gives it the cable channel WGN America, the digital network Antenna TV and small stakes in both Food Network as well as the internet job site CareerBuilder. However, it's not just about the immediate media expansion that matters. According to Sinclair, it's also about a long-term technological play.
Twitch opens the door for more streamers to make money
You don't need to be a member of Twitch's exclusive group of Partnered streamers to start making money broadcasting on the service anymore. "Twitch will invite creators to join the program who fit the criteria, based on time spent streaming, viewership and followers," the company said in a statement. That starts with opening its "Cheering with Bits" functionality up to more people.
Microsoft's Twitch competitor can remind you to stretch
Microsoft's Twitch competitor, Beam, has arrived on Xbox One. And seemingly in an effort to keep streamers healthy, there are a few tools in the back-end to remind folks to do things like eat and stretch. Simply check the "Enable Health Reminders" box and at a user-defined intervals you can get pings to stand up and shove some food in your face.
YouTube rolls out mobile live streaming to its biggest creators
YouTube, despite its dominance in online video, has been slow to adopt mobile live streaming. While Twitter and Facebook have embraced the 'broadcast anywhere' mentality, Google has stuck mostly to Hangouts and other desktop-focused streaming setups. But that's all about to change. Following a small roll out last year, YouTube says it's ready to offer mobile live streaming to anyone with over 10,000 subscribers. While not everyone -- the team says "the rest of you will have it soon" -- the expansion should cover all of the big name YouTubers who have a large, ravenous audience.
Recommended Reading: How Russia hacked the US
The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the US Eric Lipton, David E. Sanger and Scott Shane, The New York Times Within the last week, the CIA, Obama administration and FBI have all agreed that Russian intervened in the presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump. The White House went so far as to say that the cyberattacks were directed by president Vladimir Putin himself. The New York Times offers a detailed look at the Russian hack of the DNC which led to emails and other documents making it into the hands of WikiLeaks and other websites.
Intel is getting into VR sports and live events
There's a glut of virtual reality headsets on the market now, but not nearly enough VR content. Intel, which just launched the "Project Alloy" mixed reality headset, is addressing that. It acquired a small firm called Voke that produces 360-degree content for live events like fashion shows and basketball games, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Voke is going to allow us to accelerate our route to market with leagues and broadcasters," Intel VP Wendell Brooks tells the WSJ.
Bloomberg: Amazon wants live sports streaming rights
Bloomberg believes that Amazon is considering buying the rights to a variety of live sporting events as a way of bringing more people into Prime. According to the site's anonymous sources, the firm has made discreet enquiries about picking up licenses for global sports including tennis, golf, soccer and car racing. The company is believed to have a beady eye on domestic sports like baseball and basketball, although knows that traditional broadcasters have that sewn up for the next few years.
