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YouTube TV costs $65 a month after yet another price increase
The base plan has jumped up $15 since the last hike in April 2019.
Netflix original 'BoJack Horseman' is coming to Comedy Central
There have been whispers as early as January that BoJack Horseman could arrive on cable TV -- and after six months, it turns out the syndication rumors were true. Comedy Central has secured the television rights to all five seasons of the Emmy Award nominated black comedy series -- meaning it is no longer a Netflix exclusive.
Streaming TV firm Philo is offering three months of Pandora Premium
Streaming TV upstart Philo is giving customers a freebie: three months of Pandora Premium for new and existing subscribers to either of its packages. Pandora's on-demand music service already offers a 60-day trial, but those who take up the deal will get three months of free music.
Viacom launches studio dedicated to shows for YouTube and Facebook
Viacom has come a long, long way from the days when online video was seemingly its mortal enemy. The media giant has formally launched Digital Studios, a wing dedicated to (you guessed it) original internet shows. The initial programs in the works are all attached to familiar names like BET, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon, and will be available across services like Facebook Watch, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube -- it won't just involve the previously unveiled Snapchat plans.
Viacom says its streaming service will launch this year
Yesterday, Viacom CFO Wade Davis said during an earnings call that the company is planning to launch its own streaming service this year, TechCrunch reports. Davis said that while withholding much of its content from other streaming services has reduced the revenue it could have collected, it also allowed the company to go forward with its own service. "In terms of the amount of content that it's going to have, it's going to have tens of thousands of hours of content that cut across the library we have on a global basis," said Davis. "And it's important to note one of the reasons that we are able to do this is that we've chosen to curtail the amount of content that we license into third-party [business to consumer] experiences."
PlayStation Vue drops all Viacom channels
If you're a subscriber to Sony's PlayStation Vue streaming service, here's some bad news: it's discontinuing all Viacom content starting November 11th. That means that channels like Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Spike will no longer be available on Vue. In a blog post, the company stated that the decision was "the best way for us to continue to offer the most compelling value to our fans," which suggests that cost could've been an issue.
Sling TV debuts its new look on Apple TV
Apple's TV box is getting more internet TV friendly with the addition of Sling TV, but that's not the end of the announcements today. Apple TV will be the first platform with Sling's new "content-centric" UI. A big addition is the "My TV" section, which lets users pick favorite channels or easily resume watching a particular show, as well as other overall improvements. Sling's deal with Apple also means it will let subscribers buy a 32GB Apple TV for $89 -- if they prepay for three months of Sling's $20/month service. It's an odd way to build in what amounts to three free months of Sling, but that's what it will be when it goes live here.
Comedy Central, BET, MTV, more Viacom networks will hit Sling TV
Viacom networks Comedy Central, BET, MTV, Spike, Nick Jr. and others will land on Dish's streaming service, Sling TV, in the coming months. These channels will be available in single-stream and multi-stream packages, though there's no word on specific bundles just yet. It's all part of a deal Viacom and Dish hashed out last night, just before their previous contract expired, and it ensures Viacom's current lineup of 18 channels will remain on Dish satellite TV.
South Park is staying on the air and on Hulu through 2019
Looks like the kids from everybody's favorite quiet mountain town will be continuing their shenanigans for at least another three years -- huzzah! Comedy Central announced that South Park creators Matt Smith and Trey Parker have reached a deal to extend the cultural touchstone series by another three years and 30 episodes (that's in addition to the two remaining years on the shows current contract). Additionally, South Park Digital Studios (Parker and Smith's joint venture with Viacom) announced a separate deal with Hulu that will see the series remain on the streaming service until 2020.
Comedy Central channel starts streaming on Roku
It took a while, but Comedy Central is finally bringing its video content to Roku's streaming devices. As Variety points out, although the network hasn't made an official announcement, the channel's now available for download. You will need a pay-TV subscription to access most of Comedy Central's on-demand library, however, which includes The Daily Show, Key & Peele, South Park, Broad City and many more shows. That said, cord-cutters won't be completely left out, since they'll be able to enjoy the latest episodes of some shows -- like The Daily Show, The Nightly Show with Larry More and a few select others. Don't have it on your Roku player yet? You can install it directly from here.
'Battlebots' reboot will air on ABC June 21st
We knew the Battlebots TV show would crawl out of its early 2000s grave for another six episode run on ABC, and now the network has announced when. Sunday June 21st at 9PM, Battlebots will once again light up screens with robot vs. robot combat, now enhanced with the elimination of weight classes, the addition of onboard cameras and "a greater emphasis on the design and build elements of each robot." The competitions didn't actually stop once Comedy Central turned the TV lights out in 2002, so in a few months we should see how a decade or so of maker culture has advanced the sport -- as long as the producers' desire to add backstory doesn't get in the way. Hey, it can't be worse than Fuller House. [Image credit: nerdabout/Flickr]
'Battlebots' is coming back to TV this summer
That's right, Battlebots is coming back from its place in the early-00's vault for a six episode run on ABC this summer. In its original run the show featured "talent" like Sean Salisbury, Bil Dwyer, Bill Nye, Traci Bingham and Carmen Electra, but there's no word yet on who will be hosting this time around. The most important part of course should be the bots themselves, which will still be homemade but are promised to be "bigger, faster and stronger than ever before." It looks like the show is also taking some cues from last decade or so of reality TV (for better or worse), by delving into the design of each robot and the people who build them. The show last aired on Comedy Central in 2002, but developments like 3D-printing and the Maker movement are just a part of the progress we've seen since then. We're still months away from finding out if Battlebots has a place after its long hiatus, but until then you can check out some highlights and an oral history of the original series.
Comedy Central bringing 'Key and Peele' and 'South Park' to Chromecast (update)
Sure, there are plenty of hilarious videos on YouTube, but even the best parkour-fail clip can't compare to a bang-on episode of South Park or Key and Peele. In that case, your Chromecast is about to get a a few more laughs thanks to the Comedy Central mobile app getting support for Google's streaming stick. There's some kid-friendly fare en route too -- Sesame Street Go and Nickelodeon will soon be castable to your flat-screen as well. You'll almost positively need a cable subscription (or know someone with one) to access the respective TV-network content, and to pay a separate fee to beam Big Bird to your big-screen. Don't have those? Well, until then, there's always Scrabble to help pass the time. Update: Today's news also includes the addition of TuneIn, Encore Play, EPIX, and YuppTV joining the ranks of the Broad City, Spongebob and Cookie Monster outfits. [Image credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP]
Verizon's new FiOS deal will let you watch Comedy Central away from home
Verizon is about to make it much easier to catch The Daily Show when you can't reach your TV on time. As part of a renewed carriage deal, Big Red will let you watch all of Viacom's live channels (including Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon) through the FiOS Mobile app when you're away from home. You'll also have access to all of Viacom's authenticated TV Everywhere services, so you'll get to stream on-demand shows through a wide array of apps and devices. There's more on the way, too. Verizon says the renewal will let it offer a mysterious bundle of "marquee content" nationwide to its wireless customers -- even if they don't have FiOS -- and it expects to roll out "innovative new TV packages" that better match viewers' tastes. We doubt the channel bundle will disappear entirely any time soon but we'd welcome more choices and, hopefully, lower prices. [Image credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster]
Comedy Central for Xbox One serves 'South Park' and 'The Daily Show'
Not going to be home to catch the South Park season premiere this week, lack a DVR but have an Xbox One? We realize those conditions might narrow the field just a bit, but you shouldn't worry either way: the Comedy Central app is now available for Microsoft's newest gaming console. With it comes access to current shows the day after they air and a trove of past seasons and catalog programming, too. The Daily Show network notes on Xbox Wire that there's a bunch of stand-up specials and digital shorts available on the app (similar to its Xbox 360 counterpart) as well. The difference between this and Hulu Plus, of course, is that accessing the shows is free with your existing cable subscription. It's even more of a deal in the wake of Microsoft not requiring an Xbox Live Gold membership to access media apps. With enough time, the Xbox One could even start to pay for itself -- assuming you only watch Comedy Central, that is.
Xbox brings laughter to all ages with Comedy Central and Nickelodeon apps
Xbox Live Gold customers, get ready for a chucklefest in your living room. Two new apps to tickle the funny bone have just arrived for Microsoft's console courtesy of Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. We heard rumblings about the latter being added to the roster a while ago, but it looks like that has finally come to fruition. Your kids can enjoy full episodes of their favorite Nick shows, short videos and special animated shorts. The Comedy Central app is a touch more adult-oriented of course, with a focus on the channel's stand-up offerings. Dubbed "CC: Stand-up," the app boasts more than 6,000 videos of routines from around 700 comedians. So whether you're into Aziz Ansari or Spongebob Squarepants, you'll be able to get your fix via Xbox Live starting today.
Viacom lands deal to show TV highlights on Twitter starting August 25th
While Viacom hasn't always understood how this whole internet video thing works, it's showing some tech savviness today with confirmation of rumors that it's joining Twitter's Amplify program. Beginning with the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25th, Viacom will deliver ad-backed video highlights on Twitter for shows and events across its channel range, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. In theory, the agreement is a win for everyone: Viacom and Twitter get more revenue, while we get a legal way to revisit those inevitable celebrity slip-ups. The two sides haven't said how long their partnership will last, although we wouldn't be surprised if results from the VMA broadcast help shape the deal's future.
Comedy Central's Stand-Up app puts comics on your iPhone
Comedy Central on Thursday released a brand-new iOS app that's sure to leave you laughing. The app is called CC:Stand-up, and as the name implies, it enables users to watch a plethora of great stand-up comics. The CC:Stand-Up app is finally here, giving you free access to Comedy Central's massive library of stand-up from your favorite comedians. Enjoy the best bits from the likes of Kevin Hart, Louis C.K., Gabriel Iglesias, Daniel Tosh, Amy Schumer, John Mulaney, Pete Holmes, Aziz Ansari and hundreds more. The best part? No cover charge, no two-drink minimum. Those are some big-name comedians there, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I was personally excited to see hilarious clips from Hannibal Burres, a Chicago-based comedian who formerly wrote for 30 Rock and now for SNL, and Neal Brennan who you might know as the co-creator of the classic Chappelle's Show. Again, given that the app is free, there's no reason not to check it out if you're partial to stand-up comedy. What's particularly clever is that the app, if you want it to, handles most of the work if you're not quite sure what you're interested in seeing. For example, there's a "Featured" mode that will create a stand-up playlist for you based on a particular topic, or if you want, a selection of "best of" clips from the station's archives. What's more, there's also a "Discover" mode where users can find comedians similar to ones they already like based on varying criteria. Most impressive, however, is the sheer breadth of content the app makes available to users. Finally the app gives you the ability to SEARCH our stockpile of over 700 comedians and 6,000 videos -- just type in a comic's name or the title of a specific clip. Our library has everything you're looking for, except a librarian. (We are working on this for future builds.) Note that users must be at least 17 years old to download the app.
Amazon, Viacom deal keeps many TV shows on Prime and Kindle, some exclusively
In May Netflix let a broad content deal with Viacom (parent company of Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and more) expire and saw many of the network's shows disappear from its streaming service, but Amazon will not follow its lead. Today the company announced an extension in its own agreement with Viacom that not only keeps the TV shows (over 250 seasons including more than 3,900 episodes) but includes a provision for a "selection" of exclusives. That means Amazon will stream Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. kids shows like Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Blues Clues and Victorious, with some available as part of the Kindle FreeTime Unlimited package on its tablets and some heading to Lovefilm in Germany and the UK later this summer. Other shows affected by the deal include current and upcoming ones from MTV and Comedy Central like Workaholics, Key and Peele and Awkward. For its part, Netflix has also expanded a deal with Disney and is even producing an original kids show of its own to follow up on projects like House of Cards and Arrested Development, but so is Amazon. As competition in the subscription streaming market intensifies expect to see more exclusives as studios play the services against each others to drive prices up -- as seen here, if one decides to invest more in original content and deals for specific content there will likely be a cost in other areas.
Futurama gets canceled a second time, finale to air on September 4th
Bad news, everyone. Five years into Futurama's revived presence on Comedy Central, the animated sci-fi series is getting the boot for the second time in its long and tumultuous history. Long-time fans will remember the first series finale ("The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings") on Fox in 2003, the show's brief rerun stint on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, the foray into four direct-to-DVD movies (which were separated into sixteen episodes for its inaugural season on Comedy Central) and its eventual deal with the cable network that brought us South Park and The Daily Show. But even after stunts like playing on our gadget obsessions and coming up with a brand new mathematical theorem, it seems the fine folks over at Planet Express just couldn't slake Viacom's thirst for viewers. So, with a heavy heart, we await the series finale (dubbed "Meanwhile") to air on September 4th. But hey, maybe someone can convince Netflix to give life to yet another brilliant-but-canceled series? Update: To check out a preview of the show's final season -- to debut on June 19th -- take a peek at the second video after the break.
