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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.
'Deep Web' is a show based on the Silk Road story
If the hacker bits in House of Cards' second season stoked a fire in you for the illicit parts of the internet, maybe Spike TV and Gary Oldman (pictured above) have you covered. The former has partnered with the latter and a few others to produce a series called Deep Web about, you guessed it, the hidden version of the internet where one can buy just about anything you could imagine. Like hacking software, drugs and automatic weaponry, for example. The show is based on Ross Ulbricht's ascension to the top of the online underworld and the Silk Road's bitcoin shopping mall, according to Deadline. Other details are scarce at the moment including when we might actually see it and how fictionalized it'll be (our guess? pretty heavily), but there's plenty of time for that info to surface, we'd imagine. For now, let's just hope there are 100 percent less guinea pigs and obscure techno than in what we've seen recently. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
DirecTV vs. Viacom squabble could see MTV, Comedy Central and 16 others go dark at midnight
The latest participants in the carriage dispute dance are DirecTV and Viacom, with the two companies attempting to reach a new agreement before their existing one expires tonight. If they don't, the network's 26 channels (MTV, BET, VH1, Spike TV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon etc.) could be cut off at midnight. As usual, each has its own side of the argument with Viacom claiming DirecTV has been underpaying for years, while DirecTV accuses Viacom of seeking an increase that will add up to a billion dollars in a year and is responsible for pulling the channels while negotiations continue. We're not particularly sympathetic to the plight of either corporate behemoth (or optimistic that any savings will ever reach customer's pockets) but if you must support one over the other then there's plenty of propaganda to be found at the links below. This may not be as crucial as Dish Network's (potentially) Breaking Bad-interrupting tiff with AMC, but if we have to miss an episode of Workaholics or Awkward it's going to be bad for everyone. Update: We've revised the total channel count from 26 as Viacom stated to 18 -- as much as we like HD feeds, we don't usually count them twice. [Thanks, AJ]
Nintendo plans virtual wall of E3 coverage, wants no eyeball left behind
With E3 2012 right around the corner, Reggie and co. want to make sure your oft-distracted eyes catch every drip drop of the impending Wii U news flood. Much like it did last year, Nintendo's yet again taking to media outlets old and new for coverage of its All-Access Presentation, scheduled for June 5th at 9AM PST, that should prove an unavoidable must-see for any gamer bred on the house that Mario built. Whether you take your news via flat-screen or monitor, the gaming giant's got a solution to sate your preferred means of consumption, making its press conference available ad-free on Spike TV and MTV2, or online with a Facebook-hosted live stream. Of course, you can always set your browser to the Big N's own dedicated site on the big day to keep abreast of its next planned dive into the deep Blue Ocean. Check out the presser after the break for all the necessary informational bits.
PS3 exclusive 'The Last of Us' to debut at Spike VGAs
Over the last couple of years, Spike TV's annual Video Game Awards ceremony has become a launching pad for more than teleprompter dialogue and stilted celebrity sight reads. Publishers are utilizing the exceedingly televised event as an opportunity to reveal new titles and IPs; take The Last of Us, for example. Beyond the fact that it's a PS3 exclusive and will have something to do with ants, rioting and/or the apocalypse, The Last of Us is as much of a mystery to us as it is to everyone else. Glean what you can from the teaser above, and visit the official site for a short clip of an ant licking its butt.
Microsoft's E3 briefing will air on Spike, Facebook and in HD VOD on Xbox Live
A few years ago we were happy just to get a few trailers in high definition from the E3 videogames conference on our Xbox 360s, but this year Microsoft and Spike TV have teamed up to bring the company's entire briefing in HD (via video on-demand) to the console. It will air live on Spike TV June 6th at 12:30 p.m. ET, with streams also available on GameTrailers.com (in high definition), Facebook, MTV.com, Spike.com and Xbox.com as well as being broadcast in Times Square. You can bet we'll be back to liveblog the proceedings yet again but if you want to get your own eyeful of Xbox 360: The Future Revealed (hint: Gears of War 3, Forza Motorsport 4 and Kinect) there will be plenty of ways to do it.
Time Warner Cable takes Viacom to court over its TWCable TV iPad app; Viacom responds
While there's been a lot of talk about whether or not Time Warner has the right to include feeds of cable channels it carries in the new TWCable TV app, besides the company's voluntary removal of several networks there's been very little action until now. Time Warner Cable announced this afternoon it has filed a request in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for a declaratory judgement regarding Viacom's cable networks. Time Warner continues to maintain its carriage agreements give it the right to allow subscribers access on any screen in their home, not just the TV and is apparently ready to prove that in court -- or at least drive Viacom, Discovery, Fox and other complaining networks towards more favorable negotiations. The app added seven more channels earlier today, while we wait for Viacom's side of the story you can check out the press release after the break or Time Warner's official blog to understand its stance in full. Update: Viacom has responded, saying Time Warner "blatantly grabbed the rights that their competitors have negotiated in good faith to obtain" forcing it to file a lawsuit of its own. The gloves are officially off -- check the full text after the break, or a PDF of Viacom's complaint linked below.
Next Call of Duty to be announced on GameTrailers TV this week
If you're looking for Call of Duty news that isn't related to the Infinity Ward fiasco, you're in luck. This week's GameTrailers TV will feature a brand new teaser trailer that promises to "put all the rumors to rest." We already know that the next iteration of Activision's FPS franchise will be developed by World at War's Treyarch, but this week's GTTV should finally confirm the long-rumored Vietnam setting. GTTV will air on SpikeTV on Friday night at 12:40AM. (And don't worry, we'll post details immediately after they air.) Check out a promo after the break.
DISH Network adds seven new Viacom HD channels, cements HD supremacy
If you want your MTV HD you can get it, and BET HD, CMT HD, Comedy Central HD, Nickelodeon HD, Spike TV HD and VH1 HD on DISH Network. Thanks to a new deal with Viacom, all those HD feeds were announced today as available to all subscribers at no extra cost. Also included? Video on-demand and Internet streaming rights that senior VP Dave Shull had no problem claiming as a testament to DISH's "continued HD leadership" while also asserting its HD supremacy. BET HD is available on the Classic Silver 200 HD package and up, while all the rest are on the Classic Bronze 100 lineup.
American Cable Association calls out Viacom's annoying crawl
We're not sure how this demand will be received, but the American Cable Association's argument is simple: if only Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks subs are in danger of losing MTV Networks channels at the stroke of midnight, why are we all bothered with an annoying crawl message? Of course, that plea is couched by statements backing TWC and BHN's reluctance to agree to new higher programming fees, but those of us eagerly anticipating a Miley-Sized surprise during tonight's NYE celebration that have a different provider could do without the interruptions.
TNA Wrestling preps for first ever HDTV broadcast
Aw, yeah. Just a few short weeks after TNA Wrestling wrapped up the final loose ends on a new high-def studio in Nashville, in comes the announcement we've been expecting. TNA will be taping a live iMPACT! event on October 23rd in Las Vegas which it will broadcast in high-definition on Spike TV. When it airs, it'll mark the first ever HDTV broadcast for the sport. We'd say you could go and watch the sweat / blood in person, but maybe it's best to just take this one in from the (HD) sidelines.
The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale hits HD for the first time June 21
Following other MMA action, WWE and boxing to HD, The Ultimate Fighter 7 will broadcast its finale in high definition on Spike HD June 21. The three hour event kicks off at 9 p.m., featuring a main event of Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove, as well as the middleweight tournament finals from the show's latest season and other bouts. Broadcasting live from Las Vegas, we don't know if they'll be sharing camera equipment with The View, due in town the same week, but we figure the winner should stop by the couch to have a chat with Babs & Co. afterwards.
Reminder: GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley premieres tonight
We don't mean to tell you what to do during your Friday evenings (or early Saturday mornings), but we thought we might at least wedge a single suggestion in-between "pwn sum n00bs" and "stop destroying the English language." If you or your trusty PVR device were to eye Spike TV at 1amET/PT tonight, you'd experience the premiere of "GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley," a weekly magazine-style program dedicated to those video game things you like so much.Hosted by media "darling" Geoff Keighley, the show will not only come to you on the airwaves, but via a download on Xbox Live Marketplace and -- for those dying to pore over Geoff's pores -- an HD version on GameTrailers.com. For further incentive, consider that the premiere will highlight an "exclusive sneak peak" of EA's Command & Conquer FPS, Tiberium.Be sure to let us know what you think ... after you've watched it.
Reminder: Watch the Spike TV Video Game Awards tonight
Don't forget -- the Spike TV Video Game Awards airs tonight at 9 p.m. EST. If you're a faithful Joystiq reader, you already know which games won awards -- but don't let that take the wind out of your sails! You still haven't seen the exclusive performance by the Fighters of Foo, the comedy stylings of Patton Oswalt, or the trollopery of MySpace vixen Tila Tequila.Okay, we know that two hours of mainstream culture mixed with ceaseless product placements and a gaggle of celebrities who have no idea what they're talking about isn't everyone's idea of the perfect Sunday night. If that's the case, tune in to Spike TV tonight at 9 p.m. EST for the two hours hate.
Mega64's VGA 2007 TV spot makes us laugh, feel guilty
Mega64's latest ad for Spike TV's "Video Game Awards 2007" further proves the fact that there's nothing funnier than old people talking about electronics. We admit it, when we see a befuddled septuagenarian being buffeted by questions about video games, we can't help but snicker. We know it makes us bad people. There's no doubt in our minds that in fifty years, a trio of cheap-suited young men will hassle us about things we don't understand, just to get a few guffaws. It's just the great circle of internet comedy.
Today's one-to-one-scale video: Fan-made Halo helmet
We looked for something unrelated to Halo for our video pick, but eventually just learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. This Spike TV GameHead clip shows Halo fan, Devin White's rough process in creating Master Chief armor. (We'd call it cosplay, but that's like calling G.I. Joe a doll.) White casts molds from his clay sculptures to create plastic, glistening armor and helmets.The race is on to hollow-out the Legendary box into a small, pet-wearable helmet. Watch this fan build a human-wearable one from scratch after the break.
Game Head's Halo 3 beta episode coming Friday
Spike TV's late night gaming show de force Game Head will be uber special this Friday, because it'll feature some exclusive Halo 3 fun. This Friday, May 11th at 1:00AM (eastern?) the episode will air where they'll show off what they learned, saw, and played at a recent visit to Bungie Studios. And unless you're lucky enough to get in early via the Friends and Family program, this will be the first official look into what the Halo 3 beta has to offer. Set your TiVo (who really has a TiVo anymore?) or stay up for this week's Game Head ... our Bawls are already chilled.[Via Digg]
Video Marketplace HD blowout
Major Nelson posted the latest releases for Video Marketplace yesterday evening. Items worth noting include nine of the movies released are available in glorious High Definition. This week also introduces Lionsgate Films into the growing list of Video Marketplace partners. LGF happens to be based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, right next to the Fanboy Igloo HQ. Finally, Skyland from Nicktoons is available with the show's pilot episode FREE to download until 11:59 PST on Monday, January 29th. Later this week you'll be able to get your hands on Barnyard and World Trade Center. Full list of the title available after the break.
Joystiq on the Video Game Awards yellow carpet
Warning: video is NSFW Joystiq attended Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards last week, and here's the video to prove it. We literally had to shove our way into our designated spot at the press line and jockey for position with other outlets like Hustler and The Greater Cuyahoga News-Press. Once we were set, we asked the hard-hitting questions that have been on gamers' minds for some time. Some highlights: Joe Rogan literally going insane on camera talking about virtual reality Mark Ecko talking about Britney Spears' underwear allergy Samuel L. Jackson not popping us in the face One word of warning, the video isn't safe for work by a long shot. Joe Rogan uses some very colorful language near the end that has to be seen to be believed ... then again, maybe not. It is Joe Rogan after all. The 2006 Video Game Awards air tonight on Spike TV. Tune in if you want to see Sam Jackson drop some F-bombs, Stewie Griffin insult Sam, and Sarah Silverman insult every gamer in the world. The best thing about it is the Burning Crusade opening cinematic that premieres during the show. That and the skits about the motion-capture guy. Nothing is funnier than jokes about balls, right? Alternatively, you could also go back and start beating Gears of War on insane. The night is yours!
Oblivion wins big at Spike's Video Game Awards
Spike TV's Video Game Awards just wrapped up in Los Angles with the big winners already announced. Reuters is reporting that Bethesda's Elder Scrolls: Oblivion won big, taking home five awards including Most Addictive and Game of the Year. Not to be left out, Gears of War took home the Studio of the Year award and Best Graphics honors. Below is a list of some of the winners, but be sure to tune into Spike TV's Video Game Awards when it airs December 13th.Game of the Year: "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion"Studio of the Year: "Gears of War"Best Performance by a Human - Male: Patrick Stewart in "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" Best Performance by a Human - Female: Vida Guerra in "Scarface: The World is Yours" Most Addictive: "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" Critics' Choice: "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess"Cyber Vixen of the Year: Alyx Vance in "Half-Life 2: Episode 1"Best Original Score: "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" Best Graphics: "Gears of War"Breakthrough Technology: Nintendo Wii
