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Apple reportedly considered creating a Chromecast-style TV dongle
With a streaming service on the way, Apple has reportedly started looking for new ways to get its content in front of as many eyes as possible, including releasing a streaming dongle, according to The Information. The device would be in the style of Google's Chromecast or Amazon's Fire TV Stick and would bring the price down considerably from the cost of the $180 Apple TV set-top box.
The Premier League is coming to UK Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime will show live Premier League matches from 2019 in the UK. The technology giant has bought a football package that will give it exclusive TV -- or in this case, streaming -- rights for 20 games per season, from 2019/20 to 2021/22. These cover some midweek fixtures in early December, and the games taking place over the Bank Holiday (Boxing Day). Earlier this year, the Premier League announced that it had sold five out of seven TV packages in the UK. BT bought one bundle, worth 32 games, while Sky secured four, representing 128 matches. Today, the league confirmed that Amazon and BT have secured the final two TV packages.
BBC iPlayer now hosts all post-revival 'Doctor Who' episodes
Whovians, rejoice: every 'modern' episode of Doctor Who is back on iPlayer. (At least for Brits, anyway.) All of the adventures starring Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi as the humanoid and usually heartwarming alien are included in the re-release. They're being offered as a sort of warm-up for series 11, which will debut this fall with Jodie Whittaker as the iconic Time Lord. You'll need to hurry, though, if you want to watch everything before the show comes back.
Budget TV service Philo now streams on Amazon and Apple devices
Philo may have started out as a streaming service for students in collaboration with universities, but the company has its own full-fledged consumer streaming service now. And the dev team is in the process of expanding the devices on which Philo is available; starting this summer, CNET reports, the cheap streaming service will have apps for both Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV devices.
Sky's £15 Now TV streaming stick comes with a voice remote
Sky's Now TV hardware hasn't had a refresh in over a year now, the most recent box being a curious clash of aerial and ethernet. The new Now TV box being announced today isn't a box at all, however. Sky call it the Now TV Smart Stick, and as always, we're looking at a rebranded Roku device that serves as a vehicle for Now TV's subscription-free sports, entertainment, movies and children's TV packages. This isn't the 4K streaming stick Roku launched for £80 last October, but a custom-built model similar to one only available in the US. If you're familiar with Now TV hardware or even just the apps, then you pretty much know what you're dealing with already. The Smart Stick does have a few tricks up its sleeve, though.
Sky and BT agree to share their top TV channels
After years of "on and off" negotiations, BT and Sky have agreed to share their most popular TV channels. The deal means that Sky's Now TV streaming service will soon be available on BT's set-top box. BT will sell the various passes directly to consumers — so if you subscribe to both, you won't have to worry about separate bills anymore. On the flip-side, BT has agreed to give Sky "wholesale supply" of BT Sport. It will allow Sky to sell these channels standalone or as part of larger Sky TV packages. BT Sport will also be available on Sky Go and Now TV's Roku-in-disguise boxes.
Verizon aims for spring 2018 to debut its streaming TV service
We first heard that Verizon was interested in launching a streaming TV service back in March, but getting it off the ground has been a real struggle. It was originally scheduled to debut this past summer, though rumors had it slipping to the fall. Now, Bloomberg reports that Verizon is eyeing a launch in spring 2018.
Kodi box piracy case comes to anticlimactic end
A man arrested for selling "fully-loaded" Kodi boxes has suddenly backed down from fighting his case. Brian "Tomo" Thompson pleaded guilty to two charges under the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act earlier today. The charges are for advertising and selling devices — in this case, custom Kodi hardware — built for the purpose of streaming content illegally. It's a sharp U-turn from January when Thompson attended a hearing at Teeside Crown Court and plead not guilty to both offences.
BBC is putting hundreds of classic TV programmes on iPlayer
Over the years, the BBC has amassed an impressive trove of classic TV and radio programming. Accessing it all can be tricky, however, because iPlayer has always been positioned as more of a catchup service. Some series are available permanently, but most, especially older shows, are not. You normally have to buy them digitally, on DVD or Blu-ray, or hope they're accessible somewhere on the BBC website. Not anymore. The BBC is launching a section on iPlayer called 'From the Archive,' which, as the name implies, will be a home for BBC classics. Roughly 450 programmes are available at launch, with more being added "in the coming years."
Three’s ‘Go Binge’ plans offer ‘free’ data for Netflix streaming
To better compete with EE, Vodafone and O2, Three is introducing a zero-rating scheme in the UK. The network operator has teamed up with Netflix, TVPlayer, Deezer and SoundCloud to offer inclusive streaming with select mobile contracts. So when you watch or listen to these services on the go, they won't count towards your monthly data cap. The move, while contentious for net neutrality advocates, will no doubt be welcomed by consumers. There is, however, a pretty big catch: to take advantage of the new perk, you'll need to upgrade to a "Go Binge" plan, which Three admits will be slightly more expensive than your current, equivalent contract.
'The Defenders' trailer unites Netflix's Marvel universe
Five seasons of Netflix-Marvel goodness (or, in the case of Iron Fist, mediocrity) have all built up to this. Building on last month's teaser, Netflix has released the first full-blown trailer for The Defenders. Like The Avengers movies, the project is a culmination of many interlocking 'cinematic universe' ideas. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist -- all four TV shows stand on their own, but share characters, lore and the occasional cameo appearance that bind them together. The Defenders, a team-up of New York's street-level heroes, will prove whether Netflix can deliver such an ambitious, expensive crossover project in the streaming world.
Premier League wins court order to block Kodi football streams
The Premier League has been granted stronger powers to crack down on copyright infringing streams of football matches. Under a new court order, approved by the UK's high court, the organisation will be able to block servers powering illegal streams. It's a method that could and should be more effective than simply blocking the sites and webpages hosting a shady video player. "For the first time this will enable the Premier League to disrupt and prevent the illegal streaming of our matches via IPTV, so-called Kodi, boxes," a spokesperson for the Premier League said.
BBC and ITV's 'BritBox' streaming service arrives in the US
The BBC and ITV have banded together to launch their own subscription streaming service in the US. They've teased "BritBox" before, but now it's actually here, for $6.99 per month on the web, Apple TV and Android (Roku, Chromecast and iOS apps are in the works.) If you've wanted a Netflix equivalent for Top Gear, Doctor Who and The Great British Bake Off, however, you'll be sorely disappointed. At launch, the service is being propped up by older classics such as Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes (the one starring Jeremy Brett, not the Benedict Cumberbatch reboot.)
Now TV Smart Box review: A scrappy blend of on-demand and live TV
Now TV is pivotal to Sky's future success. More people than ever before are eschewing big, expensive TV packages for lighter, on-demand alternatives such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. For the last few years, Sky has been refining (and heavily marketing) Now TV in response. The platform has a number of "passes" which, for roughly the price of a Netflix subscription, cover either sports, movies or TV shows. Now, Sky is pushing forward with the Smart Box, a set-top streamer that comes with the Now TV app and a coaxial port as standard. That means it can handle both free-to-air TV channels and Now TV's content, which includes live channel streaming and catch-up programming. The idea is that the box (which is basically a Roku in disguise) will appeal to cord-cutters who fancy an affordable streaming service or two on top of their traditional TV experience. With the new Smart Box, you can alternate between them without switching inputs or grabbing another remote.
Watch the first trailer for 'Black Mirror' season three
The third season of Charlie Brooker's dark, technology-infused drama Black Mirror is almost upon us. The show is known for its bleak but surprisingly believable depictions of the future, where society has pursued revelatory technologies -- only to discover some unsettling consequences. The show started on Channel 4 in the UK, but has since been picked up by Netflix for season three. The first proper trailer dropped today, teasing some of the storylines that will play out in each of the six episodes. There are plenty of familiar faces, including Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones) and Michael Kelly (House of Cards). The first batch of episodes will drop on October 21st. Netflix has commissioned 12 episodes, however, so a second set -- which most people are now referring to as season four -- will be released at a later date.
RIP, third-gen Apple TV
The Apple TV of old -- the one that doesn't have a tiny, Siri-enabled remote, or any desire to play video games -- is no more. As MacRumors reports, the third-gen hardware is no longer listed on Apple's site, all but sealing its fate. Maybe you'll see one in a brick-and-mortar store -- but consider it a hanger-on. A remnant of the past, before tvOS and its fancy new apps were introduced. 9to5Mac has also obtained an email, sent by Apple to its employees and education partners, confirming the decision. So that's it. From here on out, it's all about the new, fourth-gen Apple TV.
Draft BBC Charter sets the stage for a subscription service
A few months after its White Paper, the UK government has published the first official draft of the next BBC Charter. The crucial document, which sets out the broadcaster's funding, corporate structure and general approach to programming, comes with a few crucial changes. After all, it's been a decade since the last Charter was drawn up -- a lot has changed in that time, both politically and inside the media industry.
BBC iPlayer will let you 'restart' live shows on your phone
Sometimes you'll race home and boot up BBC iPlayer, only to find that you've missed the start of your favourite show. Fiddlesticks. It's an important week on The Great British Bake Off. Never mind, at least you can press "restart" on a laptop, PC or smart TV, rewinding the programme in an instant. Now, wouldn't it be nice if you could do that on a smartphone too? Well, soon you will. The BBC says the feature is coming to its iOS and Android apps "shortly," complimenting its new pause and rewind buttons.
Sky Q update makes binge-watching that little bit easier
In the UK, Sky Q offers a bunch of improvements over the old Sky+ platform: a better interface, a fancy new remote and support for 4K content. It's also an acknowledgement of the role streaming now plays in the TV landscape, putting on-demand episodes and box sets at the centre of the experience. Today, Sky is adding some basic but welcome features for binge-watchers, including the option to auto-play the next episode in a season. (Much like Netflix and Amazon do already.) The new software update also adds an auto-download option, meaning the next episode will start downloading while you watch the preceding chapter in the season.
Netflix UK now has every 'Star Trek' TV episode
With Star Trek Beyond less than a month away, there's never been a better time to rewatch some of the franchise's older TV episodes. Every instalment of the original Star Trek TV show has now been added to Netflix in the UK, alongside everything from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. Even the animated series from the early 1970s is available. So whether you prefer the classic adventures with William Shatner, or the popular Next Generation stories with Patrick Stewart, the streaming service should have you covered. Perfect if you're a diehard Trekkie, or someone that's just jumping in for the first time.
