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The traditional sports world is taking eSports into the mainstream
Five years ago, you couldn't have imagined video game competitions being broadcasted on the same channel as traditional sports. TV networks have been historically obsessed with pastimes such as baseball, basketball, football and soccer, but times are changing. Thanks to the massive popularity of eSports, driven in large part by the internet-streaming generation, the entertainment landscape has transformed drastically over the past couple of years. Nowadays, US channels like Disney XD, ESPN, NBC and TBS are all trying to put eSports on the same level as traditional sports, with the end goal being to reach new, younger audiences. Want to watch a EA's FIFA or Rocket League tournament on ESPN? Well, you can do just that.
Twitter to stream its first basic cable drama: TNT's 'Claws'
TNT is premiering its new drama "Claws" this Sunday, but if you miss the first showing on the network itself, you can catch an encore on Twitter. TNT's parent company, Turner, streamed TBS' "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee's Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner" on Twitter in April. But in a statement, the company said that "Claws" will be the first basic cable drama to stream on the platform, which Twitter confirmed to Engadget.
TBS, TNT launch new streaming apps and redesign old ones
Just a few years ago, Turner was newly entering live streaming game, promising TBS and TNT apps that would allow subscribers to watch across multiple platforms and screens. Now in 2017, it's ready to "reimagine" the streaming experience with redesigned websites as well as apps for iOS, Apple TV, Android and Amazon Fire. New apps are extending to other platforms including Chromecast, Roku and Vizio's Smartcast. Of course, you'll still need to be a subscriber to some TV package in order to get full access, but the apps will stream immediately to let viewers get a taste before they log in. Once viewers are all set, they'll be able to easily pause and resume across different devices, and the networks say apps are on the way for game consoles and other connected TVs later this year. Finally, there's also integration for something called Vizbee that is said to allow casting from a mobile device to connected screens without a special app or plug-in, although it's not clear which platforms that will work on.
March Madness is back in VR, but it will cost you
Last year, the NCAA streamed the Final Four and championship game in virtual reality for free as March Madness came to a close. For the 2017 tournament that's already in progress, the college sports governing body is teaming up with Turner Sports and CBS Sports to offer VR streaming of not only those final three games, but of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 as well. Those two rounds begin this Thursday, March 23rd and run through the weekend.
Looney Tunes and other classic cartoons get a streaming service
Your favorite Saturday morning cartoons are going digital. Turner and Warner Bros. are teaming up for a new standalone video subscription service called Boomerang. It'll offer over 5,000 titles from the Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes and MGM animation libraries when it launches this spring.
AT&T and Time Warner have a plan to dodge merger review
AT&T has indicated how it may avoid FCC scrutiny over its proposed $85.4 billion Time Warner merger. At issue are Time Warner's FCC broadcast licenses -- if were to transfer them to AT&T, that would require FCC approval. However, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), AT&T said "it is currently anticipated that Time Warner will not need to transfer any of its FCC licenses ... after the closing of the transaction."
The NBA's live Twitter shows debut this week
As promised, the NBA and Turner have launched their two original shows on Twitter... and they might scratch your itch if you can't get enough basketball in your life. The first, The Starters, streams live every Tuesday at 11AM Eastern and delivers passionate commentary from the crew that hosts NBA TV and official podcasts. The Warmup, meanwhile, is a more interactive affair: the half-hour show from Ben Lyons and Ro Parrish integrates Twitter chats into each episode (Thursdays at 7:30PM Eastern), and it merges b-ball with "lifestyle, music and pop culture." It's more of an entertainment show that just happens to have basketball as a hook, then.
NBA gives you a better view of games on your phone
Just because you can watch live sports on your phone doesn't mean you'll enjoy it -- the footage is usually optimized for TV, which sometimes means staring at players the size of ants. You won't have to squint if you're an NBA League Pass customer during the 2016-2017 season, though. The basketball streaming service is trotting out a Mobile View option that gives you a close-up shot in its Android and iOS apps. You can switch back to a traditional view when you want an overview, but this promises to help in those moments when you want to identify the ball carrier or get a good look at that impending dunk.
AT&T to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion
After no small amount of anticipation, it's official: AT&T has announced that it's acquiring Time Warner for the equivalent of $85.4 billion in cash and stock. The move gives one of the US' largest telecoms control over some of the biggest names in movies and TV, including HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. That includes rights to broadcast MLB, NBA and NCAA March Madness games, we'd add. If you ask AT&T, this is a "perfect match" that mates top-tier content with a ton of distribution points. It can easily deliver quality shows over the internet (especially on mobile), conventional TV or in theaters. AT&T won't have to jump through hoops to license material for playback on your platform of choice, and it can create original material just for a specific medium -- say, bite-sized videos for your phone.
This is how your parents will watch esports
Christina Alejandre ended up chatting with UFC President Dana White backstage at the Turner Studios in July, just before the final game of ELEAGUE's debut Counter-Strike: Global Offensive season. As VP of esports and ELEAGUE at Turner Sports, Alejandre was pivotal in producing that first season, and she told White how excited she was for the final game, which would be broadcast live on TBS. It was more than excitement, she explained; something more powerful was pulsing through her veins. White knew exactly what she was trying to describe. "There are very few people in this world who can identify exactly what you're saying," Alejandre remembers White saying. "What you're feeling is the first time that I saw UFC on Fox."
Adult Swim streams 'Space Ghost' episodes for free
Over the weekend, one of the people behind Adult Swim's Space Ghost Coast to Coast cartoon passed away, and the network has decided to honor his memory by making episodes of the show available for free. C. Martin Croker voiced two characters on the show, Zorak and Moltar, as well as serving as an animator on the show and other projects. Like many shows of its era, viewing the old episodes is difficult since the DVD releases are now out of print. Adult Swim says it has posted every episode "that we could get our hands on," and you can watch them here with no log-in required.
Hulu will host all Turner networks on its new live service
Time Warner Inc. just made a big foray into streaming, buying a 10 percent chunk of Hulu for $583 million. With the investment, the media giant has joined rivals and Hulu founders Disney, Comcast and Fox as partners in the service. While it's just a streaming service right now à la Netflix, Hulu will start offering cord-cutters live TV early in 2017. As part of the announcement, Time Warner revealed that its Turner channels will be part of that service, including TNT, TBS, CNN, the Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Turner Classic Movies.
NBA announces two original shows that will stream on Twitter (updated)
Earlier this month, a Recode report indicated that Twitter was in talks with the NBA and Turner to bring more sports video to the social platform. Today, the league announced the deal what will bring two "live original programs," or TV-style shows, to Twitter, video content that will be exclusive to the social network. Details are scarce for now, but the first will be a weekly pre-game show while all the NBA is saying about the second "to-be-determined show" is that you'll only be able to watch it on Twitter. If you were hoping for live game action, you'll certainly be disappointed... for now.
Twitter in talks to add NBA and MLS streams to its sports coverage
After putting its livestream tools to the test with Wimbledon coverage this week, Twitter is said to be looking to carry more sports action. Recode reports the social network is in talks with the NBA, MLS and Turner networks to show "content related to live sports and events." While the negotiations are said to involve digital streaming rights, it's unclear at this point if the streams would include actual game footage like Twitter's NFL deal or if it will be the pre- and post-game analysis like we saw from Wimbledon.
Turner Classic and Criterion launching FilmStruck streaming service
Here's something you didn't know you needed in your life: a Netflix, but just for the prestige films of yesteryear. That's the idea behind FilmStruck, a subscription service that's being developed by Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Collection. According to the New York Times, the offering will house upwards of 1,000 films you can't get elsewhere, including Seven Samuari, Blood Simple and Mad Max. Pricing for the offering has yet to be decided, but the WSJ believes that it'll be under $10 a month. There's a sting in the tail for Hulu users, too, since Warner / Criterion movies that are currently available there are likely to be pulled.
Adult Swim makes virtual reality even weirder
Virtual reality's notion of strapping a display to your head is already a bit weird by itself, but Adult Swim just took that strangeness to a new level. The network's Virtual Brainload app for Android invites you to grab a Google Cardboard viewer and experience the "backside of reality" -- in short, it's going to be a kaleidoscopic mind trip. Whether or not you're up for the audiovisual assault, you can expect more VR content from Adult Swim's parent, Turner, in the future. The broadcaster says that it's working on "deeper, custom-created" virtual content that will arrive as soon as this year, so you can expect these VR side projects to become increasingly important in the near future.
Dish loses Cartoon Network, CNN and other Turner channels
Starting today, Dish customers will no longer have access to a number of networks from Turner Broadcasting, after both parties couldn't come to terms on a contract extension for these. Among the channels now removed from Dish's programming are: Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, CNN en Español, HLN, truTV and Turner Classic Movies. As you'll notice, others like TBS and TNT aren't included here, and that's because they're part of a different agreement. Dish is unsure of when, or if, the missing Turner channels will be brought back, but the company says it is "committed to reaching an agreement that promptly returns this content to Dish's programming lineup." If they do, we'll let you know as soon as that happens.
Fox tried to buy Time Warner -- and HBO -- for $80 billion
Could Fox News and CNN have the same owner? No, but close. 21 Century Fox has confirmed reports (first published by the New York Times) that it made an $80 billion bid for fellow media conglomerate Time Warner -- and was turned down, for now. Curiously, this comes just as Comcast is trying to swallow Time Warner Cable, but those two similarly-named companies are no longer directly connected. Time Warner (also no longer related to AOL, which owns this website) recently ditched its Time Inc. magazine properties, and now consists of three parts: the highly-profitable HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. According to the reports, Fox would sell CNN as part of the buyout to avoid regulatory hurdles caused by owning both large news networks, but as analyst Porter Bibb pointed out on Bloomberg TV, this would give it access to HBO, which he called "the only Netflix fighter left." [Image credit: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO]
Netflix lands deal for Turner and Warner Bros. TV series beginning in March
It looks like Netflix users in the US will soon have quite a few new TV series to choose from as they wait for Arrested Development to make its big return in May. The company announced today that it's struck a multi-year deal with Turner Broadcasting and the Warner Bros. Television Group that will see a variety of animated and live-action series from the Cartoon Network, Warner Bros. Animation, Adult Swim and TNT be made available for streaming. That includes the likes of Adventure Time, Ben 10, the Green Lantern animated series, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and TNT's Dallas, the last of which is an exclusive deal that begins in January of 2014 -- all the other series will be available starting March 30th.
Cartoon Network's iPhone and iPad app adds a live TV feed, for authenticated customers
Cartoon Network announced plans to join the TV Everywhere party with a live internet feed of its channel (for authenticated cable / satellite customers) during upfronts and now the updated v1.8 app has arrived on iPhones and iPads. The feed can also be streamed with Flash on the channel's website (we tried it on an Android 2.3 device and logged in but couldn't get it to play), although the only differences we noticed were that the website feed was slightly ahead of our cable box and iOS was a few seconds behind, but with slightly higher picture quality. All in all it's very similar to the WatchESPN experience (which ABC expanded upon last week with Watch Disney, Watch Disney Jr and Watch DisneyXD apps, though the full experience is only currently available to Comcast customers), and should satisfy all those who have been missing the Toonami experience when they're away from home. Take a peek after the break for a preview trailer, shot of the login screen and press release.
