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'Mirror's Edge' TV show in the works from 'Big Brother' studio
Mirror's Edge, the cult-classic video game franchise from EA, is set to become a television series from the makers of Big Brother, The Biggest Loser and Hell on Wheels. Endemol Shine Studios acquired the TV rights to Mirror's Edge and is working with EA to transform it into a female-centric action series (much like the game itself). Deadline originally reported the deal and EA confirmed its existence to Engadget. "We are excited to be working with Endemol Shine Studios to explore a potential Mirror's Edge project for television," an EA spokesperson said.
BlackBerry wants you to know its phones are cool
People say you must love yourself in order to be loved by others, and that's exactly what BlackBerry's trying to do. The manufacturer recently posted a blog highlighting how many times its devices appeared in movies and TV shows last year, taking into account a few of the major US television networks as well as Netflix and Amazon's original content. So what were the results? BlackBerry counted at least 199 roles: 154 on the small screen and 45 for films.
Jay-Z's Tidal music service to offer original TV shows
Under the management of Jay Z, music streaming service Tidal has slowly grown to more than one million subscribers. The company has sought to differentiate itself from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music with a mixture of high-fidelity tracks and exclusive video content, but it now believes that original programming could give it an extra edge over its rivals. Variety reports that Tidal has ordered two new series: Season 2 of New York street drama Money & Violence, which will debut in January, and No Small Talk, a series profiling rising comedians, which hits the streaming service today.
Chrome add-on helps you watch Netflix with friends
If you've ever wanted to watch Netflix with someone not in the same room as you, here's your chance. Thanks to a new Chrome extension called Showgoers, people can now share a viewing experience from afar by linking their Netflix accounts. It works fairly simple: once the users' info is entered, you click the Showgoers button and it sends an invite to whoever you want to watch a movie or TV show with in real-time. The person on the other end then receives a URL, clicks and, in a matter of seconds, the synced programming will begin automatically -- you can play, pause or start something else anytime. Keep in mind that Showgoers is a public beta, so you may encounter some hiccups along the way. Still, the developer says "it generally works great."
Hulu's free, ad-powered shows are heading to Pluto TV
Up until now, Hulu has limited free videos to its desktop website and Android devices. But now, thanks to Pluto TV, a startup that offers an internet television service at no cost, Hulu's taking its ad-supported streaming content to more places. According to Variety, Pluto TV landed a deal that gives it access to everything available on Hulu's site, including shows from ABC, NBC, FOX and other TV networks, as well as movies. The partnership is a big win for Hulu too, since it will be able to deliver its free, ad-powered programming through Pluto TV's web (and, in the future, Android) application -- along with its own. There's no specific timeline on when Pluto TV plans to roll this out, but it is expected to happen "soon."
Hulu adds old episodes from Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and more
If you're like me, you regularly enjoy catching up on favorites from Comedy Central via Hulu. But what about the older stuff? Well, after extending its partnership with Viacom, the streaming service is adding a lot more content for your viewing pleasure. Shows from Nickelodeon will be available for the first time -- including popular items like Hey Arnold! and The Ren & Stimpy Show. The library of previous seasons will benefit as well, with a backlog of Key & Peele, Tosh.0, Mob Wives and more being added "over the next few weeks." Of course, current episodes will continue to be a few clicks away, keeping you up to date on The Daily Show and others.
Delta's new iPad app lets you watch movies, shows on flights
Ever since the FAA decided to be more flexible about personal electronic devices on planes, things have changed quite a bit. Now, as an effort to make things even better for travelers, Delta has rolled out a new initiative called Delta Studio, which focuses on adding more in-flight entertainment options to its fleet. As part of this, the Atlanta-based airline revamped the Fly Delta app for iPad, and it now lets passengers use it to stream movies, TV shows and other media -- in addition to the destination info and interactive live-map view features that were already there. Delta Studio is free for Economy Comfort, First Class and international flyers; those on Economy, meanwhile, will also have access to stuff at no charge, but most of the decent content (like newly released films) is going to cost extra. Not surprisingly, you have to wait to reach 10,000 feet before streaming anything, since it does require an in-flight WiFi connection. Still, that's something you should be used to by now.
Google Play launches its first foreign language TV show hub in Japan
Google's brushed up on its foreign language (and content bartering) skills to bring TV shows to Japan, making it only the third country after the US and UK.You'll need a Japanese Google account to see the content, but it's a pretty up-to-date mix of homemade drama, animations and the obligatory American hit, translated and subtitled for its target audience. Google Japan took to its blog to announce the highlights of the TV store, which are a mix of rental and full-purchase media. See if your favorite niche, romantic rollercoaster of a J-drama made the cut at the source link.
BBC to offer 30-day catch-up and more online shows as part of iPlayer revamp
The BBC believes it's only just getting started with its iPlayer catch-up service and has laid out new plans for it to become the corporation's primary source of digital content. Led by Director-General Tony Hall, the BBC says it will commit to more exclusive content for online audiences, focusing on popular brands like Doctor Who and Eastenders, while extending the availability of catch-up shows from seven to 30 days so you can watch them back at a more convenient time. Hall's new "vision" will also include the launch of "BBC Store" -- an online marketplace that allows you to buy TV shows and keep them forever (if you live in the UK). Currently, TV shows can be downloaded to a number of devices, but are subject to time restrictions. The broadcaster wants to double its online audience by 2022 -- reaching 500 million users a week by the time it celebrates its centenary. In order to do this, the BBC wants to change the perception of iPlayer as a catch-up service and position it as destination that allows you to curate your own TV viewing schedule. With access to more content before it is on TV, the BBC will provide options to pause and resume viewing on one screen to another, also letting you provide feedback on the shows that you'd like to see more (or less) of. The BBC plans to relaunch iPlayer in the first half of 2014, putting it on a level footing with its traditional TV channels.
Apple TV outage: TV shows menu not visible (Updated)
According to a recent tweet, since verified by our staff, there's an issue with Apple TV in the US at the current time. The TV shows menu, which is normally accompanied by the Movies, Music, Computers and Settings menus, is AWOL. The first sign of this issue appeared in a series of tweets by @CraigGrannell: Apple's System Status web page doesn't cover Apple TV, so there's no sign of the outage on the Apple site. We'll update this post as news becomes available. UPDATE: The outage is also affecting the TV shows tab in iTunes -- rather than going straight to the listings of TV shows, clicking on the link at the top of iTunes returns users to the home page. Here's a tip from @moiseschiu on Twitter. UPDATE: As of 6:20 PM EDT, it appears that all of the issues are resolved.
Yahoo and NBC Sports launch 'Fantasy Football Live' and 'SportsDash with Yahoo Sports' shows for TV and the web
ESPN may well be the biggest name in both online and television sports coverage, but Yahoo and NBC Sports are doing their best usurp the worldwide leader on both fronts. The latest assault on ESPN's hegemony comes in the form of two new shows that bridge the gap between TV and online video: Fantasy Football Live - Thursday Night! and SportsDash with Yahoo Sports. Just in time for the start of the NFL season, FF Live - Thursday Night! airs weekly starting August 1st on the NBC Sports channel from 6:30-7PM ET, then continues as a web broadcast on Yahoo! Sports from 7-7:30. Naturally, the show will feature talent from both NBC and Yahoo delivering fantasy football-related info and analysis. Meanwhile, SportsDash, a SportsCenter-style highlights and analysis program launches on August 19th and will air daily on NBC Sports from noon-1PM ET. SportsDash is taking a page from the Daily Show playbook, as extended interviews and stories will be streamed online from 1-1:15PM after the TV broadcast. Perfect. Two more sources of info we can use to dominate the annual Engadget HD podcast fantasy football pick-em.
USA network brings streaming shows to iPad, iPhone
The USA network has released an iOS app that allows users to stream shows to their iPhones and iPads. USA is owned by NBC Universal and like other NBC television streaming apps, USA Anywhere Plus allows viewers to watch full episodes of USA shows, including new episodes available the day after they air and back episodes for some shows. For most of the content, the app does require users to login with their cable-television credentials. However, if your current cable package does not include the USA network, you can still take advantage of some limited features of the app including some full television episodes. In addition to full TV episodes, the app also offers special clips, interviews and behind-the-scenes video. USA airs many popular shows including Psych, Suits, Covert Affairs and Graceland. USA Anywhere Plus is a free download.
The Vikings head to the UK exclusively via Lovefilm
Yearning to watch Norsemen amass loot while raiding foreign lands? If you're in the UK, you can now watch US cable show The Vikings exclusively via Lovefilm Instant. The Amazon-owned service has made all nine episodes of the historical drama -- shown in the US and in Canada on History Channel -- available for streaming. The service's subscribers in Germany won't be left out, but as the show isn't slated to go live for them until June 15th, they have a bit of waiting to do. This new addition to Lovefilm's roster is a clear effort by the service to bolster its TV show offerings, seeing as it's struggling to catch up to Netflix UK in that area. Lovefilm also inked a deal with Warner Bros in April to air popular TV titles One Tree Hill, The West Wing and Nip Tuck, although Netflix will have its own exclusive when Arrested Development season four launches tomorrow.
Netflix announces new deal with Warner, will deliver popular content to Canadian streamers
History would kindly tell us that this isn't the very first deal Netflix and Warner Bros. have struck in past months -- and, well, chances are it won't be the last one either. Earlier today, the streaming giant announced it had reached a new exclusive agreement with the California-based studio which will bring a hefty amount of new content to subscribers in Canada. Starting January of next year, Netflix streamers in the Great White North can start watching TV shows such as The Vampire Diaries, Fringe and Pretty Little Liars, as well as films like The Hangover Part II, Horrible Bosses and even the critically-acclaimed blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises -- although these movies will come "for a limited period following their pay television window." There's still some time before the deal bears fruit, so perhaps the next few weeks could be used to start clearing that overloaded Instant Queue of yours.
Google Knowledge Graph explains related content, finds the six degrees with less Bacon
We had a bit of a laugh with Google's Kevin Bacon calculator. Not everyone needs to tie their searches to the star of Footloose, though, which is partly why Google is pushing out an update to its Knowledge Graph that explains how searches turn up related items. The effort is starting with actors, celebrities and their links to any movies and TV shows they've starred in. Looking for Orson Welles and mousing over Rita Hayworth's portrait reminds us that the two luminaries were married for years, for example. We won't know when the more intelligent searches will expand, but at least we won't be quite so confused if the animated Transformers movie appears next to Citizen Kane.
Shazam now rides shotgun with any TV show in the US, gets cozier with Facebook
Shazam doesn't want to let GetGlue control all our couch potato time -- it just rolled out an upgrade to its TV component that lets the mobile app provide social sharing, soundtrack and trivia details for nearly any TV show in the US, not just those deemed worthy of special attention. The app mirrors the program it's looking at -- we'll see stats instead of IMDb if we're watching hockey, for example. Whether or not attention is locked on the bigger screen in the living room, Shazam's little screen is making Facebook more a centerpiece of the experience. Media mavens can comment on friends' tagging habits and post their own tags to their Facebook timelines for all to see. The wider universe of TV shows should be available today, although we'll have to wait for an update in the "coming weeks" to broadcast our tastes in media with the rest of the world.
Amazon Prime Instant Video gets MGM Studios movies and TV shows, dances with a few wolves
Amazon is building steam on its Prime Instant Video additions, as it's following new Paramount content just a few weeks ago with video from the MGM Studios stable. The new movies and TV shows mostly reach deep into the back catalog with classics like Dances with Wolves or the definitive spaghetti Western, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. A few more recent titles have crept into the collection, mostly in TV: if you're a fan of the Stargate universe, you're set. MGM video is folded into the $79 yearly Prime subscription and will let you relive Thirtysomething on a raft of devices, including your PS3.
Netflix and Twentieth Century Fox ink deal to bring additional Instant content to Latin America, Brazil
Twentieth Century Fox and Netflix have announced a partnership that will bring additional television and movie content to avid streamers living in Latin America and Brazil later this year. Beginning on July 15th, TV mainstays -- including 24, Prison Break, Bones and Glee -- will be available via the movie rental company's Instant service in the aforementioned geographies. What's more, Twentieth Century's classic films division will add several movie titles, including cult-classics like Office Space and Wall Street, to the streaming menu. If you currently reside in Latin America or Brazil and are itching to know more, mosey on past the break and have a look at the full press release.
Hulu video player gets a 'big picture' update, now 55 percent larger
Not a fan of giving up screen real estate to make room for a fresh episode of Alcatraz? Hulu's got your back (or in this case those eagle eyes of yours). Via its blog site, the Plus creator announced a minor but "big picture" refresh to its web video player. The update, along with the 55 percent size increase to the browser picture box, also brings a new frame and drop shadow to blend with the novel player. Naturally, all vid info has been moved underneath the content, next to some of your favorite sharing links. Now, if only we could use one of those 65-inch TVs as external monitors...
BBC's Director-General confirms instant video on-demand store is coming
Just last week, rumors regarding the BBC's purported iTunes competitor were making the rounds. Now, thanks to Director-General Mark Thompson, we can confirm that it is indeed in the works. Currently known around the British offices as "Project Barcelona," the service is expected to be an à la carte media offering, allowing you to "purchase a digital copy of a program to own and keep for a relatively modest charge." Speaking of which, movies, TV shows and specials are expected to start at £1.89 and may be available minutes after they're broadcast on TV, though we've yet to hear an official word on pricing. The Broadcasting Corporation chief went on to say this isn't "a second license-fee by stealth or any reduction in the current public service offering from the BBC, it's the exact analogy of going into a high-street shop to buy a DVD." He didn't, however, give any deets on when we can expect the service to launch.
