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ESPN will make exclusive shows for Facebook Watch
ESPN will broadcast exclusive shows and segments on Facebook Watch under a new deal. First up are bonus segments from Always Late With Katie Nolan, an ESPN+ sports/comedy show that'll debut on ESPN2 this week, along with The People's MMA Show, a weekly series focused on the lives of mixed martial arts fighters. There'll also be a version of the Countdown to GameDay pre-game show for College GameDay and a video version of Fantasy Focus Live.
Comcast adds three more ESPN networks to Xfinity X1
Comcast is bringing three new ESPN networks to Xfinity X1 just in time for the college football season. ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network + are available on Xfinity X1 now, bringing with them coverage of over 150 live college football games as well as thousands of other events. The three networks will cover more than 5,000 events annually including international soccer, Grand Slam tennis matches and college basketball as well as other collegiate athletics from dozens of schools throughout the US.
College esports is set to explode, starting with the Fiesta Bowl
As executive director of the Fiesta Bowl, one of the largest postseason college football games of the year, Mike Nealy was more familiar with shoulder pads than mousepads. Six months ago, he didn't know people were making money playing video games professionally, he'd never heard of Twitch, and the last time he picked up a controller, it was attached to an Atari 2600. That all changed after a conversation with John Pierce, an esports consultant and former marketing head for the Phoenix Coyotes and US Olympic Committee. Pierce outlined the professional-gaming boom to Nealy and explained how it could tie into the collegiate football scene. He put Nealy in touch with Blizzard, the studio behind Overwatch.
Hulu makes it easier to find what’s on its live TV service
Hulu keeps refining its live TV service, introducing new changes to the interface and programming aimed at helping its customers find things they want to watch, whether live or on-demand. The streaming service is available on a ton of devices, including Roku, Xbox 360, Fire TV and your Mac or PC via the web. The company is adding features to its refreshed interface, too. Today, head of experience at Hulu, Ben Smith, announced a new channel guide that's been added to the web version of Hulu to help you find what's on live TV more easily than before.
Amazon's next docuseries follows the U of M football team
Not content with its NFL bragging rights, Amazon now wants in on college football. Instead of livestreaming games, it's settling for a docuseries. The eight-part show from Big Ten Network will offer a comprehensive look at the University of Michigan football program.
Recommended Reading: How baseball's tech team changed television
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Changeup by Ben Popper The Verge The streaming tech that powers HBO Now? It was built by Major League Baseball Advanced Media (BAM). Yes, the same outfit that handles MLB.tv and announced a partnership with the National Hockey League to handle its streaming services this week. The Verge takes a behind-the-scenes look at the department and what it's doing to build the future of television.
CBS Sports will stream Alabama vs. Aggies on its website, mobile apps
When Alabama takes on Texas A&M in college football this afternoon, CBS will have more to offer than just a dedicated "Johnny Cam" following the Heisman winner all day (no, it will not be giving away autographed memorabilia). CBS plans to stream every SEC "Game of the Week" (most are TBD right now, check the schedule after the break) it broadcasts, and this one is up first. That means fans can watch on CBSSports.com or via its iOS mobile app (update: Android too). As an added bonus for fans, just like its Super Bowl live stream and in the NFL's Game Rewind service, there's an All-22 "eye in the sky" angle available as an alternative to the broadcast feed. Shot from a high view over the 50 yard line to show ever player on the field, it lets fans who dig the Xs and Os watch the way coaches do when they break down game film. Internet viewers will have the alternate camera angle plus live stats, Twitter integration, polls and on-demand video clips.
Big Ten Network carriage agreements may be motivating conference expansion
It's no secret that college football is big business and that a major contributing factor is revenue from television. The influential reach of that revenue is a hot debate in organizations that are supposed to put more ideal values above capitalistic ones -- the two are not always at odds, though. So when a collegiate organization like the Big Ten Conference is motivated to expand, most would like to think it's a school's academic, or even athletic, merits that put said institution at the top of the want list. However, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports believes the reason the Big Ten courted the University of Maryland and Rutgers University really just comes down to finding a way to sell an additional 14.6 million residents the Big Ten Network. The economics of sports networks on cable television is well documented -- the majority pay so that the vocal minority may watch -- but sculpting an amateur sports league to ensure your cable TV channel gets carriage in America's largest media markets might be a new twist.
ESPN signs dozen year deal for Division 1 college football playoff games
Wondering who is more excited than college football fans to see that the top division is finally moving to a playoff system? It's ESPN, which just announced it's signed a 12-year deal for the championship games, semifinals, additional bowl games and "related programming." The deal kicks in after the 2014 regular season, when ESPN's current BCS deal ends. While it's bad news for anyone hoping to get legit access without a cable package, ESPN now has rights to offer the games on TV, in 3D and to mobile devices through its WatchESPN apps (now including the Xbox 360) until 2026. ESPN says its broadcasts of two BCS Championship games have generated the highest cable audiences ever, so it's no surprise they'd want to keep an iron grip on these new games. There's more details in the press release after the break, hit the source link to hear an interview with network VP Brooke Magnus about the negotiations.
Pac-12 Conference streams come to iPad, fuel that Big Game rivalry on the road
Cal and Stanford fans away from home no longer have to huddle around their laptops if they want to learn who's one-upping who. The Pac-12 Conference has just launched an iPad app for its authenticated Pac-12 Now service: as long as you're with a TV provider that carries the college sports division's games (sorry for now, DirecTV customers), you can tune into 850 live matches spread across a myriad of sports. As you'd hope, going the digital route allows for some on-demand viewing, a dedicated program guide and the social sharing you'll want to rope friends into watching. Only Bright House, Cox and Time Warner Cable subscribers can use the iPad viewer at first, although support should come to BendBroadband, Comcast, Frontier and Suddenlink this fall, right alongside Android- and iPhone-sized apps. Hopefully, they arrive in time for a little ego padding around the Big Game in October.
ESPN delivers College Football companion app to iOS and Android just in time
If you're a football fan, then we don't have to tell you that college football kicks off this evening. But, perhaps, you have yet to find the perfect app for your smart phone or tablet to keep you informed during the fifteen solid hours of football this Saturday. ESPN hopes that its new ESPN College Football App will be the perfect companion on game day, and all year round for that matter, by delivering up to the minute news, stats and even video clips. The app ties in with your ESPN.com account for easy access to your favorite teams and of course will alert you to scores and other things, like potential upsets. It'll even give you quick access to the WatchESPN app so you can check out a game on your second screen. Add in the fact that this app is free, and we don't see any reason a football fan wouldn't head to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and download it right now. [Thanks, @bartenz]
Must See HDTV (August 27th - September 2nd)
This is it, the crossover where summer and fall programming mix. College football is back in action, and we say good bye to some of our favorite summer TV shows like Breaking Bad. TV fans should also keep an eye out on the disc releases, as many shows boxed sets are hitting shelves before the new season begin airing soon. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Breaking Bad This weekend the first half of the fifth and final season of AMC's Breaking Bad comes to a close, before viewers wait for the second half to air in summer 2013. You won't find any spoilers here, but the path Walter White has taken has certainly arrived at places few would have predicted when the show began. The only question now is how many surprises are left before it all comes to an end. (September 2, AMC, 10PM) Doctor Who Also fresh this weekend is a new series of Doctor Who episodes, kicking off with Asylum of the Daleks. The better news as of late has been BBC America closing the gap in airing new episodes and that DirecTV is carrying the channel in HD at last. If you can't wait for new shows, check out the Pond Life preview clip embedded after the break. (September 1, BBC America, 9PM) College Football While preseason week four of the NFL season is skippable pigskin action, the return of college football this weekend will have us planted firmly in front of our HDTVs. The Hawaii/USC and Michigan/Alabama matchups Saturday night should start the season off with a bang and we can't wait. Looking for your favorite team in the listings? We've got many of the nationwide broadcasts covered, but reader Jose Perez reminds us of this comprehensive TV schedule at LSUFootball.net that should let you know who is playing where all season long. (August 30th - September 1st)
ESPN's bowl coverage swaps out the telestrator for augmented reality GameView
We dug into ESPN's use of the Xbox 360 and EA Sports games to power its Virtual Playbook segments last year, but in preparation for this round of BCS bowl games it's upgraded the system with a bit of augmented reality. The new GameView system uses a tabletop 70-inch touchscreen LCD, a copy of NCAA Football '12 and four dedicated workstations to blend everything together and create a simulation for viewers to see the analysts move virtual players around the field. It should at least be more interesting than CNN's previous election coverage implementation, although we're mostly wondering when a combo of Kinect, Surface and old school electronic football will bring the experience directly to our living rooms to play around with. Check out the gallery for a few more screens and expect to see this implemented more during the upcoming big time bowl games -- no, there's no secret code Desmond Howard can input to get a national championship game between two college football teams that haven't already played each other, we asked.
Must See HDTV (November 28th - December 4th)
Welcome to the midseason break -- while many shows are either already on hiatus or getting ready for one, cable favorites like The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles are just getting restarted. Of course, given the season that's not all there is to watch with a slew of movie debuts and one-off events like the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and Grammy nominations taking place as well. Check below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listings of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames. Cave of Forgotten Dreams This week is a good one for 3D fans, in theaters Martin Scorsese's Hugo is racking up the acclaims for its integration of effects and story, while at home viewers can finally experience Werner Herzog's trek into the Chauvet Caves of South France, exposing the oldest known human drawings. The entire documentary is filmed in 3D to help bring the shape and depth of the cave paintings alive, and by all accounts it's effective. Since you're probably not on the (very short list) of people who will ever be allowed access to the cave and its delicate relics, this is your best shot at taking a step 35,000 years into the past at an entirely different era of humankind. Check out the trailer after the break, but after seeing this one in theaters earlier this year we can definitely say 3D is the only way to watch. (November 29th, $18.99 on Amazon) College Football The last week of the college football season means everything comes down to these games to decide conference championships and who goes on to which bowl games. From the Big East being decided by the result of West Virginia vs. South Florida, to a couple of brand new conference championship games for the Pac-12 and Big Ten, to the always classic ACC and SEC football championships, and even a few rivalry games like Baylor/Texas and Oklahoma/Oklahoma State -- it's all here. No matter which team you root for there will be something at stake this weekend, so arrange your schedule accordingly. The Take After jumping into the original programming game earlier this year with Moby Dick, Encore is ready to push The Take, a British crime drama. Tom Hardy (Inception, Bronson, The Dark Knight Rises) stars as Freddie Jackson, an ex-con fresh out of prison who is trying to take over London's underworld with the help of the rest of his similarly crooked family. As you can tell by the name, the theme here is that everyone and everything is available for a price, we're willing to spend an hour of our time and see if this is a series worth watching thanks to its strong cast, check out a quick trailer embedded after the break. (December 2nd, Encore, 9PM)
ESPN 3D doubles its college football coverage in year two
So far, college football is the jewel in ESPN 3D's broadcast schedule, and the network just released its broadcast plans for the 2011 season. The schedule for the 2011 season has increased to 20 regular season games and five bowl games, plus the BCS National Championship on January 9th. Things kick off with UNLV/Wisconsin on September 1st and Miami/Maryland September 5th, while some dates are still TBD. Hit the source link to see the full schedule, which will probably please ACC and Pac-10 fans, although we're not seeing many dates scheduled in the flyover states so most Big Ten (12?) fans should probably hold onto their tickets. Check out our review of last season's coverage, we'll keep some specs handy to see how things have changed in a year.
ESPN 3D gears up for year two with more college football, Home Run Derby and Little League
We had already learned a bit about ESPN 3D's summer schedule including X Games 17, but now that the NBA Finals are over, it's announced even more events as it moves into its second year of existence. VP Bryan Burns says we can expect 20 college football games to be aired in 3D this fall, up from 11 last year, including the BCS National Championship just like last season. also on the schedule is the MLB Home Run Derby (again) on July 11, some World Football Challenge soccer matches and a slew of Little League World Series games in August. As much as we enjoy watching the Danny Almontes and Terrelle Pryors of the world, we're all about the amateur sports, but it's been a year -- queue up some pro football and regular season baseball ESPN.
Vizio teases entry into the tablet fray with pizazz via Rose Bowl spot (video)
Teasing tablets ahead of the CES deluge is nothing new for manufacturers now, but we'll at least give Vizio a few style points for its expensive approach to the tactic. That's because what looks like a Vizio-branded tablet made a not-so-secret appearance during the Rose Bowl. Specifically, the device appeared about 15 seconds into the chairman's message in the hands of Vizio chief sales officer Randy Waynick. Just in case a mere sighting was too subtle, Waynick was also kind enough to mention Vizio's dedication to "entertainment freedom for all" and the ability to view content on "any of their great new products, from anywhere" -- wink wink, nudge nudge. Details on the gadget are obviously unknown, but we're confident the actual specs (if any) will emerge next week. We're also pretty positive it's not Vizio's 7-inch razor portable TV. If you weren't watching the game, check out a video of the device's brief cameo on national television after the break. Update: We originally speculated that this tablet was probably running Android based on the buttons. Some eagle-eyed readers have pointed out though that only three buttons are visible at the bottom of the Vizio screen -- which means WP 7 could also be a possibility. It's worth noting too that no traditional Android buttons were visible on the prototype Motorola Honeycomb Tablet. The bottom line is we can't make a ruling on the OS based solely on the buttons.
Sprint TV broadcasting 30 college bowl games, including entire BCS
Quick: can you name 30 college football bowl games? Well, if you keep your face glued to your Sprint phone's screen for the next couple weeks, you'll be able to, thanks largely to the partnership Sprint inked with ESPN earlier this ear to bring ESPN Mobile TV to its devices. You'll be able to get to the games on your phone through either Sprint TV or the dedicated Sprint Football Live app, which are available on "most" models in Sprint's lineup and cost you nothing as long as you're signed up for unlimited data. Notably, Sprint's broadcasting will include the entire Bowl Championship Series -- and in the off chance you're interested in one of the five bowls that aren't being televised on your phone, the Football Live app will still offer you play-by-play coverage and stats. Follow the break for the full press release.
Versus schedules first 3D broadcast: Oregon/Cal college football November 13th
ESPN 3D won't be alone in its broadcasts of college football and other sporting events for long, now that Versus has announced it's launching 3D broadcasts (just two years after getting its own fulltime HD channel) during two college games November 13th. The first game, TCU/San Diego State at 4 p.m. will be the first ever to feature iRL3D that lets viewers on PCs view highlights in 3D on Versus.com, while it will launch a full 3D broadcast during the second game , Oregon/Cal at 7:30 p.m. Multichannel News has the details, quoting VP Mark Fein saying the network decided this was the time since the broadcasts feature two teams currently ranked in the top 5. Like ESPN's broadcasts, the 3D version will have its own announcers and Versus says it's already signed up Comcast, Cox, FiOS and Time Warner to broadcast the game and is negotiating with other carriers. No word yet on exactly which channel the broadcasts should appear on, but we'll keep an eye out.
Final ESPN 3D NCAAF games announced with a Tostitos Fiesta Bowl surprise
Mad you missed ESPN's previous 3D college football broadcasts and worried it might not come back? Then get your DVRs and calendars at the ready, because the network has announced its remaining 3D college football broadcasts will follow the Boise State Broncos as they play the University of Hawaii on Saturday, November 6th at 3:30PM ET and Idaho on Friday, November 22th at 9PM ET. Combined with the first ESPN 3D NCAAF game, this means the heavily debated Broncos will at least temporarily hold the record for most 3D appearances in college football history. Sadly, it won't enhance their bid for the biggest 3D game of the season -- you know, the Tostitos BCS Championship on January 10th. But even if the blue turf's weak schedule woes keep them from the title, at least one of their records could still improve by returning to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl -- which ESPN also shared will be aired in 3D. Obviously waiting is no fun, but unless you jacked Adam Sandler's DVR from Click, reading our college football kickoff review can help pass the time until game day arrives.
