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RCN picks up seven of Viacom's HD channels
RCN's hardly the first to go for Viacom's 7-pack of HD channels, but we're sure fans of Ultimate Warrior, The Hills, The Daily Show, iCarly and other programs will be glad to have them. Comedy Central, CMT, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike, VH1 and BET go live today, with HD video on-demand offerings hitting servers July 1. RCN's claiming 100 HD VOD viewing choices, just a few thousand or so behind Comcast at this point, but we figure an upgrade is an upgrade, and at least on RCN you can watch them on a TiVo Premiere, so there's that right?
Fox Mobile launches Bitbop beta, a Hulu for your phone
While Hulu might be missing out on the mobile space due to licensing issues, Fox Mobile-backed Bitbop is looking to step in and take the reins. The app, currently in beta and available only for select BlackBerry devices, has 25 content partners including Fox (of course), CBS, NBC, and Comedy Central. It's said to work over WiFi or even 3G data connections and is free so far, though a section in the FAQ intimates that Fox will also launch a premium plan with "unlimited, full-length, network TV shows with no commercial interruptions" for $10 a month, and mobile movie rentals are also apparently on the way. And never fear, Android and iPhone lovers -- mocoNews reports that apps for your smartphone of choice are coming, too. Let's hope Fox gets it working on Froyo, before Hulu kills that workaround.
Get a free episode of Demetri Martin, Sarah Silverman shows on PSN
Comedy Central is promoting the return of two of its most popular original titles on PlayStation Network. Rush to the PlayStation Store to get free downloadable episodes for your PS3 or PSP: the first episode of Important Things with Demetri Martin and episode seven of The Sarah Silverman Program's second season, "High, It's Sarah." If you're having trouble finding these programs, look for the "Free TV" section of the PlayStation Store. Other free TV offerings on the PlayStation Store include seven Lost "Season Catch-Ups" which futilely attempt to summarize the events of all the seasons of ABC's drama. The first episode of Bravo's Kell on Earth is also available for free.
The Daily Show and Colbert Report changing video capture tech for the switch to HDTV
That switch to HD for The Daily Show and Colbert Report has more results than just a sharper image of their star hosts, but also the problem of capturing HD versions of the news clips presented for skewering daily. To achieve the goal of archiving more than 30 HDTV channels daily, the show is upgrading from the bank of TiVos it previously relied on to SnapStream Server, the business option from the guys behind BeyondTV. No word on exactly how it's pulling in the channels, Dave Zatz suggests ClearQAM, Happauge's HD PVR or component capture cards as possibilities, but it looks like a couple of years of development have reduced starter costs from $6,000 to $2,000, just in case your YouTube clip show needs a little more oomph.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert begin HDTV broadcasts January 4
Cross another one off the "waiting for them to go HD" list, as Comedy Central is upgrading The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report to 1080i. What caused the wait until 2010? Apparently that's how long it took to upgrade the control room for these shows that are continuously in production, but at least we'll get to see how many CNBC thumbnails Stewart can squeeze into a 16x9 frame before the Mayan calendar runs out.
Tosh.0 giving 'N64 Kid' a second chance
It was with awkward trepidation that we first approached Comedy Central's Internet content-laden Tosh.0 -- working online all day can leave you feeling a bit strange when you find the same content in the TV box, ya know? But when we read over at GoNintendo that the exuberant comedian would be giving his famed "Web Redemption" treatment to the Internet's own "N64 kid," we couldn't help but get overexcited. We started pumping our fists in the air and shouting and ... well, you already know, don't you? The show will be airing this Thursday on Comedy Central, but check your local listings for the specifics.
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.
Jim Cramer smackdown includes talk of Apple
I don't know if you watched the Jon Stewart interview with CNBC host Jim Cramer on the Daily Show last night. Stewart and Cramer have been feuding for a week about Cramer's bad financial advice, and the lack of any deep or meaningful reporting on CNBC as the market was melting down. As part of the back and forth (and I suggest you watch the whole clip) Stewart pulled out an old interview with Cramer where he talked about hurting Apple stock by claiming neither AT&T or Verizon was interested in selling the iPhone. Cramer was a hedge fund manager at the time, and may have wanted a quick short term profit by manipulating stock sales with misleading information. Cramer said it was legal, Stewart questioned the ethics. In the end, the SEC will have to decide.AAPL seems to be one of the top tech stocks that is buffeted by rumors, good and bad. In this case, here's a guy telling us how it works.Here's a link to the older interview on YouTube. The part about Apple begins about 3:30 into the clip.Thanks Jose for the tip and the link.Correction: One of our readers points out that Cramer was not running a Hedge Fund in 2006 but gave it up in 2001. Thanks Rick for setting the time line straight.
DirecTV adds Comedy Central HD, Engadget HD consolidates HD expansion news
Usually we don't like to post the same news twice, but by the looks of all the tips we've gotten pointing us to the fact that DirecTV added Comedy Central HD -- thanks by the way -- we figured it wouldn't hurt to ride on the exciting news to introduce a new weekly roundup post at Engadget HD. In the past, HD expansions were so few and far between that it was a very big deal around here, but in the past 6 months or so they're so common that we've decided to consolidate them into a weekly post. So from now on you can look for a weekly post with the tag channels that'll include every new HD channel on every provider for that week.
South Park finally goes HD in season 13
Hold on to your hats, kids -- South Park is making its long awaited high-def debut in just under two months. Starting on March 11th with the season 13 premier, every successive episode of the famed cartoon will be in glorious high-definition. Furthermore, the crew has been toiling around the clock in order to re-render previous episodes in native HD (presumably for Blu-ray releases), so don't be shocked to see episodes from years past show up on Comedy Central HD a bit clearer than you remember. And here you were thinking the show was teetering on the edge of irrelevance.[Thanks, Michael]
AT&T's U-verse TV picking up seven Viacom networks in HD
Just days after AT&T announced that NHL Network HD would be gliding over to U-verse TV, in flies a report stating that Viacom and AT&T have linked up on a sweet new deal. Said agreement will enable seven new networks to join the U-verse TV EPG: MTV HD, VH1 HD, CMT HD, BET HD, Nickelodeon HD, Comedy Central HD and Spike HD. The deal also "renews carriage of the MTVN and BETN channels and VOD content featured on AT&T U-verse TV, and provides for carriage of new international channels, including MTV India, later this year." Now, let's wait and see if those monthly rates creep up any after the fact.
Comedy Central HD launches today on Cablevision
Comedy Central HD launches today, and Cablevision iO TV subscribers will be the first to see it. According to Multichannel News we can expect 200 hours or so of native HD programming to start, including about 30 episodes of South Park, The Sarah Silverman Program, plus loads of archived stand up and films. Coming up fresh and new for your HDTV is season 13 of South Park, Reno 911, The Flaming Sward of Fire and Krod Mandoon, while The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,and The Colbert Report will get an HD upgrade at a later date. Besides nabbing the exclusive, Cablevision's trumpeting its numbers showing HD penetration is up to nearly 50 percent of iO TV subs, with 69 HD channels available. Otherwise, DirecTV and Cox will be adding later this month with more launches due later in the year -- hopefully Time Warner worked that into the latest deal with Viacom.[Via Multichannel News]
CES 2009: MTV Networks adding 2000 hours of programming to PS Store
The PlayStation Network Video Delivery Service will be getting a big boost from a new partner: MTV Networks. While MTV Networks includes the well-known "music" channel, it also includes VH1, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike, Logo, CMT, The N, TV Land and Atom. Some shows to be added to the PlayStation Store include MTV's The City, COMEDY CENTRAL's South Park, Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants and VH1's Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels."We're thrilled to add content from MTV Networks to our line up, it's a perfect fit for the PlayStation demographic, one of the most coveted audiences in entertainment today," said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. "Combined with the superior technology of the PS3 and PSP, the PlayStation Network's video delivery service truly provides consumers the best and most comprehensive content on demand from an incredible line up of entertainment brands to enjoy at home or on-the-go.""From Nickelodeon to TV Land and everywhere in between, MTV Networks' brands feature some of the most popular shows and some of the hottest stars for almost every conceivable demo," said Greg Clayman, Executive Vice President, Digital Distribution and Business Development, MTV Networks. "By making our diverse content lineup available through the PlayStation Network, we're giving PlayStation users instant access to hundreds of hours of our very best programming in the comfort of their own living rooms."
Time Warner, Viacom reach agreement; Bromance crisis averted
Put down the bubbly and nearest willing stranger for a moment, if you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber, you may have noticed that your MTV Networks channels -- including everyone's favorite Palladia / MHD -- are still there, even after a very public squabble threatened to turn them dark around the same time everyone's Zune started working again. Both sides have confirmed the cable giant reached an agreement in principle with Viacom, without revealing how it happened. How much did Viacom end up getting? We may have to wait for the next TWC rate hike to know for sure. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
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.
Time Warner Cable threatens Viacom with the ghosts of Christmas past
Time Warner Cable CEO & President Glenn Britt says don't blame him, blame sliding advertising and falling ratings for Viacom's lost revenue and subsequent Scrooge-style "extortion" of TWC customers to keep MTV Networks on after the ball drops tonight. Beyond the outrageous claim that viewers might be tuning away from My Super Sweet 16 marathons, Britt claims that "penny per subscriber per day" adds up to an unreasonable $39 million, while TWC nobly attempts to keep negotiations going on behalf of its customers. Oddly we find it hard to view either side as thinking of the customer first in this slapfight, but if we miss a single episode of Bromance before things are resolved, there will be hell to pay. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Viacom stations to go dark on Time Warner Cable
Bad news, Time Warner Cable subscribers. The cable carrier notorious for resisting HD expansion until a competitor rolls into town is getting ready to pull all 19 MTV Networks channels (MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and Comedy Central just to name a few, presumably including the HD versions). Viacom has just unleashed a scathing announcement that calls the carrier's refusal to pony up "outrageous," and publicly pleads for its bigwigs to reconsider and open up the checkbook. In essence, Viacom is asking for a fee increase of just under $0.25 per month, per subscriber -- which, admittedly, sounds rather high given the lack of MTV-related content that's a) watchable and b) in high-definition -- but TWC is straight-up refusing. Now, we've no qualms with a provider balking at price increases, but while it's planning to let content vanish from lineups, it's also raising monthly rates by $3 in Raleigh, Orange County, Los Angeles and New York City. Ahem, TWC -- could you bother justifying these hikes by allowing us to keep our content? And don't even come at us with the "we just added more HD!" comment -- after all, you blast us everyday with ads proclaiming that your HD "is free." [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Richard Garriott's appearance on The Colbert Report
As announced earlier in the week, Richard Garriott made his Comedy Central debut last night with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report. This appearance by Garriott was in conjunction with his Operation Immortality project that will take place next month. Stephen Colbert will be joining many other popular celebrities by adding his digitized DNA to the Immortality Drive which will accompany Garriott on his space flight, and remain on the International Space Station in the event of Earth's destruction.Admittedly, the Garriott appearance is very brief. In fact, he didn't actually "appear" on the show at all, but called in from his space flight training grounds in Russia. This was a bit on the disappointing side, yet we understand Garriott's time restraints with that whole space flight thing and all. Plus, it turns out this interview was done literally ten minutes before Garriott was to be quarantined for the flight. Sadly enough, there was no mention of Tabula Rasa during the interview at all. Regardless, it's a funny little interview.
Richard Garriott to appear on The Colbert Report
If the recent news of Stephen Colbert joining Operation Immortality has you scratching your head, you may be pleased to learn that Tabula Rasa's Richard Garriott will appear on Colbert's show, The Colbert Report, to discuss his flight to the International Space Station, Operation Immortality and Colbert's participation with the project.This particular episode will air on Comedy Central tomorrow, September 17th, immediately following the Jon Stewart Show at 11:30pm EDT/10:30pm CDT. With Colbert's dry humor and satirical wit, we're sure there will be more than a few jokes made at Garriott's expense.
Stephen Colbert brings freedom, 'Charlene' to Rock Band
Sure, Stephen Colbert's political humor is great, but we prefer his early work: The sensitive, touching and frequently unnerving pop he crafted as part of Stephen and the Colberts. The apex of their work, the semi-hit single "Charlene," is now available as a free download on Rock Band.Right now, this standard of American synth-stalk-pop is only available as a free download on Xbox Live, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was also part of today's PSN update. In the meantime, see Colbert's softer side just after the jump.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
