Cuban
Latest
Boost Mobile goes after Cuban-Americans with new prepaid plan
Now that the political relations between the US and Cuba have taken a turn for the better, American companies are pushing out marketing schemes to fit the bill. Today, Boost Mobile, Sprint's prepaid branch, announced a monthly plan that's geared toward customers who have loved ones in Cuba. The caveat, unfortunately, is that it's only available in Miami right now -- but the strategy makes sense, since it's a city with a dense population of Cuban-Americans. If you're there, $50 a month gets you unlimited text and 15 talk minutes to Cuba at 33 cents per minute -- which the company claims to be the lowest rate among prepaid carriers. Boost's Cuba Monthly Connection deal also includes 5GB of data and all-you-can-have texting and calling within the US, while $10 more monthly doubles your data.
Cuban cellphone freedom nets 7,400 users in ten days
Within the first ten days of the new, open cellular policy in Cuba, 7,400 cellphone accounts have been opened by regular Cuban citizens. The 7,400 contracts were opened for about $110 via Cuba's only (and state-owned) wireless provider, ETECSA. Handsets cost around $75 -- no cheap proposition when you consider that the average Cuban citizen's annual state salary is around $240. Previously, contracts could only be opened by government officials or foreigners. 7,400 is a tiny slice of Cuba's 11.4-million person population (.0006%), but it's a start.[Via textually.org]
HDNet Fights teams up with IFL, M-1 for New Year's Eve
HDNet Fights, the fledgling MMA company under Mark Cuban's HDNet (duh) has announced a couple of partnerships that should get its programming off to a great start for 2008. First, HDNet Fights will be broadcasting the International Fight League's World Grand Prix Finals on December 29, bringing the IFL its first HD broadcast. A few days later, the company will be kicking off a four-event contract with M-1 fighter, top-ranked Fedor Emelianenko (pictured). This event will take place on New Year's Eve and will mark the beginning of a planned 24 fight cards for HDNet Fights in 2008. No doubt, UFC is the big player in MMA, but with its open-door policy to working with other fight leagues, HDNet is coming out swinging!
HDNet, HDNet Movies on top of HD-exclusive viewership rankings
While the amount of HD exclusive channels continues to (slowly) grow, it was Mark Cuban's own HDNet and HDNet Movies that took home the gold in the "first high-definition TV ratings" acquired by TNS Media Research. The data was gathered from set-top-boxes in an unnamed "major market," and the two channels were said to "excel in both weekday and weekend" ratings. For the week ending July 1st, the channels held between 6.1-percent and 8.6-percent of the viewers that were tuned into 100-percent HD channels, which simply leaves us to wonder what the other 90 or so percent of eyes were watching so intently.[Via BlogMaverick]
Cuban on programming: what content is only suited for HD?
Sure, this question has been around the block a time or two before, and while the emergence of channels such as Discovery HD Theater, Mojo, and MHD certainly give us clues as to what works best in HD, Cuban has taken the inquiry a bit further. It's fairly obvious that live concerts, sporting events, and travel content are far superior when viewed in high-definition, but does content exist (or should it?) that plays well on an HDTV, but not at all on a vanilla SDTV? Cuban actually suggests that concerts fit the bill in his mind, and while we can't imagine the wide array of televised music awards suddenly vowing to become HD only, we will agree that it's (marginally) above a snorefest when heard in 5.1. Truth be told, it's hard to imagine any content only suitable for HD, unless glorified infomercials about luxury items (you know, to somewhat fit with the HD demographic) are considered valuable programming. Nevertheless, feel free to read Cuban's take on the whole ordeal, and don't be shy, sound off below with your best rebuttal.
Cuban claims that broadcast networks are missing HDTV opportunities
One of our favorite egomaniacs has once again stepped atop his soapbox, and with relatively awful sentence structure and nearly illegible paragraphs, Mark Cuban has managed to blast broadcast networks for missing the opportunities HDTV presents -- or at least that's what we deciphered. He suggests that while streaming internet video may be the "hot sexy thing" right now, the limited "internet bandwidth available to the home" puts a theoretical cap on the "quality and simplicity of video delivery." Of course, he forgets to mention the bandwidth crisis that every major cable provider out there is now facing, as the aging copper wiring simply can't keep up with the HD explosion in its current state. Nevertheless, he states that "HDTV is the internet video killer," and also says that the ease of receiving HD broadcasts on your television (really?) will prove a more viable outlet for advertisers to use in the long run as HD becomes more and more common in American households. Mr. Cuban (apparently) insinuates that broadcast networks should seize the opportunity that HDTV presents to elicit funding for those crisp, bright HD commercials -- but let's be realistic, we've already learned that HDTV "has no business model," and tapping that FF button happens just as rapidly regardless of whether the plug is in paltry SD or 1080i. Moreover, ole Mark didn't hold back from plugging his own HDNet channel as being a frontrunner in the HD ad revolution, but we'd recommend he figure out a way to cram more HD channels through an antiquated pipeline before complaining over a lack of HD channels to advertise on.
Cuban teams with Dell to offer bundled HDNet Blu-ray content
Now that Dell's riding high on the Blu-ray bandwagon, what more could you ask for when picking up that now-BD-equipped M1710? How about a free flick from Mark Cuban? While we can hear the groaning in the back, ole Mark has decided to plug his very own HDNet by partnering with Dell and tossing in a free Blu-ray title -- "HDNet World Report Special: Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission" -- with each XPS M1710 notebook. Although further details on the deal weren't readily available, it was implied that future Blu-ray equipped machines would also grace buyers with free BD titles of Cuban's choosing, and while you might not agree with Mark's antics, you can't really complain with free.
Mr. Mark Cuban wants to own the largest plasma in America -- FIRST
Oh, how that Mark Cuban loves his high-def. First, he goes out an starts a premier high-def network, HDNet way back in 2001 and then has tons of HDTVs installed at his basketball team's stadium, and now, he wants one of those fancy, new 103-inch Panasonic plasma TVs. But the only thing is, he wants it before anyone else. Apparently, he has been calling the big boys at Panasonic trying to get his hands on one before they go on sale in October and before the thousands of pre-orders already in place for the $70,000 plasma. Chances are that he will get one, but the first one is set to go on sale via a charity action so Mark, why don't you pony up and buy your first one through the auction. That way, you can probably write-off the expense, plus, it you make you look chartable, but all of us around here know the truth about your love with HD. It's cool, we would do the same thing in your position.
Watch Bubble in the theater, on DVD and on cable, but not if you live in New Jersey
Or any of the other dozen states where movie theaters have refused to show the movie, fighting like the Luddites they are to protect their antiquated way of doing business. Director Steven Soderbergh, in partnership with our friend Mark Cuban and others is releasing his new movie "Bubble" ("the weirdest goddamn movie ever released by a major American filmmaker.") in theater, on cable and on DVD on the same day, giving viewers the choice of how they want to experience it from the beginning, instead of artificial time delays between each step.Immediate (or close to it) digital distribution is the future, and these theaters are silly to fight it. If they had any sense, they'd sell copies o the DVD on the way out. if they had offered me a copy of The Island as I exited the theater, I would have gladly dropped $20 more on top of what I had just spent on a ticket and popcorn. Any HDBeat readers live in states that won't be getting a choice of how they want to see their movies?
