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Independent cable op consortium signs up Disney's HD channels
Served by one of the National Cable Television Cooperative's 1,100+ carriers? There may be some new high definition stations popping up in your channel lineup soon, with a new deal inked providing access to Disney's ABC Family HD, Disney Channel HD and Toon Disney HD networks, plus ESPN HD, ESPNU HD, ESPN2 HD and ESPNews HD. As always, bottlenecks like bandwidth can always be a hurdle, but with a carriage deal in place small & medium sized cable ops should have these channels up and running sooner rather than later.
ESPN breaks into the Blu with 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story
Apparently ESPN was not only pleased with the 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story DVD sales, but it reckons that NASCAR fans are ready and willing to pick it up on Blu, too. The sports giant has just revealed that its first Blu-ray title will be the Collector's Edition of the aforementioned title, and it's slated to land on November 11th. There are no definite extras or specifications to speak of, but we'd expect ESPN to bring the heat on its first foray into BD. MSRP for the title is set at $34.95, but as always, you'll be able to find it for much less without too much effort.[Via High-Def Digest]
TWC adding ESPNU HD / Planet Green HD in Greensboro, NC
One word Time Warner Cable: pathetic. Look, we're as stoked as we can be for our pals up in the Triad area of North Carolina -- after all, ESPNU HD and Planet Green HD are coming just months after a trio of others arrived -- but the lack of attention in the Triangle is sickening. While the Raleigh area limps along with an absolutely anemic HD lineup, Greensboro is being promised two more on Friday. The stations will be available on slots 570 and 559, respectively, and at least the former should provide plenty of entertainment as the football season really gets going. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
New tech puts ESPN anchors on video game gridiron
Don't be surprised if this Sunday's edition of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown looks a bit more like a game of Madden. According to a New York Times report, the Disney-owned sports network will use the "EA Sports Virtual Playbook" and a special studio and camera setup to allow "both real and virtual people move around the ESPN set to demonstrate plays and possible situations." It sure sounds a lot simpler than getting real NFL players to crash around the set, but we'll reserve judgment until we see it in action this weekend.
A stroll through the MVNO graveyard
Back in the early days of Engadget, everyone -- including us -- thought mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) were totally poised to be the next big thing. And why not? You get to be a wireless carrier without having to operate your own infrastructure (which is by far the most expensive, difficult part). Just what the doctor ordered for the big, stodgy wireless carriers, each struggling to balance differentiating themselves while trapping their customers in their walled content and services gardens.What we got instead was failed business model after spectacular failed business model, leading to a domino effect of collapses that left just a precious few companies standing. Let's take a look at the carnage over on Engadget Mobile, shall we?
ESPNU HD preps for launch Thursday
After ESPNews, now it's time for ESPNU to make the jump to 720p, as promised last year, on August 28. So far Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, RCN, Atlantic Broadband and Broadstripe are signed on to distribute the channel, with ESPN "working on" deals with other providers. The debut event is the Vanderbilt vs. Miami (OH) football game at 7:30 p.m., with ESPN's fourth U.S. high definition station expecting to air over 200 HD events in its first year -- Thursday and Saturday live college football games, plus basketball, lacrosse, baseball, softball, volleyball, wrestling and hockey. Coupled with a 15-year agreement to air SEC matchups on its family of networks, there should be plenty of SPEED on tap for ESPNU HD.
ESPN to bid on 2014, 2016 Olympics -- promises no West Coast tape delay
It's certainly strange that with several networks, online video, on demand, cellphone and any other way NBC has provided to view the Beijing Olympic Games, U.S. HDTVs had to wait 13 hours to show Usain Bolt make history in the 100m dash -- and another three hours to catch it on PST. For those frustrated by NBC's arrogant mishandling of its broadcast rights, there exists one slim ray of hope (other than living somewhere lucky enough to get Canadian television so you can actually see the events before reading about them in the paper or on NBC's own website), ESPN. That's right, with Brett Favre finally on an NFL roster, the sports giant has apparently found enough free time to consider taking a run at broadcast rights for the 2014 Winter Games and 2016 Summer Games. While we don't yet know where they'll be, if ESPN gets the Games, VP of content John Skipper pinky swore that it would "never" put an event on tape delay, calling it a disservice to sports fans. Our support for this plan goes without saying, and since it's already too late to give them this year's broadcast rights, our only remaining issue is finding out what it takes to get John Skipper on the '08 presidential ballot.
NFL Network to become ESPN 8, THE "OCHO"?
We first heard that ESPN believed it had the solution to the NFL Network's carriage problems last week, and today the analysts at SNL Kagan believe they may know what the two sports power houses have in mind. The theory goes that ESPN would take over the network and merge it with another mediocre success, ESPN Classic. Then the two could be offered to providers under a new name -- we're thinking ESPN 8, THE OCHO. Providers would be happy to kill two birds with one stone, since the viewership of ESPN Classic is so low and the NFL Network costs so much, and customers would finally have access to the rest of the NFL games. Makes sense to us.
ESPN and NFL Network, working on a deal
The NFL Network's strategy to gain carriage on the biggest cable company's most popular tiers, caused quite a ruckus last year when many subscribers almost missed the biggest game of the year, in what ended up being a reverse preview of the Super Bowl -- and a perfect setup for the biggest choke in NFL history. It appears now that with some help from ESPN, we may not be in store for a repeat this year. Although no details have been revealed, it is being reported -- by the journal that require a subscription -- that the four letter network is in talks that may lead to it helping resolve the fledgling network with its struggles to obtain carriage.
ESPN Ultimate Remote gets reviewed, panned
Apparently we aren't the only ones miffed by the WiFi-enabled ESPN Ultimate Remote. After peeling this thing out of its dumbbell-esque packaging, critics over at PC Magazine were simply unimpressed from the get-go. For starters, this thing actually belts out the network's theme song when you turn it on. If that's not reason enough to hold tight to your three Benjamins, you should also know that it "didn't execute any of its fancy web tricks gracefully," and setup was anything but simple. It gets worse. Reviewers stated that it was uncomfortable to hold, the buttons were too tightly packed and you're not able to send / receive emails from just any email address. If you really need more convincing that this thing probably isn't a good buy (particularly with all those other alternatives out there), check out the full review in the read link.[Via ZatzNotFunny]
DirecTV keeps multi-screen trend alive with Wimbledon Interactive coverage
If you enjoy juggling six screens at once, you should seriously considering switching to DirecTV or DISH Network. As the back-and-forth action between the two continues, DirecTV is serving up Wimbledon Interactive in order to provide viewers with a multi-screen montage of grass court action. The satcaster is teaming up once again with ESPN2 in order to "provide nearly 200 hours of live interactive coverage of the first five days of the 2008 Wimbledon Championship." The half dozen screens will include live ESPN2 coverage, a Wimbledon Extra for keying in on crucial matches / highlights, and shots from four other courts which can be expanded to full screen at the touch of a button. As you know, the first fuzzy ball flies on June 23rd.
ESPN Ultimate Remote is now shipping, inexplicable packaging comes free
Just in time for Father's Day, ESPN's tvCompass-built WiFi Ultimate Remote is finally available, and rapidly making its way into the awaiting, Cheeto-stained fingertips of a couch potato near you. It still costs $300, and with a good number of laptops retailing for that price these days, it's certainly hard to justify, but forget all that... who on earth thought this packaging was a good idea? It kind of looks like a dumbbell, but not. We're really at a loss for words here. It's almost like ESPN wants to fail.
DISH presenting ESPN's coverage of U.S. Open through Interactive TV mosaic
Earlier this year, DirecTV showed up everyone else with its interactive, multi-screen coverage of the Masters. Now, however, DISH Network is stepping up to the tee by planning to offer ESPN's coverage of the U.S. Open in a similar fashion. From June 12 through 13, DISH subscribers will be able to view a multiple-screen showcase (dubbed Interactive TV) that will create a mosaic with ESPN's primary feed, a feed focusing on Tiger and Phil, an "Up Close" channel and a number of other specific feeds that hardcore golf lovers will surely be fascinated with. Your turn, DirecTV.[Image courtesy of ESPN]Update: Ah, so DirecTV is doing the same! Thanks m.e.
All live 2008 NCAA Football games on ABC / ESPN networks to air in HD
Not that we're trying to rush the summer away or anything, but August can't get here soon enough. Shortly after hearing that CBS would be producing every single NFL game in high-definition, in flies word that all live 2008 NCAA College Football games shown on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN U will also be available in glorious HD. Granted, there's a shot you won't even have those four networks in HD before the season begins, but at least your local watering hole will. For a look at the current schedule (which is far from complete), check out the goods in the read link. Rest assured, we'll be geared up for the network opener (August 28, 8:00PM on ESPN HD) as NC State shows South Carolina how it's done down at Williams-Brice Stadium.
ESPN's Ultimate Remote in the wild
Our pals over at Zatz Not Funny go their hands on one of those newfangled, silly-expensive WiFi Ultimate Remotes built by tvCompass for ESPN. They found the built-in episode guide to be quite nice, and the potential for content partnerships beyond the existing ESPN sports content "limitless." So, $300 worth of limitless? Time shall tell.
ESPN ratings 43% higher in HD homes than SD abodes in April
Life's good in Bristol -- at least it sure looks that way based on reports stemming from The Cable Show in New Orleans and the latest Nielsen data. For starters, primetime viewership on ESPN grew 15%, while total day ratings ratcheted up 13%. According to Sean Bratches, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the outfit, ESPN's ratings were 43% higher in high-definition homes versus standard-definition homes, reiterating that sports and movies are the two biggest draws of owning an HDTV. Needless to say, the news simply means that the network can demand even more for precious ad time, but we won't even pretend you didn't see that coming.
ESPN unveils The Ultimate Remote, is WiFi worth $300?
ESPN's unleashing The Ultimate Remote, developed by tvCompass, complete with 2.2-inch QVGA LCD screen and 802.11 b/g WiFi stuffed in a 6.5 oz package. It's certainly a serious contender with the Harmony One -- and priced like it, at $300. The marketing info claims no PC is required for setup, recharging via USB, an internet browser with real time access to scores, fantasy info and TV listings for broadcast, cable and satellite from click365's wireless partners. There's even a messaging feature for texting from remote to remote, email, or to a cellphone. We got a glimpse of it at Microsoft's booth during CES, and while it claims "Advanced Microsoft Windows operating software" it's not talking about SideShow. It reminds us a lot of the Ricavision VAVE100 MCE/SideShow remote, but with a slightly different feature set. Father's Day is coming up and suddenly walking over to the computer (or keeping a laptop or PDA/phone on the couch) is sounding like a lot of unnecessary work. Check after the break for a bigger pic with keypad breakdown, or head to Amazon to preorder.[Via Electronista]
SportsCenter changes up the formula starting August 11
The daily SportsCenter rotation marks time for many a sports junkie, but starting this fall, everything will be different. Timed for the start of the Beijing Olympics, SportsCenter is switching to a live edition from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. News vet Hannah Storm will host from 9 a.m. until noon each day, in an effort to balance with ESPN2's morning programming and ESPNews. Smaller tweaks include a continuous Bottom Line news ticker that scrolls headlines throughout the show and commercial breaks, and an ESPNews-style Rundown vertical listing of upcoming stories. Next spring ESPN takes the wrapper off its Sony-powered LA studio, debuting a 10 p.m. PT / 1 a.m. ET live SportsCenter broadcast skewed for the West Coast. Endless reruns of SportsCenter throughout the night and early morning have been a fixture for more than a decade, this adjustment strikes us on the level of political unrest, a weakening dollar and global climate change. [Via Variety]
Disney creates laboratory for biometric testing of advertisements
We've seen outfits and networks dig deep to figure out how to make ads more attractive (or just watchable, really), but Disney's taking things to an entirely new plateau. The mega-corp is establishing a laboratory in Austin, Texas which will actually test the biometric reactions of up to 4,000 people in order to better understand what types of commercials are most effective. In the controlled setting, gurus will be tasked with measuring "heart rate and skin conductivity while tracking the gaze of participants who are exposed to new ad models over the internet, mobile devices and TV screens." As expected, the entire project is being undertaken in order to discover whether it can charge more for certain spots, but we're told not to expect the findings until early next year.[Image courtesy of MSNBC]
ESPN makes known Euro 2008 broadcast schedule
For folks across the pond, catching all 31 UEFA Euro 2008 matches in high-def shouldn't be an issue, and thanks to ESPN / ABC, doing so here in the US won't be either -- well, almost. The network(s) have just released their broadcast schedules for Euro 2008, which is schedule to start on June 7th (ESPN Classic) and conclude on June 29th (ABC HD). Out of the 31 total tilts, 26 of 'em will be readily available on either ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD or ABC HD, and all but the two ABC matchups will also be available via ESPN360. Who says there's no good football in June?[Via EPL Talk]
