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Fox Sports will stream the Big East hoops tournament in VR
Between the news that March Madness Live will be available on more devices than ever this year and TuneIn partnering with the NBA to host live game audio, it's been a pretty interesting week for hoops fans already. But Fox Sports isn't content to sit on the bench while others boost their draft prospects, announcing it'll be broadcasting the last seven games of this year's Big East Men's Basketball Tournament in virtual reality.
Electronic music gets its own televised awards show
Variety is reporting that Fox will broadcast the inaugural Electronic Music Awards on Saturday, April 23rd at 8pm. The network has teamed up with superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold to create the event as a celebration of the genre. It'll feature red carpet coverage, interviews, the ceremony itself and performances from the world's biggest artists. Read between the lines and you'll assume that the move was born out of frustration with the Grammy's traditional disdain for electronica. As Oakenfold says, he's "thrilled to be part of an awards show that finally" (emphasis ours) "recognizes and celebrates... one of the biggest music genres in the world." You can feel the heat radiating off that burn from a mile away.
T-Mobile adds more channels to Binge-On
T-Mobile announced on Thursday that it is expanding its Binge-On catalog to include four new streaming services -- Amazon Video, Fox News, WWE Network and Univision NOW -- bringing the total up to more than 40. The "Un-carrier" also released new data on its users' usage of the Binge-On service. According to T-Mobile, its "customers on qualifying data plans are already watching more than twice the video than before from the free services with Binge On." In all, users have streamed 34 petabytes for free.
Fox Sports to stream boxing card in VR this weekend
Virtual reality isn't only taking root in gaming and movies, it's hitting the world of sports, too. This weekend, Fox Sports will broadcast its Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) coverage in VR with the help of NextVR. The network says NextVR will install "multiple cameras" around the ring area to give "fight fans the best seat in the house." Of course, that seat is in your living room. In addition to the visuals, Fox will offer commentary and match stats on the VR stream. NextVR has teamed up with the broadcaster before, with coverage of a NASCAR race and golf's US Open last year.
UHD Alliance reveals its specs for 'premium' 4K TVs
Last year a number of TV manufacturers, Hollywood studios and other content companies got together so they could avoid ruining the home experience of 4K. A battle over competing standards and formats has made a mess of tech like Blu-ray/HD DVD and the rollout of 3D, but this industry consortium is committed to making sure that doesn't happen with Ultra HD. As Fox exec Mike Dunn put it during a panel discussion, "Unless you have a standards group that puts the glue for the industry together, it's not seamless for the consumer." Tonight the group showed off the logo and specs (above) that you should probably look for if you consider buying a high-end Ultra HD television. Update: Samsung says its entire line of 2016 SUHD TVs has been tagged with the UHD Premium certification.
How Twitter helped make the 'Archer' pinball game a reality
Pinball FX creator Zen Studios released a bundle this week featuring tables from Archer, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers and American Dad. The pack, called Balls of Glory, is available now across PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows 10, Steam, Android and iOS (whew). And all of this exists because of a tweet, as Zen Studios VP of Publishing Mel Kirk explains.
Key and Peele pen TV deal with Vine's King Bach
When it was announced that Key & Peele were going to wrap up production this year on their self-titled sketch show, comedy fans all around the world were pretty bummed about it. But now Deadline has reported that the two comedy stars will write and produce a new comedy starring Vine's Andrew "KingBach" Bachelor. The man who has mastered the social media platform and perfected the six-second loop is no stranger to comedy shows, having already starred in recurring roles in The Mindy Project, House Of Lies and Black Jesus. With the help of Key & Peele writer Alex Rubens, the new show will be loosely based around one of Bachelor's online personas and follow an undercover cop who goes back to his hometown in order to take out the bad guys who bullied him while growing up.
The first official 'X-Files' trailer is out there
The wait is nearly over, X-Files fans! We're just a few short months from the debut of the new X-Files. Like the original series, this six episode mini-season is being produced by Chris Carter. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their lead roles as Mulder and Scully while many of the show's supporting cast (like the Cigarette-Smoking Man and FBI Director Skinner) will also reportedly be making appearances. The new series launches on January 24th, immediately following the NFC Championship game.
Fox is bringing more than 100 movies to the Oculus VR Cinema
While gaming and other fully immersive experiences have already flourished on VR, at least one studios is jumping in with a way to watch movies on the big (small) screen. Fox confirmed today at the Oculus Connect 2 event that the company is bringing more than 100 of its movies to the Oculus Store at launch. You'll watch the movies in the Oculus VR Cinema app, where you can watch movies in 2D or 3D on a huge virtual screen (you can see what it looks like after the break). Movies that are coming include Alien, Birdman, Taken, Die Hard, Office Space and more.
Oculus VR is getting Twitch streaming soon, Netflix today
At the Oculus Connect 2 event, the virtual reality company just announced that it's getting a number of video services streaming to VR. The biggest one, Netflix is going to launch an app "in about 20 minutes", but Twitch, Hulu, Vimeo and more are going to be right behind it. We didn't get a ton of details on the experience, but we expect to see something like the current Oculus Cinema, where viewers can watch movies in a virtual theater. For the Twitch app, viewers will be able to chat and comment on gaming streams they're watching too. The slide at the event also showed logos for Facebook (obviously), Fox, Lionsgate and even TiVo.
Fox will stream 104 NFL games this season, cable subscription required
Your options for streaming NFL action over the internet this season continue to grow. Fox announced today that it'll stream 104 games, including three NFC playoff matchups, through its Fox Sports Go app. The catch? You'll need a cable subscription to get in on the action. This is the second year that Fox will stream NFL games though the streaming app that's available to customers of Comcast, Cox, Charter, AT&T U-Verse, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Verizon FiOS and others. What's more, thanks to NFL restrictions, you won't be able to stream games to your phone from Fox Sports Go, so you'll have to employ those other devices (if you're paying for TV, of course). If you'll recall, the NFL has a deal with Verizon to stream games to its customers (hence the restriction) and NBC, ESPN, CBS and Yahoo will also serve up on-field action this season. And as you might expect, streaming from ESPN requires a cable subscription, too. [Image credit: Joe Robbins/Getty Images]
Samsung jumps into Ultra HD Blu-ray, as Fox provides the movies
Today Samsung is the first company to announce an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, taking the lead in 4K and HDR video. Following up on its big Ultra HD push at CES and the movie-streaming/download tech that has arrived in the months since, Samsung is ready to push super-high-resolution movies (four times the resolution of Blu-ray, and 64 times as many colors) on discs too. There's not much detail available on its new player, although we expect it will cost less than the $1,000 price its first Blu-ray player commanded nearly a decade ago and it should launch early next year. Joining the tech company on its IFA 2015 stage are Fox execs, with President Mike Dunn proclaiming the studio is committed to releasing its slate of upcoming movies in Ultra HD with HDR day-and-date with the Blu-ray and Digital HD releases. That includes Fantastic Four, Maze Runner, Kingsman: The Secret Service and more.
Fox Sports is streaming a Bundesliga soccer game on YouTube
The Bundesliga, Germany's top-tier football league, is coming to YouTube. After recently securing US broadcast rights for this competition, Fox Sports has now announced it will stream a live match via Google's video service on August 14th. As the network points out, it's the first time one of its major sporting events heads to YouTube, which is going to let people in the US watch the initial game of the 2015-2016 Bundesliga season for free. Not surprisingly, the match between current league champions Bayern Munich and Hamburg is also going to be streamed across Fox's own services: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2 Go and FoxSports.com.
Watch 'The Martian' astronauts struggle with isolation training
One of the greatest challenges for any manned Mars mission isn't surviving the planet itself, but remaining mentally sound on the way there -- you don't want to freak out during a months-long space voyage. And it looks like the producers behind the movie adaptation of The Martian are well aware of this practical reality. They've posted a teaser clip showing how the fictional NASA crew copes with 10 days of isolation training meant to simulate the disconnection they'll likely experience during the journey. As you'll see below, some of them handle it better than others. A few are practically itching to go on the expedition, while others clearly... suffered a bit. Why does Aquaman have control over whales?
1TB My Passport Cinema drive puts 4K Ultra HD movies in your pocket
New super high-res televisions are already here, but with Ultra HD Blu-ray still yet to debut, the best available way to get 4K video on that screen is with streaming and, now, downloading. Western Digital has a Vidity hard drive ready that is ready for storing Hollywood's movies in the highest quality available, and playing them back on compatible screens. Right now the list of compatible devices is limited to Samsung's UHD TVs (2014 or 2015) with the M-Go app, and Fox is the first studio out of the gate with compatible movies. WD's $90 1TB, USB 3.0-connected My Passport Cinema drive meets the spec, is being packed in free with new Samsung TVs, and comes preloaded with The Maze Runner, Exodus: Gods and Kings, X-Men: Days of the Future Past, The Wolverine, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Fault in Our Stars, Let's Be Cops and The Other Woman -- two of them are free off the bat.
Fox US Open broadcast has live VR streams, drones and 4K cameras
We haven't connected cutting edge TV tech to golf much since 3D met the Masters, but Fox is promising a live streaming virtual reality setup this weekend during the US Open tournament. It's working with NextVR -- the same company that brought a Malibu beach sunrise streaming live in 180-degree VR to my house in Michigan -- so that viewers can pop into any of five camera rigs around the course and peek around like they were really there. According to Fox, this is believed to be the "first live multi-camera VR broadcast experience in history." This is still in the demo phase so the easiest way to watch is to actually be at the event in one of the properly equipped hospitality areas, or at a Fox Sports location in New York, Vancouver or LA. Even if you can't catch the live feed, NextVR will have the video ready for its portal that is coming to the Oculus Rift and Gear VR headsets.
Rupert Murdoch out, son James in as Fox CEO
The Murdoch dynasty continues at 21st Century Fox as the company announced today that Rupert Murdoch's son, James Murdoch will take over as CEO beginning July 1. The elder Murdoch will join his other son Lachlan Murdoch as Co-Executive Chairman. Rupert announced he was stepping down as CEO less than a week ago. Placing James in charge isn't a surprise, he has been pushing Fox into the digital era with a heavy focus on streaming. In a joint statement the brothers said that they were, "humbled by the opportunity to lead, with our father and the talented team of executives at 21st Century Fox, this extraordinary company." [Image credit: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP/Getty Images]
Rupert Murdoch's exit as Fox CEO hints at a bigger digital future
There's a big executive shakeup looming that could change the digital media landscape in the long run. Both CNBC and the Wall Street Journal report that Rupert Murdoch is planning to step down from the CEO role at 21st Century Fox, with his son James taking the reins. The media mogul will still hang around as an executive chairman (along with his other son Lachlan), like he does at News Corp, but he won't be so closely involved in day-to-day affairs. The handover would take place no later than 2016.
Movie of the Day app hopes you'll impulse buy $7 'X-Men' via iPhone
Fox and Apple are trying a new twist on digital movie sales starting today, pushing a Movie of the Day app on iOS. For now, it's only for Apple devices and Fox movies (a Google Play version should arrive eventually), but as you can guess from the name it just does the one thing. "Daily Flash Sales" offer a single movie, heavily discounted (up to 70 percent off, somewhere between $5 and $10), for purchase for 24 hours, with the app highlighting which one and pointing users to it. It's launching in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and France today and the first flick for sale is a $7 copy (in HD or SD, and you could just grab it via iTunes) of X-Men: First Class. Movies like Alien, Die Hard, Ice Age, Planet of the Apes, Rio, and The Sound of Music will float through its library, so if you're interested in filling up your Apple-connected digital shelf it could be worthwhile.
'Vidity' 4K movies you can download are coming later this year
At CES the long-brewing alliance to push Hollywood movies you can legally download, store and play across different devices finally surfaced, and now its system has a brand name: Vidity. As we learned in January, this is the doing of the Secure Content Storage Association -- a team up behind movie studios (Fox, Warner Bros.) and storage manufacturers (Western Digital, Sandisk) to create a system where users can download movies in the highest possible quality like 4K Ultra HD and HDR. Samsung was the first to announce its Ultra HD TVs with the M-Go app will use the spec, but other big names like Vudu, Kaleidescape, LG, Universal, Comcast and Sprint are on board too. So far 4K movies have generally been all about streaming, but now between Ultra HD Blu-ray and Vidity there are a couple of new options coming.
