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Sling TV users can add NBA Team Pass to follow their favorite squad
Weeks ago, Sling TV added NBA League Pass as a $30 monthly additional package subscribers can purchase to follow out-of-market games. But if they only care about one team, the over-the-top provider has them covered now, too. Today, users can add on the Team Pass for $18 per month for those who already pay for a Sling Orange, Sling Blue and/or Spanish-language service package. This lets fans follow one out-of-market team across the regular season with live games, full replays and audio broadcasts.
TVPlayer app streams 25 UK pay-TV channels for a fiver a month
For a long time, "premium" TV channels were locked behind expensive satellite and cable subscriptions in the UK. If you wanted to watch National Geographic, for instance, you had to pay a little extra for a special channel pack. But viewers want choice, flexibility and cheaper prices, which has forced TV operators to start "unbundling" their most precious channels and shows. It's a positive trend, but many channels are still difficult to find as part of cheaper, standalone monthly subscriptions. Now, this is where TVPlayer comes in. The company already offers free streaming for free-to-air (Freeview) channels, and now it's preparing a paid "Plus" package: for £5 per month, you'll be able to stream 25 pay-TV channels including National Geographic, History and the Discovery Channel.
Showtime plans to follow HBO with cable-free streaming in 2015
Let's say that your premium cable-drama tastes range more toward Homeland or Masters of Sex than they do Game of Thrones or Girls. Good news, then! If you're getting tired of paying for access to the network on top of your monthly TV bill, that could change next year according to Wall Street Journal. On today's earnings call, CBS' chief executive officer Leslie Moonves said that standalone access to Showtime's programming was coming in 2015 "fairly definitively." It's a bit on the wishy-washy side of things, but it gives the outfit a chance to cover its rear should the requisite deals we'd imagine this requires not happen in time. That should sound at least a little familiar considering HBO said something similar not too long ago. Want to simulate pay-TV-less Showtime until then? Well, there's always Dexter and Californication on Netflix. [Image credit: Getty Images for Showtime]
AT&T wants to power the next big video streaming service
AT&T has a new way to take on TV-threatening internet video services like Netflix: it's going to offer a few services of its own. The telecom is teaming up with the Chernin Group -- previously a bidder in the Hulu sweepstakes -- to start a venture that will "acquire, invest in and launch" both online video platforms and on-demand TV channels. While the two companies aren't saying much about their plans, they're already willing to pledge over $500 million to the project and fund providers whether they're ad-supported or subscription-based.
Philips Cloud TV will stream 'hundreds' of internet channels to its latest Smart TVs
Philips has just launched Cloud TV at IFA 2013, a service that'll work on its latest Smart TVs including the hot-off-the-press Philips 9000 4K series. It'll bring streaming of "hundreds of local, national, international and special interest channels" to 2012 or newer Philips Smart TV models. An app will also be available for those sets to scan all that content, most of which will be free. The company also announced Cloud Explorer, which will let you store your personal photos, video and audio by signing in to Dropbox or creating a new account through Philips. Both are now available in most of Europe and Russia, so if you're pining for yet another cloud streaming or storage service, check the PR after the break. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
TV Catchup for Android arrives on Google Play
TVCatchup, the excellent little TV-watching service has brought its app over to Android. The service, which we've found to be much more reliable than the BBC's live streams on our flaky connection, lets you watch nearly 60 free-to-air channels available in the UK. The ad-supported app is available for free on Google Play right now -- as long as you've paid your license fee, folks.
Miramax arrives on Lovefilm to let you relive the golden age of Weinsteins
Miramax has reached a deal with Lovefilm to get its back-catalog of award-winning films available on-demand in the UK and Germany. It's an unsurprising move given the company has similar deals in place with Netflix and Hulu to let you watch classics like Pulp Fiction, Clerks and Trainspotting whenever the urge takes you. While there was no official confirmation of a launch window, a cursory check of our own account reveals that some of the titles (including Kill Bill) are already popping up on the instant service.
Sky Store replaces Sky Box Office in the war against everyone else
In the face of increasing competition from movie services like Lovefilm, Knowhow Movies and iTunes, Sky has reportedly decided to reinvent Box Office as Sky Store. Rather than the limited number of pay-per-view titles each month, it'll be repositioned as an online movie library with over 1,000 titles to view on your set-top-box, desktop or mobile device. New releases will be priced at £3.50 in standard-definition or £4.00 ($6.30) in HD. Back-catalogue titles will be priced at £1.99, with discounts on that figure on an infrequent basis. Sadly the service is only available to the five million or so subscribers with Anytime+, those who currently remain using SD services will get to keep the old-school Box Office.
Sky will launch an internet based TV service in the UK in the first half of 2012
UK pay TV service Sky has just announced its quarterly results, and despite adding 100,000 subscribers as well as notching its "highest ever first-half adjusted operating profit" it will launch a new internet TV service, available to anyone in the country with a broadband connection. Sky describes the new over the top (OTT) service as being aimed at the 13 million UK households who don't currently subscribe to pay TV, with access available via "PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, games console or connected TV." Initially, it will offer Sky Movies on demand joined by sports and entertainment options later, with access based on either monthly unlimited subscription or "pay-as-you-go" pricing. As far as the company's basic services, it will continue to develop its existing Sky Go product for standard pay-TV subscribers and zeebox iPad companion app, although this seems to initially be a worth competitor for things like Lovefilm and recent UK entrant Netflix. We have plenty of questions about what it will offer cord-cutters and cord-nevers in the UK when it launches in the first half of this year, we should find out more on the earnings call shortly. Until then, hit the PDF link for more detailed financial breakdowns, or check out the IPTV service press release after the break.Update: Still waiting for Sky Go on Android? The company mentioned during its presentation that the app will finally arrive on Google's platform in February, starting with Samsung Galaxy and HTC handsets. It will also have new channels, including Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts, plus, of course, the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel. The company is also expanding its broadband reach, with plans to cover a million more homes by June 2013, and add a Sky Broadband Unlimited Fibre option. For 20 a month, it offers 40 megabit download speed with no usage caps based on BT Fibre.
Cox to offer retail TiVo Premiere DVRs next year, first with cable VOD & Amazon, Netflix access
TiVo users, even with boxes provided by their cable company in the case of RCN and Comcast, have so far had to make a compromise: Choose their cable company's video on-demand offerings, or bring their own DVR and access online video from sources like Amazon and Netflix -- but that's no longer the case. Cox and TiVo have reached an agreement -- sound familiar? -- that will see allow retail CableCARD equipped TiVo Premiere DVRs to access Cox's VOD, as well as all that over the top internet video we've come to love. The SeaChange powered VOD will work similarly to RCN's, but we're waiting to see if this can give the new universal search an extra source to pull from as well. The deal also means Cox will cross promote the TiVo in its own marketing, and provide free installs for units purchased at Best Buy and other outlets including the TiVo website. The only bad news here? While TiVo plans to start testing later this year, it won't see a wide rollout (in "all major markets") until 2011. Check out the press release for all the details before calling your cable company, why should Cox customers get to choose between two different modernized, integrated set-top box platforms while the rest of us are stuck with interfaces and access rules that have been around since before the X-Games?
Apple no-cash policy for iPad takes some by surprise
Update: Apple has now reversed the no-cash policy. As loyal readers know, Apple stores are not particularly cash-friendly; in the case of the iPhone and the iPad, they're downright cash-hostile. Both devices require a credit or debit card for purchase, although you can waltz down the block and buy an iPad with cash at Best Buy if you like (and you can use a gift card for iPhone, but not for iPad). There are some points on Apple's side for the pay-with-plastic requirement (the primary one being that it's hard to enforce the two-per-person purchase limit without some way to track buyers), but it's clear that the rule is a source of annoyance to some potential customers. Now the annoyance is getting magnified. In a post that is destined to be enshrined under the Wikipedia entry for "irate screed," David Gewirtz at ZDnet reacts to this KGO-TV story about Diane Campbell, a Palo Alto woman who tried (and failed) to buy herself an iPad using good old greenbacks. And when I say Gewirtz reacts, I mean he absolutely goes medieval about this "outrageous" miscarriage of justice.
