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Sky Sports to go free for the first day of the Premier League
As if launching two new channels wasn't enough, Sky Sports has another piece of programming-related news to share today. The company has shared that it's going to open all seven of its Sky Sports channels to Sky, Virgin Media and Talk Talk TV customers this Saturday (August 16th), allowing a potential 15 million viewers to to watch one of the first matches of the 2014/15 Premiership season. Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace will be just one of the key contests shown on Sky Sports' channels on that day, with England's 5th Test against India, Australia vs. New Zealand in the rugby, live PGA Golf and dutch football coverage also in the lineup. Once you've got a taste, Sky hopes you'll sign up to its Sports package, subscribe to its free two-year broadband deal and deliver a fresh blow to BT in the process.
Football fans score additional content in Sky Sports for iPad update
The app devs over at Sky Sports are having a busy year, and after improving their iPad offering for the F1 season, they're back with a "second screen" update for football (soccer) fans. Just in time for the start of the UK Premier League season, the new Football Match Centre adds a content bar alongside your chosen stream showing team and player info, in-depth stats of the match in progress and a hand-picked Twitter feed for related musings. You might think the devs deserve a break, but sadly there's no time -- next on the agenda is a similar update for the Champions League tournament, then they're bringing the second screen to golf fans before the Ryder Cup starts next month.
Football Manager to bring MMOs to the pitch
If ever there was a group of gaming fanatics to rival those that call MMOs their home, it would be those crazy footie fans that drive the sales of soccer simulators like the Football Manager series with their dreams of Championship League glory. While combining the two may at first appear like an unholy alliance, the off-spring of their union, Football Manager Live, is actually a much more intuitive blend than it might have seemed. Players customize their teams' looks, name, and home field, and are then given a small sum of cash to acquire their first players. From there they can then join online leagues catered to their skill levels and compete in matches that look largely like the Football Manager fans already know and love.What makes it more than just an online version of Football Manager is the persistent elements that have been added in to the mix. Managers assign themselves skills and abilities, all of which affect their ability to control and develop players on the pitch. Players have to build their teams up from the ground-level in order to compete at the highest levels, and competition in that sphere will be intense. It's sort of funny to think of the Premier League as the sports equivalent of Black Temple, but it's apt. Football Manager Live is currently in its beta phase, and looks to launch later this year. Finally we'll have an MMO we can brag about at a bar without getting funny looks!
