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Sling TV adds local content to its Latino streaming service
Sling TV recently began catering some services to Spanish-speaking subscribers. In June, the company introduced Sling Latino, a standalone package for people who only wanted access to video content in Español. Today, as part of these plans to reach a broader audience, Sling TV announced it's adding local broadcast feeds from Univision and UniMas to its Latino streaming service. This will give viewers the ability to watch programming that's restricted to certain areas, such as local news shows.
Apparently, the internet loved the 2014 World Cup final
The numbers speak for themselves: This year's World Cup has been setting records all over the place. Not only did it keep folks in the US tuned into their team with services like WatchESPN, but who could forget the most tweeted-about sports game ever in that 7-1 thumping suffered by host nation Brazil -- Sad Brazilians, anyone? Yesterday's final, meanwhile, which ultimately saw Germany beat out Argentina for football's biggest prize, set great numbers for social media and TV networks alike. For its part, Facebook reports that the 2014 World Cup Final was the biggest sporting event in its history, with comments, likes and posts combining for over 280 million interactions. Twitter, on the other hand, says the match produced a total of 32.1 million tweets and, in the process, broke the record for any event with 618,725 tweets per minute.
Univision to end free streaming of World Cup games
Many people in the US, even those who don't speak or understand Spanish, have been using the Univision Deportes app to watch the World Cup. To a certain degree, this was due to the fact that Univision's service was completely free for anyone to enjoy, meaning it didn't require any authentication through a cable or internet service provider. Unfortunately, that's all changing as of tomorrow. Starting with the Quarter-Finals, which kick off on July 4th, Univision is set to begin requiring a cable login (from a participating provider) to stream matches leading up to the Final -- something WatchESPN has done since the beginning of the tournament.
T-Mobile launching Spanish-language mobile network with Univision
Move over Jennifer Lopez and Verizon, as Univision has just partnered with T-Mobile to create a new Spanish-language cellphone service called Univision Mobile. Underpinned by T-Mo's network, the new partnership will target the 56 million strong Hispanic American market with "custom-built" plans. Like its parent carrier, those will be contract-free starting at $30 for unlimited texts and calls and $45 for a 2.5GB web plan. Both will get unlimited international texting and 100 minutes of free calls to mobile phones or landlines in Mexico and seven other Latin American countries. The new company may not have J-Lo fronting it like Viva Movil, but users will no doubt be able to catch her on their phones -- Univision will offer "insights and programming content" for the new venture.
Xbox adding Nickelodeon, Paramount, Machinima, Univision, NHL and more ESPN [update: full list of new apps]
Microsoft hopes to "double" its entertainment offerings over the next year, highlighting four partners during its pre-E3 media briefing: Nickelodeon, Paramount, Machinima, and Univisiona.Microsoft is also adding the NBA and NHL to its content partners, specifically citing the latter as launching next season. Additionally, ESPN's app will be updated to include 24-hour programming from other ESPN channels: ESPN 1, ESPN 2, and ESPN U. Currently, the ESPN app on Xbox 360 only features content from ESPN 3.Update: Here's the full list of entertainment apps planned for the service.
Xbox 360 video gets 35 new content providers, 24/7 live ESPN video
Microsoft's E3 2012 keynote has seen it kick up the video content by more than a few notches: it's adding 35 new content providers for the Xbox 360. Machinima, Slacker, Nickelodeon, Paramount and Univision are among the picks, but the real highlight is the sports push: the NBA and NHL will both have the live treatment that we've previously seen with the MLB. If you're a fan of the existing ESPN app, you're in for your own treat, too: a revamp, Watch ESPN, will provide 24/7 live video that includes sports from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU. The timetables for each rollout will vary, but you can be sure you'll have an even wider selection before too long. Follow our liveblog of Microsoft's E3 keynote right here!
Aereo countersues broadcasters over its internet TV streaming service
Now that Aereo has launched its antenna TV-over-the-internet service it can devote some attention to its legal issues, and today countersued the TV networks suing it (Fox, PBS, Univision, WPIX and WNET) in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. It's already filed another suit against Disney, CBS, NBCUniversal and Telemundo, as they wrangle over whether or not its scheme -- using an individual "microantenna" for each subscriber and streaming to that person over the internet, as long as they're in the broadcasting area -- violates their copyright. According to Aereo, it's merely relocating the equipment from the customer's home to its remote facility. We'll see if that argument works out any better than it did for Zediva, which announced last week that customers wouldn't be getting their money back after it was sued out of existence last year.
Univision & Telefutura en HD starting Monday
Spanish speaking HDTV owners in the U.S. can expect the other shoe to drop this week, with Univision and Telefutura stepping up to high-definition broadcasts starting Monday. The cutover will be staggered, with New York and LA going first at 12:02 a.m. Monday morning, followed by other markets throughout the week. The network's first all HD program will be the Tournament of Roses parade broadcast January 1. As promised, it's followed Telemundo to higher quality in plenty of time for the World Cup next year, sadly now we're just wondering when they'll switch over to 3D. [Thanks, Andres]
Univision going HD in time for the 2010 World Cup
Just when we were wondering about Univision's plans for HD, comes word that it is rolling out high definition throughout the 2009-10 broadcast season, ready in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. also to be in HD? Video on-demand packages, as well as broadcasts on the Telefutura group, but if soccer / football isn't your thing, don't worry, there should be plenty of telenovelas and other entertainment specials in the coming year as well.[Via Multichannel News]
Analysts ponder Charter, Univision futures as debt payments loom
We've known for years that Charter Communications isn't what you'd call a "stellar" cable operator, but we had no idea things were looking this dire for the outfit. According to a new report surfacing at Reuters, the St. Louis-based MSO is currently holding a net debt of around $21 billion, and it has purportedly said that it may need to "go into bankruptcy to deal with that burden." In order to stay afloat this long, it has "refinanced and extended its maturities every year since 2004," and just before Christmas it asked a longtime financial adviser to "start talks with bondholders to boost its financial flexibility." In related news, things aren't looking much brighter for Spanish-language media giant Univision, which recently reported a stiff 25% drop in automotive advertising. For awhile, it seemed the media firms were almost untouchable, but the recent downturns in the economy could be taking their toll on a few mainstays. Ah well, at least Charter subscribers can now somewhat justify those rate increases... somewhat.
