Tomorrow morning, the Speed and Fuel networks will be transformed into the much-hyped Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 channels, in a move intended to compete with ESPN. Fox has landed deals with college conferences Pac-12 and Big 12 football and basketball, Big East basketball, NASCAR, the UFC, Major League Baseball, World Cup soccer and, most recently, the U.S. Open golf championship. The TV everywhere companion app Fox Sports Go will not launch concurrently, as it continues its testing phase. Continue reading Fox Takes On ESPN Saturday with Launch of Sports Channels

Apple has acquired Matcha.tv, a Web service that provides users access to videos from various sources. Video aggregation technology has also been appearing in new and upcoming video game consoles. The Matcha.tv site has been shut down and customer data deleted, a move that has created speculation on the reason. Some question if Apple will attempt to change the TV experience with the development of a recommendation system or a cloud-based DVR. Continue reading Apple Acquires Video Aggregator Matcha.tv, Fuels Speculation

The new OmniCam360 camera system uses a collection of cameras to create multiple angles for live televised events such as soccer matches and music concerts. The system provides viewers with the option to choose their viewing angle, including a 360-degree view of the event. The camera was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications in Berlin, Germany. Viewers can use a computer, tablet or smart TV in order to select views via their virtual cameras in real-time. Continue reading Consumers Can Select Viewing Angles for Sports and Concerts

Los Angeles-based startup Hive Lighting has developed energy-saving plasma lights intended to make film and television production more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Although Hollywood has launched initiatives in recent years to make the industry more green, it has been a challenge transitioning to productions that use less energy and minimize pollution. Hive’s plasma solution can potentially lower on set energy usage by 50 percent and power costs by 40 percent. Continue reading Hollywood Going Green with New Energy Saving Plasma Lights

As part of its ongoing effort to generate more traffic and potential advertising revenue, Twitter is testing new ways of bringing more television content to its platform. Currently, the company is testing a new feature in which links to TV shows appear as Twitter cards in a user’s Timeline. The cards’ click-through feature provides links to the show, related tweets and accounts that might be relevant to fans of that show. Separately, the company has announced that several updates to TweetDeck will make it faster and more convenient to use. Continue reading Twitter Tests TV Trending Feature and Upgrades TweetDeck

The final season of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” debuted with its best ever rating of 5.9 million viewers. Part of the high ratings can be attributed to Netflix, where subscribers can watch all previous episodes of the series, providing new viewers with a way to catch up prior to the new season. Along with the high ratings, there was a spike in illegal downloads of “Breaking Bad” episodes. This occurred despite the show being made available within hours across global regions. Continue reading Record Ratings and Illegal Download Spike for ‘Breaking Bad’

Facebook recently announced two new features for its mobile Web and iOS and Android mobile apps that will allow users to book restaurants and access TV and movie listings without ever leaving the world of Facebook. These features could help the social network compete with services offered by the likes of Fandango, Yelp and GroupOn. Ultimately, by influencing offline spending, Facebook hopes to generate more revenue and draw more advertisers. Continue reading Facebook Launches New Features to Influence Offline Spending

Executives at American Express are targeting millennials with a new sponsorship program that includes prepaid debit cards featuring images from the popular online video game “League of Legends” by Riot Games. Tomorrow, the company will announce a program through which users will receive 1,000 points when they sign up for the card and another 1,000 points when they load $20 onto the card. Additional points can be earned with purchases and when the card is linked to a direct deposit account. Continue reading AmEx Debit Cards to Feature Images from Online Video Game

NBC News is looking to leverage on-the-scene user generated content for its news coverage, envisioning a day when live video could be streamed directly to its New York control rooms from the camera phones of witnesses to newsworthy events. This approach could replace or complement footage by professional crews and ease the pressure of producers frantically searching Twitter and Facebook to locate eyewitness accounts. The network is acquiring Web service Stringwire as its first step toward this goal. Continue reading NBC News to Purchase Stringwire for Streaming Phone Video

Facebook video ads are likely to debut this fall, instead of this summer. The debut has fueled much speculation regarding the amount of revenue that this will generate for the company. The video ads are expected to offer a new way to target advertising to non-broadcast TV watchers. It will be determined what form the much debated videos will take, and if the $2 million price tag will attract businesses and audiences on the Web and mobile devices. Continue reading Facebook Expected to Unveil Video Ads for Web and Mobile

Viggle, creator of the mobile second screen app and loyalty program that rewards viewers for engaging with TV shows, has launched the Viggle Audience Network, providing advertisers with access to an audience of nearly 10 million users. While Viggle has nearly three million registered users, it also leverages users from initial launch partners including discovery platform Boxfish, independent fan site BuddyTV and Dijit Media’s NextGuide. Viggle will be able to sell ads across the entire group. Continue reading Viggle Audience Network Offers New Advertising Opportunities

Netflix devotes significant resources in order to develop its rating and recommendation systems, which is a key component of the service. The company employs 800 engineers to operate the service. Netflix estimates that 75 percent of viewing activity is now recommendation driven. The company uses several types of customer data in order to create the personalized recommendations, and uses behavior of similar users to suggest preferences. Continue reading Netflix Viewing Activity Is Largely Recommendation Driven

Motorola’s Moto X smartphone is designed to feature voice command and other listening capabilities. This may mark a new way that mobile devices are becoming smarter, by listening to the environment and its owner, and responding appropriately based on context. Users may be able to record everything about their lives. The Moto X differs from previous phones in that it includes two low-power chips to process data from a microphone or other sensors. It does this without using the main processor or exhausting the battery. Continue reading Moto X and Future Devices Will Likely Listen To Everything

Cable operator Comcast is developing a new approach to combating piracy that would convert illegal downloads to legal transaction opportunities. The approach would be an alternative to the Copyright Alert System, or “six strikes” voluntary initiative, currently supported by leading programmers, distributors and studios affiliated with the MPAA. Comcast is pitching its plans to film and television executives in hopes of getting major content companies and distributors on board. Continue reading Comcast Pitching Anti-Piracy Alternative to Copyright Alert

On Friday, the Justice Department asked a federal judge to restrict Apple’s influence in the publishing marketplace and give the government oversight of the iTunes and App Stores. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan last month determined that Apple had conspired with five domestic book publishers to increase e-book prices. The government proposals could provide music, TV show and content owners leverage in negotiating digital distribution. Apple is appealing the ruling. Continue reading Justice Department Seeks to Monitor Apple’s iTunes Store