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Tag: DirecTV

  • DirecTV Customers Not The Only Ones To Lose Viacom Programming

    As previously reported, Viacom and DirecTV have been unable to reach an agreement to keep DirecTV customers getting programming from Viacom.

    Here’s what Daniel Tosh had to say about it.

    Viacom has now cut off online streaming of some of its shows from its sites, to all viewers, so now even people that aren’t DirecTV customers no longer have convenient online access. CNN reports:

    Fans can no longer watch full episodes of shows like “SpongeBob Squarepants” and “iCarly” or “Jersey Shore” and “The Daily Show,” which is sure to further anger the 20 million DirecTV subscribers who continue to find a dark screen when they change the channel to Viacom-owned nets like Nick, MTV, Comedy Central and VH1.

    “Once again it’s viewers who suffer when media companies stall in their negotiations. But the scale of Viacom’s overreaction is unprecedented,” said John Bergmayer, a Senior Staff Attorney for the Washington-based public interest group Public Knowledge.

    “Viacom has decided to take a service away from all Internet users in its attempt to punish DirecTV,” he added. “It is apparent that Viacom puts little stock in the Internet and the online future of video if it is willing to use all Internet users as a pawn in its negotiations.”

    “We hope that Viacom and DirecTV can work out their differences quickly so that people can continue to access Viacom’s popular content lawfully,” he said.

    And that’s just it. Those who want it bad enough, will probably seek out access that isn’t so lawful.

    Some Viacom content is still available via shows websites and mobile apps, and on Netflix, and probably other similar services. In fact, The Daily Show – one of the shows pulled from online access – still has clips accessible via its Android app.

  • Daniel Tosh Hopes Viacom And DirecTV Squash Their Beef Before Next Week

    Update: Viacom has pulled shows from its sites now, so more than just DirecTV customers are affected by this.

    DirectTV customers have lost Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 14 other channels, as Viacom has dropped its networks from the provider.

    DirecTV issued a release, saying that its execs have reached out to Viacom with a new proposal, and a request to keep channels while negotiations continue, but have not heard back from the media giant. DirecTV says it had to comply with Viacom’s demand in order to avoid legal action.

    “We have been very willing to get a deal done, but Viacom is pushing DirectTV customers to pay more than a 30 percent increase, which equates to an extra $1 billion, despite the fact that the ratings for many of their main networks have plummeted and much of Viacom’s programming can be seen for free online,” said Derek Chang, DirecTV executive vice president of Content, Strategy and Development. “Viacom sent us a letter last night that outlined our obligations to remove the channels by midnight or face legal action just as they were falsely telling viewers DIRECTV was responsible. Let’s be clear, Viacom took these channels away from DirecTV viewers.”

    DirecTV has a site set up with more information about what’s going on, and says it will get the deal done.

    Comedian Daniel Tosh, who hosts Comedy Central’s Internet video show Tosh.0, and is currently also in the news for a rape joke, has been talking about the situation a little on Twitter. Before Tosh.0 aired on Comedy Central on Tuesday night, Tosh tweeted:

    He later followed up with:

  • DirecTV Chairman Not Worried About Apple TV

    Speculation that Apple would release their own HDTV set sooner rather than later have gotten a boost from an unlikely source. Michael White, chairman of DirecTV, predicted that Apple would be launching their own TV, but that he didn’t feel his company had anything to worry about.

    According to Variety, White was speaking at an investors’ conference in New York. White denied that Apple would be able to disrupt the existing TV market enough to present companies like DirecTV with a genuine threat. Discussing rumors that Apple would be unveiling an update to the Apple TV operating system, White said that Apple is “going to launch something, maybe in the next two weeks,” but that “it’s hard to see [it] obsoleting our technology.”

    White’s reasoning depends a lot on the fact that media companies aren’t likely to allow Apple to offer the kind of a la carte channel subscriptions they reportedly want to offer. Of course, the FCC is currently considering a rule change that would take that decision out of the media companies’ hands.

    What’s really interesting here is how very much White’s predictions about Apple’s chances of “obsoleting our technology” sound like the kinds of things people were saying about the iPhone’s chances of success in 2006 and early 2007, and about the iPad in 2009. Plenty of people expected both products to fizzle. On the other hand, both products were aimed at taking a traditionally non-consumer oriented device and bringing it into the consumer market. The HDTV market, though, is a bit different: it’s already a consumer oriented-market, and a fairly saturated one, at that. So there’s a good chance that White is right, and that Apple really won’t do in the TV market what they did in the smartphone market. A lot will depend on how the FCC comes down on that rule change, and a lot depends on the TV market’s response to whatever product Apple offers.

  • DirecTV To Start Offering 10Mbps Internet Connection

    Getting a good internet connection when you live out in the boonies has been the bane of country dwellers for years. There are options like Hughes but they are way too expensive and offer a waaay too small data cap.

    Now DirecTV has announced that they will begin to offer the Exede by ViaSat and Hughes’ HughesNet Gen4 next-generation satellite broadband services in a partnership deal. The service will offer speeds up to 10 Mbps and will now make every single American eligible for a bundled internet deal.

    “We look forward to offering every single DirecTV customer access to fast, affordable broadband options through DirecTV, no matter where they live,” said Oswin Eleonora, senior vice president, Emerging Markets, DirecTV. “With greatly improved capacity and speeds, satellite broadband services provided by ViaSat and Hughes will fully support our customers’ connected home experience, enabling them to access a host of features like YouTube, Pandora, social TV apps, and more than 7,000 VOD titles.”

    So now the issue becomes: What are the data caps, and how much is any decent amount of data going to run? On it’s own On its own, Exede comes in three data-capped tiers of 7.5GB, 15GB, and 25GB, priced at $49.99, $79.99, and $129.99, respectively. So look for it to be at least cheaper than that.

  • Dish Networks “Hopper” Adds Skip Commercials Feature

    Every single TV watcher since the beginning of time (because let’s be real, time didn’t exist before TV was invented, right?) has wished for the ability to instantly skip over the commercials. Well now that technology is finally here. I know we put a man on the moon in 1969, but in 2012? We can skip commercials, take that 69′. The catch? It’s only on Dish Network.

    The new “Auto Hop” feature for the whole home DVR joins the “PrimeTime Anytime” feature which allows you to record the primetime programing on all 4 major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) every night. These features are both completely exclusive to Dish Network, but added to the ability to stream your DVR anywhere on your phone or tablet, and they have completely pulled ahead of DirecTV as far as accessibility of technology.

    “The magic of PrimeTime Anytime is that it allows DISH subscribers to catch up on all primetime shows, including episodes recorded over the past week and recommended by friends, family, and co-workers after they’ve already been broadcast,” said Vivek Khemka, vice president of DISH Product Management. “With Hopper, you have access to all primetime HD programs broadcast by the four major networks. Now you can watch many of those shows commercial-free, with Auto Hop.”

    It will be interesting to see what Dish Network does going forward. With the Hopper and the purchase of Blockbuster Video they are setting themselves up to be a very big player in the TV game for decades to come.

  • DirecTV Turns on DRM and Legitimate Subscribers Lose HBO

    DirecTV subscribers who enjoy watching Game of Thrones on their older HDTV set might find themselves blocked from doing so this week. Dave Zatz reported this week on his blog that DirecTV has implemented High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) digital rights management (DRM). In doing so, subscribers who have HDTV’s that lack HDCP support are no loger able to watch premium channels over an HDMI cable.

    Neither HBO or DirecTV seem at all concerned. Zatz contacted both companies, and HBO told him they didn’t have anything to do with it, while DirecTV blamed it on movie studios. The satellite TV provider even has the audacity to suggest that users who are blocked switch to component cables to hook up their HDTV. That’s simply not fair for early-adopters of HDTV’s who want to watch True Blood in 1080p.

    Zatz points out that no announcement or notice went out before the DRM was turned on. Users were suddenly hit with messages similar to the one in the picture below.

    DirecTV DRM

    What’s really disturbing about this story is that companies haven’t learned, or haven’t been properly educated, on the failures of DRM. Hackers and pirates will always be able to crack or otherwise circumvent DRM. The only people inconvenienced or, in cases such as this one, totally blocked are paying customers. And with service of this sort, they won’t be that for long.

    (image courtesy Zatz Not Funny!)

  • MLB Network launches all-highlights channel

    MLB pretty much has the right idea when it comes to the availability of it’s product Following in the footsteps of the NFL and their Red Zone and the NCAA and their Goal Line channels, Major League Baseball has launched their competitor, MLB Strike Zone. The channel will take viewers on a high-speed trip around Major League Baseball on Tuesday and Friday nights during the regular season. When live game telecasts air on MLB Network, MLB Network Strike Zone will bring fans to every game across the league, with up-to-the-minute highlights, live look-ins and updates, all commercial-free.

    “MLB Network Strike Zone will provide baseball fans with the award-winning coverage of all 30 clubs they’ve come to rely on from MLB Network,” said Tony Petitti, President and CEO of MLB Network. “We’re excited to continue to expand the reach and scope of MLB Network’s programming.”

    As a big baseball fan myself, I’m not quite sure how well this will work. If they cut in to show strikeouts or plays at the plate too, I could see this being good. But just scoring plays? There are really not that many.

    MLB Network Strike Zone will launch on Bright House Networks, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable and will be available today!

  • DirecTV Launches iPad App Upgrade

    DirecTV Launches iPad App Upgrade

    Satellite television provider DirecTV just launched a complimentary iPad app update that would allow users to stream video content from anywhere.

    DirecTV added streaming functionality for iPad last fall, but users were restricted to watching their content on the same network of their DirecTV receiver, meaning that one basically had to be at home to see anything. The DirecTV Everywhere streaming upgrade allows users to view OnDemand content from premium movie channels like HBO and Showtime, as well as DirecTV’s own Audience Network. Still, users won’t be able to watch live content while away from their home receiver, and the upgrade doesn’t include TV shows at this time.

    While DirecTV hasn’t released an official statement on the upgrade, it appears to be following suit with other providers in their push of streaming video content – Comcast launched Xfinity Streampix in February to compete with Hulu and Netflix.

    To further compete with the other providers, it can be assumed that DirecTV will in time make more TV shows available through its upgraded streaming service.

    In related news, DirecTV just tapped Charlie Sheen to appear in its new commercial:

    Reviews appear to be mixed, but I think it’s pretty funny.

  • Charlie Sheen, DirecTV and Fiat Capitalize On Once “Winning” Image

    Fiat and DirecTV have banked on the visibly aged Charlie Sheen’s bad boy reputation in the hopes of boosting their sales.

    Sheen capitalizes on his wild past and cheesy 80s movie personas by driving a tiny Fiat 500 Abarth in the middle of a house while a Super Bowl party is going in the following advertisement. If Batman decided to give up his cape and become a clown, this is the car he would drive. Stepping out of the vehicle to embrace a woman young enough to be his daughter, viewers observe that he is wearing an ankle monitor and forced giggles ensue.

    “Not all bad boys are created equal” as stated on this Fiat ad, but I cannot help but notice that Sheen is becoming a dirty old man icon and destroying any chances he might have of resuscitating his career.

    Charlie Sheen is so over! After watching this DirecTV ad I am going to go home and smash my Platoon DVD into a thousand pieces.

    Oh, and before I forget, the voiceover on the DirecTV ad totally rips off the Dos Equis “most interesting man” commercials.

    Only 170,000 people have viewed these commercials since yesterday which might indicate that Sheen is losing steam faster that Fiat and DirecTV realize.

  • DirecTV Offers New HD TiVo Boxes

    DirecTV Offers New HD TiVo Boxes

    Good news for DirecTV users. after a ten city premier in early December, the satellite television provider is going nationwide with a new high-definition TiVo recorder. The new TiVo features a lot of what users have always enjoyed like swivel search and wish list searches, but it will now also have the ability to record up to 400 hours of programming.

    The new box also includes two tuners so that you can record two shows at once. This is a much anticipated upgrade for DirecTV subscribers who were promised equipment of this caliber years ago. If you still have the service and you want these capabilities, it’s here and it’s available now.

  • Football Cops: The Manning Brothers Fight Crime With Tight Spirals

    It looks like the NFL lockout has forced the Manning brothers to seek other employment.

    In an advertising campaign for DirecTV, Peyton and Eli Manning have teamed up to fight crime with nothing but their rocket arms and a couple of black footballs.

    DirectTV has launched the season one trailer for “Football Cops” on YouTube and also put up the official site for the show. “Nobody escapes the long arms of the law,” reads the tagline.

    Here’s the official show description from DirecTV –

    Peyton and Eli Manning star in this action-packed drama about two former pro football players who bring their unique brand of law enforcement to one of the country’s toughest neighborhoods. Mike Tahoe (Peyton Manning) was living the dream as a big league quarterback, until a personal tragedy brought him back to the mean streets of his childhood. Vowing to bring those who wronged him to swift justice, he enlists the help of his best friend, and biggest rival, C.J. Hunter (Eli Manning). Both grew up together as orphans in a home for wayward boys. Both overcame the odds to become huge sports stars. Now both are the only hope for the rugged streets they once again call home.

    Sounds better than half the cop dramas currently on TV.

    The trailer itself does not disappoint, as the brother quarterbacks impale the bad guys with footballs, all while gloriously mustached.

    Of course we can’t expect the Manning brothers to actually star in a football themed cop drama, but I would totally watch this if it were real. Maybe DirecTV has plans to turn it into a very short web series? The site shows 3 separate episodes upcoming for season 1.

    However, If they did in fact turn this into a true feature-length show they would have to work on the realism. Eli doesn’t throw one interception in the whole clip. Pfffft.

  • DirecTV Petite Lap Giraffe Story Controversy

    If you ever need proof that truth is stranger than fiction, simply give this story a read. It tells of how a newspaper site ripped off a blog over a story concerning the legitimacy of DirecTV’s viral campaign regarding fictional Petite Lap Giraffes.

    Ian Dennis Miller runs a site called localshow.tv, a nifty music video player. He also writes on a personal blog, of which he released an article titled – “Petite Lap Giraffes: Real?” In the article, he writes about research he conducted to find out if Petite Lap Giraffes are real or not. He cites some specific research, concerning the Petite Lap Giraffe site’s URL registration, by way of a WHOIS query, and this photo which originated from a stock photo website.

    The story becomes particularly interesting when Miller discovers that LongIslandPress.com used his research to release their own article , without a creditable link directed towards Miller’s website. As any blog owner would do in his situation, he called LongIslandPress out on their exclusion. He did so by posting a comment on the article, getting straight to point without being nasty.

    Let’s see if you can guess what LongIslandPress did next, after Miller called them out. Did they:

    A.) Admit to the link exclusion, apologize, and keep the story up on their site since it’s sort of funny in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way.

    B.) Retract enough information from the original article so they could use information that is attainable through easy means.

    C.) Take the article offline, and wash their hands of any wrong doing. Even after search engines crawled their site for content.

    Sorry, it’s a trick multiple choice test. Answers B.) and C.) are both correct. The original article written by LongIslandPress included Miller’s research regarding the stock photo image. However, Miller kept up with the article and discovered the stock photo information was taken down. However, the WHOIS domain information, which can be discovered easily by anyone was left up.

    Miller’s story caught a bit of steam, and was eventually posted on Slashdot. All the negative attention lead LongIslandPress to take down the story.

    Go ahead and file this story under “Newspaper sites that aren’t ready for the internet“. While LongIslandPress is a regional paper and doesn’t have the attention of other major newspaper sites, it paints a portrait of how the needless fight between newspaper sites and blogs rages on. Miller could have really made more of his story, but instead had a bit of fun with it and kept everyone updated with the proceedings. The remarkable part of the story is all of this could have been avoided if they just posted a single link to Miller’s site.

    If you haven’t seen the latest DirecTV commercial with the Petite Lap Giraffe being featured, here’s the YouTube video. It’s really quite genius.

    UPDATE: It looks as though LongIslandPress.com has seen enough heat from the internet, and have now posted the article with creditable links attached.

    UPDATE (04/18): The official Petite Lap Giraffe website has received a rather interesting update. The original video posted on the front page featured a recording, which could have easily have been doctored. They’ve now added a live feed, which has an up-to-the second time code in the top left corner.

    The caption below the feed reads: See what our Bull Vladimir do around farm! If not see him, don’t worry he come back.

    If people were ready to believe in Petite Lap Giraffes before, imagine how they’ll be fooled by a seemingly live video feed.

  • Apple TV to Be Called iTV, Could Google TV Eventually Expand to DirecTV?

    Apple’s TV project has been renamed iTV, according to a report from Engadget, and it will run apps, much like the iPhone/iPad. Joshua Topolsky says, "it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications." It will apparently cost $99, but it reportedly won’t be able to handle 1080i or 1080p video.

    DirecTV and Google have entered into an ad sales partnership involving Google TV ads. It would be very interesting if the relationship between these two companies evolved to include a Google TV partnership, which would give that platform (along with Android) potentially much greater reach, building on Google’s existing relationship with Dish Network.

    Google and Verizon have dominated the tech web headlines this week with news and discussion around their "open web" proposal. Facebook has weighed in on the subject, indicating that they’re on a different page with the companies’ stance on wireless networks.

    Google announced a new beta version of Chrome with more speed, a new user interface, and a new autofill feature.

    Google is also sharing a case study from Samsung about how it has utilized AdMob mobile ads to target male sports fans, increasing purchase intent.

    Gizmodo points to a Firefox add-on that provides an alarm every time "Google spies on you". It screams at you and shows you an alert when personal information is sent to Google servers. "Since this happens almost everywhere—thanks to spying bugs like Google Analytics, AdSense, YouTube embeds, Google API calls, and who knows what else—you may just want to look at the demo," writes Jesus Diaz.

    Google Alarm from Jamie Dubs on Vimeo.

    Ars Technica has a startling story about how cars can be hacked into through wireless tire sensors, which could potentially give those with malicious intent the ability to annoy drivers or even endanger them.

  • Google In Ad Deal with DirecTV

    DirecTV and Google have entered into an ad sales partnership involving Google TV ads, the companies said today.

    Under the deal, Google will become the sales representative for a broad selection of advertising inventory on several networks carried on DirecTV.

    DriecTV national satellite inventory on Bloomberg, Fox Business, Centric, Fuel, G4, Current, Ovation, Fit, Sleuth, Chiller and TV Guide will be available via the Google TV Ads system across all dayparts, including primetime. Google TV Ads customers will be able to reach up to 30 million satellite households through both DirecTV and exisiting partnerships.

    Bob-Riordan "We are delighted to partner with Google and embark on this initiative together," said Bob Riordan, Senior Vice President, DirecTV Advertising Sales.

    "Google TV Ads is an excellent advertising tool and will be a tremendous complement to DIRECTV’s existing suite of innovative assets."

    DirecTV reaches 18.7 million TV households, which will allow Google TV advertisers to reach a variety of TV viewers.