The Walking Dead is finally back. The show returned to AMC after taking a couple months off, and now the network has uploaded a couple of new videos, giving fans an inside look at the mid-season premiere.
Don’t watch them if you haven’t watched the episode yet, as the do contain spoilers.
Update: Twitter has now officially announced the acquisition. The company says in a blog post:
We believe that Bluefin’s data science capabilities and social TV expertise will help us create innovative new ad products and consumer experiences in the exciting intersection of Twitter and TV.
This acquisition reflects our commitment to the social TV market, and builds on our exclusive partnership with Nielsen announced in December to develop the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating, the centerpiece of social TV measurement based on Nielsen’s SocialGuide platform. We intend to honor existing Bluefin customer contracts, but we will not continue to sell Bluefin’s product suite beyond the existing contracts. We plan to collaborate closely with Nielsen and SocialGuide on product development and research to help brands, agencies, and networks fully understand the combined value of Twitter and TV.
Business Insider is reporting that Twitter is buying Bluefin Labs for an unknown amount of money, but speculates that it is between $50 and $100 million (or higher).
All Things D reports that Twitter is buying Bluefin, but says the deal isn’t done yet.
Bluefin is a social TV analytics company offering solutions for TV networks and operators, as well as brands and ad agencies.
“We’ve always known that TV drives conversation,” the company says on its site. “Now, with public social media, what consumers say about the shows and commercials they watch on TV can be measured and mined for insights. Bluefin’s flagship product suite – Bluefin Signals – puts new and actionable analytics at the fingertips of brands, agencies, and TV networks.”
If you follow Twitter’s blog at all, you know that Twitter has been very interested in the Twitter conversation surrounding television events. Here are some stats the company dropped after the Super Bowl on Sunday:
The game is over, the confetti has descended, and #RavensNation is celebrating their big victory. During the Sunday matchup between the @ravens and @49ers, the roar of the crowd was comprised of 24.1 million Tweets about the game and halftime show (this leaves aside the ads, about which more below). By the beginning of the second half, the volume of Tweets had already surpassed last year’s Tweet total.
The moments generating the biggest peaks of Twitter conversation (measured in Tweets per minute, or TPM) during the game:
– Power outage: 231,500 TPM
– 108-yard kickoff return for Ravens TD by Jones: 185,000 TPM
– Clock expires; Ravens win: 183,000 TPM
– Jones catches 56 yard pass for Ravens TD (end of 2nd quarter): 168,000 TPM
– Gore TD for 49ers: 131,000 TPM
Of course this is just one of many popular television events that take place throughout any given year. On top of that, Twitter is getting a lot more mention on TV than even Facebook, at least during the Super Bowl, as Matt McGee at MarketingLand found the other night.
Twitter recently hired a head of TV, and teamed up with Nielsen on a TV Ratings metric. Last year, word even came out that Twitter was in talks to bring original shows to Twitter itself. The company has recently made video within Twitter more of a thing, making embeddable tweets richer, and launching Vine, for example (and they always say the porn industry innovates on the web).
Business Insider shares an old presentation from Twitter about driving discovery and engagement with TV, calling it “the deck that explains why Twitter just bought Bluefin Labs”.
Neither company has commented on the acquisition.
In case the Walking Dead Time Warner Super Bowl ad wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, AMC has also released a new scene from the upcoming episode of the show, titled, “The Suicide King“.
The episode premieres on Sunday. There’s still time to zombify yourself before Season 3 continues.
On a semi-related note, the release date for The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct got bumped up to March 19th.
There were a lot of commercials during the Super Bowl that got people talking, as usual. For some reason, I haven’t heard much today about this one, when it was easily one of the best.
AMC has uploaded it to its YouTube channel for The Walking Dead fans to enjoy, so here you go:
The show returns this Sunday.
Nearly two years ago, news came out that ABC had canceled the long-running soap operas All My Children and One Life To Live. ABC had decided to replace them with food shows, saying the decision was guided by “extensive research into what today’s daytime viewers want and the changing viewing patterns of the audience.”
If daytime TV viewers didn’t want All My Children and One Life To Live, you could have fooled me, because when the news broke, the angry comments flooded the web.
Angry fans can find joy once again, because both shows are making a return, courtesy of Hulu. We have yet to see an official announcement, but TechCrunch is reporting that both will be back in shorter 30-minute episodes each weekday, starting in the spring on Hulu, as well as on iTunes and Prospect Park’s (the production company that licensed the soap operas from ABC) The Online Network, but Hulu will manage the ad sales and package them.
Prospect Park actually announced the shows’ return earlier this month, but didn’t mention Hulu or iTunes (via zap2it):
“We are pleased to confirm that Prospect Park is reviving the beloved soap operas, All My Children and One Life To Live as the anchor programs on The Online Network (TOLN). Today we are also pleased to confirm that Prospect Park has: 1) signed guild agreements with both SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and the DGA (Directors Guild of America); 2) entered into a consulting agreement with Agnes Nixon the creator of All My Children and One Life to Live guaranteeing her active involvement; 3) hired Foz McDermott (coordinating producer Heroes) as TOLN’s head of production, Jennifer Pepperman (Director, One Life to Live) as Executive Producer on One Life to Live, and Ginger Smith (Producer, All My Children) as Executive Producer on All My Children; and 4) arranged the necessary financing to begin production in February on both All My Children and One Life To Live.
Online video has become quite the savior for fans of canceled TV shows, showing that if there is big enough demand, your old favorites might have a chance at returning. Netflix has managed to pull off what many of us thought would never happen, in bringing back the cult favorite Arrested Development, which returns in May. Now, long-running soap operas are finding their way back to fans in what should be a happy moment for a lot of people.
Earlier this week, a new trailer for the upcoming remainder of The Walking Dead Season 3 hit the web. Today, AMC has uploaded another 30-second spot. This one’s all about the cast (no zombies).
The show returns February 10. In the meantime, why not play around with AMC’s “Dead Yourself” app and turn yourself into a zombie.
The best TV show about advertising of all time (to be fair, I haven’t seen many others) returns on April 7. AMC announced the news on Wednesday, and now, the network has released a handful of new cast photos from the upcoming season.
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It will be interesting to see if the show can generate another vial hit this season on par with that of last season’s Fat Betty Draper.
Credit for all photos: Frank Ockenfels/AMC (via blogs.amctv.com)
ABC announced today that the official Oscars app is now live, and for the first time, it’s available for Android. Specifically, it’s available on Android 4.0+ devices, including the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note 10.1 and GSIII, as well as the new Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.
As before, the app is available for iOS as well.
The app was developed by the Academy and Disney/ABC’s digital media team, and includes the following features, as listed by ABC:
“Our goal is to create a really full, immersive experience leading up to, during and after the Oscars,” said Karin Gilford, SVP of Digital Media for ABC Television Network. “Last year, we saw a huge increase in the number of people using the app. With its availability now on the Android platform we look forward to bringing even more people into the Oscar experience. We want this to be the next best thing to attending the show itself.”
“We’re always looking for ways to bring fans closer to the show and this app provides a unique and fun way to do that,” added Josh Spector, Managing Director of Digital Media and Marketing for the Academy. “More fans than ever will be able to enjoy the full Oscar experience now that our app is available to Droid users.”
The Oscars will air on Sunday, February 24 on ABC, with coverage beginning at 7PM Eastern. You can find the Android app on Google Play.
AMC and Activision announced today that The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be released on March 26 in North America, and on March 29 in Europe for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and PC.
They even got Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker to do a promo (and check out Michael Rooker’s hat):
Here’s the official description from AMC:
The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is a first-person action survival game that brings to life the authentic, heart-stopping horrors of the AMC Emmy award-winning TV series The Walking Dead. In the game, players assume the role of the crossbow-wielding survivor Daryl Dixon (voiced by Norman Reedus from AMC’s hit TV series) alongside his brother Merle (voiced by costar Michael Rooker). Together, they embark on a haunting, unforgiving quest across the Georgia countryside.
“Players will need to tread carefully throughout this grim adventure, as resources are scarce and hope even scarcer,” says AMC in a blog post. “From scrounging for weapons, food and water to surviving encounters with the undead and the living, gamers will have to use their wits to stay alive in this terrifying, post-apocalyptic world. Do you risk using stealth to go in close for a quiet kill, attack from a distance and hazard attracting a swarm of walkers, or avoid the battle and live to fight another day? Helping survivors can bring benefits — but can you afford to trust everyone you meet? Every path, every action, every choice has a consequence. At the end of the world, no place is truly safe.”
Earlier this week, we looked at a gameplay trailer for the game, which frankly, wasn’t all that impressive.
You can almost smell the walkers coming can’t you? Only one more month, and The Walking Dead will return to AMC after a long (but not too long) break.
The network released a new poster for the show’s return today:
Here’s a video of the cast looking ahead, AMC put out last month, in case the poster isn’t enough to get you excited:
There’s a possibility the show will start going downhill after this season, so hopefully it will be a crowd pleaser. News recently came out that AMC is parting ways with showrunner Glen Mazzara. Of course, there’s always the possibility that they’ll manage to find an adequate (or dare I say even better) replacement.
On Tuesday, Jon Stewart pulled out a gun on The Daily Show, as Comedy Central aired a typical Daily Show-style montage of anti gun control advocates saying things. When the montage ended, Stewart had a gun in his hand. A plastic one.
“I’m not sure what happened,” said Stewart. “I blacked out in the middle of that, and woke up with an AK in my hand…I don’t know…or whatever this is. I’m sure I’ll get letters about what this really is, which is plastic, is what it really is.”
According to J.K. Trotter at The Atlantic Wire, it was an M16A2.
Here’s the whole segment:
The clip is generating a great deal of buzz on the Internet, as the gun control debate continues.
Fans of a TV show in Thailand, called Nua Mek 2, are furious at its premature cancellation. The show reportedly only had a few remaining episodes, which Channel 3 has reportedly decided to pull.
Thailand’s The Nation reports that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is looking into the channel’s decision to pull the episodes. The matter has reportedly been handed to a subcommittee, and a resulting report is expected next week.
That publication cites a poll finding that 96% of survey respondents do not agree with the decision, with 77% of them indicating that they believe the government is involved. The furor over the show’s cancellation, which has picked up global attention thanks to a report from the Associated Press, has even led to a group of hackers taking over Channel 3’s website, posting the message: “Where’s my Nua Mek?” though it was reportedly only up for about 15 minutes.
YouTube has a number of clips from the show, starting with the following teaser:
Arrested Development fans here in the U.S. know what it’s like to lose a beloved TV show early. Thankfully, we’ve been lucky enough to see the show resurrected for Netflix (due out in May). Hopefully fans of Nua Mek 2 will get to see their lost episodes at some point.
One of the funniest web series to ever exist is coming to television as Comedy Central has announced an eight-episode run of the Funny or Die original, “Drunk History.”
Drunk History first hit the web over five years ago. The premise of the short videos is simple: Someone drinks a bunch of liquor and proceeds to tell the story behind a famous historical event – the friendship of Lincoln and Douglass, Benjamin Franklin discovering electricity, Alexander Hamilton & Aaron Burr. etc.
The videos feature the drunk storyteller as narrator, but also feature dramatic recreations of the events as they unfold – as they unfold from the mouths of the drunk storytellers, of course.
Tied to produce the project are Funny or Die co-founders Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, along with creator Derek Waters and original writer/director Jeremy Konner. As you probably know from watching the original web series, A-list actors have always been eager to make an appearance in a dramatic reenactment. Online, that has included names like Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Michael Cera, Zooey Deschanel, Ryan Gosling, John C. Reilly, Jason Ritter and Danny McBride.
Apparently, we can expect more of the same when it hits Comedy Central. Episodes will run for 30 minutes and are slated to air this summer.
“Will and I have always believed booze brings out truth. Sometimes that truth involves hitting on airport bar janitors or eating cheese fries at 4 a.m. But in this case, we hope that truth will shine on our nation’s history,” said McKay.
In honor of the announcement, here’s a healthy serving of Drunk History:
The Nickelodeon show iCarly ran for an impressive 109 episodes, and during that time nobody really asked the hard-hitting questions. I mean, does Spencer have a job? Besides hanging out with underage girls?
That question and more were posed by Travel Channel star and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain last night during a wonderful little Nickelodeon live-tweeting session. Why would Bourdain tweet out his concerns with iCarly to his 1.2 million followers? Because Twitter is awesome, that’s why. And this is precisely the reason.
Carly and Sam are so mean to Freddy. He should quit—let those bitches find another shooter who works for free. #iCarly#sweatshop
Carly using Freddy’s sexual obsession to exploit him for free professional services wrong! He’ll probably grow up to be Brett Ratner now.
Freddy’s relationship with his Mom is worrying. Sid Vicious had a similarly dysfunctional codependency with mum. That ended badly. #iCarly
Does Spencer have a job? Besides hanging out with underage girls? #iCarly
And yeah, speaking of Nickeloden shows. What’s up with Marvin Marvin?
And what’s Marvin Marvin’s story?
Not quite as awesome as his Paula Deen Twitter rant, but more great stuff from the always entertaining Bourdain.
It’s still hard for some of us to believe that it’s actually happening. Arrested Development is coming back. Within months, we’ll be sitting around watching the Bluth family take on new adventures. For now, we’re just hoping they haven’t missed a beat in the funny department. With the original cast and the show’s creator returning, there’s good reason to be optimistic.
The popular show, which was somehow unable to keep an extended spot on Fox last decade (only lasting three seasons) is due to return to Netflix with brand new episodes in 2013. That much we’ve known for a while. Now, ONTD (via SlashFilm) claims to have found details fo the upcoming season on the Fox Fast press site (they have since been taken down), which it has posted, complete with a poster-style image.
The release date, according to that posting, is May 4, but since this has not been officially announced, it’s still subject to change.
The concept is described:
A single-camera family comedy about an unconventional nuclear family. The story revolves around Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), a widower who wanted nothing more than to be a good father to his son George Michael (Michael Cera). After he was passed over as partner at The Bluth Development Co., Michael quit the family business and moved away to spend more quality time with his son. But when his father, George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), was arrested for shifty accounting practices, and the family assets were frozen, Michael was forced to stay in Orange County to help his wildly eccentric family pick up the pieces. This continuation of the story explores what’s happened to the far-flung clan years after their original adventures.
Not much in the way of new storyline details, but again, we’re just happy to have something.
There are 14 episodes listed, all slated for May 4 (again, this could changes). The episode titles are simply named after the main characters (Michael 1, Michael 2, George Sr 1, George Sr 2, Lindsay 1, Lindsay 2, Tobias, Gob, Maeby, Lucille, Buster, George Michael 1, George Michael 2 and Gob 2).
Image via ONTD
In October, Starz announced its Starz Play and Encore Play online services, which would provide online streaming access to movies and shows to paying subscribes off the premium channels. Today, Starz announced that it has launched the services for DirecTV customers.
Customers who subscribe to the channels can use the Starz Play and Encore Play apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The apps themselves are free. There are also web interfaces for the offerings at starzplay.com and encoreplay.com.
“We are very pleased to expand our relationship with DirecTVand add Starz Play and Encore Play to the suite of premium offerings provided by one of our largest customers,” said Ed Huguez , President of Affiliate Distribution for Starz Entertainment. “Starz and Encore subscription performance on DirecTV is consistently strong with a loyal customer base. Now our subscribers on DirecTV – ranging from tech savvy to novices – are sure to enjoy the added benefit of a terrific user-experience of the Play services as part of their monthly subscriptions.”
Starz Play offers users about 400 monthly selections, including 300 movies from Disney, Sony and others. There are also 100 episodes of Starz exclusives like Spartacus, Magic City and Boss. Encore Play offers about 900 monthly selections, including 300 movies and “select originals”.
The services come with resume functionality, so you can start watching something and pick it up where you left off later. There are also parental controls.
It was only a matter of time, given how much the Internet loves “Dumb Ways To Die” and the hit AMC series The Walking Dead. Behold, the parody that combines the two:
Watch the original here, and don’t forget to check out the hilarious video game parody.
Twitter and Nielsen have joined forces on a new industry-standard metric called Nielsen Twitter TV Rating. It’s based completely on Twitter data.
The multi-year agreement enables Twitter and Nielsen to offer the new metric for commercial availability starting next fall.
“As the experience of TV viewing continues to evolve, our TV partners have consistently asked for one common benchmark from which to measure the engagement of their programming,” says Twitter Head of Media, Chole Sladden. “This new metric is intended to answer that request, and to act as a complement and companion to the Nielsen TV rating.”
“The Nielsen Twitter TV Rating is a significant step forward for the industry, particularly as programmers develop increasingly captivating live TV and new second-screen experiences, and advertisers create integrated ad campaigns that combine paid and earned media,” said Steve Hasker, President, Global Media Products and Advertiser Solutions at Nielsen. “As a media measurement leader we recognize that Twitter is the preeminent source of real-time television engagement data.”
“Ultimately, we have one goal for this new metric: to make watching TV with Twitter even better for you, the TV fan,” says Sladden.
The metric will complement Nielsen’s existing TV ratings. The companies say that the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating will give advertisers “the real-time metrics required to understand TV audience social activity”.
If you weren’t a fan of the show Seinfeld, chances are this will mean nothing to you. Otherwise, you may enjoy that Google is showing the sitcom some love on its search results page for “Festivus”.
The left-hand side of the page is graced by the beloved Festivus Pole:
Here, Jerry Seinfeld and Frank Costanza explain:
Google has actually been celebrating Festivus for years. As far back as 2007, the Webmaster Tools team celebrated with the Feats of Strength and the Airing of Grievances.
Netflix announced over the weekend that hit FX comedy show It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is now available for streaming in the U.S. Members can now enjoy seasons 1-7 anytime they wish.
Netflix content acquisition director Allie Goss writes ont he Netflix blog:
When I talk to people about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, they typically tell me one of two things… “It’s amazing!” or “I have been meaning to watch that show. It’s supposed to be hilarious.” You should know it’s both amazing and hilarious, so pull up a barstool and have a drink with Charlie, Mac, Dennis, Dee, and Frank, because all seven prior seasons of Sunny are available for Netflix US members starting today!
This FX comedy is a sort of anti-F.R.I.E.N.D.S., as hilarious as it is completely inappropriate. The group of pals known as “the gang” are some of the most despicable people on the planet, happily serving up drinks at Paddy’s Pub in South Philadelphia. Danny DeVito plays Frank, father to Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson). Along with fellow bar backs Mac (Rob McElhenny) and Charlie (Charlie Day), the group’s harebrained schemes and poor judgment land them in trouble every episode.
Goss goes on to list episodes “Hundred Dollar Baby,” “The Gang Exploits A Miracle,” “Sweet Dee’s Dating A Retarded Person,” and “The Gang Solves The Gas Crisis” as favorites around the Netflix office. Credibility test passed, thanks to the inclusion of “Sweet Dee’s Dating A Retarded Person,” although you’d do yourself a favor to just start from the beginning. You’ll appreciate the episode more if you get to know “the gang” before you get there.
Netflix added another FX show, American Horror Story, to its streaming offering in the U.S. last month. These shows join other FX favorites like The League, Rescue Me and Sons Of Anarchy in the line-up.
Netflix also announced a big deal to get Disney content inside the pay TV window last week, though users won’t get to enjoy the fruits of it until 2016.