Simply Blog

Samsung and Blockbuster Film Deal

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:51:00 +0000

Samsung has been in talks with film company Blockbuster about using its movie streaming service on a variety of devices. It has been reported that this deal will use streaming facilities on Samsung's laptops, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, smartphones and tablets.

This service is set to launch in the US and UK over the next few months before being released in Australia later this year. A new worldwide billing service is thought to be planned by Samsung where users will register and then buy various content as and when they desire.

Both parties have yet to confirm an agreement but if it goes ahead Blockbuster will have taken a large leap ahead of Netflix and LoveFilm with an exclusive deal with Samsung.

Watch this space for more TV and film news as it happens.

BBC brings more 3D content to all platforms in 2012 - Olympics Coverage

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:39:12 +0000

On the back of a successful broadcast of the 2011 Wimbledon Mens' & Womens' singles tennis finals, the Beeb has announced that further 3D content will be trialled this year with the impending Summer Olympics in London starting in August.

The opening & closing ceremonies for the 2012 Games will be broadcasted on all platforms BBC HD is broadcast from. In addition the pinacle event of the Games, the 100m Final, will be broadcast in the 3D live format on the BBC platform.

With the help of Panasonic, who are providing the cameras for the head broadcaster of the games, the BBC will provide as much content as possible in glorious HD and 3D. Each evening a highlights package will summarise the day's events on the BBC HD channel which will include 3D coverage of the day.

"We've chosen these events partly because they mark the pinnacles of the Games but also to minimise the loss of HD that is a consequence of our 3D service," explained Roger Mosey, the BBC's director of London 2012.

We've fired some questions to the BBC about the upcoming coverage to try to dig deeper into the plans and opportunities. Something that has yet to be reported on this blog is the recent announcement that Ofcom has handed the 5th Freeview HD slot back to the BBC after being unable to reach a deal with Channel 5. Recent news had led us to believe that the channel will ultimately become Film4 HD. However, a timeline and an official announcement from the BBC or Ofcom has yet to be made.

"But otherwise opening and closing have the advantage that there's no competing sport and therefore no loss of choice for HD viewers. But that wouldn't have been the case if we'd expanded our 3D coverage over the rest of the 17 days.

"The aim, then, is to showcase 3D for the biggest moments but to preserve choice in a world of conflicting demands."

Sky Go for Android & More Sky Go Channels coming

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:19:29 +0000

Sky has today announced that Sky Go will finally reach the Android platform next Wednesday, 22nd February.

Sky Go will be available on selected models after currently being available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices before going available for a wider Android audience. The launch will tie in with addition of more channels to the platform which will increase the value for customers paying or utilising the free service (when tied into a Sky TV contract).

The Android will be available from next week on the following handsets: HTC Desire, HTC Desire S, HTC Desire HD, HTC Incredible S, HTC Sensation, Samsung Galaxy S and Samsung Galaxy S II.

The additional channels will include Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts. Furthermore Sky Sports F1 will launch with the new F1 season which kicks off on March 18th at the Albert Park street course in Melbourne, Australia.

Not sure about Sky Go? Come and visit me in the Rawtenstall branch to see a live demonstration of the service on the Apple iPad.

Sky Anytime+ Steps Up A Gear

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:04:41 +0000

Top Gear, Mrs Brown's Boys, Formula 1, FA Cup, Coronation Street are all making it accross to the Sky Anytime+ from Sky.

Yesterday Sky announced that BBC iPlayer and ITV Player will finally be making their way on Sky's video on demand portal Anytime+. Sky users have longed to get the services onto the platform which is seen as a reaction to SMART TVs, latest Xbox & Playstation 3 VOD updates and the arrival of NETFLIX into the UK.

As a hand-in-hand gesture, Sky has also announced that Sky Anytime+ will now no longer be restricted to Sky Broadband customers. The move appears to be in preparation of a large scale investment to Sky VOD services as consumer viewing habbits move from live tv to catch-tv services.

The company has also recently taken the exclusive rights for showing the popular US TV Show, Mad Men, in the UK. Sky is wanting a slice of the pie which is currently divided out to many services including LoveFilm, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, HD Games Consoles and the recent arrival of SMART Home AV equipment.

We see this as the first of many announcements from Sky will make arround the announcements of its half year results.

Apple Wants A Slice of Premier League Pie!

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:04:44 +0000

Apple is in the chase for the rights to show Premier League football and will be making a bid at the end of this current season.
The technology giant believes the English Premier League to be the perfect medium to attract UK viewers to its Apple TV service, using the successful iTunes subscription model already being used.

It is rumoured that Apple are well underway in developing internet-ready TV sets as they seek to get other products into people's homes. The company has taken a reticent approach to the TV market up to now, mainly concentrating on computers, iPads and iPods. However, the TV market is lucrative area and, along with other tech giant Google, Apple wants to get involved.

Sky will certainly be in contention again and it's believed ESPN will also be bidding. Al Jezeera too, are thought to be interested.

With a huge amount of disposable income, Apple without doubt has the financial muscle to outbid Rupert Murdoch's Sky, but it's difficult to imagine Sky letting one of its prized assets go elsewhere. Another option would be for the Premier League to build new packages of pay per view highlights for Google and Apple to broadcast.