Archive for December, 2007

Auntie’s Christmas Present

Just in time for Chrimbo, the Beeb unwrapped the wrapping paper on their hotly-anticipated iPlayer service – the on-demand online feature which promises to make “the unmissable, unmissable”.

Basically a TV version of their existing BBC Radio Listen Again platform, which streams audio content from BBC Radio stations from the last seven days, the BBC iPlayer has existed in trial form for a number of months now, and has finally been given the final heave-ho into the arms of the licence-fee paying public, after compatibility issues with Windows Vista and Apple machines had been ironed out.

The last seven days of BBC telly is made available for downloading to your computer – files come with a Mission Impossible-esque lifespan of seven days after which they self-destruct themselves from your hard drive. Of the downloadable material available, exclusive behind the scenes footage of Heroes has been a favourite, in our office along with old episodes of QI
and Screenwipe.

The picture quality of the files is good, obviously dependent on your computer’s specs – having a decent graphics card helps loads – and we managed to install the iPlayer on machines running both XP and Vista.

So far so good – we’re hoping that the BBC make good on their word to unroll the service over to DTT and IPTV – in April earlier this year, the BBC’s Ashley Highfield said that once general internet rollout of the iPlayer had taken place; “we’ll turn to the really tricky platforms: DTT via either PVRs or IP hybrid boxes.”

If Channel 4 follow suit with 4oD for Freeview and everything else, then that would be sweet - Father Ted and The Fast Show at your beck and call.

Mobile networks get on board the broadband TV wagon

2008 looks set to be the year of IPTV, with BT Vision soldiering ahead with the promise of interactive New Media 2 content, and Tiscali aiming to add over 200,000 customers to its IPTV service in the UK and across Europe.

Leading mobile and broadband providers Orange and O2 are also set to follow suit, with both parties preparing to launch IPTV operations in the UK.

Orange have a bit of a head start on O2, having already conducted trials of their service among customers in Leeds and London, and signed content provision deals with ABC and Disney.

O2 already has deals with Warner Bros, HBO and Paramount for its TV service in the Czech Republic, which it hopes to bring to the UK in 2008 as its broadband footprint grows. Tiscali aim to expand the availability of their IPTV service by investing more in BT Openreach; the wholesale plan that allows other ISPs to ‘buy’ BT lines by installing equipment in phone exchanges.

Broadband market leaders BT are thought to be launching more broadband bundles for their TV service to make BT Vision a more attractive prospect. BT’s main competitor in the fixed-line/broadband market is Virgin Media – Sky Broadband, as part of the See Speak Surf bundle, has had a considerable impact on the market, connecting customers at a rate which must have given its rivals more than a few sleepless nights.

Terrestrial service put on hold as broadband is given the first priority

Virgin Media have temporarily put the kibosh on their plans to upgrade their non-cable TV platform whilst the re-focus their energies on the broadband front of their quad-play arsenal.

Virgin gave customers who signed up to their ADSL broadband service a basic DTT receiver, with a view to streaming the same services and combinations of channels that are available on the main cable TV service over the airwaves.

Part of Neil Berkett’s ‘Doing Less Properly’ strategy has seen the company put this on the back burner for now. Virgin are instead to press on with unrolling their new 50Mbps speed broadband, which, given the general level of dissatisfaction with broadband services in the UK, could prove to be a very lucrative decision, one which will certainly put the wind up Sky, who rely on BT phone lines for their 16Mbps service.

High-Definition Hollyoaks for satellite punters

Channel 4 HD makes its digital debut on Sky HD today. The channel is essentially a high-def simulcast of Channel 4 itself, and will feature the same programmes, with the majority of the content currently being shown in standard SD, broadcasting content in HD if it has been filmed using HD equipment.

The HD line-up will mostly be composed of US imports to begin with, with more and more homegrown HD content gradually becoming available. Having said that, long standing teen soap Hollyoaks and Bristol-based sixth-form shagathon Skins will be rubbing shoulders with American names such as Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, My Name is Earl and Smallville.

Speaking about the announcement Rod Henwood, C4’s New Media Director, said “Channel 4’s aim is to offer our viewers maximum flexibility in accessing our high quality programmes and content at a time and in the format of their choosing. HD is a fast growing consumer technology and we believe our viewers will welcome the opportunity to watch their favourite Channel 4 shows in high definition.”

Sky introduced HD to British screens back in May 2006, and has bee taken up by over 300,000 subscribers. Channel 4’s HD entry to the market now bolsters Sky’s HD retinue, which now features 12 HD channels including Sky One, Sky Sports, Sky Movies, Sky Arts, along with BBC HD, National Geographic, History Channel and the Discovery Channel.

Channel 4 HD will undoubtedly make its way onto other platforms in the future – with regards to Virgin, this will be a question of money and with regards to Freeview this will be a question of bandwidth – a rise in HD take-up in the near future will undoubtedly correlate with analogue signal shutdown.

Lights out for the Hitman after ten rounds

Despite the presence of an overwhelmingly British crowd mustering all the support they could, it didn’t help the Hitman hold his own against the Pretty Boy.

Ricky Hatton dominated the first round, catching Floyd Mayweather Jr. out whenever he tried to dodge, and the Manchester-born brawler was definitely the aggressor throughout. Mayweather confidently countered will skill and superior technique, sitting back and weaving, landing a succession of speedy straight jabs, literally calling all the shots from the fourth round onwards.

In the tenth round, Mayweather unleashed a devastating left hook which floored Hatton, who got back up and walked straight into another left which sent him staggering into a neutral corner where he collapsed.

Despite winning, Pretty Boy Floyd was gracious in his victory “[Hatton] was definitely the toughest competitor I ever faced… I was throwing body shots, and he kept coming. I see now why they call him the ‘Hitman.’ But then I threw the check hook. They teach us that in northern Michigan in the amateurs, and he walked right into the shot. He never saw it coming.”

Hatton was also full of praise for Mayweather: “He’s very clever. He picked up a couple of shots, and that was that. I was forcing it, and I was doing well. I should have been a touch more careful. He knocked me out, but he wasn’t the hardest puncher I’ve ever fought. He’s very accurate.”

Hatton insisted that he wasn’t going to throw in the towel just yet, instantly sparking rumours of a grudge match. “Knock me down, I keep getting up. Ricky Hatton is still going to fight.” Mayweather has made vague hints in the press that this match was to be his last, and so any hopes of Hatton seeking revenge may well be dashed. Post-match he said “I have nothing else to prove to the world.”

Straight after the bout in Vegas, Hatton, battered and bruised, made an appearance at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year alongside the Welsh boxing star Joe Calzaghe, the undefeated world super-middleweight champion, who received the trophy from Lennox Lewis.

The Lords of the Ring face off in Vegas

The Hatton-Mayweather fight is one of the most highly anticipated sporting events of the year, if not the decade. Ever since the Hitman’s dispatching of Jose Luis Castillo and Mayweather’s victory against Oscar de la Hoya, all eyes have been on the two undefeated champions and thoughts trained on their inevitable meeting.

Both fighters have an already impressive legacy behind them – a string of undefeated bouts and a treasure trove of title belts to match – and both have been described as being legends in their time. However it is this fight that will cement the position of one of the two in the history books and break the flawless chain of the other.

The fight, due to kick off early at 2:00AM on the morning of Sunday the 9th, with the actual broadcast of the event beginning at 11:00PM on the Saturday, and will be broadcast on Sky Box Office and – for the first time in UK boxing history – in high-definition on Sky Box Office HD.

The two have been trading verbal blows in the press for months, with Mayweather saying that even if he wins he’ll be giving Hatton his ‘best payday’ and Hatton calling him a ‘f*cking six-year old’ live on Sky Sports News.

Both fighters are more than aware of the pressure and of each other’s abilities. Pundits have repeatedly stated how their fighting styles couldn’t be more of a contrast and nobody can say for sure who has the upper hand. Both favour the orthodox stance, with Mayweather, being ranked at welterweight having a few more pounds on the Hitman who is currently ranked at super lightweight, although Hatton saw off Kostya Tszyu, who weighed more than Mayweather currently does. One thing is for sure, the fight will be nothing short of entertaining.

Tie me Kangaroo down

Way back in June it was announced that the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 were reportedly in cahoots with each other over something tentatively titled ‘Project Kangaroo’. The project – presumably named so because it featured content from all three providers, ‘jumping’ conventional channel boundaries a la a kangaroo court – was to be an online archive of programmes from all of the three parties functioning on the same level as the highly successful 4oD, ITV’s catch-up service, and the BBC’s own iPlayer.

Whilst little more than a rumour earlier this year, it has now been confirmed that the project will go ahead, and is “set to go live in 2008″ according to the BBC News 24 website, and is intended “do for broadband what Freeview did for digital TV.”

The venture has been hailed as a “historic partnership” between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 by to John Smith, chief executive of BBC Worldwide, and is “an important shop window for UK broadcaster content and a great destination for viewers” according to Michael Grade, the executive chairman of ITV.

And speaking of Mr. Grade, this is good news for Chris Morris fans who will hopefully be able to seamlessly queue up episodes of The Day Today, Brasseye, and hopefully the “Why is your hair not white anymore?” clip from ITV’s The Time, The Place.

Cable co punt on-demand platform for Winterval telly

Virgin Media, flush with yuletide spirit, have launched a print ad campaign offering customers the chance to ‘avoid the turkeys’ this Christmas – a sample selection of their on-demand movies and programmes are printed next to a blank TV schedule for Christmas Day, prompting viewers to fill it in for themselves.

Among the films and shows on offer on Virgin’s televisual julbord is Digital TV hack and slash favourite 300, Blades of Glory, the award-winning The Queen starring Helen Mirren, the 2002 version of Ocean’s Eleven and John Waters’ This Filthy World, which we have to admit could make for pretty uncomfortable family Christmas viewing.

Virgin say that the only place you’ll see a turkey ‘is on your table’ this Christmas. Movies cost from £2 each on-demand, and you can pause/rewind/skip forwards as you would with a DVD. TV Choice On Demand is available on every TV package from Virgin Media.

Channel 4 take it to the Max

Anyone remember Max Headroom? The st-st-stuttering computer generated talking head for Channel 4 who went on to lend his vocal talents to The Art of Noise and hawk products for Coca-Cola is ba-ba-back on our screens to do his bit for the digital switchover.

With a receding hairline and crow’s feet, the last 20 years haven’t been kind to Headroom who in his own words, used to be “bigger than big, bigger than Cher’s implants”. This hasn’t stopped Pink Floyd, the Sex Pistols and Led Zeppelin reforming for lucrative one offs (Yes never split up, you see?) and it hasn’t stopped Channel 4 from dragging him out to help encourage the the the switchover:

“We wanted to produce a campaign that not only drives awareness of switchover but also stays true to our values of doing things differently,” said Rufus Radcliffe, head of Channel 4 marketing, hinting at a possible comeback series for “Visiting hours at the retirement home are quite restrictive but we’d love to work with Max in the future.”

The TV ads, in which Max urges viewers to get switched over – “I told them one day the public will enjoy multi-channel, multi-platform viewing with a range of channels to suit the most diverse tastes, but did they listen? Did they hell! Don’t they realise that it all started with me?” – are due to air next month.

Gunners TV to launch in January

Today sees sportscasters Setanta kick off with their Arsenal Month; focussing on the six matches the Gunners face leading up to the launch of the new Arsenal TV channel

The Arsenal TV channel will launch in January and will provide exclusive interviews with staff and players, replays of all the top matches and classic matches, along with coverage of reserves games and documentaries on the history of the club and behind-the-scenes access to staff-only areas of the Emirates stadium.

Arsenal TV will be included in the Setanta Sports pack at no extra charge – the channel will be available on Virgin Media, and Sky. Whilst not available on BT Vision per se, BT Total Broadband customers can sign up for a years free subscription to Arsenal TV Online, which provides live audio coverage of all matches plus access to a large library of exclusive content. Arsenal TV will also be available to Setanta customers in the Republic of Ireland.

The upcoming Arsenal matches for December are:

Saturday 1st December – Aston Villa v Arsenal

Saturday 8th December – Middlesbrough v Arsenal

Saturday 15th December – Arsenal v Chelsea

Saturday 22nd December – Arsenal v Tottenham

Wednesday 26th December – Portsmouth v Arsenal

Saturday 29th December – Everton v Arsenal