Tag Archives: disca

Sony aims to shake up pay TV with Internet alternative

Sony (SNE) on Thursday introduced the first multichannel Internet television service designed as an alternative to traditional pay-TV offerings from cable and satellite companies. Called PlayStation Vue, Sony’s Web TV service will be available initially to owners of PlayStation 3 and 4 video game consoles. It will offer live and on-demand programming with technology to personalize what content is presented. In a press release, Sony called PlayStation Vue a “pioneering new cloud-based TV service that reinvents the television experience.” PlayStation Vue will launch commercially in the first quarter. Invitation-only beta testing will begin this month in New York, followed by Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Sony will expand the service from PS3 and PS4 consoles to Apple (AAPL) iPads soon and later to more Sony and non-Sony devices. During beta testing, PlayStation Vue will offer about 75 channels from CBS (CBS), Discovery Communications (DISCA), Fox (FOX), NBCUniversal…

Discovery stoops to conquer with Shark Week fiction

 Discovery Communications (DISCA) on Tuesday crowed about record ratings for its Shark Week stunt programming, but continues to court controversy with its use of fake documentaries about giant sharks. Discovery Channel (DISCA) said the 2014 Shark Week promotion scored the highest ratings in its 27-year history. Dubbing itself “the King of Summer,” Discovery drew in over 42 million viewers for the week. The broadcast of “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine” is the No. 1 cable telecast of the third quarter, excluding sports, among men 18-49 and 25-54, Discovery said in a press release. The program also was the top show in all television, cable and broadcast, among persons 18-34 on the evening it first aired. Critics tore into the thinly veiled mockumentary about a 30- to 35-foot killer shark. The program included a half-hearted disclaimer about the monster shark called Submarine. “Its existenc

ESPN Picks Cricket Over Soccer To Grow Outside U.S.

ESPN still pounds its chest about being No. 1 in U.S. sports coverage, even as News Corp.’s Twenty-First Century Fox and Comcast’s NBCUniversal take aim at its lead. But while remaining tops in the U.S., ESPN’s international efforts haven’t always been smooth. It aims to boost those efforts, even as other U.S. media companies — notably the online video streamer Netflix (NFLX) and content provider Discovery (DISCA) — eye overseas expansion. At its