YouTube is facing growing competition from companies such as Snapchat, Facebook and streaming newcomer Vessel for television programming provided by media giants such as Viacom, NBCUniversal and Time Warner. The competition wants to undercut YouTube’s share of big media programming by offering content suppliers more lucrative returns of ad revenue. Despite the offers, some media companies remain hesitant due to the demands of YouTube’s competitors.   Continue reading YouTube Fends Off New Competition for Premium Video Deals

Beginning next week, Fox Sports will add a fast-paced, real-time highlight show to its UEFA Champions League coverage. “Multimatch 90” will jump live, or via immediate replay, to the match-changing moments from up to eight contests throughout the group stage. The 32-team tournament is the preeminent competition for club football and represents the first opportunity for Fox to demonstrate its readiness for the 2018 World Cup, its first since outbidding ESPN for the broadcast rights. Continue reading Fox to Debut Real-Time Highlight Show for Champions League

Tomorrow morning, the Speed and Fuel networks will be transformed into the much-hyped Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 channels, in a move intended to compete with ESPN. Fox has landed deals with college conferences Pac-12 and Big 12 football and basketball, Big East basketball, NASCAR, the UFC, Major League Baseball, World Cup soccer and, most recently, the U.S. Open golf championship. The TV everywhere companion app Fox Sports Go will not launch concurrently, as it continues its testing phase. Continue reading Fox Takes On ESPN Saturday with Launch of Sports Channels

Verizon Wireless will pay the National Football League a reported $1 billion over four years for the rights to make additional football games available on its customers’ smartphones. In a significant move for the mobile industry, the NFL will begin to show Sunday afternoon games on Verizon Wireless phones next year. Select Sunday, Monday and Thursday night games are already available on Verizon phones, but there are typically 10-12 games scheduled on a Sunday afternoon. Continue reading Verizon to Stream Sunday Afternoon NFL Games to Phones

While 4K Ultra High Definition TV has yet to make it into the living room, the industry is moving forward with new cameras, evolving standards and early television production. Sony Pictures Television, for example, is producing select pilots with digital cinema cameras, while 3Net is forging ahead with its Total D strategy that includes producing versions of programs in both 2D and 3D at multiple resolutions. Initial tests for broadcasting sports in 4K are just around the corner. Continue reading NAB 2013: TV Industry Moves Toward 4K Ultra HD Format

On Tuesday, we reported that News Corp. has plans to launch FOX Sports 1, a new national cable sports network, in the U.S. by August. ETCentric has since learned that FOX Sports Media Group also has plans to launch FOX Sports GO, a mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The “TV Everywhere” service, similar to WatchESPN, will also offer programming on the Web. Continue reading FOX Sports GO: New App to Launch with All-Sports Network

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp., has plans to take on ESPN with a new national cable sports network. FOX Sports 1 is expected to launch in August in the United States, with plans to broadcast football, motor sports, baseball and much more. Murdoch hopes that the all-sports network will be as successful in the U.S. as Sky Sports has proven in the United Kingdom. Continue reading FOX Sports 1 to Launch in August: All-Sports Cable Network