Category: TV

UFC Coming to Xbox Live on December 1, 2011

Microsoft has announced that UFC content will be coming to the Xbox 360 starting December 1, 2011. Live pay-per-view events, on-demand content, press conferences, weigh-ins, and more will be available. The first live PPV broadcast will be UFC 140 on December 10. Here are the bullet points from the press release:

  • Live and On-Demand Video — Event previews, UFC Countdown, press conferences, weigh-ins, interviews, workouts, highlights, and more, together for the first time on your big screen.
  • Streaming HD Quality in 720p –UFC fans demand stunning HD viewing, and Xbox LIVE brings the most premium streaming HD to the big screen.
  • Pay-Per-View with Ease — The biggest pay-per-view fights available to all Xbox LIVE members in HD and SD pricing options. Purchase directly with your credit card, Microsoft Points not required.
  • Interactive Fight Card with Predictions — Size up the fighters with the tale of the tape and view their past fight results. Predict upcoming fights, compare results with friends for points and bragging rights, and see where you stand against them on the leaderboard, all accessible while watching the fight so you’ll never have to leave the excitement of the Octagon.
  • Control the action with Kinect — Focus on the fight instead of looking for the remote. Navigate through the video content, bring up the Interactive Fight Card, or play, pause, and rewind that big punch, kick or submission…all with the magic of Kinect.

I know that most of you are incredibly excited to control UFC events via Kinect. I kid, I kid. In all seriousness, this is a tremendous partnership. UFC is incredibly popular and Microsoft is being very aggressive with its television initiatives on Xbox 360. I have no doubt that this will be a great success for everyone involved.

Any of you psyched for you UFC on your Xbox 360? What features are you looking forward to the most?

Today’s Poll: Would You Cheat on Demi Moore?

So the word on the street is that Ashton Kutcher has been unfaithful to Demi Moore. One report has him fooling around with a young cutie named Sara Leal. A more recent story has him playing around with multiple women in a hot tub at the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel. He’s 33 (and much smarter than he looks). She’s 48 (and still immensely beautiful). If you were in his shoes, would you be able to cheat on your hot, older wife? Pictures of Demi and Sara are included below…you know, for reference.

[poll id=”135″]

Cable Companies Moving to “A La Carte” Model?

A lot of us have dreamed about cable companies moving to an a la carte model. We’ve dreamed of lowering our cable bills by only paying for the channels we actually watch. It looks like that dream just might come true. A perfect storm of a dreadful economy and improved digital offerings (Hulu, Netflix, etc.) just might push cable operators to break down and finally go a la carte. According to Reuters:

U.S. cable operators are privately working on a plan to force programmers to unbundle their networks and allow customers to subscribe to channels on an individual basis.

The plan represents a complete reversal from cable operators’ long-held opposition to what is known as “a la carte” programming. Over the last decade, the cable industry battled ferociously with regulators to protect the right to bundle programming, arguing it offered customers the best value.

But executives now say the change is a necessary response to shifting dynamics such as higher carriage costs and using the Web to watch programs, as well as a weak economic recovery that has forced many consumers to cancel cable television subscriptions.

This would kick all sorts of ass! I currently have more than 400 channels through (crap bag) Time Warner Cable. At most, I watch 20 of them. This includes variants of the same network (HBO East, HBO West, HBO Family, etc.). I would love to not having to pay for the rest of the crap. My wallet would love it. My eyes would love it. It would be the best thing to happen to television since TiVo.

Having said all that, cable companies move at a glacial pace. If an a la carte model was adopted, I wouldn’t expect it any time soon. (I’d love to be wrong about that.)

If your cable company went with an a la carte model, how many channels do you think you’d subscribe to? Which ones would you want? If you don’t have cable, would an a la carte system make you subscribe?

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Amazon Prime Subscribers Get Winnie Cooper and Other Fox Shows

First off, this post is totally an excuse to post pictures of Danica McKellar. I totally had a crush on her when she played Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years. Where was I…oh yeah, Amazon has announced a partnership with Fox. The collaboration will bring several classic Fox shows to Amazon Prime subscribers. In a statement to customers, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wrote:

I have big news for Amazon Prime members — we’ve just signed a deal with Fox to add a broad selection of movies and TV shows to our unlimited instant streaming service later this fall. The new additions from the Fox library include 24, Arrested Development, The X-Files, Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and — available on digital video for the first time — The Wonder Years. We now have deals with CBS, NBCUniversal, Sony, and Warner Bros, and adding Fox will bring the total to more than 11,000 movies and TV shows available for unlimited instant streaming.

As an Amazon Prime subscriber, I’m excited by several of these additions. Arrested Development is awesome. There are some Buffy and X-Files episodes that I enjoyed. Of course I’ll be watching The Wonder Years to remember the days when Winnie Cooper was the most beautiful girl in the world.

Any of these programs interest you? Does the Fox partnership make an Amazon Prime subscription more valuable to you? Would you replace Netflix streaming with Prime’s free two-day shipping and streaming programming? Did you have a crush on Winnie Cooper?

Happy Birthday Jim Henson

Jim Henson would have been 75-years old today. He was one of the most extraordinary people that ever lived. He touched the lives of millions of people. He helped people learn. He made people laugh. He made people cry. He created wonderful programming like The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, Dinosaurs, and more. He was a huge reason why Sesame Street became so popular and successful. His behind-the-scenes work on The Empire Strikes Back helped make Yoda one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars universe. He entertained people of all ages, and he did it with heart and soul.

Kindly celebrate the life of Jim Henson with me today. What were your favorite Jim Henson movies and TV shows? Which Jim Henson characters were your favorites?

Dish Network’s Blockbuster Movie Pass Goes After Netflix

Earlier today, Dish Network announced its Blockbuster Movie Pass. This option lets subscribers stream video content to PCs and television sets. An optional mail-in program allows subscribers to rent physical discs, including movies, TV programming, and videogames. Here’s more information on what the service entails from the press release:

  • Mail It! – More than 100,000 DVD movies, TV shows and games available by mail. No additional charge for high definition Blu-ray movies. One, two or three disc plans available. Queue management made conveniently from a link at www.dish.com.
  • Stream it! – Stream more than 3,000 movies to the TV. Stream more than 4,000 movies to the PC. Watch hundreds of on-demand TV shows.
  • Play it! – More than 3,000 video games by mail for Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 2, Playstation3, and Nintendo Wii.
  • Exchange it! – Unlimited exchanges of DVDs and video games at participating Blockbuster stores.
  • Watch it! – More than 20 premium entertainment movie channels from studios like MGM, Epix, Sony Movie Channel, PixL and more.

Blockbuster Movie Pass aims to steal customers away from Netflix, Gamefly, and the upcoming Netflix spin-off Qwikster. Starting at $10 per month, the service costs more than Netflix, but Dish promises that the content choices will be superior. Initially, the service will not have apps for mobile operating systems like Android and iOS, but my evil twin brother at Padvance found out that Blockbuster Movie Pass mobile apps are on the way.

Blockbuster Movie Pass should be an interesting Netflix alternative, especially when the mobile apps roll out. As a gamer, I can’t help but wonder how Gamefly is handling all of this. In less than a week two major competitors popped up. Ouchie.

Any Dish Network subscribers out there? Are you tempted to sign up for Blockbuster Movie Pass? What do you think of the game-rental option?

Conan O’Brien Does Gears of War 3 Spoof

Check out this clip of Gears of War 3 from Conan. It’s cute and cool. I absolutely love that videogames are a regular part of late-night television hosted by younger comedians. Shows like Conan and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon feature games all the time. Of course it helps that people with gaming backgrounds, like the excellent Gavin Purcell, are behind the scenes. One day soon, gamers will control the media and the government. Then there’s no stoppin’ us! Muahahahahaha!!!

Anyway, check out the clip and let me know what you think of it (please!).

Claudio Castagnoli Renamed Antonio Cesaro for FCW (WWE)

The age of Claudio is almost upon us! Claudio Castagnoli, my favorite indie wrestler for the past seven years, has been revealed on the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) site as Antonio Cesaro. FCW is WWE’s developmental division headed up by Steve Keirn (The Fabulous Ones, Doink the Clown).

If you haven’t seen Claudio in action then you owe it to yourself to watch his YouTube clips. He has the size that Vince McMahon loves combined with wrestling ability that Ring of Honor marks like me cherish. His European uppercuts are amazing!

It’s funny that WWE saddled Claudio with a name that sounds even more Italian. Years ago I envisioned Claudio being introduced as Santino Marella’s cousin with a limited knowledge of English. Claudio would play up his “Heeeeeyyyyyyyy” gimmick and Santino would give him the rub by constantly taking advantage of him. Claudio would initially get sympathy from the fans and have the opportunity to win them over for life with his superior wrestling skills. You know, I should write wrestling storylines or something….

So yeah! I’m super psyched that Claudio’s WWE career is progressing. I can’t wait to see him on the big shows soon! He has the talent and charisma to be a top-of-the-card guy. I’m counting on all of you to become Claudio marks too! Heeeeeeeyyyyy!!!

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Qwikster = Netflix Disc Business + Videogame Rentals

Netflix has announced that it will be separating its streaming business from it’s disc-based business. A new spin-off company named Qwikster will handle disc-based rentals, including videogames. Similar to Blu-ray pricing, videogames will be an optional premium service on top of the monthly Netflix Qwikster fee. In a letter to Netflix customers, CEO Reed Hastings wrote:

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.

A-ha! All of the sudden Netflix’s recent price increase makes a lot more sense! It will be interesting to see how this all pans out. Obviously streaming is where all media is heading, but many consumers still prefer discs due to things like DVD features, multi-language subtitles, and the unmatched quality of Blu-ray. There are also more movies and TV shows to choose from on disc, though the gap is getting smaller all the time.

Then there’s the GameFly factor. It’s very, very smart for Qwikster to get into the games business. GameFly is, by far, the leading rental service in the country. I wonder how many people have both Netflix and GameFly subscriptions. I also wonder how many of those people will cancel their GameFly subscriptions when Qwikster game rentals become available. Since I’m doing a lot of wondering, I’ll just wonder about the number of people that were considering cancelling their Netflix subscriptions, but are giving it second thoughts now that games are part of the mix.

Naturally, I want to know what you make of all this (I can make a brooch or a hat or a pterodactyl!). What do you think of Netflix as a standalone streaming video service? What do you think of Qwikster as a service that lets you rent movies, television shows, and games? Will you subscribe to both, one, or none of these services? You think the peeps at GameFly ought to be worried? Shout it out in the comments section (please)!

Coffee Talk #398: Pick Your Personal Entrance Music

I’ve always wanted my own entrance music. You know, like how pro-wrestlers have their own entrance music. When I was a kid, I thought it was awesome that Hulk Hogan used “Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor)…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Mariano Rivera’s 600th save, putting a dollar value on your work, or Dyson’s hot air multiplier, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I’ve always wanted my own entrance music. You know, like how pro-wrestlers have their own entrance music. When I was a kid, I thought it was awesome  that Hulk Hogan used “Eye of the Tiger” (Survivor), Junkyard Dog used “Another One Bites the Dust” (Queen), and Kerry Von Erich used “Tom Sawyer” (Rush) as their entrance themes. Of course nothing beats Ric Flair hitting the ring to “Also Sprach Zarathustra“, more commonly known as the intro music to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Entrance music changed when Vince McMahon realized that he could save money in licensing fees and make money by selling his own music. Awesome songs by established artists were replaced by mediocre songs performed by no-names. Sure there are exceptions. Hulk Hogan’s “Real American” (Rick Derringer) seems completely appropriate for his character. Motorhead is awesome and Triple H is a mark for the band, so “The Game” makes total sense for him. While today’s entrance music isn’t what it used to be, most of it still works.

If I had my wish, I’d borrow “Sexy Boy” for my personal entrance theme. The lyrics are ridiculous and the music is cheesy. Most of you have known me long enough to have figured out that I’m ridiculous and cheesy. I would absolutely abuse my entrance theme (and spend a fortune in background fireworks). I would use it every time I entered groceries, office buildings, restaurants, courtrooms, etc. (I wouldn’t use it at funerals and when entering bathrooms.) The music fits my personality and would be my little tribute to “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.

If you could have your own entrance music, what would it be? Choose wisely!