Following threats from the National Football League, the Fall Creek Baptist Church of Indianapolis was forced to cancel its Super Bowl Bash, triggering a wave of cancellations in churches across the country. The Indianapolis church party would have involved a 12-foot projection system. No more than 55 inches are permissible, said the NFL, and you can't charge admission. However, the NFL admitted making exceptions for sports bars, leading to an interesting situation: If you're serving jello shots to the demimonde, you're an honored member of the NFL audience, but if you're serving tuna casseroles to raise money for new altar decorations, you're a copyright criminal. The initial news report from the Indianapolis Star brought the newspaper more than 1000 emails and 100 phone calls. Fall Creek's senior pastor, Dr. John Newland, thanked his church's supporters and offered "heartfelt congratulations" to both the Colts and the Bears. Meanwhile columnist Dan Carpenter had a field day: "Forgive us, Football, for we have sinned, and we beseech Thee to show mercy and not visit a pestilence of lawyers upon us. Nor forsake us when we seek to prepare our house for your XLV Coming.... Yea, verily, a state that prides itself on praying in public and legislating chastity got a revelatory taste last week of what America's true religion is.... The bald presumption! To raise a craven [sic] image on the big screen of the holiest occasion on the nation's calendar without a dispensation from on high?! Who do these people think they are, Hooters?" Unfortunately, few of the many commentaries noted that the jaw-droppingly lucrative telecast, festooned with multi-million-dollar ads, occurred over the public airwaves, which are owned by the public and regulated in the public interest. Since when has the NFL usurped the function of the FCC?
What major U.S. retailer is offering free streaming music videos recorded in its own studios? Nope, I'm not going to make it easy for you by running the company logo as artwork of the day. Hint: It's the same company that's forced the music industry to market censored versions of hit CDs. Still in the dark? It's also the same retailer that accounts for two percent of the U.S. economy, according to NPR Marketplace. I'm talking about Wal-Mart, of course. Check out Soundcheck on the company's homepage. The young and photogenic artist currently featured is Yellowcard (yup, that's them in the pic). Switchfoot has already been featured and Miranda Lambert is coming up. It's all a come-on for Wal-Mart's download service which offers WMA files at 128kbps (with DRM, of course) at a competitive 88 cents per track. iPod owners should note that while iTunes will convert WMA files to AAC, it will not convert WMA-DRM. Oh, and you Firefox and Safari users will have to swallow your pride for a few minutes and use Internet Explorer. That's what you get for making deals with the devil.
This is the final season for WB and UPN. In the fall their owners, Warner and CBS, will launch a new network as a joint venture. The name is CW and the programming blocks will resemble the current WB. Nighttime programming will run Monday-Friday 8-10 p.m., Saturday 7-10 p.m., and Sunday 5-7 p.m. Daytime programming will run Monday-Friday 3-5 p.m. and five hours on Saturday morning. Pooling current UPN and WB affiliate stations will reach 95 percent of the U.S. TV audience, while cutting costs, making this a logical move for CBS (close to breaking even with UPN) and especially for Warner (struggling with the WB). The fates of many current series remain in doubt but UPN's wrestling programs and WB's Smallville will probably be ported to the CW.
Google has its giant corporate eye on your TV and rack. It is planning to show developers Android-based software designed to fit into sets, set-top boxes, and other devices, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Look out, iTunes. You may be about to get your most formidable competition yet with the persistent rumors that Google is preparing to launch a music download and streaming service in October.
Sony and Logitech will be the first manufacturers to produce Google TV devices, it was announced yesterday at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. And the Dish Network will be the first video provider to feature Google TV.
The long awaited Google TV products from Sony and Logitech were officially announced yesterday. They'll offer a seamless blend of broadcast/satellite TV and internet video programming with Google search capability. But is it worth the asking price?
Google has requested that TV makers not make Google TV related product announcements at next month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
According to The New York Times, which broke the story last week, Google wants to "refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception." The newspaper cited similar delays in Android-related tablets whose debuts have been pushed into the future, adding: "Industry analysts also say Google's sudden change of plans reflects a weakness in the company's business culture around managing relationships with partners."
In addition to current Google TV products from Sony and Logitech, Samsung will show a Google TV at CES. But the Times says LG, Sharp, and Toshiba will not. No others were raising their heads above the parapet at presstime.
The launch of Google TV is drawing nigh. So far we know that the technology will be built into products including Sony TVs and Blu-ray players, a Dish Network DVR, and a Logitech set-top box. Now some other details are falling into place.