Entertainment+Update+2

[|Putting you in charge of TV] Mallory Sharp

At Bar Karma, we are all patrons who are eligible to decide the fate of those who enter. That’s the premise anyway. Bar Karma, developed by Wmedia type="youtube" key="RrPpbpFnLu8?fs=1" height="305" width="427" align="left"ill Wright (creator of The Sims), is a newly debuted show on Current TV that seeks to put the show and it’s storyline into viewer’s hands. Everything from the basic premise to the characters and possible events have all been dictated by the fans from the very beginning, making this the first show of its kind. By logging on to Bar Karma’s website (http://current.com/studios/), “patrons” are given the clues to events and asked how they should play out. There are things as simple as creating the house drink at Bar Karma to developing the plot from the basic skeleton provided. For example, for this week, those who wish to are invited to create a scenario about why a man has just come into the bar (which happens to be in an alternate universe) with a woman’s purse and blood on his hands. As you can see, this storyline could go any direction and it’s up to those who view the show to login and vote for the one they hope will play out in the episode. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as I remember learning in another media class about how they once tried to do something similar for movies in theaters where movie goers would vote on how it ends but I remember it being somewhat unsuccessful. Looking at the ideas online, there still aren’t as many participants as I would have expected so maybe even with the new technology and easier access, a viewer created show/film is just not meant to be and history may repeat.

[|New NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke: NBC Network Turnaround Will Take Years] Stephanie Ramirez

Last month Cable Company Comcast bought television network NBC, now named NBCUniversal. New CEO of NBCUniversal, Steve Burke has stated he has high hopes turning this network around. With the convergence of these two major companies, we expect to see some changes but it will not happen so fast, they are expecting this turnaround to take years. But what does mean for all the major networks owned by NBCUniversal. Some of their cable networks include USA, Bravo, Syfy, CNBC, MSNBC, they have been doing really well, but Burke hopes to make them “even better”. Since NBC owns Hulu, what can we expect to happen with Hulu and online viewing of televisions shows? Will this convergence be for the better or for the worse? We will just have to wait and see.

[|Comcast ready to take on ESPN] Cynthia Haro

While Comcast’s own TV subscribers dropped by 135,000 in the last quarter, their new joint venture with NBC is meant to bring their numbers back up. In this article, Steve Burke, now head of NBC Universal, was said to have underhandedly hinted to ESPN in a conference call to “expect a tough fight ahead from NBC U.” Regardless of Comcast’s increase in numbers, I still believe that shoving their renewed, and let me say, fresh, success, is a little too high and mighty of them. Regardless of the increase in their numbers, throwing it in the face of an enterprise like ESPN takes audacity and shows disrespect. If the new version of NBC U is going to be handling their business in such a manner, then I do not believe their success will continue.

[|connectiVISION Networks for Health Care Centers] Anna Drozdoff

ConnectiVISION is now making an away-from-home TV network for the waiting rooms in health care facilities. Its goal is to combine information, education, and entertainment to make the waiting rooms less “stale” and to connect with consumers. ConnectiVISION has partnered with DG Entertainment (a production agency used in Hollywood studios) to meet the expectations of advertisers and media buyers. It has also partnered with ViewSonic, a leading global provider of commuting and consumer electronics. ConnectiVISION will reinvent TV with its integration of different styles of programming, which will in turn make the waiting room a better experience for all.

[|Nielsen Says They Are Developing A New Way To Provide Brand Specific Ratings to Advertisers] Alyson Fargher

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According the The New York Times, Nielsen Co. says they are one step closer to offering advertisers brand specific tracking. They have partnered with the Associations of National Advertisersand the Four A's and they have adopted a system of digitally coding specific commercials. The system is called Ad-ID and it will allow commercials to be tracked from the beginning to the end of their lives. Advertisers are excited for this new Ad-ID format because they will be able to gauge what they are getting or not getting out of the TV shows and most importantly networks that they chose to advertise on. This new format of rating is important to television because it can seriously change the amount of money TV shows receive from advertisers, which could in tern change the content or even length of a series. It is also important to the consumer because commercials will be even more geared toward their specific demographic. Some people are speculating that this new form of rating will drastically lower the ratings that advertisers had initially thought they were getting on their commercials but I speculate that Nielsen will make sure that won't happen. =====

Investors are worried that “TV Everywhere” might be the cause of a loss of subscribers. However Comcast assures them that this number is actually http://gigaom.com/video/comcast-4q2010-tv-everywhere/ and that the losses are slowing down. The slowing of subscription losses is not due to the increasing prices but due to the “triple-play packages” that include HD and DVR that make the subscribers more satisfied. Comcast is now trying to “provide more value to subscribers” by allowing them to view cable content online, on phones, and soon on connected TVs. This is for costumers to be able to view content on as many platforms as they can and have the choice on how they want to view their TV shows. The Comcast Xfinity iPad app and its on-demand streaming capabilities have now become really appealing but still need to be worked on to become a massive hit. [|http://gigaom.com/video/comcast-4q2010-tv-everywhere]
 * Is TV Everywhere Working for?**



Boxee Is The Apple TV Killer We've Been Waiting For Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/boxee-box-review-2011-2#ixzz1EHju0wwT Jaime Stein

Boxee is a new home entertainment system that allows you to play files from your computer on your television, similar to Apple TV. However, Boxee allows you to play ANY files you have, unlike Apple TV which only allows you to play files bought or downloaded form iTunes. Boxee will allow you to "plug in and play" just about anything. It has over 170 apps, including Pandora, and now even Netflix. From mp3s to mp4s, movies, and .avis, the Boxee will let you play any of your files through your television and help you find new ones as well.

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