Cut the cord with the iPad; sort of: It’s more like an extension

There are now apps that will let you watch most of the TV that is important to you while on the go. The TNT and TBS Apps are just a just the latest in a long line of media entertainment extenders. Over the weekend  NBC had released a new version of their iPad app that allows users to watch full episodes of their favorite shows on the iPad. Watch by ESPN has been out for a while and ABC was the first to do it when the iPad came out. Lost was still on the air.  The only catch is that you are still married to a cable company because you have to log in with your credentials to use these apps to their full capabilities. That is the part that needs to be addressed. Someone needs to do what Netflix has done for movies but for TV channels.  No, Hulu is not there yet.

Super Bowl gets high tech. Streams the game live

This year the NFL takes the Super Bowl to the next level. The game will stream live (not really) for the big game.  The stream is on a major delay but gives you 5 views to pick from.

The Cape gets Casts Lil’ Romeo

Lil Romeo who is not so little any more. The son of No Limit Records Master P, has been cast on NBC’s new super-hero drama ”The Cape” which premiered this month. Romeo will play ”Lil Z,” a wise cracking side-kick to Michael Irby’s character “Pokerface,” who was also just added to the show.  They both play underlings to the main nemesis on the show “Chess,” played by James Frain.

The Cape centers around  an ex-cop (David Lyons), accused of murder and left for dead and is out to clear his name and clean up the streets of Palm City. He takes on  the identity of his son’s favorite comic book hero to fight the supervillian Chess. The Cape airs Monday nights at 9:00 PM on NBC. You should give it a try. It has great stories and decent acting so it won’t last long. Enjoy it while its on.

 

NBC Universal A Bad Deal For You

The proposed Comcast-NBCU transaction would allow Comcast to acquire an unprecedented amount of power,”Congressmen Markey wrote to the FCC.

He is right the joint venture would give Comcast the power to deny programming to its cable, satellite, or online competitors or charge inflated prices for it. The Congressmen wants arbitration to be used if the newly formed company faced arguments with third parties over its programming availability. It is not a “if” in this case. This going to happen. The independent networks, particularly those that compete against Comcast-owned channels would not have a fighting chance to compete with such a monopoly. 

At any time NBC could refuse to carry them on reasonable terms.
Comcast could if it wanted to force you indirectly to get its broadband bundle by raising the price for standalone broadband service.  Sort of the way a vaule meal is cheaper than just a burger even though you don’t really need the fries. Comcast could also move NBC content that’s already freely available online to its TV Everywhere service, which is available exclusively to only its subscribers.

Right now Comcast will say anything to get this deal to go through.  The deal is estimated at approximately $37 billion. Since then, Comcast has been facing scrutiny from several parties over the deal. But in the end the deal will be a proved by the FCC. If you think Google TV being blocked was bad just wait till you can only watch Saturday Night Live only if you have the “Triple Play.”