Satellite TV News

Verizon has launched new FiOS Freedom bundles for its FiOS customers in Oregon with the ultimate broadband and home entertainment experiences. The new service option will include FiOS TV extreme service tier with more HD channels than the cable companies in the market, in addition to ultra-high-speed FiOS Internet service that blows cable away, plus reliable, unlimited local and long-distance calling.
Verizon FiOS customers can choose to bundle the FiOS TV Extreme HD service with Internet and calling service, they receive:
FiOS TV Extreme HD Service — More than 250 standard-definition channels and 44 HD channels — more HD than any of the local cable companies Hidden List — including Verizon’s sports package, previously only available separately. FiOS TV offers 100 percent digital quality on every channel. Unlike many cable providers, Verizon does not additionally compress TV signals once they are received. For customers this means enjoying stunning picture-and-sound quality that makes any TV look good.

FiOS Internet Service — With maximum connection speeds of up to 10 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 2 Mbps upstream, FiOS Internet provides families the speed they need to have the best online experiences.

Freedom Essentials Calling — Super-reliable phone service with unlimited local and long-distance calling. “We’ve gone all-out with these affordable new packages for Oregon,” said Kathy Koelle, Verizon’s general manager for the West Coast region. “The packages combine the fastest Internet access — period — with high-quality, high-def TV picture quality and superior voice service, all delivered over the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network.”

Ron Geraci, Senior Vice President, Research and Planning, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group has announced that Jane Gould has been appointed as Vice President, Consumer Insights and she will be placed in New York and will be reporting to Ron Geraci.

Gould will be responsible for coordinating consumer insights research for all Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group assets, including: Nick Jr.; Noggin; The N; Nicktoons Network; Nick at Nite; and Nickelodeon’s digital brands like AddictingGames, Shockwave and Nick.com. She will help understand the attitudes, lifestyles and behaviors of target audiences, and help the channels in creating complementary and focused business strategies. Gould also will be responsible for conceiving and conducting strategic consumer research on behalf of Nickelodeon’s production, consumer products, recreation and public affairs departments.

“Jane’s enthusiasm and passion for the Nick brand makes her ideal to lead the Consumer Insights group,” said Geraci. “Her insight and experience will help keep us connected to our ever-growing audience, and help us maintain our leadership in the marketplace.”

SCI FI Channel has announced that they have reached an agreement with MGM Television Entertainment to produce Stargate Universe. Production of the new series will begin early next year and the show will be premiered during 2009 Summer and Stargate Universe will be launched as a two-hour movie event on SCI FI
Channel. Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis will serve as executive producers and writers on the new series.

“SCI FI has enjoyed tremendous success with Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and we’re proud to be the home of the new Stargate Universe,” Mark Stern, executive vice president, original programming for SCI FI, said in a statement. “Universe will continue the Stargate legacy of vibrant storylines and compelling adventures, but will re-invent the format in a whole new way.”

Lifetime Networks, CosmoGIRL, Declare Yourself have announced the winners of the 2008 Future Frontrunners contest for high school and college students to identify and inspire the next generation of women leaders. In support of the contest, “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens lends her voice to a public service announcement (PSA) saluting the winners, airing on Lifetime Networks and myLifetime.com throughout the next month.

Two contestant on the national level, seven from the Denver-area and seven from the Minneapolis/St.Paul-area totaling 16 will receive the once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver or the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, MN. Katherine Robertson from Tulsa, OK was awarded the all expense paid trip to the DNC.

Lifetime’s Future Frontrunners will attend a leadership boot camp and meet with the country’s top women in politics, business, journalism and advocacy to learn how to impact public policy, and the importance of the women’s vote. Speakers at the Future Frontrunners Summit to be held during the DNC include Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Marie Wilson from The White House Project.

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009 and most of the television broadcast will stop broadcasting analog signals and switch to purely digital broadcasts after February 17, 2009. Circuit City has announced that they have opened a toll-free telephone contact center to answer consumers on DTV transition and also to help them to buy digital TV converter boxes.

“We know the clock is ticking and in less than six months, most U.S. TV stations will switch from traditional analog signals to digital broadcasts,” said Brian S. Bradley, senior vice president - multi-channel at Circuit City Stores, Inc. “People are eager to learn more about how the DTV switchover will affect them, and we believe our new contact center will be a valuable public information resource. Our contact center also will be an important new sales channel for people who live in rural areas and for customers who find it inconvenient to visit traditional retail locations.”

National Geographic and NewsGator Technologies partner to create, host and track a series of dynamic widgets, including an interactive puzzle widget that transforms photographs into a digital jigsaw puzzle that users spend, on average, several minutes assembling. Dayton Daily News and Tampa Bay Online have already picked up the puzzle widgets. National Geographic widgets will include OurShot, a widget in which photo editors highlight recent exceptional work, and YourShot, through which end users can contribute photos in the hopes of being featured in the magazine.

“National Geographic is the latest of our growing list of media customers who are defining a new generation of media experience based on dynamic content syndication and user interaction that results in a more engaged audience,” said Jeff Nolan, vice president, NewsGator Consumer and Media Services. “By redefining the syndication model, we are enabling our clients to extend their best content to major media sites in addition to start pages and social networking sites — resulting in much greater exposure and the potential for an exponential number of ads to be served.”

The Golf Channel will premiere a Golf show during 2009 as the channel is developing a project that would feature famed golf instructor Hank Haney, who has coached Tiger Woods on his swing, giving current Turner Sports analyst and the former NBA star Charles Barkley tips on his own golf game.

Comcast has launched Big Ten Network in high-definition on 15th August and the sports network will be added in HD in areas where the cable operator offers HD programming service. Comcast subscribers with Digital Cable can watch four additional Big Ten Network feeds on channels 692 through 695, Big Ten Network broadcast live coverage of more than one game simultaneously.

Bright House Networks has launched six new high-definition channels in Birmingham, AL. Bright House Networks new HD channels are

Discovery HD

Food HD

HGTV HD

MGM HD

National Geographic HD and

TLC HD

Ensequence and DISH Network have announced that NBC Universal (NBCU) has selected them to transform NBCU’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games into a fully interactive experience. NBCU has chosen Ensequence to provide a separate interactive application on DishHOME on DISH Network Channel-100. NBCU’s 2008 Beijing Olympic Games experience wraps interactivity around live programming on DISH Network.

DISH Network will offer NBCU’s 2008 Beijing Olympic Games coverage through its Interactive TV mosaic, a multiple-screen showcase, available to more than 12 million iTV-enabled DISH Network subscribers from August 8 - August 24, 2008. The iTV mosaic will broadcast from six NBCU channels: CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, USA Network and two Olympic highlight channels. DISH Network subscribers can watch all six screens simultaneously or select one channel to watch in full-screen.

NBCU and Ensequence are teaming up for the second time to deliver interactive television to viewers. DISH Network viewers are able to use their remote control to instantly access athlete profiles, learn more about Beijing and the event venues, learn more about featured sponsors, read late-breaking news, see the team USA Report, track each country’s medal counts and view video highlights of the day’s events.

“NBC Universal and DISH Network continue to set the pace for the entire industry with interactive television and we’re excited to be partnering with them to create and deliver the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games interactive television experience,” said Dalen Harrison, Ensequence CEO. “The world’s most innovative programmers such as NBC Universal are realizing that interactive television delivers the engagement and accountability of the internet, giving them the best of both worlds.”