The Olympics start tomorrow, and if you’re not yet excited by the idea of athletes pushing themselves to the limit in a country where the cabs are bugged and the towns are filled with gadget refuse, then you never will be.
Because of the similarity in time zones between China and Australia, there are going to be a lot of people wasting their work day watching the games. Telstra have an agreement with Channel 7 to show Olympic coverage over their NextG mobiles, Yahoo7 will also have online video streaming of the games.
If, however, you got excited by the Reuters article detailing the IOCs decision to showcase games highlights on YouTube, you’re destined for disappointment – the YouTube channel isn’t available to Australians, thanks to the Yahoo!7 deal.
Let’s just hope that Yahoo!7 doesn’t drop the ball when it comes to their Olympic video coverage – Channel 7 have never been known for their willingness to offer users what they want, when they want it…
Just a little over a week since the ABC launched their iView service for video on demand, executives from Hulu, the NBC/News Corp video streaming service from the US, have flown into Australia to meet with all the Australian networks to try and launch Hulu down under.
According to the SMH, all three free-to-air networks have met with Hulu, and seem to be fairly optimistic about the proposition, although whether or not we see an Australian version could come down to what kind of business deals are offered to the local networks.
But most interesting is the fact that network executives are also considering using the ABC’s iView to do the same thing – act as a central content hub for programming from all the Australian networks.
Channel 7′s new ad for TiVo has hit the airwaves (and YouTube), and it’s not too bad an effort – towers made from videos build up around an animated TiVo icon, which then sucks them all down inside it at the end of the ad.
The problem is, like Sony’s bunny ad before it, this one borrows pretty heavily from someone else’s work. In this case though, it’s not some obscure artist that’s been ripped off, it’s Apple.
We knew it was happening, but Channel 7 today officially launched the Australian version of TiVo. We weren’t there, but we’ve grabbed a copy of the press release and had a read of Asher Moses’ piece on SMH, and have to say that we’re not inspired.
For a start, the press release is full of smacktalk. Now, I know Channel 7 enjoys the smacktalk, but in a press release? Have a read for your self: “The TiVo HD DVR brings you all the features, and more, that until now were only available to pay television customers. Why pay monthly fees for pay television when 56% of pay television viewing is on the free channels anyway?”
But the real disappointment isn’t in the press release. It’s in the details. Like the fact that some of TiVo’s core features will be gimped at launch, only to be switched on at a later date for a fee in the “tens of dollars”.
If reports from the Financial Review are correct, we’ll soon be able to play with our very own peanut controller when TiVo launches in Australia in mid-July.
Aside from the obvious dilemma of where to spend your money (there’s some new phone launching on July 11, remember?), the mid-July timeframe does work with the previous announcements that Channel 7 made about it launching before the Olympics.
The box itself is likely to cost somewhere around the $700 mark, which isn’t exactly cheap for a DVR. Seven are likely to promote the box’s superior EPG functionality in order to justify that price, although we’ll wait to see how it’s implemented ourselves before we recommend on whether you should spend the money.
The other interesting point made in the Fin’s article is that Harvey Norman are likely to have an exclusive distribution arrangement for 3 months, before it will be available in JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith’s shops.
I’m sure there are important factors influencing that decision, like scratching the backs of old mates and heavy advertisers, but I think Channel 7 may be overestimating TiVo’s appeal in Australia. Personally – I’m very intrigued, but I would need to see some obvious advantages in TiVo’s local implementation before I dropped 700 big ones. Especially now that Foxtel’s iQ2 is on the market.
UPDATE: Pete Blasina over at GadgetGuy.com.au is reporting that the launch date is officially July 15. Considering his relationship with Channel 7, I reckon this is pretty much guaranteed.
[MIS Australia and GadgetGuy]
We all know that TiVo is coming soon, but if the rumblings coming out of the SMH are true, then we’ll be getting it without the usual subscription fee that TiVo charges.
I don’t know about you, but the whole Australian launch of TiVo just got mighty exciting.
The last we heard, they were planning on cutting the subscription fee right down. But by making it a premium box without ongoing fees, the TiVo will stand out against PVRs from other manufacturers thanks to its proven EPG data and internet capabilities.
Apparently we’re looking at a July launch for teh TiVo box, which looks like a month later than Foxtel’s new iQ2. The SMH reckons that the move to a subscription-free TiVo will push Foxtel into dropping their price, but I’ll believe that when I see it.
On a side note, both Channels 9 and 10 have confirmed that they will share their EPG data on the TiVo, which is a nice touch from Channel 9 considering their ongoing litigation against IceTV.
The other interesting thing is that all the extra features that TiVo offers – like online entertainment, for example, won’t be available at launch. Instead they’re focusing on the EPG and getting it launched for the Olympics.
In any case, this is awesome news for PVR enthusiasts in Australia. I’m actually excited by this now. How about you guys?
[SMH]
On January 1 2009, all the commercial free-to-air networks are entitled to launch a second SD channel, to show unique programming in conjunction with their original SD and HD channels.
If you’re hanging out for that day, hoping to see a heap more Neighbours spin-offs quality programming, you’re about to be disappointed. The Age is reporting that Channel 10 boss Grant Blackley doesn’t think we’ll see any extra channels until well into 2009.
“We’re capable of launching from January 1 (but) I don’t think any network has said they will physically launch on January 1.”
The hangup seems to be not just finding the programs to show, but also the long search for advertising dollars – at the moment, the free-to-air networks have no OzTAM ratings data for their HD channels to take to advertisers to help sales. That will change by the end of the year, but it will still take a couple of months before the networks will be comfortable launching a third channel.
Of course, Channel 7 was tight-lipped as to whether they’re targeting the Jan 1 date, and Channel 9 are far behind when it comes to digital technology (plus they’re too busy wasting money suing IceTV), so when they launch a second SD channel is anybody’s guess.
Hopefully when they do launch we won’t have to sit through B-grade entertainment – if I have one complaint about the HD channels it’s that sometimes the selection of HD programming is terrible. Just because a show is high-definition doesn’t mean it’s high quality…
[The Age]
So TiVo’s coming. We all know that. Some of us even tried to beta test the thing. And despite reports that Seven were giving up on it before it even launched, we now know that we will definitely see it on our shelves before the Beijing Olympics kick off in August.
How do we know? A story today in the Financial Review. And while the news that “we will definitely get it some time before August” is a little bit disappointing, the AR story did have some nuggets that are worth passing on, like the fact that Channel 7 wanted to charge between $10 and $12 a month subscription on top of a $500 up front.
Fortunately, that ain’t going to happen, as discussions with retailers like Harvey Norman made them realise that people aren’t that stupid. Hence the slashing of the subscription fee and the renegotiating with TiVo in the US, who were going to get a cut of every subscription.
The box is probably still going to sell for around $500 though, which isn’t half bad. Seven have also decided not to charge customers for software upgrades in the first three years.
In any case, when the box does launch, it’s going to be an interesting battle for our HD-loving eyeballs this winter with Foxtel’s iQ2 box.
[AFR]
Could it be true? The SMH is reporting today that Channel Seven is considering ditching TiVo before it’s even launched to instead get behind a “Freeview” PVR with all the other networks. The joint venture is an attempt by the free-to-air networks to take the fight to Foxtel.
The Freeview PVR will be based on the successful Freeview unit available in the UK, and would be released early next year. It would give users access to all the free-to-air digital stations, which would number at about 15 once the networks launch their second SD channels next year.
After years of verbal barbs, thinly veiled criticisms and the occasional spout of open hostility towards eachother, Channel 7 and Foxtel today kissed and made up, signing an agreement for Foxtel to retransmit the Channel 7 signal to its cable subscribers in the major capital cities within “a matter of weeks”. Satellite subscriers aren’t as lucky, having to wait until 2009 for the launch of the new Optus D3 satellite before they can receive the free-to-air channel.
It also means that Channel 7′s EPG information will be made available to Foxtel, giving the Pay TV operator the most comprehensive EPG on the Australian market.
