Tag: "ABC"

Oscars iPad App Brings the Red Carpet to You

By Jillian | January 26, 2012 | No comment yet

Oscars Lights! Camera! iPad App! The Oscars are an exciting time for Hollywood and almost as exciting for those of us who love movies. The awards show doesn’t happen until February 26, but you can grab the iPad app anytime now and get yourself ready for that red carpet evening.

ABC Digital wants to make you an honorary virtual member of the academy with this app, giving you unrestricted access to “complete nominee lists, trailers, buzz worthy videos, hosted specials on fashion and nominated films and actors, and more.”

By Juli | January 5, 2012 | 1 comment

Share |

There’s some great news for those of you who subscribe to Comcast’s service and use Comcast’s Xfinity TV app. The company has signed a 10-year distribution agreement with The Walt Disney Company, allowing Comcast customers access to many more channels on television, online and on tablets and smartphones.

Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers are now able to watch ESPN, ABC, and Disney shows both live and on demand, across multiple screens. And, unlike other cable-to-iPad offerings, Comcast subscribers can watch their television shows both at home and while out and about.

By Juli | October 31, 2011 | No comment yet

Share |

Struggling video-streaming service Netflix has managed to renew its licensing deal with Disney-ABC television, which will provide new episodes of current Disney and ABC shows on Netflix 30 days after they air.

Disney-ABC also signed a similar deal with Netflix rival Amazon, to provide the same content on Amazon Instant Video. With the new agreement, Amazon’s Prime subscribers will have unlimited access to the content, which will also be available in Amazon’s on-demand section.

By Jillian | October 1, 2011 | No comment yet

Share |

VivaKids' ABC Teaching your child the alphabet can be a difficult task. My daughter has the ABC song completely memorized from start to finish but we are still working on actually identifying the individual letters, which is why I was very interested in taking a look at VivaKids ABC.

Designed by internationally renowned artist, author and educator Ulrike Kerber, this app is filled with animations, music and voices making it very engaging.

By Juli | September 9, 2011 | 2 comments

Share |

On Thursday, NBC released an all new, updated NBC app, which allows users to watch full episodes, check out photos, read episode recaps, play games, watch previews, and interact with other fans, from any Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

Previously, the app did not offer full episodes of NBC shows, leading to customer criticism and a poor two and a half star rating in the App Store. That’s been remedied, and now you can watch your favorite NBC shows right on your iPad.

By Bill | November 17, 2010 | 1 comment

Share |

When Hulu launched its Hulu Plus iPad app and video subscription service earlier this year, people were scrambling get one of the highly coveted invitations to participate in the private launch. If you missed getting in on the private launch, don’t worry. Hulu announced today that their Hulu Plus service is now open to anyone willing to pay the $7.99 monthly fee.

If you love TV, chances are you’re already familiar with Hulu’s online TV service. The web site lets viewers watch popular TV shows from major studios including ABC, Fox and NBC all from the comfort of their Mac or PC. The Hulu web service is free, but viewers have to put up with advertising inserted into their TV shows, much like what they would get when watching a TV show on cable or broadcast TV. Unfortunately the Hulu Plus subscription service doesn’t eliminate the ads and this has been one of the biggest complaints against it.

By Bill | October 1, 2010 | 3 comments

Share |

The lifespan of an iPad app can be short, sometimes lasting only a few months, but the ABC My Generation Sync app didn’t even last four weeks. It was only two short weeks ago that ABC and Nielsen announced an iPad app for their new My Generation TV show. Now that app is useless.

The app made use of Nielsen’s new sync-to-broadcast technology which embeds watermarks in the audio of a TV show. These watermarks can be “heard” by an app which can then trigger synced content or deliver interactive social networking features to users. The app looked very promising when we reviewed it earlier this week. It highlighted the way media companies can leverage the iPad to deliver an integrated TV and social media viewer experience, all from one simple and easy to use app.

By Roberto | September 29, 2010 | 1 comment

Share |

This year, TV networks, content providers and developers in general seem to have embraced the social network approach more than ever. Hard to blame them for that. With the iPad’s acceptance as a major video viewing device, the announcement of more tablets, and after seeing how Facebook has grown, many have taken note of that.

The number of TV and video apps for the iPad and other devices keeps growing everyday with new apps like BuddyTV, yap.TV, Comcast’s TunerFish and more. A new trend of social apps has emerged providing ways for you to interact with others while watching TV shows. (video after the break)

By Cristi | September 1, 2010 | 9 comments

Share |

What started as a “hobby” for Apple four years ago has now been streamlined to create the second generation Apple TV. The answer to requests from many Apple customers, this updated device is one-fourth the size of its predecessor and, according to Steve Jobs, promises to be a “phenomenal way to watch Hollywood movies and TV shows in your living room whenever you want.”

The new hardware comes with Apple’s powerful new A4 CPU but lacks a hard drive so all content must be streamed over the Internet or from a local PC or Mac. The new Apple TV includes HDMI, optical audio out, Ethernet and USB ports. Apple has dropped component video and analog audio support that was previously available on older Apple TVs.

By Cristi | August 2, 2010 | No comment yet

Share |

Are you one of the Millennial viewers hooked on ABC Family’s hit series like “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Huge,” “Make It or Break It” or “Melissa & Joey”? If so, you’ll love ABC Family Chatterbox, the new interactive iPad app now in the App Store. This new iPad app allows users to chat with fellow fans about their favorite ABC Family shows, characters and story lines, while all the action and drama unfolds on TV. Fans can also read and join in on hot topics related to the hit series.

The ABC Family Chatterbox app reflects the network’s mission to connect with our Millennial viewers through emerging social media platforms that enhance their viewing experience,” says Beth Johnson, Vice President, Digital Media, ABC Family. “We know our audience puts a high value on community and engagement, and this app allows them to use iPad to interact with each other about the network’s programming in an innovative way.

ABC Family Chatterbox is one more addition to the list of iPad app successes for Disney/ABC Television Group. The ABC Player App, ABC News App and enhanced eBook, The Secret Diary of Ashley Juergens, have all shown tremendous download numbers. Check out the latest ABC addition in the App Store for free today.

Alphabet Jungle for iPad – First Look

By Cristi | July 4, 2010 | 1 comment

Share |

Looking for a cute but simple little app for your toddler to learn their ABCs? Check out Alphabet Jungle for iPad by developer Jason Jardim. This new app features Upper and Lower case letters, pictures of different animals for each letter of the alphabet and fun animal facts. Alphabet Jungles lets users choose from three options of play: the ABC song, Auto Play and Play (you select the letters you want to see and hear).

Kids will enjoy listening to the sound of a child’s voice saying the letters. Move along at your own pace using “Play” mode or select “Auto Play” and follow along and automatically move through the alphabet. Think your child is ready to move on to bigger and better things? Then let them practice writing letters too. Just tap the “Practice Your Letters” button and a writing tablet appears. Letters are easy for kids to write using just their finger and you’ll save lots of paper having them practice on the iPad.

One neat feature offered with this app is the option to use a VGA out adapter to connect your iPad to your TV which presents a fun new experience.

This is Jardim’s first version of Alphabet Jungle and he is already working on new ideas for additions. He welcomes feedback and suggestions from users, so feel free to contact him via email (JSquared AT macspots DOT com) if you have comments. You can add Alphabet Jungle to your list of toddler apps for $2.99.

Screen shots after the break >>

Fox Launches Subscription TV Service -No iOS Support

By Bill | June 25, 2010 | No comment yet

Share |

The iPad is the perfect mobile device to watch TV on the go or while sitting around the house. Many movie and TV companies like Netflix, ABC, and CBS have embraced the iPad and created apps or retooled their websites to support the new device. So with all the attention on the iPad and the new iPhone 4, wouldn’t you target an iOS device if you were launching a new mobile TV service? Not if you’re Fox Mobile.

Fox Mobile just launched their new Bitbop mobile TV subscription service yesterday. The only problem, the TV service is exclusive for Blackberry users. That’s right, no iPhone or Android support for Fox’s new Bitbop service.

There are over 100 million iOS devices on the market today and each is capable of watching streamed video services over 3G or WiFi. You would think Fox would include support for iOS devices in their subscription TV service. This service limitation doesn’t appear to be another Flash related snub either, as the Blackberry devices also do not support Flash.

According to Joe Bilman, Fox Mobile Group, the reason for the focus on Blackberry is simple, “The potential of the smartphone has barely been tapped. Our goal is to provide consumers with an exciting new digital entertainment experience on their handheld devices and what better place to start than with the original and continuously innovative smartphone.”

By Bill | June 16, 2010 | No comment yet

Share |

If you’re a fan of ABC’s iPad app, you may have recently noticed an increase in the amount of advertising while watching shows on your iPad. Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy! ABC just doubled the amount of advertising it delivers via their ABC iPad app.

Video Nuze, interviewed Albert Cheng, Executive Vice President for ABC’s Digital Media group, and Cheng informed them that the new ABC policy is to double number of ads delivered per episode for both the iPad app and the ABC.com website. This will increase the commercial time from the current 2.5 - 3 minutes to almost 6 minutes of advertising per 30 minute show. Cheng notes that he believes ABC’s policy will be adopted by other media companies and will soon become a standard practice for TV delivery in the online industry.

ABC is clearly still in the early phases of finding a business model that makes sense for online delivery of its TV content. The iPad is perhaps the perfect playground to test these new advertising and delivery models. ABC’s app was an early hit in the App Store with over 400,000 copies downloaded in the first month. The latest numbers shared by Cheng show that users are still excited about watching TV on their iPads. The ABC iPad app has now been downloaded over 800,000 times with 4.2 million TV shows started in the past 10 weeks.

[via mocoNews]

iPad Users Have to Wait for Hulu

By Bill | May 13, 2010 | 1 comment

Share |

If you’re waiting to watch Hulu on your iPad, it looks like you’ll need to wait a bit longer. Eugene Wei, VP of Product at Hulu announced on their blog that they will stick with Flash and not move to HTML5 in the near term.

“Let me address a related topic that’s been in the news a lot recently: HTML5. Plenty of users and members of the press ask about this topic all the time…We continue to monitor developments on HTML5, but as of now it doesn’t yet meet all of our customers’ needs.”

This of course means iPhone, iPod and iPad users will still not be able to view any video from Hulu’s site for the foreseeable future. Hulu has been one of the top websites demanded by many of our readers.

Hulu’s announcement is a bit surprising as rival site CBS.com announced they would have all their CBS.com video available for the iPad this fall thanks to an HTML5 site redesign. Of course Hulu could decide to release a dedicated iPad app, much the same way ABC has done with their hit app, to deliver their video programming to iPad and iPhone owners.

We would be surprised if Hulu stays on the sideline much longer while rivals continue to release programming for iPhone and iPad users. This market is simply becoming to large and valuable for media companies to ignore.

ABC’s iPad App a Hit

By Cristi | May 10, 2010 | 2 comments

Share |

As many predicted, Apple’s iPad has become a must-have device for video enthusiasts. The iPad’s high definition screen and small form factor make it convenient to carry around the house, or on the road, and watch great looking TV shows or movies.

ABC’s iPad application has been extremely popular here at PadGadget HQ and it looks like we are not the only ones that love ABC TV. Disney, ABC’s parent company, announced users have downloaded the app over 400,000 times and they have watched more than 1.5 million TV shows in the first month of the app being available on the market. That’s over 39 million minutes of Internet TV! With these numbers, it’s no wonder Hulu and CBS are looking to jump on the iPad TV bandwagon.

ABC recently updated their iPad app to add 3G wireless connectivity allowing iPad users to watch TV anyplace at anytime. There was some initial concern among readers that video quality while streaming over 3G vs WiFi would not be as good. Our informal tests showed the two devices produced similar results but WiFi still had the best video quality.

Curious what folks are watching on ABC? To date, the top five series viewed on the iPad are: