Could Xbox be the new cable box?
By MAXINE SHEN, NY Post
The Xbox 360 wants to replace your cable box.
Microsoft announced yesterday, at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, that it intends to offer live, streaming TV through its Xbox video game console starting later this year.
Although it hasn't released network, local channel or TV studio partners yet, Microsoft is looking to replicate stateside the success it's had with international partners in the UK (Sky TV), France (Canal+) and Australia (FOXTEL) over the past two years.
Abroad, online Xbox Live users are able to watch sports, news, movies and dramas aired on the channels. As an added bonus, they can also chat with friends about what they're watching in real time, using Xbox Live's communication system.
Microsoft also announced that it will add YouTube support to the Xbox, which will supplement the system's current Hulu Plus and Netflix subscription catalog lineups.
Martial arts fans can look forward to the addition of live, streaming UFC matches as well as classic fights, too.
Xbox factor
Microsoft woos TV deals
By Marc Graser, Chris Morris, Variety
Microsoft is closer to turning Xbox into the everything box.
Sticking with a strategy to promote the Xbox 360 console as more than just a videogame player, Microsoft used its pre-E3 presser on Monday to reveal that the device will start offering live TV in the U.S. and integrate YouTube and search engine Bing as part of a relaunch this fall.
Those will join services like Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and other entertainment options that have gradually been added to Xbox Live. Microsoft relies on
them to help the Xbox 360 stand out from rivals like Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3.
Microsoft is redesigning the Xbox Live interface to include the new services that will all be controlled through Kinect, the motion- and voice-controlled system that Microsoft started selling last year.
Through Bing, users will be able to call out the name of an entertainment property then be shown all of the various forms it can be accessed on the individual's Xbox and across the Web -- whether it's a TV show, movie, Web series or game to rent or buy, for example.
The result could easily provide the answer content creators have been looking for to get their titles in front of more consumers, especially as digital sales become a larger source of revenue for Hollywood.
One drawback of the move to digital has been the fear that content will get lost in the electronic ether and will force distributors to boost their marketing budgets.
But "Bing will make it easier to locate what you want or might be interested in checking out," said Marc Whitten, corporate VP of Microsoft's Xbox Live division.
The delay in incorporating Bing (owned by Microsoft) and YouTube into Xbox Live until now was primarily because the company wanted to "get the technology out of your way" and create versions of the software that could be voice controlled and not need a remote, Whitten said.
"The challenge is always about solving simplicity," Whitten said.
Rollout of live TV had been expected for some time, especially since Xbox has been testing such services in the U.K., Australia and France through Sky TV, Foxtel and Canal Plus.
Microsoft was short on details of just how live TV will be offered in the fall (it has yet to announce a partner with a cabler or satcaster). But in a demo on Monday, the live-TV option included a DVR feature, which would easily incorporate the Xbox 360's built-in harddrive. Previous demos of the Sky-based service manipulated live TV like a TiVo.

"This is the year that live television comes to Xbox 360 as we partner with leading television providers, both here in the U.S. and around the world," Whitten said. "This is our vision of the future of television."

Either way, offering more entertainment should help move more Xbox 360s into living rooms and appeal to nongamers. There are now more than 55 million consoles set up in homes, with Xbox Live claiming more than 35 million subscribers.
None of this signals that Xbox is moving away from games, however.
On the contrary, Microsoft stepped up to steal away some of Nintendo's core family biz by unveiling "Kinect Disneyland Adventures," a game that faithfully recreates the Mouse House's theme park and creates mini-interactive games based on its rides.
Another title aimed at the kids is the Sesame Street-branded "Once Upon a Monster," that stars Elmo and Cookie Monster leading a series of games for use with the Kinect.
Tykes will have to take away control of the Xbox 360 from their older siblings or parents, however, who will gravitate to "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," the high-profile follow-up to last year's blockbuster, out in November, as well as "Gears of War 3," a reboot of "Tomb Raider" and racer "Forza Motorsport 4."
Microsoft also announced two new "Halo" titles -- a remade version of the original "Halo: Combat Evolved," that will upgrade the original's graphics for its 10th anni this November. Also, company formally unveiled "Halo 4" -- the beginning of an all-new trilogy that will feature the series' hero Master Chief. (Game is skedded for November 2012).
It's also doubling down on unveiling more uses for Kinect in games.
Ryse," a title from "Crysis" developers Crytek, will use the motion sensor to let players control a Roman Centurian in battles. "Mass Effect 3," "Fable: The Journey" and "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier" will incorporate elements of its functionality into the game, using voice recognition to make dialogue choices and shout out battle commands, while using movements to cast spells and control weapons.

Microsoft wants XBox 360 to be a television box without a remote

By Ben Fritz, LA Times
Microsoft Corp. is looking to put its video game console front and center in the television business.
Monday morning at the Electronic Entertainment Expo video game conference, Microsoft showed off a new feature on its Xbox 360 console: remote-control-free television navigation. The demo showed the 360 console being used as a set-top box to watch live TV as well as to record programs via voice commands. It used Kinect, the voice- and motion-sensing accessory for the console that Microsoft launched last year.
In a follow-up interview, Michael Delman, head of global marketing for the company's video game division, said Microsoft is in talks with "more than 80" content provider, including cable and satellite television providers around the world. Subscribers would be able to access all of the networks they pay for through the Xbox 360.
Microsoft already has television partnerships for the Xbox 360 with Sky TV in Britain, Canal Plus in France and FoxTel in Australia. It has never offered TV in the U.S.
With an increasing number of televisions connecting directly to the Internet and more online video devices like the Apple TV, competition for real estate in the living room is becoming increasingly fierce. Microsoft is hoping its video game console can win that battle by evolving into an all-in-one entertainment device.
Other entertainment services have proved very popular on the Xbox 360, particularly Netflix streaming. Delman said that 40% of online activity on Microsoft's console is now entertainment activities other than playing video games.
Microsoft also announced that it will soon make YouTube videos available on the Xbox 360.
Microsoft Brings Live TV To Xbox
By Laurie Sullivan, Mediapost
Microsoft made a strategic move Monday, announcing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles it would integrate its search engine Bing into the company's entertainment console, Xbox 360. The platform will give search marketers another avenue to reach consumers through paid-search ads. It also will provide users the ability to speak keywords and search using voice commands.
With millions of choices on Xbox Live, voice will supply the means to discover content. Along with Bing, users will find access to Google's YouTube video network. Supported by Kinect, users will search the two sites, among others, using voice commands. This means streaming movies, user-generated content and video ads. Bing on Xbox searches Netflix, HuluPlus, the Web, YouTube and Live TV.
Through Kinect, the future for Microsoft Xbox 360 remains in controller-free voice commands, from searches on Bing to locating content on YouTube or a variety of TV networks. In fall 2011, Xbox will support live television, as the company continues to partner with TV content providers. The content will include news, sports and entertainment.
Microsoft Vice President Xbox Live Mark Whitten said the service will roll out with a variety of content partners by a "factor of 10." Content will grow from hundreds of thousands to millions.
Microsoft plans to make a variety of apps created by developers available through Kinect Fun Labs, giving Xbox users the ability to experience a variety of virtual techniques.
Some of the new features fueling the wave of controller-free entertainment include becoming the avatar, using the scanning features to create a virtual image rather than picking and choosing features with similarities. Kinect Finger Tracking will enable users to draw in the air and have that image appear on the TV screen. Object Capture will allow users to scan in objects and use them in a video game.

END OF COMPUTER

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Apple Sounds the PC Death Knell

By NICK BILTON 

If Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, gets his way, the PC could be on its last legs. 

For over two years now, Mr. Jobs and other Apple executives have been pushing the concept of a “post-PC era” where most people no longer have, or need, traditional computers and instead engage with the digital world though iPhones, iPods and iPads. 

Although the company has been discussing this concept for some time, it has not offered a solution to ditch the PC and go completely mobile. Apple iOS mobile device still needed a PC to transfer or back up music, photos, videos and other files. 

Until now, that is. 

On Monday, during a presentation in San Francisco to showcase its new software and services, Apple finally began giving people the option to bypass a PC altogether. 

“We are going to demote the PC to just be a device. We are going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud,” Mr. Jobs said. 

Once these new services begin later this fall, people who buy an iOS device can fully get by without a computer. They will no longer need to plug an iOS device into a PC to activate it; iCloud will automatically sync and backup people’s photos, music and documents. All software will be updated over the Internet. 

With Monday’s announcement’s, Apple is reiterating the irrelevance of the personal computer that Mr. Jobs helped invent 30 years ago. 

But where is the PC going to go? There has obviously been some argument about Apple’s computerless society theory, with many saying the traditional computer isn’t going the way of the dodo, but instead will become a secondary device to mobile gadgetry. 

Apple also can’t believe the PC is going away completely. If the company did see this future, they would not have also announced updates to the Mac OS X software on Monday. 

Scott Forstall, the senior vice president of iOS software, summed up the company’s belief during the conference saying that “We are living in a post PC world.” Mr. Forstall noted that a number of iPad owners don’t even have a PC in their home. ”Now, if you want to cut the cord, you can,” he said. 

For Mr. Jobs, who has likened the PC to a pickup truck used only for work, it really could be the beginning of the end for the home computer.

Televison 70th Birthday

Happy 70th Birthday, TV

Commercial broadcasts bow on July 1, 1941; Variety calls it 'corney'

By Cynthia Littleton

July 1, 1941, was a seminal day in showbiz history, marking the launch of commercial television in the U.S. on New York's WNBT-TV (better known today as WNBC) and WCBW-TV (aka WCBS).

But it was an inauspicious start. In Variety's estimation, "it was all pretty corney" (sic).  

Television programming had been airing sporadically on an experimental basis in numerous markets for years, but that Tuesday marked the first time stations were licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to include commercials in their broadcasts. In other words, it was the first time they could monetize their content, such as it was, for a Gotham aud of about 2,000 homes, at most.  

The July 1 date has hardly lived on in infamy (unlike that other event five months later) but the Paley Center for Media and is making a push to recognize it as the birth date of television in the United States. The org's website has an elaborate section devoted to commemorating TV's 70th anniversary, complete with a compendium of oddities, firsts and trivia from Day One through the present day. Paley Center is also looking to hear from anyone who remembers tuning in on that fateful day.  

On July 1, it all started with the now-famous Bulova Watch blurb that WNBT aired at around 1:30 p.m. leading into its 2 p.m. telecast of a Philadelphia Phillies-Brooklyn Dodgers game from Ebbets Field. At 6:45 p.m. there was a 15-minute newscast anchored by Lowell Thomas, followed by a hodgepodge of clips including a USO drive and a snippet of the gameshow "Truth or Consequences" hosted by Ralph Edwards. WCBW wasn't ready and didn't jump into the commercial fray that day.Ron Simon, curator of TV and radio for the Paley Center, notes that some things about TV never change. Newscaster Thomas cracked a joke at the end of his broadcast, and the critics were rough on "Truth or Consequences."

 Television sets had been available in Gotham department stores such as Macy's since the 1939 World's Fair broadcast got early adopters excited about the potential of television. But most of the sets in use in 1941 were set up to receive 441 lines of picture while the FCC had set the commercial telecasting standard at 525. That made for some muddy visuals early on.

 Variety was unimpressed by the overall presentation, the hucksterism and production value.  

"It was all pretty corney," Daily Variety reported on July 2, 1941. "Especially a crowd of announcers and radio hangerson eating chocolate layer cake made with Spry and yumyumming. Practically all the sets in the New York area were picking up 525 line images on old sets adjusted to 441 lines. This cut down definition, but it was not engineering definition that was hard to bear. It was the low grade showmanship."

 WNBT and WCBW broadcast about 15 hours a week in those first few months. But the flagship stations for the Peacock and the Eye didn't get much time to refine their product before the U.S. entry into WWII put the kibosh on virtually all commercial telecasts. The technology and resources that David Sarnoff and William Paley were plowing into TV were immediately diverted to the war effort.

 The growth of TV would be stymied for the better part of the 1940s, until a manic vaudevillian named Milton Berle hit it big with "Texaco Star Theater" in 1948 and TV sets starting flying off the shelves

Digital media, gamers, all my children

Landmark year for digital

More features now shot on digital than film

By David S. Cohen 

This year is likely to be remembered as a pivotal one in the history of filmed entertainment, and hardly anybody seems to be noticing. 

Last week the PGA's mobile committee hosted an event at the Apple store in Century City. There Michael Cioni of post house Light Iron presented some statistics on digital imaging vs. tape vs. film. According to Cioni, 2011 is the year digital capture becomes more popular than film for professionally distributed, narrative filmmaking.  

Counting indies, user-generated content, news, gameshows, sports and reality television, digital passed film years ago. And Cioni's unofficial stats count only the number of titles, not the amount of footage shot. But if he's right, 2010 will be the last year to see more scripted features shot on film than on some form of digital.  

"You can't make film smaller," says Cioni. "You can't make 35mm be 8K resolution, no matter what you do. You can't have a (film) camera be four pounds. You can't fit a 400-foot magazine in a smaller space. It can't improve at the rate Moore's Law says we can predict technical improvements (in digital)." 

But film will linger for a while, he predicts, as a boutique format. What's really doomed, he says, is tape. Tape resolution is locked in by hardware to "2005 specs," says Cioni, and it's being left behind by file-based capture, recorded directly onto hard drives or solid-state storage. 

What about the film look? Cioni says that like car buyers, producers now have to consider "look" along with a slew of other factors including efficiency, size and cost.

Games are the most popular category in smartphone apps, Nielsen says

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles 

Games are the most popular category in mobile apps, followed by weather and then social networking, according to new data from the research firm Nielsen. 

Of those who've downloaded apps to a smartphone in the last 30 days, 93% of downloaders are willing to pay for gaming apps, Nielsen said in a blog post detailing its new findings. 

"In contrast, only 76 percent of downloaders are willing to pay for news apps," the firm said .

If those who have played game apps in the last 30 days, gamers on iPhones, Windows Phone 7 devices or Android handsets are the most likely to have downloaded the games they played. On the other hand, owners of Blackberry phones or "feature phones," a.k.a. standard cellphones, more often play games that are pre-loaded on their devices. 

"The average mobile gamer plays an average of 7.8 hours a month," Nielsen said. "Those with iPhones tend to play around 14.7 hours each month while those with Android smartphones play around 9.3 hours per month." 

Of those who've downloaded apps in the last month, 64% downloaded a gaming app, while 60% downloaded a weather-related app and in third, 56% downloaded a social-networking app, Nielsen reported. 

On the low end, only 6% downloaded household or personal care apps and 11% downloaded apps having to do with education, the firm said.

Beloved soap operas to migrate online

By CLAIRE ATKINSON

"All My Children" and "One Life to Live" will live on -- on the Web.

Disney's ABC has sold the online rights to the two long-running soaps, which are scheduled to go off the air in September, as part of a deal with TV, film and music company Prospect Park, The Post has learned.

Sources said the daily dramas will pick up where they left off on a new, as-yet-unnamed, TV-focused online network once the soaps finish their four-decade run in broadcast.

Prospect Park, founded in 2008, is run by executives Rich Frank, a former Disney Studios boss, and Jeff Kwatinetz. Both are executive producers of USA Network's hit show, "Royal Pains."

The firm will take charge of the same cast, crew and talent -- even soap star Susan Lucci as the villainous Erica Kane -- and continue the story lines.

Prospect Park is said to be finalizing its current round of funding for its Hulu-style venture in the next month to 45 days. Other unnamed financial backers are involved. The financial terms couldn't be learned.

The soaps are expected to be the first of a number of brand-name TV shows to eventually land at the site.

News of the deal will be a huge relief to soap fans who have been campaigning for ABC to keep them on air. The broadcast network said in April it was dumping them for much less expensive, unscripted programs, "The Chew" and "Revolution."

"All My Children" launched in 1970 and "One Life to Live" began life in 1968.

Digital VIDEO GAMES NUMBERS

Landmark year for digital

More features now shot on digital than film

By David S. Cohen 

This year is likely to be remembered as a pivotal one in the history of filmed entertainment, and hardly anybody seems to be noticing. 

Last week the PGA's mobile committee hosted an event at the Apple store in Century City. There Michael Cioni of post house Light Iron presented some statistics on digital imaging vs. tape vs. film. According to Cioni, 2011 is the year digital capture becomes more popular than film for professionally distributed, narrative filmmaking.  

Counting indies, user-generated content, news, gameshows, sports and reality television, digital passed film years ago. And Cioni's unofficial stats count only the number of titles, not the amount of footage shot. But if he's right, 2010 will be the last year to see more scripted features shot on film than on some form of digital.  

"You can't make film smaller," says Cioni. "You can't make 35mm be 8K resolution, no matter what you do. You can't have a (film) camera be four pounds. You can't fit a 400-foot magazine in a smaller space. It can't improve at the rate Moore's Law says we can predict technical improvements (in digital)." 

But film will linger for a while, he predicts, as a boutique format. What's really doomed, he says, is tape. Tape resolution is locked in by hardware to "2005 specs," says Cioni, and it's being left behind by file-based capture, recorded directly onto hard drives or solid-state storage. 

What about the film look? Cioni says that like car buyers, producers now have to consider "look" along with a slew of other factors including efficiency, size and cost.  

Cioni said, "If there are people out there, and there are, who want the picture to be the end-all, be-all reason to choose a format to shoot on, they're going to be the last guys at the Alamo. Because in the world I live in, image quality is not the No. 1 factor. It is cost."

Games are the most popular category in smartphone apps, Nielsen says

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles 

Games are the most popular category in mobile apps, followed by weather and then social networking, according to new data from the research firm Nielsen.

Of those who've downloaded apps to a smartphone in the last 30 days, 93% of downloaders are willing to pay for gaming apps, Nielsen said in a blog post detailing its new findings. 

"In contrast, only 76 percent of downloaders are willing to pay for news apps," the firm said. 

Of those who have played game apps in the last 30 days, gamers on iPhones, Windows Phone 7 devices or Android handsets are the most likely to have downloaded the games they played. On the other hand, owners of Blackberry phones or "feature phones," a.k.a. standard cellphones, more often play games that are pre-loaded on their devices. 

"The average mobile gamer plays an average of 7.8 hours a month," Nielsen said. "Those with iPhones tend to play around 14.7 hours each month while those with Android smartphones play around 9.3 hours per month." 

Of those who've downloaded apps in the last month, 64% downloaded a gaming app, while 60% downloaded a weather-related app and in third, 56% downloaded a social-networking app, Nielsen reported. 

On the low end, only 6% downloaded household or personal care apps and 11% downloaded apps having to do with education, the firm said.

TEEN WOLF INTERVIEW

The head of programming hopes the cable network’s newest entry into scripted fare resonates with the millennial generation.

Since taking over for MTV president of programming Tony DiSanto in November, head of programming David Janollari has weathered a few storms. In January, the cable network lost advertisers after the Parents Television Council targeted its newest -- and some would say biggest -- leap into scripted programming with drama Skins when it sought a federal investigation into whether the racy teen drama violated anti-child pornography laws. 
Now, as TV prepares to launch Teen Wolf, Janollari has high hopes for the supernatural remake he inherited from DiSanto, dubbing the series relevant to MTV’s millennial viewers, and putting it in the plumb time slot immediately following Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards.
The Hollywood Reporter recently caught up with Janollari to discuss how the series fits in with its strategy to develop original series and how it stands out among a crowded pop culture wolf pack.
The Hollywood Reporter: How did Teen Wolf land at MTV with MGM attached?
David Janollari: It predates my being at MTV. Tony DiSanto had the idea. I don’t know if he’d seen the movie, but he said, “That’s a great title for us,” and tracked it down. It was owned by MGM and they made a co-production deal and developed it from scratch. [Criminal Minds creator] Jeff Davis had a great take on it and was hired to write the script and develop it. We made the pilot and we all fell in love with it. Once we saw the pilot, we decided we had to make it.
THR: How does Teen Wolf fit in with MTV’s strategy to develop original series?
Janollari: Our mantra is to diversify the landscape of the network. We want to offer a multitude of genres to our audience. We believe that our core audience -- the millennial generation -- watches all kinds of entertainment: scripted comedies, scripted dramas, animation and reality shows. They watch movies; they watch entertainment on the Internet. Our idea is to offer original series programming in what ever form it takes to this audience with the core brand of DNA of what’s relevant to their lives; what resonating with the millennial viewers today.
THR: How will Teen Wolf stand out from the other wolves invading television and film with HBO’s True Blood, the Twilight franchise and beyond?
Janollari: No one has really done the wolf; we’ve really taken the wolf and done a deep dive into the mythology. The series is a total reimagination of the ’80s movie. Creator Jeff Davis has done a real switch-up so that there’s something unexpected that reinvents the whole classic werewolf legend in every episode. That’s one of the key DNA ingredients of an MTV show: surprise the audience, don’t deliver the expected.
THR: Considering the Skins controversy, how salacious will Teen Wolf get?
Janollari: No pun intended, but this is its own animal. It’s what we’re trying to do at MTV: every show is unique and distinct in and of itself. This show is like nothing else that we’ve done and not quite like anything else you’ve seen on television. It really does genuinely go for the scare, yet you get wrapped up in the love story.
THR: Any original cast popping in?
Janollari: Michael J. Fox is not in this series. I have had an email agreement from Jason Bateman that he might appear in the second season. You will see some of the characters from the original movie broadened for this generation.
THR: Are you close to green lighting a second season?
Janollari: I’m optimistic, you never know. I’ve seen the whole series and worked on it for a year and a half and I’m in love with it. In my bones I feel like our audience will really, really embrace it.
THR: Is there a particular demo you’re targeting?
Janollari: We sell 12-34, but our real core demo is really 12-24; that’s who lives and breathes all of our shows. This show is really set against high school life with the backdrop of the supernatural wolf mythology. The stories that we tell, where transformation is really the metaphor, is about becoming an adult and dealing with adolescence. Internally, we say this is like puberty gone wild. That story is at the core of it and the forbidden love element is going to be really relevant and resonate with our audience.
THR: Is there a viewership number you have eyes on?
Janollari: Not really. The whole introduction of scripted programming to the MTV slate is very new. We’re one step at a time, brick-by-brick building its presence. We believe it will be very embraced by our audience.
THR: The marketing materials at first glance are very Twilight. Was that part of your approach?
Janollari: The audience that built the Twilight franchise is our audience.
Part 1 of Teen Wolf’s two-hour premiere airs Sunday at 11 p.m. following the MTV Movie Awards. Part 2 airs the following night in its regular slot at 10 p.m. Mondays.