Verizon FiOS Launches on Google TV Ads Platform

This past November we announced that we had struck a partnership agreement with Verizon FiOS, one of the fastest growing television providers in the nation. Today we are pleased to announce that we have completed integration of FiOS’ 4M households into Google TV Ads, opening up inventory across over 50 networks, including AMC, ESPN, Discovery, Fox News, MTV, and other popular channels. With the addition of this new inventory to our system, Google TV Ads has now extended its reach to more than 25% of all US television households.

To ensure a smooth transition, current advertisers’ campaigns will automatically extend to this new inventory when eligible, achieving maximum reach for their message.

For more information or to learn more about advertising with Google TV Ads, visit www.google.com/tvads.

Posted by Sanjeev Das, Software Engineer, Google TV Ads

Watch TV online through Comcast

Last June, the cable/sat industry announced plans for TV Everywhere, a way to bridge your subscription television content to your internet-connected devices. Comcast has just announced that their version of TV Everywhere, called On Demand Online, arrives next month.

Currently in beta with 5,000 subscribers, here's what we know:

• It's free with a subscription
• You authenticate up to 3 devices through Comcast.net or Fancast.com
• Video playback on Move Networks player
• Video on Demand content, though no word on HD content
• Streaming will count against Comcast's 250GB monthly bandwidth caps

Today is the Digital TV Switch

Are you ready for the transition to the digiterized picture-box? We certainly hope so: Today, June 12th, we'll all be moving over to digital television and discarding the rabbit ears forever. Well, the few of us who need to, anyway.

It's been a long road, paved with delays, misunderstandings, and altercations with the rare Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel. We'd love to hear your experiences: Has anybody actually tried it out? Good experiences? Bad? Let us know in the comments. [DTV]

Switch to Digital TV Delayed 4 Months

American TV viewers have four extra months to get ready for the day their local stations shut down their analog transmitters, thanks to a delay in the digital TV transition approved by Congress Wednesday. The government's fund to give people $40 coupons to help buy converters ran out of money in recent weeks. The House, by a vote of 264 to 158, passed a Senate bill that would reset the death of analog TV to June 12, a measure President Barack Obama is expected to sign.

An estimated 6.5 million homes -- including many elderly, poor and disabled Americans -- would lose TV service after February 17 without the delay, supporters argued. People who pay for cable or satellite TV service will be unaffected by the change. The delay was opposed by Republicans who said the government has already given people years to prepare for the switch to digital TV. "If you didn't know this date is coming up, you're probably not watching television," said Rep. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican. "And if you're not watching television, you probably won't know on February 18 whether it occurred or not."

Read More

Amazon + IMDB = 6,000 Free Films

Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) has finally done what many have been asking it since the time the company bought IMDB: it has enabled video on the film and TV database/info site. The company says users can now watch 6,000 full-length feature films and TV episodes for free on IMDb.com’s video section. IMDb is now showing full-length movies and a great selection of full-length TV episodes directly on their site -- for free! Their fantastic selection of films and TV shows, both current and classic, is paired with all of the in-depth film and TV information that you expect from IMDb. Take a look at episodes from TV shows such as "Survivor", or full-length movies like Fever Pitch. They even have clips from the most recent "Saturday Night Live" -- you can watch Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin right there! You can browse their great featured content to familiarize yourself with some of their offerings, or search for your favorite films and TV shows to find the videos and movies you want to see.

read more | digg story