TeleChimp | TV Journalism

An interesting comment was posted on Hibberd’s story about Thrones. The commenter states that he was talking to the Paint Hall studio manager today and apparently HBO is thinking of booking 2 hangers within the studio for the next 5 years.

I just wanted to let you know I was down at the set where Game of Thrones is filmed in Belfast today and I was talking to the Studio manager who told me that HBO have been inquiring about provisionally booking 2 hangers in the studio for 5 years. I wonder if this means they intend on having a set end date, obviously if it bombs they won’t need 5 years.

More positive signs. Although the 5 year thing is probably just HBO trying to get as good a deal as possible and doesn’t mean they are going to order a whole 5 seasons up front. I suspect that if the show really bombs, they will just cancel their booking with the Paint Hall and pay whatever fee that may result.

Popularity: 1% [?]

With all the negative entertainment news out there, here's a little bit of positivity from the world of television awards. Nope, I'm not talking about the glamorous Emmys that are slated to air August 29, 2010, although these awards are handed out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, too.

Rather, these awards go by the name of "Television Academy Honors" and are given to particular TV show episodes, documentaries, and other programs that exhibit a "conscience." The awards were created in 2008 in the hopes of recognizing shows that portray real life in thought-provoking and inspiring ways.

The winners of this year's "Television Academy Honors" will be recognized at a May 5th ceremony in the Beverly Hills Hotel:

* CBS's CSI, Coup de Grace: The CSI team deals with racial prejudice when they take on the case of an off-duty cop who shot another cop.

* FOX's Glee, Wheels: The Glee Club supports Artie by performing a musical number in wheel chairs.

* HBO documentary, Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?: This film shows how some children have coped with their grandparents having Alzheimer's.

* National Geographic Television, Explorer, Inside Death Row: The program includes interviews with three death-row inmates as well as follows the lives of their families as they cope with their family member's death.

* ABC's Private Practice, Nothing to Fear: When one of the practice's cancer patients wants to commit suicide, he enlists the help of two doctors, Pete and Sam.

* HBO's film, Taking Chance: Based on real-life events, this film follows a military escort officer who is bringing the remains of a fallen soldier back to the U.S. from Iraq.

* Discovery Health's documentary, Unlocking Autism: This film looks at autism from a scientific perspective as well as through real-life stories.

* Current TV's Vanguard, The OxyContin Express: The documentary exposes how prescription drug addictions are a growing problem through interviews with addicts, prisoners, and law enforcement.

What other shows of the past year have stirred talk around your dinner table or the water-cooler at work? If you were going to honor any other shows for their emotional stories and thought-provoking ideas, what would they be?

With Google said to be working with Intel and Sony to develop a way to bring the best of the Internet to television, industry analysts wonder if the time for a smart TV has finally arrived.

People have been expecting a convergence of computers and television for a long time now, but it never really happened. Could it be that the time for this idea has finally come? Some say that with the likes of Google, Intel and Sony involved, it just may have.

"This is an interesting alignment of some serious industry powerhouses," said Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group. "With this group, they have a lot of options to bring about a TV play, ranging from set-top boxes, to integrated TV processors, along with content from Google. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it."

Google and its partners are working to create what they're calling Google TV, a service aimed at putting the Internet search giant's Web offerings in people's living rooms, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. It would basically put Internet search on a TV, making it easier to find and watch content.

Google TV will combine Google's Android mobile operating system and applications with next-generation televisions and set-top boxes made to run the OS, according to The Times. The TV technology will run on Intel's Atom chips, the report says, and Google will develop a new version of its Chrome browser for the project. A Google spokesman told Computerworld today the company would not comment on rumors and speculation. Van Baker, an analyst with Gartner, said in a blog post today that he didn't have a lot of hope this idea would gain any real traction with consumers.

"Haven't we been here before?" asked Baker. "There have been countless products and services which are designed to bring Web connectivity to the television, starting with WebTV Networks in the early 1990s. There is only one problem with this vision: Consumers have repeatedly rejected these solutions."

But Olds noted that some consumers do want Internet-connected TV. One example of a service people want is Netflix, which lets customers go online to find videos they watch them via a Blu-ray or other device that streams Netflix service to televisions, rather than on their smaller computer screens.

Action/adventure channel AXN will launch a high-definition version in south-east Asia from May. Carriage on two unnamed platforms has already been secured.

SPE Networks is rolling out the HDTV version in south-east Asia following its launch in South Korea in March 2009. In South Korea, AXN HD is available on DTH platform, SkyLife, as well as all three IPTV platforms – Korea Telecom’s Qook TV, LG Dacom’s myLGtv and SK Broadband’s broad&tv.

Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SPE Networks, Asia, said: “With the HD wave gathering momentum in Southeast Asia, and the rewarding results we received in Korea, we believe the time is right to expand AXN HD’s presence in this region. Besides the two major platform deals, we are also negotiating for additional carriage so that more viewers will get to experience AXN’s brand of high impact action and top-notch entertainment in the best visual quality.”

AXN HD’s programming includes NCIS: Los Angeles, CSI, CSI: NY and CSI: Miami.

The AXN brand was started by SPE in Asia before expanding to Latin America and Europe.

Popularity: 3% [?]