Comcast originally announced the deal to merge with TWC back in 2014, which was valued at $45.2 billion in stock. The merge was met with criticism from not only the general public and government officials, concerned about already powerful television and Internet providers creating the potential of a monopoly; John Oliver’s insights during the June 1st episode of “Last Week Tonight” hammer home the danger of corporate giants ruling with an iron fist. Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news

If you’re struggling to find useful and/or working apps for your Apple Watch, you’re not alone. Apps have been notoriously buggy in the young life of Apple Watch, and it can also be hard to find a reason to open apps on a watch instead of pulling them up on a phone or tablet.  Below are three  apps that are worth your time (get it?).

Dark Sky

Dark Skies is a fairly straightforward weather app that does its best work without needing to be opened. As the name indicates, when severe or inclement weather is on your horizon, you will receive a notification letting you know the end (or a thunderstorm) is near. The app can be opened for more specific weather updates, but the passive notifications are the calling card.

The New York Times

Tired of reading the short synopsis of articles at the top of a website? Frustrated when your Facebook friends take three sentences to explain the gist of breaking news? The New York Times app has you covered, providing one sentence stories (not headlines) that fit easily on the watch screen.

The Times’ Watch app holds about six stories at a time. If any one catches your interest,  scroll down for a few additional bullet points of information or a photo. If you want to read the entire story, just Force Touch and save it for later. “The app’s goal is to give you a very quick way to catch up on the biggest recent news, and it accomplishes that in a really satisfying way. It’s one of the more polished and responsive apps that we’ve seen,” says Jacob Kastrenakes of “The Verge.”

Shazam

Tired of fumbling for your phone to figure out what song is playing? Shazam on your wrist makes it a quick and easy process, communicating with your phone in your pocket (hopefully you aren’t wearing sound-proof pants). Though not quite as streamlined as it would be if the Apple Watch Shazam app could listen to music, it is still an effective and much more casual way of looking up songs and lyrics on the go.

Categories: DISH & TV news

Surely, I’m not the only person tired of getting spotty show recommendations. Fortunately, DISH Network’s DISH Anywhere app provides a healthy remedy. Now customers can use their mobile DISH Anywhere app to receive personalized recommendations based on their own viewing history. Individual profiles help personalize the experience even more.

According to a DISH Network blog announcement, “The profiles allow each viewer to set up their own username and avatar in the mobile app. This means each viewer will receive personalized programming recommendations based on their specific viewing habits, not the household’s favorites.” Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news

Six US Senators have formally asked the FCC and Eric Holder to block the Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal that began to take shape last April. A year later, it doesn’t seem like the deal is any closer to fruition. Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news

Per DTV Deals, DISH got the jump on industry competitors by becoming the first major pay-TV provider to offer whole-home Netflix to its customers. DISH has also become the first major pay-TV provider to offer its customers direct access to Vevo – a growing stalwart in music entertainment – directly from their set-top boxes. Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news

In a move Varys the Spider would be proud of, the first four episodes of Season 5 of “Game of Thrones” were leaked the weekend before the premier aired, making the ratings record set by the season premier even more impressive. If HBO executives were concerned that the leak would hurt viewership numbers, their concerns were well assuaged once the numbers came rolling in. Read more

Categories: Channels & Shows • DISH & TV news

Roku, the company taking cord-cutting outside of maternity wards, recently announced two updates to their service – an improved search function and upgrades to two of their players.

The improvement to Roku’s search feature is a humble but efficient ability to search for programming by streaming channel name. With over 2,000 streaming channels available, this provides Roku users an easier way to locate their favorite content. “Roku Feed” is another helpful addition to Roku’s service, which allows users to follow programs and movies they want to watch. “We’re launching it with a focus on ‘Movies Coming Soon,’ ending the guessing game around when a box office hit is available for streaming, which services offer the movie or how much it costs at a given time,” said Roku CEO Anthony Wood in an April 6th blog post. Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news • Equipment & Remotes

Streaming times were a bit rocky last night for the premieres of Game of Thrones Season 5 and Silicon Valley Season 2 — though HBO Now streaming has been shaky since the get-go, so this isn’t necessarily a surprise — but Sling customers are certainly happy about adding the most popular premium TV service in the country for a mere $15 dollars — and free for a week for new subscribers.  Read more

Categories: Channels & Shows • DISH & TV news

The much anticipated fifth season premeire of HBO’s Game of Thrones is upon us — there are even guides on how to watch it — but HBO isn’t going to be happy that the first few episodes may have just leaked online. Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news

It’s tough to get away from HBO’s net when you’re around the TV industry. It’s everywhere. Sling TV just added HBO service to their Dish-product at just $15 dollars…HBO is now available on Apple TV…and HBO of course continues to remake the entire TV series industry with movie-sized budgets and Hollywood-esque crews. Read more

Categories: DISH & TV news • Episode Recaps & Show Reviews