TBS in HD will offer live HD sports coverage in the 1080i format.
TBS will launch its TBS in HD service this September. The service will be a 1080i simulcast of TBS’ East Coast feed and will be carried only by DIRECTV at first as part of the satellite broadcaster’s HD expansion. Turner is also presently in carriage talks with other affiliates.
TBS in HD will offer live HD sports coverage, including its exclusive coverage of this year’s MLB divisional playoffs and the National League Championship Series.
ESPN to feature “World Series of Poker” on TV and online
For the second consecutive year, ESPN will offer live pay-per-view coverage of the final table of “The World Series of Poker” from The Rio in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 17. Fans can view the final table either on TV or via live online video stream on ESPN.com.
Play-by-play analysis will be aided by numerical and graphic data from StatsTracker, which will help analyze play with detailed stats and player trends in real time. This year, ESPN will also employ a sideline reporter to interview players' family members, friends and fans throughout the telecast.
Selected viewer questions submitted through ESPN.com during “The World Series of Poker Final Table Live!” will be answered live during the event telecast. For the first time, fans will also be able to text message their predictions for the next player to be eliminated from the table. Text message details will be provided during the live telecast.
NASCAR gets SIRIUS radio coverage
SIRIUS Satellite Radio is offering live radio coverage of NASCAR races this year as well as up to 10 additional Team Talk channels that carry the driver-to-crew communications of up to 10 different race teams during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races.
SIRIUS is combining the race broadcast with the driver-to-crew chatter on these secondary channels, allowing fans to follow the overall race call and the in-car audio of a driver on a single channel throughout the race. The channels feature top drivers based on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings.
AOL sports site focuses on blogs
AOL launched a new version of its sports site, which focuses on community content and blogs and leverages its top sports blog the FanHouse. AOL also rolled out the new blog format on its news portal earlier this week. The overhauled sports site is taking a cue from celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, which is a joint venture of AOL and Telepictures Productions.
In addition to the new Web 2.0 features, the sports site features traditional sports news, exclusive columnists, up-to-the-minute scoreboards and user-generated video. AOL also announced a new fantasy football experience that will include free live scoring, lineup analyzer and free online draft kit.
For more information, visit http://sports.aol.com.
