nfl

[itvt] has just published the LATEST EDITION of Rick Howe's regular column, "The iTV Doctor Is In!"

Satellite-TV operator, DirecTV, and sports broadcaster, ESPN, have unveiled plans for extensive interactive TV coverage of the US Open tennis championship. From August 30th through September 6th, DirecTV will offer an HD multiscreen interactive TV "US Open Mix" channel (ch. 701) that will allow viewers to watch up to six live matches simultaneously, including the featured match carried on ESPN2's main network feed and five outer-court matches (each with commentary) that will not be available anywhere else.

CBS Sports contacted [itvt] Tuesday to let us know about its plans to provide social TV-enabled broadband video coverage of Thursday's 2010 NFL Draft. According to the company, the centerpiece of its coverage will be "Inside the Draft Live," a show that will air live on CBSSports.com and that will also be simulcast on the CBS College Sports Network. Produced by CBSSports.com, the show will provide coverage of the first, second and third rounds of the draft: it will originate from the CBS College Sports Network's studio in New York City and will feature live segments from Radio City Music Hall, the site of the 2010 NFL Draft, and from CBSSports.com headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.

Because the [itvt] editorial team is busy working on The TV of Tomorrow Show (March 3rd-4th in San Francisco) and on our new EBIF Intensive event (March 5th in San Francisco), we will be covering most stories in summary/round-up form over the next few weeks. Here is a round-up of broadband video news for the past few days:

Concurrently with the launch of the subscription-based NFL RedZone channel (offers live coverage of critical plays whenever any of the NFL's teams is inside its opponent's 20-yard line) on its FiOS TV service, Verizon has made available a free RedZone Widget in its recently launched FiOS TV Widget Bazaar applications marketplace. According to the company, the interactive TV widget, which is displayed on the right side of the screen and can also be viewed in full-screen mode, provides various features to all FiOS TV customers, including instant access to real-time NFL stats and scores and news headlines from around the league.

NBC and the NFL announced Thursday that, for the second straight season, NBC will stream the 17-game Sunday Night Football schedule live on NBCSports.com and NFL.com. The coverage, which is the result of a new one-year deal between the broadcaster and the sports organization that will see them sharing the revenues from advertising that NBC sells around the coverage, will be comprised of NBC Sports' "Sunday Night Football" broadcast, enhanced with four additional camera angles and several other new interactive features, NBC says.

--NBC Launches "Heroes," "The Office" Webisodes
NBC and the NFL have announced plans to stream the show, "Sunday Night Football" (will offer coverage of 17 games this season), live on NFL.com and NBC.com. The deal represents the first time that complete NFL games have been available throughout the US via online streaming.