NBC, TNT and TBS add full TV episode access via iPad apps
NBC
NBC announced last Friday that it has updated its NBC.com app for iPad to include access to full episodes, thus mirroring âthe online experience.â
The application, originally launched in June, lets users browse through âthousands of video clips and highlights, exclusive photo galleries, recaps, games and news, making it all customizable from myNBC dashboard.â
NBC also updated a second iOS application, NBC Live. The app now includes features such as access to video clips, games or photos within the application. The network plans to use these new features to make broadcasts of certain TV shows, including âThe Office,â âThe Sing-Off,â The Biggest Loser,â and âChuck,â unique and interactive for the user.
Both NBC.com and NBC Live are available as free downloads in the App Store.
TNT and TBS
Turner Broadcasting System also launched its own iPad applications last week: TNT for iPad and TBS for iPad, with support for full-length episodes.
Both applications are available free of charge from the App Store, but each requires authentication with a cable or satellite provider in order for the user to gain access to network-specific streaming content.
Similar in appearance, each app includes access to movies and TV shows aired on TNT and TBS, respectively, as well as series episodes guides, clips, behind-the-scenes features, schedules and reminders, and social networking integration via GetGlue, Facebook and Twitter.
TNT for iPad offers access to various TV shows, including âThe Closer,â âFalling Skies,â and âRizzoli & Isles,â while TBS for iPad provides access to full episodes of âConan,â âTyler Perryâs House of Payne,â âThe Officeâ and others.
However, some users report having issues gaining access to full episode content. Both the TNT and TBS iPad apps currently have an abundance of 1-star ratings, with customers stating in a number of reviews that they were unable to get the feature working.
Some of the TV shows that can be streamed to the iPad via any of the three new iOS apps are also already available for purchase in the iTunes Store. Users can buy single episodes or full series of their favorite TV shows in either standard or high-definition. The TNT and TBS apps for iPhone have also been updated to include support for full episodes.
18 Comments
Wow. Apple hates it when App Store companies just give a discount on competing merchandise. How are they going to deal with content owners giving away iTunes merchandise for free?
And once again, the inbred morons at Time Warner won't allow access to these apps, just like with the HBO and Cinemax apps.
I pay good money every month for these channels, it would be nice to have access to them on my iPad and not just through a cable box.
Over a year ago I was regularly watching TV shows from most networks on the internet. CBS was the one network that didn't post shows I wanted to see. So..... I just stopped watching CBS. I suppose tens of thousands of people also don't see any advertising from them because of this.
The USA Network did have shows available for a while but their webmasters were so clueless that often the shows wouldn't play. Now their site is hopeless. They've given up streaming the shows I want to see. They just say find them online at your favorite video provider.
TNT has just changed to force people to pay for their shows via signing in with an identifier from your local cable company. Without it you can't watch.
SCREW THEM ALL! I now find the shows I want to watch using search engines. There are many sites out there that record broadcasts and replay them at no cost. I've built up a little library of sites that do this and most of the time the recordings are without any advertising. All of the sites work better than anything that ever came from the USA Network. Their site was always slow. The networks are loosing money by being greedy.
Videos without the Flash player must be unsettling to Adobe right now.
I should be able to subscribe to a channel for about $4 a month and get to see everything. That's more than those channels receive from cable and satellite providers.
That way I could get the 6 channels or networks I actually want and not have to pay the ridiculous cable fees I do today for 500 channels, 494 of which I could care less about.
I should be able to subscribe to a channel for about $4 a month and get to see everything. That's more than those channels receive from cable and satellite providers.
That way I could get the 6 channels or networks I actually want and not have to pay the ridiculous cable fees I do today for 500 channels, 494 of which I could care less about.
This.