Many TV providers including Dish Network have its own mobile apps to allow customers to watch live and recorded shows while on the go. Now, to make it easier to view content on TVs without a Dish set-top box, the company’s ‘Anywhere’ app is now available for Android TV.
The FT reports that US satellite TV company Dish has made a counter-offer to the take-over bid launched last year by Japanese telecoms giant Softbank.
Dish is offering shareholders $7 in cash (versus $4.03 in Softbank’s offer), and claims that the overall offer of cash plus shares is worth 13% more than the proposed Softbank deal.
Update: AllThingsD is reporting that Softbank expects to complete the deal despite the rival bid, with Reuters suggesting that Softbank is unlikely to walk away even if forced to increase its bid.
Google released an update to the “TV & Movies” app for Google TV bringing with it a few new features including enhancements to animations and scrolling, the ability to remove channels from live TV shelves, and additional Dish Network content. The update will also now hide empty shelves by default.
Google also walked through a number of new features and improvements to the updated TV & Movies app on The Official Google TV Blog. Among the improvements is expanded information below content, and a new menu for getting additional details, star ratings, and favorites. The star ratings will provide suggestions based on your feedback, and Google outlined the streamlined channel layout.
When you add them to Favorite Channels you’ll instantly see what show is currently playing on each. Add all your favorite channels and you’ll have a one-stop personalized guide of just the channels you care about. You can also add favorite TV shows and movies to your queue so you can come back later and watch them on Netflix, Amazon, HBO GO and more.
A full list of what’s new in the update is below:
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AllThingsD is reporting that along with Amazon, Yahoo, and Dish Network, Google has made a bid for the free video streaming service Hulu. AllThingsD doesn’t provide any details quite yet, but we can imagine Google’s bid is in the range of $1.5 – $2 billion — just like the other three companies are offering. AllThingsD can’t confirm if Google has made a definitive bid, or is just offering a sum of money.
Google chariman Eric Schmidt said at a conference in Europe last month that Google isn’t ready to give up on Google TV. He cites possible Google TV downfall is due to the scarce amount of set-top boxes rather than full television sets.
The acquisition of Hulu would sure be a break through for Google TV. Currently, almost every large television network is blocking streaming to Google TV, making the content lineup almost non-existent. With Hulu and its partners, Google could open up a whole new realm of content to the service.
AllThingsD has indictated that Google has made clear to Hulu that they are ready to offer a large sum of cash for the product, and we know they’re not scared to do it. Hulu isn’t exactly sure what their stance is on selling quite yet, but we’re sure to hear more in the coming weeks.
