Amazon-owned Lovefilm has signed a major new deal with the BBC and ITV to provide its online streaming arm a much-needed shot full of juicy content. Read more
This week Spotify tried to reposition itself in the market by moving from being an app to an app platform in itself. It’s a change that signals the company’s intention to stick extra pegs in the ground and secure itself as a destination for music lovers. It’s done a fairly good job of that for me so far, even though secretly I’m terrified of it. Read more
That iTunes Match music streaming video we saw yesterday might not be as simple as it first seemed. While the clip from Insanely Great Mac appeared to show the iTunes cloud service streaming songs directly from Apple’s servers, AllThingsD has heard from an Apple spokesperson that things are slightly more complicated. Apple says that what looks like streaming is really the ability to listen to the song while its downloading to local storage.
Apple is keeping its cards close to its chest about precisely how the iTunes Match service will work when it launches for real in the US later this year but it seems it will feature very limited caching for songs. A music industry source told All Things D that while Apple has streaming rights, it doesn’t trust mobile networks to effectively handle on-demand streaming. That’s a little odd since Spotify seems to be doing just fine.
Out TBC | £TBC | Apple (via AllThingsD)
The FA Cup is coming to Facebook this Friday with the first ever match to be broadcast live on the social network. Don’t expect to see Premiership stars though. The game, part of the extra-preliminary FA Cup round, pits Ascot United against Wembley F.C. Still, it’ll feature the very first kick of the 2011 FA Cup.
The match will be streamed live from Ascot United’s Racecourse Ground on the Budweiser Facebook page. Kick off is at 7.45pm on Friday with coverage beginning at 7.30pm. Mike Harrison, Ascot United’s Chairman, says: “To be involved in the first game of the FA Cup this season is an honour in itself but to be part of a world first and have our match broadcast to a massive global audience is fantastic for our club.”
How many of the vast potential audience will actually log on to see the two teams slog it out is up for debate but we’ll be tuning in to support them. Check out our guide to football live streaming to find out how to watch even more matches legally on your mobile.
Out Friday | £free | Facebook
The latest Apple TV update adds the ability to stream previously purchased TV shows directly from the cloud and buy shows directly from the box. It’s brilliant news but only if you’re in the US. The Apple TV 4.3 software update only adds the new feature if you’re on the correct side of the Atlantic.
One of the biggest complaints in our Apple TV review was that so many features were US-only and it doesn’t look like that’s set to change any time soon. Of course, you can still stream TV shows you’ve grabbed from the iTunes Store from your computer using Home Sharing or AirPlay but that’s not nearly as nifty.
Click the headline and jump into the comments to share your thoughts on the Apple TV. Are you annoyed that the UK always seems to lose out on features?
Out now | £99 | Apple
