A divided nation, a ghastly toll in human life. Maybe a Gettysburg recreation app is fitting for the age of COVID-19. 

QuantumERA said it will make its educational mixed-reality mobile app free for a "limited time." 

Narrated by Scott Eastwood (The Fate of the Furious, Overdrive, Pacific Rim: Uprising), the app recreates the battle with 360 views, avatars of participants, and artifact scavenger hunt for those shelter-at-home adventurers. 

That includes Abraham Lincoln reading the Gettysburg Address from in front of a modern monument on the battlefield. 

"The world we live in has changed so dramatically in a matter of weeks," said QuantumERA CEO Lane Traylor. "The QuantumERA team wanted to help by waiving fees to help children learn and also escape for a while. We also want to support the millions of teachers and parents who are undertaking multiple roles, easing some of the stress that comes with navigating their new norms. 

Free downloads of the app, Gettysburg: A Nation Divided, are available in The App Store.

About a month after announcing plans to offer two direct-to-consumer offerings tied to its ESPN and Disney brands, Walt Disney Co. chairman and CEO Robert Iger offered more details on the products, including the inclusion of its Star Wars and Marvel films in the Disney-branded app, slated for a late 2019 release.

Disney announced plans for the DTC offering in early August. The content giant plans to launch a direct-to-consumer ESPN app in spring 2018 and a Disney app in late 2019. When it was first unveiled, Disney said the ESPN offering would include about 10,000 games, including contests from Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and colleges that are not currently aired on its ESPN linear channels. The Disney app would include content not shown on its linear Disney Channel, but will have archive movies that are currently part of its output deal with Netflix, which is slated to expire in 2019. http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/disney-set-launch-direct-consumer-services/414481

When it announced the DTC initiatives, Iger said it hadn’t been determined whether its Star Wars and Marvel franchises would be included in the app. Now they will, in addition to other original content.

“We’ve now decided to put the Marvel and Star Wars movies on this app as well,” Iger said at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch media conference in Los Angeles Thursday. “It will have the entire output of the studio – animation, live action and Disney, including Pixar, Star Wars and all the Marvel films. In addition to that we have been spending a fair amount of time developing original content on the movie side for the app. The studio is already dev and will produce four-to-five original films exclusively for the app, primarily live-action.”

He added that its studio library product will be available, about 400-to-500 films, and on the TV side it will create 4-to-5 Disney branded TV series and 3-to-4 TV movies for the app. Television library content also will be available.    

Pricing for either app hasn’t been released yet, but the Disney chief said it could be announced for the ESPN app by the first of the year.

Iger, said he envisions the direct-to-consumer products to offer content much like Apple’s ITunes music service to offer a customized experience.

“Think of what ITunes is,” Iger said. “Where you will be able to go to the platform and actually buy, almost  on an a la carte basis, a sport, a sporting event, a season, a league, maybe a conference as a for instance. You'll be able to pick and choose over time what it is you want, it won't necessarily be a one-size fits all. We may launch it that way, but the goal eventually is to create something that a sports fan can essentially use to design what their sport media experience can be.”

Iger also addressed ESPN’s slipping subscriber base, adding that while there has been some decline, he still believes the network and other Disney properties will negotiate from a position of strength in upcoming carriage renewals. Iger said that he is currently negotiating with one large distributor – he didn’t identify it – and said that more than 50% of its subscriber base comes up for renewal by the end of 2019.

Iger said that despite worries over declining ratings across the industry, live sports is still strong and ESPN’s rights are deep and “quite attractive.”

“As we enter a new cycle of extensions with traditional distributors, we are well positioned,” Iger said. “We intend to drive significant value in those negotiations, I think you have to look at it as a blend of distribution and price. We intend to use the strong hand that we have and the brands that we have as we negotiate these new deals.”        

Premium service Starz said it has extended chief operating officer Jeffrey Hirsch’s employment agreement with the company through December 2020.

Hirsch joined Starz in 2015 from Time Warner Cable and was named COO in 2016. In the past 18 months he helped launch Starz new streaming services and its app – which is nearing the 1-million-subscriber mark – rebranded the Starz network and repositioned the Starz Encore suite of services. In December, Apple named the Starz app one of Apple TV’s 10 Best Apps of the Year.  

"We are pleased to extend Jeff's tenure as COO of Starz, providing the company with great continuity as we continue our drive to be a powerhouse global content provider,” Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said in a statement. “In a short time at Starz, he re-energized growth at the company by rebranding the networks and launching one of the best streaming apps in the TV business, firmly securing the network’s position as the second most-subscribed to premium TV network in the U.S.* We look forward to working with him to drive revenue growth, innovation and global strategic opportunities to create long-term value for our shareholders.”

Hirsch continues to be responsible for overseeing Affiliate Sales, Marketing, Programming Operations, Network Scheduling, Content Acquisitions, Research, Starz Distribution and Technology and Product Development.

He joined Starz after more than 15 years at Time Warner Cable, starting with the former cable company in 1999 and serving in various roles, including stints in product development for TWC’s Ipad app, and as president for residential services in the cable operator’s New York, Los Angeles and Rochester, N.Y. regions. He was named EVP and Chief Marketing Officer in 2011, where he remained until leaving for Starz in 2015. Prior to TWC, Hirsch’s worked at NYNEX Corporation in product bundling and McCann-Erickson in advertising.

Spike is launching a new interactive app for its series Lip Sync Battle.

The launch coincides with the debut of the show's third season.

Spike said the app allows fans to create lip-synch videos for favorite songs and battle friends by sharing the videos via social media.

“Lip sync battling has become a cultural phenomenon with fans around the world, now seen in over 150 countries globally,” executive producers Casey Patterson and Jay Peterson said in a joint statement. "We're thrilled that our passionate fans will now be able to join in all the fun with the definitive app which replicates the unique experience of being on the show."

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Roku platform customers will now be able to stream content from premium channel Starz via its Starz App, the company said Wednesday.

Starz officially unveiled the app in April. The inclusion of Roku expands the number of available platforms for the app, also available on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets and Apple TV products and devices. The app is available to Starz subscribers on an authenticated basis as well as standalone  for $8.99 per month. Starz offers a 7-day free trial for new customers.

The app allows customer access to Starz original content like Power – which airs its Season Three premiere on July 17 – Outlander and The Girlfriend Experience as well as hundreds of movies and first-run films.

Oprah Winfrey’s cable network now has a TV Everywhere app of its OWN.

OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network today launched its Watch OWN TV Everywhere streaming service, offering authenticated viewers access to the network’s live feed as well as much of its original programing on demand, said network officials.

The Watch OWN app will include full episodes of popular network shows including Winfrey’s series Super Soul Sunday, Tyler Perry-produced hit drama and comedy series including The Haves and the Have Nots and If Loving You is Wrong, and unscripted hits like Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s and new series For Peete’s Sake.

The app will also have classic episodes from The Oprah Winfrey Show, said the network.

Watch OWN is available through iOS from iTunes App Store and through Android from the Google play store, said network officials.

While it may seem that OWN is late to the apps game, network president Erik Logan told Multichannel News that the network wanted to be diligent and take its time before releasing its TV Everywhere service. He added the network also waited until it secured online rights deals for a number of its key shows before launching the service.

He added the timing of the launch also allows viewers to play with the app before the network’s June premiere of its new drama series Greenleaf, starring Winfrey herself.

“We didn’t want to go too soon to create a bad customer experience – we wanted to wait until we got to a good place which we feel we are,” Logan said. “We also wanted to take advantage of where we were with our shows, our programming grid and our content so viewers could watch all of OWN anywhere.”

Logan said the network doesn’t have any immediate plans to eventually launch an OTT service beyond the app. “We are big believers in driving value for our cable partners, so this is a real key element for us,” he said. “We’re going to take it one step at a time.”

AMC and Next Games are introducing a mobile game based on top-rated AMC series The Walking Dead.

"The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land" is billed as a strategy game that allows player to experience the world of the zombie apocalypse guided by Daryl Dixon, the crossbow-toting character from the show played by Norman Reedus.

“'The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land' has the thrill of hand-to-hand walker combat, but players also get the opportunity to solve strategic puzzles, build their own survival refuge and develop their group,” said Mac McKean, senior VP of digital media for AMC and SundanceTV. “It’s a beautifully rendered, thoughtful and engaging mobile game, and we’re so pleased with what our partners at Next Games have created. We’re looking forward to giving fans an exciting new way to engage with the world of The Walking Dead.”

The Walking Dead returns to AMC for its sixth season on Oct. 11.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

As festival-goers gather, Turner Classic Movies has a new mobile app to serve as a digital companion for attendees of its vintage film event in Tinseltown.

Supporting the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood from March 26 through March 29, the new mobile app is available for IOS and Android devices and can be downloaded free from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The TCM Classic Film Festival app sports a new platform and enhanced features. Among the elements: dynamic, in-depth film guide and screening schedule;  Festival 101, news, and up-to-date announcements;  alerts and reminders to screening times,special events and TBAs; a customizable My Schedule feature; profiles of special guest attendees; photo galleries from the event; venue maps and Club TCM schedules.

There are also daily video recaps and the ability to follow TCM’s Facebook and Twitter posts and festival events.

The app can also be synched across multiple iOS devices, enabling users to move between their iPhone and see same information on their iPad.

“At TCM, it’s our mission to share and celebrate the entire spectrum of film history with an engaged and growing community of movie lovers,” said network general manager Jennifer Dorian.  “New technologies like our brand new festival app make it easier than ever for TCM to rally movie lovers, share films and context, socialize around movies and customize our offerings.”

While app users can enjoy the festival vicariously, those attending the event in Hollywood have other things to enjoy beyond the various screens, panels and parties.  

Throughout the weekend, TCM invites guests to visit the #HeartMovies video booth in the lobby of the Chinese Multiplex. There, they can create a personal “video memoir” discussing the moment that inspired their lifelong love of movies. After recording their special two-minute movie memory, they receive a link to the video to share with TCM and friends on social media. 

For the first time, TCM is inviting more than 20 digital and social influencers to execute self-selected  social assignments—from live tweets of red carpet happenings to "man on the street" interviews and produced "notable quotable" gifs highlighting the most interesting comments made by Festival special guests.   

These efforts are designed to capture the general festival atmosphere and specific highlights from nearly all screenings and events, and will include links to the Festival website for those who want more information on the films themselves.  

TCM is also using its sixth annual event in Tinseltown to demonstrate its robust TV Everywhere offering.

Watch TCM ambassadors will be at the Chinese Multiplex to demo the WatchTCM app—its various viewing features, deep editorial content, video and image galleries—for festival attendees waiting in queues for screenings.  

After demonstrating the app, the ambassadors will distribute beautifully collectible cards (pictured), showcasing special key art on the front and useful data and user tips for the WatchTCM app on the rear.

One World Sports is bowing its app for mobile devices.

A hybrid, Watch One World Sports, is available at no charge in the Apple and Google Play stores.

Watch One World Sports delivers live-streamed games, matches and other programming to authenticated subscribers of the global sports network's distribution affiliates, including Verizon FiOS, Dish, Charter, Cablevision, Mediacom, Google Fiber, RCN and a growing number of systems through its master agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative. The network, presenting soccer from around the globe, including the New York Cosmos, Japanese basesball, hockey, basketball and cricket, is available to some 30 million homes across the nation. 

Additionally, the app provides content to all users, regardless of whether they are subscribers, enabling them to follow the network’s sports via video highlights, updated specifically for the app throughout the day, and on-demand content from an extensive library drawing from the network’s broad portfolio of global sports. The app also offers RSS feeds of news, standings and league tables; Twitter feeds; and a program guide.  Other features include Twitter and Facebook sharing tools and navigation by sport.

“There are two undeniably growing trends among younger sports fans,” said Alexander “Sandy” Brown, One World Sports president and CEO.  “One is that they consume sports on mobile devices; the other is that they have an increasingly global viewpoint.  Watch One World Sports hits the sweet spot for any sports fan.”