Disney killing free NASCAR

I was watching ESPN the other night and they were talking about the upcoming NASCAR broadcast schedule.  9 of the 10 Chase races will be moved off of the free ABC network feed to the paid ESPN channel.  They are moving several of the "regular" season races to ESPN as well. By doing this Disney can theoretically make more money on the broadcasting of the NASCAR races.  By broadcasting on ESPN those NASCAR fans that do not have cable will either miss the races or have to get cable.  ESPN makes money off of every subscriber that every cable and satellite company has. (And they charge ALOT for the right to carry ESPN)

Now this doesn't really have any affect on me since I have ESPN.  But it does go to show how much power Disney has and how major media companies can control what and how we watch television.  It would not surprise me at all to see the major media companies move all live sporting events to their cable networks over the next 5-10 years to guarantee more income from those show.

Avatar 3D in Your Home

I read some very good articles today.  What I previously thought was going to be is not.  Samsung has announced a deal with RealD to use RealD 3D in their TVs.  JVC and Sony are reportedly working on deals with RealD as well.  This is a very good thing.  Why?  RealD uses a passive 3D technology.  By Sony, Samsung and JVC using it in their TVs it will mean lower priced glasses for us to use in our homes.  The RealD glasses used in the theater are rumored to cost in the area of $0.65.  We will probably end up paying $20-30 for them but that is still cheaper than the $100 active technology glasses used by other 3D companies.  

The second bit of 3D news today is that ESPN and Discovery Channel both announced 3D channels in the works.  ESPN will launch by this summer.  Scheduled for transmission - 2010 World Cup Soccer and the 2011 BCS National Championship game.  I can't wait to see what Discovery is going to come up with.  Their Planet Earth series in HD was amazing.  Anything is 3D by them should be just mindblowing.