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HBO GO: To Get “Far, Far Away From Your Parents”

Well, this is awkward. Lena Dunham’s crass sense of humor has sucked you into yet another episode of Girls when your parents walk in the room at the worst. possible. moment. You’re not sure what to do other than pretend they aren’t able to see or hear the explicit sex scene on the TV. And that’s when it happens; one of them makes a comment that only intensifies the awkwardness. HBO realizes that these moments occur for their viewers who live with their parents/kids and has used the elephant in the room in their new ad campaign using various HBO shows and situations. The ads won’t make these types of moments any less awkward, but they are a source for a good chuckle. HBO GO gives you the freedom to watch your favorite HBO shows anytime, anywhere – as each ad says, “far, far away from your parents.” Escape the awkwardness – get HBO today! Enjoy the “Your Body, Your Choice” ad below and catch all seven of the all-too-relatable ads here.

Netflix Price Increase

MASHABLE Here we go again! It seems as though Netflix is hoping that a “second time is the charm” approach will work as they attempt to hike up prices again. The approach is somewhat different this time though as it will only affect new customers and is an increase of one to two dollars (depending on the country) compared to the past attempt at a six dollar increase. The decision comes amongst the 4 million new members Netflix acquired in the first quarter of 2014 alone, which is more than their revenue and profit expectations had predicted. This higher-than-expected member increase bears the question if another attempt at increasing prices is a good idea considering the backlash that resulted in 2011’s attempt. Besides trying a smaller increase for only new customers this time around, other factors that may affect the way customers view Netflix’s price increase include:
  • The recent roll out of a $6.99 plan for those who watch content on only one screen and;
  • The fact that the price increase is following fellow streaming service competitor Amazon Prime’s price increase to $99 a year.
Either way, it is a chance the company is willing to take. Netflix also voiced its opinion on the potential Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger saying that Comcast is already a dominant competitor and therefore the company opposes the merger. Whether or not competitor opinions matter, a merger would definitely affect the TV industry and could possibly lead to more price hikes among TV service providers across the board (online streaming, cable and satellite). Looking for TV streaming service options from cable and satellite providers? Start here.

FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour

Coca-Cola is partnered up with FIFA to bring the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour to four U.S. cities – Washington D.C., Miami, Atlanta and Los Angeles. The U.S. will be the final leg of the tour before the trophy heads to Brazil for the games. Catch Univision’s coverage* of the FIFA World Cup and don’t miss any FIFA World Cup action! The trophy made its first U.S. appearance in Washington D.C. on Monday where it visited the U.S. State Department and the Brazilian Ambassador’s residence for special events. The second stop was in Miami on Tuesday and Wednesday and the trophy will arrive in Atlanta today before heading to L.A. for a two-day stop on Saturday and Sunday (April 19 and 20). The two-day stop in L.A. will include a FIFA World Cup fan experience complete with Brazilian-themed entertainment featuring a performance by Brazilian-American singer David Correy, photos with the trophy, cheers to the Coca-Cola “Cheering Truck” as well as a hologram experience to Brazil! The event is free, but entrance does require a ticket which are available through several regional retail promotions. The nine-month tour launched in September and is the largest and longest FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour. It is also the first ever pan-Latin America tour, with events in 39 countries across this year’s tournament host nation. The tour consists of 221 consecutive days of travel in order to visit every country that has ever won the FIFA World Cup as well as 51 countries that have never had the opportunity to host the trophy. Call today to get set up with Univision* and get all of the FIFA World Cup coverage!
*Univision’s coverage of FIFA World Cup is broadcast in Spanish.

The puck drops on the first round of the NHL playoffs this Wednesday

The puck drops on the first round of the NHL playoffs this Wednesday. Catch all the big hits and watch as these teams compete for their chance at the Stanley Cup! All times are listed in Eastern Time. Order a sports package today! Western Conference
Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars (Stars won season series 2-1)April 16                10:00 pm              at Anaheim         NBC Sports Network April 18                10:00 pm              at Anaheim         NBC Sports Network April 21                9:30 pm                at Dallas             NBC Sports Network April 23               8:00 pm                at Dallas             CNBC April 25*              10:30 pm              at Anaheim        NBC Sports Network April 27*              TBD                      at Dallas             TBD April 29*              TBD                      at Anaheim         TBD
Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild (Avalanche won season series 3-0-1)April 17                9:30 pm                at Colorado         CNBC April 19                9:30 pm                at Colorado         NBC Sports Network April 21                7:00 pm                at Minnesota        NHL Network April 24               9:30 pm                at Minnesota        CNBC April 26*              TBD                      at Colorado         TBD April 28*              TBD                      at Minnesota        TBD April 30*              TBD                      at Colorado         TBD
San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings (Kings won season series 3-1-1)April 17                10:30 pm              at San Jose          NBC Sports Network April 20               10:00 pm              at San Jose          NBC Sports Network April 22               10:00 pm              at Los Angeles      NBC Sports Network April 24               10:30 pm              at Los Angeles      NBC Sports Network April 26*              TBD                      at San Jose          TBD April 28*              TBD                      at Los Angeles      TBD April 30*              TBD                      at San Jose          TBD
St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks (Blues won season series 3-2)April 17                 8:00 pm                at St. Louis          NBC Sports Network April 19                 3:00 pm                at St. Louis          NBC April 21                 8:30 pm                at Chicago           CNBC April 23                 9:30 pm                at Chicago           NBC Sports Network April 25                 8:00 pm                at St. Louis          NBC Sports Network April 27                 3:00 pm                at Chicago           NBC April 29                 TBD                      at St. Louis          TBD
  Eastern Conference
Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings (Red Wings won season series 3-1)April 18                7:30 pm                at Boston             NBC Sports Network April 20                3:00 pm                at Boston             NBC April 22                7:30 pm                at Detroit             NBC Sports Network April 24                8:00 pm                at Detroit             NBC Sports Network April 26*              3:00 pm                at Boston             NBC April 28*              TBD                      at Detroit             TBD April 30*              TBD                      at Boston             TBD
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Penguins won season series 4-0)April 16                7:30 pm                at Pittsburgh       NBC Sports Network April 19                7:00 pm                at Pittsburgh       NBC Sports Network April 21                7:00 pm                at Columbus       NBC Sports Network April 23                7:00 pm                at Columbus       NBC Sports Network April 26*              TBD                      at Pittsburgh       TBD April 28*              TBD                      at Columbus       TBD April 30*              TBD                      at Pittsburgh       TBD
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadiens (Lightning won season series 3-0-1)April 16                 7:00 pm                at Tampa Bay                     CNBC April 18                 7:00 pm                at Tampa Bay                     CNBC April 20                 7:00 pm                at Montreal                        NBC Sports Network April 22                 7:00 pm                at Montreal                        NHL Network April 24*              7:00 pm                at Tampa Bay                     CNBC April 27*              TBD                        at Montreal                        NBC Sports Network April 29*              TBD                        at Tampa Bay                     TBD
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers (Season series was tied 2-2)April 17                 7:00 pm                at N.Y. Rangers                 CNBC April 20                 12:00 pm              at N.Y. Rangers                 NBC April 22                 8:00 pm                at Philadelphia                  CNBC April 25                 7:00 pm                at Philadelphia                  CNBC April 27*              12:00 pm              at N.Y. Rangers                 NBC April 29*              TBD                        at Philadelphia                  TBD April 30*              TBD                        at N.Y. Rangers                 TBD
*If necessary

College Friday at Connect Your Home

College Friday at Connect Your Home gave employees another reason to sport their favorite college gear – from the almost daily shout of “Go Ducks” to the weekly appearance of Hoosiers gear along with the many other symptoms of fandom our employees seem to experience on a fairly regular basis. Support for higher education is a very real part of our culture. And so with today being College Friday, Connect Your Home is beyond thrilled to take part in the event and show our support for higher education. College Friday is a part of College in Colorado’s initiative to, “promote access to, affordability of, and success in higher education for all students.” Click here for more information on College in Colorado.

2014 NFL Preseason Schedule

The 2014 NFL preseason schedule has been announced giving avid football fans plenty of time to adequately hype themselves up for the new season – as if they needed a reason to or something. The Hall of Fame game kicks off the 2014 season in Canton, Ohio on August 3rd, 8 PM EST on NBC.

Who will win the job and get on the starting roster? Catch the games below to find out!

WEEK 1
Miami at Atlanta New England at Washington
Indianapolis at New York Jets San Francisco at Baltimore
Cincinnati at Kansas City Cleveland at Detroit
Pittsburgh at New York Giants Houston at Arizona
Tampa Bay at Jacksonville Green Bay at Tennessee
Seattle at Denver Oakland at Minnesota
Dallas at San Diego Philadelphia at Chicago
Buffalo at Carolina New Orleans at St. Louis
WEEK 2
Jacksonville at Chicago | August 14, 8 PM EST on ESPN Kansas City at Carolina | August 17, 8 PM EST on FOX
Cleveland at Washington | August 18, 8 PM EST on ESPN Miami at Tampa Bay
Philadelphia at New England Minnesota at Arizona
New York Jets at Cincinnati Atlanta at Houston
New York Giants at Indianapolis Tennessee at New Orleans
Denver at San Francisco Detroit at Oakland
Buffalo at Pittsburgh San Diego at Seattle
Baltimore at Dallas Green Bay at St. Louis
WEEK 3
Oakland at Green Bay | August 22, 8 PM EST on CBS New Orleans at Indianapolis | August 23, 8 PM EST on CBS
San Diego at San Francisco | 4 PM EST on FOX Cincinnati at Arizona | August 25, 4 PM EST on NBC
Tampa Bay at Buffalo Dallas at Miami
Carolina at New England New York Giants at New York Jets
Washington at Baltimore St. Louis at Cleveland
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia Houston at Denver
Jacksonville at Detroit Tennessee at Atlanta
Minnesota at Kansas City Chicago at Seattle
WEEK 4
Detroit at Buffalo St. Louis at Miami
New England at New York Giants New York Jets at Philadelphia
Baltimore at New Orleans Indianapolis at Cincinnati
Chicago at Cleveland Carolina at Pittsburgh
San Francisco at Houston Atlanta at Jacksonville
Minnesota at Tennessee Denver at Dallas
Kansas City at Green Bay Seattle at Oakland
Arizona at San Diego Washington at Tampa Bay

Expired DISH Contract with Local Channels Disrupts Service

Updated 10:45 AM MST DISH and Hearst Television have reached a multi-year agreement and all stations have been restored. Are you experiencing disrupted TV service on some of your favorite networks? If you subscribe to DISH, a disagreement with a programming provider may be the reason. Since DISH and Hearst haven’t been able to come to an agreement in order to extend their contract, broadcasting of popular Hearst-owned networks around the country, including ABC, NBC and The CW stations will be disrupted starting today. See the below chart to see if you’re service is affected. If you’re one of the affected DISH subscribers, rest assured that DISH and Hearst are still working together to reach an agreement in order to restore service.

Local Market

Network

Station

Channel Number
Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM ABC KOAT

7
Baltimore, MD NBC WBAL

11
Albany-Schenectady-Troy PLUS NBC WNNE

31
Albany-Schenectady-Troy PLUS NBC WPTZ

5
Boston, MA ABC WCVB

5
Boston, MA ABC WMUR

9
Boston (Manchester) PLUS NBC WNNE

31
Boston (Manchester) PLUS NBC WPTZ

5
Burlington PLUS ABC WMUR

9
Burlington-Plattsburg, VT NBC WNNE

31
Burlington-Plattsburg, VT NBC WPTZ

5
Cincinnati, OH NBC WLWT

5
Des Moines-Ames, IA CBS KCCI

9
Franklin County, PA NBC WGAL

8
Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR ABC KHBS

40
Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR ABC KHOG

29
Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR The CW KHBSD

21
Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, NC NBC WXII

12
Greenville-Spartansburg-Asheville-Anderson NBC WYFF

4
Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, PA NBC WGAL

8
Honolulu, HI ABC KITV

4
Honolulu, HI Independent KITV2

7
Jackson, MS ABC WAPT

16
Kansas City, MO ABC KMBC

9
Kansas City, MO The CW KCWE

29
Louisville, KY CBS WLKY

32
Milwaukee, WI ABC WISN

12
Monterey-Salinas, CA NBC KSBW

8
Monterey-Salinas, CA ABC KSBWD

16
New Orleans, LA NBC WDSU

6
Oklahoma City, OK ABC KOCO

5
Omaha, NE ABC KETV

7
Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL NBC WESH

2
Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL The CW WKCF

18
Pittsburgh, PA ABC WTAE

4
Portland-Auburn, ME ABC WMTW

8
Portland-Auburn PLUS ABC WMUR

9
Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA NBC KCRA

3
Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA MyNetworkTV KQCA

58
Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL Independent WMOR

32
West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL ABC WPBF

25

Online Companies Find Role for Streaming in Changing Industry

It seems that while everyone else was talking about the Time Warner Cable merger with Comcast, online companies Amazon, Yahoo and Google found a role for streaming in a changing industry,  making room for themselves. In just this past week, Amazon and Google have spurred talks about their new streaming products – Amazon Fire TV and Android TV (Google will continue to sell their Chromecast device as well). Yahoo is also rumored to be looking at acquiring an online video service, News Distribution Network, in hopes of launching four online TV series. And as we’ve seen with original series from Netflix and Hulu taking over recent award shows, it looks like even big networks such as ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. all have new competition as well. Each product offers new features such as voice commands, apps, games, more memory and better processors in addition to providing streaming service. Competitors would include some of the biggest streaming companies such as Netflix, YouTube and Hulu. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the cable and satellite companies! The TV industry is proving to be a robust one despite all of the changes it may face in the near future, from mergers among top providers to brand new competitors entering the industry. These streaming devices could be a definite game changer for how you watch TV. So what do you think – would you rather stream your favorite shows rather than set a recording?

The Weather Channel And DIRECTV Reach An Agreement

The Weather Channel and DIRECTV have come to an agreement and The Weather Channel will return to DIRECTV programming tomorrow. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. However, The Weather Channel has agreed to: reduce the amount of reality programming by half on weekdays, return instant local weather and allow DIRECTV customers to stream its video programming on mobile devices. David Kenny, CEO of the Weather Company issued an apology stating, “Our apologies to DIRECTV and their customers for the disruption of our service and for initiating a public campaign.” He goes on to say that, “Our viewers deserve better than a public dispute and we pledge to reward their loyalty with exceptional programming and more weather focused news.” DIRECTV’s Chief Content Officer Dan York also made a statement, “It’s a shame these disputes are played out on a public stage, but I’m pleased that we’ve been able to work together with The Weather Channel in a way that will benefit everyone.” He also recognized that the dispute was frustrating to customers but ensures their patience will be rewarded with a “better deal and better product.”

One Package Can Protect Your Home And Identity

We all know we should have a home security system to protect the things that are most important to us and now you can also protect your identity with one, hassle-free package from LifeLock and Vivint. It is fairly obvious when someone has broken into your house and has stolen some valuable possessions, but it isn’t as obvious when someone steals your identity. Unless you check your credit score on a daily basis, identity thieves can have access to your information for months before you suspect anything. Just as it is important to have a home security system to safe guard your family and possessions, it is also important to protect your identity. It is now even easier to protect both with the recent partnership between LifeLock and Vivint. LifeLock is a leading provider of identity theft protection services and Vivint is the largest home automation service provider in North America. Put these two companies together and you can have one, hassle-free package that will put your mind at ease. Security is important and that is why Connect Your Home has teamed up with Vivint to offer the best in home security to our customers. Don’t become a victim of theft – make just one call to us today and we will set you up with home security and any other home service you may need; Set up TV, phone and internet service with just one call!