If you're keen to follow the reunited IndyCar Series, you may want to call up your cable or satellite provider and add Versus to your package. The channel has secured the rights to broadcast the series, moving the races over from ESPN.Although the lesser-known Versus reaches some 20 million fewer homes than ESPN, the network is expected to offer extended coverage, with pre- and post-race shows and the possibility of Indy-related programming in between races, as well. Meanwhile, ABC has renewed its contract with IRL officials to broadcast five races – including the Indy 500 – each season. While the deal with Versus might seem like a step backwards from ESPN, the stability of consistent and extended coverage could help put open-wheel racing in America back on the map.
General Motors is apparently serious about it's green push and will be launching a new commercial later this month to show off its environmental intentions. The spot, created by McCann-Erickson, is GM's televised Dear John letter to Big Oil that begins by saying, "We've had this great relationship for many years. We think we will both be a lot happier and healthier if we see less of each other."
That spot will be bolstered by a Chevrolet green campaign and sponsorship during the Olympics that highlights GM's coming enviro-friendly tech. While the commercial is more than a little cheeky and unrealistic, when a major automaker even pretends to say goodbye to Big Oil, on national television no less, you know that things could truly be moving on.
To subsidize the BBC's programming, UK residents are compelled to pay a TV licensing fee (this is what we also call a "tax") if they choose to watch television programs in their homes. To encourage compliance, the Beeb invented the myth of the "Television Detector" van, which supposedly contained powerful antennae that were capable of zeroing in on any house that was watching television without a license. Hell, they could even tell what show you were watching, according to the ominous TV commercial we've embedded after the jump. Anyway, the BBC's fleet of Television Detector vehicles is really more silly than sinister, and oobject, a site that puts together interesting themed gadget lists, has a gallery of TV detector trucks as they appeared through the years. We wonder if there are secret field-ops TV Detector trucks in the U.S. "Got 'em. They're watching Top Gear." Remember, while you watch the BBC, the BBC is watching you.
Mere hours after Honda's impressive skydiving commercial named "Jump" aired live in Europe, the plane used in the spot crashed and claimed the lives of its pilot and a skydiver. Nine other skydivers aboard the plane, a Pilatus PC-6, were fortunately able to escape before the crash. While Honda has extended its condolences to the victims' families, the automaker was apparently in no way connected to the incident. The sky divers in Honda's commercial and the production crew had all moved on by then, but it's a little creepy to think of what would've happened if this tragedy had occurred on live television. The crash occurred in Toledo, Spain after the aircraft lost a wing, the cause of which is not yet known.
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Formula 1 will hit the BBC air waves in 2009 after a long run on ITV. The move will require new figureheads to sit at the desk, and London's Times has said that Top Gear's Richard Hammond is the top man for the job. Economics at least partially drove ITV's decision to withdraw from F1 coverage. The coverage is expensive, so making money is challenging, even with newly rising star Lewis Hamilton making F1 more interesting for UK viewers.
Hammond's presence might help broaden the appeal beyond just racing fans, as would guest appearances by Jeremy Clarkson and James May, Hammond's cohorts on Top Gear. Letting Clarkson and May prowl the paddock could offer priceless moments of color commentary that would set YouTube alight. The BBC also plans to update the look, feel and pace of its coverage, and fans will be able to get at the presentation more easily with races going out across broadband digital outlets in addition to the standard radio and television.
The Aquabats, whose members hail from "the distant island of Aquabania," is a SoCal band that has recently turned its talents to television. Having recently filmed a pilot, the band is unloading the RV to help pay for costs. The 1975 Winnebago -- looking like a lately resurrected extra from the original Batman series -- has been extensively modified for modern-day superhero duty.
Mods: a third axle was installed "to support this battle ready vehicle for turbo speeds and the use of rocket thrusters." A glass, rooftop dome allows 360-degree visibility of bad guys. The split door hatch on the driver's side is for "motorcycles or personal hovercraft." And the giant AquaSpoiler keeps the battle tank on the ground when it's doing rocket-propelled speeds. Step aside, KITT. It can all be yours for $10,000. But as the ad states, "disco ball and .60-caliber ammunition not included." Neither, we assume, is rocket fuel. Thanks for the tip, Joseph!
