entertainment

CBS today announced that it has launched a new, free app for the iPhone and iPad that allows for full-episode streaming to Apple's mobile devices.

The app provides access to full-length episodes of CBS' top shows, including "NCIS," "The Good Wife," and "How I Met Your Mother." The latest episodes of daytime and late-night programming will show up within 24 hours after airing. Prime-time programs will hit the app eight days after their initial broadcast.

For now, the apps are available to iPhone and iPad owners. CBS, which owns CBS Interactive, the company … Read more

Indie movie makers Adam Hamdy and Shaun Magher are bringing a full-feature comedy film to the Xbox Live -- exclusively.

The film, "Pulp," premiered today on Xbox Live. The comedy follows Tony Leary, a "nice-guy owner of Junk Comics," who assists police to help them bring to justice a gang of "Geordie criminals" who want to use another comic company to launder money. Leary is joined "by his trusty geek sidekicks," Rick and Keith.

Although "Pulp" might be a good movie in its own right, the big story behind the film is that it is premiering on Xbox Live. Although a slew of movies are available on Microsoft's service, none has shown first there -- until now.… Read more

No one can play Audrey Hepburn as well as Audrey Hepburn.

Through the magic of computer-generated imagery, the Galaxy chocolate company -- known as Dove outside the U.K. and Ireland -- has brought the deceased movie star back to life for a lovely one-minute commercial by ad agency AMV BBDO and visual-effects company Framestore. … Read more

People just can't seem to get enough of flesh-eating zombies (or maybe it's the other way around). These days, the fantasy of a modern society fighting off zombies appears in nearly every medium of visual entertainment. Michigan-based artist Matt Busch takes this concept to a whole new level in his Hollywood is Dead series of classic movie posters featuring an undead twist.

How did it all begin? Four years ago, Lucasfilm asked Busch to create six versions of the classic "Star Wars" posters with a little zombie flair. "While they [Lucasfilm] spawned the initial idea, the real joy for me that keeps me doing them is my love for movie posters," Busch told Crave. "I'm such a fan of the classic artists like Drew Struzan and Bob Peak. So to be able to study their work up close is a lot of fun for me. And then, yeah, ripping it to a bloody mess by giving it the zombie treatment is a guilty pleasure, too."… Read more

People living around New York City now have access to Aereo's cloud-based television service, the company announced today.

Although Aereo was previously only available in New York's five boroughs, the company has expanded (PDF) its offering to people living in the city's metropolitan area. The region, commonly known as the designated market area, includes 29 counties in New York state, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. According to Aereo, that expansion has brought its total market size to 19 million people.

Aereo is a cloud-based television service that allows users to sign up and access shows across a … Read more

Sony has inked a deal with Blizzard Entertainment -- maker of World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo -- to bring the last of those titles onto the PlayStation platform.

The two companies today announced a strategic partnership that will bring dungeon crawler Diablo 3 to both Sony's PlayStation 3 and the upcoming PlayStation 4.

On-stage in New York during the PS4's unveiling today, Chris Metzen, Blizzard's senior vice president of story and franchise development said the company already had Diablo 3 running on the PS3 and that it was "amazing," though he did not give … Read more

People flying on Southwest Airlines can now watch on-demand movies and TV on their tablets, smartphones, and laptops via the planes' Wi-Fi.

The airline announced today that it's boosting its in-flight entertainment to include new movie and television packages. This feature is available on all Wi-Fi-equipped aircrafts, which is about 75 percent of the Southwest's fleet.

"Providing a comprehensive and robust in-flight connectivity system for our customers is paramount," Southwest Airlines' senior vice president of business development Dave Ridley said in a statement.

Southwest now boasts eight channels of live television, which customers can stream directly … Read more

Royal Philips Electronics has signed a deal to sell its consumer-oriented lifestyle entertainment division to Funai Electric.

According to Philips' announcement today, Funai is paying 150 million euros ($202 million) for the division, which includes audio, visual, multimedia, and accessories. Funai will also license the Philips brand for five-and-a-half years.

Philips' lifestyle entertainment division is made up of a wide range of consumer products, including the company's home speakers, DVD players, and headphones. Although those products will still be available with Philips branding, Osaka, Japan-based Funai will be developing them.

According to Philips CEO Frans van Houten, the move … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Nearly three years after the formation of Sony Network Entertainment, the company still struggles to capture consumer attention with its Music Unlimited media-streaming service, but things look better than ever for the PlayStation Store.

Sony Network Entertainment COO Shawn Layden remains upbeat despite his company living in the shadow of Pandora, Xbox Live, and other competitors. In a conversation with CNET, Layden relayed the primary goals for Sony's entertainment services: bring content to more regions, expand the number of compatible devices, and design a common user interface across device categories.… Read more