Bits Blog: Daily Report: Intel Aims to Remake the TV Landscape

Intel’s ambition to sell a bundle of television channels to subscribers over the Internet is running up against stiff resistance from cable and satellite companies, Brian Stelter reports in The New York Times.

The incumbent distributors are pressing owners of cable channels, with whom they have lucrative long-term contracts, not to sign contracts with upstarts like Intel.

But Intel’s executives intend to turn on its TV service by the end of the year. They are ready to pay more than existing distributors do for channels, though they have yet to announce any deals.

Prospective services like Intel TV, delivered over broadband services provided by the likes of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, have the potential to radically alter the media marketplace. Unlike Netflix, which sells a library of TV episodes and mainly supplements cable, a service like Intel’s — with dozens of channels, big and small, streaming through a modern interface — could cause more consumers to cancel their cable subscriptions.

And if Intel’s service ever goes on sale, industry executives predict that others will quickly follow.

Half-Life Remake Black Mesa Available Now

As announced earlier this month, the first part of fan-made Half Life remake Black Mesa is available for free starting today. The game can be downloaded through Black Mesa’s official site and allows players to play through the game up to Lambda Core. Black Mesa a total conversion of Half-Life 2, rebuilding Half-Life from the ground up in Source.

The game can be played by anyone who downloads Valve’s free Source SDK, and a full list of system requirements is available on Black Mesa’s site. Black Mesa will also be distributed via Steam in the future as part of Valve’s Stream Greenlight program.

Look out for impressions of Black Mesa later today on IGN.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.