Want to watch Glee online? Then subscribe, or wait

Updated. Wait, or pay up for a subscription: That’s the choice that fans of Fox shows like Glee and Family Guy will be facing beginning next month, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The broadcaster will limit access to catch-up episodes of current shows to viewers that have subscribed to either Hulu Plus or a participating pay TV service. Paying subscribers will be able to watch these episodes the day after they air online, everyone else has to wait another week.

Cable channels like HBO and AMC have all been moving towards restricting access to online content to pay TV subscribers, a model that the industry calls TV Everywhere. However, this marks the first time that broadcast content is restricted in a similar fashion.

The Journal reports that the new restrictions will go into effect in mid-August, but many details are still unclear. The paper said that Dish Network is the only pay TV operator that already has a deal with Fox, which could mean that customers of other services could be left out until their operators sign up with Fox as well.

Also unclear is whether viewers will actually be able to authenticate their pay TV subscriptions on Hulu.com; the video site hasn’t been offering any TV Everywhere-functionality in the past, but broadcasters have been pushing for Hulu to make these kinds of restrictions available.

Update: Hulu declined to comment on the changes.

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How big data could change what you watch on TV

Los Angeles-based startup What’s Watched aggregates data from social media and mobile applications to provide media companies with a view into what shows are being watched and who’s watching them. That data can then be used to target specific demographics of users to increase ratings and grow their audiences.

In addition to publicly available data from Netflix, iTunes Twitter and Rotten Tomatoes’ Flixster app, What’s Watched incorporates data from some apps that it has built. They include social TV app ScreenTribe, Facebook for iPad app Friended and TV guide app Zap2it, which it developed in conjunction with Tribune Media Services. Using those data sets it has also built an ad platform for targeted mobile campaigns.

According to What’s Watched CEO Matt Wiggins, the real value of the data it collects is the ability to map the social graph for TV viewers, which allows it to categorize users into different clusters or “tribes” based on the way they use social media. The startup can then offer that data to broadcasters to help them understand how users interact with their shows, and which users are most influential.

“You need to target specific people to get a ratings lift,” Wiggins said on stage at the Social TV Summit in Los Angeles Wednesday. Comparing What’s Watched to Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s in Moneyball, he said that the company can help identify users that media companies can target to increase ratings. With the startup’s data in hand, broadcasters can make more efficient decisions about which groups of users to go after.

What’s Watched isn’t the only company trying to tackle this problem: New York-based media marketing firm Simulmedia also seeks to help networks boost ratings for their shows by using data sets to predict where they should advertise to drum up interest in new shows. And Bluefin Labs can help identify affinity groups between different shows, allowing media companies and marketers to know which shows are likely to have common viewers.

What’s Watched has raised a small amount of angel funding but according to Wiggins is already profitable, with about 25 employees altogether.

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Where to watch Carmageddon live online

Carmageddon is upon us! This weekend, Los Angeles will close down its 405 freeway, which is one of the main routes for Angelenos to go from north to south and anywhere in between. And if you’ve ever been stuck in L.A. traffic — even when all the freeways are open — you know that things are going to be bad when one of the most important roadways is closed. Really, really bad, thanks to a car-centric transportation system that has been on the verge of collapse for years.

Or maybe everyone will just go green and stay home, if only for a weekend? Authorities in Los Angeles have been asking celebrities like Lady Gaga, Ashton Kutcher and Kim Kardashian to tweet about the closure and get people prepared. Airlines have been offering highly discounted flights within Los Angeles, and L.A. major Antonio Villaraigosa has been encouraging people to leave their cars at home entirely. Will it work? Well, we’ll all have a chance to find out, thanks to a number of live streams:

Carmageddon has also inspired a lot of creativity on YouTube:

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Where to watch the 2011 Home Run Derby online

The 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Break is upon us, and one of the week’s premiere events will be streamed live online for the first time. For baseball fans, it doesn’t get much better than watching sluggers battle it out to see who can knock the most balls out of the park, which is why Monday’s live stream of the Home Run Derby should be one of the most popular events this year.

The contest begins at 8:00 p.m. EDT/5:00 p.m. PDT this evening, when Jose Bautista, Robinson Cano, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Matt Kemp, David Ortiz and Rickie Weeks will give their best hacks at Arizona’s Chase Field. The Derby will be broadcast live on ESPN, with commentator Chris Berman calling all the action. But for those without cable, have no fear: The contest will also be streamed online and possibly even to your Xbox 360.

The Home Run Derby will be streaming live from MLB’s Facebook page for the first time ever, as the baseball league attempts to tap social media to attract more interest in the already-popular event. In addition to the live stream on Facebook, a number of players will be live tweeting during the event, including David Ortiz (@davidortiz), Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19), Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp), Heath Bell (@HeathBell21), Gio Gonzalez (@GioGonzalez47), Hunter Pence (@HunterPence9), Brandon Phillips (@DatDudeBP), Gaby Sanchez (@GabySanchez215), Justin Upton (@RealJustinUpton), C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer), Howie Kendrick (@HKendrick47) and Joel Hanrahan (@hanrahan4457).

Those with an Xbox 360 game console may also be able to tune into the live stream as well, as the Home Run Derby will also be available on streaming service ESPN3. While not accessible through all ISPs (you can check to see if the service is available to your broadband provider here), ESPN3 can be watched through the Xbox Live service, and usually provides pretty good quality streaming video to the big screen.

For those on the go, the Derby will be available through the league’s MLB At Bat apps for Android  and iOS devices . Streams will also be on the WatchESPN app — but that’s currently only available for Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS and Brighthouse Networks subscribers.

Photo courtesy of (CC BY 2.0) Flickr user SD Dirk.

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