We're not sure who is in charge of marketing over at Discovery Communications, but no sooner did the company go public than two fairly substantial promotional deals were announced. Right behind the tie-up with Sony comes this, a content partnership with the worldwide leader in online video. The deal will see the creation of nine dedicated YouTube Channels which feature a "robust collection of clips from Discovery's family of world-class network brands." Leveraging the "global" nature of the source, Discovery is planning to introduce "a series of targeted international Channels showcasing localized and native language content for specific regions around the world." Check out all nine URLs in the read link.

The holiday push for Blu-ray is officially on. We've got name-brand players dipping below $200, and now we've got two mega-corps teaming up to promote the format this fall. Sony and Discovery Commerce, the consumer products arm of Discovery Communications, have inked a deal which will provide Sony Blu-ray deck buyers with a "gift-with-purchase coupon redeemable for an exclusive high-definition program sampler, Discovery on Blu-ray Disc, which features episodes from Fearless Planet and Sunrise Earth. The fortnight-long promo will launch on October 5th at over 11,000 retailers in the US, though there's no word on if a better, actually desirable promotion will follow after that.

It looks as if the days of Time Warner Cable resting on its laurels while laughing all the way to the bank are coming to end, particularly in NYC. Although Chief Operating Officer Landel Hobbs was quoted as saying that TWC was "effectively positioned in Manhattan" while "[Verizon] was just getting started," we'd say it has plenty to fear. The outfit is expected to ramp up marketing in order to push its services over those offered by competing telcos and satcasters, though without a significant boost in HD options in a significant number of markets, we can't see the spots really making much of an impact. Additionally, said exec said that the firm plans to roll out DOCSIS 3.0 "surgically" in order to compete in FiOS areas, and given that this is the company who is actually mulling consumption-based internet billing, we don't find its hesitation to go full-bore shocking in the least. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

Lookee here, our first sight at what Pioneer's bringing to CEDIA. For the audio crowd, it's unveiling a mind-boggling 16 new speaker models including four floorstanding subwoofers. The new line of "dynamic architectural loudspeakers (pictured after the jump) come in three different performance levels – Elite EX Series, Pioneer CST and plain ole Pioneer. As you can likely imagine, we don't have the luxury of space here to cover the sweet sixteen, but everything is laid out nicely in the link below. In somewhat related news, the outfit has also announced a new KURO brand campaign that "embodies transformation." We'll spare you the marketing hoopla, but there's a nice link down there should you want to dive in.

Read - 16 new speaker models
Read - New KURO campaign

Verizon's latest push to get you to switch from your current carrier revolves directly around high-def, as it's offering new customers a HD DVR or HD Home Media DVR for a full year should they sign up before October 4th. According to Shawn Strickland, vice president of video solutions for Verizon, FiOS TV is "delivered over the network that's built for HD," and it's doing its best to ensure that everyone out there knows it. So, do any of you other providers care to match this, or will the leapfrog game end here?

[Image courtesy of PCMag]

While we fortunate Americans have been renting Blu-ray Discs from Blockbuster for a good while now, citizens of Taiwan haven't had the same privilege. Thankfully, all that's getting set to change, as the rental chain has committed to offering up 50 BD titles in each Taiwanese location before the end of this month. A new partnership between it and Samsung will also place Sammy's BD players (the BD-P1500, in particular) in-store for patrons to experience the 1080p difference, and it's said that Samsung manager Li Je-rong believes that "with strong channel assistance from Blockbuster and Tsann Kuen, consumers will become more familiar with Blu-ray." As for pricing, expect to pay NT$150 ($4.93) for each Blu-ray movie versus NT$100 ($3.29) for traditional DVDs.

Maybe we're just sticklers for getting things right, but the "outcome" of this fiasco still isn't sitting well with us. If you'll recall, earlier this month Charter failed to deliver a 65-inch HDTV to a contest winner, and instead, it shipped a box large enough for a 19-inch TV (which the recipient refused). After being pelted with angry cries from the media, the carrier finally bit the bullet and sent over a 42-inch HDTV alongside a 19-incher (which was probably the same one originally refused). The family seems fairly content with the resolution, but the man is still owed a 65-inch HDTV in our eyes. Oh, and if you couldn't guess, a company employee told the winner that all of this spawned from a simple "miscommunication at the office." Uh, you think that's a bit of an understatement, or what?

[Image courtesy of ZMETravel]

Sony's been pretty big on its HDNA marketing scheme. Even at last year's CEDIA the message was everywhere, asserting that its home theater gear shared some sort of double-helix bond with the root of all high-definition. Now, the outfit is pulling its HD-equipped VAIO machines under the same marketing umbrella in an attempt to convince prospective buyers that these systems are "born out of" other high-def products. In particular, Sony will push the HD OTA tuning and BD playback abilities in its all-in-one PCs and Blu-ray-equipped laptops, though we don't expect any new rigs to emerge as part of the deal. Sure, this is little more than a trivial way to tack "HD" onto yet another product, but we can't harsh too much on anything that gets high-def into the mainstream.

We're tempted to chalk this one up to miscommunication, but something just reeks of wrongdoing. As the story goes, one particular winner of a Charter Father's Day contest was promised a 65-inch HDTV as well as free Charter services for an entire year. The only requirement was to pay sales tax on the winnings -- fair enough, right? After receiving a phone call and email confirmation from the carrier, the winning dad sat down with his jubilant daughter and unsuccessfully tried to fax in his W-9. Afterwards, he decided to mail it in, and after a bit of rigmarole, a Charter associate contacted him with news that it couldn't deliver the promised set; instead, it would "try" to get him a 42-incher, though a 19-inch TV was likely in his future. After a few more days of nothing, a box arrived at his door "large enough to hold a 19-inch television," which the "winner" promptly refused. Can't make this stuff up, folks.

[Image courtesy of ZMETravel]

Not like you couldn't piece this one together yourself, but NBC Universal isn't going to let this opportunity pass it by. Just like the run-up to the SuperBowl, it's planning on using the Olympics as a campaign platform for HD. Reportedly, affiliates will be "provided with on-air, direct mail and bill stuffers to promote HDTV content sales, as well as material designed to retain current HDTV subscribers." In other words, expect to see an onslaught of ads coaxing folks into making the jump to high-def if they haven't already. Gotta love those marketing gurus, eh?

Yeah, TiVo's Blue Moon special has been alive for a few weeks now, but for those unaware, we figured it prudent to pass along the deal in case you're interested in grabbing hold. From now until June 16th, interested consumers can snatch up a TiVo HD DVR, TiVo Wireless Adapter, a lifetime of service on the unit and an incredibly amazing TiVo plush doll for $698. Yes, that's less than the original price of the Series3 alone. So there you have it -- at least you've got ample time to think it over before deciding either way.

[Thanks, Jonas]

Assembling bundles for consoles isn't something incredibly new to Sony, but on its latest selection of six PlayStation 3 starter packs, half of 'em are aimed squarely at the home theater crowd. The Fantasy, Adventure and Thriller packages all ditch extra controllers or AAA game releases to include a different Blu-ray movie, the PS3 remote and a paltry $10 savings. Given the sudden surge in attractiveness, we wouldn't be surprised one iota to see Sony continue to market the movie-playing aspects as Blu-ray awareness picks up.

[Thanks, Chris]

Way back in August of last year, Panasonic opened the gates to its Live in HD contest -- which would gift winning families with $20,000 in HD gear along with free HD service for a year -- and needless to say, the entries came flooding in. Now, the first of the victorious families are getting to enjoy the spoils, which means playing with a completely free Wii, Blu-ray player, 50-inch HDTV, camcorder, digital camera and whatever else makes up $20k worth of wares. In exchange, Panny is extracting answers about "how they use the equipment and what they like or dislike about the products so the company can make improvements." For one particular family, their newly furnished home has become quite the hang out, but we've all ideas they have absolutely no qualms with that.

We've kvetched quite heavily about the misconception that an HDTV sans HD service can turn SD content into HD, so we suppose we can't harsh on Best Buy too much for attempting to push a little high-def service onto its HDTV-buying customers. Effective immediately, the big box retailer is agreeing to pay $30 of a customer's DTV bill for three months when activating any new DirecTV service, six months when adding HD Access and buying an HDTV under $999, or a full year if adding HD Access and purchasing an HDTV $999 or higher. Unfortunately, the deal is set to expire on June 24th, so those even remotely interested don't have too awfully long to hem and haw.

[Image courtesy of Divaris]

If you thought partnering up with the always vocal Michael Bay was an interesting move for Verizon, get a load of this. Apparently, the carrier has teamed up with Jordan's Furniture in order to setup FiOS TV demonstrations within a "lifestyle store" in the Reading, Massachusetts location, and in case that wasn't enough, it's already established kiosks at the Jordan's Furniture at Beantown in Reading and on Bourbon Street in Natick. Additionally, a kiosk will be headed to Jordan's Avon locale, and the company's two IMAX theaters (in Reading and Natick) will soon sport all sorts of Verizon paraphernalia thanks to the provider snapping up naming rights. C'mon Verizon, we appreciate all the hard work in New England, but seriously, there's a lot more country out there beyond the Northeast.