Monday 7 January 2013

It's the new year so it's the return of the FA Cup!


As the FA Cup lands at the third round, it is footballing folklore to expect a few cup giant killings with big names exiting unexpectedly. Right on cue, Macclesfield, Brighton and Luton all obliged and gave us exactly what we wanted.

In a repeat of their classic encounter in 1987, Tottenham squared off with Coventry however this time, the north London giants cruised to a convincing and stylish win over their inferior League One opponents.

Watch BBC Abroad


Middlesbrough progressed after defeating non-league Hastings whilst the reining Premier League champions Manchester City locked horns with Watford.

In a classic get-out-of-jail situation, Robin Van Persie saved the blushes of Manchester United, preventing defeat against a Joe Cole inspired West Ham, whilst it was an excellent start to life at Chelsea for Demba Ba starting for the first time against Southampton.

The great underdog scenarios.

Matthew Barnes Homer wrote his name into Macclesfield folklore, scoring two late goals to knock out Championship leaders Cardiff 2-1. Alan Pardew’s woes deepened as Brighton comfortably knocked his Newcastle side out 2-0, thus leaving the competition for the second successive season at the Amex Stadium. Gordie fans must be sick of facing the seagulls.


UK TV Abroad

Still in the mix by the skin of their teeth!

Girgious Karagounis rescued Fulham from a cup upset with a strike 10 minutes from time to deny Championship side Blackpool safe passage to the fourth round, to finish 1-1. In similar vein, a last gasp goal from Kieron Dyer ensured QPR lived to fight another FA Cup day as they forced a replay with West Bromich Albion. A second half ressurection from Sunderland ensured they avoided an embarrassing thrashing at the hands of Championship strugglers Bolton, ending 2-2 and Luciano Becchio’s equaliser earned Leeds a replay against fellow Championship team Birmingham at Elland Road.

Sky TV Abroad

Other memorable draws meaning a replay is required were decided between Sheffield Wednesday and Milton Keynes Dons, Southend and Brentford, Hull City and Leyton Orient plus Crystal Palace and Stoke.


So as things stand, there's still some 4th round ties to be wrapped up. Let's watch this space to see how things settle.

UK TV Online

Wednesday 2 January 2013

What's on the horizon for UK TV in 2013?

We're starting to get animated about some of the rumoured new TV shows that we have in store for the coming year. There's quite a number to consider so to save you the time, here's the pick of the bunch to whet your appetite, many of which will be coming exclusively to satellite tv so make sure you know how to get Sky asap!



From the US, we should finally expect the arrival of "Nashville", "Revolution" and "The New Normal". New UK dramas to look forward to include "Quirke" and "Mr. Selfridge". "Mad Men" starlet Elisabeth Moss's BBC project "Top of the Lake" should finally land on our screens. We should also expect to see Gillian Anderson's delayed landing of "The Thriller" which is said to be aired on BBC Two.


One to set the PVR for is Kevin Bacon's "The Following", yet another exclusive bought by BSkyB to be aired on Sky Atlantic plus NBC's version of "Hannibal" should be penned into the diary, so that we can see how well Mads Mikkelsen fills the very large shoes left by the legendary Anthony Hopkins from the movie version of the scary serial killer stories.

Of all the new shows to arrive in 2013, the one gathering the most speed, not to mention huge amounts of hype is Kevin Spacey's "House of Cards"; a show breaking all the rules and airing only on Netflix. Is this a peep into the future of television entertainment by breaking the chains of mainstream networks and jumping ship to on-demand services?

The success of the show will largely unveil whether this is just a way of testing the water or the de facto way we should expect to watch TV series' in time to come. My gut tells me that the latter of the two is the most likely upshot. TV networks don't take risks after spending several million dollars on production if they didn't have a strong indicator that the show will be a huge success using the on-demand company.

Speaking of big budgets; two new Showtime dramas to soon hit the US screens are "Masters of Sex" and "Ray Donovan" which seem to be worth exploring. It hasn't been confirmed yet if these shows will reach the UK. Again, the decision will no doubt be based largely on the ratings on the other side of the pond first off.



That's the upcoming entertainment we have to look forward to. Of course, no year could ever top 2012 when it comes to sport however, 2013 still has some great events to get enthusiastic about. Wherever you are, don't miss the second half of the Premier League season, not to mention the UEFA Champions League which has some great knock-out ties coming up that will have worldwide audiences rushing to watch Sky Sports abroad.

There's also the start of the new Formula 1 season. After receiving the award of best TV coverage, surely it's a must to ensure you can catch all the motor racing action and watch Sky F1 abroad. So if you are still stuck with terrestrial TV, maybe now's the time to treat yourself to a Sky package and enjoy all this blockbuster entertainment that 2013 has in store!