TV5MONDE’s French– language educational– app Network TV5MONDE recently launched an iPhone app designed for French learners around the world. Based on weekly educational broadcast programme 7 Jours sur la Planète (7 Days on Earth), a weekly news retrospective subtitled in French, the app adds to other TV5MONDE initiatives in favour of the French language such as free web–based method Apprendre & Enseigner (Learn & Teach) at www.apprendre.tv and www.enseigner.tv. The app will enable users to learn about 30 French words per week directly related to a news story through word games, spelling quizzes, anagrams etc. and then discover them in context by watching selected video news stories. Updates will be available every week from the iTunes Store with new words and new video stories of the week. The app will be available under the ‘freemium model, with a free app giving access to a limited number of exercises and a full paid version at EUR 3.99 (USD 4.99). A second app is due in the coming weeks with video contents, programme guides and trailers. Initially aimed at English speakers, the application will shortly be adding German, Spanish and Japanese to its menu languages. Users will be able to compare their scores with their friends and post their results online thanks to the social platform OpenFeint. The app has been developed by Paris–based digital agency Novedia. ——————————————————- Discovery Channel’s app around MythBusters, from Beyond International http://dsc.discovery.com/mobile/mythbustersapp.html The official Discovery Channel MythBusters app for iPhone and iPod Touch is described as “the ULTIMATE mobile fan app and will satisfy any MythBusters fan’s craving for a newer and deeper MythBusters experience… Try to bust 3 myths that you’ve seen on TV through fun gameplay, submit scores and see yourself ranked on the national leader board. Get lost in MythBusters Facebook and Twitter feeds, and post Facebook comments or tweet your scores without leaving the app. Find out what fellow fans are talking about in real time and enter the Tweet Chat room to share your thoughts on your favorite show. Watch fan favorite video clips, and see behind–the– scenes and sneak peeks.” ——————————————————- AETN International’s History branded widget AETN International reached an agreement with Samsung to provide a History branded This Day in History widget on all television sets, Blu–ray Disc players and mobile devices outside the US enabled with the Samsung Widget Engine. The This Day in History widget channel will be available on Samsung television sets in over 80 countries in Europe and Asia, while the Blu–ray Disc player will be offered in 26 countries throughout Europe. Samsung’s mobile widget service will be available in approximately 80 countries outside the US. The This Day in History widget will be available on the Samsung widget dock in My Application on the home page, and the content will be refreshed daily. This Day in History is a popular feature created for history consumer website, History.com. Daily articles are published highlighting events from history that occurred that day across a variety of genres, including General Interest, Civil War, Sports, Automotive, Literary, Crime and more. ——————————————————- BBC World News’s iPhone and iPod Touch app BBC World News has extended its BBC World News app , which allows users of the iPhone and iPod Touch to watch the channel live on their Apple devices over Wi–Fi and 3G networks, to fifteen new countries, including Australia and New Zealand. The application, which is available to download directly from the Apple iTunes Store, is now available in Australia, New Zealand, much of Eastern Europe and in sixteen other European countries and territories. The BBC World News app enables its users to access a live feed of the channel anywhere in the world, subject to network availability. In addition to widening the app’s distribution, BBC World News is also introducing a new pricing structure, based on Apple’s new in–app purchase system. This allows users to purchase the desired period of time during which they wish to watch the channel live. The channel is also hoping to extend the app to further countries and territories in the near future. The BBC World News app has been produced together with online TV specialist Livestation. ——————————————————- CNN Integrates Facebook globally CNN.com and CNNMoney.com launched site–wide integrations of Facebook Connect and new social plugins. The enhancements will incorporate multiple ways for CNN.com and CNNMoney.com users to seamlessly recommend, share or comment on the news site’s content with their friends on Facebook, as well as see when their friends have recommended, shared or commented on CNN. com content. In 2009, CNN and Facebook joined forces and enabled millions to experience the Inauguration of Barack Obama right alongside their friends directly on CNN.com. The unique collaboration set a new record for the largest live video event in Internet history. The latest chapter in CNN’s partnership with Facebook makes CNN. com and CNNMoney.com even more personalized and social, reflecting users’ activity directly on the sites through several tools, including: Global Facebook Connect authentication, Homepage Activity Feed, CNN. com profile page activity module, Recommending Story Pages, Videos, Blog Postings and iReports, Facebook Connect in NewsPulse.