Live - TV
Naked News Reporters?
In 1995, journalist and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, and Kelvin MacKenzie,
former editor of The Sun newspaper. Launched LIVE TV. The UK channel featured a
program called TOPLESS DARTS. The premise was simple. Hire models to play darts
in the nude (for £50 per day) and record the event to air on the telly. Variations
on the theme appeared in such shows as "Election Night Topless Darts," "Topless Darts
on the Farm," "Topless Darts in Space", "Topless Darts in the Past", and "Topless Darts
at the Ballet." Eventually the channel shut down in 1999. Pocket Books published
Live TV! - Telly Brats and Topless Darts - The Uncut Story of Tabloid TV (1999).
The channel made a comeback in the summer of 2003.
Nude darts and the news bunny.
-------------------------------
Producer Mr. Mike, lost of late in his new discovery, the Internet, uncovered this gem
from The Electronic Telegraph in London. A new cable channel there has already had to
reassign one of their newscasters who protested the network's latest innovation:
The News Bunny.
News Bunny stands next to the newscasters on "Live TV" and, according to the Telegraph,
"yawns, claps, bows his head in sorrow or shakes his ears in disbelief according to his
feelings on the subject of each story." This same channel, incidentally, already carries
"Topless Darts" five nights a week and the Telegraph says nude synchronized swimming
is on the way.
There was a countdown of 50 wince-inducing TV programs, including the BBC soap
Triangle, jaw-dropping game shows like Naked Jungle and Carnal Knowledge, and topless
Darts on British cable station Live TV.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naked News flashes onto European mobile phones
By John Oates
Published Friday 22nd October 2004 14:39 GMT
For any Register readers still pining for the visual delights provided by Live TV! -
particularly the stripping news and weathergirls - with darts in hand.
Canadian company Naked News is bringing its unrivalled coverage to European mobile
phones. That's right naked ladies, no fellas yet, in the palm of your hand.
The firm is not doing content in every European language, in which the BBC seems to
start all of the new material in the UK. The programming is customized, offering "
a program for the broader European audience" - which sounds a bit rude taken out of
context.
David Warga, executive producer at Naked News, said: "Naked News is the most successful
cross-over from the Internet to television ever... We will begin with daily segments in
the areas of News, Sports, Entertainment and possibly Weather. When North America is
ready, we will produce similar content for that cell phone audience."
News Girls with Big Ben
which is one of London's best-known landmarks.
Naked News launched in 1999 and claims a potential weekly television audience of 34m
in the US. It is available in 1.4m hotel rooms in North America, Caribbean and Europe.
Live TV! was a short-lived UK cable channel famous for stripping news readers, a dwarf
on a trampoline doing the weather and topless darts. Register staff remained fully
clothed during the making of this report.
1999 was truly a monumental year, with ntl (as it was now known), buying Cable and
Wireless' UK cable operations - which now contained digital TV capability in some
franchises. There had been much speculation that either ntl or Telewest - by now the
big players in the cable industry after most of the consolidation had been done. The
general consensus was that there was room only for two big operators to rival Sky -
and that it wouldn't be long before ntl and Telewest leapt into bed. That has yet to
happen.
November of that year also saw Telewest launch its "Active Digital" service. Also in
1999, Telewest gained full control of Cable London after ntl sold its 50% stake in that
operator. It wasn't until May of 2000 that ntl started rolling out "digitalplus" in some
of its franchises, and all cable operators took a substantial length of time to upgrade
the old legacy cable systems to support digital service. Even today, some franchises
aren't yet capable of providing digital service.
The development of interactive cable TV, utilizing the return path of the new broadband
systems, is still ongoing. ntl and Telewest both provided access to a "walled garden" of
adapted-for-TV websites after launching their digital services, although again rolling
this out across their myriad of franchises - bearing in mind that the corporate
consolidation took place much faster than did the actual network consolidation - proved
to be a "long haul" task. It is only recently that "enhanced" interactivity synchronized
with a live TV program has come online, with Telewest being the first to roll this out
to their customers. ntl followed afterwards, and is still rolling this capability out
network-wide.
Mobile Television:
Canada's Rogers Communications has unveiled the full slate of channels available on
the Rogers Mobile Television platform. Effective immediately, customers who purchase
Rogers Mobile Television will have real-time access to live television programming.
The full line up of available channels is: CBC Newsworld; RDI; The Weather Network;
MétéoMédia; MSNBC; CNBC; Sportsnet Blue Jays; G4 Tech TV; The Shopping Channel; Fox
News; BBC World; and Indie Video on Demand.
"Rogers has both the largest cable company and the largest wireless carrier in Canada.
This gives us a unique ability to combine the innovation of our wireless group with our
cable company's expertise in providing customers with the programming that matters to
them," said Philip B. Lind, Vice Chair, Rogers Communications Inc.
"Rogers Mobile Television provides live TV on wireless phones and gives our customers
the opportunity to watch what they want, when they want, and where they want," said
Upinder Saini, Vice President, New Services and Content Development, Rogers Wireless
Inc.
Sunday 7th January 2001
A Surprise double top - darts' first ever streaker - dazzled fans.
Title holder Ted Hankey's 3-0 romp against Shaun Greatbatch was held up by a naked
blonde running on at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green and waving her arms.
As she was escorted from the premises, the streaker was given a standing ovation by
the audience, many of whom broke out into a chorus of 'Who Let The Dogs Out', a popular
anthem among darts followers.
History of BBC
Cable TV in the UK has its origins as far back as 1938, when towns such as Bristol
used wires to carry television signals to homes that couldn't receive transmissions
over the air. It wasn't until the '60s, however, that a more useful version of the
system came along, courtesy of Rediffusion Vision, that relayed four channels of
625-line signals from the BBC and ITA stations.
Fifty years ago, on December 2, 1953, the BBC unveiled a new symbol for its Television
Service, replacing, for most occasions, the BBC Crest that had introduced television
programming since the service had restarted in 1946. RICHARD ELEN tells how the symbol
- the first animated on-screen television identity in the world - was designed and
realized by leading graphic designer Abram Games.
Topless Dart Player Link
Election Night brings in Topless Dart Players Link
So what's next on the agenda? You guessed it, naked football, nude billiards
and topless air hockey!
Nude Air Hockey
Dartboard Irritants Link
World Dart Champion
Cabin Girl points to the dart board bullseye
Doubles Dart Finalists
A Brief History of Darts
The sport of darts began as training in the martial arts, (well, the martial art
of archery). Darts began in Medieval England. Historians surmise, because they don't
know for certain, that those teaching archery shortening some arrows and having their
students throw them at the bottom of an empty wine barrel.
The fact that the bottom of an empty wine barrel was used is a clue to how the game
developed into a pastime. It is thought that the soldiers took their shortened arrows
with them to the local drinking establishment to both exhibit their skill and have fun
at the same time. When the bottoms of wine barrels proved to be inconvenient or in
short supply, some inventive dart thrower brought in a cross-section of a moderate
sized tree.
The "board" provided rings, and when it dried out, the cracks provided further
segmentation. This cracked and dried board began to evolve into what we think of as
the current dart board.
A game as fun as darts could not be hidden from the upper classes and they soon put
their own stamp on the game. The oft married Henry VIII was reputed to enjoy the game
immensely. So much so, that he was given a beautifully ornate set by Anne Boleyn.
Mayflower Dart Throwing
The Mayflower
Like much of American History, the roots of darts in America can be traced to the
Pilgrims. These hardy colonizers were reputed to have played the game on the Mayflower
as it made its ocean crossing. It was then played avidly in America whenever leisure
time was available. darts is an indoor game played on a circular board. Darts
(like small arrow shafts) about 13 cm/5 in long are thrown at segmented targets and
score points according to their landing place.
Dart History
The game may have derived from target practice with broken arrow shafts in days when
archery was a compulsory military exercise
As the game caught on, even the nobility tried their hand: in 1530 Anne Boleyn gave
Henry VIII a set of "dartes of Biscayan fashion, richly ornamented," and even our
Pilgrim fathers are said to have played darts on the Mayflower (1620), using the
butt of a wine cask as a "board".
The game retained its military affiliations through to the establishment of the British
Empire, when soldiers' drinking clubs with their built-in dartboards stretched over the
whole of the Empire. Locals in many countries adopted the sport, but the British players
remained dominant until very recently.
The dart itself became more or less standardized as the practice of throwing "missiles"
at targets became a general pastime -- the barrel was typically a piece of wood about 4
inches long with a metal point stuck in one end and feathers on the other. An American
patented a folded-paper flight in 1898, and the all-metal barrel was patented by an
Englishman (Yorkshireman) patented an all metal barrelin 1906. Also around this time,
the numbering system on the dartboard was devised and gained acceptance.
Darts may have come from the Irish instead of the British exiled Puritan Prilgrams Link
Rules of Darts Link
Professional Dart Player
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Grand Slam Dart Magazine
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Anastasia Dobromyslova, Top 10 - She won the Belgium Open tournament
(Dart Champion of the World.)
A young Russian lady named Anastasia Dobromyslova born on September 26, 1984,
has played world number one Trina Gulliver in the World Darts Trophy and not
only beat her, but also recorded an incredible 29.88 average!
Anastasia has already won many titles as a teenager and no one was overly shocked
when she managed to beat multiple world ladies champion Trina Gulliver recently in
the opening round of the televised World arts Trophy in Holland.
It’s not just home grown youngsters who are doing the business, but also
players from countries you never imagined would turn out darts players.
It’s just the product of a very good and successful system of playing and
nurturing darts.
TITLES
Woman Russian Champion, Singles
Winner Finnish Open 2004
Trina Gulliver is number one in the world at this time.
Anastasia Dobromyslova
Brie Peters - Junior Dart Champion
Brie Peters from Australia is the Junior Dart Champion
Brie is a very talented 14-year-old from Toowoomba Queensland Austrailia
and is the sole representative from Australia in the Girl's Youth Singles Event.
Darts, what other sport allows you, while under the influence of alcohol to
hurtle dangerously sharp objects at a wall in public? This sport has been growing
increasingly popular since the dawn of Pubs. Now everyone can enjoy this inexpensive
sport at home as well as their local bar. Playing can increase hand eye coordination
considerably, this is great for kids and especially for youngsters with disabilities.
Many people play darts every day, twelve months a year on a casual and social basis.
They do not realize how advanced competitive darts is throughout the world. Bringing
this to their attention could inspire them to become competitors themselves. Increased
participation will bring in more sponsorship and more sponsorship will make it possible
for more international caliber tournaments, a benefit to the players of today and tomorrow.
Major Dart Tournaments:
THE WORLD PROFESSIONAL DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP:
Played annually since 1978 and televised by BBC TV Sport.
THE WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:
Played annually since 2001 and televised by BBC TV Sport.
THE WINMAU WORLD MASTERS MEN’S, WOMEN’S, BOYS
AND GIRLS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS:
Played annually since 1974 and televised by BBC TV Sport.
In addition:
The WDF WORLD CUP has been played every two years since 1977 and England Men have
won it 11 out of the 14 times it has been played.
The WDF EUROPE CUP has been played every two years since 1978 and England Men have
won it 11 out of the 13 times it has been played.
The WDF EUROPE CUP YOUTH has been played every year since 1995.
The BDO BRITISH INTERNATIONALS, a team event between the Home Countries of England,
Scotland and Wales has been played annually since 1979.
Other annual tournaments include:
THE SIX NATIONS CUP
THE BDO GOLD CUP
THE BDO BRITISH OPEN
THE BDO ENGLAND OPEN
THE BDO BRITISH CLASSIC
THE BDO BRITISH TEENAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE BDO YOUTH KNOCKOUT CUP
BDO/WDF players also compete in the following major televised tournaments in The
Netherlands:
THE TEMPUS INTERNATIONAL DARTS LEAGUE
THE BAVARIA WORLD DARTS TROPHY
THE DOELAND GRAND MASTERS
The annual BDO Grand Slam Title comprises the major British and Dutch televised
events annually:
THE LAKESIDE WORLD PROFESSIONAL
THE TEMPUS INTERNATIONAL DARTS LEAGUE
THE BAVARIA WORLD DARTS TROPHY
THE WINMAU WORLD MASTERS
Drunks Double.
Throwing at the dartboard
Like a bluddy dill!
I missed the flaming backing board
And hit the windowsill . . .
It skidded out the window
and landed in a tree,
now I've only got two darts
to peg this double 3 !!
So sharpen your darts and give it a try, you just may have a knack for
hitting the bullseye!