The planned Obsidian/THQ video game South Park: The Stick of Truth has been delayed by its publishers, and is now scheduled to release in ‘early 2013′. Set to be the first licenced South Park console game with full and direct input from the animated comedy’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, it seems as though they are following through on their previous plans to delay the release if they feel it is necessary.

Announced in the THQ annual earnings report, South Park: The Stick of Truth (which was recently revealed by Xbox Marketplace as the game’s title) is now set for release at some point during the ‘fourth quarter’ of the company’s ‘fiscal year 2012-13′. However, the report also noted that the game is now due to also be released on PC as an additional third platform to the already-confirmed consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The ‘fourth quarter’ for THQ is for what would generally be described as ‘Q1′ in most cases, meaning that a release for The Stick of Truth in the first three months of 2013 (1 January-31 March) is now the period in which fans can anticipate a release of the role-playing game, as opposed to the now-unlikely previous plans of ‘late 2012′.

Written and voiced primarily by Parker & Stone, the game is due to feature an appearance and style which makes it seem as though the player is ‘playing an episode’ of the show, with the storyline expected to incorporate a number of well-known one-off and recurring characters from the past, as well as the most popular and background characters from the present.

THQ vice-president Danny Bilson had recently said of how they ‘couldn’t afford’ to mess up on the project’s release date by bringing it to shelves too soon: ”Matt and Trey won’t ship until it’s their vision of this ultimate role playing game, where you’re the new kid in town and it’s like being in a South Park episode.”

The Stick of Truth has been hit by a number of difficult obstacles since being announced in late 2011 (including a number of project staff being made redundant at development company Obsidian Entertainment), and while it seems unlikely that it will now be a direct challenge to the planned new Family Guy game from Activision, the longer window of development time increases the likelihood of a licenced content video game being a match in quality to more original game counterparts. Will South Park (eventually) be one of the few brands to buck the trend?

Arguably America’s biggest names in their respective fields, sports broadcaster ESPN have reportedly been in talks with technology giant Apple over an official app on the latter’s range of TV products, including the future planned ‘iPanel’.

With the rumoured deal currently set to just encompass the ‘Apple TV’ set-top box, the talks seem to lean more towards the present, as the Disney-owned sports broadcaster look to enhance their platform reach, while Apple look set for more sports content available on their service, should the proposed partnership go ahead.

The service would probably be similar in structure to the ‘WatchESPN‘ iPad app (pictured) or their recent arrangement with Comcast, offering a range of select live content, highlights, and interactive features, with the platform available to subscribers of the sports network.

ESPN marketing executive Sean Bratches said of the Apple TV rumours: “We’re a platform-agnostic content company. To the extent that in the future there’s an opportunity with Apple to authenticate through the pay-TV food chain as we’re doing with Microsoft, that’s something that we will participate in.”

However, this is a rumour that is being denied on both sides, as representatives of Apple declined to comment, while ESPN spokesperson Amy Phillips later stated: “We’re not having conversations with Apple about authenticating WatchESPN.”

The main sports coverage currently available on ESPN are officially-licenced ones from three of the country’s major professional sports leagues (NBA, MLB, and NHL), all of which require a stand-alone annual subscription to watch, meaning that a deal with ESPN (similar to the ones in place on the iPad and iPhone) would give Apple TV their first app that could provide more widely-accessible sporting content. Is this a partnership set to happen, or is the supposed denial strategy from either side a genuine dismissal of the plans?

Following on from the wave of the current $1b box-office earnings of Marvel superhero film The Avengers, ABC network president Paul Lee took the time to confirm that one of the film’s best-known characters, The Incredible Hulk, is still on course for a scripted series, a plan first made by the network in 2010.

ABC, which like comic book/film producers Marvel are owned by Disney, seem to have delayed the series from their original estimate, but believe that late 2013 will be when the big green man arrives on the small screen, although details of the format and the plot are currently undetermined.

Paul Lee (who’s namesake Stan Lee was a co-creator of the character in 1962) said of the plans: “The Hulk is in development. It wasn’t going to be ready for this season (2012), but we hope it will be ready for next season. We would like to see some Marvel projects move to television.”

He added of the prospects of other Marvel series (based on some of the other featured characters in The Avengers), and of the status of other proposed Marvel project AKA Jessica Jones: “We’ve got some in development, but none that I can talk about at this point. Of course, we’re immensely proud to be in a company with The Avengers and… we’re going to continue to develop aggressively. We did not pick it [AKA Jessica Jones] up for this season and have another development which is further at the front of the queue.”

When the project does get going, it is expected to be produced by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica), but will their plans face further delays, or is the Hulk finally set to be coming to ABC’s screens next year?

The BBC have announced the introduction of their BBC Sport ‘app’ to users on new platforms, with an arrangement with Sony ensuring that users of the PlayStation 3 games console and the Sony Bravia smart TV set are covered.

Launching in time for the BBC’s coverage of June’s annual Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, the app will provide featured highlights from events covered by the broadcaster, starting with the inclusion of Wimbledon, Formula One, and the 2012 Olympic Games (which on its own will provide over 2,500 hours of content) this summer.

Live coverage will also be expected to feature, as streams of highlights are set to be aired in HD with an interactive range of camera angles. As would be deemed almost compulsory for a BBC service in its home region, access to the content will be free to download, with the exact launchdate of the app unconfirmed, but guaranteed to be before the beginning of Wimbledon on 25 June.

Sony representative Edd Uzzell said of the planned integration of the BBC Sport app to their systems: “Televised sport is one of the biggest rating wins for broadcasters. This truly is a killer app and will provide a substantial amount of additional sporting content that you can’t get through the current broadcasting model. We strongly believe this will kick-start more widespread usage of the connected television offering, providing sport fans using the app with in-depth big-screen coverage of their favourite events. The app will also have extensive penetration in the UK thanks to its availability on PlayStation 3.”

Having initially launched for connected TV system Virgin-TiVo last month, the BBC Sport app is expanding to new frontiers, so will connected app form be the format in which users can see a fully-dedicated ‘BBC Sport’ channel?

Choosing to launch at a four-day ‘Internet Week New York’ event in New York City (USA), South Korean electronics company LG (through their American subdivision LG Electronics USA) have unveiled the concept of their much-anticipated new ’Google TV’ sets, confirming the physical result of their project partnership with the search engine provider in creating the basis of a smart TV set for them.

Known as the ‘G2 series’ of Google TV, the deal will see the product (which will be on display at the Internet Week New York for its duration between 14-17 May) aim to combine an LG L9 dual-core operating system alongside ’the power of Google services’ in order to offer a ’next-generation Google TV experience’.

Features set to be included are ‘ultra-fast processing speeds’ for graphics, fast uploading speed for connections and online features, integrated apps such as Google Chrome, Google Play Store, and YouTube, as well as non-Google related brands featured amongst the online services.

The L9 operating system is also thought to be a key source of supporting a fairly unique Google introduction of a QWERTY keyboard being sold as an additional control device, with the ‘traditional’ remote including motion-sensor and ‘wheel’ scrolling features, as well as voice-recognition, so there is unlikely to be any excuse for not being able to control the new product.

LG’s CEO and president Havis Kwon said of the product being revealed: “LG is excited to work with Google to bring Google services to TVs, making it easier for consumers to access a growing amount of content on the big screen. This all-new TV series reflects our work as a company to deliver the latest technologies to consumers so that they have an immersive and interactive home entertainment experience.”

User menus also have customisation ablilities to further the ‘ease of use’ experience, while like most new LG-branded TV sets, battery-free 3D mode is also a feature (under the ‘LG Cinema 3D‘ technology) that will add to the number of selling points of the product. Being sold later this month (initially online-only) in 47-inch ($1,699.99)  and 55-inch ($2,299.99 ) formats, the LG-backed Google TV will begin life on shelves with a very promising outline, but will the G2 perform as well with sales statistics?

After another lengthy period of speculation, Fox singing contest The X Factor have announced their judging line-up for season two, choosing the Fox Upfronts event in New York City (USA) to officially reveal their replacements for outgoing female judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul.

As had long been predicted by the media, it is popstar Britney Spears who has taken up one of the seats, believed to have signed a $15m deal to appear for one season with the returning Simon Cowell and LA Reid.

On the panel, she will be also be joined by 19-year-old former Disney Channel star Demi Lovato (another candidate long-tipped to take her place behind the table), who said: “I’m so thrilled to join this legendary group of judges. To be able to spend each week with Simon, LA and Britney watching the best that America has to offer is truly a dream come true.”

Simon Cowell said of the additions commented: “I’m absolutely delighted Britney and Demi are joining us. Britney remains one of the biggest stars in the world, she’s talented, fascinating – and I believe she knows exactly how to spot The X Factor. Demi’s had an amazing career in music, TV and film for someone her age. She’s young, confident, and enthusiastic. I think it’s really important that she speaks to our younger audience. The new panel will be dynamic and will work really well with the changes we are making to the show.”

Fox ‘president of alternative entertainment’ Mike Darnell added: “Britney is an unparalleled superstar. Her success in the music industry over the last two decades makes her a perfect fit for The X Factor judging panel. Demi has mass appeal and is beloved by her fans around the world. We are incredibly lucky to have them on board and we know they will bring so much excitement to the judging table for season two!”

Britney, who seemed to spoil the surprise for her Twitter followers by posting a picture of the new panel minutes before they were announced, stated at the reveal event: “I couldn’t be more excited to join The X Factor judging panel. I’m a huge fan of the show and now I get to be a part of the action. Simon and LA better watch out!”

The revised panel will have a bit more breathing space than the hectic contract-signing of last year, and while a new presenter still needs to be found to replace Welshman Steve Jones, the series, which will premiere its second season later this year, can move on with the filmed audition stage (taking place between late May-early July across five cities (Austin, Kansas City, San Francisco, Providence, and Greensboro)), knowing that most of their high-profile planning work is already done. Will the new judges manage to bring in higher ratings for Fox?