According to eMarketer, Google’s YouTube is projected to take in about $1.13 billion in video-advertising revenue this year, up 39 percent from $810 million in 2013. However, the digital video advertising segment in the U.S. is expanding (YouTube’s 18.9 percent share is down from 21.2 percent last year), and YouTube is not expected to increase its market share significantly over the next three years. YouTube is also somewhat limited in its ad potential due to the amount of user-generated and short content. Continue reading Growth in Digital Video Ad Market, YouTube Maintains Lead

In a deal that will offer more options for TV viewers, Viacom announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with Sony to make 22 of its networks available through Sony’s new Internet-based television service, expected to launch later this year. The subscription service plans to offer live TV and on-demand programming via connected Sony devices, including PlayStation game consoles and smart TVs. This marks the first time Viacom networks will be made available through such a service. Continue reading Viacom Will Offer 22 Networks Via Sony’s Internet TV Service

CTIA, The Wireless Association, kicked off its Mobility Week in Las Vegas with a keynote address by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler who spoke candidly about net neutrality, competition and the upcoming spectrum auction. Wheeler, who was CEO of CTIA from 1992-2004 and has been criticized by some consumer groups for his previous alliance, made it clear that in an environment where a vast and growing majority of Internet access is via mobile that a free and open Internet is vital. Continue reading CTIA 2014: FCC Chair Talks Net Neutrality, Spectrum Auction

Israel-based Vidmind plans to unveil the second generation of its Android set-top box this week at IBC in Amsterdam. The company hopes to attract cord cutters with an offering that combines over-the-air broadcast TV with live streaming and on-demand content. Meanwhile, TiVo has announced its 24TB TiVo Mega, slated for launch early next year. For $5,000 you can record six shows at once and store up to 4,000 hours of HD programming (or 26,000 hours of SD content). It also includes free TiVo service for life. Continue reading Vidmind Debuts Next-Gen STB, TiVo Readies New 24TB DVR

Beginning next week, Fox Sports will add a fast-paced, real-time highlight show to its UEFA Champions League coverage. “Multimatch 90” will jump live, or via immediate replay, to the match-changing moments from up to eight contests throughout the group stage. The 32-team tournament is the preeminent competition for club football and represents the first opportunity for Fox to demonstrate its readiness for the 2018 World Cup, its first since outbidding ESPN for the broadcast rights. Continue reading Fox to Debut Real-Time Highlight Show for Champions League

Millennials have more smartphones than any other age group in the U.S., currently at 85 percent. Statistics show that nearly 43 percent of these users opt for iPhones while 52 percent prefer Android devices. The choice to use Android is based on cost rather than software or hardware. Millennials spend 37 hours per month on their phones, most commonly engaged with social networking, entertainment and messaging. Users 25 to 44 use the most apps, an important statistic for developers. Continue reading Millennials Represent the Largest Number of Smartphone Users

Netflix’s new privacy feature will now allow users to select which shows they want to share with Facebook friends. In the past, people who decided to link their Netflix and Facebook accounts shared their viewed titles to all of their Facebook friends. Now, each user can recommend a TV show or movie to just one or more friends. With this update, Netflix users now have the ability to be more selective about which programs they recommend to others, and which programs they hide. Continue reading Netflix Users Control What Shows They Share with Privacy Tool

Foreign film fans may have a new reason to get excited. Israeli startup VideoDubber is introducing a new technology that could address complaints of subtitles in media content. The company claims that its TruDub technology can automatically dub films, TV shows and video into more than 30 languages including Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and four dialects of English. The service uses synthetic voices that it says sound natural since they are based on professional voice talent. Continue reading VideoDubber Automatically Dubs Video into 30+ Languages

Mental Floss — a quirky magazine focusing on knowledge and trivia — has become an unlikely online video success story by deploying author and YouTube star John Green. Before writing “The Fault in Our Stars” and other acclaimed novels, the author worked for the magazine. A year ago, Green started “The List Show,” a weekly YouTube post for Mental Floss. His short segments reach millennials, boosting views to 81 million since February 2013, easily beating most magazine video competition. Continue reading John Green Helps Mental Floss Succeed with Magazine Videos

Yesterday we reported that Netflix is expanding into six European markets this month, the company has greenlit its first original series to be produced in France, and CEO Reed Hastings suggested they would produce something in Germany in the future. Netflix is in the news again after it signed a deal with Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution for “Gotham,” the upcoming series from Fox. The agreement could mark the first SVOD deal for a broadcast series made prior to its premiere. Continue reading Netflix Acquires Rights to Upcoming “Gotham” in SVOD First

Samsung announced that it is partnering with Amazon to offer Ultra HD content. Samsung plans to offer Amazon’s UHD on-demand service in October, in addition to expanding its pre-existing Netflix UHD service in Europe. Samsung, in collaboration with 20th Century Fox and Paramount, converted 40 movies to UHD over the summer to increase the content collection. It should be in the interest of manufacturers to expand 4K offerings in order to spark consumer interest in the new TV sets. Continue reading Ultra HD: Samsung to Offer 4K Amazon and Netflix Streaming

Netflix is making content announcements and pledges ahead of its push into mainland Europe this month. The service has greenlit “Marseille,” its first original series based and produced in France, which the company expects will become one of its biggest new markets. The series is scheduled to begin shooting early in 2015 and will debut on Netflix later in the year. In addition, CEO Reed Hastings told German news magazine Der Spiegel that Netflix would “certainly” produce something in Germany in the future. Continue reading Netflix Expands to European Markets, Promises New Content

Award-winning engineer Yves Faroudja has come out of retirement to explore how new approaches to compression and processing can help with the transition to Ultra HD. Los Altos-based startup Faroudja Enterprises is currently testing a prototype technology to move 4K in real time, while preserving image quality at reduced bit rates with existing compression systems. Faroudja has filed for eight related patents, and the company has plans to either license the tech or introduce it as software. Continue reading Ultra HD: New Processing Tech Improves Video Compression

Major television networks, such as ABC, Fox and NBC, are debuting their new fall shows online weeks ahead of the television premiere dates. The pilot episodes of NBC’s “A to Z,” ABC’s “Selfie,” and Fox’s “Red Band Society” are all available on Hulu before their scheduled television air date. This increasingly common practice gives viewers the chance to sample the new shows earlier and start some online buzz before the flood of other pilots debut during the fall television season. Continue reading Networks Increasingly Releasing Their TV Premieres Online

Television viewers may start seeing reruns of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Breaking Bad,” and other shows, thanks to new residual agreements between Hollywood movie studios and the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America, and the Directors Guild of America. The new deal abandons fixed-fee residual payments and makes it more affordable for cable networks and digital channels to acquire reruns of shows. The new residual payments will be based on a percentage-structure. Continue reading Studios, Guilds Agree on New Residual Terms for TV Shows