After prominent broadcasters including ABC, CBS and NBCUniversal filed lawsuits against Aereo regarding its online television service, the company is fighting back with a countersuit.
The New York-based company, backed by Barry Diller, believes its plan to retransmit broadcast signals is not illegal and notes that the broadcasters did not send Aereo any formal notice inhibiting the service’s March 14th launch.
“Consumers use the Aereo technology to do no more than what they are entitled to do: access local television broadcasts on the public airwaves using an individual antenna; create unique copies of that broadcast content for their own personal use; and play back their unique recordings to their televisions or other viewing devices for their personal use,” the company stated in the filing.
According to Reuters, Aereo “advertises itself as a ‘potentially transformative’ service that would complement Google Inc’s YouTube, Netflix Inc and other services that let viewers watch programming online… Broadcasters, however, counter that Aereo’s planned ‘antenna farms’ deprive them of their right to retransmission fees from cable and other companies that rebroadcast their programs.”
Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott predicts distribution may trump content in the near feature.
“A handful of media companies have become overly dependent on digital licensing deals that increasingly have the potential to disrupt ad revenue for all players, including those that have been reluctant to license content to Netflix,” Wible wrote in his report. “In essence, we believe we are nearing a tipping point where distribution is gaining an edge over content.”
Even though entertainment industry executives deny that Netflix has affected TV ratings, Wible suggests that fixed pricing for digital deals is hurting media companies.
Fixed pricing reduces the companies’ ability to vary the price of ad revenue, which then promotes competition from other networks. These competing networks help to lower ratings and further drop ad revenue. As a result, content producers turn to digital licensing to compensate lost ad revenue.
He estimates networks could be losing nearly $9 of ad revenue per home per month and only earning back 35 to 75 cents of monthly revenue with digital licensing deals.
Carlos Slim Helú is a Mexican billionaire who owns the largest wireless company in Latin America, América Móvil. His latest venture is an Internet television network called Ora.tv that is recruiting Larry King for a new program similar to “Larry King Live.”
“It will have a slate of shows of varying lengths and will stream them via the Internet to computers, phones and television sets in the United States, Latin America and elsewhere, bypassing traditional television distribution systems,” reports The New York Times.
King is a co-founder of Ora.tv. His new show will include his wife for a style/celebrity interview segment. His prominence is expected to attract Internet viewers and on-air talent.
“Ora.tv and companies like it are trying to reach the growing number of video consumers on computers, tablets, phones and Internet-connected televisions,” the article states. “Google is seeding dozens of on-demand channels that are starting this year on YouTube. Netflix and Hulu are starting original shows. And Amazon is believed to be getting into the business.”
In a bid to diversify beyond computers, Intel is developing a Web-based subscription TV service that would compete directly with cable and satellite TV services.
The plan is to become a “virtual cable operator” using Intel technology that would begin by late 2012.
Intel has not yet acquired programming. It is currently making pitches to media companies and asking what they would charge. It has also setup an Intel Media group based in London, which is working on the user experience.
“The new effort would mark a big shift for Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini, who has made clear his determination to move the company beyond the computer industry,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Those efforts so far have include a series of TV-related businesses that have largely failed to gain much traction.”
Media companies have been resistant to similar ideas as they could damage profitable cable and satellite businesses.
Back in October, Google announced its plan to spend over $100 million on channels that provide original content as part of “an escalating battle among Internet platforms like Hulu, Netflix and AOL to capture more of television’s advertising dollars,” according to The New York Times.
Some of these channels are now starting up but it is uncertain whether a large enough audience will subscribe — the first requirement in acquiring higher ad revenue.
According to research firm eMarketer, ad spending for online video is expected to increase about 55 percent this year to $3.1 billion. However, that figure represents a fraction of the $60 billion currently spent on television advertising.
“The eventual payoff for the channels is unclear,” explains the article. “YouTube has exclusive rights to the videos for at least a year, and it has not said whether it will continue to finance the channels after those rights expire. (The channel producers own all their content.) A hit channel might bring in enough ad revenue to justify continuing the production, and Google’s standard advertising agreements give content owners a majority share of advertising revenue.”
DirecTV and Pandora have announced an agreement that will allow the music service’s “stations” to play, without charge, on connected HD DVRs.
“Additionally, you’ll be able to search for artists, songs and browse through different genres, as well as set up jam stations to your liking,” reports Engadget.
DirecTV customers will be able to choose artists and musical genres through the menu of the 1080p guide, customizing Pandora stations.
According to the press release: “Customers will be asked to either create a new Pandora account online or to activate their existing Pandora account on their DirecTV HD DVR. Once activated, Pandora will allow customers to easily create and listen to personalized radio stations, as well as play Pandora over the video that they are watching.”
Symantec designed a clever study to help determine what happens to private information after a smartphone is lost.
As part of the Honey Stick Project, researchers recently “lost” 50 smartphones in public areas of Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC and Ottowa, Canada.
Each phone was equipped with GPS tracking and a variety of generic “personal, neutral and corporate” apps. None of them were outfitted with passwords.
“While only 25 of the 50 smartphone finders made any attempt to contact the owner and return the device, the more shocking details of the study dive into how privacy is violated after the phone is lost,” reports Digital Trends. “Nearly 90 percent of the devices showed at least one attempt to access the apps within the personal category.”
“The social networking and email applications were accessed on 60 percent of the devices and the online banking application was accessed on more than 40 percent of the smartphones,” notes the article. “A file named ‘HR Salaries’ was accessed on over half of the phones and another file called ‘HR Cases’ was accessed on 40 percent of the sample group. A ‘Remote Admin’ application was accessed on nearly half of the smartphones and a corporate email application was opened up on 45 percent of the devices.”
Symantec recommends using a password or a “draw to unlock” pattern for security. The company suggests using security software “to remotely lock the device or wipe the data from the phone,” and for businesses, encourages formal policies regarding company-issued phones and increased employee education on data protection.
“Since tablets arrived a couple years ago, they have seemed the natural replacement for the printed page, whether it represented a computer document, a book or a magazine,” writes analyst Steve Wildstrom for Tech.pinions. “A tablet could be held like a book or magazine and its software often presented text as pages rather than streams of scrolling text. Their long battery life let you use them without thinking much about the need to recharge.”
What held up this potential shift has been the readability of displays. However, Wildstrom suggests Apple may now have the answer.
“The new iPad, whose display has to be seen to be appreciated, marks a dramatic change,” he writes. “For the first time, type looks as good on a screen as it does on paper. Photos pop in a way they never have before on a tablet, matching high quality printing on good paper.”
Earlier displays for tablets and phones, despite their advances, have been limiting — but the new iPad display may impact how we look at tablets.
“The super high-resolution introduced on the iPhone 4 looked spectacular, but had limited impact because the 3.5-inch display, and even the 5-inch high-res screens turning up on some Android phones, are too small for serious reading,” writes Wildstrom. “Bringing similar resolution to a screen the size of the iPad will change things in much more fundamental ways. The days of printing on paper may finally be numbered.”
As part of its ongoing efforts to attract more advertisers, Facebook rolled out Interest Lists the end of last week.
The new feature “mixes popular Facebook pages with social news aggregation,” reports Digital Trends. “Each curated list is specific to a particular topic such as technology, art, entertainment, causes, music or sports.”
Facebook users can subscribe to lists created by other users. The approach is similar to features such as Twitter lists and Google+ Circles.
“Advertisers will definitely enjoy the ability to curate content within lists, but Facebook users may become annoyed by an increased frequency of page updates that litter the main Facebook feed,” suggests the post. “Facebook users will have to be careful how many subscriptions they acquire in addition to carefully watching the amount of pages followed within each subscribed list.”
Google is requiring app developers for the Android Market, now called Google Play, to use Google Wallet for payments in order to simplify transactions.
The Google Wallet payment service charges more per transaction than other services like PayPal, Zong and Boku. The company hopes to compete with the seamless payment system Apple uses for its App Store.
Developers have been told that their apps will be suspended from Google Play if they do not comply. From the start, Apple incorporated its own payment system for consistent payments for all content. When the Android Market debuted, it did not have a universal platform for payments.
“The initiative is important for Google. While Android Market has been a hit in terms of the number of smartphones using the platform, there has not been a commensurate increase in purchase activity by users,” explains Reuters. “This is partly because the buying experience has been varied and confusing for users — reducing the chance that they will go through with a purchase, something known as conversion.”
Originally free, Google began monetizing its Google Maps service in October: “Lightweight usage was still free — subject to terms of service, of course. However, significant load volumes would begin to incur charges: basically, services and applications that generated more 25,000 map loads per day would be charged $40 to $10 for every additional 1,000 map loads. For folks using styled maps — the most intensive and customized option — the initial threshold is 2,500 maps per day,” reports Digital Trends.
For average users, this is of little effect. But for big companies like Foursquare and Apple that have incorporated the service on their various products, the pricing is too much.
Some companies have made the switch to UK-based OpenStreetMap, a free non-profit service reliant on users providing geographic data — similar to Wikipedia.
“OpenStreetMap data can differ from Google Maps in many significant ways. First, while it often has great coverage of cities and heavily populated areas, parts further afield can present some challenges. It also lacks niceties like satellite imagery and Google’s Street View,” the article explains.
Possibly more off-putting than the fees are Google’s ever-expanding advertising efforts on the Google Maps platform. Although providing its map service for free enabled Google to be fairly ubiquitous, the reliance on their service may subside. Apple might even look into developing its own map service.
Amazon may have plans to become the latest online player to produce original programming.
Netflix, Hulu and YouTube have already set the stage for original content to be distributed via online streaming.
Amazon exec Joe Lewis recently described his title on LinkedIn as “Vice-President of Original Television” before changing it to “Vice-President, Production at Amazon Studios.”
The company has also reportedly advertised for executive positions for overseeing comedy and children’s series.
“The company has charted an aggressive course with its Kindle tablet devices and media services, from books to movies and TV. Its Prime membership service is already a passport to the company’s many services and could grow in the coming years. It isn’t hard to see how beneficial compelling original programming could be to Amazon’s ecosystem,” reports CNNMoney.
As Netflix looks to compete with HBO by teaming up with a cable provider, it has already hit its first snag.
Comcast, the largest U.S. cable provider, said it has “no interest” in partnering with Netflix, reports The Verge. The company already has its own VOD service, Xfinity and recently launched Streampix, which enables access on the Web and mobile devices.
Netflix reportedly plans to seek competitive alternatives with Comcast’s rivals Time Warner, Cox or Bright House.
“Reuters first reported on Wednesday that Netflix had reached out to major cable companies to discuss joining forces. But without Comcast, the reach of those partnerships would be limited,” suggests The New York Times.
Additionally, streaming services are emerging from a number of companies. Comcast’s Streampix offers 75,000 television shows and movies to its its 22.3 million Xfinity subscribers. And according to The New York Times: “Dish Network and Blockbuster have a Web streaming service in the works. Verizon, the parent company of the Verizon FiOS fiberoptic network, has teamed up with Redbox on a Web streaming joint venture.”
The new software update for Apple TV enables users to subscribe to Netflix and MLB.tv directly from the device, using their iTunes account for payments.
This upgrade resembles Apple’s in-app subscription model on iOS that earns Apple a 30 percent revenue cut on magazine and digital service subscriptions.
For Netflix, this model could be used for their potential cable partnerships. “Most modern cable boxes would be capable of working with Netflix with an appropriate firmware and software update (or, cable companies could rent new Netflix-enabled boxes to those users who don’t already have Netflix built into all of their home theater devices), with the added advantage of offering TV content from one box,” Mashable suggests.
For Apple, this could be the first step toward its own subscription television service. “If Netflix sees success with the offering, perhaps other subscription services — either over-the-air (OTA) or cable-back — could come to Apple TV as well,” the post predicts. “An a la carte offering of premium content that is billed through one party and viewable on an array of connected devices could be a good start at disrupting the current cable business model.”
At a media event in New York City this week, Samsung announced its new Smart Touch remote control, a universal Bluetooth keyboard for interaction with Smart TVs, and a new LED TV.
“Joe Stinziano, Senior VP of Samsung Electronics took the stage, to announce the ES8000 with Smart Interaction (a combination of voice control, facial recognition, and gesture controls). It has that thin bezel and a U-shaped stand, just as we heard it would back at CES,” reports TechCrunch.
“The camera on the ES8000 LED lets you swipe through apps with your hand, and all you have to do is close your hand to click,” adds the post.
“The camera also has a built-in microphone, so you can change the channel and perform other commands without even lifting a hand. That means you could be Skyping from the couch on a big screen. It’ll also come equipped with a Bluetooth IR Blaster.”