Comcast’s Xfinity broadband service has launched StreamStore, an online destination for discovering, purchasing and managing streaming apps. Available to Xfinity TV and Internet customers, StreamStore puts a retail spin on a selection of 200,000-plus programs and more than 450 apps. StreamStore is available on a subset of devices that run the Comcast Entertainment OS platform, including X1 set-tops and media players, the Xumo Stream Box and the Xfinity Flex box, and is also being made available via Xfinity.com. Apps for services including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ and others purchased through StreamStore can now be added to Xfinity customer bills. Continue reading Xfinity Bows StreamStore on Web, Comcast Entertainment OS

Xumo, the streaming joint venture formed by Comcast and Charter, has teamed with Westinghouse to launch a new U.S. line of Xumo smart TVs that will initially be sold through Walmart and Amazon. Initial models offer 4K UHD (in 43- and 50-inch versions) that support HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and 2K HD (in 24-, 32-, 40- and 43-inch models). Prices range from $120 to $290. Expected later this year are 55-, 58- and 65-inch 4K models. The new televisions run Xumo OS, featuring a tiled menu interface, voice search and more than 250 built-in streaming apps. Continue reading Streamer Xumo Launching Smart TV Line from Westinghouse

Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to split into two publicly-traded companies by next year, one company focused on film, streaming and content production and the other concentrating on traditional television, including cable TV properties CNN, Discovery and TNT Sports. The Streaming & Studios company will contain Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, as well as the film and television libraries. Global Networks will include CNN, TNT Sports in the U.S. as well as top free-to-air European channels, Bleacher Report and the Discovery+ streaming network. Continue reading WBD Will Split into Two Publicly Traded Companies Next Year

Cable giants Charter Communications and Cox Communications are merging in a $34.5 billion deal as the industry continues to contend with the impact of streaming services and related trends such as cord cutting. Charter and Cox are among the cable-based companies that have been focusing more on residential broadband businesses in recent years. The corporate name of the newly combined company will be Cox Communications, to be led by current Charter President and CEO Chris Winfrey, while Charter’s Spectrum cable and broadband will serve as the consumer-facing brand. The merger will involve $21.9 billion of equity and $12.6 billion of debt. Continue reading Charter and Cox Merge in $34.5 Billion Cable, Broadband Deal

DirecTV is competing in the budget streaming service space with new Genre Packs available now via streamtv.directv.com and, in the coming months, through device partners. The three new Genre Packs — MyEntertainment, MyNews and MiEspañol — are available starting at $35 a month. They join other new streaming offerings, MyFree DirecTV and DirecTV’s MySports, released in November and January, respectively. Subscribers to any Genre Pack gain access to 100+ channels available through MyFree DirecTV. Only MySports customers can also bundle two new Mini-Packs — MyCinema for $10 a month or MySports Extra for $13 monthly. Continue reading DirecTV Invites Skinny Bundles with Streaming ‘Genre Packs’

Comcast Technology Solutions is launching MediaExpress, which aims to make it easier for content owners to get distribution on premium VOD tiers. MediaExpress offers program suppliers a pipeline to leading broadcast, streaming, social and digital platforms. It provides “a single ingest point for videos, metadata and supporting files, facilitating title management and distribution for both long form and short form video with CTS handling certified delivery,” according to Comcast. It also allows library holders to streamline “VOD distribution and monetization efforts across subscription VOD (SVOD), advertising VOD (AVOD), transactional VOD (TVOD) or FAST partners.” Continue reading Comcast MediaExpress Will Distribute Premium VOD Content

Comcast is introducing the first customers in the world to a pioneering new, ultra-low lag connectivity experience when they use interactive applications like gaming, videoconferencing and virtual reality. The rollout is already underway in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Rockville, Maryland. Aimed primarily at gamers on Nvidia GeForce NOW and Valve’s Steam, it will also improve videoconferencing and content streaming, some Meta XR headset experiences and any other applications that choose to leverage the open standard technology in the future, Comcast says. Continue reading Comcast Launches Ultra Low-Latency Internet for Xfinity Subs

A federal appeals court axed the FCC’s net neutrality rules, punctuating a 20-year battle to classify broadband Internet providers as utilities. The Cincinnati-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit — with jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee — said the FCC lacks the authority to prevent ISPs from thwarting access to Internet content. Citing the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision from June, the three judge panel wrote that government agencies lack the authority to deploy and administer such regulations. Since Sixth Circuit decisions aren’t precedent in other states, California says it will keep existing rules intact. Continue reading California Backs Net Neutrality, Despite Recent Court Reversal

At CES on Monday, Comcast unveiled Universal Ads, an advertising platform aimed at being an “easy button” for small- and medium-sized businesses to buy ad time on traditional TV’s streaming businesses, with the goal of luring them away from social media and digital outlets. In addition to Comcast’s own NBCUniversal, additional partners include DirecTV, Fox Corporation, Paramount, Roku, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNBC Senior Media & Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin moderated a panel with Comcast and some major partners who explained why they signed on to the new platform. Continue reading CES: Comcast Debuts Universal Ads, Inks Media Partnerships

TiVo owner Xperi is gearing up for the launch of TiVo OS-powered smart TVs in the U.S., with production beginning as soon as this month. The company revealed that a U.S. manufacturing partner will enter production sometime in November, with another partner expected to do the same shortly after. Xperi expects to achieve its target goal of at least two million TiVo OS smart TVs on shelves by year’s end, which is about double what is currently available. However, the company addressed shipment delays that could push monetization expectations to 2025. Xperi is projecting seven million TiVo OS smart TVs will enter the global market by the end of next year. Continue reading Xperi Plans Launch of TiVo OS Smart TVs by End of This Year

Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) announced the availability of its next-gen Cloud TV platform designed for global broadcasters and video service providers. Cloud TV provides companies with a system for delivering a multi-platform TV experience across broadcast and OTT via the cloud. The company promises a streamlined experience that will help broadcasters, content owners and distributors “limit costs, reduce duplicative efforts, and monetize more effectively.” In addition to tools for transcoding, content processing, distribution, and managing metadata, Cloud TV also addresses areas such as advertising, subscriptions and analytics. Continue reading Comcast Announces Its Next-Generation Cloud TV Platform

Apple TV+ will be available as a $9.99 monthly add-on with Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., allowing users to use the service in one app with a single bill, the companies announced. The deal has the mutual upside of adding the cachet of award-winning Apple originals like “The Morning Show” and “Ted Lasso” to Amazon Prime, while getting Apple TV+ in front of Prime’s more than 100 million U.S. households. Apple doesn’t release specific subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, which has reportedly accrued about 25 million paid global subscribers since its 2019 launch. Continue reading Apple TV+ to Be Available as an Amazon Prime Video Add-On

DirecTV has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Dish Network from EchoStar, realizing a long-time goal. The deal sees DirecTV paying Dish Network $1 for video distribution assets including Dish and Sling TV, and taking on $9.75 billion of Dish’s $20 billion in debt. The agreement does not include EchoStar’s wireless spectrum investments. Concurrently, AT&T has agreed to sell its 70 percent DirecTV stake to private equity firm TPG, which holds the other 30 percent. That deal is valued at $7.6 billion and is not contingent on the Dish acquisition, which is expected to close in Q4 2025. Combined, DirecTV and Dish will serve more than 18 million customers. Continue reading EchoStar Agrees to Sell Dish Network, Sling to Rival DirecTV

Netflix is launching its own ad server, bringing control of the advertising experience of its 270 million subscribers in-house. The company will use its new ad tech to create personalized ads that can be highly targetable, Netflix President of Advertising Amy Reinhard said onstage at the upfronts, providing brands with new ways to buy and to slice and dice consumer data. The deployment puts Netflix in the mix with other industry heavyweights like Google, Amazon and Comcast, which also operate their own ad servers. The move comes 18 months after Netflix entered the advertising business in partnership with Microsoft. Continue reading Netflix Takes Advertising In-House with Launch of Ad Server

Comcast broadband and TV customers will be able to subscribe to a streaming bundle that includes Netflix, Apple TV+ and NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts announced this week at the 2024 MoffettNathanson Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York. The package, called StreamSaver, will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything in the market today,” Roberts said, though he did not share pricing. Roberts’ plan comes a week after Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled plans to bundle Max, Disney+ and Hulu starting this summer, with pricing to be announced. Continue reading Comcast StreamSaver to Bundle Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+