Twitter is capitalizing on the growing trend of television viewers using social media while watching TV. Its new product called Twitter Amplify will allow marketers to match TV advertisements with Twitter commentary by viewers who are watching specific programming. Brands can then forward messages to selected Twitter users who have already watched the TV ads. The company offered a presentation on Twitter Amplify in New York yesterday. Continue reading Advertising: Twitter Amplify Will Target Social TV Viewers

ESPN plans to post sports-related highlight videos on Twitter in the coming year. Sports fans can expect clips from soccer matches leading up to the World Cup, college football and the X Games. The videos will be made available on Twitter’s site and mobile apps shortly after the live television broadcasts. The collaboration is part of a bigger movement by TV networks and the microblogger to discover new approaches to advertising revenue. Continue reading ESPN and Twitter Expand Collaboration with Video Clips

As an increasing number of television viewers are accessing content via tablets and smartphones, apps from the likes of HBO, ESPN and Netflix are growing in popularity. Local TV stations may soon be taking a similar approach to pursuing online and mobile viewers. For example, NBC affiliate KHQ in Spokane, Washington launched its “Watch KHQ” app earlier this month. While content is currently limited, the app suggests a new direction by local broadcasters. Continue reading TV App: Local Station Pursues Online and Mobile Viewers

Netflix is spending billions as television evolves from a linear delivery model to a world of competing apps and new screens. CEO Reed Hastings released an 11-page paper this week on the company’s investor relations site that outlines ambitious plans for the future. While we’ve heard some of Hastings’ points in the past, the paper offers new insights regarding the transition from traditional linear TV to a new era of Internet-delivered on-demand content. Continue reading Netflix Spends Big in Effort to Lead Internet TV Transition

Twitter signed deals over the weekend with BBC America and Comedy Central that will bring video clips inside users’ real-time streams (last week we reported that Twitter was in discussions with Viacom, Comcast and NBC). While there have been video content deals before, such as featuring Weather Channel updates in expanded tweets, the new deals could serve as prototypes for future video sharing. Perhaps as a sign of things to come, Twitter also announced a new deal with a major ad-buying firm. Continue reading Twitter Signs Deals with Broadcasters and Ad-Buying Firm

Twitter is reportedly close to reaching partnerships with TV networks that would bring video content and advertising to the social site. Talks are underway with Viacom, Comcast and NBCUniversal, say sources, who note that the deal with Viacom would allow the micro-blogger to host TV clips on its site and sell ads alongside them. The push for TV coincides with Twitter’s expansion into music discovery and sharing with its new mobile app. Continue reading Twitter Pursuing Deals to Host Television Content and Ads

The video entertainment business is facing disruption as online services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube continue to shape media consumption. What if the unavoidable disruption isn’t actually the worst thing for the industry? Some see digital disruption to mean a complete replacement of traditional models, while others see an array of opportunities made possible by expansion of the video business. Continue reading Digital Disruption Could Create New Opportunities for Video

While 4K Ultra High Definition TV has yet to make it into the living room, the industry is moving forward with new cameras, evolving standards and early television production. Sony Pictures Television, for example, is producing select pilots with digital cinema cameras, while 3Net is forging ahead with its Total D strategy that includes producing versions of programs in both 2D and 3D at multiple resolutions. Initial tests for broadcasting sports in 4K are just around the corner. Continue reading NAB 2013: TV Industry Moves Toward 4K Ultra HD Format

The Walt Disney Company reportedly has an app in the works that will stream ABC programming live to the smartphones and tablets of cable and satellite subscribers. For example, subscribers could watch “Good Morning America” live via phones while in line for their coffee or watch “Nashville” on their tablets will riding a bus home from work. The app could be available as soon as this year. Continue reading Disney Plans App for Live Streaming ABC to Mobile Devices

On Tuesday, we reported that News Corp. has plans to launch FOX Sports 1, a new national cable sports network, in the U.S. by August. ETCentric has since learned that FOX Sports Media Group also has plans to launch FOX Sports GO, a mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. The “TV Everywhere” service, similar to WatchESPN, will also offer programming on the Web. Continue reading FOX Sports GO: New App to Launch with All-Sports Network

As TV audiences increasingly turn to online options for content discovery and consumption, audience-measuring firms such as Nielsen have made necessary adjustments regarding cross-platform analysis. The potential of the new metrics will be tested with Disney’s new Unified initiative in which ABC, ABC Family and ESPN will start using Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings to sell their ad inventory. Continue reading ABC Unified: Disney to Use Nielsen Cross-Platform Metrics

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp., has plans to take on ESPN with a new national cable sports network. FOX Sports 1 is expected to launch in August in the United States, with plans to broadcast football, motor sports, baseball and much more. Murdoch hopes that the all-sports network will be as successful in the U.S. as Sky Sports has proven in the United Kingdom. Continue reading FOX Sports 1 to Launch in August: All-Sports Cable Network

Reed Hastings once led Netflix as an effective distributor of movies and TV shows through the U.S. Postal Service, but always envisioned the company becoming the premier provider of streaming video content. Now the CEO hopes to stay ahead of the competition by positioning Netflix to take on HBO as a provider of premium video content. Hastings’ move is undoubtedly risky, but he sees it as a necessary step towards the future of television. Continue reading Netflix Strives to Revolutionize the TV Viewing Experience

Video ad company FreeWheel announced DirecTV as a new client last week. The satellite TV giant chose to work with “the startup to improve monetization on new digital platforms, and has taken an equity stake in FreeWheel to help make it happen,” writes TechCrunch. DirecTV — and other cable, satellite and telco companies — are making investments in services that promote TV Everywhere. Continue reading DirecTV Hires FreeWheel, Hopes to Monetize Digital Content

The International 3D Society and 3D@Home Consortium hosted a series of 3D sessions that sent a message that 3D has arrived. Conversations included 3D coming to CE devices such as TVs and mobile devices (MasterImage’s Matt Liszt showed a tablet playing 3D content). Speakers asserted that 3D is not just for entertainment, citing as examples education and medical applications. And speakers shared their views on how 4K fits into the 3D dialogue. Continue reading CES 2013: Stakeholders Share Their 3D Observations