Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei met several weeks ago with Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt to discuss the potential benefits of cable industry mergers, according to a person familiar with the matter. Liberty acquired a 27 percent stake in pay TV operator Charter Communications early last month. Ten days ago, Liberty Chairman John Malone told shareholders that Charter probably has “the best operating team in the business.” Continue reading Chief Execs Discuss Benefits of Mergers in Cable Sector

AT&T announced that it has launched its Digital Life home security and monitoring service in 15 U.S. cities with plans to expand to 50 locations this year. Built on the telecom’s 2010 acquisition of Xamboo, it will compete with security offerings by companies like ADT and various startups building devices for the connected home. Digital Life will provide visual access via Web-connected cameras and sensors hooked up to a broadband connection. Continue reading AT&T Launches Digital Life Home Security and Monitoring

On Tuesday at NAB, Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam joined a growing contingent of consumers and insiders who believe the answer to combating cord-cutting is for the television industry to allow for a-la-carte cable subscriptions. He thinks it would be an answer to ongoing consumer pressure and says he understands when consumers ask questions such as, “Why should I have to pay for 300 channels?” Continue reading NAB 2013: Verizon CEO Supports A La Carte Programming

Verizon Communications wants to switch up the way things work in the pay TV industry. Presently, the provider pays fees in order to carry various TV channels, but the company is proposing to tie those fees directly to how many viewers actually watch the channels. Verizon, whose FiOS TV is the sixth-largest pay TV provider in the nation, has begun talks with several smaller media companies about the prospect. Continue reading Verizon Proposes to Pay for Channels Based on Audience

Wireless has revolutionized the world, and now it’s going to take a shot at saving it. Verizon is launching a $10 million competition to find enlightened solutions to formidable global challenges. Called the Powerful Answers Award, it will be a yearlong challenge to top thinkers in technology to develop cloud-based, wireless or even wireline solutions for issues in education, healthcare and sustainability. Continue reading CES 2013: Verizon Looks for Powerful Answers to Global Issues

The Xbox 360 has it. Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s connected TVs have it. And now LG Smart TVs are also getting the Verizon FiOS TV app, bringing access to 75 channels and Flex View video on-demand.

“The expansive selection of channels from FiOS TV and on-demand content from Verizon’s Flex View library further strengthens LG’s Smart TV platform, giving consumers of all ages a virtually limitless amount of entertainment on TVs, Blu-ray players, PCs, even tablets and phones,” says Samuel Chang, VP of Smart TV and Innovation for LG Electronics.

According to the press release, FiOS TV’s Flex View “offers more than 25,000 on-demand movies and show titles for purchase or rent on any Internet-connected device, whether home on a TV or PC, or on-the-go on a mobile device.”

“As promised back at CES — when they said it would launch in the ‘first half of 2012’ — the app is of course customized for LG’s Magic Remote gesture control feature, and is available on all 2012 Smart TVs, plus the BP620 Blu-ray player via the Smart TV smart World app store,” reports Engadget.

“The good news is you can make use of it in a room with no cable box needed, however the lineup is still missing a few key channels (ESPN) that may be tough to do without,” notes the post.
Verizon also recently announced a partnership with NBCUniversal to expand its TV Everywhere offerings. “If [Verizon] can add a few more, the set-top box-less future may be within reach,” Engadget suggests.