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Heavy Product Placement for Commercial-Free Online TV

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February 14, 2013

Netflix bought the original drama “House of Cards” in 2011, committing to two seasons of the then not-yet-filmed show directed by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey. The purchase also earned the streaming company headlines as it placed Netflix into a high profile role typically occupied by the likes of HBO. But while Netflix claims its online programming to be commercial free, it is not without advertising. Continue reading Heavy Product Placement for Commercial-Free Online TV

Intel Plans to Offer Internet-Based TV Streaming Product

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February 14, 2013

Speaking at the D:Dive Into Media conference, Erik Huggers, corporate vice president and general manager for Intel Media, confirmed the rumors that Intel will be making moves into the set-top/TV provider business. “We have been working for around a year now to setup Intel Media — it’s a new division that includes a lot of people from outside of the company,” explained Huggers. Continue reading Intel Plans to Offer Internet-Based TV Streaming Product

Dish Chairman Discusses Hopper, Programming and Wireless

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February 13, 2013

Charlie Ergen, chairman and co-founder of Dish Network, gave an hour-long keynote interview at this week’s D:Dive Into Media conference in Dana Point, California. While the discussion addressed Ergen’s take on topics such as the future of wireless and the potential of a la carte programming, host Peter Kafka focused on the Dish Network’s Hopper and the controversy surrounding ad-skipping technology. Continue reading Dish Chairman Discusses Hopper, Programming and Wireless

Report: Worldwide Spending on Movies Up $1.3 Billion in 2012

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January 23, 2013

Worldwide spending on watching movies last year reached $62.4 billion, up from $61.1 billion in 2011 and $60.1 billion in 2010, according to IHS Screen Digest. The numbers include theatrical releases, disc rentals, pay TV VOD and digital retail purchases and rentals. North America accounted for 41 percent of global movie revenue in 2012, although spending on physical media saw a decline. Continue reading Report: Worldwide Spending on Movies Up $1.3 Billion in 2012

In a Multichannel World, Pay TV Fought its Future in 2012

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January 4, 2013

According to Variety, 2012 was more about what didn’t happen than what did happen when considering the intersection of TV and digital media. As the multichannel world continues “begging for disruption,” the cost of the “average pay-TV subscription has skyrocketed 68 percent over the past 10 years,” notes the article. It seems something will definitely have to give, “but despite the fragility of their delicate bond, programmers and distributors didn’t face any real challenge in 2012 from any of the expected upstarts hoping to gain rights to live TV and package it in more innovative ways.” Continue reading In a Multichannel World, Pay TV Fought its Future in 2012

NimbleTV Launches NYC Trial Run of TV Everywhere

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January 3, 2013

The concept of TV Everywhere is simple: it’s “supposed to let you watch whatever you want, wherever you want to watch it, on any device you want — as long as you pay for TV,” writes AllThingsD. But behind the straightforward idea, cable companies have been struggling for three years to get it done — “and they still can’t really deliver,” suggests the article. But startup NimbleTV says it can do the job. Continue reading NimbleTV Launches NYC Trial Run of TV Everywhere

Cloud-Based Gaming Service Playcast Plans 2013 Launch in the U.S.

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December 14, 2012

Playcast is a cloud-based gaming service that runs through pay TV, IPTV, or over-the-top TV providers like Google TV and Roku.

“For the end user, the system operates like VOD or an app, while remote servers actually run the games and stream a video feed of the gameplay in real-time,” reports Engadget. “On the back end, one server shelf can serve up to 15 players an HD (read: 720p) feed simultaneously, and graphical artifacting is kept to a minimum because it streams over the operator’s managed network.”

Playcast differentiates itself from OnLive because Playcast can brand its front-end interface to fit specific customers’ desires and does not need additional hardware. Playcast also offers packages of games for subscription use.

The company plans to launch in Q3 of 2013 with 10-15 packages of 20 games each. The packages will likely cost $10-$15 a month. Playcast will alternate 10 percent new games in each month to keep customers engaged.

“It appears that Playcast will provide casual gamers an intriguing option for getting their gaming fix next year,” concludes the post. “But we’re reserving judgment until we see how well the games run on a managed network, what titles are offered, and just how much it’ll cost.”

Pay TV Usage Caps: Will Watching Netflix Lead to Higher Cable Bills?

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December 5, 2011
  • Netflix subscriptions could end up costing consumers $28 a month instead of $8 if cable companies decide to add charges for Web streaming.
  • “U.S. providers like Time Warner Cable have weighed usage-based plans for years as a way to squeeze more profit from Web access, and to counter slowing growth and rising program costs in the TV business,” reports Bloomberg. “While customer complaints hampered earlier attempts, pay TV companies are testing usage caps and price structures that point to the advent of permanent fees.”
  • As online video streaming increases in popularity, Web data usage soars. Some companies have penalties in place for customers that exceed their monthly gigabyte allowance, while others do not.
  • Adding charges will not only help cable companies’ Internet revenue, but also possibly boost pay TV service by disincentivizing online services like Netflix and Hulu.
  • A Netflix spokesman told Bloomberg, “[The practice] is not in the consumer’s best interest as consumers deserve unfettered access to a robust Internet at reasonable rates.”

New Cord-Cutting Tool: Boxee to Offer USB Live TV Stick in January

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November 22, 2011
  • Boxee is augmenting its broadband box for cord-cutters with a USB dongle that provides users access to broadcast TV.
  • According to paidContent: “Boxee, which has been working mightily to get people to cut their cable cords with its own broadband box for five years, is preparing a new add-on product in January that will let users pull out the cable cord and plug a USB device into their cable box, giving them access to broadcast TV channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC for free.”
  • “If you live and die by ESPN, then yes, you have to stay on cable. But we believe there are plenty of people who just want access to regular broadcast channels,” says Avner Ronen, CEO and co-founder of Boxee.
  • However, Ronen believes there are consumers interested in basic broadcast content that would benefit from this approach. “The problem with canceling your cable subscription and relying just on the Internet has been the lack of live sports, a presidential address, local news, special events and live TV shows,” he told paidContent. “But these things are all available on broadcast TV channels…for free, over the air in HD.”
  • The Live TV stick will be available for $49, as an add-on to the $180 Boxee Box.

2012 Forecast: What Should We Expect of Streaming, Cable and TV?

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November 8, 2011
  • Television’s future remains murky as content providers and cable companies get ready for battle, and streaming services continue to gain momentum.
  • “But change is going to come, and amid news that Google is interested in entering the cable TV business and continued rumors that Apple will be releasing its own branded television set, we also have to wonder what’s going to happen with streaming services like Hulu and Netflix,” reports Digital Trends.
  • The article suggests it is the cable companies that have the most to worry about (those that control the last model). “Forget applications having a say in all this: The real war is going to be fought between cable networks and the content providers that want to move on to a new format.”
  • “Farther off, I think [YouTube] will challenge Hulu first. Netflix is more like a library. Google is a beast and you have to keep an eye on those guys,” TalkPoint CEO Nick Balletta says. “They have the muscle and cash to weather the storm.”
  • Balletta believes adoption of connected TVs will take root by late 2012, and before then we’ll see significant fragmentation before we can truly cut the cord.

Competition: Is Google Considering Plan to Enter the Pay TV Business?

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November 7, 2011
  • Google previously announced a high-speed Internet service project in Missouri and Kansas. The Wall Street Journal now reports that insiders indicate Google may expand the project to include a phone and video service, with channels from Disney, Time Warner and Discovery.
  • Google has other ventures in the television business including its new Google TV software update and announced deals to produce around 100 free, ad-supported online YouTube channels.
  • A former Google product director said, “Internet companies like Google will be able to give you [the] same high-quality content” as cable and satellite prices and possibly at lower prices as more TVs connect to the Web.
  • Nothing has been confirmed about Google’s plans to expand the project to wider areas. But if the company follows through, it “could unleash a new wave of competition within the traditional TV business,” suggests WSJ.

Online Video Strategies: Does YouTube Really Need Hollywood?

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November 4, 2011
  • Analyst Anthony DiClemente of investment firm Barclays Capital estimates YouTube’s revenues at $1.6 billion, which suggests the “site’s revenue has now synced up with the price Google paid for it five years ago,” reports AllThingsD.
  • Analysts debate the global percentage of Web video revenues YouTube has captured, but seem to agree that it “is finally a big business that makes serious money.”
  • Is the Hollywood channels strategy the next big step for YouTube to take on the traditional TV and cable networks?
  • “The big idea behind that one, after all, is to create stuff that advertisers will be happy to pay a premium for,” suggest the article. “But if YouTube is already generating $1.6 billion a year for non-premium stuff, why bother?”
  • AllThingsD suggests that the new “channel strategy is a big focus for YouTube, but it doesn’t mean the site is abandoning what’s already working.”

A La Carte: Will the Future Apple TV Disrupt the Current Live TV Paradigm?

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November 1, 2011
  • Forbes speculates that the rumored future Apple TV would create a demand for single channels, which could potentially break up the cable pricing monopoly.
  • Rather than paying for a package of a hundred channels, users would pay a la carte for content just as single-channel apps have become popular in the mobile sphere.
  • “Presumably, Apple wants to disrupt this market the same way the iPod and iTunes made it easier for consumers to buy music, and the way the iPhone is slowly moving the cellular industry to data plans over voice plans (see: iMessage, Facetime),” suggests the article.
  • Providers such as Time Warner Cable, Optimum and DirecTV already have apps for live streaming of channels. And ESPN, CNN and Major League Baseball have their own apps.
  • “[Cable providers] might consent to separate channel apps as long as each still requires an overall subscription…that would certainly put a crimp in [Apple’s] potential plans to revolutionize television,” explains Forbes. “And if Apple provides incentives for channels to go it alone, the fight could be massive.”

Will Android Market Access and YouTube Interface Resurrect Google TV?

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October 31, 2011
  • Google is offering an update to Google TV that includes a streamlined UI, quick-launch bar for most-used apps, an app that can locate 80,000 movies and TV episodes via the Web or TV, and a new TV-oriented YouTube interface.
  • The Android Market looks to launch current and new apps specially optimized for television (access to the Android Market may prove the biggest step for Google TV).
  • YouTube is looking to create original content and become a “next-generation cable provider” by signing deals with media companies and celebrities.
  • However, the service has been hindered by TV networks that “continue to block Google TV from viewing Web sites that stream some of their shows that are freely available to personal computer browsers,” reports Forbes. “That’s a big turn-off given that other devices such as Apple TV, Roku, and many others offer access to more TV content.”
  • In a related post, GigaOM lists the more notable new features and includes a 7-minute video demo.
  • “The new version of Google TV isn’t really all that groundbreaking; rather, it’s what Google TV should have offered all along,” suggests GigaOM. “And that seems to be exactly what Google was aiming for with this release — not a big flash, but finally a solid base that can be continuously improved both through Google’s apps as well as applications from third-party developers.”

AsiaD Video: Peter Chernin Discusses Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and More

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October 25, 2011
  • Peter Kafka interviews Peter Chernin in this interesting 11-minute video from the AsiaD conference.
  • “As News Corp.’s longtime chief operating officer, Chernin was instrumental in developing Hulu,” reports All Things D. “He explained why he wanted to build the video site — in part to compete with Google and YouTube — and why he thinks its studio owners should help it thrive today — in part to compete with Netflix.” Chernin also expresses his thoughts on purchasing Yahoo.
  • Chernin knew IPTV would be big, but didn’t want one dominant video distributor like YouTube. Thus, the studios got together to create Hulu, which today competes with Netflix.
  • Chernin believes online viewers will pay $2 per month for premium content. He talks about the future of video and creating something like a digital HBO.

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