Nikon to Enter Cinema Camera Business with RED Acquisition

Nikon, the Japanese company best known for still cameras, is vaulting into the mainstream of professional moving images with its acquisition of California-based RED Digital Cinema. RED cameras popular among filmmakers and other creators include the RED ONE 4K and V-RAPTOR [X] series. The company also invented the REDCODE RAW compression technology. On closing, RED will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon, which plans to merge “Nikon’s expertise in product development” with “RED’s knowledge in cinema cameras, including unique image compression technology and color science.” Continue reading Nikon to Enter Cinema Camera Business with RED Acquisition

ETC’s CES 2024 Report: Creators, Displays, and AI Innovation

CES 2024 attracted more than 135,000 attendees to Las Vegas where 4,300 companies filled 2.5 million square feet of exhibit space. Technology that empowers creators, a new generation of displays, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence dominated the show. After several years of incremental advances, market development built on maturing technology, and over-hyped trends, this year felt different with an energy that suggests the beginning of a new era. Among the major themes were embedded AI, vehicle tech, digital health, screens and XR, and numerous policy and regulation topics. ETC@USC attended the conference for live reporting on products and services. Our post-show report features extensive coverage and perspectives related to key creative, business, and technology areas. Continue reading ETC’s CES 2024 Report: Creators, Displays, and AI Innovation

FreeWheel Adds Programmatic Ad Buying in Time for Upfronts

Comcast ad tech company FreeWheel is launching a programmatic solution it says will change the way marketers implement their TV ad buying. Called Allocation Module, it is rolling out ahead of the 2024 Upfronts and NewFronts. Central to the new solution is what FreeWheel says is its ability to give marketers more control over their ad spending across various ad channels after it’s been committed. FreeWheel’s Allocation Module “offers demand-side platforms a better way to gauge whether or not they are bidding enough, in real time, to meet their clients’ ad spend commitments,” the company says. Continue reading FreeWheel Adds Programmatic Ad Buying in Time for Upfronts

Ad Firm Vibe Looks to Serve as the ‘Google Ads of Streaming’

Ad tech platform Vibe has raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round led by venture firm Singular. Vibe plans to use the funds to “continue building a more efficient streaming TV advertising ecosystem and become the No. 1 connected TV ad resource for small and midsize businesses,” or SMBs. Vibe, which calls itself the “Google Ads of streaming,” says its technology “radically democratizes access to streaming TV advertising for SMBs with an easy-to-use ad platform mimicking the power and ease-of-use of Google or Meta, but for CTV and OTT.” Continue reading Ad Firm Vibe Looks to Serve as the ‘Google Ads of Streaming’

MWC: Motorola and Lenovo Demonstrate Smart Connect App

Motorola and Lenovo have teamed up on Smart Connect, a Windows 11 app that aims to make moving between devices and sharing content across digital ecosystems a seamless experience. The software solution is designed to make workflows “uninterrupted,” a goal of busy multitaskers. “Smart Connect eliminates disruptions when transitioning between compatible devices by seamlessly connecting core devices like phones, tablets and PCs,” the companies said, explaining it will allow users to “easily amplify everything displayed on their phones onto a bigger screen.” For example, games, movies and TV shows can be moved from phones to TVs. Continue reading MWC: Motorola and Lenovo Demonstrate Smart Connect App

Nielsen: TV Viewership Hits Four-Year High Led by YouTube

The NFL playoffs coupled with heavy streaming and the return of scripted broadcast programming sent January television viewership to a four-year high, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge, which charted a 1.4 percent viewership increase year-over-year — described as noteworthy in a month in which the NFL playoffs typically drive viewership higher. January 2024 included three of the top 10 highest-viewership TV days since The Gauge debuted in May 2021. YouTube continued its streaming dominance for the twelfth consecutive month, with 8.6 percent of January TV streaming viewership, according to The Gauge. Netflix was number two at 7.9 percent. Continue reading Nielsen: TV Viewership Hits Four-Year High Led by YouTube

Walmart Bolsters Advertising Business with Vizio Acquisition

Walmart is acquiring Vizio in a deal valued at $2.3 billion. The retail giant is following a template established by Amazon by expanding into entertainment media and connected TV advertising. The majority of Vizio’s growth from the last five years has come from ads on its WatchFree+ platform, which offers more than 260 channels, Walmart said touting a deal point. Vizio’s primary business is manufacturing value-priced TV sets. It also makes soundbars. The deal will instantly vault Walmart into a mix of players including Amazon, Roku, Samsung Ads and Google’s YouTube. Continue reading Walmart Bolsters Advertising Business with Vizio Acquisition

Milestone: YouTube TV Surpasses 8 Million Global Subscribers

In his annual letter about the state of YouTube, CEO Neal Mohan shared that YouTube TV has passed 8 million subscribers in seven years. Mohan also revealed that YouTube viewers watch a daily average of 1 billion hours of the 19-year-old streaming video platform on a TV screen. With more than 3 million channels in the YouTube Partner Program, the platform has in the past three years paid over $70 billion to creators, artists and media companies. Now, as YouTube integrates AI, Mohan envisions developing “entirely new ways of empowering creative expression, managing rights, and driving revenue.” Continue reading Milestone: YouTube TV Surpasses 8 Million Global Subscribers

Consumers More Attentive to FAST Channels Than Linear TV

As the number of free ad-supported streaming TV channels continues to grow, FAST services are outperforming more traditional linear television and CTV when it comes to capturing and keeping consumer attention, according to two separate studies — one from Samsung, the other from Vizio. Samsung Ads’ report, “Decoding FAST: A Comprehensive Guide to the Free Ad-Supported Streaming Landscape,” reveals that the number of FAST services — among them Fox’s Tubi, The Roku Channel, Paramount’s Pluto TV, Vizio’s WatchFree+ and Samsung TV Plus — has tripled in the past four years, as consumption has grown. Continue reading Consumers More Attentive to FAST Channels Than Linear TV

Nielsen: 21 Million Years Worth of Video Was Streamed in 2023

In 2023, U.S. audiences streamed the equivalent of 21 million years of video, according to Nielsen, which says that’s a record, surpassing by 21 percent the 17 million years’ worth of video streamed in 2022. Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” was the most streamed original, while “Suits” was the most-streamed show in a single year. Its 57.7 billion viewing minutes on Netflix and Peacock surpassed “The Office,” which generated 57.1 billion viewing minutes on Netflix in 2020. According to Nielsen’s Gracenote, “audiences had 90 different streaming services to choose from at the end of last year, up from 51 at the start of 2020.” Continue reading Nielsen: 21 Million Years Worth of Video Was Streamed in 2023

YouTube TV Expands NBA League Pass Choices in Multiview

To the appreciation, if not delight, of sports fans, Google is allowing YouTube TV subscribers to exercise more choice in what games to watch in their multiview windows. YouTube TV offers the option of watching up to four different sporting or news events simultaneously on a single screen. However, it doesn’t allow endless free choice, but presents combination options. Users complained and Google responded by serving up more multiview combinations to choose from, but stopped short of generating customizable multiplex streaming feeds for each user. Continue reading YouTube TV Expands NBA League Pass Choices in Multiview

Hulu Is Joining Netflix in Cracking Down on Password Sharing

Hulu has revised its Terms of Service in an effort to ban password sharing amongst friends and family members outside of a subscriber’s primary personal residence. Hulu has been announcing via email that subscribers will have until March 14 to comply. According to the revised Terms of Service: “If we determine, in our sole discretion, that you have violated this Agreement, we may limit or terminate access to the Service and/or take any other steps as permitted by this Agreement.” The move by Hulu follows what has been reported as a successful crackdown on password sharing by Netflix in addition to a record number of subscribers in the fourth quarter. Continue reading Hulu Is Joining Netflix in Cracking Down on Password Sharing

CES: Samsung Updates Frame TV, Debuts New Music Frame

Samsung Electronics has updated its most popular lifestyle television, debuting The Frame TV 2004 at CES and spinning off The Music Frame, a wireless speaker with Dolby Atmos capability that also displays favorite photos or artwork. The Frame TV offers improved energy efficiency and a larger selection of display images. The Music Frame, which takes its inspiration from The Frame TV, features built-in woofers and intelligent audio processing for “a premium audio experience.” It can serve as a standalone wireless speaker or, using Q-Symphony, can provide surround sound when paired with 2024 Samsung TVs and soundbars. Continue reading CES: Samsung Updates Frame TV, Debuts New Music Frame

CES: AI Was Everywhere but Not the Only Thing in Las Vegas

Technology that empowers creators, a new generation of displays, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence dominated CES 2024. After several years of incremental advances, market development built on maturing technology, and over-hyped trends, this year felt different with an energy that suggests the beginning of a new era. Among the highlights were next generation displays, including MicroLED and transparent technologies. If a consensus emerged, it is that AI may be everywhere but it isn’t everything. “People at the heart of creativity” was Sony’s CES slogan, yet its people-centered sentiment applied broadly across the show. Continue reading CES: AI Was Everywhere but Not the Only Thing in Las Vegas

CES: Amazon Offers Casting from Prime Video App to Devices

Amazon is rolling out Matter Casting, which lets customers cast directly from supported streaming apps on iOS and Android to Fire TV and Echo Show 15 devices. Viewers can begin watching a movie or browse for a Prime Video show on their phone, then cast it to a compatible Fire TV or Echo Show screen. Amazon called the CES announcement “an industry-first demonstration of implementing Matter Casting,” referring to the open-source Matter standard protocol for connectivity between smart home and IoT devices. Amazon is a founding member and active contributor to the Matter standard. Continue reading CES: Amazon Offers Casting from Prime Video App to Devices