Last week, Cinedigm announced it was partnering with BitTorrent to help promote the release of Dante Ariola’s “Arthur Newman,” starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt, which debuted in limited release over the weekend. In less than five days, users of the file-sharing app downloaded one million copies of the film’s 10-minute preview. By comparison, the studio’s official trailer had less than 20,000 views on YouTube over the past three weeks. Continue reading Will BitTorrent Prove a Viable Marketing Tool for Hollywood?

The Huffington Post has finally found a cable TV home for its eight-month-old Internet video channel, HuffPost Live. Starting in mid-May, HuffPost Live will air on Mark Cuban’s AXS TV (previously known as HDNet) daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Some of the online interactivity is expected to be emulated by showing online comments on the side of the TV screen, and an app will later encourage viewers to submit comments. Continue reading Online Video News Channel HuffPost Live Coming to Cable

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

The Chernin Group is producing an unscripted reality series that plans to skip television distribution in favor of a new social media model. The series will be distributed entirely via social platforms including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr. The concept is a bold experiment that hopes to target younger viewers on the devices and platforms that have replaced their traditional television viewing. Continue reading Reality Series to Play Out Entirely on Social Media Platforms

Amazon reportedly has plans to launch a television set-top box that would stream video over the Internet to televisions and provide access to the company’s expanding video services, including the Amazon Video on Demand store. The new device, expected as early as sometime this year, would compete with Apple’s set-top box, Apple TV, in addition to video-delivery products from Roku, Boxee, Microsoft and Sony. Continue reading Could Amazon Set-Top Box be an All-In-One Media Center?

According to new projections from DTVE publisher Informa Telecoms & Media, the number of 3D TV homes will jump from 13.5 million in 2012 to more than 100 million by 2017. Asia Pacific is expected to have the highest penetration with 49.6 million, while North America will follow with 33.2 million and Western Europe should see 18.3 million. The 112.7 million 3D homes projected by 2017 will represent 8 percent of global TV households. Continue reading Report Projects Spike in Global 3D TV Adoption by 2017

The live streaming site Ustream increased its viewership recently with the help of citizen journalism. During the manhunt for Boston bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev, live information was streamed from a police scanner via the free platform. The site drew an audience of 2.5 million, with 265,000 simultaneous viewers at its peak moment. Notably, nearly half tuned in from their mobile devices. Continue reading Citizen Journalism: Ustream Covers Boston Manhunt Live

As broadcasters continue to battle the unauthorized distribution of their shows via Aereo, CBS announced that it has acquired a minority stake in Syncbak, a company that allows local TV stations to stream their content online. Syncbak’s technology enables the delivery of broadcast signals to smartphones and tablets. The service is currently being tested by more than 100 TV stations (including CBS, ABC, Fox and NBC affiliates) in 70 markets. Continue reading Potential Aereo Rival: CBS Invests in Streaming TV Startup

Streaming TV startup Aereo, which currently delivers over-the-air broadcast television to Internet-connected devices via its antenna/DVR technology in the New York City area, announced that it plans to launch in the Boston metropolitan area on May 15. Despite legal battles with broadcasters regarding copyright infringement, Aereo raised $38 million earlier this year from investors including Barry Diller as part of a plan to expand into 22 U.S. markets. Continue reading Controversial TV Streamer Aereo Announces Boston Launch

Sony Pictures Television has announced the fall 2013 debut of getTV, a new digital broadcast network that will specialize in classic movies. The network is Sony’s third branded channel in the U.S. and will initially be offered on digital subchannels for Univision-owned affiliates. Sony is reportedly pursuing additional station partners before getTV’s official launch. Continue reading Sony Readies Launch of New Classic Movies Network

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

Netflix exceeded Wall Street expectations in U.S. streaming-subscriber growth for the first quarter and is now nearly on par with HBO in regards to number of paying customers. According to SNL Kagan, HBO had 28.7 million paid subscribers in the U.S. at the end of 2012. Netflix had 27.9 million paid streaming subscribers at the end of March, but total subscriptions reached 29.2 million when including free promotions. Continue reading Strong Quarter for Netflix, Plans Selective Licensing Strategy

Satellite operator SES announced that in partnership with Harmonic and Broadcom it has created the first Ultra HD transmission in the new HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) standard live from an ASTRA satellite. The end-to-end demo was presented at SES Industry Days in Luxembourg. The company claims the new standard features up to 50 percent improvement in encoding efficiency, as compared to MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) broadcasts. Continue reading SES Demos First Ultra HD Transmission in HEVC Standard

Many were perplexed when Intel revealed it would launch a TV service. But the company, along with other giants such as Apple, Google and Microsoft have wrestled for years with how to become TV providers amidst a market ripe for disruption. And as the pay TV landscape continues to shift, with new emerging social and mobile opportunities, tech companies are well-positioned to step in and exploit. Continue reading Slumping PC Sales: Will TV Service be the Answer for Intel?

Facebook announced this week a partnership with Santa Clara-based Rovi Corporation that will integrate the Rovi Video digital entertainment service into the social platform. Rovi’s database of TV shows, movies and celebrity information will be integrated with Facebook profiles, allowing users to share details of content they like. The partnership comes following Facebook’s Timeline update, which includes the ability for users to tell friends what they were watching. Continue reading Facebook Teams with Rovi: TV and Movies Get More Social