TwitchTV has introduced a new way for video gaming fans to watch live streams of matches on the go, with the launch of an iPhone app. The app gives users HD video as well as the ability to follow favorite channels and chat with other fans. … Read More »
Recent Posts
Citrix Systems has partnered with Cotendo to introduce a product to add more speed and security to enterprise applications that need remote availability with LAN-like reliability. The NetScaler CloudConnector, which the companies announced today, combines the Citrix NetScaler infrastructure with Cotendo’s web and mobile acceleration services. Read More »
Pretty soon, new AT&T U-verse subscribers won’t have to go through the hassle of having their entire home re-wired with coaxial cable when they sign up for pay TV service. Instead, all they’ll need is a residential home gateway and a set of thin-client wireless receivers. Read More »
TV gaming startup PlayJam has raised a $5 million Series A funding round from GameStop Digital Ventures, Adobe Ventures, Endeavour Ventures, London Venture Partners and others. The financing comes as PlayJam sees a massive opportunity to bring new games to connected TV platforms. Read More »
Minerva Network builds software for ISPs rolling out TV services over IP networks. Its new xTVFusion 5 platform is designed to enable live and on-demand IPTV services that can be deployed over relatively low-bandwidth IP networks. Read More »
Netflix’s DVD service may have taken a backseat to streaming, but it’s still an incredibly profitable part of the business. In its fourth-quarter forecast, Netflix estimates DVDs will produce $177 million to $192 million in contribution profit, on revenues of $354 million to $368 million. Read More »
Netflix’s subscriber attrition in the wake of a price hike and separation of its streaming and DVD businesses is even greater than first thought. The company ended the quarter with 23.8 million subscribers in the third quarter, which is down 810,000 from the previous quarter. Read More »
More Must Reads
Hollywood is finally starting to make good on its promise to allow consumers to buy a movie once and watch it anywhere. But in my latest piece on GigaOM Pro, I argue that UltraViolet does little to combat a visible shift in consumer behavior. Read More »
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has his work cut out for him, as he faces investors for the first time since announcing plans to spin out and re-brand the company’s DVD service — and then backtracking on those plans. Here’s what to look for as Netflix releases … Read More »
Shelby.tv is now open to the public, making its social video recommendations service available to all. And it’s doing so with the introduction of an iOS app that will bring the same type of video viewing experience available on its website to the iPad and iPhone. Read More »
Even as online video viewing has expanded, audiences at YouTube continue to outpace the market. The latest evidence? ComScore’s September Video Metrix report, which shows that nearly half of all videos viewed online in September were delivered by the Google-owned online video site. Read More »
Comcast has been boosting the number of VOD titles it has available. But behind the scenes, the technology enabling the VOD service is a new, IP-based distribution and delivery network. That means not just more content, but the potential for new services as well. Read More »
Popular YouTube series like Fred and The Annoying Orange have been limited to being watched through web browsers. Thanks to Flingo, series managed by Collective Digital Studios will soon find their way onto viewers’ connected TV sets, with their own branded line of TV apps. Read More »
Veokami hopes to make it easier to watch videos of concerts and other events with a new platform that finds, curates and pieces together videos from YouTube. By doing so, viewers can watch on-demand videos of concerts from many different camera angles and perspectives. Read More »
Bollywood fans rejoice! IP set-top box maker Verismo Networks is seeking to meet that demand with a new subscription service called Mela that will give viewers outside South Asia the ability to watch a wide range of live and on-demand Bollywood content. Read More »
Cisco has agreed to acquire startup BNI Video for $99 million in cash. The deal is the latest acquisition Cisco has made to bolster its Videoscape portfolio, and it will extend its offerings for enabling network operators to delivering IP video streams. Read More »
Qwilt is coming to market with a product to help network operators manage huge amounts of video traveling over their networks. It’s doing so with some serious backing from big-name investors, having raised $24 million from Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Crescent Point Group and others. Read More »
Netflix has a new version of its Android app that adds support for Honeycomb tablets and expands availability beyond the U.S. The app is now available on the Android Market, expanding the number of devices its subscribers will be able to access it on. Read More »
Tango is used to seeing a bump in registrations whenever a new smartphone is released. But last week’s launch of the iPhone 4S gave it an even bigger lift than usual, with record registration numbers that were up 35 percent higher than usual. Read More »
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company was winning the battle for productivity applications in the cloud, and when it’s winning, it’s taking customers away from Google. And in doing so, he invoked a little bit of Charlie Sheen in showing his enthusiasm about network-based applications. … Read More »
Amazon has become the cloud king, with its AWS offerings providing cloud-based storage and processing that takes a lot of the cost out of deploying new products and applications. Netflix, DropBox and Yelp are all AWS clients, but the most important user might be Amazon itself. Read More »
Mobile data traffic is set to explode, driven by more smartphones and tablets and the incredible growth of video traversing mobile networks. But a new video format is on its way, which could deliver the same high-quality video in half as many bits. Read More »
How can TV networks leverage the power of social networks to build their audiences? According to MTV EVP Dermot McCormack, social networks aren’t just for announcing when the next episode of Jersey Shore airs, but a whole new platform for media creation and distribution. Read More »
4chan founder Chris Poole believes that users need a balance of anonymity and identity online, a strategy he hopes social networks will also adopt as a way to allow people to make mistakes online without having to worry about those transgression coming back to haunt them. … Read More »
AT&T is making a big push to enable its U-verse subscribers to engage with shows through social TV apps. By partnering with BuddyTV, Miso, TV Foundry and WayIn, U-verse users will be able to chat, take polls and get personalized TV recommendations without having to check-in. Read More »
MeFeedia has introduced a new iPad app that seeks to make it easier to find and share interesting videos online. Unlike other apps, MeFeedia hopes to surface popular and interesting videos based on user ratings and interests without hooking into social networks or anything like that. Read More »
DaCast is looking to make live streaming easier with a new offering it calls “streaming as a service.” With a flexible pricing model and easy set up, it hopes to find a sweet spot between enterprise platforms like Brightcove and free live streaming services like Ustream. Read More »
Facebook wants to make it easy for users to share which movies or TV shows they’re watching online. But a little-known law from the ’80s could hold back those ambitions, at least for users who want to seamlessly share what they’re watching on Netflix. Read More »
UltraViolet is Hollywood’s first real effort at breaking the Apple stranglehold. The idea is that by implementing a digital rights locker, the studios involved will enable viewers to purchase a piece of content once and watch it on any device. And it’s finally available now. Read More »
There are few good ways to share a slide deck and video of a presentation after it’s given. 9Slides hopes to change that, with a platform for syncing videos and slide decks that can be watched simultaneously in a web browser or on mobile devices. Read More »
Warner Bros. has confirmed its movies won’t disappear from streaming sites when they hit HBO’s pay TV service. The closing of this so-called “HBO window” could go a long way toward making digital ownership of UltraViolet titles more appealing to consumers. Read More »
Netflix backtracked on its plans to separate its DVD-by-mail business and re-brand it Qwikster. So far, Wall Street analysts have been largely supportive of the move, although Netflix stock is down modestly in mid-afternoon trading after opening higher this morning. Here’s some of the analysts’ feedback. Read More »
Netflix came under a lot of heat when it announced plans to separating its DVD service and re-brand it Qwikster. But after nearly unanimous disapproval, the company has decided to shelve those plans, and will keep DVD-by-mail a part of the Netflix brand and website. Read More »
Comcast is testing out a new service offering called MyTV Choice, which gives subscribers the ability to pick and choose which types of content they want to pay for. It’s not true a la carte, but it’s a step toward more personalized programming choices. Read More »
Microsoft is targeting a Black Friday release of its Xbox Live update, which will add apps from the likes of Comcast, Verizon and HBO. But the code that those apps will run on, which is a modified version of Silverlight, is still being finalized. Read More »
Most word of mouth still occurs in face-to-face situations, but social media has emerged as a powerful tool for getting the word out about shows. Even so, until now there’s been some debate about how effective social media actually is in creating a ratings lift. Read More »
Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy has a new venture, but surprisingly enough, it’s not about building big hardware or enterprise software. It’s a new social startup called WayIn that’s focused on building a community of users that can vote and comment on pretty much anything. Read More »
Before today, Socialcam was already the leading video sharing application available for the iPhone. But it’s getting even better with a pretty fantastic update to its app that adds filters, and will let users add a little color to their videos. Read More »
Microsoft unveiled partners that will be part of a major expansion of content available through the next update of its Xbox Live service, and it’s a pretty impressive list. In addition to Comcast and Verizon, Xbox will also add content from networks like HBO and Epix. Read More »
Keek is just one of many startups looking to become the Twitter of video status updates. But it might be the best financed: Keek announced that it has raised $5.5 million in a financing round led by AlphaNorth Asset Management and Plazacorp Ventures. Read More »
AOL, Yahoo and YouTube are all betting big on web original content. Why? Because for the first time in a long time, it seems that content may finally be attracting the type of viewership and ad dollars they’ve hoped for. Read More »
One of the big upgrades in the new Apple iPhone 4S is its new 1080p HD camera. That’s a big boost over the current iPhone 4′s 720p camera, but the upgrade may not be apparent if users try to watch those videos on an Apple TV. Read More »
Yahoo might have shown early interest in acquiring Hulu. But with Hulu being a big part of Yahoo’s newly launched ‘Screen’ video portal, is there any reason for Yahoo to buy the company outright? That might be one reason Yahoo seems less interested in an acquisition. Read More »
AOL has seen a ton of growth in its video properties over the last year, and is looking to bolster that part of its business even more, with a slate of web original content designed to capture viewer attention and steal TV ad dollars. Read More »
Netflix continues to invest in content that will help it stand out from the growing crowd of streaming video services and traditional cable TV networks. The latest evidence is a deal that will bring Norwegian-produced mobster TV show Lilyhammer to its original-programming lineup Read More »
Most Commented
Popular Now
Latest News
- The incredible story of Indie Game: The Movie
- Traversing the Valley
- How many Apple IDs should your family have?
- Maybe it’s time to rethink how we fund broadband
- Ambient video and the changing face of communication
- 7 stories to read this weekendÂ
- With new U.S. presence, Shopcade expands its social commerce business model
