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Verismo Helps Pay TV Providers to Cross Borders

Janko Roettgers — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:01:24 +0000

Don’t like your local cable company? Then why don’t you get pay TV straight from Mexico, India or the Middle East? That’s the idea behind Verismo, a company that is announcing the launch of a new triple-play platform targeted towards virtual MSOs later today.

Verismo initially started out in the retail business, selling its over-the-top set-top boxes by cooperating with companies like Sherwood and Netgear as well as its own VuNow brand. Verismo EVP Dhaval Ajmera told me during a phone conversation yesterday that his company eventually decided to move up the chain and target MSOs directly.

It rolled out an extended platform last year, which is capable of combining OTT video with linear TV delivered over the Internet. The company now wants to up the ante by adding VoIP services and a broadband modem to its hardware, enabling triple-play packages. That proposition is especially interesting to MSOs that try to extend their market beyond their traditional reach. In other words: Verismo doesn’t anticipate providing its technology to Comcast, but it could sign up with someone who wants to compete on Comcast’s (s CMCSK) home turf by carving out a niche.

One of these niches consists of expats who try to keep up with programming from their home countries. “It’s a huge market,” said Ajmera, adding that his company is already working with a virtual MSO targeting the Greek community in the U.S. Verismo also has deals with providers in India, the Caribbean, Somalia and the Middle East, and the Mexican ISP Telmax recently started to distribute its hardware as part of its ToTotv offering. Another deal with a big U.S. provider is supposedly forthcoming, but Ajmera declined to provide further details. Ajmera also claimed that the company’s products are deployed in over 90 countries, but didn’t want to provide any details about the actual household footprint.

We’ve been writing about the idea of such virtual MSOs for quite a while, and the idea that someone could migrate to another country and simply take is cable TV service with him is pretty interesting. However, what will happen to long-term viability of such models once more and more programmers move online and platforms like Google TV become more popular? For now, Ajmera isn’t worried. “Google doesn’t have a service provider model yet,” he said.

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Vid Biz: DVD Kiosk Boom, Streaming-Only Netflix, Ivi Struggle

Janko Roettgers — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:37:28 +0000

Comcast Takes Xfinity Video Out Of Beta; A Comcast announcement insists the service now comes with 150,000 paywalled content “choices,” though that includes many trailers and clips available elsewhere. (DSLReports)

How Google TV Could Hand Netflix the Entire Streaming Universe; If Google sticks to their guns of not paying up front for content like Netflix does, they will have handed Netflix the entire streaming universe on a platter, according to Mark Cuban. (blog maverick)

US Digital Home Entertainment Spend Up 23%; one of the biggest winners? Rental kiosks. (Broadband TV News)

Netflix Testing $7.99 and $8.99 Streaming-Only Plans in US Right Now; DVD rental service now trials packages without DVDs — one is not a discount. (Engadget)

ivi TV Reasserts its Legal Position; Files Motions to Deny Big Media Monopoly of Internet Television; linear TV streaming start-up keeps up the fight to stay up with new legal filing. (emailed release)

There is No New Media: It’s All New Consumption

Om Malik — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:32:47 +0000

Now television broadcasters are blocking Google TV from getting access to the content broadcasters put online to make sure they don’t lose advertising dollars. But the cat is out of the bag. All information is nothing more than bits on one network — the Internet.

LifeSize Introduces Modular HD Video Conferencing Bridge

Simon Mackie — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:48:54 +0000

Video conferencing company LifeSize today announced the LifeSize Bridge 2200, an HD video conferencing product. The Austin, Texas-based company (now a division of Logitech) says that because the 16-port product is modular, it should enable businesses using it to scale their video conferencing needs as required.

FCC Live-Tweets NLCS Matchup for Cablevision Subs

Liz Shannon Miller — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:28:04 +0000

Your passive-aggressive government agencies at work! Today, when the San Francisco Giants faced off against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS, the official Twitter account for the Federal Communications Commission provided several updates on the game for Cablevision subscribers unable to watch the game due to the cable company’s ongoing dispute with Fox. SERIOUSLY.

(At the risk of editorializing: Go Giants!)

Each update was accompanied with a link to the FCC’s consumer help center, which is offering tips to affected Cablevision subscribers, including switching service providers or acquiring an antenna for picking up broadcast content.

In addition to those options, a guaranteed way for Cablevision subscribers — or anyone else sans cable — to follow the postseason action would be to purchase the MLB Postseason.tv package, available for $9.95 and not subject to any broadcaster or cabler’s whims. That doesn’t get them access to new episodes of House, of course, although Fox is currently allowing access to Hulu, after blocking it for a few hours on Saturday.

The FCC isn’t just watching the ball game, though — FCC chairman Julius Genachowski made a statement today that he “was “deeply troubled that Cablevision and Fox are spending more time attacking each other through ads and lobbyists than sitting down at the negotiating table. The time for petty gamesmanship is over.”

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Fox Cuts off Hulu: Good and Bad for Cable Subscribers

Stacey Higginbotham — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 02:23:48 +0000

The fight over how much Cablevision would pay Fox in retransmission fees escalated to a new level this morning, as news outlets confirmed that Fox had denied Cablevision’s broadband customers access to Hulu and Fox.com. With the move, Fox entered a new low in the war between content providers and pay television companies as they negotiate the fees that programmers charge pay TV providers, and may have created a new wrinkle for regulatory politics. However, it may also show how online television has gained in importance for large content companies, enough so that it too can become a pawn in these retransmission fights.

Fox is seeking more money from Cablevision, about $80 million more a year, in order to keep the cable company’s 3 million customers watching episodes of The Simpsons and Monday Night Football NFC football games. Retransmission fights have been getting more contentious lately, and this one is no exception, with Fox threatening on Friday to cut off Cablevision’s subscribers if a deal wasn’t reached by midnight.

Apparently, Fox decided to go one further and brought its web properties into play. A Hulu spokeswoman told All Things D:

Unfortunately, we were put in a position of needing to block Fox content on Hulu in order to remain neutral during contract negotiations between Fox and Cablevision. This only includes Fox content. All other Hulu content is accessible to Cablevision [I]nternet subscribers. We regret the impact on Cablevision customers and look forward to returning Fox content to those users as soon as possible.

Although Fox’s online television content is now restored, the action may have further repercussions, especially as the Federal Communications Commission debates the merger of Comcast — the nation’s largest cable provider — and NBC Universal, a contributor to Hulu and also a huge provider of content. Opponents of the deal are concerned it could limit the voices available in media, but there are also fears that Comcast would become much too powerful. A statement from the Free Press Public Knowledge explains this point of view:

“This case shows the dangers of unchecked media consolidation and of a retransmission consent regime badly in need of reform. Consumers should not have their access to Web content threatened because a giant media company has a dispute over cable programming carriage. The anti-competitive aspects, particularly when it comes to online video programming, are glaringly obvious.

“The migration of a programming dispute to the online world should also raise red flags for the merger of Comcast and NBCU. If the combined Comcast were to attempt such a maneuver, millions of consumers all over the country would be hurt. Those government agencies evaluating the merger should be alert to the possibility as they decide whether the merger should be approved and, if so, with what conditions.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user comedy_nose.

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Why Cable May Let the Google Fox Into the Henhouse

Michael Wolf — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:30:50 +0000

Google's newly announced partnership with DISH will distribute Logitech's Google TV device and allow for limited integration with the satellite TV provider's set-tops. But the real question is whether or not Google can sell such an act to the Comcasts and Time Warners of the world.

That’s Not a Remote; That’s a Speak ‘n Spell!

Ryan Kim — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:30:11 +0000

Sony's Google TV remote is a good example of the challenge facing any manufacturer looking to integrate its TV platform with Google's devices. The remote sports 90 buttons, and it often requires two hands for things that many people are used to doing one-handed.

Sony Prices Google TV to Sell; Will People Buy?

Ryan Kim — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:56:25 +0000

Sony unveiled a new family of Google TV-powered TVs and a Blu-ray player, pricing the hardware with an eye toward selling consumers on the benefits of marrying the full Internet with TV. The announcement came one week after Logitech announced its Google TV-powered Revue set-top box.

What Would Facebook TV Look Like?

Michael Wolf — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:30:50 +0000

Google headlines this week beg the question: Would Facebook ever pursue a three-screen strategy by offering up its own TV platform to users? The answer could be yes, as the TV screen seems too big a honeypot to ignore for a company that lives on advertising dollars.

Cisco Umi: An HD Telepresence System for SMBs?

Simon Mackie — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:04:43 +0000

Yesterday, Cisco launched its consumer telepresence offering, Umi, which will provide high definition video calling in the home. At $599, plus an additional $24.95 per month for unlimited calls, it seems a little pricey for its target consumer market, but could it work for SMBs?

Where Is Android’s Go-To Place for Paid Videos?

Ryan Kim — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:34:53 +0000

Android doesn't offer a complete solution especially when it comes to video content. Sony is trying to correct the problem with the release of a new Crackle video app, but it only points up the need for a more comprehensive solution, something hopefully Google is working on.

GoToMeeting to Get Integrated HD Video Conferencing

Simon Mackie — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:48:21 +0000

Citrix's web conferencing products (GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and GoToTraining) will have integrated HD conferencing, the company announced at its Citrix Synergy conference today. The HD technology, allows up to six simultaneous conferencing streams at a resolution with a total maximum resolution of 1920 x 960.

Is Web Working in Apple TV’s Future?

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:17:39 +0000

So I broke down and got one of the new Apple TVs, despite my initial objections. There was a few reasons why I did, some of which I've detailed at TheAppleBlog recently. But the future possibilities of the Apple TV for web working also intrigue me.

Breaking: Cisco Exec to Take Over as Skype CEO

Om Malik — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:55:40 +0000

Cisco Systems veteran Tony Bates is taking over as the CEO of Skype. He will replace Josh Silverman, who is leaving the company for undisclosed reasons. Bates' hiring indicates that Skype is serious about its IPO plans.

Blip.tv Going HTML5, With Advertising

Liz Shannon Miller — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:45:14 +0000

UPDATED: Blip.tv‘s joining the HTML5 party, it announced at the Open Video Conference today as well as via its official blog. And it’s doing it with a brand new player, due to launch in the next couple of days, that supports advertising.

What’s kept Blip from following in the footsteps of Vimeo and YouTube, CEO Mike Hudack writes, was the fact that HTML5 initially lacked the ability to properly track video usage, making it difficult to follow analytics or put advertising on the content. That last part, according to Hudack, was key:

Advertising is incredibly important to blip. Our mission is to make independent production sustainable, and the primary financial way we do that we do this is through an advertising revenue share. So we couldn’t embrace HTML5 in a big way until we could serve ads in HTML5 — otherwise we would be shortchanging the producers who rely on us for their income.

Hudack does not explain how Blip has solved the analytics problem, though companies like TubeMogul have previously found solutions. Not only will Blip’s HTML5 player will be able to support advertising, but it will be “about five times faster than the Flash player.”

UPDATE: In the comments below, Blip.tv co-founder Dina Kaplan confirms that “We are indeed partnering with TubeMogul on analytics. We’re also working closely with FreeWheel for ad serving into the HTML5 player; and with ScanScout for ads (in addition to blip.tv-sold campaigns).”

As it’s become the mobile default for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, Blip intends to eventually transition all of its content to HTML5 playback, with its content creators still receiving the same ad rates as before. And they’re already making good money: As of Blip’s last “check week,” the totals were 77 percent bigger than Q1, with the number of shows earning $1000 or more up 57 percent.

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