Cable Operators To Sell Verizon Advanced Wireless Spectrum For $3.6 Billion
A big move for Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) today, and something of a seismic shift for the cable industry as it moves away from its fixation… Read more at paidContent »
Verizon’s spectrum deal with cable is the end of broadband competition
The spectrum deal that Verizon signed to buy the unused airwaves from the nation’s top cable providers signals the moment that the consumer benefits of the convergence of voice, video and data hit the wall. It’s a deal that’s great for Verizon and bad for consumers. Read more »
Verizon building a spectrum empire with cable deal
Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks are selling off the spectrum remnants of their stillborn wireless venture, SpectrumCo, to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion. The deal allows Verizon to double up on its LTE network, while creating a new alliance between Verizon and cable. Read more »
Thanks to cable firms, the U.S. adds 635,000 new broadband subs
Eighteen of the largest cable and telecom companies added about 635,000 net new subscribers during the third quarter of 2011, with a majority of the subscribers – 83 percent or 525,000 – coming from cable companies. This brings the total for the US to about 77.8 million subscribers. Read more »
Will usage-based pricing kill the streaming video star?
Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are attracting more eyeballs every month, stealing attention away from traditional TV. But cable providers could soon fight back, by basing their pricing on how much a given user streams every month. That would effectively raise prices for streaming services. Read more »
DailyCandy Looks To Closer Ties Between E-Commerce And Ad Sales
With last week’s hiring of Gilt City’s Fernando Romero, as VP of ad sales of women’s lifestyle guide DailyCandy, the company has decided tha… Read more at paidContent »
After four years of declines, TiVo adds new customers
TiVo has spent the last several years losing subscribers, dropping to mid-2000s customer levels in the second quarter. But the DVR maker might finally be showing some positive momentum, reporting 117,000 net new customers in its third-quarter earnings report. Read more »
Why Microsoft bought VideoSurf for $70 million
Microsoft has acquired video search specialist VideoSurf, reportedly paying upwards of $70 million for the Silicon Valley startup. The software giant plans to integrate the VideoSurf technology into its Xbox Live platform, providing more granular data about what’s happening on-screen. Read more »
Comcast’s holiday gift to broadband users: a wireless gateway
Comcast is hoping to drive more broadband usage this holiday season. The cable company is giving new customers of its upper-tier broadband services a new Xfinity Wireless Gateway, which combines a cable modem, WiFi router and voice-over-IP adaptor all in one box. Read more »
Matcha.tv launches to become your DVR in the cloud
After a few months in private beta, social video recommendations site Matcha.tv has publicly launched with new features, including the ability to help users organize and keep track of the TV shows and movies they love. It’s also added Comcast’s XfinityTV.com as a content partner. Read more »
Twilight 'Breaking Dawn' Viewers Set Fandango Mobile Ticketing Record
The latest installment of the Twilight movies, Breaking Dawn, enjoyed one of the top-grossing opening weekends of all time (for some inexpli… Read more at paidContent »
What tomorrow’s cable box looks like
Comcast customers will soon find a new UI on their cable box that will look much less like Grandma’s EPG, and more like an iPad app with social recommendations and universal search. But how open will the cable box of the future be for third-party developers? Read more »
Sneak peek at Comcast’s Skype on Xfinity service
Comcast announced earlier this year that it would soon introduce Skype to its subscribers, with an easy-to-use kit that will allow users to quickly turn up video chat services on their TVs. We got a sneak peek at the offering at Comcast headquarters last week. Read more »
The children are our future, and they don’t pay for TV
A weak economy is putting pressure on the pay TV industry, but a bigger issue is the number of young people opting for online services instead. That’s an issue faced by Dish Network, which is trying to figure out how to win over those possible subscribers. Read more »
Comcast’s XfinityTV.com gets an HTML5 facelift
Comcast has relaunched its XfinityTV.com website, providing users quicker access to content and more tools to connect online, linear TV and VOD viewing. The new UI puts more emphasis on artwork, and one-click viewing and allows users to add content to a video queue. Read more »
No HBO Go for Roku users on Comcast or DirecTV
Roku scored a huge coup with its release of the HBO Go app. But not everyone who subscribes to the network will have access to it. In fact, the two biggest pay TV operators in the U.S., Comcast and DirecTV, have decided not to support it. Read more »
@ pcE11: Measuring The Twitter Effect On TV Viewing And Programming Choices
It’s a wild world these days at the intersection of traditional television business models and all the new ways that people are consuming co… Read more at paidContent »
To succeed at TV, Apple will need to embrace ads
Apple has long referred to Apple TV as a hobby, but that could soon change with the launch of a full-fledged HDTV. But if Apple hopes to succeed at getting content providers on board, it’s going to need to open up and allow third-party ad serving. Read more »
For Comcast, broadband grows fast, video losses slow
Comcast has slowed the loss of video subscribers over the past several quarters, as it rolls out new products and new ways to access its content. At the same time it strengthened broadband subscriber growth, with more of its customers opting for double- and triple-play offerings. Read more »
Turner Broadcast Ad Veteran Yaccarino To Head NBCU Cable, Digital Sales
Linda Yaccarino, who left her role as SVP/COO of Turner Entertainment Ad Sales & Marketing and Acquisitions after 18 years last week, is qui… Read more at paidContent »
Will apps or devices manage cloud complexity in the home?
The enterprise is where the big bucks used to be, but home is where the heart and consumers are. As the web becomes more integrated in people’s lives, the home will become the battleground for the coming generation of startups and big-name companies. Read more »
Comcast Moves NBCU Local’s Shopping Guide To DailyCandy
A year after NBC (NSDQ: CMCSA) Universal’s local division launched shopping guide network The Feast, the property is being handed over to it… Read more at paidContent »
As Cable TV News Wars Heat Up, Bloomberg Builds ‘Live TV’ Placement On iPad
Bloomberg may still be battling with Comcast over better placement on its cable systems, but the financial news and information company is l… Read more at paidContent »
Inside Comcast’s massive IP VOD network
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 »
What a fight for broadband tells us about democracy
Broadband analyst Craig Settles looks at how a fight over municipal broadband in Colorado drives home how ISPs can control the democratic process to deny governments and citizens access to better broadband. And they are willing to spend big to do this. Read more »
Disney, Fox Commit To Hulu; Halt Sale Talks
Unable either to attract the kind of money under circumstances that would make it worthwhile or a deal that made more strategic sense than h… Read more at paidContent »
Sonic.Net goes on the ISP offensive
Sonic.net, a Bay Area ISP, has a service package and ethos that could disrupt the broadband market. Today it’s brand of disruption is limited to California, but Dane Jasper, the company’s CEO, says that Sonic.net plans to expand outside California. Read more »
The pay TV market is still resisting disruption
For all the talk, there’s little evidence that cord cutting, to whatever extent it is actually happening, has loosened the grip of the networks or cable operators on the TV business. If anything, they’ve tightened their hold, as evidence from this last quarter shows. Read more »
Could OnLive be the app that kills bandwidth caps?
Perhaps Netflix has found a friend in its lonely battle against broadband caps, as a U.K. paper is reporting that gamers playing the OnLive service can use up to 20 GB in six hours. Can an outraged gaming community help eliminate broadband caps? Read more »
Comcast’s MyTV Choice: Is this the future of pay TV bundling?
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 readies Silverlight for Xbox Live update
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 »
Microsoft Shifts Strategies To Expand Xbox Live TV, Go Global
After years of effort and speculation, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has pieced together nearly 40 broadcast services from around the world to boos… Read more at paidContent »
Microsoft’s cable play: Verizon, Comcast, HBO and 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 »
Yahoo: Why buy Hulu when you can license it instead?
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 »
The Morning Lowdown 09-30-11
» Facebook Pushes Back Against ‘Super-Cookie’ Charges (paidContent)
» Is Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) Really Shaking In Its Sho… Read more at paidContent »
Pay TV’s future and the battle for Input 1
Pay TV operators are increasingly enabling viewers to browse, navigate and watch their programming on third-party devices like connected TVs and game consoles. But when they do that, are they ceding control to CE manufacturers? And who ends up really owning the consumer relationship? Read more »
Get ready for the great cable unbundling
The cable industry is pulling an about-face on the issue of a la carte programming, due to expensive content rights and a weakening economy making bundles of network programming unaffordable. As a result, they’re trying to create smaller and more affordable bundles of programming. Read more »
Comcast’s live streaming iPad app coming soon?
Comcast has long promised subscribers it would introduce an iPad application allowing them to stream live TV feeds in the home. It looks like it might finally be ready to introduce the capability through a new service called AnyPlay, according to promotional materials posted by MacRumors. Read more »
$10 Settlement Offers: The Entertainment Industry’s New Copyright Tactic
photo: Wurlitzer Heart
Judges this year have shot down two unorthodox tactics used by the entertainment industry to collect money from file-sharers. But that hasn’… Read more at paidContent »
DailyCandy Deals Teams With NBCU Sibling LX.TV On Video Series
Women’s fashion and lifestyle e-newsletter and deals network DailyCandy is unveiling its first foray into broadband video through its partne… Read more at paidContent »
