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 »
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 »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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, 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 »
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 »
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 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 »
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 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 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 »
» Facebook Pushes Back Against ‘Super-Cookie’ Charges (paidContent)
» Is Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) Really Shaking In Its Sho… Read more at paidContent »
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 »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
The fight for the TV audience is quickly moving online and to a growing number of mobile applications, with Apple’s iPad as the latest battleground. Over the last 18 months, a number of broadcasters and pay-TV operators have launched iPad apps that provide access to streaming ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Warned by an interviewer at today’s Goldman Sachs conference hat he was about to talk about cordcutting, the subject that won’t go away, Tim… Read more at paidContent »
Indie documentary video streaming service SnagFilms making good on some of the changes it proposed earlier this year, when it raised $10 mil… Read more at paidContent »
Another day, another patent suit is hitting the courts. Today the Canada-based patent holder WiLAN has filed a suit in a U.S. court against… Read more at paidContent »
