The purpose of the on-screen guide has shifted. By connecting the guide to content-recommendation engines and advertising platforms, service providers and connected-TV device manufacturers are using the EPG as an access point for understanding consumers and reaching out to them to own the living room. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With satellite carrier DirecTV reporting its first-ever net quarterly loss of subscribers, the Big Four pay TV services collectively lost 407,000 U.S. video customers in Q2. This was not offset by gains of 322,000 net video users reported by telco services AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS. Read more at paidContent »
Looking to hold the line on escalating program licensing costs, the satellite TV services face the prospect of having to carry more regional sports channels. The Pac-12 Network launches in about three weeks, but DirecTV and Dish are in no hurry to make a deal. Read more at paidContent »
Analysts say DirecTV will end up paying Viacom about what it initially offered, around $2.80 per month per its 20 million subscribers. The satellite carrier wasn’t forced to take on Epix, and it also got a lot of TV Everywhere content rights. Read more at paidContent »
After more than a week of public squabbling and dark channels, DirecTV and Viacom have a new licensing deal that restores all 26 of the channels — and leaves open the possibility that premium channel Epix will show up on the satellite operator. Read more at paidContent »
According to a tweet from noted media technology analyst Richard Greenfield, DirecTV has “appears to have caved” in its standoff with Viacom. The conglomerate’s response? An actual deal is “news to us.” Read more at paidContent »
They’ve been negotiating over some of the biggest cable networks on TV, but DirecTV says a near deal to end its weeklong impasse with Viacom has been undone by a lightly watched premium channel. The programmer calls that a fabrication, saying the two remain far apart. Read more at paidContent »
Bernstein Research’s Todd Juenger and Craig Moffett publish some of the best data yet on this rather epic carriage battle. It will take both sides a long time to come to an agreement, they predict, and the solution will come through Viacom curtailing its digital activities. Read more at paidContent »
Addressing DirecTV’s 20 million subscribers in a heavily rotated, one-minute, 23-second propaganda spot, Mike White says, “At the very least, we think Viacom should be willing to give your family the choice to pay for only those channels you watch,” Read more »
Nickelodeon has been the top-rated cable channel for 66 straight quarters. But with Nicks’ ratings in decline, and its shows spread across Netflix and other OTT outlets, the channel’s negotiating position may be softening. In the lastest carriage renewal conflict, DirecTV will find out how much. Read more at paidContent »
Anecdotal evidence suggests over-the-top video is a booming trend. But it takes technical skill, state-of-the-art broadband connections and the willingness to shell out money for both bandwidth and content subscriptions to fully integrate OTT into a household, much less consider trying to use it to cord cut. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
While we in tech land tried to read the tea leaves of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent cryptic comments on the future of Apple TV, the media world saw the uncertainty around his statements as, “causing a boatload of angst and anticipation,” according to Variety. Read more »
Sure, the satellite TV service faces rising programming costs, flattening subscriber growth and an obsolete one-way broadcast platform here in the U.S. But Sanford Bernstein senior analyst Craig Moffett told investors this week they’re not seeing the company’s huge growth potential in Latin America. Read more at paidContent »
The adoption of tablets, social media and new interfaces and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its path of rapid change, thanks to new ways of creating, viewing, bundling, distributing and selling content. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
DirecTV continued to reap the benefits of Latin American expansion in Q1, increasing revenue in the region by 33 percent while providing a role model for other subscription-based media companies like Netflix who are also endeavoring the expense of southern infiltration. Still, investors remain unimpressed. Read more at paidContent »
Apple may decide not to reinvent the wheel for any upcoming Apple TV product. Instead of offering access to integrated live TV feeds, it may partner with existing pay TV operators. Best suited for this kind of partnership may just be Dish or DirecTV. Read more »
DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) continues to provide a useful blueprint for other U.S. media companies looking to expand into Latin America. On Thursday… Read more at paidContent »
One DVR to rule them all? In addition to bringing Comcast’s new cloud-based user interface to subscriber homes, the Xcalibur set-top box includes DLNA Premium Video, which will allow users to access live and recorded TV from tablets, PCs, connected TVs and other devices. Read more »
The latest evidence that the set-top box will soon be dead comes from Samsung and DirecTV, which have partnered. Set-top boxless viewing will enable operators to provide the same user interface on the TV without the need for another piece of hardware. Read more »
Dish is betting big on the DVR to help it win over more customers and fight off competition. The satellite TV provider is coming out with new and improved recording devices that can be taken advantage of from up to four TVs throughout the home. Read more »
Miso is rolling out the latest update to its second-screen app platform, letting users create second-screen experiences that go along with shows they’re watching. The new product adds a crowdsourced aspect to the types of companion content that viewers see when they launch the Miso application. Read more »
Last week, Verizon announced a $3.6 billion deal to buy wireless spectrum from cable operators and resell their pay-TV services. This week,… Read more at paidContent »
Just a few days after one social TV startup hit the dead pool, another is raising new funding. Miso announced Thursday that it’s raised a $4 million financing round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from existing investors Google Ventures and Hearst Interactive Media. Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
When it comes to live TV, sports still rule. That’s especially true for football as we take a look at DirecTV’s third-quarter earnings release. Thanks to an NFL Sunday Ticket promotion, DirecTV added 327,000 subscribers, even as competitors struggled to retain existing customers. Read more »
What if you could stream every NFL game over the Internet? That’s exactly what I did over the last few days, getting my weekly dose of football not on a friend’s TV or at a bar, but in my own home, on my laptop and iPad. Read more »
Sonic.net could soon be one of the first ISPs to introduce a TV service delivered over its broadband service. With the filing of a video franchise application with California’s Public Utilities Commission, Sonic is on its way to creating its own streaming video service. Read more »
With DirecTV dropping out of the bidding for Hulu last week, its assets are now being sought by Amazon, Dish Network, Yahoo and Google. And Google is bidding big, hoping to wrap up more content and for a longer period of time than the others. Read more »
Social TV app Miso just got a lot smarter. The application, which lets users check in and share what they’re watching on various social networks, will now be able to detect what they’re watching, as long as those users are subscribers of DirecTV. Read more »
After weeks of speculation, a sale of Hulu seems inevitable. But while bids from companies like Google, Amazon, Yahoo and DirecTV are expected Wednesday, there’s a compelling case to be made that Hulu’s owners and content partners might be better off not selling. Read more »
The pay TV industry shed at least 193,000 subscribers last quarter, based on public earnings results. While most were low-end subscribers that didn’t pay for HD, DVR or other value-added services, the industry faces a tipping point if it keeps focusing on ARPU above all else. Read more »
DirecTV has admitted to taking a look at Hulu’s financials to see if it’s worth buying. While the satellite provider could accelerate its rollout of TV Everywhere services with such a buy, DirectTV’s CEO said a Hulu acquisition isn’t necessary to achieve its long-term vision. Read more »
Most major public cable, satelleite and IPTV providers have announced earnings, and it’s clear that the second quarter was a weak one in terms of net subscriber additions. That will cause many to once again question whether online video services are causing viewers to quit cable. Read more »
Netflix subscribers are still unhappy with the company’s price change, which increases the cost of unlimited streaming and one DVD out by 60 percent. The good news is that the number who will unsubscribe altogether is likely overstated due to the emotional response to the change. Read more »
Hulu has made its first pitch to a number of prospective buyers, but Netflix didn’t come to the party: The popular subscription service apparently has no interest in buying its catch-up TV competitor. However, there are plenty of other well-known suitors still in the game. Read more »
Netflix has made a business of “re-run TV” online, and recently jumped into striking a deal for some original programming. But there could also be an opportunity for it to work with broadcast companies to keep low-rated shows with big Netflix fan bases on the air. Read more »
If a new customer survey is any indication, satellite TV provider DirecTV might be interested in rolling out a subscription over-the-top video offering like Netflix’s streaming service. DirecTV is polling customers on how often they watch online video, perhaps to create its own online service. Read more »
After a year in which over-the-top video services grabbed most of the media’s attention, some of the online video headlines shifted back to traditional pay-TV providers in the first quarter of 2011. Device manufacturers rolled out new offerings, while cable-TV providers moved to expand their in-home footprint beyond the TV itself. But over-the-top continued to encroach, with Roku adding its first linear channels to the Roku store and Netflix acquiring exclusive rights to high-profile original series House of Cards. Finally, traditional web powers like Google, Yahoo and Apple made moves to reassert their presence in the living room after their early stumbles. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Comcast, Cablevision, Viacom and VUDU. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
