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 »
A year after the much-hyped launch of *Google* TV with partners Sony (NYSE: SNE), Logitech, Intel (NSDQ: INTC) and Dish Network (NSDQ: DISH)… Read more at paidContent »
This category changes as fast we update charts. The latest shift: Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) has abandoned plans to spin off its DVD-by-mail busin… Read more at paidContent »
Dish Network unveiled its new streaming and DVD service, Blockbuster Movie Pass, Friday. But those who thought it would be positioned as a Netflix killer will be sorely disappointed: Despite earlier speculation, at launch, Movie Pass will be strictly to the satellite operator’s pay TV service. Read more »
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 »
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 »
The summer of 2011 was accompanied by a great web video pullback, as content owners lengthened distribution windows and demanded more from digital licensees. That’s caused some concern about the viability of the industry, but is probably a small road bump for the booming business. Read more »
Dish Network could soon take on Netflix in the subscription streaming space, with a new service offered through Blockbuster. The service is expected to roll out next month, as Dish seeks to take advantage of Netflix’s recent price hike and steal angry customers away. Read more »
Time Warner Cable will soon offer a promotion that will give rebates for Slingboxes to its Wideband Internet customers. That provides an incentive for users to sign up, but also gives Time Warner Cable a way to offer its TV “everywhere” without signing agreements with networks. Read more »
It’s been just a week since Fox instituted an eight-day delay for its shows online, and already people are heading to BitTorrent instead. According to TorrentFreak, the number of viewers downloading shows like MasterChef and Hell’s Kitchen has surged over the past few days. Read more »
If you’re a cable provider, what do you do when Fox comes to re-negotiate its retrans deals, asking for more money now that it’s put its shows behind a pay wall? And what do you do when subscribers begin demanding access to Fox content online? Read more »
We tried (unsuccessfully) to access Fox shows using its new authentication system on Hulu, getting hung up by the pay TV login that only works for Dish subscribers. Since Dish is the only distributor on board, everyone else’s experience will probably be similar to our own. 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 »
By implementing TV Everywhere–type authentication for broadcast content online, Fox is eliminating some of the friction that’s cropped up in its negotiations with cable and satellite providers. But it could also use access to online video as a way to drive ever-higher retransmission fees. Read more »
If you’ve missed the first two episodes of Breaking Bad: Full-length episodes have quietly been added to online video portals of Comcast and Dish Network. But to access those episodes you have to be a cable or satellite subscriber. Read more »
Dish Network unveiled its first cross-promotional deal with the Blockbuster assets it just picked up in a bankruptcy auction. Under the promotion, Dish will provide three months of free access to Blockbuster’s DVD-by-mail service to any new subscribers of its satellite TV service. Read more »
With adaptive streaming technology in its set-top boxes, access to digital rights and the Blockbuster brand, as well as some spectrum that could be used for wireless broadband services, Dish could be well-positioned to roll out new, IP-delivered video services. Read more »
Starz and Disney are suing Dish Network over a year-long free promotion it offered, claiming the satellite TV provider can’t distribute its channels without payment from users. The giveaway also coincides with Starz renegotiating its Netflix deal, which could take away some of its negotiating leverage. Read more »
Now that Dish owns Blockbuster, it will try to build a profitable business from the ailing video rental store. Digital will be a part of Dish’s plans, but CEO Charlie Ergen said it wouldn’t compete with Netflix, in part because Netflix is already too big. 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 »
Dish Network could keep as few as 600 retail Blockbuster locations open, a strategy that highlights the importance of the video store’s digital rights. Those rights, along with some spectrum it got in the acquisition of DBSD, could help Dish expand its streaming video services. Read more »
Dish Network won an auction for embattled DVD rental firm Blockbuster, ending long-running bankruptcy proceedings that have led to store closings and layoffs. But Dish has some major challenges ahead in its plan to make the acquisition pay off in the long run. Read more »
Dish Network and Carl Icahn have joined the bidding for Blockbuster in advance of a bankruptcy court auction next week. But after years of failing to adapt, will a new investor or management team be able to turn around the beleaguered DVD rental firm? Read more »
Despite having an already robust platform for delivering Internet video, Comcast says it will stay away from offering over-the-top videos to people outside its network. Meanwhile, Dish Network is negotiating content rights that might enable it to offer streaming services to customers online. Read more »
Some DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers face blackouts of local TV networks after the satellite providers were unable to reach agreements with Northwest Broadcasting and Frontier Radio Management. While the disputes might seem isolated, they are part of a larger struggle brewing between programmers and distributors. Read more »
Dish Network unveiled new mobile Remote Access apps that allow its subscribers to watch live and pre-recorded video from their iPhone, Android and BlackBerry mobile phones. The catch is that customers need a SlingLoaded DVR or purchase a Sling Adaptor for the apps to work. Read more »
The free availability of popular TV shows online could eventually lead to the destruction of one of the main pillars of the TV industry, Dish exec Bruce Eisen said during a panel at Streaming Media West today. His remedy? A 30-day window for Hulu & Co. Read more »
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. Read more »
The PTO reaffirmed TiVo’s Time Warp Patent, striking a blow against Dish and EchoStar today. The patent office’s ruling, which TiVo says is final and not appealable, enforced the patent at the center of a legal fight between the DVR maker and the satellite TV provider. Read more »
Despite some early enthusiasm for TV Everywhere from select networks, it has been slow to catch on in the last 18 months. One reason for that, according to some execs, is that there’s no real business model for distributing content online through an authenticated service. Read more »
Cable companies are cautiously making their videos available online and on mobile devices. Now that consumers have a near-infinite number of entertainment choices, online and mobile video included, pay TV providers have to get more strategic about delivering video to devices beyond the television set. Read more »
Satellite TV provider Dish Network is building a destination website that subscribers can log into and view on-demand content from cable networks that they already pay for. The new site, DishOnline.com, follows similar efforts from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon in putting that content online. Read more »
Widevine announced this morning that its technology has been chosen to be embedded in EchoStar SlingLoaded set-top boxes. The deal will give an extra layer of protection to video that is being place-shifted from user’s home TV sets to whatever device they’re watching video on. Read more »
Today on the Net: Dish Network sues the FCC over requirements to carry high-definition feeds of non-commercial channels, Disney releases an iPad app to allow users to purchase and download movies and Comcast has rolled out its multiroom DVR service in more than 20 markets. Read more »
In a petition to deny the Comcast-NBCU transaction, Dish Network says the deal poses “grave threats” to online video. With a TV Everywhere initiative and a stake in Hulu, Dish says the combined entity would have the incentive and ability to take anticompetitive action against competitors. Read more »
Today on the Net: Satellite providers Dish Network and DirecTV go head-to-head with competing “free HD for life” offers, Apple unleashes an HTML5 showcase to show off what you can do without Adobe Flash, and BSkyB pays £160 million for Virgin Media’s content arm, VMtv. Read more »
