Less than two months after it first made live video streams of its cable channels available on mobile devices, the WatchESPN app is now optimized for iPad viewing. The release brings a bigger-screen resolution to sports fans that happen to be subscribers of select cable systems. Read more »
Sprint has quietly hiked its text messaging rates for businesses that send text alerts over its cellular network. But ESPN, The Weather Channel and MSNBC have all opted to cease sending free messages to Sprint users altogether rather than pay the new fee. Read more »
With the WatchESPN app, Android users can now watch live streams of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on their mobile devices. There’s just one catch: to do so, they’ll have to be Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS subscribers. Read more »
The big fight between Time Warner Cable and Viacom isn’t so much about whether or not cable companies should have to pay for broadband streaming rights to reach the iPad, but who has the right to decide how a cable network’s content is distributed. Read more »
ESPN is extending its live video streams onto mobile devices, releasing a new iPhone app Thursday. There’s just one catch: to watch those live streams, you have to be a subscriber to one of just three participating pay TV providers for the apps to work. Read more »
The number of pay TV subscribers increased over the fourth quarter, but the year-over-year growth was the slowest ever for the industry. Even worse, the percentage of households paying for TV actually declined over that period, due to a constrained economy and competition from online sources. Read more »
Today on the Net: Google, TiVO and Best Buy have joined forces to lobby the FCC on its AllVid proposal, Verizon FiOS customers are now able to watch authenticated ESPN videos online and the BBC iPlayer now has content from commercial TV counterparts. Read more »
ESPN’s broadcast of the BCS National Championship game Monday marked the highest-rated cable broadcast ever, despite the fact that viewers could watch a stream of the game on the cable network’s online service, ESPN3. The numbers prove the dominance of TV, but not cable companies. Read more »
There’s talk of the future of media in the air. So let’s examine how NewNet technologies like social media and real-time feeds are helping to re-invent the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
New data from ESPN suggests that there are fewer cord cutters than you might think. But it’s releasing this data at the same time its distribution partners, afraid of cord cutters, are beginning to roll out cable packages without ESPN as a way to lower costs. Read more »
The television business is on the cusp of the biggest technological upheaval since the introduction of cable TV. The addition of Internet connectivity to living room devices will enable new functionality around programming services, program discovery, social networking, ad targeting and measurement — aspects of the TV viewing experience that have remained largely unchanged for decades. These trends have the potential to become the foundation for new economic models around how viewers pay for video service and how program creation is financed. In this report, we examine the leading contenders’ strategic positioning, relative strengths and weaknesses, and provide the early line on their odds of success. Companies mentioned include Google, Apple, Boxee, Roku, Vudu, Samsung, Microsoft and Sony. To see a full list of companies and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
ESPN recently rolled out its TV Everywhere service to Time Warner Cable subscribers, making live and on-demand video from its broadcasts available online. But consumers may be pleasantly surprised to find that there’s something missing from the online version of the video service — ads. Read more »
Time Warner Cable announced today that ESPN’s TV Everywhere offering will go live next Monday, just in time for Monday Night Football. But the vast majority of cable subs won’t be watching MNF online, but on the big-screen TV — and Time Warner Cable knows that. Read more »
It took a while, but ESPN is ramping up its TV Everywhere efforts across multiple service providers. With today’s announcement that ESPN extended its carriage agreement with Verizon, FiOS subscribers will soon be able to watch ESPN live on their PCs and other connected devices. Read more »
Today on the Net: Crackle.com is teaming with Rogers to make its content available in Canada, ESPN and YouTube have partnered to encourage users to submit highlights that could end up on SportsCenter and ZumoCast launched an app to stream content to the iPad and iPhone. Read more »
Disney and Time Warner Cable have settled their retransmission negotiations, finalizing a deal that will keep ABC, ESPN and Disney networks on Time Warner Cable systems. But the big news for online video is that Disney is creating its first authenticated video service for ESPN networks. Read more »
Much of the data regarding how we used our handsets to keep up with the 2010 World Cup has been released. Here’s what we can take away regarding how we use our handsets and how prepared network operators are to deliver the goods. Read more »
Today on the Net: Akamai has a new president, Swisscom uses your Facebook friends in a personalized movie trailer, local libraries loan more DVDs each day than Netflix, YouTube is playing with a new playlist bar, and more. Read more »
When Microsoft announced that ESPN would make live and on-demand video available through its Xbox Live service, the news had strong implications for mass adoption of cable services being delivered ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
CBS today disputed claims by ESPN said that the World Cup face-off between the U.S. and Algeria was the biggest U.S.) online sporting event ever, saying one of its March Madness on Demand live streams had more unique viewers. ESPN3, however, is standing firm. Read more »
The World Cup has been a big traffic machine for ESPN3. The broadband network tracked close to 800,000 soccer fans tuning in for the match between the U.S. and Slovenia. Competitor Univisionfutbol.com on the other hand had its best day when Mexico faced off against France. Read more »
Stuck at work without a TV to watch the World Cup? ESPN3 is one of the sites that streams most of the games live for free – but you may not be able to access any of them if you’re signed up with the wrong ISP. Read more »
Microsoft made a lot of potential cord-cutters very happy yesterday when it announced a deal with ESPN to make 3,500 live sporting events available through Xbox Live. But those users should probably hold off before canceling their service and read the fine print first. Read more »
Microsoft today announced an exclusive partnership with ESPN at their E3 media presentation. Via Xbox Live, over 3,500 live sporting events in the first year will be available, many in HD. In addition, Xbox’s controller-free Kinect system will enable video chatting for Live users. Read more »
Today on the Net: FLO TV hopes to use the World Cup to garner more subscribers to its mobile video service, YouTube Leanback could get a big boost from being a part of Google TV, and ESPN expects big things from 3-D. Read more »
