NBC made its full-length TV episodes available for free on its iPad app last week, but that doesn’t mean it won’t roll out TV Everywhere-type authentication on its digital streams. Digital head Vivi Zigler told us the network is definitely looking at authentication as a possibility. Read more »
When NBC first debuted its iPad app, we called it a “missed opportunity,” due to the lack of full-length episodes available. With the fall TV season soon to kick off, the broadcaster has corrected that error, making all content from NBC.com also available on the iPad. 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 »
Netflix is coming to Brazil and other Latin American countries this week, where it will be competing with thousands of street vendors peddling unlicensed DVDs. Can the service beat piracy, or will it be too expensive for the average consumer in Brazil and beyond? Read more »
In a somewhat uncharacteristic move, Fox has released one of its new fall shows early on the iTunes Store. You can now download the full pilot episode of Fox’s New Girl, a half-hour comedy starring Zooey Deschanel, for free with a U.S. iTunes account. Read more »
Bitbop, the mobile video service once owned by News Corp. (NSDQ: NWS) and then sold in a whirr of a divestment strategy, looks like it is fi… Read more at paidContent »
Big news for mobile TV pioneer MobiTV: the company has filed for an IPO worth up to $75 million, as it looks for funds to expand internation… Read more at paidContent »
Hulu Japan officially launched, kicking off the online video service’s entrance into its first international market. But unlike its ad-supported service in the U.S., the Japanese version comes with a few differences that could give a hint at what Hulu might look like in the future. Read more »
Hulu’s first offering outside the U.S. is live: Hulu Japan, a subscription service with “hundreds” of films and thousands of hours of TV. Fo… Read more at paidContent »
There’s nothing flashy about broadband services, but that won’t stop many operators from making those services a core focus as time goes on. Due to growing consumer adoption and better profit margins than traditional video services’, high-speed Internet is likely to be the future of the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
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 »
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 »
A stumbling economy with the threat of another recession, a price hike for Netflix customers, people canceling cable and a pay TV wall for fans of popular TV shows like Glee and Top Chef: Sounds like a perfect storm for piracy, doesn’t it? Read more »
Fox won’t be the only broadcaster to restrict access to its shows online and require next-day viewers to be pay TV subscribers. Disney is also working out deals with distributors that would allow viewers to watch shows sooner if they log on with a cable ID. Read more »
Would consumers pay to stream live, local TV channels to a Roku or other connected set-top box? And if so, how much? That’s a question that’s on the mind of Sonic.net CEO Dane Jasper, who’s doing a little bit of informal market research on the topic. Read more »
Online TV viewing is about to get a whole lot more complicated soon, as Fox.com and others are introducing pay-TV walls that force consumers to authenticate themselves as paying customers. It’s like DRM for online video — and, once again, consumers are getting screwed. 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 »
Fox wants viewers of its TV shows to authenticate or subscribe to Hulu Plus in order to access full episodes of favorite shows online the day after they air on TV, but a significant number of viewers might simply just pirate them. Read more »
There are many reasons Fox might want to erect a pay wall for broadcast TV. But the main one given by Fox affiliate sales chief Mike Hopkins is to discourage consumers from choosing not to subscribe to cable. But will that plan actually work? Read more »
Fox is pushing its viewers to either keep their pay-TV subscriptions or subscribe to Hulu Plus: New episodes of popular Fox shows won’t be immediately available online without some kind of subscription, starting next month. Only one pay-TV provider has a deal with Fox. Read more »
The search for a Hulu buyer continues, as it’s being pitched to a wide range of media and technology companies. While much of the press has been focused on the possibility of a tech giant buying Hulu, an acquisition by Verizon might be its best bet. Read more »
Hulu has been a great service for viewers, offering the ability to catch up on shows the day after they’ve aired online. But based on reports of deals it’s negotiating with broadcasters, Hulu might make users prove they’re cable subscribers to do so in the future. Read more »
Hulu’s board of directors has hired investment banks to begin exploring a sale of the online video startup. But will any buyer get what it’s bargained for? Questions about future content deals and the ability to hold the attention of viewers could spoil Hulu’s future. Read more »
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said this morning that one of the things he’s most proud of is beating BitTorrent, at least in the U.S. Now, he says, the challenge is to beat copyright infringement in places like Korea, where it runs rampant. Read more »
At this week’s TV upfronts, NBC and Fox showed two very different approaches towards digital advertising and its importance in the broadcast TV business. While NBC told advertisers to ignore the web, Fox offered up the opportunity to buy its shows on any platform. Read more »
Hulu might be close to signing new rights agreements with its content partners, according to AllThingsD. But things have changed since its launch. How will that affect what Hulu’s business looks like after the next set of deals are done? Here are our predictions. Read more »
» Ahead of Earnings Next Week, Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) Shares Drastic Dip Due to Googley Panda-Monium. (AllThingsD)
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Word leaked earlier this week that YouTube (NSDQ: GOOG) was going to start renting out premium movie content, putting it in a position to co… Read more at paidContent »
Comcast has expanded the amount of TV content available through its VOD service, with all four broadcasters on board. But more important than the addition of new content is the technology behind it, which will improve tracking and monetization of VOD TV episodes. Read more »
The new “Pick ‘Em” feature from Miso’s social TV app will enable users to share who they think are the most likely contestants in competitive reality series to advance — or to be voted off. Fox has already signed on as a launch partner. Read more »
After weeks of back and forth between Time Warner Cable and its programming partners, the cable provider is bringing back six cable networks from Fox and Discovery that had previously been taken off its controversial iPad app. Read more »
Syncbak hopes to enable broadcast stations to take control of their destinies and create new streaming services, by offering a way for them to verify local viewers are in their broadcast area and ensure that devices accessing content belong in households that can receive their signals. Read more »
Since launching its iPad app a couple of weeks ago, Time Warner Cable has been embroiled in a disagreement with cable networks over rights to stream live channels to the tablet device. Rather than haggle with them, the cable operator is taking its case to court. Read more »
Netflix is employing a multi-pronged approach to growing its streaming library: Get long-tail content on the cheap, pay top dollar for popular programming that will draw new users, and make some bets on exclusive original programming to differentiate from other video services. Read more »
Cablevision just released a new app that will make all the same live cable and on-demand programming that viewers can watch on their TVs also available on Apple iPads. But will Cablevision pull stations from the app in the same way that Time Warner Cable did? Read more »
Just a day after removing 11 cable channels from its live streaming iPad app yesterday, Time Warner Cable has restocked the app’s programming lineup, adding 17 national networks and three local channels. Bonus: the app now has sports and news channels! Read more »
Discovery, Fox and Viacom might have won their battle against Time Warner Cable, forcing the pay TV provider to pull their channels from its live iPad app. But in doing so, they’re losing viewers that might have actually used the app to watch their shows. Read more »
