When soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” moved online, it wasn’t clear how fans would watch them. It turns out that most viewers are binge-watching — so the soaps’ production company is cutting back on the number of new episodes each week. Read more at paidContent »
More than four million people now pay to access Hulu Plus streams, and all of that streaming shows: The site registered more than one billion streams across its free and paid service in Q1. Read more at paidContent »
Hulu’s Apple TV app has been given a major facelift to better highlight new content. The relaunch could set off a revamp of the service across various CE devices. Read more »
Amazon announced Friday that by the end of 2013, Prime Instant Video will be the only paid streaming service to offer episodes of Downton Abbey. Hulu Plus and Netflix will lose access. Read more at paidContent »
Hulu Plus subscribers will get access to a number of CBS shows starting January 2013 — but don’t expect this to include last night’s CSI:Miami episode: The deal only includes episodes from previous seasons, and most of that will also just be made available to paying subscribers. Read more »
The subscription version of Hulu is now available on Apple TV. Adding the channel was sort of an obvious move on Hulu’s part because of what Apple has done with its Airplay feature that lets users stream their Mac or iOS screen to their TV. Read more »
Remember when Friendster was the hot social network, publishers doubted that ebooks would ever sell, and Netflix thought DVDs in red envelopes was the future? We do — that was that state of digital media when paidContent launched in 2002. Read more »
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 »
For developers, consumers and even carriers, Android seems irreparably broken. But Google’s not likely to “fix” Android anytime soon, because despite the fragmentation problem, the company is getting what it wants: massive amounts of user data. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Hulu Plus, Hulu’s paid subscription service, has hit 2 million users and is helping put the company’s revenue on a faster pace than last year, said Hulu’s CEO Jason Kilar, speaking at the Ad Age Digital conference in New York. Read more »
The Hulu Plus mobile app is now available for Android tablets, complete with an updated user interface. The software has a visual redesign offering easier navigation on large touchscreen devices. But not every Android tablet owner can use the software; only seven devices are supported. Read more »
A dedicated Apple TV set was a hot topic at the end of 2011. So far in 2012, news on that front has been relatively quiet, but a new note by longtime Apple TV set booster and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is reigniting the discussion. Read more »
Hulu Plus has “materially exceeded” expectations, passing 1.5 million paying subscribers and heading closer to the point where the premium v… Read more at paidContent »
This is the last in a series of posts over this week that looks at the most significant developments of this year in the sectors that we cov… Read more at paidContent »
How about this for localization: Hulu announced a number of new deals for Spanish-language content Tuesday morning, but it’s not about to embark on any Latin American expansion like Netflix. Instead, the site is now targeting Latinos in the U.S. with a dedicated site section. Read more »
Verizon is working on a streaming subscription service that could compete directly against online players like Netflix and Hulu Plus. The service would allow Verizon to deliver video to customers that don’t live within its current FiOS footprint, and could be another competitive blow to Netflix. Read more »
Netflix may have had some troubles keeping its customers on board, but streaming usage has nonetheless been growing: The company’s CEO Reed Hastings revealed during an investors conference Tuesday that Netflix is now streaming “well over a billion hours” to its subscribers per quarter. Read more »
The new Xbox Live update launching tomorrow is the start of a rollout of lots of new content partners on the platform. But the big innovation will be allowing them to be navigated from a unified search mechanism powered by Microsoft’s Bing. 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 »
Video discovery startup Fanhattan rolled out a new iPhone app that will allow users to search and navigate TV shows and movies that are available on the device. The release follows Fanhattan’s launch of an app for the iPad, which was introduced earlier this year. Read more »
When Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced the new Nook Tablet on Monday, it appeared to have an app-vantage over the Kindle Fire: Hulu Plus.… Read more at paidContent »
When asked about CBS’s appetite for striking deals with new streaming providers that might not have the money to pay cash upfront to license its content, Moonves said that CBS had decided against joining an Apple TV service because it was based on an ad split. Read more »
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 »
Gossip Girl is headed to Hulu Plus. On the heels of a past-season, library deal with Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) that could be worth as much as $1… Read more at paidContent »
Hulu has signed a five-year licensing agreement with The CW, the company announced Friday. The deal will bring current season programming, including The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl and Supernatural, to both subscribers of Hulu Plus, and Hulu’s ad-supported web-based service. Read more »
Bollywood fans rejoice! IP set-top box maker Verismo Networks is seeking to meet that demand with a new subscription service called Mela that will give viewers outside South Asia the ability to watch a wide range of live and on-demand Bollywood content. Read more »
Netflix came under a lot of heat when it announced plans to separating its DVD service and re-brand it Qwikster. But after nearly unanimous disapproval, the company has decided to shelve those plans, and will keep DVD-by-mail a part of the Netflix brand and website. Read more »
The latest news from Hulu underscores how important it is for the video startup to keep moving while it waits for its fate to be decided, sh… Read more at paidContent »
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar thinks that Hulu Plus will bring in more than half of his company’s revenue within the next 12 months. Kilar made these predictions as part of his traditional quarterly report, which he also used to announce a content partnership with Univision. Read more »
For the latest streaming video chart, click here.
Our July streaming video chart followed word that Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) was separating DVD… Read more at paidContent »
Sezmi has hit the deadpool from a consumer perspective. The company will stop offering its combination over-the-air broadcast and streaming service to consumers, focusing on selling its hardware to operators instead. The decision comes after finding little customer adoption, despite raising some $71 million. Read more »
Our July streaming video chart followed word that Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) was separating DVD and streaming subscriptions and raising the price… Read more at paidContent »
My first hands-on look at AT&T’s Galaxy S II shows a powerful smartphone with brilliant display and fast mobile broadband. Amazon’s tablet is expected to launch next week, although it runs on Google’s platform, you may not see Android. Hulu Plus fans gain a software upgrade. Read more »
Fanhattan has integrated with social networks, which will not only provide more interesting content for users to watch but will also allow them to share their interests with friends. Users can now get recommendations from their social graph, including movies and TV shows their friends like. 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 »
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 »
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 »
More than most cable providers, Comcast could offer a streaming offering with its XfinityTV.com website and iPad app. But it has no plans to extend its products to customers outside its cable footprint, in part because there’s no money in it, according to CEO Brian Roberts. Read more »
Hulu is catching up to its subscription service competitors by rolling out its Hulu Plus service to more devices. The newest Hulu Plus-enabled devices are the family of WD TV media players. The WD TV Live Hub media player also received access to ShoutCast today. Read more »
A Hulu Support staffer might have just pre-announced plans for Hulu to introduce a new subscription plan that would cost more than the current Hulu Plus plan. The tweets come as Hulu faces its broadcast partners putting up a pay wall against non-cable subscribers. Read more »
