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 »
News Corp COO Chase Carey spoke about Fox’s digital strategy in an earnings call Wednesday afternoon. The company saw strong growth in home video, thanks to digital downloads. Carey also acknowledged that Hulu will have to adapt in coming years to compete with Netflix. Read more at paidContent »
This week, famous faces, new shows and pleas for advertising dollars brought many web video companies to web video’s version of TV’s upfronts. Here are just a few of the biggest stories to emerge. 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 »
Nielsen is rolling out a pilot product that lets TV networks track viewing of shows on their websites. The tool doesn’t yet account for viewing on mobile devices, and the pilot doesn’t include viewing on sites like Hulu and YouTube. Read more at paidContent »
Two years after ABC canceled them, soap operas One Life to Live and All My Children are coming back to life online, with four new 30-minute episodes per week available on Hulu and iTunes. But soap fans who are not used to online viewing may not tune in. Read more at paidContent »
It’s now common practice for canceled shows to find their way to fans via digital means, but there’s a big difference between uploading unaired episodes and truly coming back to life. Read more at paidContent »
The TV industry knows that broadband changes its business, but it can’t adapt quickly. That’s why the CEO of Conviva expects cord cutters to suffer higher fees and less content in the short term. Read more »
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 »
Hulu has a new CEO — for now, anyway: SVP of Content Andy Forssell will take over as acting CEO when Jason Kilar leaves by the end of the month. Read more at paidContent »
Fanhattan, which is like a TV Guide for iPad, has launched out a beta web version with new discovery and recommendation features. On the web, it offers more content recommendations from more providers — 29 on the web, compared to 16 on iOS. Read more »
What if you could watch a movie before its theatrical release on Hulu? Subscribers of Hulu’s Japanese service will have the chance to do just that next week — but only if they’re quick. Read more at paidContent »
GetGlue’s new iPhone app takes conversations about TV shows to facebook. Next up for the company is to add online-exclusive content from Hulu and elsewhere. Read more at paidContent »
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar is leaving the company along with CTO Rich Tom. The two will stay on in the next months to manage the transition. Read more »
NextGuide updated its iPad app with 18,000 clips of current TV shows from Hulu’s library of content. That’s good news for NextGuide users, but it also raises an interesting possibility for Hulu: The service could generate tons of additional views by spreading its clips more liberally. Read more »
TV broadcasters and programmers must embrace a new set of video-delivery techniques to reach consumers today. Online delivery to so many types of consumer devices means that video programmers must produce multiple internet-streaming formats that use different types of security and different ways of inserting ads. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Amazon is testing a $7.99/month Prime membership to help it compete against Hulu+ and Netflix’s monthly streaming video plans. The option is only available to some users for now, and if you go to the Prime signup page, you may not see the offer. Read more »
Brand advertising’s focus on cross-platform media measurement has grown dramatically in the past five years. Within the next 36 months cross-platform digital video advertising will standardize, driven by the shift in media dollars to online viewing and the adoption of the Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) initiative. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
The internet has never wanted for dance videos, but DS2DIO seeks to create a central hub for dance-related content of all genres on YouTube, guided by a guy who knows a little bit about making the art of dance cinematic. Read more »
The third quarter saw many parts of the traditional media business in flux. Other developments included the rollout of new device-based content ecosystems, red flags and red ink for traditional consumer electronics makers, and a resurgence of consumer purchases of movies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Seth McFarlane’s performance on Saturday Night Live became available on Hulu Japan just hours after it aired on NBC in the U.S., and upcoming episodes will be released in the country just as fast. But don’t expect Hollywood to give up on international windows altogether. Read more »
Jon Miller, the well-respected chief digital officer of News Corp, is on the way out after presiding over the company’s sprawling digital properties. The move comes at a time that News Corp is splitting into distinct entertainment and publishing companies. Read more at paidContent »
A leaked memo hints at an uncertain future for Hulu after a buyout of co-owner Providence Equity Partners. Not only could CEO Jason Kilar leave the company, but Hulu’s co-owners News Corp. and Disney don’t seem to see eye-to-eye on key issues. Read more »
Aereo, the company that wants to deliver broadcast TV online and to any device, has a new pricing plan that puts it on par with a Hulu subscription. The plan aims to get folks to try it out and to challenge the broadcasters’ current revenue models. Read more »
The company hasn’t reported Hulu Plus subscription data since revealing that it hit the 2 million mark earlier this year. Of course, with Hulu presenting its new originals and foreign acquisitions to TV critics Tuesday in Beverly Hills, having a hit series wouldn’t hurt subscriber growth. Read more at paidContent »
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 »
Our reporter visited a vegan bakery in Kansas City that was one of the first places to get Google Fiber. He offers speed tests via wired, Wi-Fi and a sense of the problems that Google Fiber will have to overcome to sign up customers. 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 »
Tablets featured prominently in the connected consumer space, both as a product category and as a component of broader platform strategies by major OS providers Microsoft, Google and Apple. Meanwhile Facebook began laying the groundwork to add payment processing to its platform. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Hulu will team with the BBC to produce the fourth season of the satirical comedy, which focuses on the inner workings of the British government. The first three seasons of the show will start running on Hulu and Hulu Plus starting July 29. Read more at paidContent »
The suspenders are back starting Tuesday night, with Family Guy and Ted creative mastermind Seth MacFarlane serving as the first guest on King’s new interview show. The half-hour program will run on Hulu, Hulu Plus and Ora TV in the early-evening hours Monday thru Thursday. Read more at paidContent »
Cloud-based storage and cross-device syncing of media content are two of the most competitive areas in consumer IT. Apple, Google and Amazon see cloud-based media services both as a way to increase attachment to their platforms and a means to extend and amplify their broader strategic goals. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Defunct Web 1.0-era VOD company Intertainer continues to file patent suits, alleging Viacom transgresses its technology when streams shows like Spongebob Squarepants. Intertainer is currently litigating with Hulu and has a 10-year history of filing complaints and winning settlements. 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 »
Battleground was Hulu’s first foray into original scripted programming. How has producing online-only TV content changed since Hulu picked up the show, and what’s up next for Battleground? We talked to executive producer J.D. Walsh to find out. 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 »
In this busy new world of multiple social networks and recommendations tools, the discovery process itself is being disrupted by innovation and by the changing ways in which consumers now interact online. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
We’re at a flashpoint in the evolution of television, and the battle lines are becoming more clear. What’s also becoming clear is that Comcast is playing to win. Here are seven things the nation’s largest cable company is doing to keep its pay TV customers. Read more »
