For all the talk, there’s little evidence that cord cutting, to whatever extent it is actually happening, has loosened the grip of the networks or cable operators on the TV business. If anything, they’ve tightened their hold, as evidence from this last quarter shows. Read more »
How’s that for a deal: Roku’s new entry-level set-top box is selling for just $49. That’s half the price of an Apple TV – but the company insists it’s still making money on every unit sold. Roku also announced the launch of an HBO Go app. Read more »
The third quarter of 2011 was a busy one in the connected consumer segment. Netflix shot itself in both feet with its clumsy public handling of a price hike and spin-off of its DVD business this quarter — though the move may eventually pay off. Facebook, meanwhile, unveiled a major revamp of its news feed and user profile features, including the addition of real-time sharing of activity, while Amazon delievered its new $199, tablet-like Kindle Fire and posed perhaps the strongest challenge yet to the iPad’s overwhelming dominance of the tablet market. Finally, and despite the hopes of the cord cutters out there, the traditional pay-TV business remains as stubbornly undisrupted as ever. Companies mentioned in this report include Hulu, LivingSocial and Spotify. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Desktop video player Mixd.tv wants to help its users to discover the best clips on the web, but it doesn’t query Facebook or Twitter to do so. The team behind Mixd.tv believes that social is overrated, and instead puts its emphasis on more traditional branded channels. Read more »
Google’s Nexus Prime may have a high definition screen, but it’s not alone. LG’s True HD IPS screen with 1280×720 resolution, will power the LG Optimus LTE in Korea. With a 4.5-inch screen, that’s 326 pixels per inch, or nearly the same as Apple’s Retina Display. Read more »
Occupy Wall Street has grown from a hash tag to a movement with protests in dozens of cities in the U.S. and beyond. Want to keep track of what’s ging on in New York’s financial district? The check out this list of live streams. Read more »
AOL, Yahoo and YouTube are all betting big on web original content. Why? Because for the first time in a long time, it seems that content may finally be attracting the type of viewership and ad dollars they’ve hoped for. Read more »
Wireless Internet access on planes is helping to make those long flights bearable, but so too are the influx of personal media devices such as smartphones and tablets. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to buy content in-flight and take it with you after landing! Read more »
Yahoo is doubling down on quality video, relaunching its video site as Yahoo Screen, a hub for original programming including eight new shows aimed at women along with a host of licensed content from Hulu, Discovery, Fox News and others. Read more »
Roku just announced a significant new retail parter: Target will sell the company’s media streaming boxes in its stores nationwide. The partnership follows similar deals with Best Buy and Walmart, and could help Roku sell three million boxes by the end of the year. Read more »
Blogger John Gruber noted that Apple and Amazon are the the mobile content kings as all others have no “razor blades” to sell. Actually that’s not true, as Samsung and HTC are building up their media offerings. Here’s a comparison between Apple, Amazon and Samsung. Read more »
Hulu has worked hard to improve the amount of choice in advertising available to its viewers, and now it’s taking that innovation one step further. Its new Ad Swap product will give its users even more control in deciding which ads they want to see. Read more »
Yahoo and ABC have struck a partnership that combines ABC News’ content with the reach of Yahoo News for a total potential viewership of 100 million users. The alliance will include the debut of GoodMorningAmerica.com on Yahoo and new online programming, including live interviews. Read more »
Twitvid has raised a Series B of $6.5 million and plans to use the money to hire more people and build out its infrastructure. The company has managed to stick around while others gave up. But can it compete with a likely video play from Twitter? Read more »
On Wednesday, Amazon introduced color screens and touch screens to its Android-powered Kindle lineup. With this, Amazon brings a combination of three critical elements to the tablet marketplace that no company — not even Apple — has matched: a full product line, a powerful business ecosystem and a unique combination of revenue streams. How will it compete in the tablet, video and online media spaces? This research note examines the prospects at hand. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Livestation has seen its audience size explode ever since the beginning of the Arab Spring earlier this year. The company’s success makes you wonder whether other news networks that restrict their live feeds to pay TV subscribers are really doing the right thing. Read more »
With people spending more time than ever online, it makes sense for advertisers to go where the eyeballs are. But the Internet has largely lagged when it comes to garnering big ad dollars. New data shows that online ads are finally moving into the big leagues. Read more »
Dreamworks is parting with HBO snd giving its movies to Netflix instead: Starting in 2013, Netflix customers will be able to stream both new and catalog titles of the animation studio. Netflix was apparently willing to pay significantly more than HBO currently does. Read more »
Roku has teamed up with Disney to bring free video clips from Disney.com to the company’s set-top-box. That’s good news for Jonas Brothers fans, but it should also help Roku to sell more of its hardware, thanks to the appeal of the Disney logo. Read more »
Cloud video editing startup Magisto is coming to market with a new service that will take raw video files and make them worth sharing with friends and posting on Facebook. The company is also announcing $5.5 million in financing from Horizons Ventures and Magma Venture Partners. Read more »
We all love fall TV, but never know when shows are on: Check out this list of services to find episodes of your favorite shows online and get reminders via email, SMS, iCal or even tweet when a new episode is airing on TV. Read more »
Google TV apps have started to pop up on the Android market, hinting at an imminent release of the Honeycomb-based next version of the smart TV platform. Wonder what those Google TV-specific apps look like? Then take a first look with our slide show. Read more »
Giving your YouTube videos the Instagram look is now as easy as clicking a button. The site launched new edit functionality today that adds Instragram-like effect filters as well as advanced cinematic image stabilization to take the shake out of mobile phone recordings. Read more »
Fav.tv wants to keep you up to date about your favorite TV shows, but without any of the distractions of other social TV platforms. Instead of asking you to check in to certain shows, it wants you to interact after an episode has aired. Read more »
Is Glenn Beck ready to make $100 million with his new subscriber-only web TV venture, or is he barely breaking even? The answer depends very much on who you ask. However, Beck’s numbers don’t look all that bad when compared to some new cable TV properties. Read more »
It took several months, but Netflix for Android is now available to most Android smartphones and small tablets. The latest app update adds support for Android 2.2 and 2.3; a change from the earlier Netflix versions that were tested on a device-by-device basis. Read more »
Free, digital content has shattered long-established ways of making money in the newspaper publishing industry, and publishers must now find new ways to subsidize content-creation costs directly. That includes everything from more-flexible paywalls to borrowing the business models of industries like online gaming and music. Read more »
Some Netflix users reported earlier this week that the company has started to crack down on streaming to more than one device at any given time. Netflix denied any policy change when contacted by us and said the error messages were the result of a glitch. Read more »
The impact of digital technology has shattered long-established monopolies and ways of making money in the newspaper publishing industry. Today, publishers must find ways to subsidize content-creation costs directly, and this report examines a few different approaches, from more flexible paywalls to charging users directly for access and mimicking the business models of other industries, such as online gaming. Companies mentioned in this report include Ford, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
But those who have been waiting for the first big online video IPO might have to wait a little longer: That’s because Brightcove’s IPO will be modest in comparison to expectations many of us had for the company — and for the online video industry in general. Read more »
Apple’s share of the online video sales market is on the rise again after a falling considerably due to new competition, a new study reveals. The market share growth is small, but it also brings increased revenue and a roadmap toward more growth in the future. Read more »
Social video service Tout is taking a big step to broadening usage, with new capabilities that will allow users to share moments with friends even if they don’t have its iPhone app. It’s also improved communications between users, with the ability to reply to friends’ videos. Read more »
Farm Aid will have an all-star lineup of musicians performing this weekend to raise money for family farms. But those who can’t make it to Kansas City, Kan., this weekend can stream it live on the web and on a number of mobile devices. Read more »
Tiger Woods is back! Well, back at the Atlanta Golf Club anyway, where he’ll participate in this week’s 93rd PGA Championship. The tournament will be broadcast live online with multiple streams, a 360-degree-camera and a nifty feature that will allow fans to share clips on Facebook. Read more »
Netflix has a catalog of 51,000 movies and TV show episodes, which can be watched on more than 450 devices. Those numbers have helped Netflix to become the biggest video subscription service in the U.S. Check out our infographic for a success story in numbers. 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 »
When it comes to offering recommendations and personalized services to users sifting through mountains of digital content, online video could learn a few lessons from the music world. We’ve yet to see an offering for online movies and TV that mimics, say, Pandora’s highly personalized service. ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
After endless development and lobbying from fans around the world, the BBC has finally opened up an international version of the iPlayer — its smash hit video-on-demand service — for European subscribers. But will it make the grade as other video subscription services expand? 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 »
