A new idea is catching on. The idea is simple: build a Bluetooth keyboard right into an iPad case, and you’ve got yourself a total netbook replacement in a single, svelte package. It’s a watershed moment for the iPad, and for tablets in general. Read more »
Today on the Net: Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes defends his TV Everywhere strategy, Digg’s Kevin Rose says Apple’s upcoming iTV will change everything and Sony continues to invest in online video sites Crackle and is planning integration into the PS3. Read more »
Today on the Net: Critics come out against the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal joint venture, Time Warner Expands its TV Everywhere offerings with Verizon and Teevox launched an app to turn your mobile phone into a remote for watching Hulu and Netflix on a computer. Read more »
PBworks today released a Customer Relationship Edition of its enterprise collaboration software. Unlike most existing CRM apps, which are primarily reporting and management tools, PBworks’ new app is is designed to be used at all stages the sales cycle for external collaboration with prospects and customers. 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 »
TV apps — interactive, web-like applications meant to “enhance” the TV viewing experience by supplementing programming content with additional material and activities — are evolving quickly from a novelty feature on some Internet-enabled HDTVs and a few cable systems to a standard capability. Their rise is driven by rapid growth in the number of Internet-connected devices in consumers’ living rooms, growing consumer familiarity with mobile apps and strategic competitive forces that influence video service providers. In this report, we look at the market dynamics, key players, and provide forecasts for the market, including network-connected televisions, embedded app marketplaces, app downloads, paid TV apps, and revenue from the sale of paid apps to consumers, which will grow from $10 million in 2010 to $1.9 billion by 2015. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Verizon is upping the amount of premium broadband content that can be accessed by its FiOS pay TV subscribers, adding select content from Time Warner cable networks TBS and TNT on their PCs, with plans to make those videos available later on mobile devices. Read more »
The worldwide online market for digital goods will grow amid a state of continuous disruption across all forms of content markets. Fueled by an ever-growing user base, migration from physical formats to digital distribution, and a proliferation of new connected devices, the overall market for digital goods will grow to $36 billion by 2014, up from $16.7 billion in 2009. This report examines the state of paid content and the various monetization and payment models across each of the various digital goods markets. The report examines key players and market dynamics in the film and video, newspaper, online game, music and social networks space relative to their paid content strategies, and includes a revenue forecast of each of these segments relative to the overall paid content market. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Wow, I thought it was tough being a Time Warner Cable customer right now, but that was because I haven’t had the pleasure of forking over monthly payments to Cablevision, whose recent troubles with Scripps Networks make the Fox-TWC drama look like an episode of Sesame […] Read more »
I’ll say this for being a Time Warner Cable subscriber — for the second year in a row, it’s brought a little extra drama to the holiday season. Last New Year’s Eve, I was prepared to cut the cord on my cable because Time Warner nearly […] Read more »
One interesting question will be what Fox does about Hulu during any disruption on Time Warner Cable systems as a result of their dispute. Many Fox shows are available on Hulu the day after airing, which means broadband subscribers affected by the blackout could still get ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Despite early reports that the iPhone wasn’t selling so well in Japan (LINKS), due at least in part to the overabundance of really cool phones available there that do things like allow for live TV watching, it seems that Apple is in fact doing remarkably well […] Read more »
Welcome to our newest Monday feature — Android Ecosystem! This week starts off with a huge bang — the longest and most detailed review I’ve yet seen on the ARCHOS Internet Tablet with Android. Steve Paine really put this 4.8″ non-phone slate tablet through the paces […] Read more »
AOL will launch a new look and logo along with its official spinout from Time Warner on Dec. 10, as it tries to become a content-centric company. Wolff Olins, a global brand and innovation consultancy, worked on this new look and logo which seeks to replace […] Read more »
The REDFLY from Celio is a product like no other, and can be a good fit for road warriors. The REDFLY is built to do only one thing, extend the screen and add a full keyboard to supported smartphones. The little laptop has no memory, no […] Read more »
Over the past three years, the Internet has become a major secondary distribution platform for free-to-air broadcast programming. Whether through network programmers’ own sites, such as ABC.com, or through aggregators like Hulu and TV.com, ad-supported broadcast programming today is generally available online shortly after its initial airing at no cost to the user. However, programming such as ESPN, TNT and the Discovery Channel, which originates on pay-TV platforms (i.e. cable, satellite and telco TV services) has been a different story.
Cable system operators and other multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) are loathe to see the programming for which they are charging subscribers hefty monthly fees made available “over-the-top” without a subscription. Over time, they fear, consumers would be tempted to drop their expensive cable service if they could access their favorite programs online.
Cable networks, for their part, collect hefty fees from MVPDs for the right to retransmit their programming, from a few cents per subscriber per month, to as much as $3.75 per subscriber per month, for the most popular channels like Disney’s ESPN. In aggregate, cable networks collect about $25 billion per year in “affiliate fees” from MVPDs, about the same amount as they generate collectively from advertising sales.
As a result, much of the original programming on pay-TV networks is not currently available online, and that which is often doesn’t appear until well after its original air date. The popularity of portals like Hulu (not to mention illegal sources of TV content), however, has accustomed consumers to expect access to their favorite shows online, putting pressure on the industry to respond. Network programmers and marketers, meanwhile, are also anxious to extend their programming franchises by tapping the broad, online audience.
TV Everywhere, which aims to make subscription programming available online exclusively to current pay-TV subscribers, represents an effort to square that circle. In this report, we look at the players, potential costs, and emerging opportunities of these efforts. Read more »
Time Warner Sales Dropped 6% to $7.1B in Q3; company’s networks including Turner and HBO saw growth with revenue up 5 percent to $2.9 billion. (CNET) Comcast Profits Up 22% to $944M in Q3; cable company wouldn’t talk about the NBC acquisition deal. (paidContent) Google to […] Read more »
