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 »
App developers are the cornerstones of the multibillion-dollar app market, but the overall community remains largely unknown. As app downloads increase, organizations that can bring tools, resources, and a collective voice to this group will be an important factor in the evolution of mobile-app development. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
Develop apps for smartphones, tablets or TVs? Take our survey: we’d like to hear more about what you’re working on, what screens and platforms you develop for, how you monetize your work, as well as what categories of apps. 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 »
Flingo has raised $7 million in a Series A funding round led by August Capital. The San Francisco-based startup, which integrates streaming video and interactive advertising into smart TVs, has also added two new board members: August Capital’s David Marquart and Howard Hartenbaum. Read more »
Cox Communications is making live TV available on the iPad, with the release of a new app that lets subscribers watch shows in their homes. The Cox TV Connect app makes it the latest pay TV operator to extend its service to new devices. Read more »
Consumers are using their mobile devices to figure out what to watch next, and a growing number of apps are being built to provide recommendations and help them learn what’s on TV at any given time. We’ve listed five of our favorites. Read more »
Spotify is close to launching a dedicated Roku channel, we’ve been told by a source familiar with both companies’ plans. The music subscription service could launch on Roku devices as early as next month. First screen shots of the channel’s UI look promising. Read more »
There are a ton of development frameworks for creating apps on various connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, set-top boxes, tablets, smartphones and the like, which is more than most publishers can reasonably be expected to develop for. Enter SyncTV, which hopes to solve that issue. 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 »
Research indicates that 88 percent of people who own tablets use them while watching TV. Yahoo is primed to take advantage of that trend by launching an iPad version of its social TV mobile app IntoNow, with new social media features to complement TV content. Read more »
With 500,000 apps for sale, standing out as a developer in Apple’s App Store is intimidating. Apple’s done some curation, but it could do much more by creating separate stores based on content themes, and perhaps creating new pricing models to go with it. Read more »
How can TV networks leverage the power of social networks to build their audiences? According to MTV EVP Dermot McCormack, social networks aren’t just for announcing when the next episode of Jersey Shore airs, but a whole new platform for media creation and distribution. Read more »
The fight for the TV audience is quickly moving online and to a growing number of mobile applications, with Apple’s iPad as the latest battleground. Over the last 18 months, a number of broadcasters and pay-TV operators have launched iPad apps that provide access to streaming ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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 »
With its latest Free the TV Challenge, Samsung is looking to extend its influence beyond just the TV with apps that create converged experiences among multiple devices. That could improve the experience for consumers and give them reason to buy some of its other products. Read more »
Social TV app Miso just got a lot smarter. The application, which lets users check in and share what they’re watching on various social networks, will now be able to detect what they’re watching, as long as those users are subscribers of DirecTV. Read more »
Google rocked the mobile world on Monday, August 15, with the news that it will buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a 63-percent premium for the handset manufacturer. It’s a move that ushers Google into the exclusive club of companies that control both the hardware and software elements of their smartphone offerings, and it will enable Google to design handsets that are more closely integrated with Android. However, the deal doesn’t come without its risks, and it remains to be seen just how it will affect other handset makers, competition from Microsoft and the crucial patent issues currently surrounding Google. Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Research In Motion and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Epix once had an edge over other cable networks, with a streaming offering to go along with its linear cable feed. But now that everyone’s on the TV Everywhere bandwagon, Epix continues to innovate, adding original programming and making videos available on a number of devices. Read more »
Through the DECE’s UltraViolet format, Warner Bros. and other studios will begin making movies available for sale this year that can be purchased and watched on a number of different devices. Key to Time Warner’s introduction of these services will be its Flixster social discovery app. Read more »
Third-party developers have begun to work on a SageTV app for Boxee, bringing DVR functionality to the media player. The integration only works if users also run SageTV on a PC, but it could nonetheless be a big deal both for Boxee and SageTV’s fan bases. Read more »
The second quarter of 2011 was a fast-paced one for the connected consumer segment, with every sector of the digital media landscape — music, e-books, online video and gaming — experiencing significant events and changes. Media consumption, purchase and management continued its shift towards the cloud, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Vudu’s streaming-video-on-demand service is about to get a big boost, as it’s being integrated with the website of parent company Walmart. That will introduce millions of new “every day low price” shoppers to the joy of online video through the Vudu service. Read more »
Netflix has no plans to slow down its international expansion. In addition to its expansion to 43 countries in Latin America later this year, Variety reports the company could also launch services in Spain and the U.K. in early 2012. Read more »
If TV OEMS are going to embrace smart TVs, they need a business model that fits this new paradigm. Up-front, one-burst revenue models are being replaced by longer-term, services-oriented relationships. The key to success in this new world is ensuring that new smart-TV owners are connected and […] Read more »
Flingo hopes to add interactivity to the TV viewing experience, with technology embedded into TVs that can let web and mobile applications know what’s being watched on the big screen. The company is launching with its technology embedded on more than 5.7 million devices and counting. Read more »
CE manufacturers are creating universal search applications to find content on across platforms. But the Holy Grail for content discovery will be a user interface that lets users find content they’re looking for, while also serve up a stream of videos relevant to their interests. Read more »
NBC has introduced a new iPad app, giving viewers access to programming information and listings, pictures, games and promotional video clips from its shows. But the one thing that’s missing from the app is the one thing viewers will want the most: full-length TV episodes. Read more »
Viacom called a truce in its legal fight over Time Warner Cable’s iPad app, but now it’s going after Cablevision for streaming its channels to the device. Cablevision has shown it’s not afraid of these types of fights, which could mean a long legal battle ahead. Read more »
Viacom and Time Warner Cable have called a truce in their fight over streams of live TV on the iPad. With a standstill agreement approved by a New York federal court, they will be able to negotiate without having to worry about court deadlines or proceedings. Read more »
In a phone interview with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, we chatted about how he hopes to narrow the broadband adoption gap, why broadcasters and distributors should play nice in their retransmission negotiations and why AllVid is still important for the future of TV applications. Read more »
Some operators are already introducing apps for the iPad that allow subscribers to watch live TV in the home. Motorola wants to make it even easier to do so, with a media streaming device that transcodes live TV into IP streams in the home. Read more »
Blinkx rolled out a new channel for Roku devices, making its index of premium videos available through the broadband set-top box. The video search and ad company is expanding to reach the big screen, taking videos from its content partners and displaying them on connected devices. Read more »
Vizio is adding a Vudu button to remote controls for its connected TVs and Blu-ray players. The button provides easier navigation to the service, but it also highlights the struggle publishers face when trying to reach viewers on connected devices where dozens of apps compete. Read more »
Verizon could soon make its Flex View VOD service available on connected devices like Roku and the Boxee Box. In a press briefing, it showed off some new features, including a channel that could allow Verizon FiOS customers to access the VOD service on Roku devices. Read more »
TV ownership has fallen for the first time in 20 years, according to Nielsen. But is that decline due to poorer, rural consumers who couldn’t afford to keep up with the digital transition? Or due to young, hip urbanites who are watching video on different screens? Read more »
Epix, the premium cable network that launched with an online, on-demand video component, is making that service available through a number of new mobile and otherwise connected devices, including Android tablets, Samsung connected TVs and Blu-ray players, the Blackberry PlayBook and Roku broadband set-top boxes. Read more »
Redux has been working hard on finding new ways to get its users to watch videos online. But now the startup, which provides technology for online video discovery based on user interests or social sharing mechanisms, is looking to take that experience to the big screen. 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 »
