Vishal Sood aggregator

NewTeeVee: Verizon’s Redbox service: more Netflix than TV Everywhere

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:02:34 -0600

Details of the new venture are still hard to come by. But the new streaming service being jointly launched in August by Verizon and Redbox seems clearly intended to compete with over-the-top services like Netflix, and not so much meant to further the TV Everywhere goals of Verizon FiOS.

“This is going after some FiOS customers, but this is really meant for the launch across the United States to the Redbox population and their 30 million customers,” said Verizon chief financial officer Fran Shammo Thursday morning, speaking in Boston at the 40th annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference.

Also read: A new ‘stream team’: Verizon and Redbox take on Netflix

Shammo said Verizon’s impetus for the joint venture was not so much to transition video content licensed for the fiber-optic-fueled FiOS’ roughly 4.4 million subscribers, a la TV Everywhere, “but to expand our capability outside FiOS’ footprint.”

As for the Redbox footprint, it’s actually much bigger than 30 million. With Coinstar conducting a separate financially oriented event Thursday, “analyst’s day,” its Redbox unit tallied nearly 39 million customers at the end of the first quarter.

It’s about to take over the 10,000 Blockbuster Express kiosk locations it acquired in February. And the company has plans to expand into Cananda, the third biggest disc-rental market in the world.

As for the streaming venture, Shammo said it will showcase Verizon’s new proprietary digital distribution platform, Verizon Digital Media Services (VDSM), which he believes has advantages over the content delivery networks utilized by Netflix and Hulu.

“Utilizing that backbone, we’re able to deliver content at a much cheaper rate than people out there today,” Shammo said.

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NewTeeVee: Netflix to Comcast: Raising the cap is not enough

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:32:44 -0600

Thought Netflix and Comcast would kiss and make up after the broadband provider announced today that it would raise its bandwidth cap from 250GB to 300GB per month? Think again.

Here’s the statement a Netflix spokesperson sent me via email:

“Increasing the data cap is a small step in the right direction, but unfortunately Comcast continues to treat its own Internet delivered video different under the cap than other Internet delivered video. We continue to stand by the principle that ISPs should treat all providers of video services equally.”

In other words: The key issue of how Comcast treats its own Xfinity.tv on demand traffic hasn’t been resolved. Comcast said earlier today in a statement that it adheres to FCC principles that bind it to treat all IP traffic equally, but also repeated its assertion that Xfinity simply isn’t part of the Internet – something that our own Stacey Higginbotham has called dodging the net neutrality issue. Read her excellent analysis of today’s Comcast announcement here.

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NewTeeVee: Comcast capitulates on data cap, but dodges net neutrality

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:40:25 -0600

Comcast Tower

Comcast plans to raise its broadband cap to 300 GB per month as it trials two new ways to deal with managing traffic on its network, the nation’s largest cable operator said in a blog post today. The move is a welcome one for those who have hit the existing 250 GB cap, but it neglects to address some of the earlier complaints that have arisen in the last few weeks about Comcast exempting some of its own video on-demand trafficand allegations that the company is prioritizing that traffic in violation of federal rules implemented when it bought NBC-Universal.

What Comcast plans to offer

Comcast says it plans to trial two types of plans in unnamed markets. The first will offer customers a higher cap at higher tiers of service. So the Internet Essentials, Economy, and Performance Tier customers will have a 300 GB cap while those getting higher speeds (and Comcast offers some pretty high speeds at 100 MBps) will have some undetermined, higher cap. Customers under this plan will also be allowed to buy additional gigabytes for a certain amount. Comcast gave the example of $10 per 50 GB block.

The second trial will offer customers a 300 GB cap across all product lines and will offer customers a chance to buy more bytes for the same price. What’s key in both of these situations is that Comcast is allowing customers to buy more gigabytes after they hit the cap. Previously, it cut customers off. In this way it’s closer to capped plans such as those offered by AT&T, which stops users at a 250 or 150 GB per month cap and then charges them $10 for 50 more gigabytes.

The second approach will increase data usage thresholds for all tiers to 300 GB per month and also offer the option to buy more gigabytes. Comcast will also suspend the enforcement of its caps across all of its markets while it tests the new caps and plans.

While Comcast’s decision to expand its caps is good, it’s also sticking to the idea that unlimited broadband is detrimental to the quality of its network. In its blog post and on a conference call discussing the new plans, Comcast repeatedly tied these caps to better network management, but Comcast already has a network management plan that it filed with the FCC after it was caught blocking P2P packets on its network. In that plan, the company noted that when its network became congested it would temporarily slow traffic to customers requiring the most bandwidth. So why does it need the cap?

What Comcast doesn’t talk about.

Many argue that the cap is less about network management and more about protecting Comcast’s pay TV business as customers spend more time watching television via web-based subscription services including Netflix and Hulu. As I said, I’m glad Comcast has raised its cap, but conspicuously missing from the Comcast post is an admission that the cap is problematic when Comcast still offers to exempt some of its services from the cap.

When asked about this, David Cohen, Executive Vice President of Comcast, shut down the discussion, saying, “It is a real stretch to create a discrimination argument here.” He went on to say that the concern over any exempted services should be dramatically reduced because of the increased data threshold. “We’re relieving a hypothetical pressure on usage, here,” he said.

While the cap’s size has created some controversy as more and more customers hit it, the issue is less the size and more the existence of the cap if Comcast continues to offer services that will be exempt from that cap. Even at 300 GB per month, if certain types of traffic don’t count against that cap, then the cap still offers Comcast a competitive advantage over Netflix, YouTube and other over-the-top video services. Cohen repeatedly, however, mentioned a comment from the Netflix earnings call where the CEO of the streaming video provider said that a 250GB cap wasn’t affecting its business.

What Reed Hastings actually said was this:

It’s not a near-term issue with the 250 gigabyte cap. But the core principle [of network neutrality] is important anyway, which is the cap should be applied equally or not at all.

The larger cap also doesn’t address the question of whether or not Comcast is prioritizing its own traffic over other Internet traffic as was alleged earlier this week in a blog post by Bryan Berg, the CTO of MixMedia Labs. Comcast has explained why it believes it is not prioritizing its traffic in a manner that would draw government ire, but in a close reading of its post, what Comcast is describing is highly technical. Essentially it is saying that it is creating a logical as opposed to a physical separation in the traffic, and that it why it is marking packets.

Comcast wants you to feel free to use the web

So while Comcast is trumpeting its forward-thinking behavior on caps, there are a lot of questions about the timing of its announcement. Reporters on the call repeatedly asked Cohen about the rationale for increasing the cap. Cohen said its median usage is between 8-10 GB per month or about four percent of the cap and that the “vast, vast majority of users aren’t hitting the cap,” which does beg the question: why change the cap now?

Cohen’s response was, “It’s a matter of messaging way more than it’s a question of capacity.” He reiterated the idea that this is about encouraging users to use and download lawful content on their Comcast service without worrying about the cap. This implies that customers might find the cap inhibiting their behavior or that people questioning the cap are making some headway. So for now, customers get 20 percent more head room on their Comcast cap, and we’ll have to wait and see when and where Comcast rolls out its new plans.

Meanwhile I’ll leave you with Cohen’s suggested headline for this piece: “The headline today should be, we’re out of the cap business.”

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NewTeeVee: One TV Everywhere deal down! (Many more to go)

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:40:19 -0600

Hey, it’s progress. Whether it actually ignites the kind of momentum needed to ultimately propel TV Everywhere to live up to its ubiquitous promise remains to be seen.

On Wednesday, Viacom finally reached an agreement with Time Warner Cable, enabling the pay TV service provider to stream the media conglomerate’s shows on iPads, notebook computers, smart phones and other digital devices.

The agreement ends a 13-month court dispute between the two companies, which started after Time Warner Cable began streaming Viacom cable channels including Nickelodeon, MTV, Spike TV and Comedy Central to its nearly 12 million customers.

In suing the No. 2 cable provider in the U.S., Viacom claimed that Time Warner needed to pay for the right to stream its content. The cable company claimed that its ongoing carriage deal with the conglomerate gave it those rights.

Separately, Time Warner fought Cablevision over the same issue last year. These disputes have caused many to wonder if TV Everywhere — the broad-reaching pay-TV industry initiative that seeks to broaden the reach of bundled subscription television into the digital realm — will ever get done.

With consumers expanding their video usage well beyond the living-room TV screen, the multi-channel industry sees TV Everywhere as the weapon needed to ward off new, so-called “over-the-top” competition from on-demand program distributors like Netflix.

TV Everywhere requires each program supplier to make individual deals with each multi-channel operator. At the time Viacom and Time Warner Cable entered the courtroom, there was a lack of clarity on some very basic and necessary dealmaking infrastructure — i.e. what should the ability to stream video be worth on top of already agreed-upon carriage fees?

So with a streaming deal in place between a top cable programmer and leading cable provider, are we closer to having established those basic terms?

Tough to say yes on that one.

Notably, Time Warner Cable and Cablevision settled their dispute all the way back in August, but that doesn’t seem to have created the kind of template that would spur a sudden flurry of TV Everywhere dealmaking And in the joint statement announcing their agreement Wednesday, Viacom and Time Warner included the following coda: “Neither side is conceding its original legal position or will have further comment.”

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VideoNuze.com Analysis: Google/YouTube: Research Shows Lighter TV Viewers Primed for Online Video Ads

Thu, 17 May 2012 10:48:00 -0600

It's no secret that with consumer behavior fragmenting over different video sources and media-related activities, advertisers are having a tougher time than ever reaching their targeted audiences. Especially elusive are younger, lighter TV viewers. No surprise, these lighter viewers skew younger with about 31% of 18-49 age group in the category. They're also choice targets for advertisers: they're wealthier, more educated and more diverse.

To help prove the efficacy of online video advertising as a method for reaching these viewers, yesterday Google/YouTube and Nielsen released new research demonstrating that lighter TV viewers (who average 39 minutes per/day) are more effectively and cost-efficiently reached with online video advertising that compliments traditional TV advertising.

VideoNuze.com Analysis: Market7's Video Collaboration Software Streamlines Work Flow [VIDEO]

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:17:00 -0600

At the recent NABShow, Craig Heiting, VP/GM, Media and Entertainment for Market7, stopped by for a brief video interview. Market7 offers group collaboration software for video pre and post-production, streamlining the work flow for video projects. The process starts with one team member uploading the video, with other members then alerted to the video's availability. They key is they don't need to actually download the large video files in order to begin collaborating. Craig talks about how actress Dyan Cannon is using Market7 for her new production, "Get Your Luv On" as well as other customers. Watch the video below (3 minutes, 40 seconds).

VideoNuze.com News: Viacom Settles Dispute With Time Warner Cable Over IPad Viewing

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-16/viacom-settles-with-time-warner-cable-over-viewing-on-ipads-1-.html

VideoNuze.com News: Verizon CFO: Joint Venture Covets Redbox`s 30+ Million Users

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/digital-evolution/verizon-cfo-joint-venture-covets-redbox-s-30-million-users-27283

VideoNuze.com News: Social TV Twice As Popular For Live Vs. Time-Shifted Viewing: Study

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.multichannel.com/article/484662-Social_TV_Twice_As_Popular_For_Live_Vs_Time_Shifted_Viewing_Study.php

VideoNuze.com News: Deca Builds Out Premium Network for Moms

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/deca-builds-out-premium-network-moms-140586

VideoNuze.com News: Netflix`s Former Customers Are Returning After Rebranding Fiasco

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/17/netflixs-former-customers-are-returning-after-rebranding-fiasco/

NewTeeVee: Is Turner’s Funny or Die deal the start of a trend?

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:16:53 -0600

Has a rush of new alliances between large cable programming conglomerates and independent producers of online video begun?

Two weeks after cable giant Discovery Networks paid about $30 million to acquire San Francisco-based Revision3, Turner Networks revealed a significant partnership with online comedy producer Funny or Die.

Under terms of the deal, Atlanta-based Turner paid an undisclosed sum to acquire about 10 percent of Funny or Die, which was formed in late-2006 by Gary Sanchez Productions, the production company jointly run by comedians Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. (The site’s latest hit, a send-up of Apple’s Siri ad starring Zooey Deschanel, is embedded below for your comedic enjoyment.)

http://www.funnyordie.com/embed/750bedd03b

Jooey Deschanel Siri Ad – watch more funny videos http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?app_id=138711277798&href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.funnyordie.com%2Fvideos%2F750bedd03b%2Fjooey-deschanel-siri-ad&send=false&layout=button_count&width=150&show_faces=false&action=like&height=21

Turner is sure to look for cross-platform uses for Funny or Die’s video content on channels including TBS, a cable outlet focused on traditional sitcoms, and Adult Swim, the young-male-targeted platform that Cartoon Network turns into after the kids go to bed. But it will also now be in charge of ad sales for Funny or Die.

With Funny or Die averaging around 16 million unique users per month, according to comScore, Turner’s cable platforms — which average millions of viewers at any given prime-time moment — will offer Funny or Die a means of broadening its audience.

It’s not Funny or Die’s first traditional TV platform.

Back in 2008, Turner’s Time Warner sibling, HBO, invested several million dollars into Funny or Die, and launched a series, Funny or Die Presents, that’s now in its third season. Of course, several hundred thousand viewers on a premium cable network with no advertiser support is one thing; the Turner deal is quite another.

This latest agreement will also make Funny or Die more accessible to major advertisers looking for larger packages spanning myriad platforms.

“We’ve done terrifically well, but we don’t have the reach to [be] able to sell incredibly, broad, big packages,” Funny or Die CEO Dick Glover told AdAge Wednesday. (Separately, Funny or Die announced a deal Wednesday with NCM Media Networks, which programs the stuff you see on the big screen in movie theaters in between engagements. NCM and Funny or Die will jointly sell and custom create branded comedy content for sponsors who buy in.)

For its part, Turner has also done quite well in terms of digital media, garnering an audience of nearly 75 million unique users in April, according to comScore, for a network of properties that includes assets like CNN.com and NBA.com.

For Turner, which typically pays well over $500,000 to make an hour of scripted video, Funny or Die represents a shop that knows how to inexpensively shoot (i.e. no Hollywood unions!) short-form video. This is useful as it seeks to not only program linear channels like Adult Swim, but also transition these brands more into digital platforms.

Certainly, if you’re an independent producer of online video with any semblance of profile and audience share right now, times aren’t bad. On one side, you have large technology companies like YouTube, which are eager to acquire premium content as they seek to infiltrate cable TV’s advertising market share.

And on the other side, you now have large traditional media companies who also want to invest and buy your content, as they look to ward off this challenge.

Enjoy the moment. More big deals like this are coming.

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NewTeeVee: Netflix launches sexy new web-based video player

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:27:14 -0600

Netflix just rolled out a completely revamped video player for browser-based viewing, and I gotta say, it’s pretty slick: Not only does it come with lightbox-like text overlays while a video is paused, users can also preview entire seasons of a TV show while they’re watching one episode of the show in full-screen mode. I was told by Netflix that this is currently rolling out across the web.

The only downside of the new player seems to be that there can be some issues with Chrome on Mac OS – a warning screen told me to switch to Safari or Firefox for the best viewing experience. However, a quick test showed that basic playback was working just fine via OS X Chrome. A Netflix spokesperson explained via email: “Chrome on Mac support is a limitation of Microsoft Silverlight, not Netflix. It works on some Macs but not on others, so we allow it and give users a warning.”

Here are some of the biggest changes, complete with screen shots:

The player has a new, better-looking control bar that offers access to subtitles and season previews, and replaces text menus with bigger icons.

Additional episodes of a TV show can be previewed right from within the player, even in full-screen mode.

The player makes way for additional information, lightbox-style, when paused for a few seconds.

Netfix users can also resize the browser window during playback, and the video is resized fairly smoothly. This should make it easier to watch something while you’re doing something else on your computer, or adjust the size of the video window to play it on a connected TV.

Netflix has been emphasizing playback on connected devices, which now make up for the vast majority of the service’s usage, but today’s relaunch clearly show that there is still a notable demand for PC-based playback as well.

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VideoNuze.com Analysis: Second Screen TV Apps Poised to Accelerate With TMS-Digitalsmiths APIs

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:20:00 -0600

The nascent market for second screen TV apps on mobile devices - whether from pay-TV operators, content providers, CE/SmartTV manufacturers or social media/discovery startups - is poised to accelerate due to a deal announced yesterday between Tribune Media Services (TMS) and Digitalsmiths. That's because TMS, which is the largest provider of metadata about TV shows and movies will now use Digitalsmiths' Seamless Discovery platform to offer 20 different APIs allowing app developers far easier access to the data than ever before.

VideoNuze.com Analysis: Kaltura's Ron Yekutiel Provides a Detailed Company Update [VIDEO]

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:52:00 -0600

Kaltura's Chairman and CEO Ron Yekutiel came by the VideoNuze booth at the recent NABShow and shared a detailed company update. Kaltura operates in three verticals: media, enterprise and education. Ron provides an in-depth update on customers Kaltura is working with in each vertical and the apps they're using Kaltura for. It's a very rich discussion of some the user dynamics in the video space. Watch the video below (6 minutes, 30 seconds).

NewTeeVee: Betting big on live sports data, Perform lays €120 million on RunningBall

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:56:47 -0600

After online sports broadcast specialist Perform Group went public a year ago, it promised it would succeed its acquisition of Goal.com by buying more sports sites.

Now it is making a big one - Perform has offered up to €120 million ($153 million) for Switzerland-based sports data provider RunningBall.

The company employs match scouts to log over 1,000 in-game events for over 30,000 soccer games annually and is also growing in to logging data for others sports.

The company’s Pushing Feed, Trader Client and Performance Video packages are provided to clients like media outlets and live betting operators.

Reasons for the deal:

Perform wants to tie RunningBall data in to its existing sports video services, many of which it syndicates to online publishers. That includes plugging live match stats in to Goal.com, Soccerway.com, Sportal.com.au and Spox.com
It will also start selling RunningBall data to customers of its own existing GSM sports data syndication business.
And it wants to integrate the data in to its own Watch&Bet and Watch&Trade online sports gaming services.

Led by joint CEOs Oliver Slipper and Simon Denyer (pictured left and right), Perform is one of the most interesting businesses out there, ploughing ahead with building the foundations of a natively online sports media business that looks well placed for the digital years ahead.

The company is set to ride two waves – the connected TV boom (it wants to go to screens with its own-brand proposition) and the liberalisation of online gaming (bingo has proved huge online thanks to TV advertising being permitted, and betting is moving from high street to sofa).

The acquisition sees it go head-to-head with the big live sports data provider Opta, but add its video and editorial experience to the mix.

The stock market likes the deal. Perform shares jumped almost eight percent when the deal was announced in London Wednesday morning.

The price of up to €120 million is 9x RunningBall’s anticipated 2012 EBITDA, which was €7.2 million on revenue of €16.1 million. In other words, RunningBall’s margin is high.

Perform only raised £72.5 ($116.26) million in its London IPO float. But only €20 million of the RunningBall offer is made from available cash – €50 million comes in Perform shares given to RunningBall and Perform will take on debt to pay an extra up to €51 million in deferred payment.

Release.

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VideoNuze.com News: Electus Builds a YouTube Channel with Celebrity Chefs and Online Video Stars

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/05/16/electus-youtube-channel-hungry/

VideoNuze.com News: New Data Links TV, Video Data To Aid Cross-Platform Marketing

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174878/new-data-links-tv-video-data-to-aid-cross-platfor.html

VideoNuze.com News: Netflix CFO: Multi-Stream Sub Plan Coming This Year

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/netflix/netflix-cfo-multi-stream-sub-plan-coming-year-27263

VideoNuze.com News: Warner Brothers to Stream `Casablanca` on Facebook â One Night Only

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/05/16/warner-brothers-to-stream-casablanca-on-facebook-one-night-only/

Vishal Sood aggregator

NewTeeVee: Verizon’s Redbox service: more Netflix than TV Everywhere

NewTeeVee: Netflix to Comcast: Raising the cap is not enough

NewTeeVee: Comcast capitulates on data cap, but dodges net neutrality

What Comcast plans to offer

What Comcast doesn’t talk about.

Comcast wants you to feel free to use the web

NewTeeVee: One TV Everywhere deal down! (Many more to go)

VideoNuze.com Analysis: Google/YouTube: Research Shows Lighter TV Viewers Primed for Online Video Ads

VideoNuze.com Analysis: Market7's Video Collaboration Software Streamlines Work Flow [VIDEO]

VideoNuze.com News: Viacom Settles Dispute With Time Warner Cable Over IPad Viewing

VideoNuze.com News: Verizon CFO: Joint Venture Covets Redbox`s 30+ Million Users

VideoNuze.com News: Social TV Twice As Popular For Live Vs. Time-Shifted Viewing: Study

VideoNuze.com News: Deca Builds Out Premium Network for Moms

VideoNuze.com News: Netflix`s Former Customers Are Returning After Rebranding Fiasco

NewTeeVee: Is Turner’s Funny or Die deal the start of a trend?

NewTeeVee: Netflix launches sexy new web-based video player

VideoNuze.com Analysis: Second Screen TV Apps Poised to Accelerate With TMS-Digitalsmiths APIs

VideoNuze.com Analysis: Kaltura's Ron Yekutiel Provides a Detailed Company Update [VIDEO]

NewTeeVee: Betting big on live sports data, Perform lays €120 million on RunningBall

VideoNuze.com News: Electus Builds a YouTube Channel with Celebrity Chefs and Online Video Stars

VideoNuze.com News: New Data Links TV, Video Data To Aid Cross-Platform Marketing

VideoNuze.com News: Netflix CFO: Multi-Stream Sub Plan Coming This Year

VideoNuze.com News: Warner Brothers to Stream `Casablanca` on Facebook â One Night Only

VideoNuze.com News: Warner Brothers to Stream `Casablanca` on Facebook â One Night Only