Hulu Making Alterations
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, May 4, 2012 · 
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In a move that will protect broadcast network content, Hulu appears headed toward an authentication-style service, migrating away from from its present ad-supported model. A second move in the form of a buy out appears intent on tightening control over content.
On April 26, Hulu.com owners Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast announced that they are near a deal with Providence Equity Partners to buy out the investment company, according to articles in the New York Post and several online blogs. The industry views this as a precursor to a fundamental change in Hulu’s current open business plan.
Providence invested $100 million for its 10% share of Hulu in 2007. According to an April 26 Bloomberg article, the buyout will earn Providence $200 million. The article indicates that Comcast has not been party to the buyout discussions under terms applied to the Comcast-NBC Universal merger in 2010. Read more
More on Video Cord Cutting
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, March 23, 2012 · ·
Broadband, media and entertainment industry consultant and research firm Leichtman Research Group Inc. indicates that some of the largest multichannel video program distributors (MVPD) added subscribers last year. Overall, the study released March 20 indicates that among the MVPDs that cover approximately 94% of the market, 380,000 new video subscribers were added in 2011.
The new subscriber number, while lower than the 2010 total, conflicts with critics and analysts that report complete defections to over-the-top (OTT), Internet-based content. While the number who have migrated to OTT content appears to be growing, it also appears they do so without “cutting the cord” completely from pay TV. Read more
OTT Growth
Posted by Steve Fravel on Thursday, February 16, 2012 · ·
A new report from Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer products, indicates that the number of video viewers via broadband is growing along with use of over-the-top (OTT)-capable gadgets. According to Parks, 31% of homes with broadband regularly watch TV online.
The Parks research shows that 13% of broadband homes are equipped with a device like Roku or Apple TV that facilitates OTT viewing. Parks’ report states that 4% of broadband households helped increase holiday sales of similar broadband equipment, an indication that the interest in and use of broadband video streaming is high. According to Kurt Scherf, vice president at Parks, “Nearly 20% of the holiday-season buyers are over 45 years of age, so these devices have achieved relatively broad appeal among multiple consumer segments.”
While the trend doesn’t necessarily suggest a drop in pay-TV homes, it may suggest that consumers are widening the available video source selection by adding equipment and adjusting their viewing behaviors. Parks forecasts that 14 million OTT units will be sold this year.
Boxee Adds a Second Target Buyer
Posted by Steve Fravel on Sunday, January 29, 2012 · ·
Though Boxee has been targeting residential customers who are “cutting the cord” to conventional cable services and satellite subscriptions, it announced last week that it would add cable operators who may be considering eliminating program costs and shifting their focus to selling just high-speed Internet access. Read more
Google TV Slowly Adding More Partners
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, January 6, 2012 · ·
LG Electronics joins Samsung, Sony and Vizio as a partner in the development of Google TV. This past October Google released the long awaited 2.0 version of the middleware to less than stellar reviews.
While the Google TV idea holds promise for combining content from the Web and from conventional television distribution, it remains to be seen if the addition of another electronics manufacturer and new chip sets can help propel Google to a wider and deeper market penetration. Logitech announced this past year that it was dropping out of Google TV development after developing the “Revue” box which reportedly created a $100 million loss for Logitech.
Google notes in blog postings that there are more than 150 individual apps built specifically for the Google TV platform with additional Android apps available to enhance the television experience.
It will be interesting to see what the Google TV partner companies demonstrate at CES 2012.
Frontier Evolves its OTT Video Aggregation Play
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, November 7, 2011 · ·
Frontier Communications announced today that it is expanding its OTT video play with the launch of TumTiki, an online video website that the telco is calling “the largest video library of any web destination site.” TumTiki offers access to more than 700,000 video titles from a combination of traditional broadcast TV and online sources. Of particular note, the service is available to all Internet users, regardless if they are Frontier broadband subscribers. Read more
TelcoTV Wrap-Up
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, October 28, 2011 · ·
NTCA Director of Policy Josh Seidemann delivered a keynote address illustrating the impact of rural broadband investment on the national economy.
More than 1,800 people attended the 10th annual TelcoTV Conference & Expo this week in New Orleans, La. Attendance at the general sessions and track sessions appeared to be a major draw for most of those attending. Many were intently looking at ways that they might enhance or alter their video service to reduce or eliminate some of the cost.
The potential for cloud-based middleware and other cloud content management systems was a popular topic. How to add over-the-top (OTT) content via the set-top-box (STB) or other smart consumer equipment was also covered. Discussions concerning adaptive bit rate and multi-mode compression gave direction to new solutions.
Video is a major driver for broadband service adoption across the industry. Having a single bill for voice, data and entertainment remains a convenience that most consumers highly value. The multi-screen experience and consumption of content when, where and how the customer wants is clearly the direction most service providers will adopt to stay competitive in a fast changing environment. Read more