XBox 360 to Offer FiOS, Xfinity On-Demand Content
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, October 7, 2011 · 
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As had been rumored for some time, Microsoft announced yesterday that it will expand the video content available over its Xbox Live system to pay-TV subscribers in most major markets. Microsoft has deals in place with nearly 40 entertainment providers including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon FiOS, as well as Bravo, ESPN, HBO GO and Syfy. This is in addition to the inherent gaming services and previously announced content from Hulu Plus, Netflix and Google’s YouTube which are available on the Xbox.
Pay-TV subscribers will need to authenticate in order to access the content through the Xbox system. In general, users also will need to subscribe to video and broadband services from their traditional service provider (in other words, cord cutting is not an option), and subscribe to a $60 per year Xbox Live Gold membership. (Microsoft confirmed today that only a small amount of content will be available on the Xbox without authentication and Xbox Gold status.) Read more
Grande Communications to Launch TV Everywhere
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, October 7, 2011 · ·
Texas cable provider Grande Communications has signed an agreement with Synacor, the market leader in providing TV Everywhere (TVE) portals, to begin it’s TV Everywhere service for its 125,000 customers in Texas. The service is set to go live later this year under the Synacor “TV Everywhere for Everyone” campaign. Read more
Suddenlink Launches ‘TV Everywhere’
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, June 13, 2011 · ·
Last week, rural cable operator Suddenlink launched Suddenlink2GO, an online video service featuring “tens of thousands” of full-length TV episodes and shorter video clips, plus more than 1,300 movie titles accessible via any computer with a high-speed Internet connection.
Authenticated subscribers will have access to content from the previously launched HBO Go and MAX Go services, available for no additional charge to all Suddenlink HBO and Cinemax subscribers. The site also offers a range of programming from Turner’s TBS, TNT, truTV, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, as well as programs and clips available from Hulu.
It should be noted that most of the online content also is accessible through free, over-the-top sources, and available to anyone, regardless of their customer relationship with Suddenlink. The MSO is providing value by integrating its online offerings into a single, user-friendly interface. Read more
Echostar TV Everywhere
Posted by Steve Fravel on Monday, June 6, 2011 · ·
In a move engineered to provide on-demand content to small and independent video service distributors, Echostar announced that it will be demonstrating the “Aria” system at the National Cable Show this month in Chicago.
Mark Jackson, president of the company’s EchoStar Technologies business unit said, “Innovative products are being introduced every day, but the technology to use them is designed for the nation’s largest providers. Aria is engineered to perform on existing networks without a painful integration period.”
The Aria system provides on-demand content to a set-top-box via the cloud. The system allows for video viewing in the home and to wireless mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Read more
TV Everywhere to Reach 80% of Pay-TV Subs by Mid-2011
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, May 9, 2011 · ·
By mid-2011, TV Everywhere services will be available to 81% of U.S. and Canadian pay-TV subscribers through their current service provider, according to a new Parks Associates report entitled TV Everywhere: Growth, Solutions, and Strategies.
U.S. TV service providers in particular have moved aggressively as consumer data show multiscreen services can help reduce churn and attract younger subscribers. Nearly 40% of U.S. broadband consumers ages 18-34 find TV Everywhere very appealing. Globally, service providers are expanding their multiscreen services due to competition from online video sources, the entrance of other operators, and the dramatic increase of online and mobile video usage over the past three years.
Cox Launches ‘TV Everywhere’ Test With TNT, TBS
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, December 20, 2010 · (1) ·
Cox Communications has jumped on the TV Everywhere bandwagon, beta testing a new online service which offers full-length episodes from TNT and TBS within 24 hours after they air. Users who subscribe to Cox’s cable TV service can access this limited catalog of walled off and digital rights managed Internet video content.
The operator kicked off an initial test launch December 16 in all of its markets but with limited content including TNT’s The Closer, Southland and Men of a Certain Age, and TBS’s Conan, House of Payne, Meet the Browns and Lopez Tonight. Cox plans to expand the service in the first quarter of 2011. Read more
Mobile Video for Public Broadcasting
Posted by Steve Fravel on Friday, December 17, 2010 · (1) ·
Public broadcasters in 20 markets are set to receive funding to begin mobile video distribution by late 2011. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) will fund the effort with $2 million in funding.
“Mobile devices are rapidly becoming an integral part of our everyday lives, ” said Mark Erstling, senior vice president of system development and media strategy at CPB. He went on to add, “Consumers expect access to the same content they get from their television, radio or computer even when they are on the go.”
The development money will be made available to public stations as grants that will allow the stations to purchase the necessary infrastucture components for mobile DTV. Additional funding is planned for next year to expand beyond the first 20 markets.