Video

Comcast Shoots VOD to Retail TiVo Minis

MSO Offers Xfinity On Demand Service to TiVo’s $99 IP-Based DVR Client Box
By: Todd Spangler Mar 11 2013 - 2:06pm
MSO Offers Xfinity On Demand Service to TiVo’s $99 IP-Based DVR Client Box

Comcast will make some 36,000 video-on-demand titles available to subs who buy the retail version of the TiVo Mini, a $99.99 IP-based client that requires the company’s four-tuner Premiere DVR, in eight of the MSO’s markets and in parts of 13 others.

Avail-TVN Redubs Itself 'Vubiquity'

Provider of VOD and Digital Video Services Picks New Name to Highlight Multiscreen Push
By: Todd Spangler Mar 11 2013 - 12:01pm
Provider of VOD and Digital Video Services Picks New Name to Highlight Multiscreen Push

Digital video services provider Avail-TVN has picked a new name -- Vubiquity -- in a rebranding aimed at emphasizing its multiscreen-video strategy.

The company initiated the rebranding effort in September 2012, working with New York-based agency Stein + Partners to develop the new name.

Nielsen: 'Zero TV' Homes Skew Younger, Single

Cost, Lack of Interest Main Reasons Cited by Consumers Who Don’t Watch Traditional TV
By: Todd Spangler Mar 11 2013 - 10:52am
Cost, Lack of Interest Main Reasons Cited by Consumers Who Don’t Watch Traditional TV

About 44% of American consumers who don’t have pay TV or over-the-air television are under 35, and 81% of the estimated 5 million “zero TV” households in the U.S. have no children, according to Nielsen.

According to the research firm’s “Fourth-Quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report,” in the U.S. there were 5.01 million zero TV households in 2013. That’s less than 5% of American households, but more than double from 2.01 million in 2007.

Google Fiber TV Will Charge $5 Per Month for ESPN 3D

IPTV Service Also Debuts 3net from Discovery, Sony and IMAX
By: Todd Spangler Mar 8 2013 - 11:55am
IPTV Service Also Debuts 3net from Discovery, Sony and IMAX

ESPN 3D and 3net, the 3D channel from Discovery Communications, Sony and IMAX, are now available to Kansas City residents lucky enough to live in one of the few neighborhoods where Google is currently offering fiber-to-the-home IPTV and 1 Gigabit Internet service.

ESPN 3D is available for an additional $5 per month to Google Fiber customers who take the $120 monthly Gigabit + TV plan, while 3net is included for no additional charge.

In Kansas City, Google Fiber competitors include Time Warner Cable, which charges an additional $10 monthly fee for ESPN3D.

ActiveVideo Taps Cisco's Nemani as CMO

Marketing Exec Helped Launch Cisco Videoscape Multiscreen-Video Platform
By: Todd Spangler Mar 7 2013 - 10:58am
Marketing Exec Helped Launch Cisco Videoscape Multiscreen-Video Platform

ActiveVideo Networks hired Murali Nemani, the marketing exec who helped launched Cisco Systems’ Videoscape product line, as senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

Rovi Settles Patent Litigation Against Hulu

Agreement Resolves 2011 Suit Over Interactive Program Guide Patents
By: Todd Spangler Mar 6 2013 - 6:11pm
Agreement Resolves 2011 Suit Over Interactive Program Guide Patents

Rovi announced Wednesday that it entered into a patent-licensing agreement with Hulu, resolving Rovi's litigation against the Internet TV site.

Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In July 2011, Rovi sued Hulu in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging the Internet TV site infringed its interactive program guide patents. Rovi also has sued Netflix, Amazon.com and Roku, among others, alleging patent infringement.

Harmonic Floats Transcoding Into Amazon's Cloud

ProMedia Carbon MP Starts at $69 Per Month Plus Usage Fees
By: Todd Spangler Mar 5 2013 - 5:56pm
ProMedia Carbon MP Starts at $69 Per Month Plus Usage Fees

Harmonic has launched a cloud-based video transcoding service available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace, offering the ability to convert broadcast-quality video into a variety of formats on a pay-as-you-go basis.

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Weather Channel Moves Elemental to Internet Storm Front

Programmer Uses Encoders for Live Streaming Video to Mobile Apps, Web Services
By: Todd Spangler Mar 5 2013 - 11:33am
Programmer Uses Encoders for Live Streaming Video to Mobile Apps, Web Services

The Weather Channel is using Elemental Technologies’ video-encoding systems to deliver live programming over the Internet to millions of users through its mobile apps and Web properties, as well as YouTube.

The programmer has deployed the Elemental Live software, which runs on off-the-shelf graphics processing units (GPUs) instead of special-purpose chips, in its Atlanta operations center, according to the companies.

Comcast, TWC Lose VOD Movie-Rental Share

AT&T, Verizon Generate More Transactional VOD Revenue per Sub Than MSOs, Satellite Ops: NPD Group
By: Todd Spangler Mar 4 2013 - 11:29am
AT&T, Verizon Generate More Transactional VOD Revenue per Sub Than MSOs, Satellite Ops: NPD Group

AT&T and Verizon Communications grew their share of the $1.3 billion U.S. transactional video-on-demand movie rental market in 2012 by four percentage points -- at the expense of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, according to research firm NPD Group.

Overall, VOD movie rental revenue grew 3% in 2012, according to NPD. Cable operators captured 56% of all VOD movie rentals last year, down from 60% in 2011.

Rate Hikes Fuel Pay TV Subscriber Discontent: Survey

Only 0.8% of Cable, Satellite Customers Have 'Cut the Cord' in Last 12 Months, According to Poll
By: Todd Spangler Mar 1 2013 - 11:56am
Only 0.8% of Cable, Satellite Customers Have 'Cut the Cord' in Last 12 Months, According to Poll

While just 0.8% of pay TV subscribers surveyed said they canceled their cable or satellite TV service in the last 12 months, steady price increases are a major factor prompting millions to ponder pulling the plug, according to a new study.

The survey, commissioned by video search and discovery vendor Digitalsmiths, found that about 80% of pay TV customers are satisfied with the value provided by their current provider.

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