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Netflix Exec Describes Television World Without Ratings and Schedules

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December 7, 2012
  • “It’s gonna look nothing like we’re seeing today,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a discussion of what TV will look like in five years, noting that Netflix wants to lead that transformation.
  • For one, the streaming service aims to make ratings irrelevant. Even though Netflix’s original TV show “Arrested Development,” coming in February, is expected to attract millions, Sarandos says the company won’t be releasing numbers.
  • He explained that ratings are irrelevant for subscription services that don’t have to sell audiences to advertisers. Moreover, the numbers create unreasonable comparisons of shows’ immediate success when audiences may discover the content over time, GigaOM writes.
  • Although Sarandos acknowledged the necessity for time schedules for time-sensitive content like sports or talk shows, he says Netflix will not create time schedules that reduces on-demand flexibility. This model could have reverberations among other pay TV providers.
  • “After all, if Netflix is successful with its no-schedule strategy, should other TV networks stick to the schedule as their viewing is shifting towards an on-demand world?” the post asks.
  • Similarly, Netflix will offer complete seasons of TV shows all at once. Viewers don’t want to wait for the next episode, and creators will be able to spend less time recapping in each episode.
  • Netflix also places value in personalization and has worked to fine-tune its recommendation feature. The company is taking it one step further with Just for Kids, a UI that separates children’s content. Sarandos says Netflix aims to one day use voice and visual recognition to “be able to pull up a user’s personalized recommendations as soon as that person walked into the room,” the post states.

Following Game-Changing Disney Deal, Netflix Talking with Other Studios

By
December 7, 2012
  • Netflix just secured exclusive rights to new Disney titles after their theatrical releases, and the streaming service hopes to make similar deals with other studios.
  • For the Disney deal, Netflix outbid premium channel Starz, and will get exclusive access for a specified time window starting in 2016, as reported earlier on ETCentric.
  • “The deal, estimated to cost Netflix $350 million a year, was seen as a major coup,” the New York Post writes. “It marked the first time a big Hollywood studio had picked a Web rival for that crucial pay TV window over a premium channel such as HBO, Showtime and Starz.”
  • Netflix content boss Ted Sarandos discussed the company’s content strategy at the UBS annual media conference in New York. He said Netflix is also talking with Universal to get movies, and suggests the service might even look into a deal with Warner Bros.
  • Netflix is trying to “accelerate the windows and get fresher content,” according to Sarandos. “Warner’s deal [with HBO] is up in 2014. This gives Warner the opportunity to do other things, to look at this.”
  • “Sarandos pointed out that Netflix was working with Universal to get movies on the streaming service that perhaps HBO didn’t want,” explains the article. “He cited animated film ‘The Lorax,’ as an example, saying that family programming was high on Netflix’s agenda but less so for HBO.”
  • That said, Time Warner owns both HBO and Warner Bros. so the likelihood seems slim, the article suggests.

Copyright Act Leads to Studios Censoring Legitimate Links to Own Media

By
December 6, 2012
  • A recent automated request has asked Google to take down links to legitimate sites that reference studios’ films in addition to other links that seemingly have no connection to the films.
  • Although Google has left many of the links up thus far, the appeal is just one example of the numerous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) requests that Google has to sift through.
  • According to The Next Web, the request was sent by a company called “Yes It Is – No Piracy!” on behalf of several major Hollywood movie studios.
  • “Victims of the takedown requests include sites where the content is hosted legally (Amazon, CBS, iTunes, Blockbuster, Verizon on demand, and Xfinity), newspapers discussing the content in question (the BBC, CNET, Forbes, The Huffington Post, The Guardians, The Independent, The Mirror, The Daily Mail, and Wired) as well as official Facebook Pages for the movies and TV shows and even their Wikipedia entries,” the post explains.
  • While takedown requests for copyright violations are reasonable, these automated requests put unnecessary strain on Google, the article suggests. One such request from Microsoft asked Google to censor BBC, CBS, CNN, Wikipedia, the U.S. government, and even its own Bing links.
  • “We have no problem with companies asking Google to censor webpages in its search engine because they are either illegally hosting or linking to copyrighted material,” comments TNW. “That being said, automated requests that don’t get a final check from human eyes result in mistakes, and it’s frankly quite sad that Google has to sift through them all. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this has happened, and it likely won’t be the last.”

Lucasfilm Engineers Explore Unlikely Echo Chamber to Capture Audio

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December 6, 2012
  • Skywalker Sound, the audio division of Lucasfilm, sent sound effects engineers below the San Francisco Bay to record the unique sound chamber of the recently reconstructed Bay Bridge.
  • After clambering down ladders, stairs and a crawl space, the crew set up expensive recording equipment to capture the resonance of the concrete chasm. And then they fired blanks. And banged trap doors. And yelled.
  • “The pistol gives off a ‘full frequency event’ — that is, the sound covers the full range of audible frequencies, giving a complete impulse response,” Wired explains. “Back at Skywalker, the editors will use Altiverb to digitally remove the sound of the shot.”
  • “Then we can run whatever sound we want through that program, and it’ll sound like we’re in here,” says Casey Langfelder of Skywalker Sound.
  • “Each microphone they have, called mid-side mics, houses two units — a front facing element to capture the event, and a figure-eight shaped one that records stereo,” the article explains. “Because the sounds reaching the side mic have bounced off the surroundings, they helps give a sense of ambient space, says [assistant effects editor Benny] Burtt. Together, they allow the sound engineers to adjust the width of the sound, making it project a sense of space.”
  • The crew took advantage of the recording opportunity before the bridge was reopened.
  • “Now that we’ve recorded the Bay Bridge tunnel span, we can create an impulse response for it at each distance we recorded,” says Burtt. “Any time we need some sort of subterranean cave or super-echoey location, we can plug an effect into this and have the response without actually going back out to the bridge.”
  • “You never know where these sounds might wind up,” Langfelder says. “They could wind up on ‘Star Wars,’ or they could end up on other things… our library is always growing.”

Excite 10 SE: Toshiba Releases 10-Inch Jelly Bean Tablet for Only $350

By
December 6, 2012
  • Toshiba’s new 10-inch Excite 10 SE tablet will be available starting tomorrow for $350.
  • The new tablet will ship with Android 4.1, a Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, an AutoBrite HD screen featuring 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and stereo quality speakers.
  • “Our Excite family of tablets continues to grow with options to suit a wide range of consumer needs, from portability and gaming to versatility and power,” explains Carl Pinto, VP of marketing for Toshiba America. “We designed the Excite 10 SE to be a full featured tablet that offers a pure, Android Jelly Bean experience, while maintaining an attractive price point.”
  • The Excite 10 SE is 0.4-inches thick and weights 22.6 ounces. Additional features include a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera with auto focus and digital zoom, a front-facing HD camera, microSD and Micro USB ports, Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi capability.
  • “Toshiba touts its Excite 10 SE to offer the best 10-inch tablet experience for that price, as most larger-sized slates begin at around $400,” reports Digital Trends. “Asus’ Transformer Prime is one of the few 10-inch tablets that fall in that price range, sporting a price tag of $345.”
  • “The low price will certainly give Toshiba an advantage, but in an industry so saturated it can be tough to compete with the likes of Apple or Google.”

Amazon to Offer Kindle Fire Subscription Service Featuring Content for Kids

By
December 6, 2012
  • Amazon has announced a new subscription service aimed at children who use the Kindle Fire. The service is scheduled to roll out as part of a software update in the coming weeks.
  • FreeTime is a feature that offers parental controls for how children use the tablet. Amazon is adding a subscription service to FreeTime, that offers unlimited access to kid-friendly content.
  • “FreeTime Unlimited, announced Wednesday by the e-commerce giant, will bring together all the child-friendly content available for the Kindle Fire tablets — encompassing books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows — into the walled garden of the existing FreeTime feature, offering unlimited access for $4.99 per child or $9.99 per family,” reports Digital Trends. “Prime members can sign up for slightly less: $2.99 and $6.99 respectively.”
  • Parents can create a Kindle Fire profile for their children based on their age and gender. FreeTime also creates time limits “so their eyes don’t turn rectangular through overuse.”
  • FreeTime Unlimited will feature content from providers such as Chronicle Books, DC Comics, Disney, HIT Entertainment, Nickelodeon, PBS and Sesame Workshop.

Google Launches Native YouTube App for iPad and Update for iPhone 5

By
December 6, 2012
  • Google has released its own YouTube app for the iPad, in addition to an update for the iPhone version.
  • When iOS 6 was launched by Apple in September, iPad users lost their native YouTube app. Google’s new YouTube app will give iPad users the option of not relying on third party apps.
  • “The company’s video streaming app has also been optimized for the iPhone 5’s larger display and beefed up with other new features, and is available now for download from the iTunes store,” reports Digital Trends.
  • “The new iOS YouTube app now allows videos to be streamed from your mobile device to an Apple TV, incorporates improved playlist management, and claims to start videos more quickly and play them more smoothly,” adds the post.
  • Additional features include include VoiceOver, that offers an alternative search method; clickable links in video descriptions; and a new sidebar for settings.
  • “The overall experience with the new iPad app is smooth and navigation simple,” notes Digital Trends. “However, it’d be good to have an option in settings to change the size of the thumbnails in order to show more videos on the main home screen, as only five are visible as things stand. Of course, it’s no hardship to scroll down the list but a bank of smaller thumbnails for easy scanning would be welcome.”
  • According to the post, more than a quarter of YouTube videos are currently viewed on a mobile device.

Apple Expands the Worldwide Reach of iTunes Store to 119 Countries

By
December 6, 2012
  • Apple has announced the expansion of its iTunes platform into 56 new countries, including India, Russia, South Africa and Turkey.
  • The expansion, which nearly doubles iTunes’ worldwide footprint, is a response to growing competition in global markets from rivals including Microsoft, Google, Spotify and Netflix.
  • “But while competition is increasing, Apple still benefits from its vast reach,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “ITunes remains the juggernaut in the digital media world, with more than 400 million users and more than half the market for music downloads.”
  • With this expansion, the iTunes Store now reaches 119 countries, while the company’s App Store is available in 155 countries. The news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that Apple has released the most significant update to iTunes since the software’s debut.
  • “However, Apple’s iTunes still doesn’t offer a streaming subscription service, an increasingly popular method of consuming both music and video by paying a fixed subscription every month, rather than buying individual songs, albums and films,” notes WSJ.
  • Apple faces competition from streaming service Netflix, Microsoft’s recently launched Xbox music, and the new Google Play online store that features Google’s entire media catalog.
  • “The expansion of the service to developing countries underscores Apple’s belief that these markets are ready for electronic distribution of media, and that Apple has sold enough iPhones, Macs and iPads on these markets to justify the effort, said Adrian Drury, media analyst at London-based research firm Ovum.”

Sony Connected TVs to Get Ensequence Technology for Contextual Content

By
December 6, 2012
  • The same company that brought enhanced NBCUniversal London Olympics content to Verizon FiOS TV customers is teaming up with Sony to provide contextual content for connected TVs.
  • Ensequence has signed a multi-year deal with Sony to create software for connected TVs using the automatic content recognition technology in Sony’s devices. Starting next year, all TV sets will have the software; additionally, the technology will be available to TVs made by Sony in 2011 and 2012 through a software update.
  • “The collaboration offers advertisers and programmers an easier, more scalable way to engage viewers directly with TV ads and shows, transforming passive viewing into active participation,” the press release states.
  • “Ensequence research shows that adding interactivity to TV increases programming ratings by up to 20 percent, brand recall by as much as 50 percent and intent to purchase by up to 40 percent,” notes the release. “In addition, viewer interaction and repeat visit rates exceed 30 percent and 50 percent respectively.”
  • Using the platform, advertisers can add clickable banners, landing pages, product request forms, coupons and surveys. TV show producers can also incorporate polls, trivia games, photo galleries, location-based check-in, social status updates and more.

Sony PS3 Now the Largest TV-Connected Platform for Netflix Streaming

By
December 6, 2012
  • It’s been three years since Sony introduced the Netflix streaming service to its PlayStation 3, and this week the two companies announced that the gaming system is the most popular option for consumers accessing the service in their living rooms.
  • “PS3 is our largest TV-connected platform in terms of Netflix viewing, and this year, at times, even surpassed the PC in hours of Netflix enjoyment to become our number one platform overall,” explains Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. “PS3 is a natural fit for Netflix in terms of developing and first deploying our most advanced features. We can transparently update our application with new features on a daily basis.”
  • Netflix often turns to the PS3 to test new features. For example, Sony’s console was the first to offer 1080p video with 5.1-channel Dolby Digital Plus surround sound from Netflix, the post play feature, second screen controls and subtitles.
  • “To this day, the PS3 provides next-generation Netflix options, such as the recent addition of a voice assistant (Max) that asks the user a series of questions to assist with the selection process,” reports CNET.
  • “The shift in favored devices comes a year and a half after Nielsen Research announced that computers and the Nintendo Wii held the top spot as a Netflix streaming device at home,” adds the post. “According to Nielsen’s 2011 research, more than 42 percent of those surveyed used a computer, 25 percent streamed through a Wii, and only 13 percent utilized a PS3 to view the service during that period. Things can sure change in a year.”

Steam Takes on the Console Competition with Launch of Big Picture Mode

By
December 6, 2012
  • In a challenge to console makers, Valve has officially launched its “Big Picture Mode” for its cloud-gaming platform Steam, enabling users to play titles on their televisions by simply connecting their computers.
  • “Steam has been offering its users the option to put the service on their television since September in beta mode,” the Washington Post reports, “but the company has deemed it ready to lose that testing tag. The mode makes it possible to use almost all of Steam’s features including its Web browser, social network and — of course — its games in a way optimized for television screens.”
  • To promote the new mode, Steam has put the compatible games on sale. “All the sale titles have full controller support, which means that users won’t have to tote their mouse and keyboard to the living room,” the article notes.
  • “There are also quite a few partial support titles, such as ‘XCOM Enemy Unknown,’ ‘Hitman: Absolution,’ and ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.’ Steam is very clear about which titles have full support and which do not,” explains the article. “Titles with partial support may need the keyboard and mouse during installation or for ‘limited interactions’ throughout the game.”
  • Because Valve has established itself in the gaming community, the company could move further into the console territory currently dominated by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. “Some see this step into the living room as a test for bigger things in the future,” the article suggests.

Activision Breaks Record as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Tops $1 Billion

By
December 6, 2012

Activision announced yesterday that “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” beat its own record by earning $1 billion in just 15 days (last year’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” reached $1 billion in 16 days).

“‘Black Ops 2’ earned $500 million in the first 24 hours,” reports PCMag. “Since its release, Activision reported that gamers have logged more than 150 million hours playing the game on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.” The game is currently available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Windows PC.

“Last month, millions of fans descended on 16,000 midnight openings at retail store worldwide,” notes the post. “Within 24 hours, ‘Black Ops 2’ was a Twitter trending topic in 23 cities worldwide.”

According to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, the game’s release “has been one of the most significant entertainment events of each of the last six years.”

Since the “Call of Duty” franchise launched nine years ago, Kotick says cumulative worldwide revenues have exceeded the global box office numbers for the top 10 grossing films of 2012.

“This is an incredible milestone for an incredible franchise, and I want to thank every passionate, talented, committed person on our team who made it happen,” added Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, who referred to “Call of Duty” as an “entertainment juggernaut.”

The Future of Gaming May Be Tablets from Amazon, Apple and Google

By
December 5, 2012
  • Nintendo sold an estimated 400,000 Wii U consoles on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Rivals Microsoft and Sony are also expected to release new iterations of their popular video game consoles in the new year.
  • But even with strong launches, the new consoles “represent a rapidly decaying ecosystem,” writes Fortune contributor Kevin Chou.
  • “The eighth generation of game consoles we will see in the next 12 months will, over their life spans, sell in lower quantities than the generation that preceded them. That will be a first,” says Chou, who is the CEO of game maker Kabam. “The best guess, both from inside our company and from industry analysts, is the fall-off will be more than 30 percent. Much of the decline will be in the out years of sales, after the most loyal fans have snapped up early units.”
  • “If this happens, there will be a one-word explanation: tablets,” Chou continues. “There can be little doubt that tablets from the likes of Amazon, Apple, and Google are the new consoles.”
  • The typical gaming console release schedule is between five to seven years. Tablets, on the other hand, can be released every year as technology improves. Already, the latest iPad from Apple has a more powerful graphics processing unit than that of the new Wii U.
  • Also, the consumer behavior toward software has changed. Rather than coughing up $60 for a new game, customers are opting for freemium games on tablets and smartphones.
  • “This will be doubly true as more software companies adopt the iterate-and-improve development model of the tablet makers,” the post states. Rather than monetize customers up front, developers are drawing in consumers who will pay for updates over several years.
  • Lastly, gamers want convenience. Not only are tablets more portable, the sheer number of games available on mobile devices dwarfs that available on consoles.

Mobile Study Suggests Upgrade from 2G to 3G Helps Economies Grow

By
December 5, 2012
  • Mobile phone networks have proven to help economies grow, but a new study found that increasing coverage from 2G to 3G also has a notable impact.
  • “By increasing the flow of information, mobile phones improve productivity and efficiency, and open up new markets and new kinds of business all across the economy,” Quartz writes. “Now there is evidence that improving mobile Internet access helps economies, too.”
  • “The study by the GSM Association mobile trade group, Deloitte and Cisco, looked at 96 developed and developing markets from 2008 to 2011,” the article explains. “When a market experienced a 10 percent shift from 2G to 3G, GDP per capita growth increased by an average of 0.15 percentage points. A separate look into 14 countries between 2005 to 2010 found that a doubling of mobile data use led to an increase of 0.5 percentage points in per capita growth.”
  • “The fact that increasing high-speed mobile broadband data usage leads to greater average per capita income underscores the need for increased investment in wireless networks as well as for government policies to foster that investment,” says Dr. Robert Pepper, Cisco’s vice president of global technology policy.
  • Quartz qualifies the study’s conclusions, noting “the study’s sponsors have an obvious interest in promoting any evidence of a societal payoff from expensive wireless network upgrades.”
  • Today, 18 percent of all mobile subscribers use 3G, amounting to 1 billion global users, which is an increase of more than one-third over last year.

Online Retailers Compete with Amazon by Offering Same-Day Delivery

By
December 5, 2012
  • In select cities, same-day delivery is becoming more common as companies such as eBay and Walmart try to gain a competitive edge in online sales by sending out delivery couriers.
  • “Driving this proliferation is the desire to give consumers instant gratification with their online orders to drive sales, as well as giving customers another incentive to skip lines at their local retailer,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Many of the companies are hoping to compete with Amazon, which has built a reputation for speedy, low-cost deliveries through its network of sprawling warehouses.”
  • For the eBay Now same-day delivery service, eBay hires people for $12.50 per hour to drive around San Francisco and New York, picking up products and delivering them to customers. The company only charges users $5 per delivery with a minimum order of $25. The company also offered a promotion that delivers the first three orders for free and adds a $15 credit to the first delivery.
  • Similarly, Walmart offers same-day delivery for $5 to $10, and the company is looking to expand into new markets next year.
  • The promising same-day shipping initiative Kozmo.com, which drew venture capital interest and a $60 million investment from Amazon during the dot-com boom, fell in 2001 after trying to spread to too many markets too fast.
  • “If we learned one thing, you have to take a careful approach to this, roll it out slowly and study the markets you go into first,” says Joseph Park, one of Kozmo’s co-founders who is now chief executive of online fashion retailer Bluefly.
  • For the time being, same-day delivery will be a money-losing venture, no matter how many companies join in.
  • “Retailers are clearly subsidizing this service to improve the customer experience,” says Needham & Co. analyst Kerry Rice. “Amazon created this monster and everyone has had to jump on board to compete.”

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