The Federal Trade Commission has implemented a consumer “click-to-cancel” rule that requires sellers to make it as simple to cancel subscriptions or memberships as it was to sign up. The FTC vote was 3 to 2, along party lines, in favor of implementing the rule, which makes it easier to divest of unwanted, recurring bills. “Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan. “The FTC’s rule will end these tricks and traps, saving Americans time and money. Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.” Continue reading FTC Adds Click-to-Cancel Provision to Negative Option Rule

Major League Baseball has rolled out a standalone streaming option of MLB Network for $5.99 per month without requiring a pay-TV subscription. The direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service is currently available to baseball fans in the U.S. without the need for cable, satellite or Internet TV. For die-hard fans, the MLB Network + At Bat bundle — available for $6.99 per month — also includes live game audio for all MLB teams through MLB At Bat, live Minor League Baseball games, and access to highlights and live look-ins via MLB Big Inning. Current MLB.TV subscribers can stream MLB Network for the rest of this season at no additional cost. Continue reading MLB Network Launches $5.99 Standalone Streaming Service

Netflix reported that its popular streaming service has added 8.05 million subscribers during Q2, a healthy gain from 5.89 million newcomers during the same period a year earlier. The streamer’s total of more than 277 million worldwide customers makes it by far the largest subscription service of its kind. Revenue climbed to $9.56 billion, a nearly 17 percent second quarter gain that outperformed its own projections. Subscriptions on the ad-supported tier grew 34 percent compared to Q1. Amidst upheaval in more traditional media environs, Netflix seems to be gliding along, closing Thursday with a market valuation of $277 billion. Continue reading Netflix Reports Q2 Subscriber Growth as Revenue Tops $9.5B

The NFL playoffs coupled with heavy streaming and the return of scripted broadcast programming sent January television viewership to a four-year high, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge, which charted a 1.4 percent viewership increase year-over-year — described as noteworthy in a month in which the NFL playoffs typically drive viewership higher. January 2024 included three of the top 10 highest-viewership TV days since The Gauge debuted in May 2021. YouTube continued its streaming dominance for the twelfth consecutive month, with 8.6 percent of January TV streaming viewership, according to The Gauge. Netflix was number two at 7.9 percent. Continue reading Nielsen: TV Viewership Hits Four-Year High Led by YouTube

Championed by the Democratic members of the Federal Communications Commission, net neutrality rules are making a comeback now that the party again controls the FCC’s majority. Enacted when Barack Obama was president and repealed in 2017 during the Trump administration, the guidelines that once prohibited telecommunications and cable companies from blocking or throttling smaller content platforms, or those in which they had no ownership stake, could get a vote as early as next month. Speaking at the National Press Club, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said she is “sharing with [her] colleagues a rule making that proposes to restore net neutrality.” Continue reading FCC Preps Draft Proposal That Plans to Restore Net Neutrality

The Senate confirmed President Biden’s FCC nominee Anna Gomez yesterday in a 55-43 vote, bringing an end to a lengthy partisan split at the regulatory agency. Gomez, a communications policy adviser for the State Department, was nominated to fill the fifth commissioner’s seat in June following a year and half of Republican resistance to candidate Gigi Sohn. Gomez will become the third Democratic commissioner at the FCC, freeing the Biden administration to unlock its agenda regarding broadband and communications regulation. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has recently been pursuing improvement of broadband access and updating rules related to space. Continue reading Senate Confirms Anna Gomez to FCC After Lengthy Deadlock

Nielsen just released its 2023 State of Play report analyzing trends in streaming media based on data and insights provided by its content solutions business unit Gracenote. While it’s no surprise that audiences are faced with overwhelming choice — with nearly 40,000 individual FAST channels, streaming providers and aggregators to choose from — what is a stunner is that 20 percent of viewers, or 1 in 5, say that when they don’t know what to watch, even after browsing, they opt to end the TV session and find something else to do. According to Nielsen, viewers now devote about 10.5 minutes per TV session figuring out what to watch. Continue reading Viewers Are Struggling with the Growth of Streaming Options

Comcast announced NOW TV this week, a new streaming solution that includes more than 40+ live channels, 20+ integrated FAST channels and a subscription to Peacock Premium, priced at $20 per month for Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers. NOW TV is designed for “the value-conscious consumer who wants an entertainment product that is simple and convenient with quality programming movies, top shows, live sports, and news,” the company explains. Launching in the coming weeks, NOW’s live cable offerings feature A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Hallmark and Warner Bros. Discovery, among others. Continue reading Comcast’s NOW TV Streams 60 Channels, Peacock Premium

Netflix has cut prices in 30 countries — the U.S. not among them — as customers reevaluate whether they keep the service amidst new password-sharing restrictions in a more competitive streaming market that has generally seen rates increase. The reductions only apply to some tiers, in some cases reducing prices by as much as 50 percent. Affected territories reportedly include Nicaragua, Ecuador and Venezuela in Latin America. In Europe, rate reductions will be available in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia. Parts of Asia — including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillippines and Thailand — will also see price reductions. Continue reading Netflix Reduces Its Pricing in 30+ Countries but Not the U.S.

Paramount Global will be fully integrating Paramount+ and Showtime across both streaming and linear platforms later this year, according to president and CEO Bob Bakish, who said both the premium streaming tier on Paramount+ and the Showtime linear cable network will be known as “Paramount+ with Showtime” in the U.S. Pricing was not disclosed. In September, the studio began offering Paramount+ bundled with Showtime for prices ranging from $11.99 to $14.99 for premium. Paramount+ with Showtime will include Showtime original content, while Showtime will also get some Paramount+ original fare. Bakish said details will be shared in upcoming weeks. Continue reading A Rebranded ‘Paramount+ with Showtime’ Will Roll Out Soon

Over the holidays, the National Football League announced a multi-year deal with Google that will provide YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels with exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package, which includes all out-of-market Sunday games broadcast via CBS and FOX. Beginning with the 2023 football season, NFL Sunday Ticket will be available for U.S. consumers “on two of YouTube’s growing subscription businesses as an add-on package on YouTube TV and standalone a-la-carte on YouTube Primetime Channels,” according to Google. The agreement is valued at about $2 billion annually over seven years. Continue reading NFL Sunday Ticket Is Coming to YouTube TV and Primetime

Meta Platforms has shuttered its Connectivity division, which focused on areas including subsea cabling. The group’s functions will be divided among two other company units, Infrastructure and Central Products. Launched in 2013 as Facebook Connectivity, the business group developed connectivity technologies, concentrating on innovations like solar-powered drones, low-Earth orbit satellites and fiber-laying robots to expand the footprint of the company’s social platforms and other services. In 2021, it is estimated that more than 300 million people were able to access faster Internet services as a result of Meta Connectivity initiatives. Continue reading Meta Closes Its Connectivity Unit, Reassigns Responsibilities

Cord-cutting among U.S. consumers hit record highs in Q3, according to research firm MoffettNathanson, which reports total pay TV subscriptions dropped by 6.3 percent in the July through September period, up from a 5.2 percent decline in Q3 2021, and slightly ahead of the 6.2 percent contraction of Q2 this year. MoffettNathanson defines “pay TV” as paid subscription services, including from cable and satellite operators in addition to vMVPDs packaged through companies like Verizon and AT&T. The Q3 loss totaled roughly 655,000 subscribers, as compared to 617,000 from the same period last year, and 91,000 in Q3 2020. Continue reading Report: Cord-Cutting Translates to New Low for Pay TV in Q3

The number of households in the U.S. that are subscribing to some sort of multichannel pay-TV package has declined to 66 percent in 2022, from 88 percent in 2012, according to a new study from the Leichtman Research Group. The study defines pay TV as multichannel service delivered via cable, satellite, telco TV or ISP. “Two-thirds of U.S. TV households now get a live pay-TV service, a significant decrease from 79 percent five years ago,” LRG president and principal analyst Bruce Leichtman said, calling the decline “not solely a function of those disconnecting services, but is also related to a slowdown in those entering or reentering the category.” Continue reading Number of Pay-TV Package Subscribers Drops to 66 Percent

Streaming broke another all-time record in September, claiming 36.9 percent of total television usage. YouTube captured an 8 percent streaming share, enough to make it the No. 1 most-watched service, a first for the Google-owned platform, according to Nielsen’s monthly media snapshot “The Gauge.” Broadcast’s share also grew in September, climbing to 24.2 percent, while cable dropped to 33.8 percent. Total television usage increased 2.4 percent over August, with Nielsen citing the return of football as the rising tide that lifted all boats in in September, “as it provided new content across broadcast, cable and streaming.” Meanwhile, Pluto TV made a splash entering the rankings for the first time. Continue reading YouTube Tops Nielsen Gauge for First Time, Pluto Breaks Out