Comcast has turned to its theme park portfolio, which it acquired four years ago with its purchase of NBCUniversal, as a serious source of revenue. The company just committed to invest $1.6 billion to expand the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in California — featuring a snow-capped Hogwarts Castle — and build a $3.25 billion theme park in Beijing, in partnership with Chinese companies, slated to open in 2019. Comcast invested $100 million for a new “Transformers” ride at Universal Orlando in 2013. Continue reading Comcast Commits to Theme Parks with Billions in Investment

Vizio has sold more than 15 million smart TVs as part of its $3 billion per year business and is now ready to go public. Its recent IPO filing reveals how its smart TVs are tracking what consumers are watching. Inscape software embedded in Vizio screens can track anything being played — including cable TV, streaming devices and game systems. The technology, based on Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) software, can pull 100 billion datapoints from its connected TVs daily. The data should prove valuable to advertisers and content providers. Continue reading IPO Plan Details Benefits of ACR Software in Vizio Smart TVs

Technicolor plans to acquire Cisco’s television set-top business for about $450 million in cash and $150 million in Technicolor shares. Chuck Robbins, who replaces John Chambers as CEO of Cisco next week, said the sale represents the first in a series of planned changes. “We will continue to make decisions to prioritize our portfolio and our investments to accelerate our business,” he wrote, noting that internal efforts associated with cloud services and the Internet of Things would be more widely distributed across Cisco’s engineering, sales and services units. Continue reading New Cisco Chief Announces Sale of STB Unit to Technicolor

Less than a year after the Supreme Court shut down Aereo for delivering OTA TV signals to Internet subscribers, a U.S. District Court in California granted FilmOn, an Internet video streaming site, a compulsory license to retransmit TV station programming online. The difference between the two cases, says the judge, was that the Supreme Court did not address whether Aereo was entitled to a compulsory license, but rather found that it violated copyright laws. Fox Broadcasting has said it will appeal the ruling favoring FilmOn. Continue reading Judge: FilmOn Entitled to Compulsory License of Programming

Sideclick, a new universal remote launched by True Bloom via a Kickstarter campaign, attaches to the remote controls of common streaming devices such as Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, and replaces the need for a normal TV or cable box remote. Sideclick comes with just eight buttons for basic controls including turning on the TV, controlling volume and changing channels, and snaps directly onto the given remote control of a streaming device. Sideclick, likely to ship by December, is available for preorder through Kickstarter with an $18 pledge. Continue reading Device Combines Streaming Remote with Standard TV Remote

Comcast announced that it plans to launch a trial of its IP-based video service Stream by the end of the summer in Boston, followed by Chicago and Seattle. The $15-per-month streaming service will offer about a dozen broadcast networks and HBO. Subscribers will have access to some TV Everywhere applications, Streampix for movies and a cloud DVR service. As an add-on to broadband service meant for PCs, laptops and mobile devices, customers will need Comcast Internet service to subscribe. The company is planning a nationwide rollout for early next year. Continue reading Comcast Plans Streaming TV Service as an Alternative to Cable

TiVo has confirmed that its new TiVo Online service will allow subscribers to stream DVR recordings in addition to live television programming via a Web browser interface. The site includes recommendations, an online guide, a search feature, and the ability to manage upcoming recordings and track favorites (including content available via streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu). The DVR maker is looking to address the evolving needs of viewers expecting to access TV on any screen by providing a tool that performs more like a modern streaming service. Continue reading TiVo Online Allows Users to Stream DVR Recordings, Live TV

Dish Network is in discussions to merge with T-Mobile US, say people familiar with the matter. While financial specifics remain unresolved, the people indicate that the combined company would be led by Dish Chief Exec Charlie Ergen as chairman, and his T-Mobile counterpart John Legere as CEO. The deal would merge the second-largest satellite TV operator in the U.S. with the fourth-largest wireless carrier. Dish has a current market capitalization of $33 billion, slightly higher than T-Mobile’s $31 billion. Continue reading Merger Talks Between Dish and T-Mobile at the Formative Stage

Customer satisfaction with cable TV, Internet and phone service providers has fallen to a seven-year low, according to a study from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. When surveyed about satisfaction involving 43 industries, consumer response placed television and Internet companies tied for last place. Recent merger talks have placed TV and Internet providers under particular scrutiny, while disappointing customer service and rising prices have taken on a different dynamic in an era of streaming options such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Continue reading Study: Declining Customer Satisfaction with TV, Internet Service

Charter Communications has agreed to purchase Time Warner Cable for $55.3 billion in cash and stock. Including the debt Charter will assume, the total deal is valued around $79 billion. The move follows in the wake of Comcast’s attempted bid to acquire TWC. Charter will also move ahead with its purchase of Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion, and the three combined companies would make Charter the second largest TV and Internet provider in the U.S. with 24 million customers. Comcast currently holds the top spot with 27.2 million. Continue reading Charter to Purchase Time Warner Cable in $55.3 Billion Deal

With a new Apple TV expected later this summer, the company has revamped the design for the device’s remote control. While Apple has always pushed for minimalist design, its new remote control will supposedly have more features than the previous model, which has hardly changed since the debut of Apple TV back in 2007. According to sources, the new control, while still user-friendly, features two physical buttons, includes a touchpad and is slightly thicker than the device’s current design. Continue reading Apple Redesigns Minimalist Remote Control for New Apple TV

Saturday’s championship bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is generating controversy regarding the number of people who watched the fight for free using Twitter’s new video streaming app, Periscope. The app allows users to stream video recordings in real time and post to Twitter. Many on social media reported watching the fight via Periscope as opposed to paying the $100 pay-per-view fee to HBO and Showtime, which has since sparked a discussion about piracy. Continue reading Controversy Arises Over Periscope Streaming of Boxing Match

HBO recently announced it plans to stream the second season premiere of “Silicon Valley” on Twitch, Amazon’s streaming service for game enthusiasts. The episode will stream free of charge starting next Wednesday, April 8. Cast members are expected to participate in a live stream discussion, which will be made available on Twitch before the episode begins streaming. The partnership not only helps Twitch expand its content offerings, but also allows HBO to reach a wider, younger audience.  Continue reading ‘Silicon Valley’ Season 2 Premiere to Stream for Free on Twitch

The fifth season of HBO’s global hit series, “Game of Thrones” is slated to premiere in the U.S. on April 12. This time around, however, the cable network plans to broadcast the series simultaneously worldwide in an effort to combat piracy. When episodes air at 9:00 pm in New York, they will also air at 2:00 am in London and 9:00 am in Hong Kong. While the international air times may seem unusual, HBO hopes they will curtail the number of illegal downloads of what has become the most-pirated TV show in the world. Continue reading HBO to Test Simultaneous Global Airing of ‘Game of Thrones’

A recent study by Hunter Qualitative Research, commissioned by Defy Media, determined that millennials prefer video available via YouTube and other digital venues as compared to traditional television because they find the content to be more relevant and enjoyable. Digital content also feels more real to them. The study, conducted in the fall of 2014, found that consumers 13-24 years of age spend 11.3 hours watching free online video in a typical week. The same group watches a weekly average of 8.3 hours of regularly scheduled TV. Continue reading Younger Consumers Find Digital Video More Relevant Than TV