Google is now offering Web publishers free access to Matched content, a product for publishers to promote their content to site visitors through means of recommendations found on Web pages. The tool consolidates relevant content from a publisher’s site and displays it at the bottom of Web pages where it appears as a headline embedded with a direct link. Google claims the new product could help publishers generate more page views and make it easier for visitors to discover new content. Continue reading Google Offers New Tool to Help Site Visitors Discover Content

Amazon is the current leader in the cloud computing business, with its Amazon Web Services division bringing in $1.57 billion in just the first quarter, but Microsoft and Google have their eye on a market that is projected to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. To maintain its lead, Amazon has rushed to provide other software and analytics services and increased its network of resellers. The real winner, though, will be determined by what company hosts established enterprises. Continue reading Amazon Faces Growing Competition in Lucrative Cloud Business

Back in January, YouTube closed a deal with the National Football League to set up an NFL channel on its video platform, offering viewers game previews, highlights and more. In anticipation of the next season, YouTube is looking to capitalize on its NFL programming to secure lucrative advertising deals. The tech giant has set its NFL ad package at $5.2 million for the entire season, on the condition that marketers also commit to paying that same amount to enlist in its Google Preferred program. Continue reading Google Leverages NFL Content Deal to Push YouTube Ad Sales

Despite attempts by tech companies to make the Internet more accessible to people around the world, especially to those living in developing countries, the Internet’s growth has been decelerating. Facebook and Google have both invested in technologies such as satellites, drones and high-altitude balloons to deliver global Web access. However promising these efforts have been, global Web access has proven to be more contingent on whether people deem the Internet useful in the first place.  Continue reading Tech Companies Target Developing Countries for Web Expansion

Comcast issued a statement this morning that the proposed merger with Time Warner Cable has officially been terminated. “Today, we move on,” noted Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts. “Of course, we would have liked to bring our great products to new cities, but we structured this deal so that if the government didn’t agree, we could walk away.” Reports had circulated in recent days that a merger of the country’s two largest cable operators was ending as Comcast faced intense regulatory scrutiny regarding the $45.2 billion acquisition. Continue reading Comcast Confirms That It Has Dropped $45 Billion Bid for TWC

The Interactive Advertising Bureau recently found that one-third of Americans now own connected TV sets, while one-third of those consumers stream video to their TVs daily. According to new survey findings from consulting firm Deloitte, video streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have now surpassed live programming as the viewing method of choice for many consumers. The survey determined that 56 percent stream movies and 53 percent stream TV shows, while 45 percent still prefer watching live broadcasts. Continue reading Study Indicates Streaming Video is More Popular Than Live TV

Google has revamped its search criteria to make sure sites at the top of its search rankings are mobile friendly. The change went into effect earlier this week, along with other criteria that could dock a site for having hard-to-click links or a lopsided layout that requires too much scrolling. Google announced the new search criteria two months ago to give companies time to improve their mobile performance. The secret algorithm has about 200 factors that determine a site’s ranking. Continue reading Google’s Search Criteria Now Includes ‘Mobile Friendliness’

ESPN, Fox and NBCUniversal claim that Verizon’s newly launched package offerings, that feature cheaper bundles of pay TV channels, violate the terms of their respective agreements. On Sunday, Verizon introduced new flexibility for FiOS subscribers by offering a slim package of channels and optional add-on “channel packs” that feature genre-based channels. A few days prior to the launch, ESPN expressed its objection to being placed in an optional sports tier. Fox and NBCUniversal claim the Verizon plan is also outside the terms of their contracts. Continue reading Networks Claim New Verizon TV Bundles Violate Agreements

Amazon launched its hotel-booking service this week, Amazon Destinations, that will initially feature about 150 hotels, inns and B&Bs located in the Northeast, Southern California and Pacific Northwest. While the listings include a few branded hotels, the focus will remain on smaller, independent properties and operators for now. The company began hotel bookings in 2012, primarily offering discounts to address excess inventory. The new service will allow owners more flexibility regarding rates beyond package deals and discounts. Continue reading Amazon Destinations Looks to Compete in Online Travel Market

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, one-third of Americans now own connected TVs, while one-third of those consumers stream video content to their televisions daily. On average, owners of connected TVs spend 2.4 hours per day streaming to their televisions. Streaming video is beginning to affect viewing patterns in a way that may concern the traditional TV industry. Nielsen recently reported that TV viewing dipped 4 percent in the third quarter of 2014 and streaming jumped 60 percent compared to Q3 the previous year. Continue reading Report Says One-Third of Connected TVs Stream Video Daily

HBO has acquired the popular online series, “High Maintenance,” which first launched on Vimeo in 2013 free of charge. Last year, creators Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld partnered with the streaming service to offer the second season exclusively via Vimeo On Demand, and it quickly became a top seller on the VOD service. For now, viewers can still watch the dramedy without paying for HBO, since the first 13 episodes are streaming free of charge and the most recent six episodes are available on demand for $2 each. Continue reading Vimeo Hit Series ‘High Maintenance’ Leaving the Web for HBO

The first four episodes of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” fifth season were leaked online before the season’s premiere. Reportedly leaked from a review screener, the episodes have since been downloaded from public torrent sites millions of times. In response, HBO has distributed thousands of warnings to those Internet subscribers whose connections were determined to share leaked episodes. There are no legal ramifications for the subscribers, but HBO hopes that the warnings will prevent some of them from downloading future episodes. Continue reading HBO Sends Warnings to Torrent Users Sharing ‘Game of Thrones’

Netflix added 4.88 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations for growth of its user base. The company had forecast 4.05 million new subscribers. Netflix believes its popular original programming like “House of Cards” helped attract more users both in the U.S. and internationally. The streaming service is continuing to expand overseas and plans to encrypt its video streams in order to protect the privacy of its now 62 million-strong user base. Continue reading Netflix Beats Projections for User Growth In U.S. and Abroad

BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer Web browser endeavor, Maelstrom, is now in beta. Since its limited alpha release back in December of last year, the browser has reportedly seen as many as 3,500 publishers and more than 10,000 developers sign up to work on its platform. The beta release will make the browser available to more people and help gauge interest in a torrent-based service built on a decentralized, P2P architecture. For now, the beta version of Maelstrom is only available for Windows users. Continue reading Maelstrom: BitTorrent’s New Browser Built on P2P Architecture

For music fans that want to catch acts such as AC/DC, Drake, Interpol, Jack White and Vic Mensa perform at Coachella this weekend, much of the three-day festival will be streamed on YouTube. Three channels of performances, commentary and interactive profiles will be made available as well as a schedule feature that offers updates based on a user’s time zone and channel choice, and a virtual map feature that will include photos taken during the live event. Coachella’s YouTube channel is sponsored by T-Mobile. Continue reading Coachella to Live Stream Performances and More via YouTube