As part of its “Future of TV” series, the South by Southwest Festival is hosting a number of panels featuring filmmakers who recently produced content for online media. Morgan Spurlock is promoting a new show he created for AOL, and Dan Harmon will discuss “Community” and its move to Yahoo, while CNN and Hulu execs will tackle the evolving landscape of traditional TV and Internet video. Tech companies are investing in more original content while the shift in live TV is forcing media giants to offer more of their content online. Continue reading SXSW Tackles Future of Television with Panels and Premieres

Amazon recently confirmed that it has acquired 2lemetry, a startup with a focus on creating real value of data being processed and shared via Internet-connected devices. Under Amazon, Denver-based 2lemetry will continue to service its existing clientele, which includes companies such as Honeywell and First Mile. All other deal details remain undisclosed. Amazon’s acquisition of 2lemetry reflects the company’s early efforts to develop an Internet of Things business strategy. Continue reading IoT: Amazon Acquires Connected Enterprise Startup 2lemetry

Sony is planning the nationwide launch of its PlayStation Vue online TV service to take place by the end of this year. Sony Computer Entertainment President Andrew House announced yesterday that commercial operation will kick-off within the next few weeks via invitation-only tests in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. PlayStation Vue, the latest Internet service to target cord cutters, will compete with offerings such as Dish Network’s Sling TV and standalone network services from CBS, HBO and Nickelodeon. Continue reading PlayStation Vue: Sony Readies Rollout of Internet TV Service

Verizon announced its plans to rollout Internet TV channels featuring original content from teen-centric AwesomenessTV, the YouTube network owned by DreamWorks Animation. The companies announced yesterday that scripted and unscripted series will be geared toward teens and millennials. The multi-year deal will also include a DreamWorksTV channel that features live action and animated short-form content based on popular DreamWorks’ characters. The ATV network currently has 112 million subscribers on YouTube. Continue reading Verizon and AwesomenessTV Announce New Streaming Service

Nielsen reports that about two in five U.S. households currently subscribe to streaming video services. According to the measurement company’s latest Total Audience Report, about 36 percent of households were Netflix subscribers in November. Netflix indicates it now has 40 million paid subscribers in the U.S. Following Netflix is Amazon Prime at 13 percent and Hulu Plus at 6.5 percent, explains the Nielsen study, which also shows that streaming service subscribers spend significantly more time viewing content. Continue reading Streaming Video Subscribers Spend More Time Watching TV

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’

Beau Cronin, co-founder of Prior Knowledge and current senior manager of predictive products at Salesforce, recognizes that VR is in the process of transforming from a specialty technology where innovation is driven by small groups of experts, to a general-purpose technology that will tap into a huge, broader market of users and hackers. In a recent article, he postulates that VR today is where the Internet was in 1993, just before Netscape. At that time there was a re-evaluation of all the rules, often done by outsiders. Continue reading Virtual Reality Poised to ‘Cross the Chasm’ to the Wider World

Facebook unveiled a new server yesterday — code-named Yosemite — that is based on its collaboration with Intel. While the server is designed to run the social network’s software, Facebook envisions the system also being used by other companies. The announcement was made during an Open Compute Project gathering, which also included news from Hewlett-Packard regarding its new stripped-down servers for cloud-based operations. HP execs said the company’s new Cloudline machines would be less expensive than its popular Proliant line. Continue reading Facebook, HP Introduce New Server Technology at OCP Event

According to comScore, 10 percent of Internet users in the U.S. only go online via smartphones and tablets. The measurement firm further notes that 13 percent of users accessing retail apps and sites do so via mobile devices only. Interestingly, the number of mobile-only shoppers at the top 10 retailers exceeds 50 percent in some cases. During January, for example, comScore reports the following percentages for mobile-only shoppers at top retailers: 51 percent at Walmart, 59 percent at Apple, and 53 percent at Target. Continue reading Percentage of Mobile-Only Shoppers at Top Retailers Increases

During yesterday’s Apple product event in San Francisco, HBO announced it plans to launch its much-anticipated “HBO Now” Internet streaming service in April, initially on Apple devices (the exclusivity is scheduled for three months). The new service, which does not require a traditional TV subscription, will run $14.99 per month. Its debut will coincide with the new season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” HBO Now subscribers will have access to all of the cable network’s original programming in addition to its movie offerings. Continue reading HBO to Launch Streaming Service Next Month on Apple Devices

Apple is in talks with HBO to become a launch partner for the HBO Now streaming service. Apple TV may join Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, and Amazon in distributing streaming content from HBO’s catalog of television series and movies. HBO Now is set to debut in April, just in time for the season premiere of its popular series “Game of Thrones.” The streaming service will mark the first time that viewers will be able to subscribe directly to HBO, instead of through a pay TV service. Continue reading HBO Negotiating to Launch its Streaming Service on Apple TV

After several months of discussions, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has officially declared Fridays as the release day for all new music albums. In today’s digital era, music listeners want to have access to albums the moment they are available anywhere in the world. Rather than staggering the releases on different days in different countries, the universal release approach aims to combat piracy. There is no word yet on when this new distribution model will take effect. Continue reading Global Trade Group Proposes Universal Release Day for Albums

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

Google recently announced that it plans to consider two new variables as ranking signals to help improve search results for mobile users of Google search. Google’s latest ranking signals will include a site’s mobile-friendliness and information from indexed mobile applications. The company is committed to helping website owners reconfigure their pages to be more mobile-friendly through various online guides and resources. The mobile-friendly ranking will take effect the third week of April. Continue reading Google Implements New Ranking Signals for Mobile Web Results

At this week’s Mobile World Congress, Facebook chief exec Mark Zuckerberg explained to a packed crowd why he believes Internet.org will eventually help carriers convince consumers to increase spending on mobile content. The Facebook-backed service, currently available in countries such as Paraguay and Zambia, is designed to offer those in emerging markets free access to the social network and some other online applications. For many new users, this would represent their first time surfing the Internet. Continue reading Zuckerberg Pushes Potential of Internet.org at Telecom Confab