The COVID-19 pandemic is speeding up the ongoing trend of cord-cutting, according to industry experts. The major reason that consumers still hold on to pay-TV subscriptions is to watch live sports. Now, with all professional and college sports events on hold, that reason has disappeared. Additional reasons to cut the cord are high unemployment and an increasing number of free streaming options for entertainment. Cable, virtual cable and satellite TV companies have posted significant losses at the end of the last quarter. Continue reading Pay-TV Providers Feel the Impact of Increase in Cord-Cutting

Major entertainment entities entering the streaming video market have collectively spent $2+ billion on classic TV shows as they jockey for position ahead of a looming battle for dominance. The services, which include Apple TV+, Disney+, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and, newcomer NBCUniversal’s Peacock, are also busy spending money to sign talent for new original programs. All these services are scheduled to launch between November and April; the activity also points to the potential for a price war. Continue reading Streaming Video Competition Heats Up, Threatens Price War

Although cable companies lost more than a million subscribers last year and Internet viewing is booming, Layer3 chief executive Jeff Binder thinks the future isn’t about cutting the cord to cable, but making it better, with improved pictures, design and customer service. That, he hopes, will win over customers struggling to find content online and on cable. Layer3 will debut in Chicago and a few unnamed major cities on the East and West Coasts, at $80 to $150 a month, depending on the number of TVs in a home. Continue reading Layer3 Aims to Improve Cable Model, Leases its IP Network

HBO’s standalone streaming service, HBO Now, is expected to launch in time for the premiere of season 5 of  “Game of Thrones” scheduled for April 12. In another effort to target younger viewers, HBO also announced it has plans to broadcast half-hour episodes of Vice newscasts, five days a week, for 48 weeks a year. In addition, HBO confirmed it will continue to run its exiting Vice newsmagazine show through 2018 and promises to further invest in Vice-produced specials. Continue reading HBO to Offer Content for Millennials with Vice Daily Newscasts

Verizon and Netflix are quietly testing a plan that could lead to an industry first regarding a major MVPD offering the SVOD service as part of a bundled subscription. Verizon is offering new FiOS Triple Play customers in New York City a free year’s worth of Netflix (a $108 value). The trial follows the back-and-forth between Verizon and Netflix contentiously debating which company was to blame for buffering problems that eventually led to a peering deal with Netflix paying extra fees. Continue reading Trial: Verizon FiOS and Netflix Test Bundled Subscription Plan

Reed Hastings announced on his Facebook page yesterday that Netflix subscribers viewed 4 billion hours of video during the first quarter. Media analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research suggests that subscribers are viewing an average of 87 minutes of streaming content per day via the video-on-demand service, up from 79 minutes in June 2012. “Netflix is now likely the most-watched cable network,” said Greenfield. Continue reading Netflix CEO Says 4 Billion Hours of Video Streamed in Q1