Turner Sports is introducing a streaming subscription service to air the Union of European Football Associations’ Champions League and Europa League soccer matches. Although the streaming service doesn’t have a name or price yet, it is scheduled to debut in 2018, when the Time Warner-owned network’s deal for the UEFA matches begins; Turner’s English-language three-year rights is reportedly valued at more than $180 million. Turner Networks joins numerous other traditional media companies launching similar direct-to-consumer digital services. Continue reading Turner’s Streaming Service to Debut with European Football

Just weeks after Facebook temporarily reduced the price tag for its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, HTC announced it is chopping $200 off the cost of its Vive headset. The HTC Vive now costs $599, which brings it closer to the $499 Rift (currently $399 during its summer sale). Both VR devices require connection to a computer. HTC’s new price point is intended to spark new interest in the device and its accessories such as the Vive Tracker, wireless adapters and a new head strap. The deal also offers access to VR game titles through a one-month free trial to HTC’s Viveport subscription service. Continue reading HTC Slashes Cost of its Vive Virtual Reality Headset by $200

NBCUniversal reports that its first NBC News daily show for Snapchat already has more than 29 million unique viewers after one month on air. “Stay Tuned,” which broadcasts twice daily, launched July 18. While the figure tops viewership for some of NBC News’ top-rated television offerings, a direct comparison is not necessarily realistic since a Snapchat view starts as soon as a video is opened — and content created for mobile users is distilled into smaller need-to-know bits as compared to traditional TV news. However, the early success marks a major first step for NBC on the social platform. Continue reading NBC News’ Daily Show Tops 29 Million Viewers on Snapchat

Amazon is going full bore promoting its virtual assistant Alexa. In an effort to make it available on more devices, the company has debuted the Alexa Voice Service Device SDK toolset, which lets developers integrate a fully functional version to their devices, offering speech recognition and all the other Alexa capabilities such as notifications, weather reports, streaming media and thousands of voice apps. Amazon is providing additional incentive to developers by paying those whose voice apps demonstrate customer engagement. Continue reading Amazon Promotes Alexa With SDK, Revenue for Developers

According to sources, Apple has a budget of about $1 billion to acquire and produce original content this next year, an amount that is roughly half of what Time Warner’s HBO spent on content last year and equal to what Amazon spent in 2013. Apple hopes that with its enormous global purview and marketing capabilities, it can be a serious competitor in the original content arena. With this budget, Apple could purchase or produce as many as 10 TV shows, which could be distributed on Apple Music or a video streaming service. Continue reading Apple Earmarks $1 Billion to Buy, Produce Original TV Shows

Nielsen will expand its Digital Content Ratings to credit video distributed via Facebook, Hulu and YouTube. According to Jessica Hogue, SVP of product leadership at Nielsen, “These are three of the biggest and most meaningful platforms for media companies and advertisers.” The move “will allow TV network and digital publishers to capture incremental viewing of video on the three digital outlets,” reports Variety, and extends the measurement firm’s push into new media viewership. “Nielsen’s announcement comes as more digital companies are placing new emphasis and added resources on creating video content, rather than pieces of simple text.” Continue reading Nielsen Includes Facebook, Hulu, YouTube in Digital Ratings

In the wake of Pandora Media hiring a new chief executive, Roger Lynch, the company’s stock rose 4.7 percent on shareholder optimism that the new leader would take the struggling online music service in a better direction. Lynch, who most recently led Sling TV and was previously at Dish Network since 2009, is Pandora’s fourth chief executive in less than two years. Pandora fell from its No. 1 position in music streaming services as it faced competition from Spotify and Apple Music, both of which boast huge song catalogs. Continue reading Pandora Turns to Pay TV in Selecting New CEO Roger Lynch

An increasing number of YouTube’s 1.5 billion viewers are watching its videos on the living room TV set rather than smartphones. With Internet-connected TVs, users are having an easier time streaming over-the-top content at home, where they can enjoy the content on a much bigger screen. Other over-the-top providers, from Roku to Apple TV, Facebook to Twitter, are experiencing the same kind of migration from smaller digital devices to the TV. That means more advertisers than ever are buying YouTube and its ilk. Continue reading Advertisers Follow YouTube Viewers to Living Room TV Sets

YouTube has been testing a feature in select markets that allows the platform to become a kind of mobile messenger. The feature, which began testing in mid-2016, lets users avail themselves of a new tab in the mobile app to send videos to their friends and chat. After a soft rollout to users in Canada at the beginning of 2017, YouTube later launched the new feature in parts of Latin America. The global rollout  this week, but will take a few days to appear on all users’ phones. YouTube also tweaked the user interface in several ways. Continue reading YouTube Introduces In-App Video Sharing and Chat Globally

As part of an industry shift that began in Europe, an increasing number of cable operators in the U.S. have been forming agreements with Netflix. Charter Communications is expected to join more than a dozen pay TV providers, including Comcast, in making the streaming service available through its set-top boxes. “Some U.S. providers could start selling the streaming service as part of their Internet and video packages,” reports VentureBeat. “Altice NV is trying that approach in France, and the company aims to extend the deal to the United States.” Continue reading Cable Providers Make Course Correction and Support Netflix

In a significant departure from its traditional business model, Disney announced it plans to pull its movies from Netflix and roll out two of its own online streaming services. Early next year the company will introduce an ESPN streaming service that is expected to cover 10,000 events each year, including MLB, NHL and MLS content. The company also plans to launch a Disney-branded streaming platform in 2019 that will offer its movies and TV programming as well as original content exclusive to the service. Following the news, Netflix stock dropped 7 percent in after-hours trading. Continue reading Disney to Introduce Streaming Services Over Next Two Years

CBS is assertively growing its digital operations, with an expansion of its CBS All Access streaming service to global territories and the planned launch of a digital sports network in the U.S. later this year. By doing so, the company is following the money: Q2 results this year showed unexpectedly high sales and earnings, boosted by streaming subscription services and college sports. CBS All Access, available in the U.S. for $5.99 per month, is scheduled to launch in Canada in early 2018 and other international markets soon after. Continue reading CBS Bets on Digital, Expanding All Access Streaming Service

Netflix just made its first acquisition, purchasing Millarworld, a comic-book publisher known for “Kick-Ass” and “Old Man Logan,” among other stories. The company won’t disclose what it paid for Millarworld, but sources put the purchase price at between $50 million and $100 million. Netflix, which has a $78 billion market capitalization and $1.9 billion in cash, has grown from licensing TV shows and movies to funding its own original productions and, now, owning intellectual property and production. Continue reading Netflix Expands its IP, Buys Comic-Book Publisher Millarworld

The Consumer Technology Association projects that antenna sales in the U.S. will jump 7 percent to about 8 million units, driven largely by consumers who are accessing HBO, Hulu, Netflix and other services online. While today’s antennas “can be hidden behind a flat TV or hung like a picture frame,” notes The Wall Street Journal, a June survey by the National Association of Broadcasters found that 29 percent of Americans are not aware that television content is available for free. The confusion may linger from the 2009 HD transition, despite the FCC’s efforts to educate the public. While today’s consumer may not think of the older tech as a practical means of saving money, WSJ cites examples of viewers using antennas to watch free local programming. Continue reading Growing Number of Viewers Are Using Antennas for Free TV

The Plex Live TV service, including its DVR feature, is coming out of beta today and expanding support to include Apple TV and Android devices. The service was originally available for iOS and Android TV platforms, including the Nvidia Shield. In addition to accessing live television programming from within the Plex app, users will be introduced to a new time-shifting feature that enables them to rewind, fast-forward and pause live programs. Plex says that its Live TV and DVR features will be available for Roku and Fire TV platforms next. Continue reading Plex Live TV Adds Time-Shifting, Comes to Apple TV, Android