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Apple TV Claims More Than Half of Streaming Devices Market

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July 17, 2013

Frost & Sullivan’s newly released report on the size of the Consumer Video Devices Market suggests that sales numbers indicate Apple owned 56 percent of the streaming devices market in 2012, with Roku close behind at 21 percent. TiVo has the next largest base of users. And while Google remains committed to competing in this space, devices based on the Google TV platform have experienced little commercial success so far. Continue reading Apple TV Claims More Than Half of Streaming Devices Market

Inside Sources Believe DirecTV will Acquire Hulu this Month

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June 18, 2013

Multiple sources familiar with the ongoing Hulu acquisition talks have suggested that a deal with DirecTV is in “very advanced stages” and could close by the end of this month. If the deal is approved, DirecTV would acquire over 4 million paying Hulu Plus subscribers, which generated $695 million in revenue last year, including advertising. The latest negotiations have reportedly ranged in price from half a billion to more than a billion dollars, depending on structure and terms. Continue reading Inside Sources Believe DirecTV will Acquire Hulu this Month

NCTA Cable Show: Battling Cord-Cutting with Technology

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June 14, 2013

“TV Everywhere” and “cord-cutting” were major themes at this week’s NCTA Cable Show in Washington, D.C. where the industry presented technologies intended to sustain its relevancy. Examples included Roku and Xbox as cable set-tops, smartphones as remotes, iPads as TVs, a Slingbox product from Arris and more. Comcast unveiled its X2 cloud DVR and TiVo is expanding its TV Everywhere options with a new Web portal. Continue reading NCTA Cable Show: Battling Cord-Cutting with Technology

AnyVU: Vubiquity and TiVo Partner on TV Everywhere Solution

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June 6, 2013

Multiplatform video service provider Vubiquity and DVR pioneer TiVo announced a partnership yesterday that will integrate Vubiquity’s AnyVU Streaming service with the TiVo user experience. AnyVU Streaming is an end-to-end multiplatform video solution that enables service providers to launch TV Everywhere services. The TiVo user interface will allow for integration of Vubiquity’s subscription movie package ViewNow on any device. Continue reading AnyVU: Vubiquity and TiVo Partner on TV Everywhere Solution

Streaming: Is Netflix Popularity with Kids a Double-Edged Sword?

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December 13, 2012
  • In August 2011, Netflix launched its “Just for Kids” page, which features commercial-free age-appropriate content organized by “superheroes” and “princesses.” Recently, the streaming service signed a content deal with Disney for an estimated $300 million a year.
  • “But Netflix’s popularity with children could be a double-edged sword,” the Wall Street Journal suggests. “Analysts say the streaming service could be undermining the very companies that supply it with most of its children’s television content, namely Disney and Viacom.”
  • Sanford C. Bernstein analyzed TiVo data, finding that kids’ cable ratings were up 8.5 percent in the first quarter among viewers who didn’t stream content compared to the relatively small 0.4 percent uptick among those who did. “Disney ratings grew 11 percent for nonstreaming users and 6 percent for streaming users, while Viacom ratings grew 6 percent for nonstreaming users and only 2 percent for streaming users,” WSJ reports.
  • “Bernstein says those trends have persisted through the year. And looking at an individual network tells the same story. From the end of 2011 through August 2012, ratings at Nickelodeon were up 11 percent among nonstreamers, compared with only 3 percent among streamers,” the article continues.
  • Unlike Nickelodeon, Disney Junior and Disney XD ratings are rising. “But both channels are relatively new and are coming off a small base. And even there, Netflix appears to be having an effect,” the article states.
  • “For Netflix, the risk is that Disney and Viacom demand significantly more for children’s content to make selling it worthwhile. In extremis, they could even decide to stop selling it to the streaming company.”

Are Popular Online Brands Leading to the Rise of Digital Monopolies?

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October 5, 2011
  • France recently banned TV and radio show hosts from naming Facebook, Twitter, or other specific sites unless directly referencing a news story involving the companies. The regulation was created to reduce bias for the popular social networks over other striving, lesser known sites.
  • Apple’s iTunes has benefitted from the phrase “Now available on iTunes” commonly tacked onto advertisements where it was previously customary to simply say “Now available in all good music stores” — which could today be updated to say “online music stores” in order to include other music providers.
  • Additionally, the phrase “Now available on Amazon.com” has become standard for book promotions, which basically provides free advertisement for the site while ignoring other providers.
  • Similarly, “Follow us on Twitter” and “Like us on Facebook” have dominated commerce. “Social networks only work when people use the same ones. In other words, they naturally lend themselves to being monopolized,” suggests The Next Web.
  • Some brand names have now become part of everyday language. Google, for example, has grown so popular that it is commonly used as a verb when describing the act of searching online. TiVo is also regularly used as verb, and sometimes replaces “DVR” in conversation.
  • The article casts doubt on the actual effects regulation would have on social media monopolies: “…users will typically go where all the action is taking place.”
  • “The Internet isn’t a monopoly though. It’s an oligopoly consisting of multiple monopolies from different digital industries, and the reason this is happening really isn’t all that complicated,” adds The Next Web. “Success breeds success, something which underpins most monopolies, whether we’re talking about dominant languages, biological species or, indeed, Internet technology companies. Hegemony stems from success, and it’s certainly not unique to the Internet age.”

Evaluation Suggests Netflix is the Best Streaming Option for Now

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October 4, 2011
  • A comprehensive comparison between Netflix and other streaming services shows that, even after the recent criticism regarding the split of its businesses, “Netflix is still the champ, but only if you count both its the streaming and DVD mailing services.”
  • In his evaluation of current offerings, David Strom of ReadWriteWeb examined services such as Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, Vudu.com and Justin.tv.
  • “Overall, once you leave Netflix you will find fewer choices and searching won’t be as easy to find something to watch,” he writes. “Netflix has a great search engine that won’t just look for movie titles but also check for actors and other principals involved in the movie itself, something the other services don’t do as well at.”
  • Another upside to Netflix is the ability to use devices such as the iPad or TiVo box to stream movies. While of the services enable streaming to your Windows or Mac Web browser, they’re not all compatible with other devices.
  • “So while you might be upset about paying for two bills for your video rentals from Netflix, unless you are willing to spend more time searching for content, you are probably better off sticking with the service for the time being, at least until the others catch up with their content licenses,” Strom concludes. “Or if you already have a cable TV subscription, investigate whether it offers something similar to Comcast’s Xfinity and see what their coverage is there. Ironically, that might be your best alternative to Netflix after all.”

TiVo Elite Records Fours Shows at Once, Touts 300 Hours Storage

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September 9, 2011
  • The new TiVo Premiere Elite quad tuner DVR will allow users to record four shows simultaneously, while watching a fifth.
  • The device will reportedly only record from digital cable and Verizon FiOS, says Gizmodo.
  • “The THX-certified box uses the TiVo Series4 guts, has a 2 terabyte hard drive (~300 hours of recording space) and spits out video at up to 1080p resolution,” according to Gizmodo. “Plus, it has the standard array of outputs for connecting your TV (HDMI, Component, Composite, Optical audio, RCA audio). And of course, services such as Hulu, Netflix, Pandora and YouTube are also available.”
  • TiVo’s press release suggests the DVR will serve as an entertainment hub with “its ability to send content to other TiVo devices in the home, or integrate seamlessly with home automation remotes. TiVo Premiere Elite offers MoCA as a networking option in addition to its integrated Ethernet connectivity. By integrated MoCA support, custom installers can use the coaxial cabling within the home to connect the TiVo Premiere Elite to the home network in setups where an Ethernet connection is not available.”

New Insignia Connected TV with TiVo Interface Draws Praise

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August 1, 2011
  • Gizmodo, a noted cynic when it comes to connected TVs, praises the interface and general functionality of the new Insignia Connected TV.
  • Through a partnership with TiVo, the Insignia Connected TV will be available on BestBuy.com and at Best Buy stores. The 32-inch model will be priced at $499 and the 42-inch model will cost $699.
  • “TiVo has evolved from its roots as the DVR that changed the way consumers interact with entertainment, allowing us to customize and deliver solutions that best meet the needs of our partners like Insignia,” said Jim Denney, general manager and VP of Product Marketing at TiVo.
  • Features include 1080p LCD, 120Hz and Audyssey sound processing. Entertainment options include Netflix, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora and Napster — plus apps from the chumby content network such as Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, Accuweather, Reuters News and more.
  • Gizmodo comments: “The set’s interface is refreshingly simple, responsive, and natural…the real pull is the TiVo blood inside. No, there’s no DVR integrated — but for the first time, I looked at an ‘app TV’ that didn’t make me want to light it on fire. TiVo knows software. It shows.”

Smart Devices May Soon Replace the Remote Control

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July 18, 2011
  • As an increasing number of portable devices such as smartphones and tablets continue to add TV controller functionality, dedicated TV remotes may soon be “as quaint as rotary-dial telephones.”
  • TiVo, for example, just released a new iPhone app that allows viewers to use their phone to control their DVR (with gesture controls), and share comments on Facebook and Twitter.
  • TiVo already has a similar app available for the iPad, while other related apps are also offered by a number of pay TV providers.
  • It’s a logical jump since studies indicate that many viewers have their portable devices with them while viewing TV.

Hulu Plus Now Available on TiVo Premiere DVRs, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

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May 24, 2011

Hulu Plus has announced its latest service integration, this time with the Tivo Premiere set-top box. According to the Hulu Blog, to celebrate the launch, “TiVo is offering a 6-month free trial to those who purchase a TiVo Premiere from a retailer or Tivo.com. This offer runs until August 30, 2011. And TiVo subscribers who already subscribe to Hulu Plus can begin accessing their account with no additional charges.”

The TiVo integration is the latest in a growing list of Hulu expansion efforts. At the end of April, Microsoft added the Hulu Plus service to its Xbox 360 gaming console (only for Xbox Live Gold members who pay the $60 yearly subscription fee in addition to the monthly Hulu Plus subscription). A Sony PS3 app for Hulu Plus was made available late last year via the PlayStation Network. Hulu also announced net-connected Sony Bravia TVs and Blu-ray players, Roku boxes and Vizio TVs.

PC World reports that current TiVo Premiere customers can register for a free one-month trial before starting the Hulu Plus subscription (while new customers who purchase the TiVo Premiere box will get six months free). Additionally, TiVo subscribers “have to sign up for the $7.95-a-month Hulu Plus service in order to stream to their TVs (Hulu requires a subscription to Hulu Plus for any non-computer streaming).”

In related news, ReelSEO reports that Hulu now accounts for a quarter of online video ads. According to recent comScore numbers, 172 million Americans consumed an average of 14.9 hours each of online video content in April. Google is the clear leader in this regard with nearly three times as many viewers as second place VEVO. While Hulu is only tenth on the list of total online viewers, it is interesting to note it falls second to Google in the average number of minutes people spend on the site. The comScore data indicates Hulu dominates in advertising, accounting for 1.14 million ads in April.

Related Hulu Blog post (and video): “Hulu Plus Now Available on TiVo Premiere” (5/23/11)

Related Wired article: “Hands-On: Hulu Plus for Xbox 360 Is Just as Unfinished as Netflix Offering” (4/28/11)

Related ReelSEO article: “Online Video Numbers Hold Steady for April, Except at AOL” (5/22/11)

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