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Canadian court issues first ever ISP order to block a piracy website
A Canadian Federal court has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block a pirate IPTV service called GoldTV in a case that could lead to further internet censorship in Canada, according to Reclaim the Net. Canada's major ISPs, including Rogers, Bell and Videotron, have been pushing for such a ruling for some years. Now, a nationwide blocking order has been granted, reportedly for the first time, and critics fear it could lead to further censorship of legitimate content.
T-Mobile relaunches its TV service with an AI viewing guide (updated)
T-Mobile hasn't been quick to fulfill its promises of launching TV service, but it finally has something to show following all the early hype: it's launching TVision Home, a rebranded and retuned version of Layer3's broadband-based IPTV service. It's not the fully independent streaming service you might have hoped for (that's coming later in 2019). However, the telecom is hoping to bring a dash of its straightforward "Uncarrier" strategy to the TV world -- provided you're willing to pay.
HDHomeRun gets into the streaming TV business with $35 Premium service
For years SiliconDust has built hardware and software that helped cord cutters and home theater PC users control their own TV experience. Now it's going a step further by launching its own TV streaming service: HDHomeRun Premium TV. The $35 per month setup augments channels a subscriber catches via antenna with traditional cable channels like CNN, Disney, Comedy Central, FX and TNT. At launch it includes 45 channels, and like other internet TV packages there are no contracts or other strings, while recording is handled just like any other channel in its software.
PlayStation Vue adds 200 more local broadcasters in time for fall TV
The price for PlayStation Vue may be a bit higher than it used to be, but in quite a few markets it just added more local broadcast channels, which is particularly worthwhile since subscribers can no longer opt out of them to save a few bucks. Sony announced that including 200 recent additions, more than 450 local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates are now streaming. The expansion comes just in time for viewers hoping to cut the cord on cable or satellite and still watch football or network TV shows without adding on rabbit ears. It does get tricky when it comes to using features like the DVR due to rights issues, but Sony's FAQ should explain what is allowed where. For a list of newly-added stations, just take a look here. Sony claims that 97 percent of the US population has access to at least one broadcast station now -- hopefully they're all the right ones to keep you caught up on fall TV.
Tivo’s new TV platform will combine cable and streaming
TiVo has launched its new streaming service that promises big things for both consumers and cable or streaming operators. Called the Next-Gen Platform, it gives viewers a convenient, unified way to watch recorded content from both cable providers and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Operators like Altice, meanwhile, can implement TiVo's tech to provide consumers with "hyper-personalization, recommendations and voice-control" on multiple devices and screens, TiVo says.
AT&T looks to DirecTV Now as customers ditch satellite
If you were wondering why AT&T is in such a hurry to reshape its TV business, the third quarter earnings report may provide some clarity. In the three months it covers, which are usually strong growth months with the arrival of subscribers seeking out NFL Sunday Ticket, things went in the opposite direction.
Comcast quietly introduces Xfinity Instant TV streaming beta
Cord cutters can already choose from a variety of internet TV companies for skinny bundles, including Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, Hulu, DirecTV Now and any we may have forgotten. Soon some of them will have an option from an unexpected challenger: Comcast. Predictably, its IPTV effort is only available to Comcast internet customers "in select areas," but the Xfinity Instant TV Beta will allow viewing on PCs, tablets, phones or via Roku. Variety highlighted the rollout, although Comcast isn't saying exactly where it's available so far -- there have been tests running for a couple of years around Boston and Chicago -- just that customers can sign in and watch via the Stream app.
Comcast tries using Roku to hook college kids on cable
A few years after launching the Xfinity on Campus service, Comcast says it's now available for over 100 schools -- up by 60 percent from last year. Originally, its streaming TV setup only worked through phones, PCs and tablets, but this fall new and returning students can also watch via Roku. That should work via a stick, box, or even a TV with the system built-in -- like the TCL set included in our Back to School buyer's guide -- with live TV, video on-demand and a cloud DVR setup. Of course, getting college students used to cable service is a big deal for Comcast too, as it tries to stem the tide of cord-nevers who graduate and avoid traditional TV service altogether. Even if it leads to another internet-delivered service like its planned Xfinity Instant TV or DirecTV Now, getting the kids a taste of cable now could keep them from sticking to antennas and Netflix in the future.
PlayStation Vue drops its cheapest packages, now starts at $40
Until now, in some areas, PlayStation Vue offered "Slim" versions of its streaming TV packages that dropped local TV channels and cost $10 less than the standard options. Now, as it's rolled out local broadcasts from more networks and in more places it has pulled the plug on those Slim options. Without the $30 per month Slim Access bundle, now its cheapest offering is the standard Access package that costs $40 per month.
Comcast could chase cord-cutters with 'Xfinity Instant TV'
For years we've seen Comcast preparing to distribute video like an internet service instead of traditional cable methods, and now there's word it will roll the project out widely. While recent rumors indicated Comcast has signed deals preparing to compete with other video services nationwide, Reuters says that "Xfinity Instant TV" will only be available for Comcast internet customers when it launches later this year. It's an expanded version of what we already know as Comcast Stream, the $15 per month cloud DVR-equipped package it's been testing in a few areas since 2015. In something that's probably not a coincidence, it launched the same month Comcast announced that for the first time ever it had more customers subscribing to internet service than TV.
Comcast's Xfinity TV app for Roku starts beta testing
It's been nearly a year since Comcast announced work on its "Xfinity TV partner app" for Roku and Samsung, and now the Roku version is ready for testing. The Xfinity TV beta app is now available in the channel store, with access to "live and on demand programming, including local broadcast and Public Educational and Governmental channels, as well as their cloud DVR recordings." According to Comcast, this test is so it can check out the performance and add features, before the official launch happens later this year.
Rogers will launch IPTV in Canada with Comcast's X1 platform
Comcast has been very careful to call its X1 setup a "platform" and not simply a cable box, and now it's licensing the tech for use on an internet TV service. Canadian provider Rogers will roll out IPTV to its gigabit internet customers in 2018 using the X1 platform, although there's no word on whether or not it will include the Netflix app. Before that happens, however, Rogers says customers on its current cable setup can expect more 4K video and 4K DVR features in the next year.
Sling TV is joining Comcast's X1 cable platform
Sling TV's over the top internet service is about to arrive in an unusual landing spot: Comcast's cable boxes. The two companies just announced a partnership that will put the IPTV service on the X1 platform in the future, with 425+ channels including a number of multicultural offerings. According to the release, all Sling TV packages will be available on X1, with pricing consistent with other platforms. There's no word yet on exactly when the two will come together, but Netflix went from beta to fully available in just a couple of months, so that could bode well for the pairing.
DirecTV Now streaming rumored to supplant satellite by 2020
AT&T is planning to release a DirecTV-branded streaming video service later this year, but according to Bloomberg, it also expects for that to become its primary video platform soon. Earlier this week, its CEO Randall Stephenson confirmed the DirecTV Now launch is still on track for 2016, calling it an exclusively over the top product, with no truck roll, no set-top box or anything else. The report claims that at launch it will be limited to two simultaneous streams, with pricing similar to the $40 - $55 per month PlayStation Vue service.
Verizon will reportedly launch its next-gen TV service this year
Massive multimedia conglomerate Verizon is reportedly looking to overhaul one of its key consumer offerings. According to Variety, the company is preparing a next-generation "IP TV service," with a planned launch in one of its existing FiOS markets later this year. Details are sketchy on how exactly this new service will work, but it sounds like it'll be centered around a new set-top box. Earlier this week, Verizon filed FCC documents for a new box that would include the OnCue internet video technology that the company picked up from Intel over two years ago.
Xfaire's plan for internet TV has almost everything
Even though Aereo didn't make it, we've seen more movement towards internet TV that replaces traditional cable or antenna in the last year than ever before. This year at CES, I spoke to a startup that has big plans for its internet TV offering, even though actually making them happen could be difficult. The product is called Xfaire (inspired by "sphere," for its intended global reach), consisting of a small set-top box with a smart touchscreen remote, that connects to a streaming TV service capable of streaming highly-compressed video at resolutions of up to 4K.
CBS exec says Apple's streaming TV plans are 'on hold'
The other half of the rollout for the new Apple TV has always been a rumored streaming TV service. It wasn't present for the device's launch, and now CBS CEO Les Moonves (who has previously been good for a quote or two on Apple's TV plans) says the project is on ice. Speaking at the Business Insider Ignition conference in New York the exec claimed "They've had conversations on it, and I think they pressed the hold button." According to Bloomberg a source said Apple has suspended its plans, and will go ahead with the Apple TV as a platform for content available via the App Store.
Time Warner Cable's Roku TV test starts in NYC for $10 per month
We've been telling you about Time Warner Cable's plan to test streaming TV for its internet-only customers since before it was officially announced, but now customers can actually sign up for it. If having a cable box is part of what you hated about cable TV, now internet customers can get access to the TWC TV app on a variety of devices without adding a box or having a tech come out. During the trial, testers will get a free Roku 3 player, and the cheapest plan (with channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and TBS among the 20+ included) starts at just $10 per month on a 12 month contract . Adding Showtime and Starz doubles the price, and testers can get a pretty healthy package with channels like Disney and ESPN for $50 per month. As we detailed when it announced, there's no DVR with this setup, but it is an easy way to get TV without some of the hassles. The main drawback here? Unlike something like Sling TV, this is only available to Time Warner Cable customers, and during the test it's only in NYC -- check out the site for all the details.
Time Warner Cable tests the 'evolution' of streaming TV in NYC
Confirming plans Engadget exclusively revealed to you, Time Warner Cable is very close to publicly testing a way for its internet-only customers to get TV services. Fundamentally the big change is that until now, to get TV service and access to its streaming TWC TV app, you needed to be a "TV" customer and have a cable box. Soon, if you're a Time Warner Cable customer in New York City with just internet service, the company will also offer access to its TWC TV Roku Trial. CEO Rob Marcus told investors that the plan is an "evolution" of TWC TV, as customers eventually can get access to video without needing to rent any hardware at all. GVP & GM of Video Product Alix Cottrell told me that the focus for the test is making sure everything is "really easy and straightforward" before it's potentially rolled out to customers outside New York City.
Time Warner Cable will test internet-only TV in NYC next week
If you want cable TV without the cable box, Time Warner Cable may have something for you soon. Reliable sources tell Engadget that starting Monday, Time Warner Cable will beta test a version of its TWC TV service made available for the company's internet-only customers living in New York City. Similar to Sky's Now TV in the UK it will support a number of hardware platform but the plan is to focus on streaming TV through Roku's set-top boxes, and any participants will get a Roku 3 for free. On top of their internet service, customers can pick up a "Starter" TV package for an extra $10 per month. Another option that adds Showtime and Starz will be available for $20 per month, and for those who want all the usual channels but without a cable box, a Standard option with Showtime and Starz costs $50 per month. Judging by the usual cable packages, Starter customers should have about 20 channels, while the Standard package has more than 70.