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TVPlayer Plus lets you stream 25 UK pay-TV channels for £5 per month
As much as we all love binge-watching TV box sets, sometimes you just wanna poke around and see if there's anything interesting on live TV. Freeview offers a fair channel selection, but anything beyond that typically requires a lengthy (and often pricey) subscription with Sky, Virgin Media, BT or TalkTalk. TVPlayer wants to sit somewhere in between, and having long provided free streams of UK Freeview channels through its mobile apps and online, has today launched its own "Plus" subscription package. For £5 per month, TVPlayer Plus lets users access an additional 25 "premium" channels, including the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Eurosport, Sony Entertainment Television and the Sony Movie Channel.
Verizon' Go90 streaming video service starts with phones, sharing
After acquiring the remains of Intel's internet TV project last year, Verizon is finally ready to reveal its long-rumored internet video network. Called Go90, the New York Times confirmed it's launching this week, with an eye towards convincing younger folks to turn their phone sideways (Go90...get it? Don't worry, we didn't either) and watch video there, instead of in the 300-channel cable packages they don't want. While Comcast is bringing internet video to its cable boxes and Dish Network tries out Sling TV, Verizon's plan is "mobile-first" from the start. Instead of lining up channels, the "pared down" experience Bloomberg revealed last week includes some prime time TV shows, original internet shows and some live TV, including sports. Available for free, it will have ads, and encourage users to share clips on social media, sporting a "watch cut and share all of the awesome" slogan.
Cablevision will sell streaming CBS, Showtime to cord-cutters
Need more evidence that cable TV is giving way to internet TV? Cablevision just announced its new TV deal with CBS includes a provision for it to sell CBS All Access and Showtime streaming to its internet-only Optimum customers. Cablevision is already offering internet customers a way to bundle HBO Now or Hulu streaming with their bill, and now this adds another option. There's no pricing info for CBS or Showtime yet, but if it follows the setup for 'cord-cutting' with HBO and Hulu, we wouldn't expect any deep discounting. While Dish Network and Verizon chose one path to wrap up deals for internet TV during their usual negotiations with channels and content providers, Cablevision is going another, and even Comcast has its own plans. Welcome to the new look of cable.
Next month Comcast will turn off the Xbox 360 app Netflix hated
When it launched in 2012, Comcast's Xfinity Xbox 360 app became a lightning rod for controversy. That's because to some (like Netflix CEO Reed Hastings) it was a symbol of the cable giant's abuse of network neutrality by streaming video that didn't count against its own bandwidth caps. Since then, the app hasn't quite turned the video market on its head, Comcast failed to acquire Time Warner Cable, Netflix grew by a few (tens of millions of) customers and now users report the ISP has sent emails out indicating the Xfinity app will disappear September 1st. Windows Central contacted Comcast via Twitter and heard back that "We are removing this to make way for new updates and improvements to our online experience for customers."
TV giant Comcast actually has more internet customers now
Just in case you were wondering why Comcast is suddenly ready with TV service for people who prefer to watch over the internet, the earnings report it released today can show you why. For the first time (albeit by a narrow margin of 22.55 million to 22.3 million), the cable giant has more high speed internet customers than cable TV subscribers. As it usually does in its financial Q2, Comcast lost TV subscribers, but fewer this year (69,000) than last year (144,000), a number it credits to ongoing improvements in customer service. While the shift away from TV is a small one right now, it reminds us of a similar tipping point: when Netflix streaming overtook discs, and never looked back.
Comcast launches its own cable-free TV with Stream
The latest (and most interesting) entrant to the cord-cutting TV wars is here: Comcast. Tonight the company announced Stream, a service that delivers TV exclusively over the internet (Correction: it is "IP-based managed network" connection, check after the break for why that matters) to phones, tablets and computers -- but now TVs. The big catch? You'll need Comcast internet service to subscribe, and the Stream TV feeds only work while you're at home. It's only available in select areas to start, and will launch in Boston this summer. For $15 a month, subscribers get about a dozen channels, including all broadcast networks and HBO (but not ESPN or any other cable channels, according to the New York Times). It also has access to the usual TV Everywhere cable authenticated-streaming for when you're away from home, plus Comcast's Netflix-like Streampix service for movies.
Sling TV's $20 cord-cutter package comes to Xbox One
From the start, Microsoft intended for the Xbox One to be at the center of both games and TV watching. With today's launch of Sling TV on the game console, it can bring those two parts together properly for gamers in the US. With standard cable, the Xbox One relies on its HDMI passthrough and IR blasters (apps for FiOS and Time Warner Cable are either missing channels or have no live TV at all) to make sure you get everything, but with Sling, it's designed from the ground up for internet delivery so there's nothing missing. Its launch on Xbox is just in time, too -- PlayStation's Vue TV service is coming soon and rumors indicate Apple will have something similar later this year.
CBS CEO talks PlayStation Vue and standalone Showtime
CBS just announced its earnings for 2014, including $3.68 billion in revenue for Q4 (all those episodes of NCIS pay off, apparently), but its always-talkative CEO Les Moonves provided most of the interesting information. According to the NY Post's Clair Atkinson, he has confirmed that CBS has a deal with Sony to be on its new internet TV service PlayStation Vue, saying "they're paying more than everyone else" for the privilege. That probably explains why the $20 per month Sling TV is missing the network channels -- for now, "there's a path to negotiation" according to Moonves -- and why Vue may end up being more expensive.
Sling TV preview: Does this $20-a-month cord-cutter service work as promised?
Sling TV, a $20-a-month service for cord-cutters, made quite the debut earlier this month, winning our Best of CES award amid a flood of attention from press and customers alike. But can the app really live up to its promise to "Take Back TV"? I've had access to the beta for a few days, allowing me to get an early look before the first batch of invitations for pre-registered customers goes out tonight at midnight ET. As far as I can tell, the answer is both yes and no. Internet TV is finally real, but it has a lot of strings left over from the old days of pay-TV, and not just because it's coming from the folks at Dish Network. Getting must-have content from the likes of ESPN has its costs, and those might make the $20 entry fee higher than you're willing to pay.
CES 2015: The secret to Sling TV's success
At first glance Sling TV's hype is all about the business model: no onerous contracts, a low entry price and access across a slew of devices, all with a bundle of content viewers have usually needed a cable TV package to get. But the truth about our Best of the Best CES winner is that while it's smaller and travels better -- this is still the same old pay-TV bundle, and constructed by the same old companies to repeat the model many have grown tired of. So why am I still leaving Las Vegas thinking I've had my first good look at TV's future? It's the experience. Sling is hardly the first built-from-the-ground-up service for watching video on the internet -- Netflix, Hulu and all the rest have been doing it with TV-quality content for quite some time. This is different because it feels like the live TV experience I'm used to, but designed in the internet age. Unlike others that tried (and have mostly failed) to execute this combo by building a foundation on the shifting sands of existing cable TV and IR blasters -- we mean you, Google TV and Xbox One -- Sling TV doesn't have or need channel numbers hanging on like vestigial limbs. It's all right here: Your live TV is an app; it's organized like one; and in all of the demos I saw, it responded like one.
DirecTV launches internet TV for $8 per month, but it's all in Spanish
Our world isn't quite ready for internet TV providers that compete with traditional cable and satellite packages, but what about markets that aren't as well served? DirecTV is diving right into internet TV, beating Dish Network and Sony's PlayStation Vue to the punch with its new Yaveo streaming service that exclusively features Spanish-language programming for customers in the US. Currently it's available on PCs, Macs and Android, with clients for iOS, xbox 360 and other platforms soon. So what can you watch? It sources content from beIN sports, MTV and its Spanish-language network Tr3s, Univision and several others, all for $7.99 per month. There's even live TV feeds from beIN Sports en Español, Cine Sony Television and ¡Hola! TV. The only thing stopping us from breaking out Rosetta Stone and opening an account is it current lack of the Breaking Bad remake Metástasis. But if you do speak the language, then the future of TV is here, and there's evne a free trial month to start.
The FCC gets to work on letting internet TV compete with cable
It's far from a done deal, but the FCC has taken a step towards putting internet TV service on a par with cable and satellite. On Friday it announced the adoption of a proposal (previously floated by chairman Tom Wheeler) that would give TV providers that stream their channels over the internet, the same access to content that satellite and cable TV services have. So far, internet providers aren't classified as a "multichannel video programminng distributor", but if they were that could have forced programmers to negotiate with the likes of Aereo, instead of merely suing them. Even as cord-cutters celebrate, there are some restrictions even with the new proposal -- this plan wouldn't affect Netflix, Amazon or Hulu -- but it could make things easier for PlayStation Vue or Dish Network's planned internet TV feed.
PlayStation Vue is a cloud-powered broadcast TV service that launches in early 2015
If you thought cramming a PlayStation into your TV with the cloud-based PS Now was crazy, Sony's now trying to do, well, the exact opposite, bringing broadcast TV (and a bigger dose of on-demand content) to the PS4, PS3 and, at a later date, even the iPad. Oh good, another subscription service, you might already be thinking. However, Sony has already signed up some major networks and players (Fox, CBS, Viacom and ABC, for starters) and a no-contract setup: you'll pay month by month -- like how you pay for Netflix. The tie-ups will also include the ability to record programs, as well as play selected on-demand content. More device support for both Sony and non-Sony hardware is set to roll out to the service in the future, although there's no specifics just yet on what that'll include -- likewise, pricing remains a mystery. Beta testers will see around 75 channels of content, including local networks, when tests start later this month, although there's one proviso: they have to live in NYC, before it rolls out to Chicago, Philadelphia and LA. For the rest of us, the entire service is set to go live in early 2015.
An FCC rule change could put internet TV on a level playing field with cable
Right now internet services don't always have the opportunity to show the same content as traditional TV, but the FCC might be about to change that. Chairman Tom Wheeler described in his blog post "Tech Transitions, Video, and the Future" the "first step" to open cable programs and local TV to internet services, by giving them the same classification that cable and satellite providers have. That wouldn't apply to Netflix or Amazon (as they currently exist), but anyone streaming live TV channels over the internet -- like Sony, Verizon and Dish are planning, Intel tried before selling to Verizon, and Apple's TV project has been rumored to include -- would be covered.
Viacom brings 22 channels to Sony's upcoming internet TV service
Sony's future cloud-based TV service shouldn't be hurting for content. Viacom has forged a deal that will bring 22 of its networks (including Comedy Central and Nickelodeon) to the streaming platform when it launches late this year -- the first time Viacom has provided its channels to any live internet TV service. The media giant thinks its "young, tech-savvy" audiences are a good match. That's a slightly ironic statement given its years-long battle with YouTube, but it makes sense. Not that the company is leaping into the internet era with both feet as it is; you'll have access to on-demand content, but only through authenticated access to the same material you'd find in TV Everywhere apps. It's still not clear when Sony's video portal will be ready for action, but you may now have a good reason to give it a close look. [Image credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster]
Comcast launches internet-delivered cable TV at MIT and several other schools
For several years now, Comcast has been testing cable TV that streams over the internet at several college campuses but this fall it's officially launching. Available at Bridgewater College, Drexel University, Emerson College, Lasell College and the University of Delaware included as a part of room and board, and on a trial basis at a few others including Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of New Hampshire, Xfinity on Campus brings live cable TV to PCs, tablets and phones -- as long as they're on campus. The package includes 80 or so channels and includes access to stuff like video on-demand and WatchESPN and HBO Go (if you have HBO), which will work even when they're off of the college's network.
Head of Intel's former internet TV project abandons ship
When Intel formally abandoned its IPTV project in a sale to Verizon, the team behind it transitioned as part of the deal. Now, only four months later, the man who's been in charge of the venture all along has washed his hands of it, too. Erik Huggers, who originally outed Intel's plan to create an IPTV service/hardware platform (later dubbed OnCue), moved to Verizon and continued on as project lead. There's no indication that Huggers left on bad terms, or that OnCue's progression is stagnating at Big Red.
Sony's PlayStation 4 is already profitable and on course to beat the PS2's success
If Sony is to reverse its heavy losses, big-selling products like the PlayStation 4 need to turn a profit. The good news is that the company's newest console is already fulfilling that requirement, having already recouped Sony's investment in the hardware, and it now looks set to beat profits achieved by the internationally legendary PS2. Speaking at a corporate strategy meeting, Sony president Kaz Hirai said the PS4 was "already contributing profit on a hardware unit basis, establishing a very different business framework from that of previous platform businesses." There's no doubt over which console Hirai is referring to here: the PS3 took three years to shed its loss-leading status, after cancelling out gains made from Sony's "biggest gaming success," the PlayStation 2.
Dish reportedly launching internet TV service this summer
How do you fight cord-cutters? Offer an internet streaming service with all of cable TV's best content. It sounds like a bit of a stretch, but it could be happening: the distribution deal that settled Disney and Dish's ad-skipping dispute also gave the TV-provider the rights to stream Disney-owned channels over the internet. Sources close to Bloomberg are now saying that Dish is hoping to launch the service before the end of the summer.
Verizon and DirecTV's internet TV hopes perk up thanks to Dish, Disney
Rumors that existing satellite and cable TV providers would launch full internet streaming services have circled for years, but the new agreement between Dish Network and Disney has suddenly stirred the pot. Between a deal that could actually put ESPN on an internet-only TV service, Verizon buying Intel's abandoned OnCue effort plus live TV streaming to Xbox One (pictured above) and Sony's plan for an IPTV package it seems like we'll actually see something arrive in 2014. Reuters reports Verizon and DirecTV are negotiating with content providers for similar access, as Verizon CEO Lowell C. McAdam told investors he would "love to partner with (content providers) to see how we can take FiOS contact mobilely across the country." Meanwhile, Bloomberg's unnamed sources suggest a Dish Network internet TV service could launch for around $20 - $30 per month once enough content deals are in place.