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Netflix’s real advantage is that it’s a tech company first
Netflix hasn't been coy about its plans to take over Hollywood. The company has already said it could spend up to $8 billion on content this year alone. But, for all the awards House of Cards and Icarus rack up, one of the reasons Netflix has tasted success so rapidly is its streaming technology. That's an area it has been perfecting in-house since 2010, when it became more than a simple mail-order DVD rental shop.
Nielsen is tracking streaming services like it does broadcast TV
To address the new normal of cord cutting, Nielsen is going to start tracking subscription-based streaming numbers in a big way. The idea is to measure streaming services in the same way that the outfit has tracked broadcast TV for decades: with demographic info and the number of people streaming a program. As TechCrunch notes, Nielsen is only tracking Netflix for now, but expects to start getting data from Amazon and Hulu streaming services by next year.
Pluto TV adds 'ALF' and other classics to its free streaming library
Last we'd heard of Pluto TV, the ad-supported streaming service had just gotten a slew of shows from Hulu. Now Pluto is adding video-on-demand in the form of movies and TV shows from Lionsgate, MGM and Warner Bros. to complement its current programming according to Variety. Expected titles include the full run of ALF (seriously) in addition to the quirky Ryan Gosling movie Lars and the Real Girl among "thousands" of others. Pluto signed the deals earlier this month, and the programming should start appearing today.
Hollywood again considers $30 early movie rentals
Slowly, movie studios are putting the pieces in place for reducing the time between a film's theatrical run and when you can watch it at home. The latest step toward this is news that Warner Bros. would be cool with people watching its movies as soon as 17 days after theatrical debut, according to Variety. That privilege would come with a $50 price tag -- the same price Napster founder Sean Parker proposed over a year ago for his Screening Room service.
Fox's impulse-buy Movie of the Day app comes to Apple TV
Fox is always open to new ideas on how to goose digital movie sales, and one of its recent developments has been the "Movie of the Day" app on iOS. Starting tomorrow, it will also be available on Apple TV, which should provide a fitting home for its rotating selection of content. Via the app, prices are usually deeply discounted from their usual purchase prices, to somewhere between $5 - $10 per movie. To go with the new launch, Fox has revealed the lineup over the next few days, which will include Kingsman: Secret Service, Deadpool and a few others.
Flix Premiere is the online cinema for forgotten films
Major film studios have much of their production schedules mapped out years in advance. By default, cinemas have pretty full calendars themselves. With a finite number of screens, theaters can only take so many movies from other distributors. Competition for these slots is fierce, and when film festival season draws to a close, some flicks simply don't get picked up. Even big names and moving stories can't save them from limbo. Flix Premiere, however, wants to do just that, by being an online cinema for overlooked films.
Twitch is finally archiving chat with video broadcasts
The bedrock of Twitch is its community and a good deal of watching a live broadcast's fun comes from interacting with the regulars who show up in chat. And while you can always check out an archived video if you miss when your favorite streamer goes live, you're missing out on a chunk of the experience because chat wasn't saved along with the clip. Until now. As part of the live-broadcasting service's bigger push toward video-on-demand, Twitch is including the chat log with each previously aired video.
TiVo said to be launching Cox video on demand
You're forgiven if you forgot that TiVo and Cox were once best buddies. They formed a partnership years ago, but that alliance quietly fell by the wayside. However, there are signs that it could come roaring back. Tipsters tell Zatz Not Funny (which has a good record with such leaks) that TiVo is close to launching Cox On Demand services. It's not clear whether this will simply rehash the DVR maker's Comcast technology or try something new. If the rumor is true, though, this could be heartening news -- you could spring for one of TiVo's nicer video recorders without having to sacrifice all the on-demand content that comes with your Cox TV package.
Xbox 360 Time Warner Cable app finally gets video-on-demand
It's been a long wait for Xbox 360-faithful wanting Time Warner Cable video-on-demand through their console, but the feature has finally arrived with some 5,000 promised titles (there's good news for Roku users too, where TWC TV has added VOD to go along with that new YouTube app). If you somehow still aren't entertained, well maybe chatting with other TWC customers via the app's messaging feature will do the trick. This seems a tad redundant when the 360's native messaging client is a few button presses away, but we dig having another way to spoil the latest New Girl for our pals.
Comcast's Xfinity TV Store brings movies, TV shows you can keep to its cable boxes and apps
First revealed in rumors last week, the Comcast Xfinity TV Store is now available, selling movies and TV shows. Until now the cable company has offered its traditional video subscriptions, PPV and video on-demand rentals, but now it's offering more transactions of a more permanent nature. Pricing and content is similar to that of other digital sores like Amazon VOD, iTunes and Vudu, but it has the extra edge of working with user's existing cable TV set-top boxes for viewing on TV, just like Verizon's Flex View. Of course, most of us have one (or three, or five) boxes ready to access digital content but that may not be true for everyone, and any of the millions of customers with access to Comcast VOD should be able to use this. On other platforms, the videos also stream to PCs via the Xfinity Purchases website, and the apps for iOS and Android have already landed. One of our main questions concerned what would happen if a customer leaves Comcast, and while the content will still work, they'll need to complete an account transfer within 60 days to keep access. There's a demo video showing how this all works (embedded after the break) and all the online moving parts appear to be live, for those interested. In the end however, its very typical pricing, DRM and content means that while the studios will be happy with another storefront, we're not expecting it to shake things up anytime soon.
Target's Ticket video on-demand service launching soon
If you can't get enough digital video storefronts, there's one more on the way -- Target's Ticket service. The video on-demand service has been in closed beta for awhile now, and, according to TechCrunch, employees have been told that it will be launching to the public soon. Prices vary by program, but TV episodes cost around $2.99, or as much as $34.99 per season. Movies sell for about $15, give or take a few bucks, and rentals are $3.99 and $4.99, which closely matches the prices of Google Play, Amazon and iTunes. The use model is familiar too, granting users 30 days to activate a rental and 48 hours to watch after pressing play the first time. The service is only available for the company's employees and REDcard holders at the moment, but Target hopes to open access to more customers soon. Apps for Android, iOS, smart TVs and game consoles are in testing too, so you should be able to watch virtually anywhere. The retail giant is offering a few flicks for purchase ahead of home video too, so if you're impatient, yet somehow missed Star Trek: Into Darkness in the theater, now is the time to buddy up to a redshirt.
Sony Video Unlimited adds persistent library, grants cross-device access
Using Sony's Video Unlimited platform just got a little more appealing. Prior to Shacknews' discovery of a change in the store's terms of service, once you purchased a video it was only available on the PlayStation device it was downloaded to. Now, there's parity between its storefront and the likes of iTunes and Amazon Video that allow media access from a range of hardware tied to your account. Frankly, it's long overdue but not the first time the hardware giant's been slow to evolve. We've reached out to Sony to see if this applies to gadgets not carrying PlayStation branding and will update if we hear back. Till then, take a moment to appreciate a fuller, more apt definition of "unlimited."
Southwest fliers to get TV for free on mobile devices courtesy of Dish Network
Virgin America is often the domestic airline leading the way in in-flight entertainment, but Southwest Airlines is doing its best to keep up with Sir Richard Branson's stateside flight outfit. Earlier in the year, Southwest rolled out pay TV and on-demand video in many of its aircraft. Today, the airline announced a partnership with Dish Network to bring free satellite TV to passengers' mobile devices on its 400 Wi-Fi equipped planes. Why the shift to a gratis service? Dish decided that ponying up the necessary dough was worth it for the branding it'll receive as a part of the new deal. So, go forth, friends and fly Southwest's friendly skies -- assuming the free TV is enough to entice you to brave its first-come-first-served seating methods.
Blinkbox goes HD for Game of Thrones season three, available July 15th
Tesco's VOD service Blinkbox beat all other UK players to the punch when it hosted the second season of Game of Thrones well before the box-set launch, and it's doing the same with season three. It's only just ended, but from July 15th, the latest series will be available to download or stream in its entirety, and what's more, its arrival marks the first time HD content has been accessible on Blinkbox. You'll also be able to watch season three in SD, should you want to, and both previous seasons will get HD options when the third lands. Pricing isn't yet confirmed, but we'd expect the cost to be similar to that of season two, which was £1.79 (around $2.80) per episode, or £17.99 (around $28) for all ten. If you haven't seen Game of Thrones yet, and we highly recommend you do, you've got just over a month to prepare for the Blinkbox launch and subsequent marathon.
LG adds PayPal to its smart TV platform for faster app purchases
Looking to jumpstart interest in its in-house ecosystem, LG is adding PayPal as a software purchasing option for its latest line of smart TVs, making it the first manufacturer to natively use the service. Available now in the US, Canada and UK, this new addition will let you use either a traditional or Magic remote to navigate an onscreen keyboard when buying apps, games or $50 worth of 3D Disney movie rentals. The real potential time saver here is the addition of an optional "remember me" feature which lets users store their PayPal account information for faster purchases. Look for the service to expand to Australia, France, Germany and Italy sometime this month, with other markets set to follow later.
Southwest Airlines' on-demand WiFi video reaches all capable aircraft (video)
While we're gradually acclimating ourselves to the idea of watching in-flight video on our own devices and schedules, many airlines aren't quite in step with the idea. Count Southwest Airlines among the more enlightened, then, as its video on-demand system has just finished rolling out to every WiFi-equipped aircraft. If you hop aboard one of the company's Boeing 737-700 or 737-800 jets, you can pay either $5 per movie or $5 for flat-rate TV access on a WiFi device, whether or not you're paying for an internet link. About a quarter of Southwest's vehicles currently go without -- we wouldn't expect VOD on a short hop just yet -- but all new aircraft and AirTran overhauls will see the upgrade. We're mostly content to know that we won't have to always resort to the biggest airlines to keep ourselves occupied during long-haul expeditions.
Apple TVs in Germany gain movie and TV subscription service Watchever
German Apple TV users have a new app and service on their devices. Matthew Panzarino at The Next Web reports that German subscription video on demand service Watchever has found a place on the home screen of the diminutive puck. Watchever is similar to Hulu, offering German, European and international TV series and movies. For €8.99 a month, the service provides a choice of German-dubbed versions of international movies or the originals. Like Netflix, Watchever makes recommendations of TV shows and movies that may be interesting to you. The service is new; it was launched by Vivendi earlier this month. Other subscription-based apps currently gracing the screens of Apple TV owners include the MLB, NBA and NHL apps in the US. Provided that Apple has worked up a deal with Vivendi to split revenues from Watchever on the Apple TV, similar on-demand subscriptions services could end up being a significant source of income for Apple. German Apple TV users can reboot their Apple TVs to gain the Watchever icon.
Time Warner Cable TV app for iOS now streams video on demand
When it comes to Time Warner Cable, it seems that late is better than never. While Xfinity subscribers have had on-demand programming on mobile platforms for the better part of two years, Time Warner Cable customers (with iOS devices) now have similar access. Subscribers can download the TWC TV app update to watch video on demand throughout the house (so long as they have Time Warner Cable television and internet service). Content from nearly 100 providers is available in both high and standard definition, and TWC claims it's working on bringing more HD programming to its library. The app update also adds a "Recent" button while watching Live TV, which lists frequented channels, making surfing a bit easier for users. Don't have an iOS device? Android and PC users should see these updates in the first quarter of 2013.
Verizon Video service fading to black, final screenings air on December 15th
After a near seven year run, Verizon will be pulling the plug on its mobile video service on December 15th. The decision to shelve its in-house media platform lines up with the company's recent decision to deep-six its app store at the beginning of next year -- due to the recent influx of modern third-party software solutions. Hoping to fill the void for V Cast Video castaways, Verizon will continue to push its Viewdini platform, which sniffs out content across multiple services, such as Hulu Plus, ABC, Netflix and mSpot. For those of you looking to maintain your mobile football fix, Big Red will provide coverage through its NFL Mobile service at a cost of $5 per month. The soon to be defunct video service is currently a part of the carrier's paid smartphone App Pack bundle, which will continue operating after the program's demise. For more information about Verizon's post-V Cast plans, visit the source link below.
BFI to digitize 10,000 British films as part of Film Forever investment plan
The British Film Institute plans to digitize and provide easier access to 10,000 British flicks as part of a new £500 million (approximately $800 million) "Film Forever" initiative. In addition to driving growth in the UK industry by investing in education, filmmaking and the like, the institute wants to put a mixture of free and paid content on its website, YouTube and VoD services. A BFIPlayer app will be providing a similar service to Samsung Smart TVs, PCs and mobile devices. Cinemas, DVDs and TV channels will also play host to the films, selected for digital rebirth by a bunch of experts and in part, by the general public. And, in the spirit of digitization, full details of the ambitious Film Forever enterprise (slated to run from 2012-2017) are available in e-brochure format at the source link below.
