Roku reached 51.2 million active accounts Dec. 31, up about 14 million for the year, it said Wednesday. Users streamed about 17 billion hours in Q4, bringing the total to 58.7 billion in 2020, a 55% year-on-year jump. The company said a third of U.S. households have left traditional pay-TV services.
Cable One is rolling out an IP-based TV service, Sparklight TV, with cloud-based video programming starting in select markets early this year and across its footprint by year-end, it said Tuesday. It said the move from linear video to IPTV will free up network capacity to expand beyond its current gigabit broadband offering and open the door to 10 Gbps. It said Sparklight TV will include VOD, program restart and DVR capabilities.
Subscription VOD services had big growth last year, but they have far less daily traffic than Netflix, meaning many could lose many of those subscriptions when "normal" life returns and people have less time and money for streaming, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Sunday. Netflix and Amazon Prime are likely to retain subscribers, but others need to bring more value in 2021, such as through original content, he said.
ViacomCBS is adding 14 more networks to Hulu + Live TV in a multiyear deal, it said Monday, including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Network, VH1, CMT, Nick Jr., MTV Classic and TV Land. It includes continued carriage of CBS stations, CBS Sports Network, Smithsonian Channel, CW and Showtime and others, said the company.
Some 180 Imax screens generated 7% of the $16.7 million opening weekend U.S. and Canada box office receipts from Wonder Woman 1984, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday. Private watch parties and large-format screens drove ticket sales and were the most popular option among consumers, said WarnerMedia Sunday, calling private rentals an “innovative and popular way for audiences to feel comfortable watching the film in their own social bubbles.” WarnerMedia didn’t disclose how many HBO Max subscribers streamed the movie since launch Friday, saying only, “nearly half of the platform’s retail subscribers” viewed the film that day, "along with millions of wholesale subscribers who have access to HBO Max via a cable, wireless, or other partner services.” HBO Max's total viewing hours Friday more than tripled vs. a typical day in the previous month, it said. The movie is included in HBO Max subscriptions for a month in a “strategic response to the impact of the ongoing global pandemic" (see 2012170031). The movie will then leave the streaming platform, continuing theatrically in the U.S. and globally with customary distribution windows.
Startup Hearo debuted Tuesday, described as the world's first desktop and mobile “co-watching party app.” It’s the brainchild of CEO Edward Lerner, who described himself as a former Sony PlayStation executive. Hearo is the only service on the market “that lets consumers watch TV and premium streaming services while talking together on phones, tablets, and PCs,” said Lerner. Available on iOS, Android, macOS and Windows, Hearo lets Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video subscribers “watch synchronized streaming movies and shows while talking to their friends,” he said.
Disney emailed Hulu ad-free subscribers Friday who pay $11.99 monthly for the service with an offer they couldn’t refuse -- adding ESPN+ for only a penny more a month. An apologetic “correction” email followed 24 hours later explaining that the Friday offer “was sent in error” and was meant for “eligible subscribers who have both Hulu and Disney+, and might be interested in adding ESPN+ to upgrade to The Disney Bundle.” Hulu-only subscribers “are not eligible” for the ESPN+ upgrade offer, said the correction, inviting them to "learn more" about how they could sign on for the three-service bundle directly through their Hulu accounts. We queried Disney for comment on how many Hulu subscribers got the errant offer and whether Friday’s outreach was an attempt all along to coax Hulu-only customers to upgrade to the bundle. It didn’t respond.
The Arizona Cardinals-San Francisco 49ers game Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST will be the first NFL matchup to air nationally and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video and on the company’s Twitch platform, said Amazon Monday. The game will be available to more than 150 million Prime members worldwide and in more than 240 countries and territories excluding China, the U.K., Ireland and Spain. It also will be shown in local markets over the air and on mobile nationally. Amazon is “looking forward to delivering the gift of football on Prime Video this weekend,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president-global sports video. The Prime Video event will give viewers “multiple announcers to choose from, Next Gen Stats, and on-demand replays from X-Ray,” she said. To switch between audio feeds, Prime members go to settings on their video streaming device and select the broadcast of their choice, she said. On Friday at 4:30 p.m. EST, Amazon Prime Video will show the Minnesota Vikings-New Orleans Saints game, which is also being broadcast on Fox, NFL Network, Fox Deportes digital properties and the Vikings, Saints and Yahoo Sports mobile properties. Other “shoulder” NFL programming will be available during the week on Prime Video and Twitch.
Showing that pirated videos being uploaded to YouTube came from the same unique computer address from which Pirate Monitor sent its takedown requests, with those acts happening at the same time, is more than enough proof to allow YouTube's counterclaims go forward. That's according to Google's YouTube in an opposition Friday (in Pacer, docket 20-cv-04423) in reply to Pirate Monitor's motion to dismiss the counterclaims (see 2011230002). YouTube in its opposition said there's no reason for the court to address Pirate Monitor's argument YouTube lacks standing for injunctive relief. Pirate Monitor and composer Maria Schneider are suing YouTube, claiming it facilitated piracy by not allowing individual artists to access its Content ID system. Plaintiffs' counsel didn't comment Monday.
Nexstar's WGN America cable network will be part of the Hulu + Live TV lineup starting Jan. 19, Nexstar said Friday. This restores Nexstar’s ABC-affiliated stations, the broadcaster said. It follows similar agreements with YouTube TV and fuboTV (see report, Dec. 14 issue).