Samsung is the first TV brand to add Apple Music to its smart TV platform, said the company Thursday. The streaming music service is available on 2018-2020 Samsung models. The competitors partnered last year, offering Apple iTunes Movies and TV Shows and AirPlay 2 support on Samsung 2019 smart TVs -- and 2018 smart TVs with a firmware update. Now, Samsung Smart TV owners can try Apple Music free for three months. Monday, the TV maker announced its smart TV customers have access to new health and wellness apps from barre3, Calm, Echelon, Fitplan, Jillian Michaels Fitness and obe Fitness. Later this year, the apps will be part of the Samsung Health fitness platform announced at CES, and the companies are bringing free at-home wellness content to consumers now while they're under coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions, Samsung said.
Since movie theaters might not reopen for weeks or months after shelter-in-place orders start to be relaxed, premium VOD -- with accelerated digital release of first-run movies at a premium price -- might have particularly long legs, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Monday.
The number of 4K TV owners watching 4K content grew from 49% last year to 56% this year, Hub Entertainment Research reported. Some 11% of TV households “claim they own an 8K TV,” said Hub. Some 9% of households plan to buy an 8K set in the next 12 months. Ownership of streaming media players is flat year on year, as TV households with a Roku smart TV grew from 18% to 22%; TVs with an Amazon Fire TV operating system increased from 14% to 15%. Roku’s penetration of TV-based streaming media devices rose five points to 35%; Amazon’s from 23% to 26%. Fifty-nine percent of smartphone households have unlimited data plans, up from 56%, with 30% of households saying they watch premium video on their phones weekly, up from 23%. TV households with voice remotes grew from 31% to 36%. Smart speaker ownership grew to 42% from 37%; growth of “any” smart home devices grew from 33% to 39%.
Loop TV will host a virtual music festival April 24-25, it said Friday. Participating indie artists include The Struts, Netta, Flora Cash, Hanson and Milck. Livestreamed performances can be viewed via the Loop TV channel and Twitch. A portion of Loop TV’s sponsorships will go to the MusiCares COVID-19 relief fund to help support indie artists.
Citing personal ownership of stock in AT&T, one of the plaintiffs, U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt of Los Angeles ordered (docket 20-cv-03129, in Pacer) video piracy litigation brought by the company and other content companies against streaming service Nitro TV (see 2004060063) transferred to Judge Dean Pregerson. Judge Michael Fitzgerald, who handled similar content company litigation against another alleged pirate streaming service, Tickbox, had declined transfer, saying it involved "different defendants, different attorneys and different software."
Despite what could be a massive early sign-up of subscribers and much quality content, prospects for short-form video platform Quibi are bleak due to the pandemic shutdown on new content production, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Monday. It also will be challenged by such emerging over-the-top competition as Comcast's Peacock streaming service debuts in July and HBO Max in May, and by belt-tightening by consumers, he said. Quibi didn't comment Tuesday.
Congress might want to consider making the Copyright Act's fair use provision easier to employ given the copyright issues that emerge with increased livestreaming of distance learning and remote worship services during the pandemic, the Congressional Research Service said Friday. Lawmakers could put the burden of proof on the copyright owner or add or amend the Section 110 exemption protections to include performances or displays over the internet, CRS said: Congress could maintain the legal status quo, with webcasters relying on the existing fair use defense and exemptions, because copyright holders might be reluctant to sue educational or religious institutions.
Of U.S. households with a livestreaming vMVPD such as AT&T TV Now, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV or YouTube TV, 44% switched from traditional pay TV, while 26% also have a traditional service, said Leichtman Research Group Friday. Eighteen percent switched from another vMVPD; 12% were most recently nonsubscribers. That's similar to findings from a year ago. Overall, 18% of adults 18-44 have a vMVPD service -- vs. 9% of consumers ages 45 and above -- and they account for 65% of U.S. adults with a vMVPD. Fourteen percent of respondents are “very likely” to switch from a vMVPD in the next six months; 54% of vMVPD households have three-plus TVs; 95% with an vMVPD service also have a subscription VOD service from Amazon Prime, Hulu and/or Netflix; and 79% of all households have at least one SVOD or direct-to-consumer streaming video service; 44% have three-plus. The February survey involved 6,462 adults.
Comcast and Fox signed a long-term renewal of their distribution agreement for Fox's channels, including retransmission consent of Fox stations to Xfinity customers, Comcast said Wednesday. The deal includes streaming rights for watching through the Xfinity streaming service.
The Movies Anywhere app is now available on LG smart TVs with webOS dating to 2017, said LG Friday. It's the first TV maker to offer the streaming app, which boasts access to 7,900 digital movies from studios including Sony Pictures, Universal, Disney and Warner. The app enables consumers to sync their accounts including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, Xfinity, Google Play and YouTube, Microsoft Movies and TV, FandangoNOW and Verizon Fios TV, it said.