ViacomCBS' CBS All Access streaming service will add content from such networks as Nickelodeon, MTV, BET and Comedy Central, and movies from its Paramount library this year, CEO Bob Bakish said in an earnings call with analysts Thursday. He said it will have live linear content from more than 200 local CBS stations.

Vizio added Disney Plus to its SmartCast TV platform, it said Thursday. Vizio smart TV users have been able to stream Disney Plus via Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast built-in; the update allows them to launch the app and search for Disney Plus content directly from the SmartCast home screen, Vizio said.

Google is investing in connected TV ad solutions to reach households at scale with messages that are relevant to users “and respectful of their privacy,” blogged Jake Jolly, product manager-Display & Video 360. A Comscore analysis commissioned by Google found marketers can reach 76 percent of all connected TV households in the U.S. and 89 percent of ad-supported connected TV households, or more than half of all Wi-Fi households. That will grow as connected TV penetration broadens, Jolly said Thursday. In addition to YouTube, Display & Video 360 provides access to nine of the top 10 most watched U.S. ad-supported connected TV apps from cable and broadcast channels. Google uses Identifier for Advertising (IFA) to manage connected TV ad frequency, and it can be disabled or reset by the user. Now, it’s working with inventory providers to support IFAs at the exchange and publisher levels, and advertisers can control frequency in a “user-first” way on apps such as Hulu, Pluto TV or Lifetime.

Built into Akamai’s 2020 revenue forecast is the assumption that it will “participate” in many of the new over-the-top video services “that are coming to market, and some that are expanding,” said Chief Financial Officer Edward McGowan on a Q4 call Tuesday. The network provider expects 2020 revenue growth to be in a range of $3.06 billion-$3.11 billion, vs. $2.89 billion in 2019, said McGowan. “In addition to more global expansion of existing OTT offerings that have been announced for later this year, we are aware of several new direct-to-consumer OTT launches planned for late spring and early summer” that haven’t been publicized, he said. Akamai also is counting on a big second-half revenue bounce from streaming for the Tokyo Olympics in Q3 and the presidential election “cycle” in Q4, he said. “It's really hard to call how successful these will be,” he said of the new OTT service offerings. “We have conversations with the customers. We know what their plans are. We make sure we build our capacity to be able to capture as much of the traffic that we can. But it really does come down to end-consumer demand.” Akamai’s goal is to “grow our share, have even more massive scale,” said CEO Thomson Leighton. “Already today, we're the go-to player, if you ask any of the big OTT guys, and we want to grow that further.”

Wedbush remained “neutral” on Roku stock, Michael Pachter wrote investors before the company’s Thursday Q4 report, seeing “tremendous opportunities for revenue growth” but profitability likely in five years due to R&D, licensing and expansion costs. Cord cutting and the rise of over-the-top video services will likely contribute modestly to Roku’s player business as the company expands its licensing partnerships and ad revenue on The Roku Channel and with advertising on demand partners, Pachter said. Apple Plus and Disney Plus launches in the quarter drove increased cord-cutting, “which may have accelerated active account growth on the Roku Platform in Q4 in excess of our estimates,” said the analyst, though average revenue per user could be lower than estimated, with revenue share terms unclear.

Consumers “just don’t need traditional TV,” blogged Google TV Tuesday, announcing Google Fiber is no longer offering a linear TV product to new customers. Google is offering fuboTV through its internet service, giving subscribers a choice of two streaming services, including YouTube TV, announced in December. Google will continue to provide traditional TV service to existing customers in the 18 markets where it operates, it said. Pushing next-generation internet TV, Google said: “You no longer need pricey bundles that force you into paying for channels you’ll never watch.” Google Fiber will help all customers “explore other options” to get programming “the way TV is watched now.” Its internet service promises up to 1 Gbps for up to 20 devices. Some customers were cautious and skeptical about the change. Jeff Gordanier asked if he would be able to go back to Fiber TV service after a couple of months if he found he didn’t like streaming. The company replied that option won’t be available “at this time.” Robby Barnes suggested it would be a good time to start offering “higher resolution options” with YouTube TV. @Neurisko asked why he can't stream DVR'd programs to other devices in the house “besides my TV" which he called "a no-brainer.” Google Fiber said it would "submit feedback on your behalf with this feature suggestion."

The Disney Plus streaming service, launched in November, had 26.5 million paid subscribers at the Dec. 29 close of fiscal Q1 and added 2.1 million more through Monday, said Disney CEO Bob Iger on a Tuesday earnings call. Disney intends to announce paid subs “as of the end of the quarter we’re reporting on,” he said. “Conversions from free to pay and churn rates were better than we expected,” said Iger. He said Disney won't disclose "specifics" on those metrics. The “next big priority” is launching Disney Plus internationally, he said. The service will debut March 24 in eight Western European markets, including the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy, he said. Belgium, the Nordics and Portugal “will follow this summer,” he said. Disney Plus will launch March 29 in India through Disney’s existing Hotstar service, said Iger. “We see this as a great opportunity to use the proven platform of Hotstar to launch the new Disney Plus service in one of the most populous countries and one of the fast-growing economies.”

If Roku doesn't reach an agreement with Fox to redistribute its channels, it will be "forced to remove FOX channels from the Roku platform because we can't distribute content without an agreement," blogged Roku Friday. That was hours ahead of the 11:59 p.m. deadline when its distribution agreement with Fox was set to expire. Saying it doesn't want that to happen, Roku said it "tried for months" to get Fox to sign an agreement -- "and we offered FOX an extension but they declined." Vizio reminded football fans Friday that its TVs support Apple AirPlay 2 and Chromecast built-in, providing streaming for cord-cutters and viewers who might be blocked from watching the Super Bowl due to retransmission fee conflicts (see 2001290047). Vizio SmartCast TV owners could watch by pulling up the Fox Sports or Fox Now apps on a smartphone or tablet, selecting the game and tapping the Chromecast or AirPlay button to stream to sets, it emailed.

MGM -- reportedly in talks with Netflix and Apple about being acquired -- might be a bad fit for either, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Monday. MGM's content library and production experience would be big assets for either buyer, but a deal could be a financial stretch for Netflix, and Apple/MGM could mean culture clashes between tech management and Hollywood moguls, he said.

Comcast's accelerating video subscriber losses (see 2001230008), increasing average revenue per unit being paid to video programmers and more people now subscribing to a single service than to a triple-play package in 2019 point to a more-difficult pay TV ecosphere this year, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Thursday. He said the video sub losses are likely to pick up speed further due to proliferating over-the-top services, including Comcast's Peacock service.