Streaming service Philo launched a sports-less content package at $16 monthly, it said Tuesday. It said the package has more than 35 channels including A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, ID, IFC, MTV and Travel Channel. It said the service includes an unlimited 30-day DVR and on-demand library. It supports web browsers, Roku devices, an iOS app and Android via Chrome, with other platforms to come. Some question demand for such a product (see 1709140021).
Netflix is integrated into Cox Communications' Contour TV guide system, the company said Monday. It said subscribers also can search Netflix using Contour's voice remote. The cloud-based Contour interface is based on Comcast's X1 platform, it said. Comcast integrated Netflix into its X1 last year (see 1611040055).
Philips smart TVs with the Roku operating system will debut in the U.S. by year-end under a license agreement Roku signed with Funai, which markets Philips-brand product in North America, announced the streaming company Monday. Roku is working to expand the OS licensing program to include the launch of “lots of new TV models,” and is well-positioned for the holiday selling season, said CEO Anthony Wood last week on the company’s first earnings call since going public (see 1711090001 or 1711090055).
With content companies often selling worldwide rights to TV shows to Netflix, local broadcasters and video services end up less able to compete with the streaming service, so those content companies "could end up with little alternative to Netflix" for international distribution, nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon blogged Tuesday. He said U.S. studios "are making a big noise" about not licensing content to Netflix in the U.S., but that policy isn't extending to international markets. It's easier to make one deal with Netflix than multiple smaller deals market by market, but local broadcasters will end up less able to compete with Netflix for licenses for U.S. content, the analyst said.
Virtual service providers are signing up live local stations to their lineups at an increasing clip, largely due to the Big Four networks' blanket arrangements letting affiliates opt into such streaming deals, Kagan reported Tuesday. It said CBS over-the-top service All Access has the highest household reach of live local stations among such virtual service providers, with stations reaching 96 percent of total U.S. households. The industry researcher said among virtual MVPDs, Hulu TV reaches 84 percent, followed by Sony Vue at 79 percent and DirecTV Now at 74 percent. Vue has been particularly aggressive in adding live location stations since July, when it raised its monthly subscription price on the strength of its local channel coverage, the firm said
Live NBA games will be available in virtual reality under a multiyear partnership with Turner Sports, Intel said Tuesday. The chipmaker will be exclusive VR provider for the NBA on TNT starting with the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18. It said it's partnering with the NBA to provide VR and 360-degree volumetric video for the league's broadcast partners globally. It said the VR content will be available via the forthcoming NBA on TNT VR app on Samsung GearVR and Google Daydream headsets.
Sling TV is available on select Samsung smart TVs, making it the first live and on-demand over-the-top service brought on to the Samsung platform, said Sling Tuesday. Integrating Sling TV into TVs “creates a seamless experience” for owners of compatible Samsung TVs, allowing them to watch streaming content without having to install additional equipment, add remotes or switch inputs, said Jimshade Chaudhari, Sling TV vice president-product management. Sling TV is available on 2016 Samsung smart TVs, and will roll out to additional models in the future, it said. Current and new subscribers can sign up via the TV app, it said.
Of U.S. broadcasters, CBS has the most aggressive online strategy and so far hasn't disrupted its traditional revenue streams, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Sunday. That strategy at some point will begin to disrupt existing distribution channels, and it's not clear if CBS will come out ahead in the long run, he said.
Video pirates could fill a middleman aggregator role in a fragmented video market, Myra Moore, president of Digital Tech Consulting, blogged Sunday. "There are legitimate concerns" viewers won't want to pay multiple services for video and search for content in multiple locations, and pirates offering a centralized service at $10 a month could become a popular alternative, she said: Ten or so years ago, piracy "took much more time, skill and lurking," but open-source media player software and IP-enabled distribution made piracy a lot easier, and shutting down such methods is complicated and time consuming. Content owners will continue to find ways to enforce their copyrights, but Moore sees a confluence of easy-to-use pirate tools, "a cultural blindness" to IP rights and ease of getting content from a sole pirate.
More than 6 percent of North American households access pirated live TV services monthly -- costing communication service providers possibly more than $4 billion in revenue this year, Sandvine said Wednesday. It said premium TV, live sports, news and international content are the main drivers.