Abdicating Editorial Responsibility

7 June 2011

Between social media and OTT video, we have choices galore. So why is it so hard to be happy with our selections? Could it be that it’s not healthy to have so many choices? Could it be that it’s a mistake to abdicate the editorial role and leave it to a network of every person we’ve ever met? The Paradox of Choice rings true, and OTT video services should learn a lesson.

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OTT à la carte

6 June 2011

The Pay TV industry should be applauding. OTT has achieved à la carte nirvana. And the simplicity of a single bill, branded channels with predictable content and so on….is enough to prove the point that OTT brands are making it more and more work to consume media. Oh yeah, and by the way, it doesn’t matter who makes which deal which whatever company there is — outside of the movie industry, nobody knows, and nobody cares about studio brands.

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Why Pay TV Should Think Twice About New Carriage Fees

2 June 2011

Broadcasters are asking for carriage fees from Pay TV service providers that are — at the same time — looking for ways to cut their costs for content and CPE.

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How Much Bandwidth Does Netflix Require?

1 June 2011

It can be a chicken-and-egg question. How much bandwidth does Netflix require for its streaming service? Which really depends on how much bandwidth Netflix gets from major ISPs. Looking at the numbers from Netflix, it’s clear that adaptive bitrate streaming is an absolute necessity. And, oh yeah, streaming requires…

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Coming Soon: Re-Aggregation

1 June 2011

Last week, I mentioned that I am opting out of both Hulu Plus and Pandora’s recurring services. paidContent has an excellent run-down of Pandora’s numbers that got me thinking. In digital media, every growth projection is positive, and there’s little talk about the downside, which is the fragmentation that will ultimately lead to re-aggregation of digital media services.

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New Carriage Fees = Recipe For Disaster

1 June 2011

At a time when Pay TV service providers are working to control their programming costs; broadcasters are trying to up their share in the venture. This is a recipe for disaster.

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Shutting SeeSaw Down

31 May 2011

First-run programming is critical to successful Internet-delivered VoD services. And without it, services like SeeSaw are headed to the footnotes of OTT history.

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SeaChange, Changing Hands?

27 May 2011

It’s kind of a big deal to read about rumors that ARRIS is in talks to buy SeaChange. Here we are, a couple of weeks out on The Cable Show 2011, and it would be perfect timing to announce such a deal. SeaChange has definitely been making tracks in the digitally-inspired side of the Pay TV industry: middleware, VoD, content and so on and so forth. Plus, they’re pretty cheap, with an approximately $350 million market cap.

By comparison, Cisco blew $590 million on a lifetime supply of Flip Video cameras for everyone at the company. At least SeaChange is in the same business as ARRIS.

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I’m Not Paying For Pandora, Or Hulu Plus

27 May 2011

Say goodbye to buggy, experimental technology and the recurring expenses that were supposed to make it all worthwhile. So much for saving money.

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OTT Carriage Fees?

25 May 2011

If Connected TV platform vendors start asking for carriage fees from media companies, it’s up to service providers to decide whether they’re ready to keep paying up for content while embracing a vision for Pay TV that’s built around customer-purchased connected CE.

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