Locast, the local TV station streaming service, is adding its third market, Houston, as of Aug. 20, according to the Sports Fans Coalition New York, the nonprofit behind the service. Locast launched Jan. 11 in New York without the knowledge or consent of, or compensation to, the 13 TV stations, including stations owned by the Big Four networks, whose signals it is delivering free to fixed and mobile broadband devices. It is relying on copyright law that allows a nonprofit to retransmit local TV station signals without getting a copyright license.
Q&A WITH JASON HIRSCHHORN
How Netflix Outsmarted Everyone In TV
Jason Hirschhorn, the CEO and chief curator of Redef, returned to Recode Media with Peter Kafka this week to talk about media moguls, the virtues of taking time off and what Netflix got right that everyone else in TV got wrong. The old guard’s first mistake: Thinking Reed Hastings and co. were “suckers” for paying a lot of money to license old content in the early days.
The ad-supported tier of CBS All Access is the most high-profile ad-supported channel to become available thus far. To date, Amazon Channels has mostly relied on ad-free streaming services to bolster its lineup of premium subscriptions.
Exclusives
In a survey from SpotX, a video advertising serving platform, commissioned by Kagan, 54% of respondents expected to see an 11% to 20% increase on advertising spend by moving to audience based buying/selling — 32% expected a a 6% to 10% gain.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix says it’s signed “black-ish” creator Kenya Barris to an exclusive production agreement. The multi-year deal announced Thursday makes Barris the latest prominent TV creator to […]
TownNews.com’s CMS will power Meredith Local Media Group’s web, mobile, OTT and live streaming initiatives.
We live in an era where Netflix is eating the world, where kids and grown-ups alike can disappear down a YouTube rabbit hole for hours on end, where the amount of time we spend watching video on our phones only ever goes up rather than down. In that world, it’s easy to extrapolate to a time where old-fashioned television is dead, killed off by a slew of younger, nimbler disruptors. The reality, however, is that TV’s business model is secure, its revenues are gargantuan, and the barriers to enter its industry have never been higher.
Netflix said Monday that Chief Financial Officer David Wells plans to step down after helping the company choose his successor. Wells has served as Netflix’s CFO since 2010, during a transformative time for the streaming service that has emerged as an entertainment powerhouse. Wells says he intends to stay until his successor takes the role to ensure a smooth transition, then will focus on philanthropy.
Netflix has released 88% more original programming so far this year than it did during the same span in 2017. The surge in new content is aimed at weaning the streaming platform from shows and movies licensed from other producers — but that old content may be what many subscribers watch the most.
The streaming service kicks off Friday’s launch of the iconic syndicated game show with 60 curated episodes. The show, which is produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed in syndication by CBS Television Distribution, is entering its 35th season in syndication on Monday, Sept. 10.
As TV viewers spend more time on streaming video platforms, big media companies have gotten more serious about building their own subscription streaming services — or “direct to consumer” products, as the companies call them. That’s led to the creation of new executive roles and responsibilities at companies that historically haven’t sold subscription products to customers.
It is licensing nonexclusive content from YouTube stars and other online influencers for the free app called Watch Back.
CompulseOTT, a division of Sinclair, is an advanced video ad delivery platform that enables advertisers in local DMA’s to target viewers of OTT TV programming.
EARNINGS CALL
Disney: New Streamer Won’t Rival Netflix
With Comcast out of the bidding war, Disney is planning to move forward with its $71.3 billion purchase of Fox’s entertainment assets, in part to boost a Disney-branded streaming service set to launch in late 2019. Disney is building the streaming service as more people switch from traditional cable TV bundles to streaming online though services like Amazon and Netflix.
FX Networks CEO John Landgraf sees no end in sight to the growth of scripted TV production. During his Friday appearance at the Television Critics Association press tour, Landgraf gave a midseason update to his company’s annual tally of dramas, comedies and limited series in productions, and the arrow is still pointing up, as it has been since 2010. Through the first six months of 2018, 319 scripted series have been produced, up 5% from the same period a year ago. Much of the growth is propelled by the robust output of Netflix and other streaming services.
Locast, which is providing free over-the-top access to New York TV station over-the-air signals, is extending its reach, a move that could finally draw a response from broadcasters, sports leagues or studios, who have yet to respond legally or otherwise.
The complications of dynamic ad insertion is one factor keeping local broadcasters from making a bigger run at OTT. But with the promise of higher CPMs from ad targeting as motivation, broadcasters and vendors say solutions are on the horizon.
Licensed to Pill is a one-hour special that exposes doctors betraying patients by prescribing addictive opioids to line their own pockets. It follows up on extensive investigations aired over the past year, during which time a federal raid, charges against doctors and action by Congress were all realized.
Syncbak, which created the technology that powers live OTT, today announced the addition of two senior hires: Dean Mandel as vice president of advertising sales and Noreen Thurston as vice […]
As we look ahead to FX’s John Landgraf’s semi-annual “Peak TV” address at the cable network’s upcoming TCA presentation, it’s worth asking: How will broadcasters, cable networks and independent studios adapt to the ongoing pressure from their well-funded digital rivals?
YouTube rebranded its YouTube Red subscription service as YouTube Premium just a couple of months ago, but it is already tweaking its model, opening the paywall a bit in a bid to attract more subscribers.
