Verizon Wireless customers this week noticed that Netflix’s speed test tool appears to be capped at 10Mbps, raising fears that the carrier is throttling video streaming on its mobile network. When contacted by Ars this morning, Verizon acknowledged using a new video optimization system but said it is part of a temporary test and that it did not affect the actual quality of video. The video optimization appears to apply both to unlimited and limited mobile plans.
The cuts, which are impacting about 2% of Vice Media’s 3,000 person staff, comes as the company grows its video operations internationally.
Netflix is celebrating strong subscriber growth in the second quarter, but the company’s continued cash burn could become a concern soon. Free cash flow for Netflix this quarter came in at -$608 million, up from -$254 million during the year-ago quarter. The company expects FCF for the full year to be between -$2 billion and -$2.5 billion. Jefferies analyst John Janedis expects FCF will fall directly in the middle of that estimate and that it will total -$2 billion next year. But he’s less sure if it will get worse in the future.
YouTube TV, the video-sharing site’s subscription streaming bundle featuring popular network and cable channels, will be available today in 10 additional markets. The additional metro areas include Washington; Houston; Atlanta; Phoenix; Detroit; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Miami-Ft. Lauderdale; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne; Charlotte, N.C.; and Dallas-Fort Worth.
OAKLAND, CALIF. (AP) — Four members of a reality show camera crew were robbed in Oakland by thieves who put guns to their heads and took $50,000 in equipment. The head of […]
Exclusives
Netflix is pulling in new viewers and award nominations in droves, but the online video service still faces a long-term problem: Its acclaimed programming lineup is costing far more money than what subscribers pay for it.
Mississippi-based wireless carrier C Spire has officially launched its virtual MVPD service, pricing a base tier of 104 broadcast and cable networks at $65 a month. An IP service delivered over a managed network and based on a while-label platform provided by MobiTV, C Spire TV has been in beta test mode since April.
Facebook and YouTube is killing it in the arms race for live-streaming dominance, which should have traditional TV companies worried. Nearly half of online users watch live-streaming every week and nearly a quarter say they watch live-streaming every day.
AT&T’s DirecTV Now has reversed its plan to restrict use on computers and laptops to the Google Chrome browser, and will support Apple’s Safari browser as well.
The two cable MSOs have rolled out ad campaigns/promotions targeting DirecTV’s DBS service and its DirecTV Now online video service.
KIRO Providing News To Amazon Echo Show
Video flash briefings will provide trending storylines, weather on Amazon platforms for customers across Western Washington.
DirecTV Now, AT&T’s over-the-top pay TV service, is adding more than 35 stations affiliated with ABC, NBC and Fox starting next week — more than doubling its local broadcast footprint since launching last November and boosting local coverage to 70% of U.S. households. But CBS remains entirely absent from the DirecTV Now lineup.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The fans have spoken, and the canceled Netflix series “Sense8” is coming back next year for a two-hour final episode. Netflix and show co-creator Lana Wachowski […]
Salvation is the latest CBS summer drama series to head to Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service has licensed the serialized suspense thriller, which premieres on CBS on July 12. Prime Video will be the exclusive premium subscription home for the Alex Kurtzman-produced Salvation in the U.S. with unlimited streaming and downloading of all the series’ episodes available to members four days after their initial broadcast on CBS.
FuboTV, a live streaming TV service, today announced an agreement with Scripps Networks Interactive that will add several top U.S. channels to the company’s entry-level bundle. As a result of a new, […]
Facebook will stream more than a dozen matches from European soccer’s top tournament, the highest-profile event to join the small but growing lineup of live sports programming. Starting in September, the social network will show live Champions League matches in the U.S. through a partnership with Fox Sports. The deal with the sports division of 21st Century Fox includes double-headers during the group stage, four Round of 16 games and four quarterfinal matches.
For years, Netflix was seen as the dream spot for TV shows: a seemingly unlimited budget, and without the pressure of ratings because executives don’t reveal them. So even though you may have never heard of shows such as Flaked or Haters Back Off, it wasn’t too surprising that they were renewed. However, that era of Netflix may be coming to an end.
After launching in the five biggest U.S. TV markets over the spring, YouTube has deployed its virtual MVPD service in a second tier of major cities. YouTube TV is set to deploy in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas-Fort Worth; Detroit; Houston; Miami-Fort Lauderdale; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Fla.; Phoenix and Washington.
New data suggests that cord cutting may be getting worse this quarter, an alarming development given the unprecedented video sub losses that hit pay-TV providers during 1Q 2017. While observers will have to wait for the next round of financial disclosures for certainty, research firm M Science says cord-cutting indications “do not appear to have improved from 1Q through the end of May” for either Comcast or Charter, two of the three largest MSOs in the U.S.
Multichannel services cede ground to over-the-top content and virtual service providers in the latest U.S. video household segmentation outlook from Kagan.
Hulu’s new live package of linear TV networks could add major TV advertising and subscription revenues to its coffers. The service, which started up last month, could — after getting 1.18 million subscribers, 1% of the total U.S. TV homes at 118 million — initially generate annual advertising revenue of $71.1 million and $568.3 million in subscriber fees.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the future of NFL broadcasts is in “over the top” deals like the live-streaming agreement the NFL signed with Amazon this spring. “There has been a dramatic shift,” Kraft said. “This year we’re with Amazon and for us the future is OTT.”
Amazon.com Inc is looking to charge advertisers $2.8 million for packages that include 30-second spots during the Thursday night National Football League games it will stream live to its Prime customers this coming season, two people familiar with the matter tell Reuters.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki apparently had a lot to crow about at her appearance Thursday at the VidCon confab for online video fans and creators. She disclosed to the Anaheim gathering that YouTube now logs 1.5 billion viewers a month. “That’s the equivalent of one in every five people around the world,” she said.
Subscribers to the streaming service will have access to CBS Television Network’s sports, entertainment and news programming as well as CBS Sports Network, Showtime, The CW, Pop and CBSN plus CBS O&Os, and later, CBS-owned CW stations. All affiliates of CBS and The CW can participate.
