streaming

The No. 1 satellite company warns broadcasters that their rush to raise retransmission consent fees could backfire. DirecTV’s outlays to broadcast stations are up 50% this year, and that’s “not sustainable,” CEO Mike White told analysts today. If prices “continue to explode, then customers are going to demand other alternatives.” And DirecTV has done some R&D work to see whether it could offer broadcast TV the way Aereo does — using antennas to tap free over-the-air transmissions, without paying stations.

Netflix is hoping to get on cable set-top boxes to hit aggressive growth targets, but not all U.S. operators are eager to partner up with the popular streaming company.

The NBA is poised to become the first major U.S.-based sports league to allow its games to be streamed live locally. The league is finalizing TV Everywhere deals with Fox Sports Media Group and NBC Sports Group, the country’s two biggest owners of regional sports networks.

In two recent high-profile retrans battles, TV everyewhere streaming rights were on the table but eventually taken off as networks and affiliates further develop streaming strategies.

Next up on the streaming provider’s list is Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis and San Antonio. An actual launch date hasn’t been set, but the company is hoping to go live in those cities by year’s end.

With video: Speaking at TheGrill, The Wrap’s fourth annual media leadership conference Monday, Chet Kanojia, founder and CEO of Aereo, said the cable and television inudstry isn’t adapting to changing habits of consumers. “People want choice, people want simple,” he says.

Aereo’s streaming service is now available to subscribers in Dallas, the company said Monday, as it works toward its goal of launching in 22 markets by year’s end.

A federal judge in Iowa on Tuesday dismissed a subpoena by Aereo for documents and testimony about CBS’s minority investment in Syncbak, in addition to how Syncbak’s technology works and any documents that might mention Aereo.

The company has begun talks with major media companies about licensing TV channels, according to people with knowledge of the meetings.

The newsgathering cooperative is using LiveU’s bonded cellular technology to provide live, multi-camera feeds for a fuller picture of breaking news as it unfolds. It’s also partnering with Swedish startup Bambuser to give citizens with the ability to be video eyewitnesses on behalf of the Associated Press and stream video via smartphones.

CBS Corp. and Netflix Inc. extended the companies’ multi-year licensing agreement for certain content in the archives of programs CBS owns. Under the extended deal, new titles such as L.A. Complex, 4400 and CSI: NY will be available to Netflix subscribers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Samsung has acquired Israeli-based streaming-media startup Boxee. The acquisition was presumably made so that Samsung can add the company’s cloud-based DVR to its smart TVs and other connected devices. The Marker reports that the purchase price was $30 million. That sum roughly matches Boxee’s total funding — which is $26.5 million, according to the company’s website. The deal reportedly brings all Boxee employees — estimated around 45 people — to work for Samsung.

Streaming media platform Ooyala says that video views to devices in the first quarter rose by 19% over the previous quarter alone, now accounting for 10% of all views. The company says video growth on tablets (now 5%-6% of all views) and smartphones (more than 4%), is on the same curve as last year when their combined total share doubled between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31. In 1Q 2012, mobile devices had only a 4% share.

The online video provider is looking to give TV stations and newspapers a platform to stream live and on-demand video to Roku and other over-the-top devices.

Access to WatchESPN and HBO GO require a cable subscription and HBO subscription, respectively. Sky News gives cord cutters a 24/7 live news stream for free.

Both companies are working to create an integrated solution that will let broadcasters send out video highlights on Twitter and Facebook through a LiveU bonded cellular device. For now, both companies are promoting each other’s services as referral partners.

Streaming music service Pandora today rolled out a new HTML5 app for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 that allows users to stream music over through their televisions. The company plans to eventually expand the service to other Web standards-based devices.

A successful test with Nielsen brings broadcasters another step closer to monetizing content using Syncbak’s streaming technology.

Users who downloaded or updated ABC’s new app that allows for a live linear stream of local and network content are complaining about technical glitches and too many commercials before live content begins.

The network and its affiliates have almost worked out an “agreement on a general framework” that would let the stations stream a combination of network and local content to smartphones and other wireless devices.

At its affiliate meeting today in Las Vegas, the Fox network is expected to unveil a plan that would allow its affiliates to stream online Fox sports and entertainment programming, according to two affiliate sources. More to come after the meeting adjourns around 4 p.m ET.

For the past few months, CBS has been using Syncbak to stream the signals of its duopolies in New York and Los Angeles to smartphones and other devices without requiring a dongle or antenna. Syncbak uses the GPS embedded in smartphone and tablets and another proprietary system to make sure that only users within a station’s market can receive the station’s programming.

Total spending on television and film in home entertainment formats rose ever so slightly in 2012, to about $18 billion, up 0.23% from $17.96 billion a year earlier, the Digital Entertainment Group trade association said on Tuesday.

Netflix and CBS aren’t disclosing terms of the deal they announced Tuesday, but an analyst said it’s worth $200 million. CBS will get that amount, according to a Wednesday research note from Barclays Capital analyst Anthony DiClemente, over two years for nonexclusive rights to stream such shows as The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Family Ties, Twin Peaks, Cheers and Frasier.