The great thing about the revolution in streaming video is that we can subscribe to niche services that supplement or replace cable TV. The problem with such services is that when they fail, you only have one option for that content. John, a fan of England’s Premier League, subscribes to a service through Fox that streams games not broadcast on the Fox Soccer Channel. The streaming service is on its second year, and the quality is noticeably worse than last year. He could cancel his subscription, but that would leave him with no soccer at all. [More]
Fox Soccer Channel Delivers Lousy Streaming Video, Indifferent Customer Service
By April 12, 2011
Showtime Will Yank Shows From Netflix Streaming
By March 23, 2011
If you’re catching up on Showtime shows via Netflix streaming, you’d better step up your pace, because Showtime doesn’t plan on renewing its pact with the streaming company when it expires this summer. [More]
Time Warner Cable iPad App Is Great For TV On The Go… But Only In Your House
By March 16, 2011
TV lovers, rejoice! The future of legal, licensed television watching is here, and it’s….incredibly locked down! Time Warner has introduced a beautiful new iPad app that lets you log in with your Time Warner Cable username and password and watch TV anywhere on your iPad. Well…as long as “anywhere” is “in your house, or on the wireless network of another Time Warner Cable customer, as long as you yourself have a cable package from Time Warner at home.” So much for mobile. [More]
Netflix Pays $100M To Make A TV Show Of Its Own
By March 16, 2011
In a risky yet inevitable move into original programming, Netflix is shoving a massive stack of chips onto the table, betting it can hang with the likes of HBO and Showtime. The video streaming and DVD rental giant is committing an estimated $100 million to buy and develop two 13-episode seasons of House of Cards, a drama produced and directed by David Fincher, starring Kevin Spacey. [More]
Warner Bros. Starts Renting Movies Through Facebook
By March 8, 2011
It was bound to happen eventually. Earlier today, Warner Bros. launched a new program on Facebook that will let users rent streaming movies directly through the social networking site. [More]
Would You Pay $30 To Rent A Movie That's Still In Theaters?
By March 4, 2011
For movie fans, there is that odd stretch of time between a film’s initial release and when it hits the DVD/On-Demand market. Maybe it’s playing in a second-run theater or maybe it’s just in limbo. Regardless, DirecTV is betting that customers would be willing to pay a premium to watch movies during that lame-duck time period. [More]
Netflix Will Subtitle 80 Percent Of Streaming Videos By End Of Year
By February 28, 2011
Netflix has been working on adding subtitles to streaming content for a while, and has made significant headway since last year. [More]
Amazon To Battle Netflix, Offer Unlimited Streaming To Prime Members
By February 22, 2011
Nearly six months after the initial reports that it was working on a subscription video streaming service, Amazon announced today that it was joining the group of companies trying to unseat Netflix as the king of video streaming services by offering a “new benefit” to Amazon Prime members — unlimited video streaming from a library of 5,000 titles. [More]
Netflix Coming Soon To Your Remote Control
By January 4, 2011
Because accessing Netflix isn’t easy enough, the video company announced earlier today that it has partnered with the makers of several devices to integrate a Netflix-specific button on remote controls. [More]
Sears Launches Video Download Service
By December 28, 2010
As we reported back in June, Sears would be launching a video download service sometime around the holidays. Well, the holidays are here and so is the service. [More]
Report: Netflix Offering Big Cash For Access To In-Season TV Shows
By December 2, 2010
While Netflix has made a huge move in the last two years to expand its library of streaming movies and TV shows, the company has only been able to make a few deals that give users access to recently broadcast episodes. But a report in the New York Post claims Netflix is offering networks top-dollar for access to fresher content. [More]
Netflix Offers $7.99 Streaming-Only Plan, Raises Prices On Existing Plans
By November 22, 2010
Since Netflix began offering its streaming video library, many customers have been asking for an option to go disc-free. Today, they got what they wished for as the company announced a $7.99/month plan for streaming-only. On the down side, they are also raising rates on those with existing unlimited disc-and-streaming plans. [More]
PlayStation 3 Casts Vudu Spell
By November 17, 2010
Straining to counter Microsoft’s inclusion of ESPN 3 on the Xbox 360, Sony is piling on video streaming apps at a heavy clip, adding pay-as-you-go streaming service Vudu to its stable of Hulu Plus and NHL GameCenter Live. [More]
Netfix Has No Plans To Put Ads In Streaming Videos
By November 9, 2010
TV shows now represent half of what Netflix customers are streaming to their computers, gaming consoles and other devices. It has to be tempting for the company to look at those numbers and think about the cash it could make from slipping a few 15-second ads in during the already existing fade-outs. But, says a Netflix exec, that’s not what the company is all about. [More]
Report: Netflix Accounts For Up To 20% Of Downstream Bandwidth In U.S.
By October 21, 2010
If you needed anymore convincing that streaming video is now a big deal for Netflix, a new study says that, during certain parts of the day, streams from Netflix account for around 1/5 of the downstream traffic in the U.S. [More]
Netflix On Wii Now Disc-Free
By October 18, 2010
Finally, the tyranny of the Netflix disc is no longer! As of today, Wii owners who had been using the family friendly gaming console to access Netflix’s streaming video selection will no longer need to take out their Wii Sports or Lego Indiana Jones disc in order to watch a movie. [More]
Netflix Bringing Surround Sound To PS3 Users Starting Oct. 18
By October 14, 2010
We’ve previously reported that PlayStation 3 users will soon no longer need a disc to stream Netflix movies through the device. Now comes news that there will be an added perk when the revamped Netflix streaming app debuts on Oct. 18 — Dolby surround sound. [More]
