It hasn’t been that long since the idea of being able to get all of your TV through the internet was still some far-off future. But by now, we get streaming TV news from the oldest of old-school companies, AT&T, and the new giants, like Facebook, all at once. So here’s what’s shaking in the world of streaming TV this week. [More]
streaming tv
Today In Streaming TV: PlayStation Vue Comes To Cable, Facebook TV Coming Soon, DirecTV Now Grows
By 7.26.17
Charter Customers Surprised To See ‘Broadcast TV Fee’ For Streaming Service
By 7.12.17
Earlier this year, Charter subscribers in Massachusetts began noticing a significant increase in their cable bill attributed to a new “Broadcast TV surcharge.” Now it appears these pesky and costly fees have migrated to the company’s new streaming service. [More]
Today In Streaming TV: Charter Tests Skinny Bundle, CenturyLink Launches $45 Package
By 6.30.17
The trend continues: As consumers increasingly cut the cord and back away from traditional pay-TV, they still want to watch content. And rather than let all the money go to Hulu, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube, cable and satellite companies are cautiously wading into the all-online world. This week, CenturyLink and possibly Charter are joining the fray. [More]
Discovery CEO: Cable TV Skinny Bundles Really Just “Overstuffed Turkeys”
By 5.9.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
A few years ago, the pay-TV industry started trying to placate customers fed up with paying for channels they don’t watch by introducing so-called “skinny bundles” — fewer channels for less money. But the CEO of one cable TV colossus says these TV packages are still too bloated. [More]
Twitch Might Produce Interactive Streaming TV Programs
By 5.5.17
The appeal of Twitch is being able to watch someone play a game while simultaneously chatting with people about what you’re seeing. How could the site expand that concept? It’s thinking about producing TV-style programs that would change based on feedback from the audience. [More]
Cable Nets May Sell $20 Streaming Bundle; Hulu To Charge $40 For Live TV
By 4.14.17
The TV rumor mill is whirring with news that some of the biggest cable networks may follow Hulu’s lead, joining together to sell streaming content directly to viewers. And speaking of Hulu, we’re finally getting some vague idea of what its entry into live-TV streaming will cost. [More]
Apple May Offer Premium HBO/Showtime/Starz TV Bundle
By 4.3.17
One reason some TV fans are tempted to cut the cord? Having to pay for a whole slew of basic channels when all you really want to watch is a few. Those are the people Apple is after with a reported plan to sell HBO, Showtime, and Starz as a bundle. [More]
Report: Verizon Planning To Jump Into The Streaming-TV Fray While Go90 Flails
By 3.31.17
It’s been two years since Verizon launched its Go90 streaming video service, and it often feels like the only people who talk about it are tech journalists who occasionally mention that it’s not doing well. Yet Verizon apparently believes that the work it put into Go90 can soon be used to build the latest entry into the streaming TV market. [More]
Comcast May Launch Streaming Service For Cord-Cutters
By 3.28.17
Even Comcast, the biggest cable company in the country, is starting to acknowledge a key reality: It’s 2017, and consumers, especially younger adults, don’t want to pay for cable television anymore. To that end, the rumor mill now says, Comcast is going to join the competition and launch a $15 streaming service — but you’ll have to have their internet service, first. [More]
AT&T: It’s Fine For Us To Buy Time Warner Because We’re Too Small To Hurt Competition
By 2.22.17
AT&T’s plan to buy Time Warner — the parent company of several cable networks, not the cable company that Charter snapped up last year — was greeted with a surprising amount of skepticism right from the start. Even though AT&T is sidestepping a lot of regulatory scrutiny by not seeking FCC approval of the merger, lawmakers have continued to ask why this merger would benefit anyone other than the shareholders of these companies. AT&T’s response: Competition or prices won’t be affected because we’re such a small-time player in the pay-TV business, and Time Warner’s viewership numbers are low. [More]
AT&T To Start Using DirecTV Now To Test 5G Tech
By 1.4.17
The future is wireless. At least, so all the wireless companies say. Sure, running actual cables to houses and apartment buildings brought broadband this far, but the always-on, always-streaming future is just going to get more and more mobile. And so the current era of 4G LTE wireless connections will eventually give way to 5G, which promises to be faster, better, and stronger in every way. But before you can use 5G tech, first you have to make it, you know, work. [More]
Dish’s New AirTV Device Combines Streaming 4K Video With Over-The-Air TV
By 1.3.17
Remember how Dish kind-of, sort-of, possibly-accidentally quietly announced it had new streaming hardware on the way? Well, that device — the AirTV player — is today finally a real thing, with a real price tag, that you can buy if you want. [More]
If Cord-Cutters All Cut Cable, Where Do The Networks Go?
By 12.29.16
The so-called “golden age of TV” may only be just now dawning for viewers, completely inundated with high-quality shows on every screen we own, but it’s more of a turbulent era for the companies that make our shows. With “cable TV” still morphing into “on-demand content anywhere,” programmers and distribution companies are struggling to adapt — and the smallest content companies may be the ones most likely to collapse or sell out as cord-cutters continue changing their habits. [More]
Dish’s New Device Merges Streaming Services With Over-The-Air TV
By 12.21.16 — Updated: 12.30.16
Millions of us have crossed the threshold where TV just comes from the internet now, and millions more are likely to follow in coming years. So it’s not really surprising that a traditional pay-TV company would be doubling down on selling access to its internet-delivered content… and its internet-connected delivery device. [More]
T-Mobile Tries To Get Under AT&T’s Skin By Offering 12 Months Of DirecTV Now For Free
By 12.15.16
AT&T wireless customers can stream the company’s new DirecTV Now service without having the data go against their monthly limit. The company hopes it will give existing subscribers a reason to stick with AT&T and convince some others to switch providers to AT&T. However, T-Mobile is hoping to use DirecTV Now against AT&T, by offering to pay for a full year of the streaming service for AT&T defectors. [More]
Even Facebook Apparently Wants To Be Netflix Now
By 12.14.16
When you want to watch an original comedy or drama series, you may cue up Netflix, Amazon, or even (gasp!) broadcast or cable networks. When you want to watch a livestream of some bored news editors trying to make a watermelon explode, or a press conference, or someone’s dog being silly, you might turn to Facebook Live video. But now it seems Facebook is jumping on the bandwagon everyone else is these days, and wants a chance to get scripted series and sports in front of your face too. [More]
Is TV Sports Getting So Expensive That Customers Are Finally Cutting The Cord?
By 12.5.16
At this point, it’s a hoary old saw that sports networks and broadcasts of live sporting events are one of the main reasons your pay-TV bills continue to rise. We all kind of “know” that sports are expensive, and that the costs come through to everyone else… but as millions of dollars in charges and fees become billions, are consumers and viewers going to stick around? [More]
ESPN, ABC, Fox News, Fox Sports All Joining Hulu’s Eventual Live Streaming Service
By 11.2.16
Once upon a time (two whole years ago!) the idea of successfully getting an internet-based cable alternative up, running, and profitable seemed, perhaps, like a pipe dream. These days, even though we don’t know if the ventures are exactly profitable, the online competition to get your monthly TV dollars is fierce. And now Hulu is latest player to grab some big headliners for itsplan to start zapping linear TV channels to your online eyeballs. [More]
