Streaming video platforms like Vimeo and YouTube host many more user-uploaded clips than could possibly ever be viewed and vetted for potential piracy by actual human beings, and federal law generally shields websites from liability of piracy they aren’t aware of. Yet, do these companies lose that protection if some employees have looked at content that was posted in violation of copyright? [More]
streaming video
What Happened? Amazon Removes Half Of The Streaming Video I Bought
By 6.8.16
By now, most of us are aware that videos come and go from Amazon’s streaming offerings; that a movie available on Prime this month may be gone the next. There are even caveats in the Amazon terms of service that videos you purchase from Amazon may vanish from your online library — and there’s nothing you can do about it. What you don’t expect is for half of a video you buy to suddenly disappear without explanation. [More]
Privacy Activists Set Up Giant Mobile Billboard Across From Netflix HQ To Protest VPN Blocking
By 5.26.16
From a business standpoint, it makes sense for Netflix to block VPNs — virtual private networks — to cut down on users accessing its content in foreign countries. But privacy activists who just want to use VPNs to keep their internet connections, well, private, aren’t too pleased with Netflix’s recent blocking campaign. [More]
Hulu’s Live-TV Streaming Service Would Compete With Co-Owner Comcast
By 5.2.16
The Hulu streaming video service is co-owned by Disney (ABC), Fox, and Comcast (NBC), and — not surprisingly — it has a record of playing nice with its broadcast TV overlords. But a possible pivot into the live-TV streaming market would put Hulu in competition with Comcast. [More]
Sling TV: Data Caps Are Cable Industry Tool To “Sabotage” Streaming Video
By 4.22.16
Since Comcast began expanding its years-long “test” of data caps and overage fees, complaints to the FCC about these new limits have skyrocketed. And some streaming video companies say that data caps are causing customers to either limit their use or drop these services rather than risk paying a penalty for going over their monthly allotment. [More]
Comedy Central, MTV, Nick Jr. Coming To Sling TV Streaming Service
By 4.21.16
This morning, Dish Network and Viacom announced a contract multi-year renewal that keeps Viacom channels like Comedy Central, MTV, BET, and Nickelodeon on the satellite service, and will also add a number of Viacom-owned channels to Dish’s Sling TV streaming service. [More]
Netflix Mulling The Idea Of Offering An Offline Viewing Option
By 4.19.16
With Amazon launching new month-to-month Prime membership options, which include access to its streaming video and music libraries, and upcoming price hikes for its own streaming service, Netflix seems to be feeling the heat of competition burning just a little bit hotter. [More]
Amazon Launching Standalone Video Service For $9; Allowing Monthly Prime Access For $11
By 4.17.16
While Netflix and Amazon Prime have been seen as the two main competitors in the subscription streaming market, it’s been difficult to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the two because Amazon has long charged a yearly fee for Prime, and even then the Amazon subscription also includes other benefits like discounted shipping. But now Amazon appears to be taking dead-aim at Netflix with a monthly, streaming-only version of its video service that is less-expensive than the competition. The e-tailer is also looking to expand its Prime membership my making it available on a month-to-month basis. [More]
Sling TV Finally Adding Live Network TV, Multi-Stream Support. Is It Worth It?
By 4.13.16
Since Dish’s Sling TV streaming service launched in 2015, there were two regularly repeated gripes from cord-cutters: That Sling didn’t provide online access to any of the major broadcast networks and that you were forced to only using Sling on a single device at any given time. Sling is now taking steps to address both of these issues, but will they be enough to offer a true cable replacement? [More]
RIAA Head: We’ll Never Have A Fair Deal With YouTube Under Current Copyright Law
By 4.11.16
Streaming video is the best medium for the delivery of music videos, but it’s also a great medium for posting pirated music videos and entire albums. That’s why the Recording Industry Association of America, record labels’ trade group, wants more money from YouTube for music videos that users watch. The problem, the group’s head explains, is that rampant piracy makes it impossible to negotiate with YouTube’s owner, Google. [More]
Confirmed: Netflix Price Hikes Coming Next Month For 17 Million U.S. Customers
By 4.8.16
If you’ve got a grandfathered Netflix Standard plan that has you paying just $7.99 per month for HD streaming, here’s your reminder that you’ll either be paying $9.99 come May for the same quality and the ability to watch content on two screens at a time, or will be stuck in standard definition on only one screen. You’re not alone — an estimated 17 million customers in the U.S. will be affected by the change, and many of them aren’t aware of it. [More]
The Cable Industry Is Either Incredibly Stupid, Or Thinks You Are Really Gullible
By 3.23.16
The Comcast-connected faux grassroots group created to protect the cable industry’s $20 billion annual revenue stream of set-top box rental fees is now claiming that it caught FCC Chair Tom Wheeler in a real “gotcha” moment, proving that there is indeed no need for competition on these devices. But either this group has no idea what it’s talking about, or it thinks the American consumer is incredibly gullible. [More]
YouTube Stops Complaining About T-Mobile’s Binge On, Joins Program
By 3.17.16
Remember all those years ago, when YouTube publicly railed against T-Mobile’s Binge On program, saying the wireless company may have violated FCC rules by throttling all video traffic? And then it led to a war of words, culminating in the T-Mobile CEO cursing out his critics on Twitter and accusing the Electronic Frontier Foundation of taking money from his competition? That was only a matter of weeks ago, but it’s all water under the bridge because YouTube has agreed to be part of Binge On after T-Mo made changes to give content companies more control over streaming quality. [More]
HBO, CNN Concerned Time Warner Cable/Charter Merger Will Harm Streaming
By 3.7.16
The proposed merger of Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House would create the second-largest cable company behind Comcast, at a time when it’s possible to access most of the content that was once exclusive to cable TV through streaming services. Yet the company that brings you HBO and CNN is concerned that a larger, stronger Charter might work to hold back progress in streaming video, the main competition for its cable service. Time Warner filed its concerns with the Federal Communications Commission. [More]
No Satellite Needed: DirecTV To Offer Online-Only Pay-TV Service
By 3.1.16
More than a year after competitor Dish launched its Sling TV live streaming service, DirecTV is following suit with the announcement of a new product called DirecTV Now. [More]
Vevo Planning Ad-Free Subscription Streaming Video Service
By 2.18.16
The latest streaming video brand to jump on the subscription bandwagon is Vevo, which announced that it’s working on a paid, ad-free music video service that it could debut as early as next year. [More]
Time Warner Wants Hulu To Stop Airing Current Seasons Of TV Shows
By 2.1.16
One of the things that has allowed Hulu to compete in the streaming video subscription market is the fact that it offers users the ability to watch some currently airing shows shortly after they’ve premiered on TV. But a new report claims that if content powerhouse Time Warner Inc. has its say, even Hulu subscribers may have to wait a long time before seeing recently aired shows. [More]
T-Mobile Adds Amazon Video To Binge On, Claims Users Are Streaming Twice As Much
By 1.28.16
Three months after launching its Binge On streaming streaming video program, which doesn’t count content from certain partners against a customers’ monthly data allotment, T-Mobile has made new deals with Amazon and others to include their content. Additionally, the company claims that Binge On has doubled the amount of video its customers are watching. [More]
