Hard of hearing Amazon Prime subscribers already know that all the videos on that subscription service include closed captions, but not every video offered online by Amazon comes with captions. That is going to change after the e-tailer reached a deal with the National Association of the Deaf to expand its captioning efforts to encompass the site’s full catalog. [More]
streaming video
Netflix Adds $1 Per Month To “Standard” Plan For New Subscribers
By 10.8.15
Three months after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said the company wasn’t planning to increase rates in the U.S. anytime soon, the company announced it was doing just that — by $1, at least for one plan. [More]
Roku Releasing 4K Streaming Video Player For $130
By 10.6.15
Weeks after Amazon announced that its new generation of Fire TV boxes will support 4K video, the folks at Roku are also jumping onto the ultra-HD bandwagon with the release of the Roku 4. [More]
Virgin America To Offer Free In-Flight WiFi For Netflix Subscribers
By 9.30.15
Netflix customers who’ve wished they could download content to bring with them on their mobile devices when they fly still won’t be able to do that, but they will be able to stream video on some Virgin America planes by way of a new partnership that gives Netflix subscribers free WiFi. [More]
Walmart’s Streaming Video Service VUDU Discounts All Of This Year’s Emmy-Nominated Shows To $.67
By 9.25.15
For folks who might enjoy, say, Game of Thrones and Veep, but not enough to pay for HBO or HBO Now just for those two shows, or someone who wants to watch House of Cards without getting a Netflix subscription, Walmart’s streaming service VUDU might make sense: it charges per episode for TV shows, instead of requiring an upfront subscription fee for access to its libraries. VUDU is now sweetening the deal on some shows, knocking the per-episode price of all 2015 Emmy nominees and winners down to $0.67. [More]
Verizon Launching Ad-Supported Mobile TV Service For Customers And Non-Customers Alike
By 9.8.15
Another day, another company trying its best to get its hooks into that elusive, sought-after demographic — the millennial: Verizon is throwing its hat into the streaming content ring with a new free mobile TV service available to both customers and non-customers called Go90, aimed at that chunk of the population that doesn’t mind watching video on devices other than a TV. Though no matter your age, you’ll have to sit through ads to get that free content. [More]
Netflix Won’t Offer Downloadable Content Anytime Soon Because Users Just Couldn’t Handle It
By 9.8.15
Any Netflix users who got their hopes up that maybe the streaming service would follow in Amazon’s footsteps and offer downloadable content that can be watched offline on a mobile device, well, your dreams probably won’t be coming true anytime soon: Neil Hunt, Netflix’s Chief Product Officer says it’s unlikely the company will go the route of offline viewing because adding another choice will just make the whole thing too complicated for users. [More]
Comcast To Reportedly Take On YouTube, Facebook With “Watchable” Online Video Platform
By 8.14.15
Comcast didn’t just sink $200 million into Vox Media (and a reportedly similar amount into BuzzFeed) just because it wants to support some websites it likes. The cable/broadcast giant is reportedly looking to launch an online video platform that would include new original content from these sites and other popular sources. [More]
Don’t Expect Apple’s Live-TV Streaming Service Until 2016
By 8.14.15
Sony and Dish have already shown, through their PlayStation Vue and Sling TV services, that it’s possible to sell a cable-TV-ish live-TV streaming service. Apple is expected to launch a service of its own in the coming months, but a new report says the company is having trouble licensing content and has had to delay its live-TV offering until 2016. [More]
This Graph May Explain Why Cable Companies Aren’t Rushing To Get Into Standalone Streaming
By 8.3.15
With pay-TV subscription numbers dropping as people turn to online sources for their entertainment and news, it might seem sensidble that the pay-TV giants would jump into the streaming video business. But with the exception of Dish-owned Sling TV, that hasn’t been the case. That might be because consumers appear to be quite fickle about their use of these standalone services. [More]
Cord Cutters: Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For A Starz Streaming Service
By 7.30.15
Compared to HBO and Showtime, Starz may not be the biggest brand in premium TV, but the network isn’t without its many fans. And last year, Starz execs seemed destined to jump on the bandwagon of offering a standalone streaming service for people who didn’t also want to pay for cable TV packages. But now the network’s CEO is saying he’s in no rush to offer such a product. [More]
Hulu May Finally Offer Ad-Free Subscription Option, But It Won’t Be Cheap
By 7.17.15
After years of hoping that consumers would eventually come around to the idea of paying for streaming video content that is still interrupted by obnoxious, repetitive commercials, the folks at Hulu may finally be willing to give folks the option of paying for an ad-free version of the service. [More]
Netflix CEO Hints At How He Hopes To Get People To Pay More
By 7.16.15
With HBO successfully charging $15/month for a streaming service and the $11/month sticker price for Showtime’s new online offering, why does Netflix continue to charge as little as $8/month without running ads like Hulu does (for the same rate) or without the huge online retail business to back it like Amazon Prime? [More]
HBO Now Finally Launching On Android
By 7.16.15
Now that Apple’s exclusivity period has come and gone, users of Android devices will finally be able to access HBO Now, the standalone streaming service that lets users access HBO content online without having to pay for a basic cable package (or borrow a friend’s HBO Go password). [More]
Comcast’s “Stream” Online TV Service Is Basically Aereo With HBO
By 7.13.15
Comcast is, by far, the biggest cable TV provider in the country, but its pay-TV numbers is sinking while its Internet user base grows. In an effort to sell some sort of TV service to this increasingly large segment of the market, the folks at Kabletown are testing an online-only live-TV service dubbed Stream. [More]
20% Of Young Adults Are Using Someone Else’s Netflix, HBO Go Passwords
By 7.10.15
Are you piggybacking on the Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc, account of a friend or family member? A new report claims that you’re part of the 6% of U.S. households that are costing these companies $500 million in revenue this year. [More]
Showtime’s Standalone Streaming Service Is Now Available For Cord-Cutters To Buy
By 7.7.15
After months of waiting, cord-cutters can now get access to Showtime’s streaming service without having to subscribe to basic cable (or use a friend’s login info). [More]
Lifetime Bets On Cord-Cutters Willing To Pay $3.99/Month For Streaming Library Of Schlocky TV Movies
By 7.2.15
Are you thinking about getting rid of cable but simply can’t because you have to catch the next Lifetime Movie Network schlockfest starring actors from ’80s and ’90s TV shows alongside 20-something Canadian thespians pretending to be American high school students? Then you may be in luck, as Lifetime’s parent company is launching a $3.99 on-demand streaming subscription service just for you. [More]
