Even though many of us have hundreds of channels to choose from on cable or satellite, we’re choosing to watch less live TV. But it’s not just because we’ve all decided to go outside and take up steeplechase; it has a little something to do with the availability of subscription streaming services. [More]
streaming video
The HBO Now Announcement Shows Why Net Neutrality Is So Important
By 3.9.15
This afternoon, HBO announced the details of its HBO Now streaming service that will finally allow consumers without cable TV to access the premium pay-TV network without having to be burdened with a cable bill for channels they don’t watch. But the fact that HBO has opted to go with Apple as its launch partner and not Comcast or any of the major pay-TV carriers is a reminder of just how important net neutrality is. [More]
HBO Registers URL For “HBO Now” Website
By 3.5.15
Yesterday, we got the first meaty (but currently unconfirmed) details about HBO’s upcoming standalone streaming service. And new information seems to indicate that the name of the service may indeed be HBO Now. [More]
HBO Streaming Service Reportedly Dubbed ‘HBO Now,’ Aiming For Launch Before Game Of Thrones Premiere
By 3.4.15
One of the most anticipated launches of 2015 is the debut of HBO’s standalone streaming service. The name, price, timeline and availability are still unconfirmed but a new report claims to have uncovered many of these details. [More]
Sling Users Get More Streaming TV Today With Addition Of AMC, IFC
By 3.4.15
One of the most common knocks against Dish’s Sling TV streaming service is that it just doesn’t offer you enough channels for the $20/month subscription, but today Sling will get more attractive to some as AMC and IFC are added to the base package of channels at no additional cost, while users also have the option of a $5 premium bundle from Epix. [More]
NBC Cooking Up Streaming Service For Its Comedic Offerings
By 3.3.15
Much like Disney’s recent revelation that it now owns a bunch of Star Wars and Marvel stuff might justify standalone streaming services, NBC has reportedly awoken to the notion that it might be able to make some money selling access to its comedy library. [More]
Dish: Comcast Could Still Use Its Size To Block Streaming Content
By 3.3.15
The FCC’s recently approved net neutrality rules will prohibit all Internet service providers from blocking any legal content from being sent or received by their users. But when an ISP also controls the nation’s largest pay-TV audience, perhaps it could use that leverage to prevent certain content from ever going online in the first place. [More]
TiVo Picks At The Scraps Of Aereo’s Remains
By 2.27.15
It’s been about eight months since a divided U.S. Supreme Court thrust a dagger through the gut of streaming video startup Aereo, and three months since the company filed for bankruptcy protection. And any hope that the company might be sold or resurrected has vanished with news that its name and patents have been sold off like parts of an old used car. [More]
Dish Says Sony’s Streaming Service Will Be Real Substitute For Cable
By 2.24.15
Just a few weeks ago, Dish launched its Sling TV streaming service which some hailed as a cord-cutter’s dream, but which is honestly more targeted at people who want only the most basic cable TV access without having to deal with cable companies. Dish’s founder (and soon-to-return CEO) recognizes Sling’s limits and says that Sony’s forthcoming streaming service is likely to be the real marketplace disruptor. [More]
NBC Now Streaming Live Via App, But Only In Certain Markets
By 2.19.15
Years after other ABC opened up its live network feed to online streaming, NBC is finally allowing people to access its shows live online via the network’s Android and iOS app — but only in certain markets and with the now-common requirement of having a pay-TV subscription. [More]
Free Amazon, Roku Streaming Devices If You Prepay For 3 Months Of Sling TV
By 2.12.15
While some people have touted the recently launched Sling TV service as an option for cord-cutters, it’s really better-targeted to consumers who don’t have cable but want a few more live-TV viewing options. That’s why the service is now pushing deals that will allow some Sling subscribers to get free or deeply discounted streaming devices. [More]
HBO Says Streaming Service Will Be Priced As “Premium Product”
By 2.11.15
HBO is still being stingy with the details on its upcoming standalone streaming service, but this morning the network’s CEO did give some vague idea of what the pricing would be. [More]
Target Shuts Down Their Video Streaming Service That Apparently Exists
By 2.10.15
Target Ticket began in the fall of 2013. It was meant to compete with streaming services like Amazon, Redbox streaming, Vudu, and Flixster. Now Target Ticket is shutting down. Members need not worry that they’ll lose the content they’ve bought or earned: films that users have purchased access to will transfer over to another competing service, CinemaNow. [More]
Amazon Reportedly Dumping ‘Doctor Who’ & Other BBC Shows From Prime Instant Video On Feb. 15
By 2.2.15
Just a few weeks after Netflix subscribers were forced to deal with the potential reality of losing access to some of their favorite BBC shows (a move that Netflix reversed later, sparing titles like Doctor Who and Luther, after all that worry), Amazon Prime customers will be seeing certain titles from across the pond disappear starting Feb. 15. [More]
Will People Pay Vessel $3/Month For More Professional YouTube Videos?
By 1.21.15
YouTube’s playlists are full of amateur and mostly amateurish video clips, which is fine because almost everything on YouTube is free. But there are also plenty of high-quality content producers posting videos on YouTube, some of whom are being paid handsomely for it. While such clips may add an air of professionalism to YouTube, will consumers be willing to pay $2.99/month for a service that curates the best of the web? [More]
Starz Also Looking At Online-Only Streaming Service
By 10.30.14
In the wake of HBO’s still-vague announcement that it will soon be launching a streaming video service that doesn’t require a pay-TV subscription, Starz — the nudity and violence-loving competitor to HBO — says it is also looking into the possibility. [More]
Netflix-Verizon Connection Agreement Finally Pays Off: FiOS Users Seeing Fastest Streaming Speeds
By 10.14.14
Netflix and Verizon have done a lot of very public verbal poo-flinging at each other this year over the abysmal connection speeds FiOS customers have had when trying to stream video from Netflix. Last mongh, FiOS customers finally started to see some relief (and some smoothly playing TV). It looks like the paid interconnection agreement between the two, though, has finally led to some cooperation and is bearing fruit, as Verizon FiOS customers are now seeing faster average Netflix streaming speeds than from any other large ISP in the country. [More]
Amazon (Not Google!) Acquires Video Game Streaming Company Twitch For $970 Million
By 8.25.14
Rumors of video game live-streaming service Twitch.tv being acquired by Google for $1 billion have been slightly exaggerated. It turns out the price of the biggest gaming live-streaming site on the internet is only $970 million, about $30 million shy of that billion-with-a-B mark. But the rumor was wrong in one huge way: it’s Amazon, not Google, spending the scratch on a streaming future. [More]
