Hulu, which recently added live TV service in multiple markets, has taken another step closer to offering a viable cable replacement for cord-cutters. Today — and just in time for the new season of Game of Thrones — the streaming service announced users can subscribe to HBO and Cinemax directly through Hulu, but not yet on every device. [More]
year of the cord cutter
Why Does Hulu Drive More Cord-Cutting Than Netflix Or Amazon Prime?
By 6.23.17
When people think of subscription streaming video services, Hulu is usually part of the discussion but is often treated as secondary to Netflix or Amazon Prime. Yet, despite this third-place image of Hulu, it may be the streaming service that is most likely to contribute to people cutting the cord with their cable provider. [More]
Streaming Subscription Audience Has Surpassed Pay-TV Subscribers In U.S., Claims Survey
By 3.8.17
It’s been about two years since America’s major cable companies started seeing their internet service customers outnumber their pay-TV subscribers, and now a new survey claims that streaming video subscriptions in the U.S. have overtaken cable and satellite subscriptions. [More]
YouTube Goes Up Against Cable Companies With $35 Live TV Streaming Service
By 2.28.17
Back in October, Google began shaping up its YouTube-based pay-TV service with the hope of launching the option early this year. Now, just as February comes to an end, the company has officially launched YouTube TV. [More]
AT&T CEO: DirecTV Now Streaming Service Will Cost $35/Month, Launch Next Month
By 10.25.16
We’ve been waiting nearly eight full months for AT&T to announce details on its “DirecTV Now” standalone streaming platform, and today the company’s CEO has finally revealed some of the most important information. [More]
Google Starts Shaping Up “Unplugged,” Its YouTube-Based Pay-TV Service
By 10.19.16
People looking to cut the cable TV cord will be getting more options in the months to come, with AT&T still planning to launch its DirecTV Now streaming service by year’s end, and news that Google is signing up broadcasters for the YouTube-based live-TV offering it hopes to launch in early 2017. [More]
PlayStation Vue Adding HBO & Cinemax For $15/Month… Each
By 9.15.16
Since its launch, Sony’s PlayStation Vue live-TV streaming service has provided cord-cutters the closest thing to a replacement for cable. One thing Vue has lacked is premium services, with Showtime currently the marquee add-on offering. Now both HBO and Cinemax are coming to Vue, but not cheaply. [More]
TV Networks Giving You More On-Demand Options To Combat Netflix, Cord-Cutting
By 8.22.16
Broadcast TV networks are freely available over the air, so you might think that they wouldn’t care too much about the growing number of people ditching cable in favor of streaming services. After all, viewers can still get the network shows and local news for the price of a decent antenna. Then you realize that networks are raking in billions of dollars each year from pay-TV providers and you see they have an incentive to try to keep you from cutting the cord. [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]
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]
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]
YES Network Tells Yankee Fans To “Drop Comcast”
By 3.9.16
A spat between the nation’s largest cable company and Major League Baseball’s most storied franchise is getting ugly, with the New York Yankees’ YES Network launching a campaign urging fans to “Drop Comcast.” [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]
Apple Reportedly Shelving Live-TV Streaming Service For Now
By 12.9.15
The last we heard – just four months ago – Apple planned to offer a live-TV streaming service in 2016. But apparently a lot can change in that amount of time, as a new report suggests the company has scrapped the venture — at least for now. [More]
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]
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]
Charter Wants To Follow FiOS Into Offering “Skinny Bundles” For Cable Customers
By 8.4.15
Last spring, Verizon FiOS rejiggered its pay-TV slate into so-called “skinny bundles,” where customers pay for a small core base of channels and then add on smaller, niche-targeted bundles of channels as they please. The change resulted in a very public spat Disney, but the folks at Charter think it’s a good enough idea to consider. [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]
