Apple TV Gets Its First Network TV App

Mari Silbey —  May 17, 2013 — 2 Comments

CW on Apple TV

Internet-delivered TV is a messy market right now, and into the fray, Apple TV has tossed a new partnership with the CW network. The CW will soon have an app on Apple TV devices that shows TV episodes the day after they air on cable. All content will be ad-supported, and no pay-TV subscription will be required.

Apple TV continues to putter along, gathering users, but not particularly breaking through the clutter of Internet-connected media streamers. The launch of a new CW app is noteworthy, however. It marks the first time Apple has offered content from a network outside of the iTunes store and sites like Netflix and Hulu.

From the CW side, the move is interesting because the network is offering cable content as a stand-alone, ad-supported offering. Even ABC is requiring authentication for streaming content, and those shows are (also) otherwise available for free over the air. The CW app is also available on the Xbox and Windows 8 devices.

Apple TV, meanwhile, may get another boost later this year with access to the HBO Go app. There are rumors that Apple and HBO are negotiating terms, though fans can already access HBO content on the Apple TV by using AirPlay to stream video from an iPad.

In Apple, Media, TV Shows
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ESPN Considers the Whispernet Model

Mari Silbey —  May 15, 2013 — 2 Comments

Watch ESPN devices

There was a big story out last week that a lot of people missed. According to The Wall Street Journal (as reported by electronista), ESPN is weighing the idea of subsidizing users’ wireless data for mobile streaming of ESPN video. That would mean that the sports network would pay for bandwidth used by consumers to watch ESPN content on mobile devices in order to keep them below monthly usage caps.

Let’s reflect back for a moment.

In 2011, I wrote the following:

In the future, I could see Slacker (the Internet radio service) bundling mobile data access with my monthly subscription to give me unlimited music streaming. I get that now, but only through a grandfathered unlimited data plan with Verizon, which I don’t expect to last forever. I wouldn’t want to pay an unlimited “tax” on every application, but if there are only one or two that threaten to put me over my monthly limit, I would seriously consider an application-specific broadband fee.

There are a few applications that present a compelling proposition for bundling delivery fees with the price of the actual service. Whether a content provider subsidizes those costs, or consumers pay them out of pocket, certain applications are so tied to their delivery mechanisms, that the economics grow harder and harder to separate.

Amazon has used the bundling model with Whispernet, the network service that allows users of certain Kindles to download books at will… without paying a separate data fee. Initially Amazon opened the network service up to any kind of consumer Internet activity, but in 2012 the company began capping service so that users can only use it for Amazon and Wikipedia access beyond a certain data threshold.

If ESPN ultimately does look to bundle data service with its content, there will be new net neutrality issues to wade through. However, unlike the situation with Comcast separating out its own IP-delivered video from monthly usage caps, at least in this case ESPN doesn’t own the mobile networks its riding on.

That’s a point in ESPN’s favor.

In Industry, Mobile
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Free TiVo Desktop Discontinued

Dave Zatz —  May 6, 2013 — 13 Comments

tivo-desktop-discontinued

TiVo will be retiring the free version of their TiVo Desktop PC software next month. And I can’t say it’s a bad idea, given years of neglect… and CCI Byte unpleasantries. While imagery alluding to a replacement TiVo Desktop or, perhaps, web portal streaming surfaced earlier this year, nothing has yet materialized. Until it does, TiVo Desktop Plus will live on – with it, the only official path to Windows 8 support. Pricing has dropped from $25 to $16 and, as a refresher, the fees were initially instituted to cover codec licensing required for TiVoToGo video transcoding and playback. However, we continue to recommend the free, open source, cross-platform, kmttg to offload recordings from your DVR for archiving or mobile. Alternately, the TiVo Stream ($130) is still pretty killer (if you happen to be an iOS household). Should you prefer to possess a copy of TiVo Desktop before they pull the plug “forever,” grab it here prior to June 5th.

(Thanks brennok, Barrett, and Rajiv!)

In Software, TiVo
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Netflix Surpasses HBO in U.S. Subscribers

 Posted by Dave Zatz  onMay 6, 2013 In Links
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Wanna Chat With Your DVR?

Dave Zatz —  May 1, 2013 — 11 Comments

directv-voice-search

According to Variety, DirecTV has been working on a Nuance-powered iPhone app update to bring speech recognition to HR24 and newer set-top boxes. My initial reaction was that it’s nothing more than a clever, but not very practical, application of Siri-like skills. Yet, upon reflection, being able to change channel via station name, rather than researching a corresponding number I probably don’t know, seems quite compelling. Natural language interactivity might even come in handy when attempting to determine when a given show airs. However, I don’t imagine voice control would be the most precise or efficient way to schedule and manage DVR recordings and I’m not particularly interested in finding “a Tom Cruise movie this weekend.”

In DVR, Mobile, Remotes, Satellite TV
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