An Ignoble Experiment

The long-anticipated marriage between Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Facebook has been finalized. Starting today, U.S. subscribers who opt in will be able to see each others' digital movie libraries and interact with one other, including commenting on films and television shows.

According to Bloomberg, new Netflix software will update features that have been available to non-U.S. customers for the past two years and will include two new rows on the Netflix home page that show friends' activities, with the option to post movies or TV shows to Facebook while commenting on them.

International users will also get the update if they want it. Netflix spokesman Joris Evers pointed out that the process is voluntary and that 15 to 20 percent of Netflix customers in Canada, Latin America and the U.K. declined to show what they're watching or share it.

Netflix, of course, is counting on most people being sociable and creating buzz around programs that encourages more online viewing. The company's chairman, Reed Hastings, had lobbied Congress to change the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, which had barred movie rental companies from sharing people's rental history--a result of controversy after a newspaper published failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video preferences. That happened late last year, contributing to the change happening today.

"Social is going to be everything," Hastings said during a January interview recalled by Bloomberg. "Our kids are way more social than us; their kids will be way more social than them. You tell your friends about what you watch and they'll watch much more of what we offer."

For more:
- Bloomberg carried this story

Commentary: For providers, how far does consumers' data privacy extend?

Read more about: online privacy, social media
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2. U.S. has more than 5 million 'zero-TV' households, says Nielsen

By Jim Barthold

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There are more than 5 million zero-TV households in which consumers don't subscribe to a pay TV service and don't watch over-the-air television, Nielsen's Fourth Quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report said, compared to just over 2 million Americans who took this route in 2007.

Of those household inhabitants, 44 percent are under the age of 35, and all present a new challenge for Nielsen as it tracks eyeballs and screens. These households continue to consume video, but, "a growing amount… are using other devices" than the TV, the summary continued.

Nielsen said this group comprises less than 5 percent of U.S. households that "don't fit Nielsen's traditional definition of a TV home," but added, "the television itself isn't obsolete," noting that the device is still used to "watch DVDs, play games or surf the Net."

But the TV also remains the primary vehicle for watching television and the primary device that Nielsen tracks to provide ratings information. The company, however, has had to expand its range to other devices as households moved to non-traditional TV devices and services.

"The average American spends more than 41 hours each week--nearly five-and-a-half hours daily--engaging with content across all screens," Nielsen's summary said.

Of the five percent of zero-TV homes, 67 percent get their content from other devices including computers (37 percent), via the Internet (16 percent), via smartphones (8 percent) and via tablets (6 percent), the report found.

Since 2008, consumer viewing habits have shifted away from watching live TV and DVDs towards more serious DVR playback, the Nielsen statistics showed. In the fourth quarter of 2008, consumers spent 4:44 minutes a day watching live TV, 14 minutes watching DVR playback, nine minutes playing games and 16 minutes with DVD playback. In fourth quarter 2012, consumers spent 4:39 minutes watching live TV, 25 minutes in DVR playback mode, 13 minutes playing games and 11 minutes with DVD playback.

For more:
- Nielsen offered this report summary

3. Publishing giant Conde Nast developing online video site

By Jim Barthold

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Publishing giant Conde Nast has segued from magazines to online video with the launch of a digital video network that it said will showcase original video series based on content from its Glamour and GQ magazine titles.

The content, the publication said, will be distributed across the Web, IPTV, smartphones and tablets and will have sponsorship from Procter & Gamble, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Mondelez International.

"With the launch of our digital network, featuring programming inspired by the exceptional Conde Nast brands, we are creating more ways for our unparalleled audience of influencers and trendsetters to experience their favorite content,," Dawn Ostroff, president of Conde Nast Entertainment, said in a story reported by Deadline.

The move will help Conde Nast follow its audience, Ostroff added: "Consumers will now be able to view and share authentic Conde Nast video series across all platforms, in easily-accessible ways."

P&G, meanwhile, sees its sponsorship as an opportunity to "reach people in an innovative way," said Julie Eddleman, the company's marketing director of U.S. Brand Operations. "We are continually exploring new approaches to engage consumers where and when they are most receptive"

The Conde Nast portfolio of products further delivers a solid platform for video content, added Robin Steinberg, executive vice president of Director Publishing Investment and Activation at MediaVest.

"When great story-tellers enter the digital video space it creates new opportunities for our clients to tell their own very powerful stories that effectively engage consumers," she said. "They understand that this type of human connection and experience can drive sales."

There will be multiple episodes of each series at launch time, with future episodes coming on a weekly basis, Conde Nast said. The episodes will be "housed in a new, custom embeddable video player," the Deadline story noted.

For more:
- Deadline carried this story

4. Rovi, Hulu bury the hatchet

By Jim Barthold

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Rovi Corp. (Nasdaq: ROVI) and Hulu have apparently buried the hatchet, so to speak, by resolving their ongoing litigation and reaching a new licensing agreement.

None of the details are being released, Rovi spokeswoman Linda Quach told Bloomberg in a phone interview, declining to comment further on an e-mail statement released by the company. A Hulu representative also didn't immediately respond to a Bloomberg e-mail seeking comment on the settlement.

What can be gleaned is that Rovi sued Hulu in federal court in Wilmington, Del., claiming Hulu had infringed on patents it held covering interactive television functions. Rovi maintained in the suit that Hulu was using its protected technology for electronic programming guides (EPGs).

It has been something of an eventful week for Hulu as the company prepares to say goodbye to CEO Jason Kilar, who is leaving the company at the end of the month. Earlier this week, two of the three online video service's owners, Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA), met to determine how Hulu would proceed after Kilar left. Disney reportedly liked an advertising-based model, while News Corp. favored a subscription scheme. Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBCUniversal unit, the third owner, was not part of the parlay because Comcast is forbidden to get involved due to restrictions placed on the MSO when it acquired NBCUniversal.

For more:
- Bloomberg reported this story

Read more about: news corp., Rovi
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5. Netflix rates Google Fiber high on its broadband speed test

By Jim Barthold

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