Today's Top Stories Boxee has apparently changed its marketing focus again, killing its Boxee TV brand and renaming it Boxee Cloud DVR. On top of that, Boxee added a free service tier and seems to have backed off some of the more strident cord-cutting advocacy that had driven the product's previous marketing. The product still combines live TV and cloud DVR functionality for apps like Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), a GigaOM story said, but the new Boxee Cloud DVR "comes with a limited free service tier." Boxee also seems to be softening its stance on over-the-top devices and cord cutting, which was part of an initial Boxee TV pitch last fall. "On its newly-launched website, Boxee instead compares the device to TiVos and cable DVRs, touting unlimited storage and not free broadcast content as the key differentiator," wrote Janko Roettgers, noting that this probably has a lot to do with Boxee's need for content from cable companies such as Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA). The new device name more accurately reflects the device's functionality as a DVR rather than a TV device, Boxee Communications VP of communications Andrew Kippen told the publication. It will now offer unlimited storage for TV recordings in the cloud, unlimited playback and the ability to view recordings on connected devices for $10 a month. The free service includes five hours of DVR playback a month. There is still a free test period because the service is in beta, the story continued. While not exactly a concession to pay TV providers, Boxee's new approach is certainly less combative than the one taken by Aereo, which is literally at war in the courts with broadcasters and content owners--many of whom are connected to cable companies. For more:
- GigaOM had this story Related articles:
Aereo wins another round against broadcasters
Wal-Mart woos cable cord cutters with $99 Boxee TV
'Pay TV refugees' seen populating 13% of U.S. broadband households Read more about: Boxee TV, Boxee DVR
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A German firm, Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), claims it can squeeze data throughput rates of up to 3 Gbps from "off the shelf LED room lights," offering up a new medium for delivering broadband in places where radio transmissions can be problematic. In a press release, HHI pointed to "[d]evelopment of novel components for data transmission over LEDs" as the reason why "significantly higher bandwidth can now be used in real-time." The company said it would present the new components starting today at Fiber Optics Expo (FOE) 2013. While still in the laboratory phase, the new technology shows promise in the emerging field of using light to transmit data. "Data rates of up to 800 Mbps were reached by this optical WLAN under laboratory conditions, while a complete real-time system exhibited at trade fairs reached data throughput of 500 Mbps," the company's press release said. And that's just the start. Newly patented components "have now achieved a transmission rate in laboratory experiments of over 1 Gbps per single light frequency" which means off-the-shelf LEDs, which use three light frequencies, can achieve 3 Gbps, the company said. The company, which develops mobile and fixed communications networks and multimedia systems, suggested the new LED components will have use in car-to-X communication as well as hospital operating theaters "where safety is at a premium," trade shows and factory halls where radio communications are problematic at best. All together, the new development "represents a major step forward towards optical high-speed WLAN," the company concluded. For more:
- HHI issued this press release Related articles:
FCC charges ahead with 5 GHz Wi-Fi spectrum plan
Growing WLAN demand sets stage for 802.11ac shipments Read more about: data transmission over LEDs, ceiling lamp
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Despite the best efforts of broadcasters and content providers, TV viewers with second-screen capabilities are not especially keen on using the devices to interact directly with apps that accompany TV programs they're watching, the latest research from The NPD Group indicates. "Viewers are interested in searching to find further information about TV shows they are watching, but they are not using games and other immersive applications created as a component of the programming," Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis at NPD, said in a press release. "This situation creates a potential diversion from advertising, and it will take a combined effort from content owners, advertisers, broadcasters, and others to present an aligned second-screen experience that will appeal to viewers." The research confirmed that devices capable of receiving second-screen apps are popular, noting that 88 percent of U.S. households own at least one device and 87 percent of U.S. "entertainment consumers" said they use at least one second-screen device while watching television. The most popular devices are PCs (60 percent), smartphones (55 percent) and tablets (49 percent). The problem--at least for content providers and advertisers who are counting on a more immersive second-screen application--is that the second screen use is somewhat limited. Viewers apparently interact directly with IMDb, Wikipedia and social networks rather than going through apps like Viggle and zeebox that have been designed specifically for the second-screen experience. While apps like play-along games, check-in rewards and live voting are "highly effective for the minority of second-screen viewers," they "do not resound with most," the researchers said. There is some hope for advertisers, however. Shopping for a product seen in a TV commercial is attractive to viewers in the demographic aged 35 to 49, the research said. "Converting viewers into impulse shoppers has big potential impact for advertisers, who can leverage second screens to further connect with consumers watching TV," Crupnick concluded. For more:
- The NPD Group issued this press release Related articles:
Fox: Second-screen apps are 'here to stay'
Parks: Most Americans want YouTube in pay TV package Read more about: npd, Zeebox
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Peter Chernin, who, as president of News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) was on hand at the birth of Hulu in 2007, now wants to become more involved in the juvenile service and is willing to put up $500 million to do so. According to a Reuters story, Chernin is the most public of perhaps multiple buyers who would like to take control of the company from active partners Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and News Corp. and inactive partner--thanks to regulatory restrictions--Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), via its NBCUniversal unit. Bidding (if Hulu is actually for sale) is private, the story said. Chernin certainly has a history with Hulu. Before leaving News Corp. in 2009 to form The Chernin Group, a media holding company with holdings across film and TV production and stakes in high tech companies like Pandora Media, he was an active participant in the formation of the service that offers both free and subscription access to new and old television shows online. Another investor, Providence Equity Partners, sold its 10 percent stake in Hulu last November for $200 million. Hulu reportedly has 3 million subscribers and generates about $700 million in revenue per year. Its active owners have been said to be pondering a sale while also looking at different business models under which it could be run, but nothing is official. It's not a new tactic; the service was offered for sale in 2011 but those bids were rejected. Chernin spokesman Charles Sipkins, Hulu spokeswoman Elisa Schreiber and News Corp. spokesman Dan Berger had no comment for Reuters. For more:
- Reuters carried this story Related articles:
Hulu owners back away from selling service
Disney, News Corp. reportedly meet to discuss possible sale of Hulu
Hulu still a baby, but posting grown-up stats Read more about: Chernin, Hulu
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The increasing use of connected devices is skewing the way people access content, when they access that content and, in the end, what content they access, according to a special edition Global Video Index report issued by Ooyala. Among the findings of the report, described by the researchers as a "snapshot, taken in March 2013," is that viewers tune into live video 2.5 times longer than VOD on broadcast and entertainment networks. Prime online viewing hours are also outside the typical primetime TV framework, with online broadcasts drawing the most attention at noon on weekdays and 9 p.m. on weekends and tablet viewing spiking on weekends, when viewers "spend twice as much time watching video from broadcasters online," an Ooyala press release stated. "For broadcasters that rely on video to drive their business, insights--like where people are watching, for how long, on what device--drive their programming and monetization strategies," Ooyala CEO Jay Fulcher said in the press release. "If their strategy is off they lose money, or if they're lucky, just leave money on the table. Simply put, data-driven insights yield better content, better programming and will help companies make more money." If the March snapshot is correct, broadcasters placing content online should also note that videos longer than 10 minutes in length accounted for more than 75 percent of time watching mobile video and "[n]early half of all tablet video consumption was with video at least 30 minutes in length," the press release summarized. For more:
- Ooyala issued this press release Related articles:
Report says tablet, mobile video viewing doubled in 2012; youth prefer laptops to TV
Ooyala: Tablet owners really into watching video Read more about: online viewing, Vod
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