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Editor's Corner: Is Verizon using Redbox Instant and Ellipsis to build a virtual pay TV platform? Also Noted: Cycle30
Spotlight On... Dish Network, Sprint push FCC to implement rules for 600 MHz spectrum auction
Comcast to launch Revolt TV in California; Amazon premieres original series 'Alpha House' and much more... 
Follow @FierceCable on Twitter! News From the Fierce Network:
1. AT&T extends fiber to 450 San Francisco buildings
2. IPTV subscribers climb faster than cable; dark fiber activity picks up
| This week's sponsors are Ateme, Harris Broadcast, Kontron, Ramp, Vubiquity and PacketVideo Corporation. |  | eBook | Making Money from Multiscreen Cable operators and networks are slowly building a platform that could make multiscreen programming and advertising a much bigger business. Learn more today. |
Is Verizon using Redbox Instant and Ellipsis to build a virtual pay TV platform?
As a Verizon (NYSE: VZ) quadruple-play customer, I've gotten used to seeing promotions for the new Redbox Instant streaming video service when I pay my bill online. And while Verizon has also plugged Redbox Instant on its FiOS TV start page, it took the pitch to a new level Thursday morning, when it ran what could be compared to an online home page takeover ad. Before I could watch NBC's "Today" show, Verizon ran a static ad on my TV screen for Redbox Instant, offering one month of free service. The fact that Verizon is marketing the $8 monthly Redbox Instant to FiOS TV customers isn't significant, even though it's pitching an online movie service that competes with FiOS paid video-on-demand content. But when you consider other moves from Verizon's wireline and wireless divisions, including its acquisition of cloud TV technology vendor upLynk, patent applications and the introduction of the $250 Ellipsis tablet--which comes pre-loaded with Redbox Instant--it seems Verizon appears to have bigger plans in the works involving virtual cable or over-the-top video. We might hear more about Verizon's online video plans on Nov. 19, when it plans to hold a press event at the Mall of America in Minnesota. Verizon hasn't said what it will announce, other than noting in invitations that the event will focus on the "reinvention of the wireless customer experience" and that "things are about to get interesting." My colleague Phil Goldstein, editor of sister publication FierceWireless, will be attending the event and providing coverage.  | Verizon plugged Redbox Instant on on its FiOS TV page. | It's a decent bet the event will involve Ellipsis, which is one of the most affordable tablets. When I heard about the Verizon event, I thought of some of the trademark applications Verizon filed last month. One of the applications, filed on Oct. 15, included a design for the interior of a retail store. The image Verizon included in the filing doesn't reveal much. But it also wrote this description: "The mark consists of three-dimensional trade dress depicting the interior of a retail store featuring a central monolith structure with a digital display screen and a shelf for product. The sides of the monolith structure are lined in red LED lights. The ceiling is cut out in an oval shape above monolith. That oval is simulated on the floor by different color flooring. In front of the monolith are three display tables." Continued Read the full column on the Web Read more about: Redbox Instant, virtual cable, Dish Network, Ellipsis
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Today's Top News 1. WOW gains 8,400 video and 16,300 broadband subs in in Q3 2013
WideOpenWest said Thursday that it picked up 8,400 video and 16,300 high-speed Internet customers in the third quarter, while it lost 2,800 phone subscribers. The cable overbuilder, which competes with Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) in several markets, posted $297.4 million in revenue, an improvement of $20.2 million compared to this time last year. Capital spending at WOW, which was forced in August to halt the overbuild of a Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) system in Ohio, increased by $29.2 million to $77.4 million. But WOW managed to cut other expenses. The company said operating costs and expenses, including stock-based compensation, decreased by $2 million to $164.3 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses dropped by $3 million to $30.7 million. WOW passes 2.99 million homes, and it ended the third quarter with 690,700 video, 725,400 high-speed Internet and 426,700 telephone subscribers. WOW reduced its net loss to $18.8 million compared to $61.6 million in the third quarter of 2012. For more:
- see the release Related articles:
WOW halts Time Warner Cable overbuild in Ohio town after residents complain about damage
WOW blames losses on disconnects of non-paying subscribers after converting to new billing platform
WOW dominates Consumer Reports rankings of top TV, Internet and phone providers Read more about: Comcast
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2. Report: Comcast to sell digital DVDs
3. Cisco set-top orders dropped 20% in fiscal Q1
Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) saw orders for its set-tops decrease by 20 percent for the quarter ending Oct. 26, CEO John Chambers told analysts this week. The technology vendor posted $987 million in service provider video revenue in its first fiscal quarter of 2014, down 14 percent from the same period last year, Chambers said on Cisco's earnings call. "The service provider business continues to be lumpy and go in cycles, and our service provider growth rate is negatively impacted by the deliberate actions we are taking to manage the profitability of our set-top boxes," Chambers said. Cox recently began deploying a new Cisco DVR that contains six tuners. That's been one of Cisco's biggest deals with a U.S. cable operator this year. In addition to building home video and wireless gateways, Cisco has been focused on growing revenue by selling operators its Videoscape software platform and Wi-Fi gear. Cisco generated $12.1 billion in revenue in fiscal Q1, compared to $11.9 billion a year ago. It posted $2 billion (37 cents per share) in net income, down 4.6 percent compared to last year. Arris (Nasdaq: ARRS) surpassed Cisco for market share of the worldwide set-top market in the second quarter, Infonetics reported last month. For more:
- see the Cisco earnings release
- see the transcript from the earnings call Special Report: Cable in the third quarter of 2013 Related articles:
Chambers: Cisco must 'fix set-top box business and migrate it to the cloud'
Cisco doubles Wi-Fi revenue from deals with service providers
Infonetics: Pace surpasses Cisco for share of set-top market Read more about: Cisco
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4. 'Simpsons' deal could boost FXX license fees
5. Comcast patent shows gesture controls for pay TV and home automation platforms
Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) engineers are exploring how to let subscribers channel surf and even control the lights in their homes by using cameras and sensors that can detect gestures, according to a patent application published Thursday. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) helped introduce U.S. viewers to voice and gesture controls with its Xbox 360, which allows subscribers from Comcast and other pay TV providers to navigate programming without using a traditional remote control. The technology Comcast outlines in its patent application shows it is looking at how it could detect minute gestures from subscribers that could be captured by cameras and thermal, infrared and biometric sensors. "As an example, a movement of a finger in the shape of a 'T' can be associated with a control action for initiating a temperature control mode of the local system," Comcast states in the patent application. "Once the temperature control mode is initiated, a follow-up motion such as a movement of a finger along a horizontal plane can be associated with a control action for increasing or decreasing the temperature." Subscribers would be able to draw the shape of an X with their finger to turn on or off a device, according to the patent application. It also details how subscribers may be able to transfer content they are watching on a TV to a mobile device by flicking their fingers. "A relative position of the index finger and the thumb of a user (e.g., emulating a flicking motion) can indicate a control action for transmitting content (e.g., images, videos, audio files) from the user device to another device such as a display device or storage device," Comcast wrote in the patent application. Officials at Comcast declined to comment on the patent application, which is titled "System and Methods for Controlling a User Experience." Comcast Converged Products executive Michael Chen is named as the inventor on the application. For more:
- see the patent application Related articles:
Comcast launches voice controls on X1 Remote iPhone app
Microsoft signs Rovi to supply TV program guide data for Xbox One
Intel licenses motion control technology for set-tops
Orange deploys set-tops that accept gesture controls Read more about: Comcast
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Also Noted
SPOTLIGHT ON... Dish Network, Sprint push FCC to implement rules for 600 MHz spectrum auction In today's spotlight, FierceWireless takes a look at efforts from Sprint (NYSE:S), T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS), Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and smaller carriers to push the FCC to implement rules that would allow them to access 600 MHz broadcast TV spectrum in an incentive auction. In a letter to new FCC chairman Tom Wheeler on Thursday, the companies urged Wheeler to adopt rules for the auctions that would ensure "that the two dominant wireless incumbents not be allowed to lock competitive carriers out of acquiring low-band spectrum in the upcoming 600 MHz auction." Read more Quick news from across the Web. > Comcast said it'll launch music video network Revolt TV on its cable systems in Northern and Central California on Nov. 20. News release > Amazon posted the first three episodes of its original series "Alpha House," which stars John Goodman, Mark Consuelos, Clark Johnson and Matt Malloy. News release > Liberty Media Corp. said it closed a deal with Sirius XM Radio Inc. in which Sirius agreed to repurchase $500 million of its common stock. News release Telecom News > While cable subscriber numbers are still much higher at 93 million worldwide, IPTV is posting steady gains, an Infonetics Research report says. The largest boost is in Asia, with China Telecom boasting 22 million IPTV subscribers. Read more > AT&T is making its fiber-based network service capabilities available to more California-based businesses by completing the installation of its fiber to over 450 multi-tenant office buildings throughout the San Francisco metro area. Read more Wireless News > The Department of Justice's proposed settlement allowing American Airlines and US Airways to merge has sparked speculation that the Obama administration might allow a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile US before the next president takes office. However, there are formidable barriers to such a deal, including the administration's own wireless priorities. Read more And finally... Responding to a request from investor Clinton Group, ValueVision Media said it won't schedule a special meeting of shareholders to vote on whether it should replace the majority of directors on its board. News release > Is your strategy for small and medium-sized businesses bringing rewards? - Wednesday, December 4th, 11am ET / 8am PT / 4pm GMT Gain insights into where service providers are currently experiencing problems in the sales cycle, with a benchmark for the SMB market by sector, as well as ideas on how to increase efficiency. Register Today! > Unraveling the LTE Roaming Puzzle- Wednesday, December 11th, 2pm ET/ 11am PT This webinar will delve into the challenges of LTE roaming as well as explore potential solutions. Register Today!
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