An Ignoble Experiment

2. AT&T dropping support for U-verse TV on Xbox 360

Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) said Tuesday that it'll shell out $5.2 billion over the next 12 years to distribute National Hockey League games in Canada on devices ranging from TVs to tablets.

The rights deal, the biggest ever for the NHL, will see the Canadian cable operator and wireless phone carrier more than double the license fees that Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) pays the league to carry hockey games on NBC and cable channel NBC Sports Network.

Rogers, which will distribute the games on Sportsnet, outbid Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and French-language network TVA for NHL rights north of the border. But the company announced sub-licensing agreements with CBC and TVA which will allow CBC to continue airing its popular "Hockey Night in Canada" games on Saturdays. TVA will pay Rogers to air hockey games with French commentary on multiple platforms.

Comcast turned heads in 2011 when it announced a 10-year, $2 billion rights deal with the NHL, outbidding hockey distributor ESPN, Fox Sports and Turner Broadcasting. Hockey, which has struggled domestically in the battle for viewers with the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, is one of the only pro sports that ESPN doesn't carry.

In addition to rights to distribute or sub-license hockey games on national networks in Canada, Rogers said the deal gives it rights to broadcast hockey games on TV Everywhere, streaming video and wireless platforms. It also gets to sell the "NHL Center Ice" subscription package, and controls terrestrial and satellite radio rights.

Rogers said it'll pay the NHL $300 million in the first year of its contract, with annual payments escalating to more than $500 million by the 2025-26 season.

For more:
- see the release

Read more about: ESPN, NHL
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By Steve Donohue

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3. Time Warner Cable, Bright House flip switch on Showtime Anytime

Just eight months after launching a subscriber acquisition campaign in which it offered a free Xbox 360 to broadband customers that ordered U-verse TV, AT&T (NYSE: T) said it'll stop offering its pay TV service on the gaming console on Dec. 31.

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS TV have built apps for the Xbox 360 that allow subscribers to navigate dozens of networks that offer TV Everywhere programming, including CNN, MTV, HGTV and other networks owned by Turner Broadcasting, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and Scripps Networks Interactive. AT&T, which uses an IPTV platform for U-verse TV, has offered its entire pay TV lineup on the Xbox 360, allowing subscribers that purchased a $99 installation kit to use the console as a replacement for set-tops it deploys from Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Motorola Mobility.

But the telco said it hasn't seen significant demand for U-verse on the Xbox 360. It also doesn't plan to support U-verse on Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) new Xbox One console, according to a report from Multichannel News.

AT&T said it will offer $99 billing credits to U-verse customers who have purchased an installation kit and an Xbox Live Gold membership, which has also been required to use the gaming console to navigate with gestures and voice commands.

For more:
- see AT&T notice to subscriber
- Engadget has this story
- Multichannel News has this story

Read more about: Microsoft, Xbox 360
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By Steve Donohue

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4. Intel reportedly wants $500M for OnCue virtual cable platform

Nearly three months after settling a bitter contract dispute with Showtime Networks parent CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) said Tuesday that subscribers can access TV Everywhere service Showtime Anytime.

TWC, which also negotiates programming deals for cable systems in the Time Warner Entertainment – Advance/Newhouse partnership, said subscribers on Bright House Networks systems owned by the partnership can also access Showtime Anytime.

The deal allows subscribers to watch Showtime movies and original series such as "Homeland" and "Masters of Sex" online, and through Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and iPad, Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Kindle Fire tablet and on smartphones running Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android platform.

Showtime launched Anytime in late 2010. CBS has been selling rights to Showtime's linear networks, video-on-demand programming and Showtime Anytime in carriage deals that include retransmission-consent to CBS owned-and-operated stations.

CBS pulled Showtime and CBS stations in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas from TWC on Aug. 2. The companies announced a deal that ended the 32-day blackout on Sept. 2.

The launch could help TWC and Bright House compete with Verizon (NYSE: VZ), AT&T (NYSE: T), DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and other rivals that already offer premium network subscribers Showtime Anytime.

"We are very pleased to have Time Warner Cable come onboard as a Showtime Anytime partner," Tom Christie, Showtime Networks president of distribution, business development and network operations, said in a prepared statement. "This is a significant milestone in our efforts to make Showtime Anytime available to 100 percent of the multichannel universe," he added.

For more:
- see the release

Read more about: Time Warner Cable, TV Everywhere
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By Steve Donohue

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5. AT&T woos pay TV subs with U-Verse Santa Tracker, $100 discounts

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) has slapped a $500 million price tag on the OnCue platform that it has developed for use in a virtual cable platform, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The chip giant had hoped to use OnCue to sell viewers a pay TV service that would offer a next-generation user interface, and it had once considered integrating facial recognition technology to deliver targeted advertising and programming to viewers. But reports began surfacing late last month that Intel decided to unload OnCue after struggling to sign carriage deals with cable programmers, and that Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was considering buying the platform.

Verizon has stepped up its focus on IP video through the launch of Redbox Instant and its acquisition of cloud TV technology provider upLynk. John Malone's Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA) and connected TV and mobile device manufacturer Samsung have also kicked the tires on the OnCue platform, according to Bloomberg.

"We don't comment on speculation," Verizon spokeswoman Deidre Hart said Tuesday. Intel officials haven't commented publicly on the OnCue reports.

For more:
- Bloomberg has this story

Commentary: Is Verizon using Redbox Instant and Ellipsis to build a virtual pay TV platform?

Read more about: Samsung, Verizon
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