VideoNuze Posts

Hulu's Saga Continues

Friday, January 28, 2011, 11:02 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

Yesterday the WSJ ran a lengthy piece on Hulu, focusing mainly on the rancorous relationships among Hulu's owners and the tight position the company has found itself in. One juicy new tidbit was that CEO Jason Kilar threatened to quit over resistance to his proposal that Hulu Plus be priced at $4.99/mo. Though I've long been a fan of Hulu's user experience, the company has been severely pinched from a content perspective. As the WSJ article points out, as Hulu's parents have sold their programs to Netflix and explored doing their own thing, Hulu is getting painted into a corner.

Hulu has also been dogged by its parents' push for retransmission consent payments which are compelling the networks to shift away from making their programs freely available online. Then there's the TV Everywhere issue; as pay-TV operators want to add value to their own services as part of their retrans deals, Hulu is the odd man out. Now Hulu is apparently considering becoming a "virtual cable operator" whatever that means exactly. Bottom line: it's getting harder and harder to see how Hulu can zigzag to ultimate success.

Categories: Aggregators

Topics: Hulu
Samsung Sells 2 Million Galaxy Tab Tablets

Friday, January 28, 2011, 10:50 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

When it comes to tablets, yes, it seems there is life beyond the iPad. Samsung reported this week that globally it sold 2 million of its 7-inch Galaxy Tab tablets. Granted Apple sold 7.3 million iPads in the same period, but the iPad's also been on the market for 6 months longer. Regardless, the Tab's early performance is good more news for mobile video. And since the Tab runs Android, which supports Flash, that means access to all the video available online, a huge difference compared to the iPad.

Categories: Devices, Mobile Video

Topics: iPad, Samsung, Tab
Tom Hanks Hits the Web with New Talk Show

Friday, January 28, 2011, 10:47 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

Online video continues to attract more mainstream Hollywood talent and the latest is Tom Hanks, whose company Playtone, this week launched "The Three Minute Talk Show" hosted by comedian Barry Sobel. I watched the the first couple episodes and was impressed (an you have to love the little 3-minute countdown icon in the lower right corner). It's a little manic, but the fast pace holds the viewer's attention. Hanks appeared on the first episode and actor Bryan Cranston on the second. The show is part of Lexus' LStudio, so presumably there won't be any additional advertising. As connected devices proliferate, this is the kind of high-quality content that will play well for couch potatoes.

Categories: Indie Video

Topics: Lexus, LStudio, Tom Hanks
TiVo Links Up With Charter

Friday, January 28, 2011, 10:44 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

TiVo scored a big deal this week, as Charter Communications, the fourth-largest U.S. cable operator, announced that it would be offering TiVo's interface and its latest Premiere boxes to its subscribers. Because TiVo has integrations with lots of online video sources (including Netflix, Amazon, etc.), the deal is significant because it blends the traditional cable experience with the new over-the-top competitors. The deal also suggests what I pointed out in my review of Cisco's "Videoscape " - that beyond the very largest pay-TV operators, partnerships are going to be the way to go for them to deliver competitive experiences. For TiVo, the Charter win follows recent deals with both DirecTV and Cox. No doubt more will follow.

Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices

Topics: Charter, TiVo
Skype 5.0 for Mac Launches With Slick Group Video Calling

Friday, January 28, 2011, 10:40 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

Yesterday Skype took the beta label off its 5.0 version for Mac users, which it originally began testing last Nov. 5.0 sports the ultra-cool group video calling feature that Skype unveiled at CES a few weeks ago. Group video calling allows up to 10 Skype users (though Skype itself recommends no more than 5) to watch each other while talking. Skype had earlier released a neat video (below) of various ways group calling can be used. The only bad news is that group video calling requires subscribing to the "Premium" package for $9/mo, or buying a day pass for $5.

Categories: Communications

Topics: Skype
VideoNuze Report Podcast #85 - Jan. 28, 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011, 8:30 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 85th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for January 28, 2011.

In today's podcast, Daisy and I talk about the key highlights of my on-stage interview with Netflix's content chief Ted Sarandos at NATPE in Miami earlier this week. The interview has received wide media coverage (e.g. Paid Content, B&C, CNET, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Variety, Home Media). Daisy and I discuss a number of intriguing things that Ted said.

(Note: the interview with Ted was on Tuesday morning, and we recorded this podcast on Wednesday, before Netflix reported its huge Q4 '10 later in the day. Also, NATPE recorded the interview and I'll post it as soon as I have it.)

Click here to listen to the podcast (12 minutes, 59 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Categories: Aggregators, Podcasts

Topics: Netflix, Podcast, Ted Sarandos
Join Mark Cuban, Avner Ronen, Paul Sagan and Me for a Great Panel at MIT Next Thursday

Thursday, January 27, 2011, 9:29 AM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

If you're going to be in the Boston area next week, then please join Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner and head of HDNet), Avner Ronen (CEO/founder of boxee), Paul Sagan (CEO, Akamai) and me for a panel at the MIT Enterprise Forum on Thursday, Feb 3rd. The panel is moderated by Woody Benson, partner at Prism VentureWorks, who will do a 45-minute fireside chat with Mark prior to the panel.

The panel promises to be a freewheeling discussion of all the issues related to online video's invasion into the living room: who are the winners and losers? how will business models change? how likely is cord-cutting? And what is the timing for all of this change to play out? Needless to say it's a pretty dynamic group of panelists, so there will be no shortage of opinions exchanged and differences aired. For example, Mark and I recently had a spirited email debate over whether broadcast TV networks should allow Google TV and others to display their programs. I've written a couple of times that they should (here and here), while Mark has written (in his characteristically subtle way!) it's "probably one of the dumbest concepts ever."

Learn more and register here.

Categories: Events

Topics: MIT Enterprise Forum
Netflix Tops 20 Million Subscribers; Adds Over 3 Million For First Time In a Single Quarter

Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 4:36 PM ET

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Posted by Will Richmond

It's official; Netflix has hit the milestone of 20 million subscribers, though just barely. Netflix added 3.08 million subscribers in Q4 '10, beating the high end of its guidance of 2,767,000 subscribers by about 10.9% to end 2010 with 20.01 million subs. It's the first time Netflix has added more than 3 million subscribers in a quarter; for the year it added over 7.7 million subs. To put the 3.08 million in perspective, it is more than 4 times the amount of subs added just 2 years ago in Q4 '08.

Netflix is very bullish on Q1 '11, providing domestic guidance of between 21.9 million and 22.8 million subscribers, which means a slight beat of the high end would mean a second consecutive quarter of 3 million additions. Netflix is also offering international guidance for the first time, of between 750K and 900K subscribers, which is all Canada. Netflix pointed to 3 ways it is achieving a virtuous cycle of subscriber growth: more content, more word-of-mouth and more R&D to improve the UI. More to come.

Categories: Aggregators

Topics: Netflix