Voom And Dish Head To Court

According to the news, the trial between Echostar and Voom is about to go to court.  Voom, the hi definition satellite service created by Cablevision, struggled to find viewership at a time when hi def TVs were just arriving to the consumer.  Cable networks were reluctant to build out an HD version of their channels till their was enough of a market interest.  Voom was to capture the early adopter with original HD channels across the main genres of news, music, movies, and sports.  And Echostar came on board to offer the Voom service to their consumers.  Non Dish customers could find check out Voom at Sears stores and online.  But Voom failed to find an audience and shortly thereafter, cable networks began to offer their channels in HD.  These entrenched cable brands were of more interest to consumers and Voom struggled to expand.

Ultimately, Dish and Cablevision had a falling out and Dish chose to drop the Voom service.  It has led to a protracted legal battle.  Will a trial occur or will a settlement be reached?  Will the networks of AMC (AMC, WE, IFC, Sundance) come back on Dish or will their banishment remain?  We can only watch and wait.

Dish Network Becoming An IPTV Distributor?

Dish Network may be feeling a bit stifled being a satellite cable provider.  With a world turning quickly to the web, Dish seems ready to build out its own web distribution platform of cable networks to bundle to consumers.  Among those networks that Dish is negotiating with include Viacom's channels, MTV, VH1, and others, Scripps Networks, with Food and HGTV, and Univision.  "The companies would offer an online product known as an over-the-top service, charging a lower price for a smaller bundle of channels viewable on a computer or tablet. Dish Network Corp’s service would change the dynamics of the pay-television business, breaking up the bundles that force customers to pay for channels they don’t watch. Dish’s service would change the dynamics of the pay- television business, breaking up the bundles that force customers to pay for channels they don’t watch."  For those with specific viewing interests, a smaller bundle could prove economically preferable to a large number of consumers.

Certainly, the challenge for the cable programmer is the fee that they receive under this service.  As a sub leaves a cable operator for this new service, the network loses that revenue from the left hand only to get it back in the right.  The equation works when the switch provides an incremental increase in a per sub rate; it does not, if the sub fee switch leads to a lower amount.  As license fees vary by operator for a cable service, it may be win with a major cable operator like Comcast, but a loss against an independent cable operator.

As a business, it seems a win for Dish who can expand its reach to multiple web accessing devices and expand beyond a satellite business.  It may also help drive their sales of their Blockbuster streaming service. At the same time, it will open the eyes of the major cable operators to also build their own versions of an IPTV business.  At that point, it could drive competition among cable operators.  Where once they were separated by the communities their franchise license served; a web based service lacks any geographic boundary.  Cable programming services could be offered by Comcast in a Time Warner market and vice versa.  In essence, Dish may just be opening a Pandora's Box.

TiVo Gains On Cable Boxes, Declines On Standalone

The future of TiVo cannot rest solely on winning legal fights; rather, it must survive on subscriber growth.  And it seems, that TiVo is doing well on both counts.  With the signing of Mediacom, TiVo now has access to their million video customer base to rollout TiVo DVR boxes starting next year.  More importantly, TiVo saw growth in its most recent quarter.  "For the quarter ended July 31, TiVo added 230,000 net subscribers. It was the company's fourth consecutive quarter of positive subscriber growth, again driven by gains at Virgin Media, which surpassed 1 million TiVo subscribers in July. TiVo-owned subscribers declined by 23,000, to 1.06 million, while operator subs increased 253,000, to 1.66 million."  But as the figures show, the future is aligning with cable operators, not working around them.  The addition of Mediacom is a good start, a deal with Verizon FIOS is better.

Ultimately, the future for TiVo is to get a better partnership with both Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable.  Together, those  two cable operators wield the largest control.  Getting their agreement to rollout TiVo on their cable boxes will be the icing on the cake for TiVo.

Web Viewing On TV Most Popular - Really?

When I saw this article in All Things D, I thought I was reading an article from 2015 and not 2012.  That viewers are watching more and more web video is not to be questioned; but, if you were to guess which device was most popular, you would never guess that TV leads all devices for web video viewing.  "Consumer-tracking service NPD says TV sets are now the most popular way to watch streaming video.
NPD says 45 percent of consumers report that TV is now their primary Web video screen, up from 33 percent last year."  According to the chart, TV ranks first while computer is farther behind.



Unfortunately, I find this research hard to believe.  Not that the connected TV will inevitably be the choice of viewing, but that it already surpasses mobile devices.  And as I look at the chart, I ask, where are smartphones and iPods? And tablets at 1% is a number that makes me scratch my head too.  In my house, I have both an Xbox and a connected blu ray, but they are still used for gaming and dvds, not web video viewing.

And here is another questionable stat, "NPD says the most popular service for viewing Web content on TV is Netflix, with 40 percent of connected TV watchers using the service."  I don't doubt that Netflix  rules the roost, I simply question the research as to the device that is being used to watch these movies.  So I take the research as it is given and I wait to hear from other researchers to validate or disprove this study.

TiVo Gains From Lawsuits But What About Subs

TiVo is guaranteeing itself a nice annual revenue stream, but it seems to be coming from lawsuit wins and settlements.  The Dish victory is well known and now a settlement from Verizon keeps their momentum of protecting their intellectual license alive.  Remaining lawsuits with Time Warner Cable, Google, and Cisco may feel their best course of action will also be to settle rather than fight.

But what about the TiVo DVR product?  What does subscriber growth look like?  The product is great, but without a growing base, a long term business it is not.  It is now time to hear more about the cable deals and how TiVo will be sold and marketed to cable customers.  When will Comcast push out a TiVo DVR?  Like a tree falling in the forest, it is time to hear the fall.  TiVo is a great product that too many people don't know what they are missing.

Samsung Galaxy v Apple iPhone

My friend shared with me this video.  When it comes to smartphones, there are two camps, Apple and everyone else.  With the release today of the iPhone 5, Samsung thought to have a little fun.



Still having lost the lawsuit, owing Apple a ton of money, and watching Apple use Samsung less as its supplier, the question really will be, who has the last laugh.

Retailers Feeling Threatened By Amazon

Online retailing is real and the biggest threat to brick and mortar stores is the ability to get the same products online and in some cases cheaper.  Worse still, consumers can use box stores to browse while engaging in comparative pricing online.  And the biggest threat certainly comes from the leader of online retail, Amazon.

So it is  not surprising that stores like Wal-Mart and Target won't sell the Amazon Kindle line of products, it is that they had added their products in the first place.   "Amazon has already tested physical stores for other goods. Now, with two large chains no longer selling Kindle, speculation has grown that the dominant online retailer could open its stores where shoppers could try out and buy Kindles."  Certainly, Wal-Mart and Target, Best Buy and others have extended into the online space to compete with Amazon; it just seems odd that Amazon would consider building out a physical retail presence to match these big box stores.  It seems to me that Amazon's strength is that they don't have stores with high rents and other  fixed expenses to lower their profit margin.  Wouldn't Amazon be better served investing further in the distribution side of the business, perhaps taking an ownership stake in UPS or Fed Ex, and thus further streamline the process of moving product from warehouse to home.

Why Wal-Mart and Target thought carrying the Kindle was a good idea in the first place will always be questioned.  They knew from the outset where Amazon was coming from.  For Amazon, the question may be that the loss of these retail partners impact their Kindle business, but I doubt it.  Still if Amazon needs to become a retailer, maybe a Barnes & Noble or Toys R Us buyout is an opportunity for them.

Next Generation Of Cable TV

I have made this reference before so it is nice to see Ad Age reconfirm it; You Tube is doing to cable what cable has done to broadcast TV and broadcast to radio before it.  The next technology begins to take over as an emerging business as the leader scoffs that they are legitimate competition.  Some may see it sooner than others until ultimately the realization that they are no longer in full control comes too late.

For cable companies, it is the notion that cord cutting exists and that consumers will cut back or eliminate their cable channels for the web.  Yet, that is the direction and the pace is only increasing.  The emerging leader is Google and You Tube.  "Nearly a year into YouTube's $100 million-plus bet on content, more than 100 "original channels" have launched, and of those, 20 are now earning a million views a week."  What's interesting is that Google is also building out a cable distribution model with a fiber build in Kansas City.  With a blend of linear channels and connectivity to web content, Google may just find the right blended business to take the lead.

Of course, the bottom line is demonstrating that web can generate enough revenue to make it a financially viable long term business.  While TV viewership has always been blessed with statistics to measure perceived viewership based on sample sizes, the web and digital can deliver an actual number of views and usage.  For the long tail of programming, there may not be enough revenue to continue to produce little watched shows.  And that may be the challenge that faces more niche channels.

What Do Mitt Romney And The British Royalty Have In Common?

Believe it or not, Mitt Romney and William and Kate and Harry have something in common; in fact, we all do.  Our actions, words and deeds can not only be recorded, but also easily shared around the world.  We are now truly responsible for everything we do because someone may be taping it as proof.  And while we may still try to deny culpability, it is possible that it may come back to haunt us.

Did you hang out with those people?  Absolutely not.  No, let's go to the videotape.  Were you smoking an illegal substance?  No, let's look at the photos.  Did you say something inappropriate? No. let's go to the recording.  With the rise of cameras in smartphones, easy to place and record technology, long distance, telephoto cameras, our actions, words, and deeds are rarely hidden.  Someone can be recording us.  Not just individuals, either.  With security top of mind, police and businesses are also recording areas to assure that a record exists

Still, the more famous we are, the more likely that someone will be watching us.  The web assures that those photos, recordings, and videos can easily be shared across multiple platforms. Good and bad, we are no longer able to deny when we can too easily be recorded doing it.

Dad, The X-Box WIFI Connection Barely Works

Last night, my son was angry that the WIFI connection was slow and that while he could get online, he couldn't engage in a with his cousin's game.  Don't ask me the specifics, the bottomline was that the XBox was in the basement, the router in the study and he felt the distance made the WIFI unworkable.  He wanted to move the Xbox to another  TV hoping a closer TV to the router would solve his  problem.  The problem may be in the  technology and not the router or the distance.  "Most customers get little more than 50% of the capacity promised by their Wi-Fi routers, says Dr. Alex Hills, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University who built the first big Wi-Fi network. That speed is further slowed if multiple people try to use a network, he says."

With multiple devices using the WIFI, there may be little we can do other than to add a modem to the basement to get him a direct connection.  The WIFI is slow, while a direct connection could solve the problem.  But getting the cable company to provide another  modem may not be ideal.  Other ideas could be a newer router although ours is only a couple year old or a repeater in the basement to try and boost his signal.  "Mr. Boote and his friends, who subscribe to 15 megabits-per-second Comcast broadband in addition to TV, bought two 'powerline adapters,' which extend the range of their Wi-Fi signal by tapping into electrical power lines inside the house.  Devices, like an Xbox or TV, can be plugged into the adapter via a cord to provide similar high speeds to what they would get if connected directly to a router."  I may have to go a similar route to get his Xbox working properly.

Could Google Glasses Be More Dangerous Than Texting

Nice to hear that David Pogue is excited about Google Glass.  "Google doesn’t like the term 'glasses,' because there aren’t any lenses. (The Glass team, part of Google’s experimental labs, also doesn’t like terms like 'augmented reality' or 'wearable computer,' which both have certain baggage.)"

For folks like me that wear glasses, what will my prescription lenses look like?  But seriously, its's bad enough that people are walking and texting, or worse, driving and texting, on their mobile devices.  It sounds even more dangerous if these folks are distracted with their Google Glasses on their head.  And that me the biggest concern as texting and driving accidents are on the rise.  Maybe Google needs to first make driverless cars a reality.

Sirius In, Starz Out, For Liberty Media

John Malone's Liberty Media has a knack for collecting assets, from DirecTv to Discovery, he has accumulated and diversified his portfolio.  In today's news, he seems to want to both acquire and sell; he is accumulating more and more shares of SiriusXM in a move to gain ownership control, while at the same time, laying out notice that it may be time to sell his Starz asset.

"Starz, with 20.7 million subscribers, would offer a media company that operates other premium cable channels synergies that don’t exist for Liberty Media, (Chief Executive Officer Greg) Maffei said yesterday at a Bank of America-sponsored investor conference in Beverly Hills, California." So basic, ad-supported TV like the Discovery Channels work while premium supported, subscription based video services like Starz don't.  I'm just not so sure I can accept this statement as the whole truth, especially since SiriusXM represents another subscription-based service in the audio media space.  Does the rise in cable costs, consumer dropping of premium movie channels, and the trend toward online services have a bearing on the strategy behind this proposed move?  Is there more stickiness driving Sirius subscriptions through the automotive industry have more growth than premium cable? Should a potential buyer of Starz wonder what the long term value of this property should be?

Home Ownership Of TV Declining

The creeping effect of cord-cutting is happening.  It may take a decade or longer to be truly felt, but homes are dropping their TV and favoring other devices for entertainment.  "TV penetration stands at 95.8 percent of households, down from a high of 99 percent two years ago. Last year, Nielsen recorded the first such drop in TV households — defined as those with at least one TV set that receives signals via cable, satellite or old-fashioned rabbit ears."  So in two years, a penetration drop of over 3 percent in what is been characterized as a growing trend.  Should that trend grow annually, in 5 years, TV penetration could drop below 90% within 5 years.

Why could that be true?  Older Americans are TV staples, younger generations are preferring their broadband connection to their TV channel line-up.  This same group also has a growing preference for their Xbox, their You Tube, and their mobile screens.  Still, the TV in the home will not go away.  It's cable or antenna connection will likely be replaced by a broadband feed.  The consumer will have more choice what to subscribe to and what to watch free.  And at the end of the day, the price for an all you can eat cable model will only continue to get more and more expensive.

Apple and Amazon Competition Heating Up

Digital media distribution is being fought on many fronts.  And Amazon and Apple are confronting each other more and more.  In the tablet arena on the hardware side and in the content arena, with video, music, and print.  As e-books soar, Apple and Amazon are ready to use  price as a means to try and build engagement.  "Apple didn’t want to compete with Amazon on ebook prices. But it is already showing that it is more than willing to do so. And if customers are drawn to Apple’s new low prices on ebooks, it’s possible to envision the company’s ebook market share rising."  Does the customer care who they buy their e-book from as long as it works on their device of choice.

It is interesting to note that the article is locked in to Apple and Amazon while Barnes & Noble and their Nook library of content is not even being considered as a pricing alternative.

The iPad may enable readers to see their Kindle library but I doubt that Amazon is enabling its Kindle to read iBooks from Apple.  Apple doesn't like to share its library outside its mobile devices.  The choice of hardware may lead consumers to their particular platform. Still price competition is good for the consumer as they determine how best they want to make their e-book purchase.

Microsoft Could Use Barnes & Noble To Sell Its Tablet

I think the Holiday Season 2012 will be called "Tablet Wars" as companies vie for market share of their tablet.  Yesterday, was Tabeo, manufactured and sold exclusively at Toys R Us.  Now comes news that Microsoft plans to build some quick stores for the holiday season to sell its products with plans to build 200 - 300 more in the coming years.  "Microsoft Stores sell Windows PCs, Windows Phones, Microsoft and third-party software, games, peripherals and more. Microsoft also is going to sell its recently announced Surface PC/tablets through its Microsoft Stores in the U.S. and through select online Microsoft stores, as well." All to catch up to Apple.

But isn't Microsoft missing a big opportunity.  Through their heavy investment in Barnes & Noble, Microsoft has literally at their fingertips a partner with a huge retail presence to support their consumer outreach.  In addition, with B&N in so many college bookstores, they have the opportunity to hit the key age demographic.  So how come no word about using B&N to enable this Holiday retail presence?

Sure tons of malls are on their list; with many store closings there is definitely open space.  Isn't this why we see so many Halloween stores pop up for a month.  Still it takes personal to build the space, manage it, sell from it;  B&N provides the brick and mortar and the personnel to get an edge.  It simply seems odd that Microsoft has not taken advantage of the B&N investment to help their own cause.

Another Competitor Enters The Tablet Wars

The future of connectivity is the tablet and the field of sellers is becoming more and more crowded.  The newest entry will come from the toy retailer, Toys R Us and is called the Tabeo.  Working with the Google Android operating system, " the Tabeo comes pre-installed with 50 different apps that cover everything from games, to educational titles, to ebooks."

As a kid's tablet, it has some challenges.   "With competitors like the MEEP!, Vinci, and LeapPad already targeting kids, this is certainly a sector that might be over-served already."  And as kids become more and more internet savvy, they tend to migrate more quickly to their parents' devices.  A child's tendency may be to install these same apps on mom or dad's tablet and wait to they upgrade to a newer model in order to "inherit it".   At a price point of $150 for a Tabeo, parents might also consider purchasing the Kindle Fire, at a similar price point.  And depending how Apple prices its new mini iPad and lowers the price on older iPad models, Tabeo may have a heard time justifying its positioning.

The solution for Toys R Us is not in offering only the same apps from these other tablets on their devices, it is developing unique apps exclusive to their device that drive purchase behavior.  Differentiation becomes the marketing solution in the tablet market, not low cost.  LeapPad has that in their devices, the Tabeo would need to do the same.  The tablet wars are here and with many competitors competing for share, the competition is getting fierce.

Don't You Love Blind Taste Tests

Blind taste tests are great fun.  The best ones are probably Coke vs Pepsi but I'm sure there were a few soup blind tests and others to disrupt expectations and try to throw the leader off their perch at the top of the hill.  The latest blind taste test is truly unique, comparing search engines.  With Google as the leader and Bing the upstart, a blind taste test is a great way for people to see that sometimes their comfort zones need to be challenged.

"Dubbed 'Bing It On,' the commercials will target a young demographic and run over the next few months on MTV, Fox (including during the premieres of "Ben & Kate" and "American Dad"), The CW, FX, ABC Family and Hulu.




An engaging commercial.  Even Pepsi had a hard time converting people despite their tastes telling them they preferred Pepsi.  Whether it gets people to try Bing for their searches remain to be seen.

Once people have their default search engine, it may be difficult to get them to make a switch.  Perhaps Microsoft has the best chance of getting engagement with Bing is by getting companies to use Internet Explorer where Bing is the default. or convincing Apple to put Bing into Safari.  There may be simply other ways to encourage more use.

Movie Distribution Windows Changing Again

As the physical DVD becomes less desirable, the need is greater to replace this lost revenue through new approaches.  Fox believes it has come up with a winning formula, to recapture that revenue; "the studio plans to offer high-definition versions of its films for sale at newly lowered prices about three weeks before making the movies available on discs and through video-on-demand services, studio executives said in interviews." At the right price point, consumers just might be interested in downloading these films for their tablet and/or computer.

The timing certainly seems smart for Fox.  With new editions of Amazon Kindles coming out and a new Apple mini iPad on its way, the Holiday Season may be seeing tons of sales of these products.  And these devices have an insatiable need for content.  Movies, TVseries, books, and music could see a nice bump as consumers fill the pipeline for content to download.

The one question that Fox and others must face is the desire for consumers to rent or buy.  Do they want to hold onto all this content that they download or simply rent it when they are interested in using it and able to delete it when they are finished or its use expires.  We are generally pack rats, enjoying the feeling of ownership and instant gratification, but  a digital stream rental is virtually instant and may be just as good.  I'm betting on purchase behavior to prevail.

Tablet Pricing Reminding Me When Calculators Were First Sold

As a kid, I remember getting my first TI (Texas Instruments) Calculator.  It was awesome.  It not only added and subtracted, but offered features that weren't typically available.  I could find the NPV (net present value) or IRR (internal rate of return) and as I recall, it cost a small fortune.  But it was cool and a must have.  Then Casio came in and others and competition erupted.  Prices dropped.  Today, these same features and more are available on very inexpensive calculators.

As we watch the tablet industry roll out, first with expensive models, it was only a matter of time that price points would begin to drop as more models and competitors vie for market share.  So the announcement from Amazon on its new Kindle Fire and all its pricing levels should come as no surprise.  They offer a price point for every type of consumer, from under $80 to $500.  Of course the  Kindle Fire is at the top of the line with new features, better screen, and faster speeds.  It has all the makings of a winner.

Will Apple announce it's mini iPad next week, along with the iPhone, or wait for another date to make that next announcement?  Will the mini iPad impress us as well with a price point that also causes excitement?  For those that wait, it is clear that the price of tablets will only continue to decline and perhaps one day, like the calculator, be so inexpensive we will likely own more than one.

Smartphone Makers Race To Deliver Announcements

The smartphone wars are ramping up and the race to deliver the news first, ahead of others and before the critical fourth quarter, looks a bit chaotic.  How much so, that both Nokia and Motorola, in an attempt to beat Apple to the gate have announced their phones first, but without some critical information.  They missed some details that the consumer would find important to know, such as the cost of the smartphone and which wireless providers would be offering them.  In this rush to beat Apple's iPhone announcement next week, one wonders if they did more damage then good to their brand.  Rather than focus on what makes their unique phones great, the chatter is on the announcement itself.

Apple, on the other hand, follows the same strategy over and over again.  Nothing is formally released early leading to buzz in the market about what if.  As anticipation grows, an announcement of a forthcoming event eludes only to news, but only to add to the speculation. And finally, at the announced date, details are set and revealed with emphasis on the new additions and benefits they derive.  And of course, the announcement includes availability and cost. It is a formula that continues to work.

With more smartphone devices reaching the consumer, the good news is that there is more choice than ever before.  With the coming release of Microsoft's smartphone, Samsung, and of course Blackberry, the field continues to crowd for the race to begin.

You Tube Wants A Piece Of the Video Rental Market

Watch out cable TV, watch out Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes, You Tube is augmenting its video business.  "YouTube is going to launch VOD-style movie rentals on TVs and connected devices later this year."  It is starting to look like movie rentals are becoming ubiquitous, available to everyone across any platform and any service that you connect to.  As the video rental stores become less relevant, the need for a DVD rental is now easily replaced with a downloadable rental that exists for your immediate enjoyment.

For the movie industry, the hope is that this on demand business, whether rental or download to own, will replace the revenue and profit earned from the DVD.  But just as the DVD replaced the VHS tape, so now the digital copy has replaced the DVD.  The world is all about connectivity.  Let's only hope we never find ourselves stranded with no internet and no way to watch a video.

How Many Online Video Platforms Will We Have To Subscribe To?

One of the nice things about a cable subscription, believe it or not, is that it aggregates all the channels we watch, basic, premium, on demand, and sells it to us in one monthly bill that we pay.  We may become disgruntled at the amount of the bill, but we pay it.  Sometimes we wish we could drop channels we don't watch to try and lower our bills, but ultimately we still complain.

Those that cord cut seek out more inexpensive options online.  A Netflix subscription at under $10/month becomes a good alternative to basic and premium channels. But demand for the most successful titles has brought competition to the online platform.  "Amazon.com has struck a multiyear licensing agreement in the U.S. with Epix, the movie network from Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate, to stream thousands of movies after Netflix's exclusive online window with Epix expired in August."  Of course those that like these titles and don't get Epix from their cable provider will now need to add an Amazon Prime subscription to their online bills. Multiple bills, multiple payments.

And depending on your interest in different types of entertainment, the likelihood is that more individual sites will arise to sell its own subscription service.  Whether its multiple newspaper subscriptions, multiple music subscriptions, and now multiple video subscriptions, our entertainment budget continues to rise.  There is something to be said for the cable model, one monthly price for music, sports, news, and movies.  It is our insatiable appetite for more content that keeps getting us to try and  find more without paying more for it.

Apple Next Product Releases

Some bits of news post Labor Day that Apple will be holding a press release next Wednesday.  The talk is that the next generation of the iPhone will be officially announced and new phones could be hitting the shelves shortly.  Some say the phone will be slimmer, others that the screen will be slightly larger.  And no doubt folks will be disappointed that it lacked this or that.

The other news, one that may or may not make it into next week's announcement is that Apple will also release its mini iPad in October.  Common sense would argue that one announcement a quarter is more than enough and to hold a second conference one month later seems a distraction.  Ideally, Apple making next week's announcement about both products would be big news for the company and the industry.  We can only stay patient for next week to learn finally what Apple is doing in the iPhone and iPad spaces.