Amazon Prime Adds More VOD Content

Content creators, even established networks like HGTV and Food Channel, are constantly seeking new distribution growth to build revenue streams.  Cable has been for a while the predominant way to view video content and the development of video on demand (VOD) offered consumers more ways to access and view.   But consumers are dropping cable and the web has become the destination for today's and tomorrow's viewer.  To reach those consumers, Scripps Interactive has partnered with a new distribution partner, Amazon.

Subscribers to Amazon prime will now have access on demand to multiple series from HGTV and Food.  Not only can they stream and watch, but consumers can purchase and download episodes as well.  While this is clearly good news for both Scripps and Amazon, I must wonder what Scripps' current distributors, Comcast, Time Warner, Cablevision and others think of this deal.  True, shows are being available to paid subscribers to Amazon Prime, but it must still feel like a competitive threat.  And while it is strictly on an on demand basis and not a linear feed of the network, viewership is moving more and more to an on demand world with the only exception being live programming.

Kudos to the Scripps team on what will be seen by many in the cable industry as playing with fire.  In the long run, deals with these alternative platforms, the ones currently disrupting the media industry, should ultimately keep the Scripps brands accessible to every home. And distribution is certainly the name of the game.

Apple, We're Waiting

Here's hoping the bloom is not off the rose, or that the shine not off the Apple.  At yesterday's shareholder meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that while the stock price isn't where it should be, the company is performing well.  "True to Apple's secretive nature, Cook didn't provide any further product details, although at one point he said the company is considering entering other categories besides its popular line of digital music players, smartphones and tablet computers."  Of course there has been a lot of speculation as to what that next product might be, like an Apple TV set or an iWatch.  

But as other companies come out with their versions of these products ahead of Apple, I must wonder if that is indeed where Apple is headed.  They have had a tendency to lead the market with revolutionary new products, not merely spit out a copied product.  What might Apple possible be able to include in an iWatch that would make it better than the other products already in the marketplace like Pebble and others. And why hasn't Apple released a competing subscription music and video service to compete with Pandora and Netflix.  What is their next big thing?

For many of the shareholders, there is still a lot of confidence in what Apple has up their sleeve.  Others are expecting more immediate moves.  I can only hope that patience will be well rewarded.

TiVo Cable Strategy Working

Working with cable operators rather than around them seems to be working for TiVo.  While some consumers might be willing to buy their own standalone DVR box, most prefer to let their cable provider include and install.  Building set top deals with these distributors has enabled TiVo to roll out more and more boxes.  

"The DVR company added 222,000 net new customers through cable partners during the period, its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, to reach 2.12 million. It lost 13,000 TiVo-owned subs to stand at 1.03 million. ... TiVo’s biggest MSO customer by far is Virgin Media in the U.K., which added nearly 900,000 net TiVo subs in 2012 to reach 1.3 million total, or 35% of its video-subscriber base."  Ultimately, that led to a healthy increase in revenue for the company.  

While internationally TiVo appears to be doing well, they must still solidify their Virgin Media relationship now that Liberty is acquiring Virgin.  Domestically, TiVo still has work to do to get into the leading cable operators like Time Warner Cable and Comcast. As the Mercedes of set top boxes, they deserve to be offered by cable operators to their subscribers.

Digital Claims Another Print Publication

We must appear as a very impatient race.  We can no longer wait patiently for mail to arrive at our home, we  need our email delivered instantly.  The same holds true for news and other information.  Timely means instantaneous and print can never deliver the latest news.  In fact, when it is wrong, it demands a retraction that takes more time to appear and is usually hidden away in some corner.  In the world of digital, fast is efficient and changes can be updated on the fly.

So digital has claimed another victim.  In the entertainment world, the source for all info had been the print publication Variety.  "The 108-year-old entertainment trade magazine announced Tuesday that it will no longer publish a daily print edition as if it shifts more resources to digital."  In addition, its website, Variety.com, will no longer require a subscription to view.  With its owners sister site Deadline.com offering similar information, it seems that Variety could not keep the current model working.  Hopefully a new streamlined model can continue to build on the Variety brand.

AMC Networks Misses Numbers - Time To Sell?

AMC Networks released their Q4 numbers and the Dish drop had a big effect on numbers.  "AMC Networks says it generated $15.2M in net income in the quarter, -48.5%".  Obviously, the networks are back on Dish but the damage was done.  In addition, AMC has announced a new syndication deal, selling one of their signature series, Breaking Bad, to Sundance Channel in an attempt to bolster their ratings.

So the question remains, is it time to sell the channels? Unless AMC and its sister channels have another new series up their sleeves, capable of getting the kind of ratings Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, and Mad Men have been generating, the timing may be ripe to sell while the network is hot.

Second Screen Alive And Well At The Oscars

For those of us that are fans of big TV events like the Oscars, watching these telecasts have become a lot more interesting because of second screens like Twitter.  I admit to personally reading and writing tweets during the telecast on Sunday. And I am not alone.  "Viewers of Sunday's 85th Academy Awards generated 8.9 million Oscars-related tweets. Twitter users sent 2.1 million tweets during the red carpet and 6.8 million during the awards show, according to Twitter."

At first, my interest was in reading what others had to say about the pre-show and awards in real time.  It was water cooler talk and jokes offered immediately.  No longer was it necessary to wait to the  next day to see if friends saw and thought the same things about what was on air.  But the more you read tweets, some good, some bad, most a bit snarky, you find yourself wanting to contribute as well to the conversation.  In fact, I think it made the telecast more entertaining as a result.  

I understand too that folks attending the festivities were using other sites, like Facebook, Vine,and Instagram to share pictures and videos of the action.  For those seeking a more immersive Oscar experience, the second screen was added value.  Yet for the networks offering these live showcases, the concern may be how to personally profit from their use.  They may generate an increase in viewership; Oscar ratings were up for both E! and ABC for their shows.  But, I am sure they would love to control the second screen app being used to interact.  With it comes more ad dollars and more revenue to the  respective networks.  And that is always a good thing.  In fact, I'm happy to discuss some ideas any time.  

Nook Strategy Not Working

Barnes & Noble attempt at building a digital strategy appears to have lost its footing.  Despite the world moving to tablet devices, Nook has not been able to capture a market share and produce a growing business.  "Navigating the digital revolution has been a tougher initiative for Barnes & Noble, as its Nook e-readers and tablets face stiff competition from Amazon, Google and Apple."  So what went right and what went wrong.

Analyzing the landscape, B&N already felt the competition from Amazon and other retailers in the book-selling marketplace.  But B&N also has been building out their merchandising to keep audiences coming to their stores.  And financially, the bookstores have been staying profitable.  Stores also kept adding more and more retail space to sell Nook devices.  But that also tends to directly hurt the hard copy side of the business.  Still it was a move to keep B&N customers as they transition from print to digital.

As nice as e-readers may be, the consumer quickly grew to prefer full featured tablets to e-readers.  Apple's iPad has the largest market share and Amazon was farther ahead with its infrastructure of apps and content.  Worse, the partnership with Microsoft never seemed to take a big step forward, especially when they introduced their own tablet, the Surface.  Nor did Microsoft embrace using the B&N retail space to help roll out the Surface and make Nook their official reading app.  Whatever financial support Microsoft gave to Nook never seemed to have a consumer connection.

Now comes word that B&N may split the company moving out the Nook and college bookstore businesses into separate entities.  Not being tied to the Nook may let B&N strike other partnership deals with other hardware providers.  And hopefully a leaner Barnes & Noble may be able to add another merchandising partner to their stores.  Perhaps a call from Amazon or Google may be a good start.

Sports Programming Causes Higher Cable Fees

Players demand higher salaries, owners want bigger profits, ticket prices go up and so does the cost of TV rights to air games.  And ultimately, the payer of all these fees is us the consumer.  So it is that cause and effect that has led cable operators to raise their monthly cable subscription rates to consumers taking sports programming.  "DIRECTV last September added a $3 monthly sports fee to the bills of new customers in roughly 20 percent of U.S. markets. ... Verizon followed DIRECTV's lead, adding a $2.42 surcharge for sports in select markets with all markets getting it by April."  And third on the list is Cablevision, adding $3 a month to cable bills for rising sports costs.  

None of the articles I read mentioned particularly which sports networks were in this package.  Was it just the regional sports networks (RSN) like YES or SNY in New York or did it also include national sports networks like ESPN.  Still, the question will be, will consumers accept this high increase to their monthly bill or will it only lead to more cord shaving and cord cutting.  Will consumers stop taking the sports package or go as far as to stop taking their cable subscription all together?  The one fact is crystal clear, cable rates are not going down and as each cable operator follows suit with these higher package fees, the web may be the only escape. 

Yahoo Refresh

As many companies have learned, it is hard to stay cool and hip.  Just ask MTV, AOL, Microsoft, even Apple and Yahoo.  To stay relevant, one must continually innovate and capture new interest.  With each new age group comes new challenges to capture their loyalty.  And as all companies have learned, once you do get to the top of the hill, it is easier to fall then to continue to climb.

Yahoo hopes it can recapture the glory of old through its latest refresh.  "Yahoo Inc is rolling out a revamped look for its website aimed at making the Web portal more modern and attractive to users."  With Marissa Meyer on board as the the newest CEO, her challenge is to keep growing her  metrics while improving a slumping revenue stream.  Can Yahoo find growth amid increased competition from social media sites and other content portal sites?  Certainly there needs to be some secret sauce to get viewers to seek out taste Yahoo again.  With so many sites offering articles and videos and social sharing, Yahoo needs something unique and exclusive that intrigues enough people to check it out.  And that hot new thing for all companies remains elusive and hard  to capture.

Nick Has The App For That

I believe that Nickelodeon's slower entry into the mobile app space just might pay off.  Rather than rush in with an assumption of their users' behavior, "Nickelodeon has spent the last two years asking 9- and 10-year-olds what they want to watch on the iPad. The result: Very little actual television."  And judging by my own kids' behavior, I couldn't agree more.  "Instead of simply making its programs available on tablets, Nickelodeon designed its first app as a noisy, colorful smorgasbord of animated clips, irreverent music videos and the occasional deluge of the network’s trademark green slime."

My daughter falls right into their world and while we watch all the shows, either live or on DVR, her online use is not about watching the same shows; rather, online she is playing games, interacting with friends, and watching clips.  As the majority of her online use is in the home, her iPad doesn't replace the TV, it provides its own unique added value.  It is clear that the Nickelodeon app is designed to do the same, to expand the value of the brand through other means, not long form shows.  Not that those shows should be ignored on the device; for the sake of TV Everywhere, making shows available makes sense.  It just shouldn't be the centerpiece of the app's value.

"Nickelodeon’s strategy — based on extras rather than episodes — signals how Viacom may approach apps for its other cable channels, including MTV, Comedy Central and VH1. Until this week, Viacom had not introduced authenticated apps for its channels, unlike Time Warner’s HBO and its popular HBO Go app."  Will an adult's use mimic a child's, I'm not sure.  But I do believe that it involves being creative, ever changing, and always seeking to build the next big thing.  As "Harlem Shake" has proved, anything can go viral and kids love discovering the next cool thing.  For that matter, so do adults. 

Google Wants A Retail Presence

The web scared away brick and mortar businesses.  Many are gone or facing collapse because of the rise of online businesses.  Sharper Image and Circuit City are gone while Best Buy is having trouble surviving.  Many complain that Amazon has been able to under price because they don't have the same expenses as a brick and mortar retailer.  Computer and electronic retailers are having trouble, all but one.  Apple continues to thrive while others have suffered.  And Google wants to prove that they can compete is this space too.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is ready to follow Apple and Microsoft into the retail space.  "As the report points out, Google would have several options for technology to showcase in potential stores, such as Chromebook laptops and Google TV."  But following Apple may not be easy.  Even Ron Johnson hasn't been able to take the learnings from his days at Apple to growing the J.C. Penny retail presence.  But that may not stop Google.

It may be hard for Google to build a retail brand.  Apple sells just Apple products; Google may own Motorola but they also license their software to other brands.  A Google store might simple end up looking like another Best Buy.  How Google differentiates its store may be difficult.  Apple controls the pricing of its products, whether at their store, at Target, or online; Google  may not be able to control the price of products and so their store may not be able to provide the same or better price than elsewhere.  And that might ultimately limit the success of their retail business.

Known By The E-Mail We Keep

Do you judge others by the e-mail provider they keep?  And does the email we use say anything about who we are.  I expect that most people keep more than one email addresses.  For some it is as simple as a work email and a personal one.  For others, different email addresses for different purposes, one for close friends, one for applications like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and commerce sites like Amazon and E-Bay.  An email address for every occasion.  And some of us have emails that have been around forever but because everyone we know has it, it has become hard to give up. Count folks that have Netscape, AOL, and Hotmail.  But it is time to remove one of those from the list.

"Microsoft said Tuesday it had begun switching Hotmail accounts to Outlook.com as it officially launches its revamped email service."  Hotmail email addresses are now set to become outlook.com.  Alert the friends. Change the preferences.  RIP Hotmail.

Will Dolan's Sell AMC Networks?

It is hard to be an independent network, that is, one that doesn't have a big media empire behind it.  It is especially true for single nets looking for a spot on the channel line-up of a big cable provider.  No leverage, niche ratings, and the need to get noticed.  For larger networks, and companies with multiple nets to offer, a hit show or two can help one network to propel its smaller sister networks along. 

With AMC Networks, the appeal has been great shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead; but, for its siblings, IFC, WE, Sundance, the terms of the deal always seem to tie around AMC.  And yet fights do happen.  The most recent, with Dish Network, was only settled and the networks restored to the line-up, because of Voom litigation.  But the fight with other cable providers continues.   And now that AMC Networks has spun itself off from its former parent, Cablevision, offers of carriage on Long Island is harder to accomplishment.

And many have speculated before that one day the AMC Networks would be sold.  That they actually spun off into a separate company was considered to be a first steps to maximize the value for eventual sale.  With the fight for renewals only getting more and more acrimonious and the concern that another hit show might not be in the makings, the timing might now be right.  "Comcast Corp., News Corp. and CBS Corp. are likely buyers due to AMC’s record of developing hit shows, BTIG LLC said."  And as some have speculated, the timing may be right. 

Will Time Warner Inc Change Its Name To Warner Bros?

The big magazine news is the plan by Time Warner Inc. to sell off the majority of its magazine brands to Meredith.  "The deal under consideration is one of several options Time Warner is exploring to reduce its troubled publishing unit. As part of the agreement, existing shareholders in Time Warner and Meredith would receive stakes in the new venture."  Titles that would stay with Time Warner include its flagship brand Time, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated.

It certainly indicates that Time Warner no longer sees any synergy between its magazine group and its television team.  Despite the need for magazine brands to become more interactive and add video to its online components, the transition of print to digital has been a difficult one for revenue monetization.  Those that can hang through it will indeed find future revenue growth from digital subscriptions and ad revenue.  Where Time Warner is shedding these titles, Meredith still has faith that their is opportunity ahead.

So without a powerful Time, Inc. in the businesses of Time Warner, is it time to rename the corporation to reflect a larger reliance on film and television.  Is it time for them to once again raise up their Warner Bros. business to be the official corporate name of the company?  With this spin off of Time Inc, it might just be the time.

Streaming Wars, Part III, Amazon CBS Expand Deal

No surprises here.  The race is on for content to stream and Netflix and Amazon are racing to expand their inventory.  As CBS is not an owner of Hulu, they have gone out to the marketplace for their streaming syndication deals and have found a partner with Amazon.  "CBS and Showtime series coming to Prime for the first time include America's Next Top Model, Everybody Loves Raymond, Jericho, The L Word, Undercover Boss and United States of Tara, among others."  Syndication has found new opportunities outside local affiliate and cable deals.  In the streaming rental business, viewers can now subscribe to Amazon Prime to view their favorite CBS series on demand online.  Earlier this month, Amazon also got the streaming rights to the hit PBS series, "Downton Abbey".

The race is on for exclusive new content as well as exclusive windows of streaming syndicated content.  And at the end of the day, consumers may find value in subscribing to more than one streaming service.  That can spell good news to all the competitors in the marketplace, provided that they have their own share of exclusive and original content to offer.  It is why in the premium cable space (HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc), consumers buy more than one pay TV service.

Streaming Wars Part II, Netflix Responds

How do you build a subscription base?  It's all about the content and Netflix is following the strategy of cable TV in building out original exclusive content.  And while the cost of acquisition must certainly be great, it is the content that acts as bait to attract new consumers.  So how best to attract an audience, recognize the different demographics that need to be reached.  And what is more powerful than families, and more specifically, those with young children.  That leads to their latest content deal with Dreamworks Animation.

"The series, "Turbo: F.A.S.T.," is based on DWA's movie "Turbo," which is scheduled to open in theaters this summer. "Turbo: F.A.S.T." will debut exclusively on Netflix in the U.S. and 40 other countries." Prior to this deal, Dreamworks Animation has done content deals with Nickelodean and Cartoon Network.

For Netflix families, access to quality children programming makes them that much more essential to the home.  And as an alternative to cable, Netflix brings a cheaper alternative for content into the home.  In addition, Netflix brings another benefit to families. "Parents like Netflix's easy way to find family friendly movies and shows on-demand and ad-free."  For parents concerned about their kids exposure to tempting commercials, an ad-free model should have enormous appeal.

Can Netflix afford all these programming costs for original and exclusive programming?  Kids bring parents and parents will have their own shows with ads.  Add to that a constant and growing subscription model and Netflix may be the streaming brand to beat.  If Netflix can add an e-commerce revenue stream to the ad and subscriber models, then they will indeed become a triple threat.

Streaming Wars

Consumers have been able to enjoy a number of "marketing wars" over the years with the hopeful outcome that the consumer ends up enjoying a better value for products and services offered.  Yet in most cases, the battle is never about price but about other competitive differences.  We've enjoyed Coke vs Pepsi, Hertz vs Avis, HBO vs Showtime, and today in the streaming marketplace, Netflix vs Amazon.  Sure there are other competitors in each of these battles; still, the main warfare is between the number one and number two brand.

For Amazon and Netflix, much learning comes from the content battles before it, most notably in the cable universe.  While breadth of content is an important piece of the puzzle, the need for original content matters just as much.  So, the fight is on with these two heavyweights, as well as the other competitors in the content space to become the outright streaming leader.  Netflix has been pushing ahead with original series like House of Cards and exclusive new content from Arrested Development.  And Amazon has partnered with CBS "for a unique distribution deal for a 13-episode TV series “Under the Dome” based on a popular 2009 Stephen King novel of the same name."  Yes, this series will first air on the broadcast network this summer and "will be freely available for online streaming for three days afterwards on the network’s website, CBS.com."  But then it will move to Amazon. 

Consumers, for the most part, have a short attention span.  Once consumed, they will be looking for more content to satisfy their appetite.  And it is this desire that will make competition in the streaming world a feeding frenzy.  Good for Amazon and Netflix, but also good news for the other streaming competitors, Hulu, Redbox, and Blockbuster to name a few.  And what of Apple?  For those that want to own the content, Amazon provides a service that Netflix doesn't.  And it is in the download space that Apple competes head on.  Should Apple decide to enter the rental market, either through acquisition or growth, then these streaming wars will no doubt take another interesting turn. 

iPhones Off The Table, I'm Wearing My Phone

I cannot tell you how many people I see at restaurants who put their smartphone out on the table so as to not miss any important call or text.  And while it seems to have become the norm, I am sure Miss Manners would have a few choice words to say about the behavior.  I also find that a smartphone in a pocket or purse can make it difficult at times to hear the ring or feel the buzz of the phone.  Well a solution is at hand, or more accurately, on the wrist.  Word has it that "Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products."

Functional, no doubt; but let's hope that Apple partners with a fashion designer to that the product looks good too.  We have been hearing rumblings of an iWatch before.  What I hope is that the device is an extension of the iPhone and not intended to replace it completely.  Let it notify the wearer that a call is coming in and who it is from; let it share the latest iMessage, and let it remind us when an upcoming calendar appointment is due.  Would access to Siri be a win, it just might; but, let's get the ergonomics right first.  "Down the road, some people believe that "wearable computers" can replace smartphones as the next big thing."  For now, let it be a part of the iPhone infrastructure.

The Future Of Digital Content Is Exclusivity?

At the LA Innovation Forum on Tuesday, the experts in digital content spoke about the future of the industry.  At the panel Hulu's Jason "Kilar noted that the future of sites like Hulu will be with exclusive content, 'something you can't get somewhere else.'" And while I did not personally attend, I wonder if anyone challenged this notion.  Certainly not that it isn't true; rather, that it is the case for all content.

How did print content survive for so long, exclusive content.  In fact, their challenge is not just exclusive, but that the value of the content is minimized by other content that mimics it, only for less.  Print has been challenged because consumers are being asked to pay when other similar content is available for free.  Think generic drugs verse labeled prescriptions, or generic liquor verse premium liquor.  Once we believe that the premium or exclusive stuff is a better value, we as consumers will migrate back to it.  Hence, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal and other print are seeing digital subscriptions rise.

Distribution platforms that own content have a better means to protect it.  The New York Times has contracts with writers.  But except for Comcast, cable operators don't own their TV networks.  In fact, they make a business of selling content in different "windows" to try to keep content exclusive over periods of time.  Movie studios have made their business selling content across different windows, theatrical, premium, and broadcast TV.

In the movie industry, the exclusivity is threatened when content is moved in front of the pay wall and made available, sometimes illegally, to the masses.  Today's news of Disney classic animation movies not being protected on You Tube is but one example.  For cable operators, the threat is that the networks that they pay a monthly license fee for content is offering the same content to consumers on other mobile platforms.  It eliminates their exclusivity and has these cable operators literally offering broadband service to circumvent their own cable service.  Consumers who don't want to pay for cable can still get their TV shows through Hulu and other websites. 

Of course exclusivity is not the only means to gain consumer share of market.  A better transaction experience, easier download, quality of the stream of content, quantity and variety of product, and other factors affect the buying decision.  And as consumers we are willing to buy digital content once we believe it delivers to us a value proposition that works.

Char Beales To Leave CTAM

For those in the cable industry, CTAM has been the industry group for marketers.  Once representing just cable television, the  group expanded its reach when its initials were renamed to represent the Cable AND Telecommunications Association for Marketing.  I was fortunate enough to have been both a member of the organization as well as a part of the local New York Chapter, involved on a number of committees, including the Blue Ribbon Breakfast, and on the local board as Membership Director and as Vice President.  It was a great experience.

But the role of CTAM has changed a great deal in the last decade.  Controlled by the cable operators, CTAM pushed out alternative distribution providers from becoming members.  In 2011, the CTAM board voted to close all the local US chapters.  For me, it was the nail in the coffin for CTAM as the local chapters created multiple in market events and represented a cable community for its members.  Whether it was an educational panel or a holiday party, local members came together to learn, talk, and share.  And it enabled real relationships to form and grow. Without the chapters, CTAM lost its real connection for me.

So it is with a sad heart to read that CTAM's  president and CEO, Char Beales, will be leaving the helm of the ship she has guided.  For me, she is CTAM.  Whether it is her own decision or one that has been decided by the cable operators who manage the board of directors, Char probably knew that the best days of the organization were behind her.  The last straw for her may just have been seeing the end of the CTAM Summit.

The industry has changed greatly and there are far fewer cable operators to oversee.  The loss of local chapters and the Summit and other conferences makes the role of president much less impactful.  Perhaps the board felt that a "less expensive" salaried president was necessary too.  While Char will help find the next president, the future of CTAM seems to me to be a short one and I predict that it will close for good in a couple of years.

Is Charter Cable For Sale?

Is Charter Cable preparing itself for sale?  "Word has it that Charter just froze all budgets including hiring at its new headquarters in Stamford, CT. "  Speculation is that the tires are being kicked by Time Warner Cable although Cox Communication may also be in the hunt.  At the same time, TWC also announced higher  fourth quarter earnings.  We will just have to stay tuned...

Postal Service Declines The Result of Digital

We all have seen the decline of the US Postal Service as, like any government organization, has high costs and lack of innovation.  And despite their motto to deliver through all types of bad weather, it is in fact the technology environment that has taken the biggest toll.

The quantity of mail flowing through the system keeps declining with the rise of online connectivity and consumer acceptance with the web.  We don't write letters to our family and friends, we send e-mails.  We don't mail our checks to the credit card companies, we pay online.  We don't send as many birthday or anniversary or get well cards because of the speed and ease of social media.  In fact, why send a birthday card when Facebook tells me who's birthday it is today and offers me a quick link to send them some birthday wishes.  I write less checks, I send less cards, I write less letters, I buy less postage stamps.  The world around the post office has changed while the institution stays the same.

So it should come as no surprise that  the Postal Service has decided to lower its costs and adapt to less quantity of mail by reducing its workload.  "The U.S. Postal Service plans to stop delivering letters and other first-class mail on Saturdays beginning Aug. 1, although packages will continue to be delivered."  I am confident that this change will go over with barely a whisper.  Most important mail is delivered digitally.  Packages of any importance don't have to rely on the US Post Office when Fed Ex and UPS are also on the job.  It is a big change for an institution that "started Saturday delivery in 1863."  But as much as we may want to weep nostalgic, change is the only constant/

Hulu Leads Free TV Streaming

"Hulu leads the market for free streaming television services in the U.S." When I read that first line, it took me a moment to clarify this achievement from others. So among streaming providers of television shows offered for free to viewers to watch, Hulu ranks first.  At the same time, viewers are also willing to go directly to the networks' websites to stream shows as well.  And while Hulu led with 43% of TV show streams, "CBS (CBS), the only major broadcast network that does not provide its content to Hulu in the U.S., was second in total streams last year, with 10%."

When you look at TV show streams from subscription based services, Netflix is number one.  In addition, the number of streams are equally split between paid and free TV content.  So where is You Tube in the mix; obviously, You Tube is much more about short form and UGC clips and so was not compared in this study. And while this study does not indicate whether this TV streaming usage has grown from the year prior, it most likely seems that as more TV content finds itself to the web, the number of streams is increasing as well.

Apple iPhone Is Top Smartphone

The new Blackberry is coming, Samsung has the next best thing, but at least for the last quarter, Apple sold more smartphones to lead the market share.  "Apple shipped an estimated 17.7 million phones in the U.S. in the fourth quarter to score a market share of 34 percent. Those numbers were a healthy rise from the same quarter in 2011 when Apple shipped 12.8 million phones and captured a 25 percent share."  Samsung was close behind with 32% share.  Yet despite leading the market, Apple's stock price plunged.  For it is not what you have done that impresses the market, but what you are expected to do.  And as the leader in the space, the only real direction is down. 

Many cite the loss of Steve Jobs, their leader for the problems; others, the lack of innovative products since his passing.  But could Steve really have put another rabbit out of his hat?  As George Costanza of Seinfeld fame knew quite well, its best to leave after your witty remark, at the top of your game.  Jobs did just that and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple may not have his "next big thing" ready to release.  It is why there is so much tweaking of newer iPad, iPhone, and iPod products.  And why there is so much hoping that an Apple TV set could deliver the goods.

For now, enjoy the fact that apple smartphones have the largest market share.  "Though Apple had reason to cheer last quarter, Samsung was the top dog for 2012 as a whole in both shipments and market share. And Apple's latest surge was certainly buoyed by strong demand from holiday shoppers. So Samsung could easily take back the crown this quarter."  And with the new Blackberry on the shelf, the race just keeps on going.

CableCard Distribution Rising

The news out of the cable industry is that CableCards are being deployed at a higher and higher rate.  Year over year, CableCards have grown by 8% to non-cable boxes like TiVo, and the top 9 cable operators saw CableCard deployment increase 22% to their own set top boxes.  "CableCards, developed by CableLabs, provide authentication and encryption to access cable TV programming."  

So that news means that more homes are using set top boxes. At the same time, most of these same top cable companies have also reported declines in the number of households taking a cable subscription.  So what does that mean?  More cards, less homes; obviously, the conversion of cable plants from analog and digital requires that every TV set needs a set top box to unscramble the programming signals.  This the increase in CableCard deployment is simply that, the requirement that more boxes be deployed in the field so all the TV sets in the home can watch cable TV.  If anything,the research may simply indicate that the average home has multiple TV sets.  Good to know.

Is HBO Go On Apple TV A Big Deal?

Would someone explain to me why having the HBO Go App on the Apple TV device is a big deal.  "Adding HBO to the lineup of Apple TV services including Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Hulu Plus may help the iPhone maker bolster sales of a set-top box that has faced stiff competition from similar video-delivery devices from Roku Inc. and Microsoft Corp.."  But wait, don't I already have an HBO Go app on my iPad and iPhone.  And since I need a cable subscription to watch HBO, I most likely have a cable set top box since one is required on every set to get channels as well as on demand.  So while it may sound great that Apple TV has the service, unless HBO enables a consumer to buy an HBO subscription WITHOUT going through a cable provider, I am less impressed.