With the Samsung purchase of Boxee, the Cloud DVR feature will become a thing of the past. According to the company, "Cloud DVR functionality we provided to certain Boxee TV users will be discontinued on July 10th". Sad news for current Boxee owners that have saved content on their cloud DVR. But it also got me thinking, if we don't physically own digital content, but save it in the cloud, then we don't really own it.
Some might say that the DVR is a rental type service and we don't control it, but I think that you can still take the concept to the next level. To truly own digital content, we must maintain our own physical storage for it; if we choose to keep it purely in the cloud, then should that company business go away, just like Boxee, we could lose our ownership of it.
But back to Boxee, I must say I am surprised to read that Samsung doesn't want to keep the cloud DVR business alive and well. For consumers seeking a TV Everywhere approach with their DVR content, the cloud provides it and more. While Samsung might want to support the hardware DVR approach, there should seem no problem to offer the cloud as a software complement service.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Who Will Own Hulu?
With final bids due tomorrow, July 5, we should know shortly afterwards who will be buying Hulu. Along with hedge fund and investment groups, companies like DirecTv, Time Warner Cable, and Yahoo are still interested in owning this streaming video aggregator. "The big question is how much bidders will offer for Hulu. Fox and Disney want about $1B." Samsung's purchase of Boxee, on the other hand, is a tiny $30 million. Hulu's value certainly depends on the length of the content deals, especially from the soon to be former owners of Hulu. Once free of the shackles of distribution, they are free to charge whatever and to whoever they choose. So once the current content deals expire, Hulu could just be an empty vessel. Hopefully, the content deals include a long term life.
Who will the winner of Hulu be? We shall know soon enough.
Who will the winner of Hulu be? We shall know soon enough.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Apple TV Box Seeks Content Deals
Apple may finally be putting more emphasis into its Apple TV box rather than building its own smart TV. It seems they are ramping up their content deals and thinking more about working with cable operators than against them. Adding authenticated cable subscription content like HBO GO and WatchESPN was the first step, negotiating with Time Warner Cable to enable the Apple TV device to receive authenticated access of its lineup is the next leap. "Bloomberg said the companies expect to announce the deal 'within a few
months,' adding that Apple has likewise hired Pete Distad from Hulu to
help Apple strike deals with media and cable companies. "
I believe that Apple TV can represent an import revenue stream for Apple and make the device an indispensable device for any home that also is an iTunes customer. Connectivity and ease of use with iPads, iPods, and iPhones to search and watch lay the ground work for an improved experience, one that cable operators, like Time Warner Cable, desperately need. Their current cable boxes are clunky and outdated; an Apple TV box with a cloud DVR and on demand access could be the ideal arrangement.
I believe that Apple TV can represent an import revenue stream for Apple and make the device an indispensable device for any home that also is an iTunes customer. Connectivity and ease of use with iPads, iPods, and iPhones to search and watch lay the ground work for an improved experience, one that cable operators, like Time Warner Cable, desperately need. Their current cable boxes are clunky and outdated; an Apple TV box with a cloud DVR and on demand access could be the ideal arrangement.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Is The iWatch Coming?
Are we one step closer to Apple delivering an iWatch to consumers? According to the report, "Apple Inc has applied for a trademark for "iWatch" in Japan, a patent
official said on Monday, signaling the iPhone maker may be moving ahead
with plans for a watch-like device as gadget makers turn their attention
to wearable computers." So what about a US patent? I admit to ignorance to the trademark and patent game but find it interesting that it was in Japan unless a patent was already submitted in the US. No announcements yet but I would love to see this product made available for this holiday season.
Media Merger Mania - Scale Matters
Small is nice, but large matters. Small is hands on, large requires all the parts working in a coordinated fashion to achieve efficiency and economies of scale. And while we start small, large always seems to be the goal, at least in business.
In the world of media and entertainment, survival of the fittest requires an eat or be eaten mentality. And the more we eat, the larger we get. Lately, we are hearing more and more stories of growth threw merger and acquisition. Most recently, the desire by John Malone and his ownership stake in Charter, wanting to merge with Time Warner Cable and/or Cablevision to gain scale. In book publishing, Penguin has merged with Random House to increase its penetration of the marketplace. And today's news we hear that Tribune plans to acquire more local broadcast stations. "The deal will add 19 television stations in 16 markets to Tribune Co.'s portfolio, making it the largest commercial television station owner in the U.S., with 42 properties across the country, reaching 50 million homes." Again scale matters.
This natural evolution of growth and scale is not without its pitfalls. Many large companies have fallen to their knees and gone bankrupt because of both internal and external forces, from leadership issues to environmental and technological changes. For cable operators, large does matter as long as their wired approach remains valuable to consumers. They make their money on cable, broadband and telephone subscriptions. Cord cutting already is starting to affect one stream. Should consumers become more untethered and devoted to wireless, cable operators must adapt to remain competitive. For Tribune, their hope is pinned on revenue in retransmission fees, the license fees cable operators pay for carriage of broadcast networks. But companies like Aereo are disrupting the model and proving that there are no guarantees. Cable operators could balk paying fees; if Aereo can create farms to capture signals, cable might consider the same approach to avoid paying fees.
Media mergers have and will continue to happen throughout history. Size may matter initially but disruptive influences prove that nothing is for certain. For Malone and Charter, for Tribune, and for others seeking partnerships to gain economies of scale and increased profitability, don't stop innovating. It may be harder to change directions in a big ship than a small boat, but change matters. Keep adapting to your environment. Otherwise, as the story goes, David will beat Goliath.
In the world of media and entertainment, survival of the fittest requires an eat or be eaten mentality. And the more we eat, the larger we get. Lately, we are hearing more and more stories of growth threw merger and acquisition. Most recently, the desire by John Malone and his ownership stake in Charter, wanting to merge with Time Warner Cable and/or Cablevision to gain scale. In book publishing, Penguin has merged with Random House to increase its penetration of the marketplace. And today's news we hear that Tribune plans to acquire more local broadcast stations. "The deal will add 19 television stations in 16 markets to Tribune Co.'s portfolio, making it the largest commercial television station owner in the U.S., with 42 properties across the country, reaching 50 million homes." Again scale matters.
This natural evolution of growth and scale is not without its pitfalls. Many large companies have fallen to their knees and gone bankrupt because of both internal and external forces, from leadership issues to environmental and technological changes. For cable operators, large does matter as long as their wired approach remains valuable to consumers. They make their money on cable, broadband and telephone subscriptions. Cord cutting already is starting to affect one stream. Should consumers become more untethered and devoted to wireless, cable operators must adapt to remain competitive. For Tribune, their hope is pinned on revenue in retransmission fees, the license fees cable operators pay for carriage of broadcast networks. But companies like Aereo are disrupting the model and proving that there are no guarantees. Cable operators could balk paying fees; if Aereo can create farms to capture signals, cable might consider the same approach to avoid paying fees.
Media mergers have and will continue to happen throughout history. Size may matter initially but disruptive influences prove that nothing is for certain. For Malone and Charter, for Tribune, and for others seeking partnerships to gain economies of scale and increased profitability, don't stop innovating. It may be harder to change directions in a big ship than a small boat, but change matters. Keep adapting to your environment. Otherwise, as the story goes, David will beat Goliath.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Saving Barnes & Noble
Today's Wall Street Journal poses the same question that I have already been trying to answer, "How to Rescue Barnes & Noble". The article asked 5 experts and the answers included diversification of merchandise, deeper inventory, discounting, downsizing, and localization as a means to drive profitability. So what is the secret sauce that can invigorate B&N to improve earnings and stockholder value?
I agree that B&N is a destination and a place for discovery, although searching for titles takes a keen eye, their local database, and sometimes their employees. Activities and events that encourage adults and children to come visit is always an asset, provided that they reach into their pocket and buy something before leaving. And more diversification of merchandise could help. My idea, a partnership or merger with Learning Express to reach families.
Encourage consumers to bring their Nook e-reader and iPads to the store for exclusive downloads and other digital downloads. Buy the hard copy book and get the digital download at the store. Or partner with Audible, a Microsoft company, to offer a free audio download with a hard cover purchase. Giving extra value for in-store customers could be a great incentive to keep coming back to retail.
As I have said in the past, I am a fan of B&N and only wish to see them transition successfully into a brighter future where hardbound and digital books are both available.
I agree that B&N is a destination and a place for discovery, although searching for titles takes a keen eye, their local database, and sometimes their employees. Activities and events that encourage adults and children to come visit is always an asset, provided that they reach into their pocket and buy something before leaving. And more diversification of merchandise could help. My idea, a partnership or merger with Learning Express to reach families.
Encourage consumers to bring their Nook e-reader and iPads to the store for exclusive downloads and other digital downloads. Buy the hard copy book and get the digital download at the store. Or partner with Audible, a Microsoft company, to offer a free audio download with a hard cover purchase. Giving extra value for in-store customers could be a great incentive to keep coming back to retail.
As I have said in the past, I am a fan of B&N and only wish to see them transition successfully into a brighter future where hardbound and digital books are both available.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Merger Mania For Cable Operators
With John Malone's investment in Charter Cable, many speculated that it was his way to get back into US cable operations. Having owned TCI before selling it to Comcast and owning DirecTv before spinning it out into its own public company, Malone sees Charter as a means to an end. Now that speculation has advanced to talks of mergers. "Shares of Time Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems soared Thursday
after reports that Liberty Media chairman John Malone was 'exploring
scenarios' to construct a deal to purchase one or both companies through
his latest cable holding, Charter Communications."
Certainly a merger of all three cable operators, Charter, TWC, and Cablevision, would put them at a subscriber size just a couple million below Comcast Cable. Time Warner Cable is already the second largest to Comcast, but with 10 million fewer. This merger would put them squarely in equal footing to Comcast. As a result, this new entity would see tremendous cost savings from lower licensing fees for network programming to better economies of scale in its infrastructure. The one common piece to this three way merger is Charter CEO Tom Rutledge who has worked at all three cable companies.
But good news for cable operators would mean bad news for the networks. Lower revenues from existing business, fewer cable operators to sell to, and a more constrained business environment. For the Department of Justice and FCC to approve such a merger, such requirements might be needed to be consumer beneficial such as allowing networks to sell to OTT platforms despite current license deals that may prevent or limit such arrangements through Most Favored Nation (MFN) clauses. That could mean that networks would be allowed to negotiate in good faith with Intel Media, Apple, Roku, Aereo, and others who offer a streaming video subscription business to consumers. Of course that review will also lengthen the timeframe for such a deal to close.
Eventually these types of consolidations and mergers need to occur for the cable business to compete in the face of changing technologies. With the growth of broadband and wireless technologies to compete against the wired cable business, operators like Comcast and Time Warner and others need the cost efficiencies to adapt and compete in an ever changing environment.
Certainly a merger of all three cable operators, Charter, TWC, and Cablevision, would put them at a subscriber size just a couple million below Comcast Cable. Time Warner Cable is already the second largest to Comcast, but with 10 million fewer. This merger would put them squarely in equal footing to Comcast. As a result, this new entity would see tremendous cost savings from lower licensing fees for network programming to better economies of scale in its infrastructure. The one common piece to this three way merger is Charter CEO Tom Rutledge who has worked at all three cable companies.
But good news for cable operators would mean bad news for the networks. Lower revenues from existing business, fewer cable operators to sell to, and a more constrained business environment. For the Department of Justice and FCC to approve such a merger, such requirements might be needed to be consumer beneficial such as allowing networks to sell to OTT platforms despite current license deals that may prevent or limit such arrangements through Most Favored Nation (MFN) clauses. That could mean that networks would be allowed to negotiate in good faith with Intel Media, Apple, Roku, Aereo, and others who offer a streaming video subscription business to consumers. Of course that review will also lengthen the timeframe for such a deal to close.
Eventually these types of consolidations and mergers need to occur for the cable business to compete in the face of changing technologies. With the growth of broadband and wireless technologies to compete against the wired cable business, operators like Comcast and Time Warner and others need the cost efficiencies to adapt and compete in an ever changing environment.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Aereo Finds A Fourth Market
Cable operators are afraid of cord cutting. As much as the percentage of customers dropping cable is low, the trend points to it growing at faster and faster rates. Operators have struck license deals with networks to limit them from selling to OTT providers. These deals have made it hard for OTT companies like Intel Media and others from gaining access to these same networks. But Aereo has found an elegant solution; take broadcast signals from off air through antenna farms and offer their streaming signals to homes in certain markets. No payments to the broadcasters and Aereo successfully aggregates well known networks into a reasonable priced package of online entertainment. And despite lawsuit attempts, Aereo continues to grow.
Aereo is already in three large DMAs, New York, Boston, and Atlanta. "At the TechWeek Chicago event, Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia announced that the company plans to launch its services in Chicago on Sept. 13." Some broadcasters have threatened to change their delivery model to thwart Aereo from taking their over the air signals but so far no one has followed through. Consumers taking the Aereo service still have to subscribe to a broadband service, most likely from their cable provider. And at some point, cable operators will stop selling a broadband only service or switch to a usage type model to capture back some of that lost revenue from customers who have dropped cable service for Aereo.
Perhaps too cable operators need to start offering their networks to online devices and provide a true TV Everywhere environment. "Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku devices, but not Android." That may not stop consumers from switching because of price, but it may slow down some cord cutting. It will certainly help demonstrate the value of being a cable subscriber.
Aereo is already in three large DMAs, New York, Boston, and Atlanta. "At the TechWeek Chicago event, Aereo CEO and founder Chet Kanojia announced that the company plans to launch its services in Chicago on Sept. 13." Some broadcasters have threatened to change their delivery model to thwart Aereo from taking their over the air signals but so far no one has followed through. Consumers taking the Aereo service still have to subscribe to a broadband service, most likely from their cable provider. And at some point, cable operators will stop selling a broadband only service or switch to a usage type model to capture back some of that lost revenue from customers who have dropped cable service for Aereo.
Perhaps too cable operators need to start offering their networks to online devices and provide a true TV Everywhere environment. "Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, AppleTV (via airplay) and Roku devices, but not Android." That may not stop consumers from switching because of price, but it may slow down some cord cutting. It will certainly help demonstrate the value of being a cable subscriber.
Strike Two For Dish Network - No Clearwire
Dish Network has been swinging but unfortunately also missing the ball. Strike one was losing a bid for Sprint to Softbank and strike two is losing its bid for Clearwire to Sprint. "The developments pose a dilemma for Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen as
he tries to create a national wireless broadband service. He has been
amassing airwave spectrum rights but has said that he needs additional
licenses. He had hoped to secure that by acquiring a large minority
stake in Clearwire – and by acquiring Sprint." So what to do next? Does Dish Network have another swing left and who might it be?
Some are speculating that Dish may still have their eyes on Lightsquared, although that spectrum space has been questioned for its interference issues. Others are speculating that dish may reach out to another wireless provider, perhaps T Mobile, to gain a national footprint. And still others think the best course of action is for Dish Network and DirecTv to merge into a more powerful satellite competitor. One wonders if this third scenario might raise the anti trade issues of a single consolidated satellite company, but if Sirius and XM could make it work, so should these two. For me, I think the next step is a wireless play and perhaps a T-Mobile and Lightsquared combination may create synergies similar to what Sprint and Clearwire brought to the table. For now, the next move seems to be Ergens.
Some are speculating that Dish may still have their eyes on Lightsquared, although that spectrum space has been questioned for its interference issues. Others are speculating that dish may reach out to another wireless provider, perhaps T Mobile, to gain a national footprint. And still others think the best course of action is for Dish Network and DirecTv to merge into a more powerful satellite competitor. One wonders if this third scenario might raise the anti trade issues of a single consolidated satellite company, but if Sirius and XM could make it work, so should these two. For me, I think the next step is a wireless play and perhaps a T-Mobile and Lightsquared combination may create synergies similar to what Sprint and Clearwire brought to the table. For now, the next move seems to be Ergens.
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