television

Marketing 101: Know your audience

One of the ways to know your audience is through research. My never-ending quest as a TV marketing guy is to understand viewer behavior and how to influence that decision-making process. We study why TV viewers choose what they choose.

Recently, I traveled with members of my team to Las Vegas to ask these questions and more at our world-class CBS Television City research facility at the MGM Grand Hotel. The 9,000-square-foot space is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology, and an expert research staff. This is where we test audience response to new TV shows as well as … Read more

Twitter is loopy for Vine videos

Thursday's CNET Update is longer than six seconds:

Today's tech news roundup explains why Apple's latest earnings report of record revenue and sales has disappointed investors. Tim Cook also had little to say about an Apple television and fixes to the Maps app.

Netflix surprised analysts with reported profit and growth. Netflix will push out it's own TV series, "House of Cards," on Feb. 1, and new episodes of Arrested Development are arriving in May.

Hundreds of AT&T U-verse customers have had to live without TV, Internet or phone service for several days. … Read more

Rumor Has It: Bringing back souvenirs from CES 2013

We come at you live from CES 2013, where we saw so many TVs our eyes started bleeding. Kind of.

The week was a blur, but through the rubble we recall images of giant televisions, curved screens, a fork that vibrates, an awesome gaming tablet that Karyne wishes she owned 100 of, and blackjack tables. So many blackjack tables.

Thanks for watching!

Heard a tech rumor you think we should cover? Leave a comment below; ; send us a tweet (@EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, and @CNETRumorShow); or call and leave us a voice mail at 1-800-750-CNET. … Read more

Sony sells its Madison Ave. headquarters for $1.1 billion

Sony announced today that it is selling its U.S. headquarters building located on Madison Avenue in New York City to a real estate consortium headed by The Chetrit Group. The sale price for the 37-story building is $1.1 billion.

"Given the opportunities and challenges in the current economic and real estate landscape, selling 550 Madison now is a timely and logical strategic move," Sony Corporation of America President Nicole Seligman said in the statement, according to Bloomberg.

The sale of Sony's assets is a longtime coming. The company has struggled over the past few years … Read more

LG's Ultra HD set: 300 sold... and counting?

If a report out of Korea is to be believed, LG's 84-inch Ultra HD television isn't exactly setting the industry on fire with its sales.

According to news site Chosun Ilbo, LG has sold about 300 units of its high-end television. The company's monthly sales have averaged about 70 of the TVs since the product's launch last year.

So, why might sales be so underwhelming? Price may have something to do with it. LG is currently selling its 84-inch Ultra HD set for about $20,000.

Ultra HD technology took center stage at the Consumer Electronics … Read more

Time Warner Cable, Netflix at odds over 'Super HD,' 3D

Time Warner Cable and Netflix are reportedly talking to each other about partnering on the streaming provider's content delivery network (CDN), but the cable provider isn't too pleased about the service.

Speaking to Multichannel in an interview published yesterday, a Time Warner Cable spokesperson criticized Netflix for only delivering its higher-quality high-definition service, Super HD, and 3D videos to customers whose cable providers have signed up with Netflix's Open Connect.

"While they call it Open Connect, Netflix is actually closing off access to some of its content while seeking unprecedented preferential treatment from ISPs," the … Read more

2013 social TV predictions from the experts at CES

LAS VEGAS--What will the social TV landscape look like in 2013? Experts weighed in with their predictions at CES during a panel discussion on how social media is changing TV consumption, discovery, and measurement.

Social television can be defined as the intersection of television content and social networks. The category also considers how consumers engage with TV-enhancing applications on second screens like mobile phones and tablets.

Moderator Michael Wolf, a Forbes contributor, put the social TV crystal ball question to Richard Bullwinkle of Bullwinkle Inc., Jack Flanagan of BlueFin Labs, and Trevor Stout of Yap.tv. Their answers ranged from … Read more

Warner Bros. to bring 'Revolution,' 'Fringe' to Netflix

Netflix and Warner Bros. have signed a deal that will deliver several popular shows to the streaming service.

The companies announced today that they have signed a deal that will see several Warner Bros. Television Group shows make their way to Netflix, including "Revolution," "Fringe," "The West Wing," and "666 Park Avenue." According to the companies, Netflix will be the exclusive online home to complete prior seasons of the shows.

All told, eight shows are included in the deal, but in the future, more could be added.

Time Warner, which owns Warner … Read more

Sony said to be developing online TV service

Word on the street is that Sony is creating a Net-connected multichannel television service that could roll out as soon as this year, according to Variety. Purportedly, the company is in talks with at least two big content companies about channel licensing.

Such a service would put Sony in direct competition with both satellite and cable TV, as well as other tech companies that are branching out into the television market, such as Intel; Google, with Google Fiber; and Dish.

This isn't the first time rumors have floated that Sony has been looking to develop a TV service. In … Read more

Samsung aims to upend TV design at CES, clearly

Samsung is planning to bring a television to the Consumer Electronics Show that looks, well, see-through.

On its blog yesterday, the technology company posted an image of a television that's sitting vertically instead of horizontally. The set also appears to be sitting on a landscape in which the viewer can look through the display to see what's behind it.

Samsung was slim on details, and only had this to say about the set: "A true innovation of TV design is coming up with an unprecedented new TV shape and timeless design."

The Verge was first to report … Read more