pay-tv

Intel closing in on pay-TV service, company reports

Bloomberg posted an interesting tidbit this afternoon, suggesting that Intel is negotiating with a clutch of content providers in connection with a planned online pay-TV service. Given how we're talking about Intel -- yes, that Intel, chip king extraordinaire -- this would make for quite the headline, should it come to pass. Apparently, the sides have reached general agreement on the contours of the proposed service; although, some details remain unresolved.

The content suppliers named in the piece include Time Warner, NBC Universal, and Viacom. Sources tell Bloomberg that Intel is also about to open talks with News Corp., … Read more

Pay TV is on the ebb as customers cut the cord

A look at the numbers shows that subscribing to pay-TV services is on the ebb. According to Reuters, more than 400,000 TV watchers have "cut the cord" since January.

First, DirecTV, which is the top satellite TV provider in the U.S., announced today that it lost 52,000 customers in the second quarter. Then the No. 2 cable provider in the U.S., Time Warner, also announced a second quarter loss today with 169,000 people leaving the service.

"Basic video subscriber losses aren't getting better," Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett told Reuters … Read more

Dish Network chief defends new ad-skipping feature

Dish's new ad-skipping feature has aroused anger among TV broadcasters, but the company's chairman sees it as a wake-up call to the industry.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen defended Ad Hop, the new feature that lets Dish viewers skip advertisements.

Cheap Web-based TV is a threat to pay TV, believes Ergen, a trend created in part by the networks themselves because of their failure to develop ads better targeted toward viewers. Ergen is hoping Ad Hop will convince TV networks to create "more meaningful" ads that people won'… Read more

Google mulling plan to offer pay TV services?

Google is considering a plan to offer paid TV services to consumers across high-speed fiber-optic lines, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The Web giant has considered adding TV services to a previously announced high-speed Internet service in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., the Journal said, citing people briefed on the company's plans. Google has reportedly hired cable TV executive Jeremy Stern to lead talks with media companies such as Disney and Time Warner.

A Google representative declined to confirm the pay TV report but said, "We're still exploring what product offerings will be … Read more

Microsoft looking into Xbox TV service, report says

Microsoft is said to be planning a Web-based pay-TV service that it can build onto its Xbox Live platform.

The software company is in talks with two dozen content companies, as well as Comcast and Verizon Communications, according to a Bloomberg report. The menu of programming will include music, movies, sports, and TV shows.

Last week, the blog Digiday, citing anonymous sources, reported that Microsoft was nearing a deal with Comcast that would allow Xbox 360 owners to sign up for the cable provider's service and watch its programming from the game console. CNET blogger Don Reisinger wrote, "… Read more

Cable, satellite see quarterly loss of TV subscribers

That loud snipping sound is a greater number of Americans cutting the cord and ditching their cable and satellite TV subscriptions. That's the verdict today in an analysis done by the Associated Press of the pay TV companies' quarterly earnings reports.

The AP tallied lost subscribers from eight of the top nine providers, including Comcast and Time Warner cable, Verizon, AT&T, DirecTV, and Dish Network. Cox Communications was not included because it is a private company and does not disclose subscriber numbers, but AP said it has captured 70 percent of households in its survey and found … Read more

Value of a prime TV episode to Netflix: $100,000?

Netflix is willing to pay big bucks to offer current prime-time TV shows to subscribers of its streaming service, according to a published report.

The Web's top video rental service is offering to pay as much as $100,000 per episode for in-season TV shows, the New York Post reported today. In recent weeks, Netflix has signaled that it will wants to build out the company's library of streaming TV shows.

In the race to deliver movies and TV shows over the Internet, Netflix is far out in front. But the company's burgeoning streaming-video service could stumble, … Read more

In-Stat: Fall in pay TV subscribers due to economy

The number of pay TV subscribers in the U.S. declined slightly during the second quarter, but it's the economy and high unemployment--not so-called cord-cutters--that are to blame, according to a new report from In-Stat.

The number of "cord-cutters," or people who go cold turkey on their cable TV in favor of online programming, is actually low and is having a minimal effect on the industry, according to In-Stat's data released yesterday. The report also found that satellite TV and so-called telco TV (such as Verizon's Fios and AT&T's U-verse) both continue … Read more