May 17, 2011 Vikram R Chari’s Journal Volume 2011 Issue 22

Tags

3D, 3DTV, 3GPP, Advanced Television, Broadband TV, Cable TV, CATV, Digital Video, DTH, DTT, DTV, DVB, DVR, Google TV, HbbTVHulu, HDTV, internet television, Internet TV, IP Video, iptv, LTE, NetFlix, OTT, Pay TV, PayTV, PVR, Satellite, Satellite TV, STB, Telco TV, Telecom, television, Triple Play, TV, Video, VOD, Wireless

VIDEO SERVICES with strongest revenue growth: IPTV (+45% in 2010) and satellite video (+13%). Infonetics report: http://bit.ly/jiFEVS

Home networking wars heat up as HomePlug claims major gains in Europe http://bit.ly/l956O5

European multiscreen TV held back by regulations http://bit.ly/kgadhi

Tuesday is World Telecommunication & Information Society Day. Theme: Better life in rural communities with ICTs http://bit.ly/lYhVfz

Comcast rolls out metro Ethernet http://goo.gl/7Z7YJ

How much of that content is really “HD?” – Time Warner Cable Hits 175 HD Channels In NYC | Broadcasting & Cable  http://ow.ly/4WkJb

Videotron To Deploy Zodiac’s Multiplatform Games System – http://t.co/qfjUvzr

More analysis predicts 500% growth for 3D in 2011 http://goo.gl/fb/2PwsH

Telekom Entertain leads German IPTV market – Broadband TV News http://bit.ly/mpg6Hj

NTT DoCoMo: Not sure whether LTE can allow a new premium revenue stream compared with existing HSPA/HSPA+ network

DVB-T2 for Philippines? – Sky 3D strategy http://conta.cc/kYMHqO

Sky and Discovery launch digital product placement: Sky and Discovery have both signed product placement deals …http://bit.ly/m9QxYG

Sky and Virgin reveal 3D strategy http://dlvr.it/Rzz9Y

UK Govt starts consultation on futuremedia regulation http://lnkd.in/rwsdbt

Wireline’s rising trends – FierceTelecom http://t.co/Ugjp03r

Dish Networks may offer Hollywood VOD movie service 8 weeks after they’re released in theatres http://ow.ly/4WhLc

A Better PVR – Smart Recording Features http://www.iptv-blog.net/2011/04/better-personal-video-recorder-pvr-with.html

LTE Supplement 2011 http://goo.gl/fb/9Rrpp

Netflix ‘wants to be the fifth US TV network’: Hollywood. OTT becomes much, much more than re-runs connectedTV future…http://lnkd.in/9tvrxD

BT’s fibre-to-the-cabinet broadband could exceed 100Mbps in future. PR spin? What if everyone in street used it at same time? http://lnkd.in/BaTwUn

Technology is a great social leveler. India’s plan is to connect 250K Panchayats to optical fiber cable. India is a nation of a connected 1 billion people! Sam Pitroda

Verizon launched in 38 markets and 60 major airports covering 110 million subscribers during December 2010.

Cameron Pace Group outlines 2D-3D vision – broadcasters not so sure http://is.gd/PV80o0

By end 2015, high-speed, one hundred megabit broadband connections will be available to nearly all in Finland @TarjaHalonen

Finland is 1st country in the world to ensure– by legislation –that all its citizens have opportunity to use digital services @TarjaHalonen

There are now 28 countries that have deployed or adopted the DVB-T2 DTT standard http://t.co/L2b5xVl

WarnerTV arrives in Emirates http://dlvr.it/RzPtx Warner Bros launches VOD in Dubai, UAE: Warner Bros has launched its branded subscription video-on-demand …http://tinyurl.com/3kb982h

UPC Czech ups 3D offer http://dlvr.it/RyV6L

Vision IPTV to brief The African TV Show on OTT TV broadcasting http://bit.ly/k25JSR

Amazon plans a line of Android based devices, including Google TV http://tvaftertv.com/7cy

India ends 2010 with 32 million DTH subscribershttp://bit.ly/mo8q63

Samsung launches 3D VOD app
service .http://tinyurl.com/3vu873k

YouSee to invest DKK250 million in on-demand capacity.http://tinyurl.com/3npfymd

Blip.tv Redesigns To Be Like Hulu for Independent Web Series http://tvaftertv.com/xwa Video: With 1 Billion Views Per Quarter, Blip.tv Becomes A Video Destination http://tcrn.ch/mczd0U

Dish, U-verse TV Fall On ACSI Customer-Satisfaction Survey – Charter, Comcast, TWC Lag in Category – http://t.co/xrJZPnR

AT&T Upgrades U-verse Total Home DVR to Control Live TV on Any TV in the Home http://go-att.us/3sgw

Social TV Startup BeeTV Raises $1.5 Million, Releases iPad Apphttp://tcrn.ch/lEgkrs

Boxx TV’s wireless hotspot service goes Street-Live. Offers big savings over sat trucks http://is.gd/GjcviK

IPTV operators name key STB features http://tvaftertv.com/7qp

Netflix Represents Nearly 30% Of Peak Downstream Internet Traffic: Study http://j.mp/l96OuU

KIT digital Powers Launch of China United Television http://bit.ly/kIpawf

Connected TV is a great development for cable http://bit.ly/mn8VnL

Viewster pioneers Connected TV VOD models http://bit.ly/mhke9T

Stream iPhone 4 Camera To Apple TV, No HDhttp://tvaftertv.com/zhv

BitTorrent still accounts for 52% of all upstream traffic consumed during peak periods, according to Sandvine  http://t.co/R1jFCVT Netflix Represents Nearly 30% Of Peak Downstream Internet Traffic: Study http://bit.ly/j7awzO

Vodafone Deepens Ties With Verizon – major implications for users, rivals and suppliers  http://t.co/3F938nj

Asia-Pacific digital pay-TV subscriptions reached 148 million in 2010 http://bit.ly/jtvurJ

Customer experience is the most important competitive differentiator for a CSP http://j.mp/lDYLTf

Driving the Connected Home http://ht.ly/4Wo6P

Shaw Communications Deploys the ARRIS Whole Home Solution, Offers New Multi-Room PVR Service  http://bit.ly/keIprP

CenturyLink dials up competition in Tallahassee with IPTV launch – FierceIPTV http://bit.ly/mr9W2n

Buffalo group accuses Verizon of ignoring minorities in FiOS rollout – FierceIPTV http://bit.ly/mnY7zp

IPTV Set to Dominate Urban Areas in CEE by 2017 – TMC Net http://bit.ly/iLKd3X

Verizon plans new push for FiOS services in next two years – FierceIPTV http://bit.ly/mP8D7J

UK pay TV operator BSkyB – 3D TV could replicate success of HD: http://tinyurl.com/3jr96as

Time Warner Cable Funds VOD Ad Vendor BlackArrow http://bit.ly/l7jzpf

Fox’s latest anti-AllVid FCC filing suggests new pay-TV service is coming to gaming consoles  http://t.co/mZRroRy

Court Invalidates Verizon Countersuit Claims Against ActiveVideohttp://bit.ly/mpW4To

China’s internet population powers ahead of US, hits 477 million http://onforb.es/lUnp9V

SeaChange debuts Infusion advanced advertising platform: http://bit.ly/m38by0

RomTelecom drives VOD take-up with Espial: Romania’s RomTelecom has exceeded 35,000 IPTV subscribers with access…http://bit.ly/kfapem

Samsung reviews 3D progress http://dlvr.it/S1VH8

Regal CEO: Talks with studios continue over premium VODhttp://bit.ly/kQpyqO

Encoding.com launched developer-friendly plan that includes free encoding http://bit.ly/msDKY6

ZDF wants HbbTV as single hybrid standard http://bit.ly/kpNN1w

Cox Communications launched its wireless service today in Rhode Island, Cleveland, Ohio and markets in Connecticut http://bit.ly/lHmQwm

The cost of telecommunications has fallen worldwide. Economist Daily Chart May 17th  http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/05/telecommunications?fsrc=scn/tw/te/dc/talkischeaper

3D TV set market to grow 500% in 2011 http://dlvr.it/S2z7d #3DTV

Google Kansas City Plans Now Include Both Sides of The River http://t.co/FjLDU2J

CHART OF THE DAY: Netflix Is Eating Up More Of North America’s Bandwidth Than Any Other Company by http://read.bi/kRnTC0

3G subscriptions in India are expected to reach 41 million connections http://j.mp/mLSseQ

In-Stat: All TVs 40+ Inches Will Be 3D-Enabled http://t.co/mVSSRtx

Limelight Networks Finds Traction as Online Video Platformhttp://tvaftertv.com/3vv

Cable TV goes mobile: The HBO Go app from Time Warner has already produced more than 1 million downloads ..http://bit.ly/lyJzD4

Time Warner Cable touts more than 175 HD channels in NYC with international packages like Hindi, Russian & Filipino. http://ow.ly/4WBBA

BT’s fibre rollout lagging behind – analyst http://twurl.nl/p6e04a

Vodafone CEO says Europe would benefit from mobile consolidation http://twurl.nl/8wcj6r

SK Telecom may launch services in Brazil http://twurl.nl/ym4327

MetroPCS concerned over spectrum concentration from AT&T, T-Mobile deal http://twurl.nl/h085zn

MTNL plans to recast 30 billion rupees of debt http://twurl.nl/57dwnt

TiVo’s slow-mo trip toward profitability | http://buswk.co/jPyZSZ TiVo pricing changes May 19th: $100 Premiere, $20 / month service, $500 lifetime for all http://engt.co/ix8pK4

The latest edition of the Intelsat Insider… http://ow.ly/4IhCg

ESPN goes after women, Hispanics and … male shoppershttp://bit.ly/k7IC7Z

Rostelecom reveals post-merger targets; aims to secure 50% of broadband market http://tf.to/rVJh

Time Warner Cable’s mobile TV app finds ready audience: .http://bit.ly/lsd9b1

Gigaband Networks seeks to optimize Wi-Fi to the home-http://j.mp/kc2qJv

Principles for Connected and Hybrid TV Pt 1http://ht.ly/4WcUM and Pt 2 http://ht.ly/4WcUN

Analyst – Sky Deutschland to Breakeven in 2012 http://bit.ly/iHPVjI

The World’s First Experimentation Of An Interactive TV Portal http://bit.ly/kl2XJO

Microsoft’s has Integrated Media Platform, Providing OVP Services … http://tvaftertv.com/6e1

Analysts Claim – Viewers not deserting Pay TV for Internet Options (viz Cord Cutting)

Tags

AT&T, Cable, Cablevision, Comcats, Cord-Cutting, Digital OTA, DirecTV, Dish Network, FiOS, Fox., Hulu, iptv, NetFlix, OTT, Pay TV, Subscribers, Time-Warner, TV, Video

Just read this piece from the Buffalo News and wondered aloud, but how long before this trickle becomes a tide – NetFlix already has 20 million customers – with OTT becoming more pervasive. I see not poverty, but a more fair and transparent pricing as well as a more democratic distribution of content as being the driver for cord-cutting.

 

Last month, No. 4 video provider Time Warner Cable Inc. said it lost 141,000 video customers to end at 12.3 million. But AT&T’s U-verse added 246,000 to nearly 3 million, and Verizon Communications’ FiOS added 182,000 to end at 3.5 million. “The notion that people are disconnecting their pay TV connections in favor of Netflix has always been a good story, but there’s been very little evidence that it’s actually happening in any material numbers,” Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said.

Netflix Inc. added 3.1 million customers in the last quarter, rising to more than 20 million. Its service is cheaper but doesn’t include live programming and still requires paying for a separate Internet connection. Subscriber losses from top-ranked Comcast Corp. and eighth-ranked Cablevision Systems Corp. reflected one-time items, such as the defection of customers angry over a two-week blackout of Fox programs on Cablevision in October. Comcast’s loss of 135,000 video subscribers was about a third less than expected as it held onto more customers with better programming, and fewer people dropped service with the expiration of promotional prices offered during the 2009 transition to digital over-the-air (OTA)  broadcasts.

Comcast ended with 22.8 million video customers, and Cablevision had 3.3 million. Those losses were more than erased by gains at such rivals as AT&T Inc. and Verizon, which offer video services over phone lines. Along with a gain of about 130,000 video subscribers combined at satellite operators DirecTV and Dish Network Corp., the established pay TV industry is on track to add 200,000 to 250,000 TV subscribers in the final three months of 2010, according to Nomura Securities. The gains are “another piece of evidence that cord-cutting is not impeding subscriber activity,” Mike McCormack and Mike Liddell, Nomura analysts, said in a research note.

Cord-cutting refers to the phenomenon of people dropping pay TV packages with the growth of online video offerings through Hulu, Netflix and other services.

The results showed the traditional pay TV industry was not succumbing to cord-cutting activity and has returned to normal following the end of discounted pricing, analysts said. Some cable operators had offered TV services for as little as $10 a month in the summer of 2009 to ease the transition to digital that made analog rabbit ears useless for receiving over-the- air broadcasts. When those prices reverted to normal after a year, many people switched back to rabbit ears — just new ones capable of receiving digital signals. Industrywide gains in video subscribers also signaled to some analysts that people could afford paying for television again as the economy recovered. “The real pressure on the pay TV operators has tended to be at the very low end of the market,” Moffett said. “And that reflects more on issues of poverty than on issues of technology.”