Scene-level metadata that would allow for recommendations based on such criteria as a program's dialogue or the viewer's mood are part of the data insights available to TV service providers, said Andy Aftelak, Arris director-advanced technology, in an introduction to a report that the company announced on its blog Monday. Data about how people do their over-the-top viewing needs to be wed to customer demographic profiles, which can lead to better recommendation engines, which in turn reduce churn and optimize content acquisition, said Aftelak. That metadata, gleaned from set-top boxes and server logs, also could better monetize niche channels, since those data sources are more reliable than audience measurement panels and thus would account for streams that traditionally get overlooked, he said. Such data could be used in making the "joins" of commercial breaks in an attempt to counter advertising blocking, he said.
Tuesday's State of the Union address will stream live on Amazon, White House Chief Digital Officer Jason Goldman said in a blog Sunday. "Our job in the Office of Digital Strategy has been to find new or expanded ways for the American people to engage with the President's address," he said. "That means meeting people where they are [and] recognizing the massive shift in the American media diet toward on-demand video." The Amazon Video streaming will be in addition to streaming on the White House's YouTube channel and on wh.gov/sotu, said Goldman. Amazon also will make the speech available on demand Wednesday through the end of the week, and the company has made President Barack Obama's previous State of the Union addresses available, Goldman said. As in past years, real-time video excerpts of the speech will be available on Facebook and Twitter, he said. Amazon didn't comment Monday.
Galavision, UniMas and Univision are available streaming to RCN digital TV subscribers via the UVideos app or on UVideos.com, RCN said in a news release Thursday. The Spanish-language network offering includes more than 1,000 hours of on-demand programming and live stream of Univision, RCN said.
Netflix's footprint has expanded to more than 130 additional countries, the online video distributor said at CES Wednesday in a news release. It also said it added Arabic, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports. Netflix said its service remains unavailable in China, but it "continues to explore options for providing the service."
Some Starz Digital TV series and independent films will be available via the Tubi TV free streaming service, they said in a news release Wednesday. Starz Digital -- the licensing and digital arm of Starz -- joins more than 200 other content producers -- including Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount Pictures -- with Tubi distribution agreements.
The CSG Ascendon digital services platform now supports a "new membership-based service" available in the U.K., CSG said in a news release Tuesday. CSG's platform allows users to add "up to 10 compatible devices" with a subscription and watch movies and TV shows and read books in up to five languages, it said.
DreamWorks Animation and Netflix are expanding their multiyear agreement, with Netflix streaming some new DreamWorks series, the two said in a news release Tuesday. The new deal also includes streaming rights to DreamWorks Animation's feature films, and extended rights for current DreamWorks series, they said.
Yahoo shut down its online video distribution service Yahoo Screen, the Internet company said Monday. The video platform, which began as a video-sharing service, ended Wednesday, the company said. In a statement, Yahoo said the Yahoo Screen video content "has been transitioned from Yahoo Screen to our Digital Magazine properties so users can discover complementary content in one place."
The Netflix board’s compensation committee approved for 2016 a $900,000 salary for CEO Reed Hastings, according to an 8-K filing Tuesday at the SEC. That’s down from the $1 million Hastings got in 2015, according to the most recent Netflix proxy statement filed in April. However, for 2016, Hastings stands to qualify for up to $19.1 million in stock options, the 8-K said. That’s nearly 40 percent higher than the $13.7 million in stock options he qualified for in 2015, according to the April proxy.
Charter Communication's attitude toward the Sling TV over-the-top service of Dish Network shows the cable company cares more about protecting its video subscriber numbers than providing a better broadband offering, Dish said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-149. "Charter's laser-like focus on Sling TV shows that it views Sling TV as a serious competitive threat rather than a benign interest," Dish said. In a highly redacted filing, Dish said Charter internal filings on Dish's procurement of Disney and Scripps Networks OTT rights point to the cable company's attempt to undermine Sling TV "by many means, including anticompetitive methods," and that Charter buying Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable "will dramatically increase its ability to do so." In a statement Wednesday, Charter said, "There is no more friendly broadband provider to OVDs, including Sling, than Charter. Charter’s slowest speed is 60 Mbps, we have no data caps, no usage based billing, no contracts and no modem fees.”