Allen Weiner » broadcasting

And So the Conditional Access TV Trend Begins

Allen Weiner — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:06:32 +0000

You can stop singing the blues for the future of the U.S. cable television industry. Those clever purveyors of head ends, set top boxes and often questionable customer service have entered the online broadcast space. In a deal with MLB and YES (the Yankees’ broadcast network) Cablevision will, beginning July 8, sell “TV anywhere” packages to Cablevision customers. Depending on your cable plan, for between $20 and $50, in-market fans (that is, those in the local New York DMA) can watch Yankee home games on their computers wherever they are. Sling without the box, one could say.

Let’s review the two important points here: one, you must be a Cablevision subscriber, the net of which is an effort for Cablevision to ward off Hulu, YouTube and others from encouraging consumers to unhook, de-cable or cut the cord. Second: Cablevision will be providing the “authentication” service which ensures this service is available only to Cablevision subscribers (for now). Get familiar with the term “conditional access” (as in you get access under the condition that you subscribe to a local cable service); it’s soon to be the TV 2.0 flavor of the month.

Ever the used car salesman, MLB commissioner Bud Selig says “”It is important that fans in local markets have portable flexibility to stay connected to their favorite team if they can’t be at the ballpark, and I believe this represents a significant step in that direction.” MLB is operating on the theory that movie rentals have not killed off the movie industry, in essence saying fans who want to (and can afford to) go to the ballpark will continue to go while those who want the convenience of watching their team while on the road can also be served.

Yes, you logically ask what does this do to local broadcast rights. And what about premium packages such as Extra Innings. Perhaps the fine distinction here focuses on the portability of the service, almost creating a new market that lays between home TV broadcasts MLB.TV online (which does not include in-market games) and Extra Innings (which also does not include home games).

If I have a complaint, it’s that as a fan celebrating his golden anniversary as a baseball devotee/nut, I question what happens to the fan who cannot afford cable. Already TV game rights have been sold to local cable nets (i.e. Fox Sports Net) and national Nets (Fox, TBS) , so by moving games to yet another premium channel, America’s Pastime gets further away from segments of America’s fan base.

I call a balk.

Take That YouTube: Disney Goes With Hulu

Allen Weiner — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:59:25 +0000

The long-anticipated deal in which Hulu adds ABC’s prime time shows to its lineup, as well as its daytime soaps and programming from ABC Family, Disney Channel and SOAPnet is official. Besides licensing content, Disney is taking an equity stake in Hulu, with Disney getting three seats on the Hulu board that will be filled by Bob Iger; Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group; and Kevin Mayer, executive vice president, Corporate Strategy, Business Development & Technology. In addition, both NBC and News Corp (Fox) have agreed to extend their licensing deals with Hulu for an additional two years (the term of the Disney deal), putting an end to rumors that Hulu’s lock on key content was slipping away. It must be pointed out that ESPN, one of Disney’s top brands, is not mentioned anywhere in the agreement. Can one assume ESPN is left to go its own way in the TV 2.0 arena?

The move turns Hulu’s lineup into something that closely resembles your average low-end cable system, with only CBS absent, putting TV.com (CBS’s version of Hulu) in a precarious position as it contemplates future moves. YouTube, thought to be the prime competitor to Hulu, has recently added premium content in the form of Sony/Crackle comedies (hold on, is that really premium) and some rather weathered films (“the Mod Squad,” “Carrie”) so the Disney-Hulu deal sets the stage for Hulu passing YouTube in online viewership, perhaps not in total views, but in views of premium content that appeals to major advertisers.

A few more points to consider: still left in play are a few crown jewels whose addition could be essential in this TV 2.0 online programming race. Showtime, a CBS company, is likely to go to TV.com; Viacom, a company not especially happy with YouTube for alleged copyright violations, which has a roster that includes MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, etc. Will Viacom go with Hulu, TV.com or create its own online network? And then there’s HBO, in the process of varied experiments for online distribution. HBO’s move may be closely aligned to the cable industry’s proposed moves into the online space and that brings forth the question whether the current online TV 2.0 space is just a prelude to the emergence of a MSO-powered online presence ala Comcast’s planned evolution of its Fancast site from video portal to cable service add on. Such an offering would be tied-to/bundled with cable service. If that’s the case, Hulu may be just building a content rich, user-friendly service with a powerful backend infrastructure that will be too good for most MSOs or aspiring TV-hungry telcos to pass up. If that’s the case, Google will truly regret it bought YouTube.

Presenting At And Blogging from NAB

Allen Weiner — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:27:15 +0000

My colleagues Andrew Frank, Mike McGuire and I will be at the NAB Show April 20-22nd, leading two sessions in and around issues related to TV 2.0. If you go here and her e, you will find out the details of our sessions on April 20 and 21. In addition, we hope to offer up on-the-scene insights via word, picture and sound.

Stay tuned.

Podcast: Is There A Role for A Content Creation Device?

Allen Weiner — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:14:04 +0000

In this podcast, I talk briefly about a concept that I have been pondering (and talking about) regarding the notion of a mobile content creation device to facilitate content and audience immediacy. What should it be? What sort of functionality should it have? How much would it cost? Who are the buyers for such a device?

The Mikey: Recording With Your iPod at SXSW

Allen Weiner — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:50:57 +0000

Tyler Barth, director of marketing for Blue Microphones, demos the new Mikey, a cool gadget that attaches to your iPod, iPhone, etc.. and facilitates amazing .wav recording.

uStream.TV at SXSW

Allen Weiner — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:43:14 +0000

We made our way over to The Belmont, uStream.TV’s headquarters for SXSW. Eager to see just how uStream put together a high-quality live streamcast, I captured the configuration (somewhat) in the video below.

There’s an s-Video out from the Panasonic HD camera to the broadcast mixer and an audio out from the camera to the mixer. The mixer is then fed into a computer and then sent over the web. I did not see what sort of bandwidth was in use. The Belmont offers WiFi, but there’s little chance uStream was using WiFi for this sort of exercise.

Coverage from SXSW

Allen Weiner — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:53:38 +0000

Sunday, March 15 marks my introduction to the multimedia wonders that await me at SXSW in Austin. Until Tuesday, the focus is on “interactive” followed by music from Wednesday on with film running throughout. It will be a busman’s holiday (there’s a term you just don’t hear enough) in that I will be “reporting” from the event via a number of channels, this blog being a main focus on my findings.

In addition to this blog, where I will post video, audio interviews and maybe even the odd picture or two, you can find my video content on YouTube (allen85255). For audio, I have not decided on a good hosting community; any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. I have a new Zoom H2 for good quality audio clips. I am hoping to do a socialcast or two (live streaming over the Web) via Now Live (http://www.nowlive.com/) and will warn everyone as to broadcast time(s). I will also try some live stream on Qik via my Nokia N95 (which has no cell service but works fine via WiFi).

Also, I will be Twittering (or is it Tweeting); you can follow me @allenweiner. If you would like to say hello, just send me a DM on Twitter

Note to Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium: Think Social, Think Content

Allen Weiner — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:44:02 +0000

Memo to Carol Bartz:

It’s a nice achievement that Yahoo! now has 793 newspapers in its consortium, 120 of whom are using its APT advertising platform, but this effort is perhaps an exercise in futility unless the newspapers can figure out a way to cut costs and generate digital dollars in short order. And I wonder why Yahoo! hasn’t helped here.

For instance:

Use its Maven video platform to create a newspaper wide “broadcast network” to sell ads to larger number of eyeballs. It could appeal to both local and national advertisers.
Build a social network platform for newspapers using OpenID or Yahoo! IDs as the common glue that cuts across all newspaper web sites. That one seems like a no-brainer and could give Facebook more than a minor case of agita
Build a crowd-powered, managed consumer news network to provide hyper-local news. Seems like del.icio.us should play a role here.
Revive Yahoo! Live, the socialcasting platform and work with newspapers hungry to do simple live webcasts

That’s four ideas for starters. Act quickly, the doors are closing.

TV 2.0 Update: Digital Transition Complete

Allen Weiner — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:14:34 +0000

A few weeks into my TV 2.0 project ,where I set up a viewing center sans cable or satellite, I successfully completed the digital transition by attaching a Samsung digital converter box and Radio Shack indoor antenna to my Sharp 32-inc TV. At first, it was a total fail, but because my TV had not been connected to cable or satellite or even over-the-air, the channel finder had not been activated. Once I used the channel finder to locate the local signals, everything snapped into place.

Because the official date for the digital transition has been pushed to June, not all the local broadcasters in Phoenix are fully digital. The affiliates are all set, two even have side channels (not sure of the official terminology) that have 24-hour weather. The local PBS station (part of Arizona State University) has four channels at 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4. Some of the local religious and Spanish-language broadcasters have two or three side channels.

Part of the goal of the digital transition is to free up analog space for new communications services as well as allow broadcasters to do innovate things over these digital “side channels.” To be competitive in the new TV 2.0 world, one has to hope that innovation means more than just 24-hour weather channels.

The next step for my TV 2.0 project is to get an IP-based box to watch web-based programs on my TV. The Xbox has some content, but it’s a walled garden in that I have to watch what Microsoft has selected as opposed to giving me free reign to scan the web for video content. The same goes for Apple TV and now that I totally messed up my Boxee interface, I am back to square one. I saw a new box from Neulion at CES that could do this, and I am in the process of installing my ZeeVee box (although not on this TV) for get some web goodies. Stay tuned.

My TV 2.0 Project

Allen Weiner — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:29:12 +0000

Thanks to some reliable technology, I am finally prepared to embark on my TV 2.0 project. After five years of faithful service, our Pioneer HDTV landed us a rebate of $350 from the original warranty we purchased with the set. The store gave us until the end of February to use the credit against any purchase in the store. Several trips later and after countless annoying questions to a number of heavily commissioned sales folks, we purchase a Sharp 32-inch LCD TV that cost a grand total of $185 after rebate. It is my hope to never connect the set to either cable, telco IPTV or satellite. No, it is not my goal to turn this LCD screen into a large paperweight, it is an experiment to imagine a world in which a consumer can select among programming services that don’t require a cable or telco service provider. My experiment will take place in our living room which currently is devoid of any sort of TV.

I already have a host of boxes and gadgets to attach to the TV including an Apple TV, an old Xbox (which is on the install bubble as it’s a little too first generation), a Neulion OTT box (powered by wireless internet), a DVD player, an OTA HD antenna; our XM radio (note to self: make it easy to unplug); an old VCR recorder and one of my PCs (the TV has an easy to locate “monitor-in” port). I do have a ZeeVee box, but have not been able to install it as of yet. As I find new gadgets and boxes, I will report on whether they take me one step closer to calling my cable provider to proclaim, “take this box and…”

Stay tuned.