Read original story on: Hollywood Reporter
Hulu has picked up the unaired episodes of ABC’s canceled and critically panned comedy Manhattan Love Story. The news comes a week after the streaming service picked up unaired episodes of another canceled ABC comedy Selfie. Both freshman shows were pulled off schedule early in the season due to consistently abysmal ratings. If this trend continues, Hulu could quickly become the home for broadcast TV’s second-chance shows.
According to a new report by Parks Associates, Google’s Chromecast has surpassed Apple TV as the No.2 most popular media streaming device on the U.S. market. Despite a considerable slip, Roku’s lineup is still the most popular this year, with a solid 29% of market share, while Apple TV fell to third place with 17%.
Apple TV sales have always been lukewarm for an Apple device, and its recent slide in market share could be reasonably attributed to its comparatively hefty price tag, as well as its closed ecosystem. The Cupertino company needs to add more value to their set-top box if they wish to continue competing with the likes of Roku and Chromecast, boasting accessible prices and better compatibility.
Moreover, the recently introduced Amazon’s Fire TV box and stick came in fourth place with an impressive 10% share. As new media streaming devices, be they dongles or set-top boxes, continue to emerge, the market for OTT devices will maintain its grow amid swiftly shifting competition.
Read original story on: The Verge
The Pandora app on both Android and iOS are getting a revamped update that focuses on personalization. Besides a thumbs-up icon on the app’s now-playing screen, a listen history complete with a new “thumbs-down” capability are also added for refining music preference.
Such personalization gives Pandora an interactive edge over its competitors, as Pandora could use feedback data to better understand and serve its users. Right now the update is only available in beta to 3% of users, but will be rolled out to all listeners over the coming months.
Read original story on: AdWeek
A surprising candidate has entered OTT original content market: BitTorrent has just announced its first original web series, Children of the Machine. Starting next fall, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi web series will be distributed via BitTorrent Bundle, a service that allows media owners to release content directly to consumers. Previously, musicians like Thom Yorke and DJ Diplo have opted to release new music through the bundle program.
The pilot will be free for download with commercial spots embedded. We reported back in September that BitTorrent is wooing advertisers, and this is without doubt another solid move for the company to establish itself as a legitimate marketing platform.
Read original story on: Hollywood Reporter
HBO and Tencent have unveiled an exclusive content deal that will make the Chinese Internet giant’s streaming service the official online home of HBO films and series in the country. As Chinese officials continue the crack down on popular pirated-video websites, China’s major online video sites, including Sohu, Youku and Baidu Video, are reportedly locked in a billion-dollar battle for legally hosting foreign shows. Tencent might have gained a valuable head start with this deal, but it still remains to be seen how much censorship will be imposed on HBO’s mature content.
Read original story on: Times
Nielsen announced earlier this week that it will begin monitoring viewership numbers of online subscription video services (SVOD) next month, including Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Instant Video. Even though Netflix and other streaming services have long declined to disclose viewership stats, Nielsen can determine which show is being streamed by analyzing each program’s audio components, Shazam-style.
It is worth noting, however, that data collected in such way would be considerably skewed unless Nielsen figures out the percentage of viewers view streaming media from the Internet on their TV instead of through specific streaming devices such as Roku and Chromecast. Nevertheless, this marks a significant move for Nielsen to finally start tracking OTT viewership data.
Read original story on: Spotify Blog
Earlier today Uber announced a high-profile partnership with Spotify for a deep integration that will make Uber rides more customizable. Starting November 21st, users in ten selected global markets, including New York City and San Francisco, will be able to link their Spotify premium account with their Uber profile, set a playlist for the ride, and wirelessly control the music from either the Uber or Spotify apps during the trip. Support for podcasts are also hinted at in leaked app images.
This partnership signals Uber’s first official entry into connected car, which, if proven successful, could potentially open up new opportunities for on-the-go, hyperlocal marketing,
Read original story on: Gigaom
The short answer is “yes”. Netflix stopped issuing new keys to its public API two years ago, but today, Netflix has officially shut down its public API, shuttering support for an array of third-party apps that pull data from the streaming service. Netflix is enjoying a leading position in the OTT market, in which they can afford a closed ecosystem.
Notably, however, the streaming service has partnered with a small number of third-party developers, including NextGuide, Yidio, and Fanhattan, to grant them with continued API support. So maybe the ecosystem is not as closed as it could be—yet.
Read original story on: The Verge
Sony announced an ambitious plan to launch web-based TV service on its gaming platform PlayStation, with initial testing in NYC followed by a broad rollout set for Q1 2015. PlayStation Vue, as the service is dubbed, will cover all major broadcast and some cable networks, which distinguishes it from the majority of the OTT streaming services available right now. However, it will need to be priced appropriately in order to compete with traditional TV providers.
Read original story on: The Verge
YouTube has reportedly struck a deal with rights agency Merlin, gaining music licenses from the thousands of independent record labels. Coming just two weeks after CEO Susan Wojcicki publicly confirmed that a subscription-based, ad-free music service was on the way, this new development definitely sets the stage for its presumably imminent launch. Whether the big mainstream record label would be on board remains to be seen, but given YouTube’s long-time partnership with Vevo, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Update: YouTube has just officially unveiled a subscription-based music service. Named YouTube Music Key, an ad-free music and music videos starting at $7.99 a month. It also comes with access to all the music in Google Play.
