Tag: ott

New OTT Service Pluto TV To Get Free Content From Hulu

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original article on: Variety

Pluto TV is a newcomer among the over-the-top content streaming services led by the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, offering a centralized cable-TV-like programming grid that essentially repackages online videos from various sources for easier browsing. Relatively unknown, the Los Angeles-based startup made headlines last week with a new partnership with Hulu.

Under the distribution deal, Pluto TV has access to everything Hulu makes available on its free, ad-supported website, which includes current-season broadcast fare from ABC, NBC and Fox. CBS seems to be the only broadcaster holding out for now, which makes sense considering it has been aggressively pushing for its own “CBS All Access” standalone subscription service, going as far as pulling some of its old content off Netflix.

Overall, this seems to be a win-win situation for both parties. Pluto TV gains access to a great amount of quality content, significantly raising its profile as an OTT service, while Hulu gets to put its content on yet one more platform, along with the ads it serves. Moreover, the TV content from Hulu looks like a natural fit with Pluto TV’s linearly curated presentation. As the OTT space continues to evolve, we expect to see more partnerships between content providers and platforms.

 

Apple WWDC Preview Round-up: Apple Watch SDK, Music Streaming Service & More

Posted on by Lab Team

With next Monday’s Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) just around the corner, more new information, credible or speculative, regarding the impending event is surging up in the press. Here are four handpicked preview items that we believe all brands should be aware of in preparation for Apple’s announcements.

Improved Watch Apps with New SDK
Corresponding to Apple Watch’s planned retail expansion, Apple is set to release a new SDK on Monday that will allow access to the many sensors and “Digital Crown” on the Watch. Already, we are seeing early-adopting brands like Office Depot coming up with their own Apple Watch app, and we expect more brands to take advantage of the new functionality offered by this new SDK to further improve their apps on Apple Watch.

The Double Duty of Apple TV
A new Adobe report on digital video consumption surfaced today, indicating a sharp growth of Apple TV in the past quarter, likely due to the recent price drop and the its previously exclusive support for HBO Now. We reported on Wednesday that Apple TV is set to become the control hub for the connected devices. Although The New York Times reports that there won’t be any new Apple TV hardware debut next Monday, some updates are due on the increasingly crucial role that Apple’ set-top box will play in its ecosystem.

Apple’s Ready to Revolutionize Music, Again
The beta of iOS 8.4 released in April already offered a sneak peak of what Apple’s long-anticipated music streaming service may look like. And now, reports are claiming that Apple is set to take on Spotify with a $10/month subscription service, along with an augmented free, ad-supported Internet radio service. If launched successfully, this could once again change the landscape of the music industry as the iTunes Store did in early 2000s, while also presenting brands with new channels to connect with its listeners.

iOS 9 to Refine the Future of Mobile
In recent years, Apple has made it habit to preview the next OS software at WWDC, and this year should be no difference. The upcoming iOS 9 is reportedly focused on stability and only includes minor upgrades, such as new keyboards, an enhanced Siri, and the haptic Force Touch feature. As the mobile user experience continues to improve as Apple refines its mobile OS, brands need to adapt to a “mobile-first” future that is quickly becoming a reality.

As always, the Lab will be live-tweeting @ipglab during the events, followed by original posts highlighting the brand implications of the new announcements. Check back Monday afternoon to find out more.

Header image taken from Apple’s Live Streaming Site

 

Showtime To Launch Standalone OTT Service In July

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: AdAge

The TV industry continues moving towards over-the-top streaming: on Wednesday, Showtime announced their plan to launch a long-awaited standalone subscription service. Simply named SHOWTIME, the service will officially launch in July exclusively on Apple devices for the initial three months—just like HBO did with HBO Now. Showtime, however, will undercut HBO’s streaming service with a monthly fee of $10.99, two-thirds of its archrival’s price.

In a statement issued today by CBS and Showtime, the new OTT service was described as another instance of the network “finding new ways to monetize [their] programming by capitalizing on opportunities presented by technology”. As the cord-cutting movement continues to gain momentum, demonstrated by the recent news that Comcast now has more Internet users than TV subscribers, all media owners need to follow where the audience is heading and make content available across platforms.

On Trend: TV Streaming Market Continues To Expand And Fragment

Posted on by Lab Team

Three significant new developments emerged in the OTT market this past week as the TV landscape continues to evolve.

  1. Sling TV is coming to Android TV after Dish Network struck a deal with Google. As part of the agreement, Sling TV will offer new customers 50% off Nexus Player devices when they pre-pay for three months’ subscription.
  2. Netflix confirmed a new user interface on the web is rolling out next month. The new UI is said to be closer to what Netflix has been offering on mobile devices, which eliminates the slow scrolling carousels for content discovery in favor of larger, expandable thumbnails.
  3. Meanwhile, Comcast finally added support for HBO GO And Showtime Anytime for its Xfinity customers, after purposefully blocking the two premium channel’s streaming apps for years. However, the unlocked services will only work on Amazon’s Fire TV devices for now.

Taken together, these three news items not only prove the fragmenting effect OTT services have on the traditional sector of the TV business, but also points to the complexity within its own ecosystem. As TV content continues to move away from cable companies’ control towards web-based streaming services, brands would be wise to follow where the eyeballs are going.

 

 

What Starbucks Is Teaming Up With Spotify For

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Wired

Starbucks and Spotify announced a new partnership to bring the music streaming service to all of the coffee chain’s U.S. retail locations this fall, the two companies announced earlier this week. As a result, every Starbucks U.S. retail employee will receive a Spotify Premium account for free, which will be used to curate music playlists in stores. Moreover, Starbucks customers who have signed up for its rewards program will be able to influence in-store music programming, and they can also earn Starbucks rewards points by paying for Spotify.

Without a doubt, this partnership will help promote Spotify’s premium service in Starbucks stores across the States. Starbucks has long been a major force in the music business, selling millions of exclusive albums in their stores. In addition, the Seattle-based company has a long-standing partnership with Apple to promote iTunes store and app download. Now with Apple readying its own Beats-based streaming service for launch, it’ll be interesting to see how this partnership will impact the music industry.

 

Hulu Teams Up With AT&T To Push For More Subscribers

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

Right after inking a similar deal with Cablevision, Hulu is attempting to acquire more subscribers by teaming up with another telecom company: soon, AT&T customers will be able to access Hulu content through either the AT&T mobile app or through the AT&T website, and, if they like what they see, sign up for Hulu subscriptions through AT&T as well.

The reasoning behind such a strategy for Hulu here is about getting its subscription in front of as many potential customers as possible. For AT&T, it is about adding more content for viewers who are already paying for cable TV, while also adding the sheen of popular OTT services on its less-than-favorable reputation among customers.

In related news, Hulu announced that it has resurrected former Fox comedy The Mindy Project for 26 more episodes, which we anticipated and explained in detail here when we reported on the show’s cancellation last week.

The Future Of TV, According To Netflix CEO Reed Hastings

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: Quartz

Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, delivered a rousing speech at the 2015 Re:publica Media Convention in Berlin last week, boldly predicting that “Internet TV will replace linear TV in the next 20 years”. Below are some of the highlights from his speech, which you can watch in its entirety here.

Original Content As The Main Draw
As Netflix aims to launch in every country by the end of the 2016, the OTT service will amplify its current strategy of producing a diverse variety of original content, especially the ones with cross-culture appeal such as Marco Polo and Daredevil, in order to conquer the global markets.

Open To Experimenting With New Formats
Hastings also mentioned Netflix’s willingness to experiment with new video formats, including unconventional episode lengths, second-screen interactivity, and even integrating virtual reality, so as to differentiate itself from the conventional content providers.

Future TV Sets To Look Like Giant iPads
Fully invested in the potential of streaming-based TV, Hastings envisioned standard TV sets in the near future to be glass-panelled displays wirelessly connected to the Internet, just “like a large iPad,” with an array of apps.

Sports Will Be Watched By The League In 4K HD
While he acknowledged that sports would not be on Netflix’s radar for the foreseeable future, Hastings boldly predicted that future sports programs will be streamed with a league-based subscription model, instead of the network-based model that currently dominates the industry. He also believes that the recent rise of 4K ultra-high definition video will help push more sports programming to the OTT TV.

How The Shifting TV Landscape Caused Mindy’s Cancellation

Posted on by Richard Yao

The TV Upfronts are coming up next week, and reports on the fate of your favorite broadcast TV shows are popping up. The first big surprise cancellation came yesterday when Fox announced that The Mindy Project will not be coming back for a fourth season on the network, making it the first show in seven years to be axed with over 66 episodes under its belt.

Typically, when a network show reaches such numbers, the prospect of lucrative syndication deals would prompt the networks to grant shows with low ratings another season to produce sufficient episodes so as to bulk up its leverage in syndication negotiations. And that’s the way it’s always been done.

But with the recent rise of OTT streaming services disrupting the TV landscape, that rule seems to no longer apply. In this new circumstance, Universal Studios, which produces the show, could easily ship the show off to a streaming service where it can attract a niche audience and cumulate more episode counts, rather than negotiating with Fox to find the show a burn-off time slot for cheap.

And that’s exactly what they are doing – the Mindy Kaling comedy seems to be heading to Hulu, as sources report that the streaming service, partially owned by Fox and NBC Universal, is already in talks to acquire the show for multiple new seasons. If true, Mindy would join high-profile series in development at Hulu as the streaming service bulks up on original content to compete for audience attention.

The Lab has always been fascinated by the shifting landscape of the TV business, and we have been closely following the ongoing trend towards OTT streaming viewing. Come talk to us if you are a media owner or simply want to understand the changing audience behaviors and how to reach the fragmented viewers.

Verizon FiOS Customers Get Flexibility

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Verge

Verizon FiOS is devising ways to make its cable programming more attractive to viewers who now have alternative streaming television options like Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and HBO Now. Starting Sunday, customers can avoid cable package offerings and pay for a more customized set of channels. The new “Custom TV” packages will start with a $65 bundle that pairs with Internet service and 35 TV channels. The TV half alone can be purchased for $55 each month with the option to purchase $10 add-ons for additional channels. There’s high anticipation to see how cable networks begin to adapt to the growing OTT trend that we’ve been intently following.

Apple’s Music App Is Getting “Spotified”

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: 9to5Mac

Earlier this week, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 8.4, giving the world a first look at its long-rumored redesign of the Music app. And with its all-new interfaces and improving queuing features, the new music app may easily remind users of the Spotify app.

With the announcement of Apple’s streaming music service expected at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference starting June 8th, the revamped music app also puts Apple’s current music streaming service iTunes Radio front and center, with other design factors that heavily hint at further integrations of streaming functionality.