Cordkillers 94 – CBS = Cash Buys Star Trek

Cordkillers / November 3rd, 2015

CBS uses Star Trek to sell subscriptions, Sling TV sees surprising behavior, and whether you should by Apple TV. 

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CordKillers: 94 – CBS = Cash Buys Star Trek
Recorded: November 2, 2015
Guest: Andrew Mayne

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • New ‘Star Trek’ TV Series a Go at CBS All Access
  • Holy Crap, They Are Officially Making a New Star Trek TV Series
    – Star Trek returning to TV January 2017
    – New characters, not related to feature film
    – “Introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic – contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.”
    – Produced by Alex Kurtzman (Fringe, Writer on movies)
    – Preview episode on CBS, subsequent eps on CBS All Access ($6 a month)
    – International distribution on TV and “multiple platforms”

Signal Intelligence

  • Sling TV’s chief dishes on Apple, Chromecast and the future of online TV
    – CNET interview with Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch
    – Sling still adding Chromecast support, no word on when
    – Roku, Fire TV, Nexus, Xbox One
    – Lynch says more people adding Sling and keeping cable than he expected 5-10% of subscribers
    – On Demand more pop. than expected. The more on demand added the more people watch
    – “When we were first talking to programmers about what ultimately became Sling TV, we were selling them on the idea,” he said. “Now programmers who aren’t on Sling TV are selling us on the fact that they should be.”
    – A Sling TV spokeswoman said the company is evaluating development of an app for Apple TV.

Gear Up

  • Tom, Bryce (and Andrew?) share thoughts on new Apple TV
    – Tom
    – Siri great while in show
    – Scrubbing SO much improved with touchpad
    – Navigation and especially text entry is awkward with touchpad
    – Logging into services is a PAIN
    – Siri on home screen seems about 50-50
    – Be careful where you put remote, activated it accidentally a lot. Accidentally changed channel from roku a couple times
    – A few times I picked the remote up upside down and dodn’t notice at first.
    – Interface feels like Nintendo to me
    – Bryce
    – Siri natural language hit-or-miss
    – “What did they say” not turning on captions 🙁
    – Siri skipping is great
    – Touchpad /feels/ sensitive for someone like me who is used to resting thumb on cardinals
    – Power on and IR volume control is magic on a non-CEC TV
    – Only time it crashed was during Music playback. Music is still woefully wanting–no control overshuffle, repeat, Play Next
    – Nice to see the official experiences for Hulu/Netflix/HBO, but pining for YouTube.
    – Most apps don’t show info on pull-down menu–just audio/sub options.
    – Crossy Road is great, Rayman has always befuddled me, Shadowmatic seems workable, but less tactile.
    – Plex server wasn’t upgraded, couldn’t test official app
    – Hoping Podcasts returns.
  • Early tvOS App Store sales charts show popularity of games, app prices substantially higher than iOS
    – Developer Steve Troughton-Smith accessed some web chart data to find out that at the weekend games made the most downloaded paid apps on Apple TV
    – Rayman and Crossy Road top free apps followed by HBO NOw, NAtGeo and FoxNow
    – Netflix number 32???
    – Jonas Boserup has live access with similar results
    – Slide to PLay published its own list also similar
  • Apple TV App Store Tops 1,000 Apps: Games & Video Apps Dominate, But Discovery Is A Challenge
  • BBC iPlayer app coming to Apple TV ‘in coming months’ 
  • Siri will soon control Music on the new Apple TV
  • Podcast app may yet come to Apple TV

Front Lines

  • Neil Gaiman Is Getting His Own Television Series!
    – UK’s Sky Arts TV channel is giving Neil Gaiman an anthology show called “Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories.” The series will adapt four of Gaiman’s short stories. Production will begin at the end of November directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. 
  • Netflix’s ‘Beasts of no Nation’ already has 3 million views
    – Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos told Deadline that Beasts of No Nation has more than 3 million views after its first two weekends of availability. With an estimated average worldwide ticket price of $4.86 that would be equivalent to a worldwide gross of 14,580,000. As a comparison that’s better than “Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
  • BFI focuses on movie classics with £5 streaming service
    – The British Film Institute will supplement its purchase and rental service BFI player with a new subscription service for £5 per month. BFI Player + has 300 movies and will add more in future. The service will highlight curated classics and comtemporary films including a weekly pick from English film critic Mark Kermode. The service will be available for desktop tablet and phone. Not, TV.

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Hey Guys,

Your boss Dave in Cloudy Madison, WI

re: Football Stream on yahoo!

In response, to the uh oh regarding the numbers Yahoo reported keep in mind (full disclaimer that I’m a Packers fan):
– it was on early Sunday Morning when people are still sleeping off Saturday night
– It was the Jaguars vs. Bills. Not a big draw on a normal Sunday and probably a 3rd or fourth tier game
– It was from London. yawn.
– Multi tabs.. I opened a dedicated tab for this and then pulled it into a secondary monitor and maximized it. So while the browser may report other tabs open may be open, it doesn’t mean I’m not fully watching the game.
– it was auto launching on all Yahoo! Sports pages, e.g. open my fantasy football team, autolaunch even though it was already open

re: Justified
Tom, you need to watch this show! Just ask the TMS guys. IMO its not really a procedural cop show, its more of a modern Western. Having said that don’t forget the new Westworld is coming which you may want to do too.

Hope all is well,
– Dave

 

 

 

I just wanted to defend the numbers that Yahoo got for its first streaming event of an NFL game. First off the game came on at 6 AM Pacific time. This cuts out a significant portion of the audience as most people on the west coast aren’t up that early. Second, it was the Bills vs. Jaguars, two smaller market teams both of whom aren’t very good this year. Given these things I wouldn’t call Yahoo’s streaming numbers a failure, quite the opposite!

– Josh

 

 

Hi guys,

I listened to your latest episode and heard you talking about the box office deal Paranormal Activity is using for theaters and streaming.

I was amazed you didn’t know about the other thing that is happening with that movie. When we saw it over its opening weekend it had 3 ads for 1 movie in between every trailer they showed. Then as soon as the movie ended and the credits started rolling they played a longer ad. That’s right, there is an ad for a movie INSIDE of this movie! I was furious.

Love the show,
– Justin from Dallas

 

 

 

I wonder if part of the reason that Community failed on Yahoo was the Yahoo video app its self. It’s gotten better but it’s always been pretty bad. When community first started, I think the app was still annoyingly auto-playing video when you started it and made it really hard to find what you wanted.

I’m a huge fan of Community and consider it one of my top 5 favorite sitcoms of the last decade. But being on Yahoo kind of killed it for me. If it were still on TV or had gone to Netflix I would have watched it because it would have been in front of my eyeballs already

– Matt, Sterling VA

 

 

 

Hi, Brian and Tom!

In episode 93 you discussed the story about Vice buying TV stations overseas and partnering with current content providers here in the States. Over the summer, I attended a book signing/Q&A with Brad Meltzer here in N. VA. During the session the question about when to expect new episodes of “Lost History”.

He said (and I’m paraphrasing) that he’s recently met with History and they were working something out. One of the issues was that H2 was going away and going to become Vice TV. History and H2 are owned by A&E which back in August 2014 struck a deal with Vice. After hearing this, I found these articles from April 2015 from The Hollywood Reporter and the New York Times confirming it, which made me sad because I like “Lost History”.

Hug and Kisses!

– Mike aka gadgetchaser

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

It’s Spoilerin’ Time 93

Cordkillers / November 2nd, 2015

Winter Movie Draft, Triage, The Man in the High Castle (102), Fargo (202), The Leftovers (204), The Shield (711)

01:36 – Winter Movie Draft

07:19 – Triage (no spoilers)

10:55 – The Man in the High Castle (102)

17:09 – Fargo (202)

22:57 – The Leftovers (204)

28:58 – The Shield (711)

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Cordkillers 93 – Other Tubes Named Red

Cordkillers / October 26th, 2015

Is YouTube Red genius or idiocy? Why Canada wins at Star Wars and how the old Apple TV scooped the new one. 

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CordKillers: 93 – Other Tubes Named Red
Recorded: October 27 2015
Guest: Jaime Ruiz-Avila

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • YouTube Red
    – $9.99 launching Oct. 28
    – Removes ads from all YouTube vids, gives access to YouTube Music and Google Music
    – New YouTube Music app coming
    – Saving videos for offline playing
    – Exclusive YouTube Originals launching in 2016
    – 98% of creators signed up
    – Those who currently monetize and don’t agree to terms will see videos made private
    – ESPN has some contracts that forbid ad-free videos so ESPN is pulling out but not all of Disney
    – ESPN issue might have to do with offline viewing, or ‘subscription package’
  • YouTube Originals
    – YouTube Originals
    – Scare PewDiePie. From Robert Kirkman’s Skybound and Maker Studios.
    – nNtitled CollegeHumor Project – anthology series
    – Sing It! – Fine Bros. satire of reality singing competitions
    – Lazer Team – Rooster Teeth and Fullscreen scifi small-town losers find alien ship
    – Doc of Lilly Singh’s global tour
    – Joey Graceffa murder mystery
    – 360 Project from MatPat of Game Theory – science behind video games w/ gamers experiencing real life versions
    – Fight of the Living Dead – YouTube stars trapped in realistic zombie scenarios
    – I am Tobuscus – Toby Turner scripted comedy about being a YouTube star
    – Single by 30 – WongFu romantic drama
  • YouTube Will Completely Remove Videos Of Creators Who Don’t Sign Its Red Subscription Deal
  • Ignore all the sensationalist hand-wringing about YouTube Red
  • ESPN is disappearing from YouTube — here’s why

Signal Intelligence

  • Canada Netflix will get Force Awakens first for streaming
    -Netflix in Canada will get Star Wars: The Force Awkens for streaming in 2016
    – In US, Starz has deal with movies that come out through end of 2015
    – In Canada Disney deal with Netflix starts with 2015 titles in US with 2016 titles

Gear Up

Front Lines

  • Time Warner Cable will test internet-only TV in NYC next week
    – Engadget’s sources say Time Warner Cable will start beta testing a version of its TV service for Internet-only subscribers in New York City. Participants will supposedly get a free Roku 3 and be offered a $10 starter pack an option with Showtime and Starz for $20 and a version with all that plus most f the usual cable channels for $50. No DVR functions but there is on demand the ability to stream on 4 devices at a time. Time Warner currently has apps for Xbox, Android, iOS, Fan TV, Kindle Fire and Samsung’s Smart TVs.
  • Actually, TV viewership is quite stable
    – Pivotal Research Group found TV viewing is stable if you count all devices including game consoles and phones. TV viewing among 18-49s is up 0.3%. 2-17 down 0.2% and over 50 up 3%. Viewing on connected devices like Roku rose from 2% last year to 5% this year. They do NOT count Netflix as traditional TV. 18-49s with Netflix watched 5% less traditional TV while those without Netflix watched 11% more. 
  • Yahoo Livestream of NFL Game Nets 15 Million Viewers — But Most of Them Didn’t Count by TV Metrics
    – Sunday Yahoo streamed an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars. Yahoo got more than 33.6 million streams. Well if you narrow that down to unique users they got 15 million! Or if you want to know how many people were actually watching at any given moment they got 2.3 million! That’s compared to an average simultaneous viewing of a broadcast NFL game of about 10-20 million. 
  • Why Yahoo wrote down $42 million for ‘Community’
    – More Yahoo news. During its earnings call last week, Yahoo said it would write down about $42 million in costs from its video division based largely on three shows including Community. Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman said Yahoo’s management “couldn’t see a way to make money over time.”
  • Vice is launching a long-rumored cable TV network
    – Vice said Thursday it plans to launch a TV network in the US and a dozen across Europe. Vice will buy networks in some locations and partner in joint ventures in others. No word on which will happen where. The idea is to buy networks on the cheap then leverage content made there into mobile and online. 
  • Vudu starts streaming 4K movies to the Roku 4
    – More 4K content headed your way as Vudu makes 12 movies in its catalog available for 4K viewing on Roku 4, with prices of $10 for a rental and $25 – $30 to purchase. The offerings should be coming to other platforms like the Vizio 4K TVs soon.

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front
Tom mentioned his new chipped card’s number didn’t change, but the CVV code should have. When I activated my new card a few months ago, I couldn’t figure out for the next week why the card was working some of the time and other times it wasn’t. It didn’t click that the only time it wasn’t working was when I was paying online through saved information. Without updating that new CVV code from the back of the card, the Netflix plans wouldn’t renew even if the card number was unchanged.

–  hornakapopolis

 

 

 

 

“Hey Brian and Tom,

Last week’s show you all were talking about how close we are to the NFL running their own distribution and putting their games online. 

I’d love if this were true, but the economics might not pan out in the NFL’s favor. Currently the NFL is making roughly $6 BILLION a year from CBS, FOX, NBC ($3.1B), ESPN ($1.9B), DirecTV Sunday Ticket ($1B) for rights to games. 

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/15/business/la-fi-ct-nfl-deals-20111215

Also they’ve signed these deals to last till 2022.

If the networks decided not to renew deals when they’re up because the NFL wants to stream games online they’re gonna have a hard time making the same kind of money. 

20M subscribers paying $25/mo. = $6 Billion/yr 

or 

50M  subscribers paying $10/mo. = $6 Billion/yr

This doesn’t include infrastructure of network or cost to have others host. Not to mention marketing, customer service etc. 

The only way I see it could being possible sometime in the future is if they managed to get a deal similar to what the MLB has with the networks…still show games on TV (probably at a lower rate than the $3.1B now) while offering a “”premium”” service that’s over the top everywhere. This would of course take the rug from under the DirecTV so that would be more revenue to make up. Unfortunately I don’t think they can reach  beyond the most diehard fans if the price is anything over $15/mo. 

I think the NFL will eventually start chipping away, it’s inevitable. Maybe starting with an exclusive deal with Apple or Amazon to have a toe in the streaming box game without totally offending their currently partners. Whatever the case sports fan, particularly NFL fans will have to get by with over the air, Sling or Sunday Ticket. 

You guys keep being awesome!

Cheers,
– James
(I’m the guy who stopped you at Ralph’s Tom ☺)”

 

 

 

“Hey Guys, 

I wanted to point to you this weekend’s report on Box Office Mojo. The author notes how the latest Paranormal Activity movie had a weak opening, but is using a new strategy with Video on Demand. He notes that once the movie is playing on less than 300 theaters, it be available for VOD. In exchange, participating theaters will receive a portion of the VOD profits. This approach shortens the theatrical window significantly, and I’m curious how it will be accepted by studios, theaters, and viewers.

Thanks for a great show every week. 

Your boss,
– Mike

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4116&p=.htm”

 

 

 

1) horse racing and fantasy sports as I understand it are examples of parimutuel betting. The idea is the betting or house can’t influence the odds. (https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24n5vb/eli5_why_is_it_legal_to_bet_on_horse_races_but/)

technically Hearthstone, Poker, and Sports are not gambling in a way that can influence the game (as long as the teams aren’t involved in/make money on the bets) so it seems a bit arbitrary

2) NBA commissioner is pro betting (http://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/)

– Chris

 

 

 

Hey Tom and Brian,
Love the show been a fan since Framerate. I suggest Longmire to replace The Shield. It has 4 seasons with a fifth yet to be confirmed but most likely coming all on Netflix. The show is a modern day western and has deep and realistic characters with actions that are understandable and relevant. It is a loose police procedural about a Wyoming county sheriff solving a murder of the week, but there is a deeper, more consistent overall story that stretches season to season. The dichotomy between the characters, cultures (local Native Americans vs. white population, rich vs. poor), landscapes, and what’s ethically right vs what’s the law is so enriching but not so politically driven as other shows. Walt Longmire is just a great character as Walter White.

Also, can I make a suggestion on maybe letting us viewers and “bosses” know what you guys will spoil a week in advance (or few days via Twitter, etc). I get you guys are busy and can only watch a limited shows. But I like to follow along with Spoilern’ Time and sometimes you’ll start new shows or movies, like Beasts of No Nation, and some of weren’t aware and it’s hard to go back and listen. Anyway just my suggestion.

Thanks and keep up the phenomenal job.

Regards,

– Judson M.

 

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

 

It’s Spoilerin’ Time 92

Cordkillers / October 21st, 2015

Winter Movie Draft, Beasts Of No Nation, The Leftovers (203), Fargo (201) The Walking Dead (602), The Shield (710)

00:48 – Winter Movie Draft

03:14 – Triage

06:08 – Beasts Of No Nation

15:29 – The Leftovers (203)

20:46 – Fargo (201)

24:17 – The Walking Dead (602)

25:49 – The Shield (710)

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Cordkillers 92 – Netflix and Chips

Cordkillers / October 20th, 2015

Netflix blames chip cards for subscriber decline, China’s Xiaomi revolutionizes set-top box, why fantasy sports gambling could fund the cord-cutting sports future. 

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CordKillers:  92 – Netflix and Chips
Recorded: October 19, 2015
Guest: Eklund

Intro Video

Primary Target

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

  • Xiaomi will let you replace the brains in its new smart TV
    – Xiaomi 60-inch 4K MITV 3 – RMB 4,999 (roughly $786).
    – COMES WITH
    – Mi TV Bar with speakers
    – 2GB RAM, 8GB flash storage
    – Runs Xiaomi’s Android variant MIUI TV
    – Can buy MiTV bar separately and use with any TV (RMB 999 ($157))
    – China only

Front Lines

  • YouTube Will Make You Pay to See Some of Its New Videos
    – ReCode has sources who say YouTube will announce some original programming at an event Wednesday at YouTubeSpace LA where Tom’s wife works. The sources say say the content will be available as part of a subscription program that also removes ads. this is DIFFERENT than YouTube Gaming’s ‘sponsorships’ that they just launched which lets you support gamers for $3.99 a month and get access to exclusive chat perks but does NOT remove ads. 
  • Forbes lists the top-earning YouTube stars for 2014 to 2015
    – But where does that YouTube money go? Sure some is used to pay the salary of Tom’s wife. But Forbes ranks the YouTube stars that earned the most money for the year ending June. 1. Pewdiepie earned $12 million.Gamer KSI made $4.5 million. Smosh and the Fine Brothers made $8.5 million each. Musician Lyndsey Sterling took in $6 million and Fashion vlogger Michelle Phan earned $3 million. The amounts are for all income not just YouTube revenue.
  • NBCU Debuts “SeeSo,” A New Subscription Streaming Service For Comedy Fans
    – NBC Universal announced a video service called SeeSo last week in the US. For $3.99 a month you can watch Old US and British comedies, episodes of NBC’s late night shows, current episodes of NBC comedies and more than 20 original series. One of the originals is HarmonQuest combining live action and animation. 10-15% of the content will be available for free. It launches in beta in December and in full in January. You can sign up to be notified at beta.seeso.com
  • BBC begins blocking VPN access to iPlayer
    – Let the game of whack-a-mole begin. The BBC told TorrentFreak it is beginning to actively block IP addresses from known VPN services in order to combat out of country viewing by non subjects of the realme. While the BBC says it is not blocking VPNs of school and corporate users, it will block the legitimate home user who happens to use the wrong VPN for security. 
  • Your next Comcast bill may be priced per gigabyte
    – Comcast has begun enforcing its long unenforced 300 GB cap that still exists in a few of its markets mostly in the central and southern states of the US. People who hit the cap will be offered the choice to pay $10 a month to get 50 additional GB or $30 for unlimited data use. For reference a 75Mbps plan in Florida costs $80 a month with a 300 GB cap. A Triple play bundle including TV and phone costs $99 a month. 
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer to Debut on ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’
    – By the time you hear this you likely will have already seen the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer that aired during Monday Night Football on ESPN. Tickets are schedule to go on sale as soon as the trailer airs.

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Hey Tom and Brian.

Here’s a little insight into the Australian pay TV industry I got from my Uncle who is a major advertising executive. Foxtel, which is the only major nationwide traditional Pay TV operator left solvent that has cable and satellite infrastructure has after 20 years of operation a marketshare of around 30% of households in the country. Netflix on the other hand has managed to sign up 9% of all households since it’s launch earlier this year. Stan, Presto and Quickflix the three local Netflix clones are struggling however with less than 3% of households combined.

Since Foxtel took the drastic measure last year of dropping it’s minimum subscription fee per month to $25 in order to fight off the at the time un-launched $12 a month Netflix I’ll be interested to see if they can hold onto their marketshare longer than the much more expensive US cable and satellite companies.

– Nik

 

Netflix reaches 1.89 million Australians. Foxtel loses share (but not size) as Netflix expands pay and subscription TV market

 

 

Just a quick note. The newest version of Playon and Playlater deserve some air time from you gentlemen. The UI has been completely changed and turned into a DVR style interface. The system has a set it and forget it record style that will record new episodes when available and notification when available for new shows. Only just start messing with it but extremely promising.

– William
 

 

 

Tom and Brian,
This week, my wife Eileen and I moved in to our new home. While setting up our entertainment center, she was confused as to why I was upset at all the cords I had to connect and hide throughout the living room. She asked, “aren’t you a cord killer. Why do you need all these cords?” I explained ‘cord cutting’ was about not using cable anymore and she responded, “well the show should be called ‘Cable Cutters’ or ‘Coax Killers’ then! CORD Killers is misleading!”

It was an awesome conversation!

Your boss in beautiful Norfolk, VA,
– Jeromy
 

 

All this talk about Hulu and VR is interesting. Don’t get me wrong…my enjoyment with Hulu is back since the no-commercials plan, but how can they figure out VR when they can’t even send 5.1 surround audio. Come on Hulu. Netflix does it, Amazon does its, Itunes store has it, Vudu has it. Everyone has 5.1 or better surround sound encoded with their streaming content, except Hulu. Still Stereo. Like an old black and white movie. Guess it’s too technically complicated?

– Jon

 

 

Hey Brian & Tom,

Since cutting the cord four years ago I’ve kept my old Directv dish laying around just knowing I’d come up with a new use for it. Yesterday was the day. I stripped everything off of it, bolted it to the old front brake rotors I just took off my car and slapped an old grate from a rusted out gas grill on it. I painted everything with high-temp grill paint and now I have a new deck fire pit for the price of free. I’ll likely get much more enjoyment out of the dish this way than I ever did when it was hooked up to directv.
–Eric

(P.S. – I’ll put it on some stone pavers before using it to avoid the deck going up in flames. Also, the cover is from the old fire pit which I bent to match the oval shape of the dish.)
 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

 

Cordkillers 91 – 4 Kurious

Cordkillers / October 12th, 2015

Cable companies want control of their boxes, do you care? Hulu’s going VR and Roku dominates many things including 4K.

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CordKillers: 91 – 4 Kurious
Recorded: October 12, 2015
Guest: Roberto Villegas

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • Does the Future of Television Belong to the Device or the App?
    – Congress directed the FCC to evaluate new standards for downloadable security on set-top boxes.
    – Last protocols established in the mid-1990s allowing for TiVo and the like to offer competing cable box devices
    – Cable industry and Hollywood proposal
    – Allow content operators (cablecos) to provide own apps and interfaces
    – Third-party devices could only display software designed and controlled by MVPDs.
    – Tech companies “virtual head-end” proposal
    – Programming forced into simple format
    – Device-makers create user interfaces and implement features
    – Could disrupt contracts dictating channel placement
    – Could allow app services like HBO to unbundle

Signal Intelligence

  • Hulu’s virtual reality app is set for its close-up next month
  • Hulu poised to see bigger growth than Amazon and Netflix over the next four years.
    – Hulu VR experience ready for November when Gear VR goes on sale
    – Hulu head of distribution Tom Connolly said Friday its considering original VR series.
    – Freddie Wong making VR short film “The Big One” alongside Hulu original series
    – Typical virtual environment for watching normal content. Sit in Jerry’s apartment to watch Seinfeld.
    – 70% of Hulu viewing on a TV. Roku the most popular.
    – Live programming in ‘if’ mode. As in not sure if they’ll do it.
    – Emarketer forecasts Hulu will have bigger growth than Amazon and Netflix over next 4 years
    – Next year, Hulu will see 11.8 percent growth in subscribers, compared to 11.1 percent for Netflix and 12.3 percent for Amazon.
    – Later this year: miniseries “11/22/63” will debut, starring James Franco.
    – This year 63 percent of OTT users subscribe to Netflix, compared to 36 percent for Amazon and 33. 1 percent for Hulu.
    – By 2019, that will rise to 71.7 percent for Netflix, 44.4 percent for Amazon, and 41.2 percent for Hulu.

Gear Up

  • Roku finally gets into 4K with new streaming box, updated software
    – Roku 4 streaming player
    – Supports 4K content playback 60fps (better framerate than Apple or Amazon, same as TiVo Bolt)
    – Auto-adapt to quality of streaming video
    – 802.11ac
    – Button on box makes remote make sounds (buzz or ring)
    – New 4K row in channel store, as well as 4K spotlight app
    – Send photos from phone to 4K screen
    – Pre-order now shipping Oct. 21 $129.99
  • HBO Now comes to Roku
    – HBO Now available in Roku Channel store now. Sign up through Roku and get a 30-day free trial.
    – Roku 7.0 os
    – Will come to Roku 3, 4 and streamign stick
    – cleaner UI
    – universal search displays results in descending order by price
    – search for actors, dorectors as well as specific ttitle
    – Track all that using Feed. Can alert when new content available
    – App can now browse content, add things to feed, add channels
    – Later this year will allow app to work w/o being on same network as device.

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

I found it interesting that Tom suggests that TiVo look to Roku for inspiration on how to proceed going forward. Given that Roku was started by ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood, there’s probably some institutional bias against adopting Roku’s model for, well, anything.

Keep up the good work,

– Mike

 

 

Hey Brian and Tom!

A few episodes ago, you had on the guy who runs pluto.tv, and after checking it out, I’ve fallen in love. It’s great to be able to “flip through the channels” again. They also have a lot of great programming.

Thanks for bringing this great site to our attention!

Love the show

– Drew

 

 

Hey guys. You’ve had several people say why they want the ability to download streaming video for later playback, but my situation hasn’t been mentioned yet. I have satellite internet service that has a low monthly bandwidth cap – except for a few hours in the middle of the night when I can download anything without a cap. If a service allows downloads, I can grab shows I’d like to watch during the “free” times, and watch them later without worrying about quickly blowing through my cap. In fact, because Amazon just added the download feature, I finally got Amazon Prime. If Netflix ever adds this feature, I would order Netflix, too.”

– Micah

 

 

“How many people have speakers with headphone-sized jacks on them.  My home speakers are all wired up with speaker wire.
 
Am I missing something with this Chromecast speaker thing?
 
– Walt

 

 

 

“I did it! I cut the cable cord, but i did go Dish with there 2 year price lock (50/mo), and I have to tell you.. Dish doesn’t get enough credit. Great tech, great price, and a free year of Netflix, that works on the Hopper Sling box.. all included in that 50/mo price tag. And I have been traveling a lot in the past 2 months, the Sling capabilities have made it nice and easy to get my Dr. Who/Mr. Robot fix without the torrents. 

If it wasn’t for my pesky kids (it’s really their technophobe grandmother) ;), I would have completely cut the cord long ago, but this option is the best deal i found if you have to keep some ‘normal tv’ around. Thought i would chime in. Keep it up!

– Joe from LA 

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

It’s Spoilerin’ Time 90

Cordkillers / October 7th, 2015

Winter Movie Draft, Triage (Utopia, Narcos), The Martian, Rick and Morty (210), The Shield (708)

01:04 – Winter Movie Draft

05:11 – Triage (Utopia)

06:52 – Triage (Narcos)

07:31 – The Martian

16:54 – Rick and Morty (210)

24:41 – The Shield (708)

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Cordkillers 90 – When You Don’t Know What You Want

Cordkillers / October 5th, 2015

We interview Pluto.TV co-founder Ilya Pozin about the best cord-cutter service for the lazy and bored. Plus: Amazon bans Chromecast and Apple TV, Verizon goes nowhere, and the new Chromecast proves to be well designed.

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CordKillers: When You Don’t Know What You Want
Recorded:  October 5, 2015
Guest: Lauren Perry

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • Amazon kicks Chromecast and Apple TV out of store
    –     Amazon sent email to marketplace sellers
    – No new listings for Chromecast or Apple TV
    – Existing inventory will be removed Oct. 29
    – “It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion.”
    – Developer emailed DTNS pointing out that Chromecast SDK requires Google Play Services on Android, meaning no FireOS device works
    – And an Amazon rep told David in email “… we’ll expand Amazon Video to the upcoming Apple TV 4th Gen in the near future.”

Signal Intelligence

  • Verizon Go launches
    – Verizon Go90 launched for iOS and Android
    – Various shows from traditional nets and MCNs
    – Daily Show and 30 for 30 alongside HuffPost Live, Michelle Phan
    – VZN wireless subscribers get some exclusives
    – Live NCAA football, basketball, and international soccer.
    – Go90 will launch with 8,000 titles and over 35 exclusive original series, which will nearly double by year’s end
    – 15 of the 30 most viewed network shows and 9 of 15 most viewed web shows
    – Social network aspect to follow celebrities and join crews
  • Comcast, Verizon Launch New Video Services Watchable, Go90
    – Watchable from Comcast
    – Free on Web, iOS and Comcast X1 set-top box
    – Web videos from Buzzfeed, Maker, Vice, Vox, etc

Gear Up

  • Google Announces Chromecast 2 And Chromecast Audio To Bring Intelligence To Your Living Room
  • Chromecast adds video from Showtime, Sling TV, NBA and more
    –     Chromecast
    – Showtime today and Sling TV in next few weeks
    – NBA NHL coming
    Chromecast
    – circle with integrated HDMI cable (Black, lemonade and coral) 5GHz wifi 802.11ac, new adaptive antenna system
    – New Chromecast app collects cast-enabled apps/content from your phone
    – Universal voice search across services
    – App update within next weeks
    – Fast Play 80% reduction in app loading
    – Multiplayer gaming
    – New feeds getty images, FB and Flickr
    – Available today in 17 countries for $35
    – Chromecast Audio
    – Plugs into existing home speaker
    – Same shape but with minijack (RCA and optical as well)
    – Works with any device on network as well as ‘guest mode’
    – Spotify now supports chromecast
    – Can mirror audio from Chrome or Android
    – Supports multi-room sync
    – Avail. today in 17 countries. $35 in US
  • TiVo Unveils BOLT, A Modern, 4K-Ready DVR Designed For The Streaming Era
  • TiVo exec explains Bolt strategy, Fire TV app and new Pro next year
    –     TiVo Bolt on sale at Best Buy and Amazon.
    -4K support, can handle cablecard and Over the Air signals and has a bent design to help with cooling and make it look cool.
    – QuickMode which plays back content 30% faster with pitch-corrected audio
    – SkipMode which lets you skip past commercial breaks on 20 channels for programming that airs 4PM to Midnight.
    -500GB model costs $299 and a 1TB model runs $399. Both models get a year of service for free after which it’s $15 a month or $150 a year.
    – TiVo Chief Marketing Officer Ira Bahr on company forums to TiVo enthusiasts: “we already have a roadmap plan to bring you something you’ll like way better in 2016 (more on this shortly).”

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Dear Tom,

It’s October which means our beloved Redbirds are once again in the hunt for a World Series title. As a cordkiller I’d like to know the best way to see the action.

It is a confusing process to know where to watch the team with or without cable. I have a Roku and am willing to pay to watch the games. I don’t believe MLB At Bat has playoff coverage.

How are we going watch, Tom?

– Michael (Great) Daehn

 

 

 

Dear Tom and Brian,

I continue to enjoy your show and appreciate all your hard work.

I want to make a suggestion that I think will help everyone: you should recommend that your bosses switch their payment method in their Patreon accounts to PayPal. Here’s why:
PayPal will notify users when their card is about to expire, so they can fix it before it actually starts being declined. This will help Cordkillers get their money on time.
Merchants don’t see PayPal users’ card numbers, so there’s less risk when a database is hacked (you probably already knew that, but it’s timely information considering recent events).
See how everyone wins?
PayPal wasn’t available on Patreon when I first signed up, soon after you started Cordkillers. So some of your bosses who signed up in the beginning might not be aware they even have this option. Tom should tell DTNS listeners, too.
Love the show!

– Beelissa

 

 

 

 

Hey Brian and Tom,
I like the idea of using VR for virtual theaters and be able to sit back on my comfy couch with nice headphones and get a real theater experience minus the seat kicking.

Brian’s comment about being able to look around the virtual theater and see the shocked expressions of the people around you reminded me of a DTNS story about the software that is able to read emotions.

If down the road our VR gear is able to do that, then it would be possible to have our virtual avatar display the same surprise, shock, disgust, etc, that we’re feeling as we watch the movies.

This would be good for that community feeling if the theater is full of our friends, or even a selection of strangers that also happen to be watching the movie at the same time.

It would also be useful for film makers and studios to see the data that is fed back so they can make better movies.

– Andy from Michigan

 

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft