It was the first week of April, 2015, and New York’s Chelsea Market, typically packed with hordes of noisy tourists, was quiet. It was close to midnight, but five stories above, things were tense. The building is a former cookie factory, and the outlines of ovens still scar the brick walls. In their place, …
Google Inc. on Thursday introduced a new feature for Android TV called “Channels”, which enables developers or content producers to deliver video apps in the form of a traditional broadcast for the internet-connected television OS. Now that Android Channels offers a more classic viewing experience with its continuous feed similar to a TV guide, users can …
Multichannel video providers can relax — at least for this quarter. The top 10 multichannel video providers added 54,800 subscribers in the first quarter of this year, according to informitv Multiscreen Index. That is a welcome uptick from a loss of 232,100 in the prior three quarters. Of course, MVPDs might not want to rest …
One of the key inclusions in the Budget is the confirmation that GST rules are to be extended to apply to the importations of digital products and services. This so called “Netflix” tax is designed to ensure that non-resident suppliers (e.g. video streaming servers) of such content pay GST, thereby levelling the playing field for …
Streaming television is now mainstream, although it has not caused many people to “cut the cord” for traditional pay TV. Not yet, anyway. More than half of Americans now stream movies or television programs using the Internet and video streaming software solutions, according to various surveys. The vast majority of American households subscribe to cable or satellite …
In the 1999 film The Matrix, the lead character, Neo, encounters a teenage boy effortlessly bending and modifying the shape of a spoon with only his mind. When Neo unsuccessfully attempts to do the same, the boy advises Neo that bending the spoon is impossible. Instead, he should try to realise the truth, that ‘there is …
Roughly 17% of US broadband households would be likely to subscribe to HBO’s forthcoming over-the-top video service, according to new research by Parks Associates. The research firm said that among those likely to subscribe, 91% are currently pay TV subscribers, while roughly 50% would cancel their pay TV service after subscribing to HBO’s OTT service, which …
Online video platform Youku Tudou has commissioned China’s first ever version of Endemol’s flagship format Big Brother. Youku Tudou and a new Endemol Asia unit, Endemol China are collaborating on a ten-week series, Big Brother China. The series will go into production shortly ahead of an early 2015 launch. Youku Tudou, which formed out the merger of …
Chinese online video platform Youku Tudou has acquired rights to remake John de Mol’s format The Voice Kids. This is the second major international format de Mol created that Youku Tudou is remaking, after it took rights to make a Chinese version of Endemol’s flagship showBig Brother. The Tudou division of the on-demand business will oversee the …
