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CBS is considering a possible move to cable if Aereo continues to operate, following comments from another broadcaster. Chief executive Les Moonves voiced approval of Fox Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey's earlier threat to cease over-the-air broadcasts, though it such an action is unlikely to occur in the first place.
TV network CBS has launched a new, self-named app for the iPhone and iPad. The software allows streaming of CBS shows within 24 hours of their original broadcast time, with the exception of new episodes of primetime programs, which are only available eight days after broadcast. Once the fall season starts the title will integrate with the CBS Connect app, letting people use an iOS device as a second screen, with things like synced content and integrated social network feeds.
Executives at CBS have forced CNet to remove Dish Network's Hopper from its CES awards, due to ongoing lawsuits. CNet's parent company apparently wanted the awards changed shortly after a ban on products by companies CBS was in litigation with came into effect, and forced the change on the editorial team, leading one reporter to announce their departure.
CBS and Hulu revealed today a new multi-year agreement that will bring CBS' television content to the popular streaming service. CBS shows will now be available on Hulu Plus in a non-exclusive arrangement, but the broadcaster is said to be holding out on making its content available on the free version of Hulu.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was the highest-paid CEO of 2011, according to a study released by the Hay Group and the Wall Street Journal. Cook's package for the year was valued at $378 million, although most of it is locked up in the form of stock grants issued after he took control from Steve Jobs in August. The first half of the shares will vest in 2016; the remainder will follow in 2021, contingent on Cook staying with Apple.
Aereo on Tuesday grew its countersuits against TV networks to include several more networks. Fox, PBS, Univision, WPIX, and WNET were all targeted under a complaint that wanted the judge to rule that Aereo wasn't violating the networks' copyrights. It had already sued ABC, CBS, and NBCUniversal a week ago.
Aereo started off the week with a countersuit hoping to stop a broadcaster lawsuit targeting its fledgling mobile TV streaming service. The service wanted the court to declare that Aereo didn't violate the copyrights of ABC, CBS, and NBCUniversal, effectively negating the original complaint. None of the services had formally tried to stop the launch of Aereo, which goes live on Wednesday.
Apple got more than a few endorsements this week after The Big Bang Theory made Siri a core part of an episode's plot line. Raj gets an iPhone 4S and quickly falls in love with it, since it appears to respond to every romantic question he has. It agrees to call him "sexy" and suggests places to that he imagines being places for a date.
A new Citi Investment Research study from analyst Mike Mahaney points to Netflix still increasing its share of Internet movie and TV viewing. Between May and December, Netflix's share of those watching movies on TV grew from 20 to 27 percent. Most of that came at the expense of Hulu, which was down from 19 percent to 15.
CBS chief Les Moonves may have inadvertently confirmed Apple's negotiations for a streaming TV service during the company's fiscal results call. He claimed that CBS had turned down a deal for a service because it would have split ad revenues. The executive didn't give details of what the service would have involved.
The CW Television Network, owned by CBS and Warner Bros., agreed on a four-year deal to stream its TV shows on Netflix. This will allow subscribers to stream previous seasons of scripted series that aired on The CW until the 2015 season. More than 700 hours of older CW episodes will be available on Netflix.
Hulu on cue has launched Hulu Plus for Japan. The country is the first outside of the US to get Hulu and gives it a very different business model. Plus is the only option in the country and costs the equivalent of $19 per month, almost twice as much as the $8 it does in the US.
Netflix has reached an agreement with CBS Corp. that will allow some of the network's programming to be streamed to foreign markets. The deal includes such CBS shows as "Californication," "Dexter," "Numb3rs" and "Twin Peaks." Many of the networks' most popular series are excluded. Netflix operates in Canada and is expanding to 43 countries in Latin America, with other foreign markets to be added later.
Amazon.com and CBS Corporation on Wednesday announced they have entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement that will let Amazon Prime customers stream CBS TV shows. The deal will see 2,000 additional episodes from 18 CBS TV shows such as The Tudors, Cheers, and the complete Star Trek series collection, among others. Also, later this summer, regular Amazon Instant Video customers will get access to dozens of CBS shows.
Star Trek fans saw a slice of the sci-fi become real on Monday after CBS put out an official PADD app ($5, App Store). The app recreates the device's LCARS interface from TNG-era shows and is treated as a database for the universe with characters, ships, species, and TV episodes. It carries 'authentic' sound effects and has diagnostic demos around the NCC1701-D version of the Enterprise.
Netflix reached a milestone in its winter 2011 results (PDF) as it tied with Comcast to become the largest subscription service in the US. The movie rental and streaming firm added 3.3 million new customers between January and March to hit 22.8 million users, or exactly as many customers as the cable TV giant. Its expansion gave it a 63 percent leap in total subscribers just over the same period last year and nearly double the growth rate.
Netflix may land a key deal to show every Star Trek episode ever made. The company reportedly confirmed that it would have access to all five storylines, ranging from the classic 1960s show through to Enterprise. TrekMovie understood that all but Deep Space Nine would go live on July 1, with the holdout coming October 1.
Tips on Friday had Netflix near a major deal that would give it access to all of Miramax's movies. An agreement that would be "well north of" $100 million would allow streaming for the next five years. The Reuters tip had few other details but was supported by a WSJ rumor corroborating similar terms.
CBS today showed a rare willingness to bring its TV shows to a subscription Internet service today and gave Netflix some key content. Classic shows such as Cheers, Star Trek and Twin Peaks will now be viewable through a streaming plan, as will two newer shows, Flashpoint and Medium. The non-exclusive deal lasts for two years and has an option for a two-year renewal.
Grace Digital hoped to get in updates on its radios before a wave of CES news with the launch of three new Internet radios. The Bravado X, Mondo and Solo Touch now have color, higher resolution displays that provide a much clearer and more image-driven interface. All three can be controlled either from buttons or from the company's iPhone remote control app (free, App Store).
The venerable television newsmagazine show 60 Minutes, now in its 43rd year on-air, has debuted a $5 iPad app that features videos from current and past shows, updated every Sunday after the broadcast. The application, now available from the App Store, also includes web extras and 60MinutesOvertime.com content, and works on either Wi-Fi or 3G.
Google today faced another major setback as viewers discovered that Fox had joined SyFy and other majors in blocking Google TV. Anyone trying to watch Bones, The Simpsons and other shows on Fox.com are given an error claiming the content is "not compatible with your device." Fox was thought to have been uncertain but now appeared to have settled on banning the platform's Chrome web browser.
Viewers discovered this weekend that SyFy has begun blocking Google TV devices from its site. The NBC-owned channel began telling users that video is not "currently available on this device." It joins blocks by other major studios, including NBC itself as well as ABC and CBS. Hulu has blocked Google TV from its free access since before launch.
Google TV is being blocked by TV studios at least partly out of piracy fears, tips alleged on Thursday [sub. required]. Disney's ABC as well as CBS have all confirmed that they prevent the TV OS from watching their free Flash video sites. The WSJ understood from leaks that at least Disney and NBC had objected because it didn't think Google was doing enough to stop piracy.
Several broadcasters have filed a lawsuit against Ivi TV after the startup defied cease-and-desist demands to stop retransmitting broadcast TV signals via the Internet without permission. Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS have accused the small company of copyright infringement for its web-based streaming service, which provides access to over 20 channels for $5/month.
CBS has launched an iPad-native version of its CBS News app at the App Store. Users can access text and video content by navigating through a variety of categories, such as the top national and international news, or crime, health and science/technology stories. The app also provides access to clips and episodes from several TV shows, including 60 Minutes, the CBS Evening News and Face the Nation.
Apple has managed to line up two major TV networks for its 99-cent iTunes TV rentals ahead of tomorrow's event, a late leak may have confirmed this evening. Previously undecided Fox as well as ABC have reportedly agreed to offer at least some of their shows. The WSJ sources warned that Fox might only offer rentals for a short time as a trial balloon and that it wouldn't include shows where rights aren't uniformly in its favor, like American Idol.
Apple's proposed iTunes TV rentals could be cheaper still than originally thought if an unverified but notable rumor is true. Rather than charge 99 cents per episode, Cult of Mac claimed late Thursday that it would cost that amount per TV series per month. Under the model, a customer could watch every episode of four shows for $4 each month, or well under the $32 it would cost to buy the same content.
Apple's ongoing discussions for 99-cent iTunes TV rentals were given support today by a pair of sources Tuesday evening. Anonymous contacts told the WSJ this evening that Disney was the closest to a deal and could agree to allowing some ABC shows soon. It's speculated that Apple chief Steve Jobs' position on Disney's board of directors would be a strong influence on the plan.
Google is getting significant resistance from TV networks for its Google TV strategy, insiders said Wednesday. It has reportedly talked with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC about scraping video site data and TV-ready reformatting but has so far been turned down, the WSJ wrote. Studios are allegedly worried that the info, which would help mix TV and web results, could lure customers away from more profitable traditional TV or put pirated material ahead of legitimate content.
CBS' CEO Les Moonves this afternoon admitted that his studio was in talks to bring TV shows to Hulu Plus. He explained that the addition of the $10 monthly option changed the dynamics as it meant CBS could get paid in more than one way "without hurting the mother ship." No timeframe was given for when CBS might arrive if a deal is struck.
More Hulu news has surfaced this evening as a leak now suggests the paid Hulu Plus service will start running in a matter of days. Anonymous contacts said a trial version of the subscription TV streaming is due to go live before the end of June. It would be invite-only at first, and negotiations with studios are believed to still be in later stages.
Hulu is in talks with CBS and Time Warner to add their TV shows in time for the paid subscription service, a leak from within the negotiations may have given away today. While terms of the deal haven't been outlined in full, CBS would start supplying shows for the paid service by September, as the new TV season starts. Time Warner's staging wasn't outlined by the Bloomberg source.
A number of major studios that include NBC and Time Warner are deliberately rejecting HTML5 video in favor of Flash, rumors maintained today. TV networks have allegedly told Apple they have no plans to switch as the cost and results wouldn't be worthwhile. None of the involved companies has confirmed or denied the remarks.
Bitbop today quietly entered the first part of its beta. Four BlackBerry devices can download or stream TV shows from 25 providers, such as CBS, Fox and NBC. Android phones, iPhones and movies aren't part of the early testing but should come later.
The Hulu Plus subscription service is in "no way" ready for its rumored May 24th trial date, a follow-up leak claimed today. While an updated schedule isn't available, the $10 plan is said to be still far too distant. The AllThingsD tipster didn't explain what was holding up the expanded service, although negotiations with ABC, Fox and NBC are possible candidates.
iPad owners should have access to all of the web videos available on CBS.com by the start of the fall TV season, says Anthony Soohoo, the senior VP of CBS Interactive. While the iPad can already view some clips and episodes from the site using HTML5, access is otherwise unequal, with clips coming only gradually. This severely limits the practicality of an iPad for watching CBS shows.
Time Warner doesn't necessarily have any reason to launch an HBO app for the iPad or any other device, company CEO Jeff Bewkes said when discussing the company's latest financial results. The media firm could "easily" make an app to stream the cable channel's shows to Apple's tablet but doesn't have any motivation to do so. Since it goes over the web, the online HBO Go service doesn't have to be tied to a particular platform and gives Time Warner control over how the service works for any device, not just the iPad.
Two of the most important Internet video websites are planning native iPad apps, a pair of leaks showed in the past few hours. One set of tips claims that the Hulu iPad app is real and will carry a subscription that will also cover other services. Core details have reportedly been worked out, with only rights negotiation is left over.
CBS has publicly revealed that it has begun testing videos optimized for the iPad and bypass Flash entirely. Episodes of shows such as CSI: Miami and The Young and the Restless have been marked as "iPad - test" and, if visited by a browser identifying itself as an iPad, takes the user to a special HTML5 page that would load the clip in a frame. The videos themselves don't currently work, but HTML5 extras like a full-screen mode already work.
CBS on Tuesday announced that it will broadcast NCAA Final Four games in 3D. The live feeds will be available at up to 100 Cinedigm-certified cinemas located throughout the US. Fans will also be able to watch the games from LG's 3D HDTVs placed inside the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, along with the Bracket Town event in the nearby convention center.
Syabas preluded CES today with its most ambitious media hub to date. The Popbox replaces the Popcorn Hour as the flagship media hub and revolves around a major, much more polished interface overhaul designed by Moxie's inventor and former Microsoft executive Dewey Reid. In addition to showing visual thumbnails of virtually everything and universal search, the interface has applets known as Infopops that show weather, Twitter feeds and other data whenever the viewer pauses what's playing. As with the previously available Popapps, new Infopops can be added over time.
Apple may have two studios lined up for its proposed iTunes TV subscription plan ahead of a winter tablet lanch, sources claim Monday night. Where before the rumored service had merely been proposed to studios, anonymous tips now suggest that CBS and Disney are at least "considering" signing onboard. Under the plan, at least some TV shows across participating networks would be available through a monthly subscription, including CBS and its sibling CW network as well as ABC, ABC Family and the Disney Channel.
(Update with pricing) Boxee tonight revealed both the beta version of its software as well as Boxee Box, its first hardware dedicated to its custom TV interface. Both the device and independent software have a newly updated version of the front-end with a much more visual layout that focuses on the menu, the active media queue and a social networking feed for friends, Facebook and Twitter. While it's still available for Macs and 32-bit Linux PCs, the beta is also freshly optimized for Windows and uses DirectX on that platform as well as Flash 10.1 that gives it hardware acceleration of Flash video using modern NVIDIA graphics.
AT&T today issued their promised formal responses to the FCC's inquiry into the rejection of Google Voice on the iPhone. AT&T senior executive VP Jim Cicconi in a statement flatly stated that the carrier had "no role in any decision" of Apple's to deny the software reaching the App Store and specifically denied any contact with Apple regarding the particular app. AT&T also didn't express its opinion on the app in any context, according to the executive.
Verizon today officially expanded its V CAST Mobile TV network to include key larger California cities. The FLO TV-based digital broadcasts are now available in San Francisco as well as Fresno and Sacramento further south. Channel selection should remain the same and provides a mix of both live and pre-recorded content from both kids' channels like NickToons and more mature content from CBS, Fox, NBC and others.
Disney this morning said it has obtained an equity stake in Hulu. The deal, which puts three Disney executives on the Hulu board, gives the studio equal influence along with original founders NBC Universal and News Corp. (Fox) in addition to the ability to publish content on the streaming web video service. Most of its initial lineup will center on current and back-catalog TV shows from ABC and Disney, such as Lost and Dancing with the Stars, but should also include "popular library titles" from Walt Disney Studios.
The outline the early launch plans for ATSC Mobile DTV, the first free over-the-air TV standard meant for portable devices in the US. Washington, DC will be the first city to get coverage and will be supported by 5 stations owned by CBS, Fox, Ion, NBC and PBS when service starts sometime in the late summer. About 39 percent of the US will be covered by the end of 2009 and should include major cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and several others.
CBS is taking a different approach to streaming NCAA March Madness games on the iPhone versus the web, a new App Store release reveals. While users can stream all of the games for free from the CBS Sports website -- at the expense of advertising -- the network's NCAA app for the iPhone and iPod touch costs $5. Users do however gain similar access, with live video and audio content.
CBS has released a new iPhone application, representing the first app of its sort to provide streaming TV directly from an American network. The free TV.com app provides access to regular CBS shows including CSI, Star Trek and The Late Show with David Letterman, as well as CBS Sports content, and podcasts from CNET and GameSpot. Also available are a smaller range of CW shows such as Smallville, and a mere six shows from Showtime, such as The Tudors and The L Word.
