Business

ABC app to require authentication

May 15, 2013 2:04 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

In another small victory for MVPDs, ABC said it will make its content available through its newly renamed app only to authenticated pay TV customers, effective July 1. ABC said it has deals in place with Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, Charter, Midcontinent and AT&T.

Another Senator weighs in on cable prices

May 15, 2013 1:57 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Sen. Rockefeller has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the impact of TV station shared services agreements (SSAs) on consumers. The request is a response to complaints that local broadcasters collude in order to keep retrans fees artificially high.

Dish chair dares Softbank to raise bid for Sprint

May 10, 2013 1:20 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

The chairman of satellite broadcaster Dish Network Corp., which is trying to buy Sprint Nextel Corp., is daring Sprint's other suitor to raise its bid. Dish's Charlie Ergen told investors and reporters Thursday that based on the benefits Japan's Softbank says it would get from buying Sprint, it should be paying a higher price.

YouTube's new pay channels go from campy to kids

May 10, 2013 1:17 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Although the world's largest video site has rented and sold movies and TV shows from major studios since late 2008, YouTube is introducing all-you-can-watch channels that require a monthly fee. The least expensive of the channels will cost 99 cents a month but the average price is around $2.99.

McCain bill takes aim at cable practices

May 10, 2013 1:02 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Senator John McCain has introduced a bill that aims to fix a grab-bag of problems in the TV industry. His bill proposes to bar programmers from offering channels only in bundles; it aims to make retransmission consent arguments easier to adjudicate; and restricts sports blackouts, among other measures.

Averna hooks up with Pace on DOCSIS certification

May 10, 2013 10:49 am | by Mike Robuck | Products | Comments

Montreal-based Averna has forged a design-validation partnership with Pace that it said would accelerate customer premise equipment certification (CPE) for cable operators. Using Averna’s DOCSIS Channel Emulator (DCE), the two companies will help service providers gain SCTE-40 certification on various CPE equipment for the cable and broadband industry.

Huawei founder: we won't spy

May 9, 2013 2:18 pm | by The Associated Press | Articles | Comments

During 26 years at the helm of Chinese tech giant Huawei, founder Ren Zhengfei has never once agreed to be interviewed by a journalist. Until now. Huawei is taking steps toward trying to dispel its image as a secretive and opaque company, and to reassure the world of its good intentions.

Dish's Q1 disappoints; lowest sub adds in years

May 9, 2013 2:11 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Dish Network fell short of Wall Street expectations. Earnings were down 41 percent, and the company added only 36,000 TV subscribers in its first quarter, the fewest since 2009 when the recession and a dismal housing market hammered consumers.

Cablevision swings to loss; spending up on CPE

May 9, 2013 1:52 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Cablevision Systems swung to a first quarter loss, due in part to declining revenues in its cable TV unit. The company added a modest number of revenue generating units (RGUs), and increased average revenue per user (ARPU) by a little more than 1 percent, to $156.34.

The 2013 CTO Roundtable

May 8, 2013 1:35 am | by Brian Santo | Articles | Comments

Time Warner Cable’s Mike LaJoie, Cablevision’s Yvette Kanouff, Cox Communications’ Kevin Hart, and Buckeye Cablesystem’s Joe Jensen share their thoughts on some of the most prominent technological challenges they are dealing with today, and a few they might have to contend with tomorrow.

Second-screen CTO Vendor Roundtable

May 8, 2013 1:10 am | by Mike Robuck | Articles | Comments

CED’s CTO roundtable has mined the thoughts of cable operator executives for years now, but this is the first iteration of a vendor CTO roundtable. CED narrowed the field to chief technical officers, or the equivalent, that play a part in the multi-screen ecosystem.

Open Mic: Cable’s best strategy for winning the multi-screen numbers game

May 8, 2013 12:23 am | by Buddy Snow, President, CEO, Morega Systems | Articles | Comments

Service providers are transitioning to a multi-screen service model, offering subscribers access to media content at home and on the go across TVs, PCs, and mobile devices. These media mobility services remain annoyingly cumbersome today, but the industry recognizes the need to push forward and smooth out the wrinkles as quickly as possible.

Ciciora’s Corner: The Second Half of the Chess Board

May 7, 2013 8:51 pm | by Walt S. Ciciora, Expert on cable and consumer electronics issues | Articles | Comments

Futurist Ray Kurzweil is reported to have coined the phrase “the second half of the chessboard” to illustrate the impact of exponential growth. The cable industry and the semiconductor industry have both experienced exponential growth. Let’s use this interesting idea to take a closer look at exponential growth.

Memory Lane: Predicting the Internet, cable-style

May 7, 2013 8:37 pm | by Stewart Schley, Media & technology writer | Articles | Comments

If you’ve been around awhile, or are of “a certain age,” you may recall a few early attempts to couple cable’s distribution infrastructure with text and graphical information. You know: stuff you might label today as “content.” Starting in the early 1980s, a parade of initiatives flew across cable’s radar, launched by some big names (then) in media and publishing, plus a few homespun start-ups.

YouTube reportedly set to carry pay channels

May 7, 2013 2:09 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

YouTube is reportedly set to announce within a few weeks a series of channels that will require payment. The content on the new pay channels will be in addition to the millions of videos viewers watch for free on YouTube. It's not clear whether the paid videos will come with advertising.