TOR917

Insider News. Outsider Views.
TOP HEADLINES
Xiaomi Is Coming
to the States; The Only
Questions: When?
Which Products?
page 4
Three Companies That
Are Getting Ready for
Internet TV
page 8
A Closer Look at the Vid-
eo Platform that Makes
YouTube Nervous
page 10
The Rise of the MCNs
page 12
The Burgeoning Off-
YouTube World
page 14
Liberty Global Plans
10m Hotspots This
Year
page 16
Ethertronics’ RF Wi-Fi
Beam Steering Could
Kill Wireline Home
Networking
page 18
Issue 917 February 20-26 2015
The Very Best Coverage of
the Internet TV Era And the Broadband
and Home Network Infrastructure
that It’ll Need
continued on page two
- New Qualcomm Chips Add 4K & LTE
Broadcast to Streaming Adapters
Qualcomm is showing a reference design
that CE makers can use to produce a next-
generation HDMI streaming adapter that adds
two new technologies that will impact the
amount of bandwidth that wireline and cellular
broadband services offer:
- The ability to stream 4K videos in full 4K
from OTAsources such as Netflix, Amazon,
YouTube and NanoTech’s UltraFlix — to
UHD TV sets that have the dongle.
- LTE Broadcast, which will allow cellcos
to broadcast major events such as sports,
concerts, news and weather directly to
subscribers. Cellcos could broadcast OTA
content to the TV through the dongle — no
wireline broadband needed.
The Android-based device — the prototype
is called the Qualcomm 4K Streaming Adapter
— would do for 4K and LTE Broadcast what
the likes of Google’s Chromecast does. The
plug-and-play dongle has a built-in LTE
modem that supports speeds up to 300 Mbps
down and 100 Mbps up — more than sufficient
for downloading and uploading 4K streams. It
supports both the 11ac version of Wi-Fi and
cellular-based LTE Broadcast. In addition to
watching OTA services, users could upload to
a cloud service the home videos that they have
recorded in 4K so that families and friends
from around the world could watch them in full
4K on the UHD TV in their homes.
Smartphones or tablets are used to select the
content that users want to watch on their TVs.
The adapter uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon
800 processor but can also use the newer
Hello Apple, Google, Roku & Amazon:
4K Is Here
continued on page two
-Getting Rid of Islands of Content
Content distributors have begun taking steps
down the path that leads to what some have
dubbed the Holy Grail of home entertainment
— linear TV services integrated with Internet
TV services.
“A set-top box that would actually fuse OTT
and traditional cable or satellite together – If
I had a Holy Grail, it would be able to fuse
all the Netflixes, Hulus and all that stuff
together with traditional networks, so that I, as
a consumer, don’t have to go out of this and
into this,” said Dan Sweeney, VP at The Allant
Group. “That’s one of the big barriers we still
have in this space, to bring these two together.”
Sweeney spoke on a panel discussion at CES
on “hybrid TV,” which refers to video services
that combine OTT and traditional TV.
Ty Roberts, chief strategy officer and co-
founder of metadata firm Gracenote, agreed.
“You’ve got islands of content. I want one world
of content, not islands,” he said, and added that
metadata will help index content across sources.
“What’s happening on the Internet is coming
together with what’s happening in the broadcast
world. The search services, both inside
broadcast and outside, [will be] linked together.
The future is really about tagging. It’s about
how you associate your content with something
else that people are watching – so that online
recommendation systems, or searching systems,
will pull your content.”
“Personalization is going to get a lot richer,”
he said.
Sling Media is one of the first companies
to put an OTT service on a pay TV STB in
the US, in this case, Dish Network’s satellite
TV boxes. “On our set-top box, we just added
Here’s The Holy Grail of Internet TV

February 20-26 2015
Page 2 ©2015 May not be copied or forwarded by e-mail, posted to a web site, faxed or copied in whole or in part.
“Slightly more
than 50% of
US consumers
that are plan-
ning to acquire
a smartphone
in the ext 12
months, re-
gardless of
brand, prefer
an alternative
to the tradi-
tional two-year
contract.”
“Now you have
an OTT service
with satellite.”
Netflix,” said Michael Hawkey, SVP and general
manager at Sling Media. He added that consumers
can search for content across the two content sources.
“Now you have an OTT service with satellite — but
that’s just one OTT service,” he said. “It’s a step. We
haven’t made that final leap.”
The final leap might look something like what
smart TV app maker Net2TV is hoping for: “In a
perfect world, our cooking shows would be right
next to Home and Garden, and The Food Network;
our sports shows would be right next to ESPN, our
news shows would be right next to CNN,” said Jim
Monroe, co-founder and SVP of programming at the
company. “That’s the holy grail for us, when that
barrier between linear and non-linear goes away.”
Here’s: continued from page ONE
Snapdragon 810 processor. Both support 4K video,
which is not yet supported by streaming adapters
from Qualcomm’s potential customers such as for
the Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku Streaming
Stick and Amazon Fire TV.
h t t p s : / / w w w . q u a l c o m m . c o m / n e w s /
snapdragon/2015/01/04/stream-4k-ultra-hd-video-
snapdragon-demo
Qualcomm won’t produce the adapter. It’ll sell
the Snapdragon chips and related technology to
CE makers who will use them and they also will
probably use Qualcomm’s reference design to get to
market quickly. Dongles will be made and sold by CE
equipment makers, possibly even the likes of Apple,
Google, Roku, Amazon or others that want to add
4K and LTE Broadcast. They could also be sold by
makers of UHD TVs that want to add LTE Broadcast.
Let’s see who gets to market first.
The Two-Year Mobile Phone
Contract Is Fading
-And Wi-Fi Telephony Is Encroaching on Cellular
- While Cellcos Hide Their Best Prices
Two changes are impacting the cellular industry:
Consumers’desire for an alternative to the traditional,
binding two-year contract and the encroachment of
Wi-Fi telephony into traditional cellular.
Cellcos may soon find their traditional two-year
contracts are no longer acceptable to consumers.
Onlyabout25%ofpotentialsubscriberstoT-Mobile
USA prefer the traditional two-year mobile contract
model, which seems increasingly dated. Parks
Associates’ research asked T-Mobile customers about
their preference for a two-year contract that includes
a subsidized device. It found that they have taken to
T-Mobile’s new no-contract plans. Of those that said
they are planning to get new smartphones, 33% prefer
to pay the full price upfront and 31% prefer to pay in
monthly installments.
“T-Mobile and AT&T have tapped into the
consumer desire for the latest and greatest smartphone
with their early-upgrade programs,” said Harry Wang,
director of health and mobile product research at Parks
Associates. “Fourteen percent of smartphone owners
plan to upgrade their phone more quickly the next
time, and 27% of these consumers cite special operator
incentives as the reason for their quicker upgrade.”
The report showed that alternative plans — early
upgrade and no-contract plans are disrupting the
market’s traditional model for acquiring new handsets.
It said slightly more than 50% of US consumers that
are planning to acquire a smartphone in the ext 12
months, regardless of brand, prefer an alternative to
the traditional two-year contract.
“Accelerated rollout of LTE services by operators
worldwide, along with the launch of flagship
smartphones like Apple’s iPhone 6 and Samsung’s
Galaxy Note Edge in 2014, have transformed the
mobile industry,” said Wang.
Wang said cellcos must find effective ways to
persuade smartphone users to upgrade early and
purchase a bigger data plan, and at the same time
minimize customer churn.
There is an extension of the end of the two-year
contract that Parks Associates did not mention. It’s the
pre-paid, month-at-a-time contract that cellcos have
started offering, sometimes with lots of promotion as
T-Mobile USA and Sprint are doing, but also quietly
as Verizon and AT&T are doing. They feature: no
contract, no credit check and no activation fee.
For example,Verizon’s pre-paid plan is $45 a month,
unlimited phone calls and texts plus 1GB of data,
which becomes 1.5GB if the customer lets Verizon
automatically charge his credit card each month. For
$10 a month, the customer can add 1,000 minutes to
Mexico & Canada. The selection of smartphones and
Hello: continued from page ONE
The Two-Year: continued on page THREE

February 20-26 2015
Page 3©2015 May not be copied or forwarded by e-mail, posted to a web site, faxed or copied in whole or in part.
Sony: continued on page FOUR
“Cellcos have
added to the
confusion by
offering two
tiers of prices,
the ones they
advertise and
the ones they
are willing to
negotiate.”
“Wouldn’t they
love to tweak
the noses of
their two big-
gest pay TV
and broadband
competitors by
reducing their
cellcos’ high
profit margins?”
tablets is somewhat limited, but it’s a start. See:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/
shop/prepaid.html?cmp=KNC-C-HQ-NON-R-AC-
NONE-NONE-GAW-659160
Wi-Fi First Intrudes on Cellular
For years the mobile phone industry has charged
high monthly rates and imposed all sorts of conditions
and terms such as high usage charges and two-year
contracts. The days of that may be ending as Wi-Fi
networks are built.
Much of the industry’s press has gone months
withoutreportingW-Fi’smoveintowirelesstelephony.
That’s beginning to change. The New York Times this
week reported on the encroachments that start-ups
Republic Wireless and FreedomPop are making in
the cellular industry, which the deep-pocketed and
spectrum-rich Verizon and AT&T dominate.
The NY Times says the two companies’ strategy is:
“Reduce cellphone costs by relying on strategically
placed Wi-Fi routers. And when there are no routers
available,fallbackonthetraditionalcellularnetwork.”
The cablecos look set to follow. Wouldn’t they
love to tweak the noses of their two biggest pay TV
and broadband competitors by reducing their cellcos’
high profit margins? Cablevision is the first cableco
out of the gates with a $30-per-month Wi-Fi plan in
a footprint where it has installed a large number of
publicly accessible, telephony-capable Wi-Fi routers.
The service is only $9.95 to Cablevision’s existing
subscribers so many of them are likely to be the first
to sign up. It’s a no-brainer for subscribers that don’t
want to exceed their monthly data allowances.
The company the telcos most fear entering the Wi-
Fi First market is probably Google, which is said to
be planning a Wi-Fi based phone service that uses
T-Mobile and Sprint as backup when mobility is
needed or where Wi-Fi is not available. Google is also
building fiber networks that could be used in such
a scheme to connect the various Wi-Fi hotspots and
cellular towers. See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/technology/
small-phone-companies-use-wi-fi-to-punch-
above-their-weight.html?hp&action=click&p
gtype=Homepage&module=second-column-
region%C2%AEion=top-news&WT.nav=top-
news&_r=1
The big two cellcos have spent big to gain and
maintain their dominance, in acquiring cellular-
suitable spectrum, building their networks of cell
towers and retail stores. The most recent spectrum
the big two acquired will cost them $29 billion. As a
result, both are selling off what they consider as non-
essential assets such as wireline footprint, data centers
and cellular towers that they then leased back.
Both would be hurt financially if Wi-Fi First
becomes successful, which it might with cablecos and
Google pushing it.
The Pricing Subterfuge
Cellcos’ problems also include the high prices they
charge plus confusing bills with various add-ons and
charges that consumers find hard to understand even
with lots of fine print.
Recently cellcos have added to the confusion by
offering two tiers of prices, the ones they advertise and
the ones they are willing to negotiate with subscribers.
Yes, just like a used car dealer, cellcos have sticker
prices and the prices that can be negotiated — if the
subscriber is smart enough to ask about them. See:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/why-you-dont-
understand-wireless-rate-plan-prices-111221393229.html
Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson told Yahoo.
com, “None of them wants to start an all-out price
war. There’s a certain incentive for the carriers to be
less than straightforward about their pricing so that
it’s harder to compare directly, while highlighting the
direct comparison they want you to make.”
Yes, less than straightforward, that’s the kind of
marketing cellcos are using. It’s a tactic that makes them
vulnerable to the straight forwardness of Wi-Fi First
Sony Sees the Lights
- And It’s Not TVs, Audio or Mobile Phones
- It’s Movies/TV Shows, Music, Gaming Consoles
& Image Sensors
Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai said this week that he is
reconfiguring the company by spinning out less
profitable businesses and focusing on the more
profitable ones, according to statements he made this
week.Sony’svideo(mainlyTVs)andsoundoperations
(speakers) will be put into a separate structure in
October as will other unspecified business, probably
mobile phones. A complete sale of the TV or mobile
The Two-Year: continued from page TWO

February 20-26 2015
Xiaomi: continued on page FIVE
“The glory
days of the
Sony Walkman
music player
and Sony Trini-
tron TV have
gone with the
wind. Sony-
made Sony
brand TVs may
disappear.”
“Sony wants to
grow its Play-
Station net-
work by adding
more users
(a low-cost
PlayStation-
like streaming
adapter would
help) and focus
on Internet op-
portunities such
as streaming
music”
phones would be considered on its merit, Hirai said.
The company will focus on image sensors and other
technologies that mobile phone makers like Apple
use in their products; gaming consoles (PlayStation)
and the online network; movies, TV shows and OTT
content (Sony Pictures) and music (Sony Music)
because they “are the areas that will drive sales and
profit growth,” Hirai said.
“Separatingourbusinessunitswillmakecooperating
with other companies, restructuring, acquisitions and
attributing responsibility much easier,” Hirai said.
Despite the recent furor caused by hackers (which
has had no real impact on the business), sales at Sony
Pictures are expected to increase to between $10
billion and $11 billion in Sony’s fiscal 2017. Revenue
at Sony Music is expected to be between $4.8 billion
to $5.2 billion in the same period.
Sony’s financial results are picking up. Earlier this
month, Sony forecast an operating profit instead of
a loss for its fiscal year that ends March 31. It’ll still
lose money for the entire year but less that it had
previously forecast.
Hirai said Sony wants to grow its PlayStation
network by adding more users (a low-cost PlayStation-
like streaming adapter would help) and focus on
Internet opportunities such as streaming music. Sony
has been a leader at producing original content for
OTT services.
Sony’s TV Conundrum
It’s unlikely that any potential buyer of Sony’s TV
and sound businesses would insist on using the Sony
brand to sell TVs, at least for some period of time, so
that brand will be a valuable asset in any acquisition.
The question then is who might buy Sony’s TV
business — certainly not any of the West’s other big
four — Samsung, LG or Vizio, The brand would have
an enormous value to any of the up and coming Chinese
set makers but they certainly don’t need Sony’s TV
manufacturing operations, at least in the longer term.
Sony TV’s best bet night be a consortium of several
Japanese set makers such as Panasonic, Sharp and
Toshiba, which might add their TV operations to a joint
venture rather than separately facing the two South
Korean giants and the hungry Chinese setmakers.
A few facts that’ll impact what Sony does with its
TV operations:
- 4K is causing massive changes in the set-making
industry.
- TV sets are lasting longer and longer so the
time-between-replacement has lengthened, which
reduces sales.
- The era of watching “TV” and other video
entertainment on tablets and smartphones means
less use of TV sets, especially by the young.
- Chinese setmakers are slowly and carefully
getting ready for expanding in Western markets.
- Samsung and LG are far ahead of rivals in a)
technology and b) owning their own facilities for
developing technology and making important
components.
What Sony has in its TV operation is some advanced
technology, bloated manufacturing, a dynamite brand
name in every part of the world and distribution. What
it does not have is the ability to make large quantities
of UHD TVs that it can sell at prices that compete in
the mass market. Samsung has already captured the
early lead in prices for UHD sets and LG and Vizio are
keeping pace, leaving Sony behind. Sony’s strategy
has been to make fewer high-quality UHD TV sets
that sell for higher prices. Samsung, LG and, in the
States, Vizio want to provide both high quality and
mass market pricing. Samsung, for example, shaved a
few dollars off its manufacturing costs by leaving 3D
off of some of its UHD sets.
Companies that make only a few high-quality sets
have not done well, except for Sharp but its market
is now under attack. Sony knows that situation well.
What is certain is that the glory days of the Sony
Walkman music player and Sony Trinitron TV have
gone with the wind. Sony-made Sony brand TVs may
disappear.
Xiaomi Is Coming to the States
- The Only Questions: When? Which Products?
A year or so from now, the US and European
smartphone market may look significantly different if
a) Xiaomi brings its no-holds barred products, pricing
and marketing and b) the trend continues away from
cellcos’ long-term, fixed contracts. There’s also the
matter of the spread of Wi-Fi hotspot networks, but
it’s not certain yet how strongly cablecos will back it
Sony: continued from page THREE

February 20-26 2015
“Has any CE
hardware
industry ever
experienced
such a dra-
matic drop in
retail prices so
quickly?”
“It will hopefully
be the begin-
ning of really
having America
experience the
Xiaomi brand,
quality and
craftsmanship
of its products.”
or whether Google will enter the market.
Apple and Samsung’s biggest fear may be coming
to the States and Europe. China’s smartphone and
UHD TV phenom Xiaomi will soon open a US online
store under the Mi.com umbrella. It’ll be used, at
least initially, to sell accessories such as chargers and
headsets. No opening date has been announced; nor
has which Xiaomi products will be available.
Bloomberg quotes Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s VP as
saying during a recent press briefing that Xiaomi can
bring products to market much faster. Barra said Xiaomi
intends to launch an online stone in the States and a
few other markets to see how they are received. He
concluded by saying it will hopefully be the beginning
of really having America experience the Xiaomi brand,
quality and craftsmanship of its products.
Xiaomi sold 61 million smartphones in China last
year, making it the largest smartphone seller in China
and outselling Apple and Samsung.
Xiaomi could well have a major impact on the US
and European smartphone markets at the very same
time that cellular operators are undergoing massive
changes. If what happened in China also happens
in the States and Europe, sales of smartphones
from Apple, Samsung and others will be negatively
impacted. One allure of the US market is that it is a
singular market — one language for manuals, Web
sites and such; one standard for electrical outlets; one
set of rules and regulations and a very large group of
technology-savvy and prosperous consumers.
Xiaomi also has ambitious plans in UHD TVs but
there is no indication, yet, that it’ll bring those to
Western countries.
The http://www.mi.com/en Web site currently
shows all of Xiaomi’s products including smartphones
and UHD TVs but does not allow consumers to make
purchases.
Xiaomi: continued from page FOUR
LG’s 50-inch UHD Set
Is Now Down to $698
Last July few TV industry analysts expected how far
prices for name brand UHD sets would fall in seven
months. LG, which didn’t even have an under-$2,000
UHD set then, now has a 50-inch one with Wi-Fi built
in for $698 in Walmart’s Sam’s Clubs. Most people
paid more than that for an even smaller 1080p HD set
a year ago or so. Most of the mass market crowd was
buying 42- and 47-inch 1080p HD TVs. 50-inches is
not our recommended size for a UHD set but it’ll do
if the budget, wall or stand won’t hold a bigger one.
LG’s 49-inch set is $998 at HH Gregg and its 55-
inch is $1,298.
Folks in the broadband and home networking
industries should realize that every UHD set that’s
sold is another 12 to 25 Mbps stream that needs to
be delivered flicker-free, in many cases over a Wi-
Fi connection.
It’s not just LG’s UHD prices that are falling. At
HH Gregg, Samsung’s UHDs are down to $798 for
a 40-inch model and $998 for a 50-inch model. Even
curved UHD sets are becoming more affordable.
Samsung offers a 55-inch model for $1,498 although
its 65-inch model is still over $2,000 at $2,198 but
will undoubtedly drop below that by September.
Even Sony has gotten into the act. Its 55-inch UHD set
with PlayStation sells for $1,598 and the 55-inch UHD
set with Triluminos technology is down to $1,798.
Has any CE hardware industry ever experienced
such a dramatic drop in retail prices so quickly? There
would be very little reason to buy a 1080p HD set
except that their prices have fallen in synch with the
decline in UHD prices.
In addition to increasing numbers of UHD streams, the
need for more bandwidth will be caused by the Internet-
of-Things, the use of smartphone and tablets inside the
residence, face-to-face Internet telephony, tele-education
and tele-medicine because senior citizens prefer to age-
in-place rather than entering an institution.
Standard for 4K Version of
Blu-ray Is Almost Complete
- Mid Year Licensing; 4K Players & Discs by
Year-end
- We Say It’ll Help OTT Services
“I remember years ago people wanted the physical
medium, then people wanted to download to own
— and I sense people are letting go of that notion
and instead they want subscriptions, they want
ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION (UHD)
Standard: continued on page SIX

February 20-26 2015
“Our next
milestone is a
mid-year li-
censing start,
after comple-
tion of the
specification.”
“There are two
misconcep-
tions making
the rounds
about the
specifications”
Standard: continued on page SEVEN
membership.” — Jason Henderson, senior product
manager of iTV (Internet TV) at Dish Network, saying
at CES that consumers’preferences for owning media
have shifted recently.
Initial reports were that, as widely expected,
the standard for the 4K version of Blu-ray had
been approved and accepted by members of the
Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). Then Victor
Matsuda, chairman of the BDA’s global promotions
group, told the Media & Entertainment Services
Alliance (MESA), “Some things at the very least are
incomplete. And there’s no information at this time
that we can offer that differs from what we provided
at the CES in February.”
Matsuda said there are two misconceptions making
the rounds about the specifications:
- The new 4K Blu-ray spec will support one
mandatory High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology,
with two optional ones that can be added.
- Existing Blu-ray players can play the new 4K
Blu-ray discs.
No one had expected existing Blu-ray players to be
able to play the new 4K Blu-ray discs. But the new
4K Blu-ray players will be able to play existing 4K
Blu-ray discs.
Ron Martin, director of Panasonic’s Hollywood
Labs told MESA, “We were a little concerned that
what’s been written was convoluted, unclear and
certainly inaccurate. The BDA has come up with a
generic, mandatory signaling system for HDR that
we believe will be quite revolutionary in and of itself.
But we did not want to exclude those that bring an
alternate technology to the table, offering a layered
approach on top of the Blu-ray solution.”
He said Technicolor has not developed an HDR
solution, but has developed technology so that the new
4K Blu-ray players can handle the HDR data on the disc.
Panasonic showed a prototype of its 4K Blu-ray
player at CES.
Martin said there are continuing meetings taking
place to work out final details. Martin said the BDA
is making tremendous progress but there’s still work
to be done.
Matsuda said, “The message we have to share is
that our next milestone is a mid-year licensing start,
after completion of the specification.” That is what
BDA had said at CES.
4K Blu-ray Will Help OTT Services, Not Hurt
Blu-ray discs and OTT services are in direct
competition when it comes to delivering video content
to the home. But the development of a 4K version of
Blu-ray disc technology actually helps OTT services
(and the broadband and home network industry) in
the long term. The coming availability of 4K Blu-ray
players will actually increase sales of UHD TVs as
viewers seek to get the best video quality they can. As
a result, new owners of UHD TVs will also continue
an existing trend of looking to OTT services for
movies. TV shows and original OTT-funded content.
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has named
the new standard Ultra-HD Blu-ray — the better
to minimize the confusion caused by the industry’s
inability to agree on a single term — either 4K or
UHD — so they ended up using both.
As we have said from the beginning, the new 4K
capable Blu-ray discs will require a new, and no doubt
initially, a pricey 4K capable Blu-ray player. That will
create a problem but a) many content owners prefer
physical media because of its greater security from
pirating, b) some consumers still want physical media
and c) some homes may still not have the broadband
bandwidth to stream 4K video.
We expect that the 4K Blu-ray players will also play
existing Blu-ray discs, DVDs and music CDs.
The new 4K Blu-ray standard supports HEVC
(H.265) decompression. HEVC is used to compress
video files by about 50% more than its H.264
predecessor, which is used in the existing Blu-ray.
The HDR includes technology from SMPTE that
was developed in conjunction with Technicolor,
Dolby and Philips, all three of whom have a vested
interest in preserving physical media. HDR is about
“not just more pixels but better pixels” — in this case
better contrast ratios on hardware that supports it.
However, sales of Blu-ray discs and players have
fallen as OTT services have prospered. Having a 4K
version of Blu-ray is not likely to change the overall
trend to subscription and pay-to-view OTT services.
Even the pay TV services are offering pay-to-view
Standard: continued from page FIVE

February 20-26 2015
“You have to
look at where
broadcasters
are placing
their invest-
ment. More
important to
them than 4K is
delivery of con-
tent to mobile.”
“The other
industry that
has been in
denial about
4K (in addition
to backward
looking indus-
try analysts)
is the pay TV
industry, which
has yet to
launch a single
4K channel.”
services over their pay TV network.
It’s likely that studios will try to drive sales of 4K
discs by offering content on them instead of from an
OTT service. But that is not a long term winning strategy
because people will simply watch something else — and
there is now so much quality content available to watch
at the OTT services, especially now that Amazon has
been significantly increasing its offerings — both free
and paid, both 1080p HD and 4K.
Physically, there will be two versions of the 4K discs:
Current 1080p New 4K New larger 4K
Dual-layer 50GB Dual layer 66GB Triple-layer 100GB
1920x1080p 3840x2160p 3840x2160p
It is not yet clear whether the upcoming 4K-capable
Blu-ray players will have the 2.0 version of HDMI but
it would certainly seem certain that they will because
all name-brand UHD TVs being sold now can support
HDMI 2.0.
The fact that the media and CE industry have only
just now gotten around to establishing a 4K standard
for Blu-ray discs shows how surprised they have been
by a) consumers desire for 4K, b) setmakers’ sudden
and early moves (early when compared to 1080p HD)
in price-cutting to mass market prices and c) OTT
services moving rapidly to offer 4K content. The other
industry that has been in denial about 4K (in addition
to backward looking industry analysts) is the pay TV
industry, which has yet to launch a single 4K channel.
In any event, 4K Blu-ray players will increase
the sales of UHD TVs, which will in turn increase
the usage of OTT services that offer 4K shows. The
days of physical media are fading quickly, maybe not
completely as evidenced by some people still using
VCRs and LPs, but certainly as a force in the industry.
No 4K for 2016 Rio Olympics
- Broadcasters Not Interested? Or, Not Ready?
The IOC said this week there will be no 4K broadcasts
of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ranking those that are hurt
the most by the announcement:
1. Consumers who bought UHD TVs expecting to
watch major sporting events in 4K.
2. PayTVservices and local broadcasters who would
have had a chance to show how well they could do
with 4K. It turns out that they are the stumbling
block.
3. Makers of UHD TVs (which is really every set
maker) and makers of the components that go into
them because they could have expected a bump up
in sales of UHD sets as the Olympics neared.
4. OTT services who would have expected all the
new consumers with UHD sets to start looking for
non-sporting events after the Olympics ended.
The reason there won’t be 4K at the 2016 Olympics:
broadcasters won’t be ready for 4K in the summer of
2016 and maybe even later.
Yiannis Exarchos, CEO of Olympic Broadcast
Services (OBS), said, “There is no demand from our
rights holders for 4K. We have to take our cue from
broadcasters.”
Instead the IOC’s OBS is investigating a test of
virtual reality technologies. Really! As if anyone is
going to have VR headsets by them as compared
to the many millions that will own UHD TVs.
Exarchos said, “The [VR] technology is maturing
quickly. There is real interest in virtual experiences
to mobile phones.”
The IOC provided an excuse for its broadcasters,
who have paid it billions, by saying it’s more
interested in 8K than 4K. Exarchos said the IOC’s
OBS is working with the Japanese broadcaster NHK
to produce 8K for the following Olympics. He said,
“In my opinion 8K is much more of a game-changer
than 4K. You can really see a huge difference in
experience whereas the gap between HD and 4K is
far less” and “We are experimenting with the syntax
of producing in 8K. For example, do we need to edit
the pictures?”
At the rate they’re going, it’s possible to believe
that broadcasters won’t be 4K-ready for the next
Olympics either.
Exarchos then diverted attention to broadcasting
1080p HD to mobile devices by saying, “You have
to look at where broadcasters are placing their
investment. More important to them than 4K is
delivery of content to mobile.”
That’s because they can rather easily use wireline
and wireless broadband to transmit to mobile
devices.
Standard: continued from page SIX

February 20-26 2015
“The two would
come together
and be deliv-
ered as a uni-
fied service.”
“We’ve had a
real change in
landscape.”
Three: continued on page NINE
Three Companies That Are
Getting Ready for Internet TV
-Aggregation Platforms Will Be in High
Demand as More Video Is Delivered via the Net
Aggregation will become a lynchpin for platforms in
the Internet TV space in the coming five years, and
a number of companies, recognizing the opportunity,
are now moving to meet this demand. The issue was
the topic of a CES panel held earlier this year on
“hybrid TV.”
“We’ve had a real change in landscape,” said David
Leibowitz, managing partner at CH Potomac, who
moderated the panel at CES. “More people have been
accessing content on the Internet than ever before, and
it’s been rising significantly.”
He estimated close to 50% of video content is now
being viewed in a non-linear form, whether OTT, VoD
or pay TV Everywhere. “We’re also seeing a lot of
changes in terms of breaking the bundle, or services
that have been tied to the bundle,” he said, pointing to
CBSAllAccess, HBO Go, and the new class of online
MVPDs such as Sony, Verizon, and Dish Network’s
Sling TV. “What I find particularly interesting about
Sling is they’re offering ESPN,” he said, because it’s
a sports channel available outside the traditional pay
TV ecosystem.
The panel included representatives from three
companies that are focused on aggregating services in
the Internet TV space.
Roku Is Now a Platform, Not Just a Device
Net-top box Roku is in the middle of transitioning
its business to address key areas of opportunity in the
Internet TV space, mainly the smart TV OS space.
“We’re at an intersection of a pretty interesting
space,” said Doug Craig, VPof programming at Roku.
“We look at ourselves as transforming from a piece of
hardware into a platform. The original focus on the
company was selling set-top boxes. Now that we’ve
gotten scale and a large audience, we’re looking to
focusing more into a platform and a media company.”
Its transformation is already underway. Roku began
offering a smart TV platform and operating system at
CES in 2014. Best Buy’s Insignia line of smart TVs
plus TCL, Haier and Hisense are now offering Roku
smart TVs.
“We’re at a pretty interesting intersection between
content owners who are trying to reach an audience,
whether it be a popular media brand like HBO or the
church down the street,” Craig said. “We deal with
distributors, virtual MVPDs or even existing MVPDs
like Time Warner Cable, and the last point of
intersection is with consumers.”
“It’s an exciting space,” Craig added. “We firmly
believe the future of television will be delivered over
the Internet.”
Entone Technologies
Integrates IPTV and OTT
Entone Technologies is a company that focuses on
connected home and cloud TV solutions. It started as
an IPTV company that helped deliver pay TV video
services over DSL networks. “We deployed with
almost 200 operators around the world,” said Entone
CEO Steve McKay.
Since then, the company has moved towards the
OTT and Internet TV space. “We really committed
ourselves to the idea of hybrid TV about five years
ago,” he said. “The idea was that it won’t be either
traditional pay TV services or OTT – that the two
would come together and be delivered as a unified
service for the end consumer. Our mission today is to
make that happen.”
Late last year, the company partnered with telecom
gear provider ZTE to launch a hybrid IPTV and
OTT platform. It also offers a hybrid OTA and OTT
platform, called Fusion TV, which combines linear
over-the-air channels with OTT services, bundled
together in the same interface. The service is offered
by ISPs as a video service option.
“Outside the US, there’s a lot of programming over
the air, and very little over the top,” McKay said. “In
the US, we seem to have 2000 channels on Roku, and
OTT

February 20-26 2015
“I think it
caught Apple
by surprise a
little bit.”
“Those rela-
tionships are in
some jeopardy,
and are in need
of figuring out
how to have
their own OTT
brand.”
not much over the air. I think that will even itself out
over time.”
Net2TV Helps Broadcasters
Make Web-Friendly Content
Net2TV launched in 2012 with Portico, a smart TV
app that acted as something of a programming guide
for broadcasters’ content available online.
“We started the company to try to bring quality,
traditionally-formatted television program to smart TVs,
outside of Netflix or Hulu Plus,” said Jim Monroe, co-
founder and SVP of programming. “We set out to work
with brands, take their existing video assets, compile
them into television shows, with an actual producer, and
then distribute them in the OTT world.”
Much like Roku and Entone, the company is now
in a state of transition, recognizing a need in the
Internet TV space. “We were in the programming and
consulting business and in the distribution business.
In the process we built tools,” Monroe said. “We had
built up a nice little business and we’ve built tools that
allow anybody, wherever they are in the ecosystem, to
build channels and networks in the OTT space.”
Monroe said the company is now considering
releasing a white-label OTTsolution for content owners
to utilize as they move towards Internet TV services.
“We’re finding that people who are engaged in
very traditional relationships with their distributors
realize that those relationships are in some
jeopardy, and are in need of figuring out how to
have their own OTT brand,” he said. “Things like
the Sling TV announcement [from Dish Network]
help tremendously. There’s more than a crack in
the dam. Maybe HBO is the crack, CBS was the
fissure, Sling is the gash, and at some point it’s all
going to erode away.”
For more on Net2TV, see “Net2TV Brings Web-
based TV-like Shows to Smart TVs,” in TOR810.
A La Carte Models
Now Showing More Leg
“Let’s be honest. Cord nevers and cord haters are
really driving these trends. At the end of the day,
we’re going to have to come around and provide
the consumer with what they want, or we’re going
to go out of business. You’re also going to see more
a la carte come to fruition. It was sexy to talk about
five years ago and no one went a la carte. I think
at this point it’s starting to show a little bit more
leg.” – Eric Fitzgerald Reed, VP of entertainment
and tech policy at Verizon, speaking at CES earlier
this year.
Media Companies Caught by
Surprise with Streaming Wave
Executives at a panel discussion at CES shared their
thoughts on the seemingly out-of-nowhere rise of
Internet TV services. Executives on the panel agreed
that some media companies weren’t prepared for the
shift to Internet-delivered entertainment.
“It’s hard, when you have been so immersed
in creating the business model that’s built on
physical media,” said Eric Fitzgerald Reed, VP of
entertainment and tech policy at Verizon. “Now, they
have to shift their mentality and think, ‘oh crap, the
streaming wave is here – it’s a tidal wave, there’s a
huge opportunity there, but we haven’t quite figured
out what that business model is.”
He added that the monetization models of Internet
TV services are radically different from the traditional
TV models. “From a content producer side, there’s so
much fragmentation in terms of how I make money,
versus how I used to make money, traditionally,” he
said. “How can I charge a customer for streaming this
particular video or piece of content?”
Jason Henderson, senior product manager of iTV
at Dish Network, said consumers’ preferences for
owning media have shifted recently. “I remember
years ago people wanted the physical medium, then
people wanted to download to own – and I sense
people are letting go of that notion and instead they
want subscriptions, they want membership.”
Ty Roberts, co-founder of metadata company
Gracenote, agreed, and said, “I think the change
caught people by surprise, I think it caught Apple by
surprise a little bit.”
Three: continued from page EIGHT
OTT

February 20-26 2015
“The subscrip-
tion service will
need compel-
ling, premium
series that draw
viewers in.”
“YouTube’s
own subscrip-
tion service
hasn’t
been very
successful.”
A Closer: continued on page ELEVEN
A Closer Look at the
Video Platform that Makes
YouTube Nervous
By Kendra Chamberlain
According to numerous reports, Vessel has YouTube
sweating. Vessel is the newest online video platform
on the block, from Hulu’s founder and former CEO,
Jason Kilar.
The service is an online video platform, much like
YouTube; it’s a place where both conventional and
unconventional content creators post videos, develop
channels and reach audiences in the online video
space; and much like YouTube, content creators are
able to monetize their videos through advertising.
One of the big differences between the two is that
Vessel is paying its content creators 70% of the ad
revenue generated by their videos, which explains
why some of YouTube’s creators have migrated over
to the new platform – and that’s the threat, according
to the Wall Street Journal, that has YouTube signing
its top content creators to multi-year contract deals to
stay on the platform.
For content creators, the opportunity is very
attractive. Kilar said recently that content owners
can make up to 20 times the ad revenue they see on
YouTube and other ad-supported video platforms.
However, that revenue potential comes with a price:
the content creators have to give Vessel a 72-hour
window of exclusivity. That means these content
creators will post their new videos to Vessel three
days before they post the videos to any other video
platform, including YouTube or Vimeo.
For the viewer, the value is less clear. Vessel is
comprised of two tiers: a free, ad-supported tier, and a
$2.99 per month subscription tier. The subscription gives
viewers the opportunity to see new videos posted first –
but “first” here means only three days before those same
videos will appear on both YouTube and Vessel for free.
The question is: Are there any viewers that want to pay
to watch a video they can see for free a few days later?
Kilar says yes. “There are passionate fans that love
great content and that early access is something that’s
very important to them,” he said in an interview with
Re/Code this week.
There are plenty of doubters out there, but to
be fair this is uncharted territory. YouTube’s own
subscription service hasn’t been very successful, or if
it has, no one seems to want to talk about it. Part of
that is due to the fact that YouTube is synonymous
with free, so paying a monthly subscription fee – even
if only $1.99 – seems unfair.
While Vessel doesn’t have the same associations
as YouTube, the three-day window is so short that it
seems unlikely that viewers will shell out monthly
fees to Vessel in order to watch short videos that they
can see for free in just a few days.
I’m particularly skeptical of this windowing
strategy because when I watch YouTube – and I do – I
like to watch three or four or seven videos in a row
from the same content creator, in order to catch-up on
what that particular channel has been offering over the
few weeks or month. I’m not particularly interested in
seeing the latest video from eachYouTuber I subscribe
to the minute it has been uploaded.
Ultimately, the success of the subscription
service will be driven on the quality of content
being uploaded to the site. The typical bedroom
confessional style vlog that populates YouTube, and
that has turned many a YouTube personality into a
full-fledged celebrity, won’t cut it. The subscription
service will need compelling, premium series that
draw viewers in and will bring them back to the site
week after week. I’m not talking about “Breaking
Bad” here, but something more scripted than the
average PewDiePie vlog.
Vessel is still working on signing up content partners.
So far, it has a selection of bigger media brands that
have moved into video, some pay TV companies that
have clipped down programming into promotional,
2-minute tastes, and of course YouTube personalities.
Much of the buzz around Vessel has swirled around
the idea of YouTubers and their respective audiences
moving to the new platform. The elephant in the room
is that YouTubers haven’t fared particularly well off
YouTube, at least not by the metrics YouTube has
helped create and define in the world of online video.
For its audience, YouTube itself has become a habit,
akin to turning on the TV, or putting on the radio.
OTT

February 20-26 2015
“Kilar has
described
the model as
modest
advertising.”
“Vessel rep-
resents the
latest business
model innova-
tion for premi-
um short-form
content.”
A Closer: continued on page TWELVE
Viewers do it when they are looking for something
specific and when they are bored, and thanks to
YouTube’s recommendations and playlist features,
“YouTubing” is now both a lean forward and lean
back entertainment experience.
Thanks to Google’s integration, and its sheer
popularity, YouTube is sticky, while Vessel, at present,
is slick. So if aYouTube channel posts its newest videos
on Vessel, there’s no guarantee that audiences will go
to Vessel to watch the videos – especially if the content
will be available on YouTube just a few days later.
At least one YouTube channel feels that shifting
new content to Vessel will actually hurt subscriber
numbers. Steve Oh, COO of The Young Turks,
told SF Chronicler that moving to Vessel would be a
“crazy” move for the online video network, and that
the channel would lose too many viewers. The Young
Turks, instead, has expanded to Facebook with a new
digital series that is exclusive to that platform.
See: http://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/
Exclusive-YouTube-pays-video-creator-more-
than-6081827.php
Vessel has a few strikes against it. First, it’s a
subscription model in a world of free; second,
subscribers and non-subscribers alike will see
adverts. Kilar has described the model as “modest
advertising,” and I would agree that, in my experience
the ads weren’t terribly obtrusive. Still, it may rub
some consumers the wrong way.
Third, the content, at present, isn’t anything to write
home about. Here’s a short list of some of the content
available on the site as of press time:
Vessel has also signed up a handful of high-profile
exclusivity deals, including a deal with Above
Average for the new season of the Web series “Alec
Baldwin’s Love Ride.” The new season will appear
on Vessel exclusively for the first 72 hours, with new
episodes appearing every two weeks.
Vessel also this week signed a music deal with
Universal Music Group (UMG), which will bow
some artists’ videos on Vessel exclusively before
becoming available on the ad-supported site.
“Vessel represents the latest business model
innovation for premium short-form content,” said
Lucian Grainge, chairman and chief executive officer
of UMG, of the deal. UMG didn’t say which artists
would participate.
Music videos could quickly become an important
genre for Vessel. It’s easy to see viewers sign up for
the $2.99 per month fee if it meant being able to watch
new music videos from favorite artists a full three days
before those videos became available on YouTube.
It will be a challenge for Vessel to sign up record
labels. YouTube, remember, is trying to launch its own
music-video subscription service, calledYouTube Music
Key, and won’t likely let those important video releases
slip passed its platform easily.YouTube has the benefit of
its large pocketbook, with which Vessel cannot compete.
And Some Thoughts
Here are some of my other thoughts about the
Vessel video service, after exploring it this week.
-Per usual, the big brands don’t quite get online
video.The New York Times only offers two Web
series (at present), which makes its channel boring.
Same with National Geographic.
-Some big brands totally get it, though: Time and
PBS are notable in this regard, especially PBS,
with its wonderful “Blank on Blank” Web series.
-I bet the typical vlog-style videos won’t perform
nearly as well as the scripted skit-style videos
that content makers create for YouTube on this
platform.
-Not a single music video played for me, while
most of the other videos played without pauses or
buffering. Luckily for me but not Vessel, I could
A Closer: continued from page TEN
OTT
Big Media Companies:
Time
Financial Times
Outside Television
National Geographic
Nerdist
PBS Digital Studios
Wall Street Journal
New York Times
A&E Networks
YouTubers:
Shane Dawson
Connor Franta
Good Mythical Morning
EpicMealTime
Vevo
Tastemade
Marcus Butler
Ingrid Nilsen

February 20-26 2015
“They aggre-
gate viewers
for advertis-
ers, which is
why ultimately
MCNs are de-
ciding who will
float and who
will sink.”
“Viewers will
forget to go
to Vessel if
there’s no rea-
son to in the
first place.”
The Rise: continued on page THIRTEEN
always find the music on YouTube and watch the
video there.
-Not all the content is “short-form,” and I think
there’s room for more long-form content on the
site, especially behind the paywall.
-Vessel’s recommendations are hardly interesting.
YouTube is a self-promoting machine, thanks to its
algorithms.Vessel only seems to recommend videos
from the same channel, which I found limiting.
-No playlist feature, which can be quite nice when
watching a string of videos from a particular series
or genre, and would likely be a surefire way to
increase viewing session lengths.
-Viewers – myself included – will forget to go to
Vessel if there’s no reason to in the first place. So
Vessel will need to work out some social media
campaigns. For example, some of the YouTube
channels to which I subscribe send out emails
each time a new video is posted.
A Closer: continued from page ELEVEN
OTT
The Rise of the MCNs
-YouTube Heavy Weights Rule the World of
Online Video
More content is available online now than ever before,
and it’s never been easier for an entity – whether
individual, company, or brand – to become a content
creator. Amid the sea of online video, multi-channel
networks have emerged as arks for content creators.
“At the end of the day, content is unlimited,
programming is unlimited,” said Shahrzad Rafati,
founder and CEO of the company BroadbandTV.
“You have a massive audience on YouTube, and
four hundred hours of content gets uploaded to the
site every minute.” In this environment, reaching
any audience of size amid the deluge has become
difficult. “It becomes a real challenge to do this at
scale,” she said.
MCNs are aggregators in this space. The online
video networks are able to aggregate content for
viewers, and equally important they aggregate viewers
for advertisers, which is why ultimately MCNs are
deciding who will float and who will sink in the world
of online video. It also explains why MCNs have
become such attractive targets for larger, traditional
media companies to acquire: in the words of Maker
Studios’Courtney Holt, MCNs help create demand in
a world of infinite supply.
StyleHaul, Collective,
Makers and Others Bring Scale
MCNs are the entities in online video that have
access to that staggering, targeted scale. The MCN
Stylehaul is a great example. The four-year old
company, which was recently acquired by RTL
Group and valued at close to $200 million, receives
over a billion views per month.
“We are the largest network in the world for
fashion and beauty content online,” said Stephanie
Horbaczewski, who serves as CEO. “We’re for
women, we’re style, fashion and beauty, that’s it.”
The MCN boasts of 5,500 creators in 63 countries
around the world. “We upload 750 videos a day,”
Horbaczewski said. The company began on YouTube
but Horbaczewski now refers to Stylehaul as a “multi-
platform marketing solution” that is active across
seven social platforms.
Collective Digital Studio is another example.
The MCN has 900 channels, and counts among its
successes the popular online series “Video Game
High School,” which recently concluded its third and
final season.
“It doesn’t all need to go to TV to be really
successful,” said Reza Izad, co-founder and CEO of the
MCN. Izad said the MCN has developed a monetizing
equation that includes advertising, direct-to-consumer
revenue from merchandise, DVDs, etc, and distribution
to other video platforms. “We’re focused on building
a distribution platform and doing more long-form
content like ‘Video Game High School,’” he said.
Maker Studios is another such MCN. Maker,
which is often ranked first in YouTube online video
properties by unique view numbers, as measured by
comScore, was acquired by Disney in 2014 for $500
million. Most recent rankings put Maker Studios at 46
ORIGINAL ONLINE VIDEOS

February 20-26 2015
“You’re see-
ing a lot more
of the IP that
travels from
traditional
media to new
media and vice
versa.”
“I can deliver
the results we
promised our
advertisers
without spend-
ing a dollar on
marketing.”
million unique views per month.
“This is the very beginning of the evolution of
digital TV,” said Courtney Holt, chief strategy officer
at Maker. “Findability is a science. There are levers
you can pull across all social platforms to make sure
your content is getting seen.”
Traditional Media Will
Take Advantage of MCN Value Props
Online video is an important frontier for traditional
media companies for three main reasons:
1. That’s where the Millennial viewers are
spending their time.
2. Cost of production is dramatically lower than
traditional TV, with lower risk associated with
failure.
3. Marketing is practically free.
“The industry is approaching a point where the
companies in the digital space are starting to look like
traditional media companies, and traditional media
companies are starting to look a bit more like [digital
companies],” said Holt. “That’s a natural evolution.”
Low production costs of online video “allow
companies like RTL Group, Bertelsmann and
Disney to be able to produce content and tap into this
massive engine, and they can travel — it’s not limited
to a specific geography or a specific channel,” said
Rafati. “You’re seeing a lot more of the IP that travels
from traditional media to new media and vice versa.
YouTube is becoming a platform where you’ll see
more long form programming created, tested, that can
then travel through traditional media.”
Horbaczewski added that the content being
developed and tested on YouTube these days has
now reached the same level of quality as some
content being aired on TV. “The cost of production
is substantially lower on YouTube than on any other
medium, and you can still keep the same level of
quality,” she said.
And the MCNs can deliver audiences at scale
without any additional marketing, aside from
social media. “In a world of traditional media,
there’s tons of money that goes to the marketing of
a project, not just making a project,” said Izad. “I
don’t need any advertisers or PR or anything to drive
audiences. I can deliver the results we promised our
advertisers without spending a dollar on marketing.
That’s a really unique situation, and that gives us a
very different position in the marketplace than the
traditional video studio.”
MCNs Have Developed
New Monetization Strategies
Unlike in the traditional TV ecosystem, strategies
for monetizing video online are more diverse and
experimental.
“Withmonetizationstrategies–itisn’tacookie-cutter
format,” said Eunice Shin, director at Manatt Digital
Media. “We’re going to find more sophistication and
growth in that area [going forward].”
Revenue strategies can range from advertising
across platforms, transactions, subscriptions, to
merchandise, donations, kickstarter campaigns, and
more popular today, branded content and sponsorship.
“What became very apparent as we dug deeper into
Stylehaul and the YouTube space was the level of
activity as typified by branded content or sponsored
content has really become one of the key business
models,” said Sim Blaustein, managing director at
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments.
MCNs find partnering with brands and advertisers
to be particularly lucrative because the MCNs are able
to deliver key engaged audiences that are targeted for
the specific product or brand. “It’s engagement but it’s
also very targeted to viewers that have an intent to buy
or an intent to understand,” Shin said, “as opposed to
the blind advertisements that you put on TV.”
It’s Engagement, Stupid!
“Views? That’s 2007. Let’s get off that. Meaningless
scale is meaningless scale. You can hit any platform
out there with your content and pay them to deliver
meaningless scale. What we talk about is engagement.
We are the most engaged network on the platform.
Engagement is the metric you want to be looking at, and
the value of that engagement: likes, shares, comments.”
– Stephanie Horbaczewski, CEO, Stylehaul.
The Rise: continued from page TWELVE

February 20-26 2015
YouTube Could Become
the Global TV Provider
“There isn’t a global television provider. There could
be one, and I don’ think anyone wants YouTube to
become the global television provider. But if we don’t
figure out how to resolve these (licensing issues)
to make it easier, they could become the default
provider.” – Ty Roberts, chief strategy officer and co-
founder, Gracenote
The Burgeoning
Off-YouTube World
“Off-YouTube is a huge push. I don’t think there’s
anyone who isn’t actively trying to find alternatives
to YouTube to hedge against being on one platform.
People are getting really excited about transactions
and paid content, whether it’s subscription or
transactional VoD. No one has really cracked that nut,
but there are a lot of people trying, and I think there
will be a few winners.” – Sim Blaustein: managing
director, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments
These are the platforms that are challenging
YouTube in online video distribution
-Snapchat: The chatting app recently released
its “Discover” feature which creates streams of
video from a variety of sources including news
outlets, sports, comedy, music videos and other
online entertainment sources. Snapchat also
debuted its first scripted original series, “Literally
Can’t Even,” earlier this year, which lists Stephen
Spielberg’s daughter Sasha Spielberg as co-
creator. AT&T also recently commissioned the
Web series “SnapperHero,” which will premiere
exclusively on the app.
-Vimeo: the ad-supported and transactional OTT
platform is gaining momentum as it attracts big
name content creators and buzz-worth indie
films. It acquired its first piece of original Web
programming this year with the critically-
acclaimed online series “High Maintenance.”
-Facebook and Twitter: the two social platforms
that are dueling to become some of TV’s next
generation measurement tools. Facebook has
dabbled in exclusive content premieres before, but
this year it became the exclusive home to a new
Web series from The Young Turks, a YouTube
MCN that has struck out on its own. The series,
called “Final Judgement,” will air new episodes
five days a week on Facebook. Facebook recently
said it delivers 3 billion video views per day.
-Vine: Vine is populated with a number of
shows, both scripted and unscripted, including
Cinemax’s narrative video series that promote its
TV show “Banshee.”
-Vessel: The most YouTube-like of this group,
Vessel is a fledgling online video platform
launched by former Hulu exec Jason Kilar. The
platform is ad and subscription-based, and a
number of YouTube stars have migrated over to
the new platform.
“The two so-
cial platforms
are dueling to
become some
of TV’s next
generation
measurement
tools.”
“No one has
really cracked
that nut, but
there are a lot of
people trying.”
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February 20-26 2015
“There are
advantages to
having three
competitors
in the mar-
ket rather the
traditional two
— but there is
a downside.”
“AT&T’s all-
fiber prices
are clearly
aimed at
Google Fiber.”
AT&T: continued on page SIXTEEN
AT&T Is Following Google Fiber
If AT&T were really interested in its subscribers,
it would build its all-fiber GigaPower networks in
locations where Google doesn’t already offer all-fiber
service.AT&T picked Kansas City even though Google
Fiber was already available.AT&T announced it would
build an all-fiber network inAustin, Texas the same day
and only a few hours after Google Fiber did. AT&T’s
strategy is clearly to compete in all-fiber where Google
Fiber is or will soon be or might be available.
Google originally said that its objective was to build
all-fiber networks in a few cities to show traditional
broadband services that it could be done and motivate
them to do the same elsewhere. Well, that strategy
is working, at least with AT&T but not so far with
Verizon or CenturyLink, two old-line telcos from
the Bell era.
AT&T announced this week that it will offer its all-
fiber network to residences and businesses in Google
Fiber footprint — parts of Kansas City, Leawood,
Lenexa, Olathe and Overland Park. Later on it will
add nearby Independence and Shawnee. AT&T said it
has already connected its fiber cables to the outside of
many homes and is ready to sign up subscribers.
There are many other similar sized markets that
AT&T could have offered the services, markets where
Google Fiber is not available. Maybe some more
regulation is needed for the all-fiber market.
AT&T’s all-fiber prices are clearly aimed at Google
Fiber. It’ll offer 1 Gbps service for $70 a month and
a bundle of broadband and basic pay TV is $120 a
month. Both rates exactly match Google Fiber. The
only thing where AT&T one-ups Google Fiber is that
it offers free HBO for three years. AT&T prices are
fixed for three years but it only requires a one-year
contract. Telephone service, which Google Fiber does
not offer because of regulatory concerns, is optionally
available from AT&T for $30 a month.
Want privacy when you’re browsing? That’ll cost an
extra $29 a month. AT&T said GigaPower subscribers
can pay an additional $29 a month to prevent their
Web browsing from being tracked. It said it can only
offer the $70 rate when it can collect data that help it
tailor ads and offers that address subscribers’interests.
In Baton Rouge, where there is no Google Fiber,
AT&T offers these tiers:
Speed in Mbps Monthly
6 $34.95
18 $44.95
18 $49.95 including basic pay
TV, one year of Amazon
Prime and HBO GO
A one year contract is required for each tier.
These rates are for one particular sub-division.
Interestingly, the FCC no longer considers 18 Mbps
as being broadband— and rightly so in this era of 4K
video streams, the Internet-of-Things, multiple mobile
devices watching online entertainment and such. See:
https://www.att.com/shop/u-verse/offers.html
There are a few differences between AT&T’s all
fiber service and Google Fiber:
Service AT&T Google Fiber
1 TB of Cloud Storage no yes
Phone $30/m no
Number of shows
recorded simultaneously 8 5
Length of contract 1 2
Time Warner Cable, which Comcast hopes to
buy shortly, competes against both Google Fiber and
AT&T. Although it has increased the speeds it offers,
as have most cablecos even where Google Fiber does
not operate, it has not yet started offer 1Gbps service.
AT&T chief Randall Stephenson has said the
company will not announce any additional markets
where it’ll deploy GigaPower because of possible
government actions on Net Neutrality.
There are advantages to having three competitors in
the market rather the traditional two — but there is a
downside. Both AT&T, with GigaPower, and Google
Fiber only offer service in neighborhoods where there
is a lot of demand for higher speeds, which limits
demand to areas whose residences can afford the
BROADBAND BEAT

February 20-26 2015
“With our fixed
networks we’re
ideally setup
to offload that
traffic for better
economics.”
“It’s a step for-
ward — three
competitors
rather than two
— could bring
more afford-
able prices —
plus the Giga-
bit speeds that
the Internet
will need in the
near future.”
$70 a month. That could create a “digital divide” that
deprives the less affluent of the advantages of faster
Internet speeds, especially those that involve videos.
But, it’s a step forward — three competitors rather
than two — could bring more affordable prices —
plus the Gigabit speeds that the Internet will need in
the near future.
Liberty Global Plans
10m Hotspots This Year
- Adds 900,000 Broadband Subs
- Average Actual Broadband Speed Is 70 Mbps;
Goal Is 150 Mbps
- 4m More Homes within 50 Meters of Its
Infrastructure
This is excerpted from an article in
Faultline.
In the future quad play world that we are heading to at
an incredible pace, the one weakness that stood out at
Liberty Global was its lack of a viable cellular option.
But no more!
When the idea of a Homespot network emerged
at the end of 2012, it looked like Liberty Global had
finally found a way into mobile. The issue was who
would be its Europe wide MVNO partner and just
how fast its Homespot program could take off.
At this week’s results in a single sentence Liberty
Global made it clear that by the end of 2015 it would
have 10 million Homespots, often called Community
Hotspots, across Europe, created by downloading
new software to allow a second SSID to be run as
a series of connected Hotspots under the Liberty
Global brand.
We estimate that only Comcast in the US can
remain ahead of that curve anywhere in the world.
Remember Iliad’s Free had just 5 million Homespots
and this enabled it to offload cellular traffic, while
carrying the remainder of its cellular traffic on a
small 3G build out of a few base stations and, more
widely, through a roaming deal with cellco/incumbent
telco Orange. This resulted in 10 million new mobile
customers for Free inside France within 3 years (and
a lot of Euros in roaming charges to Orange), while
disrupting the mobile ecosystem there and slashing
average phone contract pricing. In the process this put
rivals SFR and Bouygues up for sale, the 2nd and 3rd
largest French MNOs, due to the pricing.
While we never expect to see Liberty Global ever
undermine a market in that way, destroying potential
profits by seriously undercutting its rivals, we can still
expect a slightly less dramatic pricing advantage using
these 10 million hotspots, all the way across Europe.
Mike Fries, Liberty Global CEO said, “Europe is
a Quad-play market and we’ve now launched mobile
in 9 countries. Telenet and Virgin are already 20%
quad play penetration and we see no reason why we
can’t reach those sorts of levels or higher in other
markets. All of our MVNO deals already provide or
allow us to get to 4G services, which we know drives
mobile data usage. And with our fixed networks
we’re ideally setup to offload that traffic for better
economics.”
Interestingly, we modeled the growth of
Homespots for Liberty Global last year in each
country. This model was based on what we thought
of the quality of the existing home gateways
installed, and how many of them could cope with a
software upgrade. We came up with something just
shy of 12 million by the end of 2015. But we based
those calculations on the experience that Liberty
Global had in Belgium and the Netherlands. In
both of these markets CPE (consumer premises
equipment) is more advanced and replaced more
often, and we noted that there was a rapid surge to
65% of installed devices supporting second SSIDs,
and then incremental improvements from there,
based on home gateway replacement. This resulted
in a forecast at Liberty companies of some 75%
penetration, across its entire footprint by end of
2015, which was 12 million. But the rest all Europe
takes in markets such as Romania and Slovakia
and it is clear now that a smaller number of home
gateway devices were ready for upgrade, so the
number is closer to 62.5% of installed devices at
end of 2015, which will have a second SSID.
Even so, this is confirmation of the general pace of
rollout and perhaps the most important statistic that the
AT&T: continued from page FIFTEEN
BROADBAND BEAT
Liberty: continued on page SEVENTEEN

February 20-26 2015
“It is all based
on broadband
and the slide
showing that
in every one of
its major Euro-
pean territories
it now offers
significantly
faster headline
speeds.”
“Broadband is
the key driver,
and it added
900,000 broad-
band homes
this year.”
Liberty Global management came up with during its
results conference. It confirms that it has raced, in just
over two years, from zero to 10 million Homespots,
out of 16.1 million broadband lines that it supplies.
It said that it reached 5 million at the end of last year,
but then again Liberty Global did not own Ziggo then,
and that would have bumped up its figures as it was
the first European operator since Free, to roll this out
and had perhaps 1.5 million of them.
Comcast predicted that it would reach 9 million
by the end of 2014, but has yet to confirm that it
actually reached those numbers, and has not yet
given us a target for end of 2015. We expect to see
precisely what Comcast does with those Hotspots
sometime in the middle of the year. In the past we
have guessed May for a services launch, but have
been privately told that we are perhaps a little early
on that assumption.
The remaining messages that came out of Liberty
Global’s figures were mostly predictable —
broadband is the key driver, and it added 900,000
broadband homes this year across its footprint;
revenues were up 3%, down a fair bit since last year
at 4% and the year before at 6%. Organic growth
slowing is hardly a headline for a company that
mostly grows by acquisition and clever manipulation
of cash and assets.
We can see that priming the fuse for massive
cellular expansion is the key to future growth, as it
brings a quad play offering to all of its markets, and
the key to that is the rollout of Wi-Fi.
Another landmark was that it had reached 1 million
Horizon STBs, which does cement key, high value
customer relationships, but what is more important
perhaps is the way Horizon to Go has stretched by
offering multi-screen TV to something like 20%
of the base where it is available — that means the
App, which came far later than the Horizon box in
most countries, is launched in 8 countries and has
individuals in 20% of homes its more advanced
territories, accessing it regularly. As a TV Everywhere
system, that is a high take-up rate and better than the
Horizon boxes by themselves.
Mobile growth was up 500,000 customers on the
year with revenues up 8% and it generated $1.3 billion
of revenues on its own.
While the Liberty Global management wanted to
focus on its new tracking stock for growth in Latin
America and on its increased liquidity and how far
into the future the payback terms for its debt are – all
indicators of financial health, we keep coming back
to that combination – out of home video on mobile
devices, which have cheap access to Wi-Fi offload
almost everywhere across Europe. Remember it
can offer that 10 million hotspot footprint to other
operators and aggregators, and in return negotiate for
perhaps another 10 million Hotspots, free of charge
for its customers, and that will make the number
of cellular minutes a customer needs on an MVNO
scheme, very low indeed.
But as CEO Mike Fries said at the outset, it is all
based on broadband and the slide showing that in
every one of its major European territories it now
offers significantly faster headline speeds, all up
above 150 Mbps in the more advanced territories, and
has grown that speed by the percentages list below in
each of the countries over two years.
Germany Netherlands Belgium
100% 67% 33%
Switzerland UK
150% 52%
On average across the entire European footprint,
customers are getting 70 Mbps and consuming 70
gigabytes each month and those numbers grow 40%
to 50% year-over-year. But these figures also take in
far lower ARPU markets like Romania.
Finally, the company added details of how Virgin
Media in the UK will increase its footprint, spending
some £3 billion ($4.6 billion).
Fries said, “We’ve identified 4 million premises that
are within 50 meters of our existing infrastructure,
with two thirds of those actually just 20 meters from
the current network. The close proximity of these
premises combined with lower build cost today
means that the value creation opportunity here is very
attractive.” The project to bring these properties into
the fold will be called Project Lightning.
Liberty: continued from page SIXTEEN
BROADBAND BEAT

February 20-26 2015
“They could
be the differ-
ence between
some of these
pay TV provid-
ers shifting
lock, stock and
barrel to wire-
less-only home
gateways”
“Fueled by
access to
broadband,
we believe the
home will be
an increasingly
important
node within
the health-
care delivery
architecture.”
Ethertronics: continued on page NINETEEN
Cox Enters into Telehealth
Venture with Cleveland Clinic
Apps for telemedicine (some call it telehealth) that
will need lots of broadband bandwidth are popping
up with increasing frequency.
The US cableco Cox and the renowned medical
facility Cleveland Clinic have formed a venture
called Vivre Health, which will bring what they
called “world-class healthcare to the home through
innovative telehealth and home health solutions.”
“Fueled by access to broadband, we believe the
home will be an increasingly important node within
the healthcare delivery architecture and Vivre
Health is uniquely positioned to help drive this
transformation,” said Cox’s EVP and chief strategy
offer Asheesh Saksena.
Dr Thomas Graham, chief innovation officer at
Cleveland Clinic, said, “This alliance will accelerate
the creation, development and delivery of solutions
that will improve and extend human life.”
Cox has publicly committed to and already begun
upgrading its entire residential broadband network to
gigabit speeds by the end of 2016.
Cox intends to do more than the venture with
Cleveland Clinic. It has invested HealthSpot,
which has built a comprehensive healthcare delivery
platform that combines cloud-based software with
their HealthSpot station, digital medical devices
and mobile applications. The system is already in
pilot tests.
BROADBAND BEAT
Ethertronics’ RF Wi-Fi Beam
Steering Could Kill Wireline
Home Networking
This was excerpted from Faultline.
Veteran US antenna outfit Ethertronics has brought
out what it describes as an active antenna system,
which can offer beam steering for Wi-Fi. The system
sits in either the client end of Wi-Fi to stimulate the
return path or in an Access Point and will work with
any Wi-Fi chip architecture and boost performance by
between 15% and 45%.
The chips are already on trial inside numerous
handsets, tablets and laptops, as well as in set-tops,
HDMI video dongles and Wi-Fi access points,
among tier 1 US operators, both cellular and video
operators. They could be the difference between
some of these pay TV providers shifting lock, stock
and barrel to wireless-only home gateways. If this
is one of the technologies that makes that decision
easy to make, then Ethertronics may find it can
dominate gateway antennae until rivals come up
with something similar. It claims that it has never
come across a similar antenna beam steering system
among its rivals.
Talking to the Ethertronics team this week, in
the shape of Jeff Shamblin, its chief scientist, he
made it clear that any gains that this active antenna
system gives a Wi-Fi chip is all at the RF end, and is
additional to anything the Access Point chip delivers
such Beamforming, and MU-MIMO which are
common in 4 x 4 MIMO systems and wave 2 MU-
MIMO chips.
The company is private, but has filed for an IPO
about 6 times in the last 13 years and in the end
decided not to proceed with them, but you get some
inkling of the scale by seeing it has shipped 1.2 billion
antennae and has 250 employees, 80% of which are in
engineering. It is coincidentally headquartered in San
Diego, the home of Qualcomm.
It’s not too surprising to note that in 2007 when
Qualcomm was looking for a bit of a boost for its
MediaFLO broadcast mobile TV service in the US,
Ethertronics designed it an antenna that would work
inside the phone, rather than rely on one that needed
to be pulled out and extended. So their relationship
goes way back and it could leverage greatly from
a similar relationship now, shipping on the back of
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon handset successes and
Qualcomm Atheros gateway design wins.
But it is the awareness that Shamblin had of US
home gateways that showed how it plans to go to
market. “Around 75% of our sales are in smartphones
and cell phones, and another 15% in tablets, laptops
HOME NETWORKING

February 20-26 2015
“We are
working with
every single
tier 1 in the US
on this, and
we have seen
specifications
for home based
devices at
companies
like DirecTV
and AT&T
which have
no fixed line
connection.”
“In those high
quality video
applications
our smart an-
tenna system
is the differ-
ence between
the 70 Mbps
real world Wi-
Fi performance
in 90% of a
household and
achieving the
high 90 Mbps.”
and in routers. It’s been a four or five year journey to
develop an Active Antenna technology and of the 145
patents that we have filed around 25% of them are in
active antenna technology.”
Ethertronics’ new component is called the EC482
for Active Steering for Wi-Fi and is a combination of
some proprietary algorithms and both a CPU and RF
part, which generates four different radiation patterns.
The CPU uses the algorithms to work out which of
those patterns are best to deliver the signal given the
distance and the orientation of the device.
“We change the direction that the current flows
around the antenna, and this effects any individual
antenna. We can do this for any number of antennas,
and have been tried in designs that go up to 4 x 4. It
is independent of the action of any MIMO elements
and of the modulation. This just affects the RF
side,” said Shamblin. “Our device can make the
switch to a steered beam in about 2 microseconds,”
he added.
The system also comes with some predictive
algorithms so that once it has worked out which is the
best way to deliver a particular signal, it gets better
at finding the most effective radiation pattern more
immediately.
The company already sees future markets for active
antennas in hospitals, inventory tracking, traffic
control, car to car control, metering, cameras and IoT
sensors.
“There are two benefits,” said Shamblin. First the
throughput is up, but also if you use passive antennas,
you need someone who can install and test static
devices (like set tops and smart TVs) and find the best
orientation for them. So there are more savings at the
installation.”
AndthisledtoadiscussionaboutUSvideooperators
such as Dish, DirecTV and AT&T. “In those high
quality video applications our smart antenna system
is the difference between the 70 Mbps real world Wi-
Fi performance in 90% of a household and achieving
the high 90 Mbps. When an access point (AP) wants
to speak to three remote TVs at once, that means each
one can get 30 Mbps per device and that is enough for
UHD streams.”
He emphasized that these speeds were on the
very edge of where Tier 1 US operators were testing
devices and typified that performance as “in extreme
distances where signals were in a weak condition.”
But this is what we see and hear in proposals all the
time — companies like AT&T need to know your
equipment can cope when your home has thicker
walls or three or more floors.
So the route to market for these devices is direct
through operators, who in turn, when convinced
by the antennae, commission devices which have
them in. “We are working with every single tier 1 in
the US on this, and we have seen specifications for
home based devices at companies like DirecTV and
AT&T which have no fixed line connection, such
as MoCA.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean that these companies
will actually commission such devices, but it does
mean they are testing them, a move which might
make redundant the fight that is going on between
MoCA, HomePlug and G.hn to become the “de facto”
backhaul for Wi-Fi in the home. If these companies,
usually conservative when it comes to take up a
new technology, can find a way to reduce the bill of
materials in their home gateways, we’re pretty sure
they will take it.
To further ease device integration, the Active
Steering system for 5 GHz is available as a 2D
antenna on a flexible circuit board which can be
placed anywhere in a box.
Ethertronics came out with a cellular version of this
chip back in October when it introduced its Active
Steering EC459 for 3G and 4G wireless devices and
says that this can operate in any frequency from 100
MHz to 7,000 MHz.
Ethertronics: continued from page EIGHTEEN
HOME NETWORKING
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February 20-26 2015
“Amazon
spends
about half of
what Netflix
spends on
programming.”
“Our Un-carrier
moves helped
us blow away
the competi-
tion. The best
is yet to come
as the future
looks bright
in 2015.”
T-Mobile’s ‘Un-carrier’
Strategy Produces $101m
Quarterly Profit
T-Mobile USA’s strategy to succeed by upsetting the
cellular industry’s traditional apple cart is working
very well, at least so far.
T-Mobile USA reported for its Q4 2014 quarter a
profit of $101 million, up from a loss of $20 million
in the year ago quarter.
T-Mobile USA was the first of the four major cellcos
to offer a “no contract” service. It also separated the
purchase/lease of the smartphone from the monthly price
of the service. Verizon and AT&T, the US’two biggest
cellcos have begun to see the effects of T-Mobile’s
actions. Many of the impacts cannot take place yet
because so many subscribers have long and binding
contracts and because AT&T and Verizon are doing
everything possible to extend them. But sooner or later
consumers are going to realize that there are better, less
expensive, no contract plans — even from Verizon and
AT&T. It just takes some digging to find them.
T-Mobile USA’s CEO John Legere said this week,
“2014 was the best year of growth in company
history, Our Un-carrier moves helped us blow away
the competition. The best is yet to come as the future
looks bright in 2015.”
It’s also adding subscribers — 2.1 million in
the quarter, the seventh in a row in which it added
more than 1 million net new customers — and it’s
now doing that at a profit, indicating that its tactics
are sustainable. Most importantly, 1.3 million were
postpaid subscribers that pay at month end and tend
to spend more and stay longer.
It projects adding between 2.2 million to 3.2 million
postpaid customers in 2015, but that’s down from the
4 million customers it added last year. And it expects
profits to continue to increase.
T-Mobile’s newest promotion allows subscribers
to roll over unused data allowances into following
billing period. AT&T has followed suit. Meanwhile,
Sprint has started bending the “rules of the trade”
with a cut-your-rate-in-half promotion that’s aimed
directly at Verizon and AT&T.
Legere said T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network covered
265 million people at the end of 2014, and it’s
targeting 300 million by the end of 2015.
WIRELESS BROADBAND
Netflix to Spend $5b
on Content in 2016
Analysts at Janney are estimating Netflix will spend
a whopping $5 billion in 2016 – more than any other
content company outside ESPN. That’s also more
than what Amazon, HBO, Starz and Showtime
combined spend on programming in 2014, said
Tony Wible, author of the note. “The spend builds
a competitive advantage and virtuous cycle as it
draws in more subscribers that allow it to afford more
content,” Wible said. He said Amazon spends about
half of what Netflix spends on programming, “but yet
Netflix is seeing 1,250% greater usage.”
Comcast Says 30% of Subs Now
Using Its TV Everywhere App
Thirty percent of Comcast subscribers are now
using its Xfinity Go TV Everywhere app monthly,
the company said. The app has been downloaded 11
million times. Comcast said it saw 20% growth over
the last year. The average subscriber is consuming
seven hours of pay TV programming on the app per
month, it said, an increase of 40% in viewing time
over last year.
Comcast’s senior director of TV Everywhere
content, Vito Forlenza, said 2014 was “a banner
year” for TV Everywhere. “We broke records during
several events like the Sochi Olympics and the
World Cup and continue to build momentum in 2015
as we provide more access to more content across
platforms,” he said.
Comcast recently updated its TVE app to include a
total of 71 live streaming pay TV channels. It offers
over 20,000 titles available on demand, it said.
LIES, DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS

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Telemedicine Applications
Popping up All Over
Telemedicine applications are beginning to
appear at a quickening rate. The Oregon
Health & Science University has joined
with the Bay Area Hospital (BAH) in
Coos Bay, Oregon to launch in July a
telehealth program that will allow patients
at BAH’s cancer treatment center to have
remote consultations via the Internet with
specialists at OHSU. Cancer patients will
be able to get the special consultations
without having to travel long distances.
Iliad Turns French Cellular
Market Upside Down
Could this happen in the States? “Iliad has
turned the French market upside down since
the country’s telecoms regulator awarded it
a wireless license four years ago. Already
an aggressive broadband Internet provider,
it launched wireless tariffs as low as €2
[$2.25] a month in February 2012. Iliad has
since won a 12% share of France’s cellphone
subscribers, mainly through piggybacking
on incumbent telecom Orange’s network
while it installs its own gear.” — The Wall
Street Journal article “The Unlikely Victor
in French Telcos? Illiad.” at:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240
52702304020104579431243530722258
‘Sling TV Could Be a Perfect
Complement to Netflix’
Remember when Netflix was a complement
to pay TV? “In the 13 million or so homes
that already rely solely on broadband-
delivered content for programming — and
no traditional pay-TV service — Sling TV
could be a perfect complement to the nearly
ubiquitous Netflix. With Amazon Instant
Video and Hulu reaching larger audiences,
and HBO and Showtime planning their
own standalone Net offerings in the coming
weeks, Net TV lovers can assemble a robust
programming package.” From the USA
Today article “Cutting the Cord: Surfing
through Sling TV”
Barbie Gets Connected
Will there be anything that’s not connected
to the Net? Barbie will, according Mattel,
which has made millions of the dolls.
An Internet-connected Hello Barbie
version will be able to have two-way
conversations, play games as well as tell
stories and jokes. ToyTalk developed its
speech-recognition software. Mattel said
it is the number one asked for function.
Hello Barbie requires Wi-Fi and has a
battery usage of about an hour.
TV Everywhere Might Improve Hotel TV
“I’m still waiting for the time when I can go
to the hotel room, enter in my credentials
and have my DirecTV subscription
accessible. Why is hotel watching so awful?
It’s the worst TV experience.” – Campbell
Foster, director of product marketing for
video solutions at Adobe, speaking on a
panel at CES this year.
Apple Loses a TV Fan
Apple hasn’t released an update to its
Apple TV in years, and in the growing
mainstream market for net-top boxes, that’s
not a good thing. “When a product from
someone like Amazon makes it easy for me
to venture out even a little, I take notice,”
writes Geoffery Goetz of GigaOm, a self-
described Apple TV Fan. “And with some
of the latest apps and improvements that are
now available on Amazon’s Fire TV, I just
may be upgrading my collection of Apple
TVs around the house to Amazon’s Fire
TVs, and here’s why.” Read the full article
here: https://gigaom.com/2015/02/14/
why-this-apple-tv-fan-has-come-to-prefer-
amazons-fire-tv
‘More Money to Be Made Online’
“I’m not sure what the timeline is, but
there’s clearly more money to be made
online. It’s going to be a golden age for
video distribution.” – Peter Chernin,
speaking to Re/Code. See:
http://recode.net/2015/02/18/peter-chernin-
says-live-sports-on-web-will-be-bigger-
than-it-was-on-tv
Former Cord-Cutter
Goes Back to Pay TV
“Pay TV providers are primarily marketing
powerhouses who are doing the essential
job of organizing the (ever-growing)
content for us and serving it up in an
attractive package. We are still in a time
of incredible disruption, and operators will
have to move a little faster and be ever
nimble with their pricing and packaging to
stay competitive. But today, I’m just happy
to have lowered my monthly bill while
getting access to more great content.” –
Mike Coulson, technology consultant. See:
http://www.videonuze.com/perspective/a-
cord-cutter-comes-back-behind-the-cost-
of-a-la-carte-video

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