Here’s one more reason why the wildly popular Kindle eReader will be one of your most treasured possessions (or most wanted on your wish list): The Kindle Lending Library which launched with over 5,000 titles near the end of 2011 (in time for the holiday gift-giving season) allows Kindle owners to borrow eBooks – and there are a couple of really good titles available: The Hunger Games, Secretariat, and soon Harry Potter! Since the launch, Amazon says there are now over 145,000 titles available. What a great way to make the Prime membership valuable, in addition to being able to stream their entire 17,000 digital movie & TV show titles, purchase digital content (movies, TV shows, books, music) and store them in your own cloud account, as well as get free 2-day shipping.

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Chris O’Brien at SiliconBeat recently wrote an article about his cord-cutting experiment, which brought in a flood of tips, questions and other valuable information from his readers we thought we would pass along. Thanks, Chris, and keep the 411 coming!

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One of the things that people say is a Netflix negative is a large selection of new blockbuster releases. That’s about to change due to the combination of an exclusive streaming license agreement it has with cable channel Epix, which is a joint venture between Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate, which backed the popular blockbuster The Hunger Games. Also expected to join the Netflix lineup is The Avengers in 2013. Another popular series available on Netflix right now is The Walking Dead, which boasted 9 million viewers for the second season finale. AMC should be releasing the 2nd season to Netflix most likely this summer. Anders Bylund says “If Hunger Games and The Walking Dead don’t motivate a significant influx of new Netflix subscribers in the second half of 2012, I’ll buy a hat just so I can eat it.” We concur, Anders!

Not everyone is happy about Neflix – particularly cable and satellite TV providers who bundle hundreds of channels into a highly priced but convenient package for subscribers. Yesterday, Dish Nework said that it decided to drop AMC and a bunch of other channels from their lineup because streaming services like Netflix are devaluing them by making them available on multiple outlets. Dish Chairman & CEO Charles Ergen says “Those particular channels are also available to our customers through a variety of other sources, like iTunes, Amazon and Netflix.”

It’s scarcity that makes programming more expensive to consumers, but there comes a time when scarcity backfires on the entity making it difficult and expensive for consumers to access the content. It’s actually laughable that Ergen makes this statement with a straight face after The Walking Dead’s 2nd season finale. It’s my guess that Dish is trying to scare AMC into eliminating it’s agreement with online content providers in order to restore precious scarcity, so that they don’t begin to lose their paying subscribers to these streaming services. Additionally, because AMC programming has done so well, they increased their costs to Dish and other satellite and cable companies by 35 cents a subscriber. AMC only provides it’s former season’s libraries to Netflix, but new programming is made available to bundled Pay TV subscription providers.

Ergren is correct when he notes that his customers are resistant to paying more money for their subscription. Market forces are screaming for a la carte choices instead of these mega bundles where we are forced to pay an unaffordable monthly fee for a modest amount of programming. Both entertainment companies and satellite/cable TV companies are nervous about their fragile business models right now. It’s my belief that the reason Hulu.com may resort to an authentication requirement is because they are being pressured by their collective owners, despite their announcement that they made millions in advertising fees. By making anyone wishing to stream on it’s free platform prove they are already cable or satellite TV subscribers, they are in essence trying to force consumers to *not* cut the cord.

Christophor Rick of www.reelseo.com noted that they may gain the attention of the U.S. Government in possible ant-trust issues because of what looks like bullying tactics to force people to refrain from cutting the cord. But even if the government says “hey, they can do whatever they want,” it’s my guess that they will lose significant advertising revenues, and they will probably anger more people into cutting the cord when they realize the manipulation tactics. Rick believes that’s why Providence Equity Partners sold their shares to the other owners.

Rick also pointed out that much of the content on Hulu is free over-the-air in most markets. There could be a whole lot more antenna sales going on, and if pay TV makes it to streaming like with services Aereo or Skitter TV, it will likely be the straw that breaks the camels, or the business model’s, back.

Also, many entertainment companies are keenly aware that it is the popularity of streaming services like Netflix that are actually boosting the ratings of shows that people might not otherwise tune into. By being able to watch old libraries of content, viewers are developing an appetite for newly released content. Of course, then we also develop a group of cord cutters who are willing to wait for the next season’s library, and that’s precisely what has cable and satellite providers nervous.

To learn more about Netflix subscription pros and cons, click here.
Originally published on www.videostreamingserviceproviders.com

Sources:  http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/03/22/netflixs-strategy-plays-out-if-you-build-it-they-w/?source=edddlftxt0860001

http://adage.com/article/mediaworks/dish-netflix-devalued-amc/234606/

http://www.reelseo.com/hulu-authentication-bad/

There is a growing interest among people fed up with being held for ransom by the high cost of subscription bundled TV programming to move to the darkside and cut the cord on their cable TV subscriptions. The current average cost of having hundreds of worthless channels delivered to our homes so that we can watch the ten coveted channels we’re really after is around $90 per month. Analysts are predicting that to continue to rise every year until by 2020 we are paying upwards of $200 per month. Some of you are thinking, “I am already paying close to this!”

More and more people are actually taking the plunge and cutting the cord. Nielsen, the group that tracks consumer viewing habits, says that over 5 million households have opted to be cable (or satellite) TV free. While this number might seem small when you consider there are about 108 milion households, that 5 million number is up nearly 23% from 2010. That is clearly a trend.

If you are itching to be part of that trend, there are a few things you should be aware of up front. For some people, these issues will not be a problem, but others may have to find alternative sources or even sacrifice. It’s important to begin with educating yourself on what’s required to stream.  Click here to read the whole article.

Logo of Viacom (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many prominent news sources have been crying that the sky is falling for Viacom because of a Nickelodeon ratings slump.  And once again, everyone’s favorite scapegoat Netflix has been paraded as a probable reason why less kids are tuning in to Nick’s TV channels.

However, Philippe Dauman dismissed these assertions.  Says Dauman “Even if you viewed that as being completely cannibalistic – which of course it is not, it serves our customers in places where they might not otherwise be able to watch television and it serves some promotional value – there is minor impact there.”

Because Netflix only represents less than 25% of all households, the amount of time spent streaming Nick content represents only about 2%, according to Dauman.  In fact, he told analysts that Viacom has plans to make changes on the Nick channels to improve their perceived value by their young target audience.

Audience research of new programming will be one step toward correcting the slumped ratings.  Trends are fluid, and the favorites of yesteryear – SpongeBob and Phineas & Ferb – are not what the new generation of kids growing up want to watch.

“Nickelodeon is stepping up to the plate in a major way with the creative community, with its own programming teams,” says Dauman.  “Our marketing partners are very pleased with what they’re seeing.  there was a very good reaction to the Nickelodeon upfront presentation.  It’s a very exciting lineup.”

Source:  http://www.multichannel.com/article/483984-Dauman_Netflix_No_Impact_on_Nick_Ratings.php

Click on the link below to learn more about the Mother’s Day Special, and to check out a review of the Roku player.

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Weary consumers are looking for ways to lower their entertainment costs, and often don’t understand why pay TV subscription bundles from their local cable company are so costly when all they really want are a handful of channels.

One of the things that drives up the costs of these bundles are retransmission fees, which are regularly negotiated. Most of us have likely heard on the news or read online about a specfic market that was going to be experiencing a channel blackout because the parties involved could not agree on a price point for retransmission fees. In fact, DirecTV made nationwide news when they were in a very public dispute over retransmission fees that threatened a Super Bowl blackout on February 5, 2012.

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According to numbers released by The Digital Entertainment Group, consumers are finally spending money on home entertainment after a tough recession drove spending down for several years. Despite the fact that the Hollywood studios have dug their heels in and not cooperated with streaming services like Netflix to offer reasonable blanket licensing agreements to stream their newer content, it seems that consumers don’t mind watching content from yesteryear.

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“All ten episodes of the highly-anticipated season four of television show Arrested Development being backed as original programming by Netflix will be made available to Netflix subscribers en masse in 2013 (date yet to be announced), for those of you who like to hole up over an entire weekend and stream episode after episode – you know who you are .”

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While our goal at this website is to encourage people to give streaming services a try and experience their benefits, we would be doing you a serious disservice if we didn’t regularly sound the trumpet about managing your data plans. Most wireline internet providers (DSL and cable) as well as mobile data plans have limits on how much data you can consume within one month. Lots of people find this out the hard way when they discover streaming, and end up with some type of penalty.

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The title of this blog post is a very common question on question sites like Yahoo Answers. Many people use this software to download video to their computer, often so that they can share it with others in some way, whether as an attachment to an email, or uploaded somewhere else. They often say disparaging things about the software because they think it doesn’t work well. In reality, it works beautifully – to protect copyright holders from having their video stolen off of YouTube.

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Movie streaming checklist helps you to define and understand your options. We define movie streaming vs. downloading, and provide a useful checklist for easy review.

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Hulu (Photo credit: Evan Hamilton)

The New York Post reported yesterday that the ad-supported free streaming platform Hulu.com might be moving toward a business model that will require visitors to prove they have a cable or satellite television subscription by providing an authentication code generated by their subscription TV provider in order to engage in free streaming.  The news is causing the message boards to light up all over the internet, mainly with outrage.  According to the Post, Hulu attracted 31 million users in March alone.

The Fox Guarding the Henhouse Scenario

What many consumers may not realize is that Hulu is a joint venture of several different companies, including NBC Universal, Comcast, Fox Entertainment Group, Disney-ABC Television Group, and Providence Equity Partners.  All of these companies have a vested interest in discouraging consumers from cutting the cord for more cost-effective entertainment options, which primarily is to protect the current business models.

Cable and satellite TV providers, like streaming services, have to pay steep licensing agreements in order to serve up the copyrighted content owned by the entertainment companies.  The reason why streaming services don’t have the same newly released blockbuster films that cable and satellite do is because these providers have much deeper pockets than stream services do.  But – because they have paid for this content, through widespread adoption of the pay television model among consumers, they have a vested interest in retaining those subscribers.  Should these so-called “cord cutters” evangelize their subscribers, they will be in big trouble.

Why is Content So Ridiculously Costly?

Why doesn’t Hollywood lower their prices for their content?  I mean, haven’t they noticed that consumers are really starting to grumble?  Do they really think they can strong-arm the masses into continuing to pay the high prices in an economy where we are already footing the bill for a failing housing market and continuous higher unemployment?  In fact, these monthly TV bundle subscriptions are only predicted to get higher over the next several years.

While companies are certainly in the business of making profits, entertainment companies seem to forget that consumers are struggling financially in this extremely tough economy.  The good news is that entertainment spending is up 2.5% this quarter compared to prior year, however, it is mainly due to a surge in streaming, according to Digital Entertainment Group’s newly released study.

It’s Okay to Not Make Streaming Free, But How About Making it Affordable

The move toward authentication will most likely take years to complete, and it could also drive subscriptions to both Hulu Plus and Netflix.  But most consumers lean on Hulu.com for programming that aired recently, and much of this programming doesn’t make it to the subscription libraries right away.  Besides the desire to have network programming without dealing with antennas, that’s the biggest complaint right now.

Consumers are getting smart to the greed, and Hollywood’s stubborn refusal to lower their prices have created a growing piracy problem.  Hollywood first tried to sucker lawmakers into writing laws that would force internet giants like Google to be the internet police.  The internet flexed it’s muscles earlier this year, telling the U.S. government that under no uncertain terms would that scenario go well.

What’s the answer?  Hollywood might not like it, but the answer is for them, like the rest of us, to learn to live within their means.  They might have to work a little bit harder to find new ways to monetize their business.  We don’t want to pay upwards of $200 per month for television by the end of this decade, and my guess is it won’t happen.  Economic forces are creating a lot of tension right now, and my guess is that consumers will end up forcing entertainment companies hands sooner than later.

You can get the Streaming 411 at Anne Madison’s website, where she reviews the top stream providers in the industry, and also provides helpful tips to get in on the streaming bandwagon.

Source:  http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/tv_in_real_dime_ph0GiKk7rC9agDUEkHae2I

Roku (Photo credit: Steve A Johnson)

With 38% of U.S. households having their TV connected to the internet (based upon a report by the Leichtman Research Group released earlier this month), up 8% from 2011, internet streaming is becoming “the next big thing” in entertainment distribution.

Bruce Leichtman says “Video is increasingly being watched on different platforms and in different places, yet these emerging video services will generally act as complements to traditional television viewing and services rather than substitutes.  Among all adults, reported time spent watching TV is similar to last year, and there remains little evidence of a significant trend in consumers “cutting the cord” to their multichannel video services to watch video solely via these emerging services.”

Anthony Wood, CEO of Roku, might beg to differ with Leichtman’s conclusions.  According to the San Franscisco Chronicle, Wood noted that the future of television is in internet streaming, with availability being predominantly on demand.  In fact, streaming media players will likely make he DVR head into the chronicles of history.

Says Wood in a recent interview “Would you rather try to remember to record a show, or would you rather just have everything ever made instantly available on demand?”

Roku expanded their markets to Canada and the UK this year.  While most people currently stream through a game console, there is a large percentage of households in the United States that wouldn’t opt for a gaming console because all the wish to do is stream and nothing more.  Currently, only 1 percent of U.S. homes use a device like Roku, but that is likely to change as older demographics start to feel comfortable with the new technology.  “Our customers are not early adopters.  They’re people who watch TV.  We put a lot of effort into making it really simple” says Wood.

What will truly make a streaming services comparison much more interesting is when online pay TV services like start-ups Skitter TV or Aereo become available across the United States.  Once people can actually stream network television without having to pay exorbitant cable TV subscription costs, we will likely see a widespread streaming adoption.

Roku has 400 entertainment channels available, and Skitter TV, one of the companies seeking to deliver live television online, is Roku compatible as well (however, you will not find Skitter on the Roku Channel Store yet – if you reside in one of Skitter’s markets, they will add the app to your Roku account).

While up until recently streaming has been predominantly used to watch movies on the internet, recent months have seen a huge shift toward more streaming of television shows.  Hulu Plus has made people excited about sitting down at the very beginning of season 1 of a show and mow through the episodes in marathon streaming bouts.

Sources:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/16/BUQ81O21JA.DTL&ao=all

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/digital-evolution/report-38-us-households-have-connected-tvs-26927

Photograph of Roku XDS player with remote. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are literally hundreds of ways to stream content via myriads of devices.  So why is Roku still one of the most popular choices for consumers?

1. Incredible entertainment choice & flexibility – Roku has over 300 channels to select from, which means you are far more likely to pay for content you are actually interested it.  Besides the big names like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Video, there are many targeted choices, including in genres like sports, news, education, lifestyle, fitness and much more.
2. Works with virtually any television set – whether you have a HDTV set, or an old analog set with A/V composite connections, you will be able to set up your streaming player quickly and easily without a lot of fuss.
3. Built in WiFi – makes connecting a snap with or without an Ethernet cable.
4. Four models at various price points – starting at $49.99.  Standard and high definition options.  High-end Roku 2 XS has an enhanced remote with motion control for games along with a free copy of Angry Birds.  The box also has an Ethernet port for a wired connection (best for streaming), as well as a USB port for photos, video and music.   However, the Roku LT is still a quality standard-definition streaming media player that delivers content seamlessly.
5. Software updates automatically pushed to your Roku player within 48 hours of release.  No need to deal with the technical aspects once your player is up and running.

You can read more about Roku here http://www.videostreamingserviceproviders.com/roku.htm

With so many outlets for digital content, Roku easily aggregates the best of the best on it’s Channel Store.  What’s conspicuously missing, however, is a VUDU app.  It seems that in order to stream VUDU content to your television set, you must have a D-Link MovieNite or Boxee Box player.

If you have an MHL-compatible HDTV, you might opt for the Roku streaming stick, which plugs into the HDMI port.  This device is wireless-enabled, ad can even be controlled by the TV’s remote control.