TDG Opinions

When it comes to delivering Over the Top Video to the television, there are two models that encompass virtually every approach. Those that outright replace (supplant) paytv service and those that provide additional content to augment (supplement) paytv. If we look at some of the winners and the failures of the recent OTT market, there is evidence which model will dominate in the short term. ...

Thursday evening I had the dual chance to both test out Best Buy’s Movie Mode app at a screening of ‘Despicable Me’ and be a hero to my six-year-old who could see this highly anticipated movie before any of his friends. ...

Further evidence that Netflix is shaking off the shackles of a DVD rental business emerged Tuesday. Relativity Media, producers of such titles as “Get Him to the Greek” and “Robin Hood”, will allow Netflix to stream first-run theatrical films at the same time as HBO and Showtime. This agreement is good for Netflix as it reduces the expense of shipping a physical DVD to subscriber homes. But it’s also good for subscribers as they no longer must wait 2 days or more to receive the DVD. They can stream it immediately to the host of devices that run the Netflix client. ...

Today saw the loss of another OTT player as Move Networks, the pioneer of adaptive bitrate technology halted operations. Most of the remaining employees were released this morning. Few will be surprised by the announcement - Move’s challenges have been well discussed since last year’s big management shakeup....

Kelly Day, EVP & GM, Digital Media at Discovery, gave the keynote this morning and gave a fascinating insight into the role of brand in the online world. She told the story of how Discovery purchased HowStuffWorks.com. HowStuffWorks had a robust section devoted to recipes which Discovery repurposed under the TLC brand. They brought in video featuring Buddy Valastro as “The Sauce Boss”, and Hunts as the sponsor for the site. Within a month the company saw 42% increase in uniques growing to 100% within 3 months. Search referrals went up 34% and engagement rocketed 100%. ...

The announcement of Google TV has certainly got a lot of attention. I think it could (maybe) gain a good deal of consumer, developer, advertiser and network traction. Google TV could even be a Game Changer. While my ten years in the advanced TV/video business has taught me to be a curmudgeon about "Net Meets TV" efforts and there are many "devils in the details" that will affect chances for success, I find myself being somewhat optimistic about Google TV. Welcome to 2010 - (some) things have changed. With many Google TV topics to discuss, I'm going to focus on one here - can Google TV get market traction without any cable, satellite or telco IPTV operator cooperation beyond the deal they now have with DISH? ...

This morning, at Google I/O in San Francisco, Google announced a comprehensive push to bring the Internet to TV, an effort dubbed "Google TV." Working with initial partners Intel, Sony, and Logitech, Google is assembling an open ecosystem to deliver web content and applications directly to the TV. As well, rather than ignore traditional TV content, the effort seeks to integrate the Internet and TV into a single seamless experience....