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The Super Bowl Will Be Streamed Online for the First Time
Wed Dec 21, 2011 at 12:00 PM ETTags: Super Bowl, Streaming, NBC (all tags)
If you're signed up with Verizon you'll be able to get it on your phone too.
If you're going to be watching the Super Bowl, chances are you're going to be somewhere with a big TV, a killer sound system and plenty of beer, food and friends. But real life happens, and you might not be able to get out of work or other obligations. Or you may have cut your cable and lack an antenna for your set.
NBC is taking care of you this year. For the first time ever, the Super Bowl will be streamed live online. You'll be able to check it out on the NBC or NFL website - whichever you prefer. It should be interesting to see what happens with those incredibly expensive Super Bowl commercials, whether they're aired too or if net specific commercials are shown instead.
Verizon customers get it a little better than the rest of us with this Super Bowl. You'll be able to watch the action live on your Smartphone with the NFL Mobile app. No matter what you're doing on Super Bowl Sunday, you'll be able to tune into the game.
Source: Engadget
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Does Comcast/NBC Universal Merger Mean Higher Cable Prices?
Mon Jan 31, 2011 at 10:00 AM ETTags: Comcast, NBC, Cable, Universal, Industry Trends (all tags)
Cable prices could go up faster than ever thanks to the Comcast/NBC Universal merger according to Alexander Per, an economist working at CBSaver.
If you're paying for cable, then you know the pain of shelling out money for the service every month. Cable bills often surpass heating, electricity, phone, and even car payments in some households. It's a lot of money to spend, and it's only going to increase.
Alexander Per, who works for the bill negotiation site CBSaver, says that the recent deal between Comcast and NBC could accelerate this increase. He says that since Comcast's negotiations didn't include any commitment to limit rate increases, we're bound to see something big soon.
Cable rates have been going up faster than everything else we buy, according to Per. "We are talking about 100%-plus growth in the cost of cable in past decade and it is has only just begun," he says.
Source: Home Media Magazine
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The Comcast/NBC Deal Approved by FCC, Justice Department
Wed Jan 19, 2011 at 04:20 PM ETTags: Comcast, NBC (all tags)
Comcast says everything will finally be complete by the end of the month.
Unless you’ve been living in under a rock, or in a cave without Wi-Fi, you know about the deal between Comcast and NBC that’s been in the works. It’s been talked about all over the internet, discussed on mainstream news and even been parodied on ’30 Rock.’
Today that deal got one big step closer to completion, as both the FCC and the Justice Department have given their approval. Under the terms of the arrangement, Comcast will now own 51 percent of NBC, with GE owning the other 49.
“The NBC Universal joint venture will be well positioned to compete, innovate, and bring new choices to consumers,” says Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts. “Our original vision for the combination remains intact so that consumers will benefit, and our competitors will be treated fairly.”
Source: Engadget
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Networks Block Google TV Access to Sites
Tue Oct 26, 2010 at 03:20 PM ETTags: Google TV, Hulu, ABC, NBC, CBS (all tags)
ABC, NBC and CBS shows are unwatchable on Google TV, even through the internet browser.
At this point, it seems like hooking a netbook or HTPC to your television is going to be the best solution. Google TV holds a great deal of promise, but the lack of support from content providers may make the new product a hard sell.
The problem seems to be that the networks don't want folks using Google TV to watch web based versions of their shows. It's not good for the ratings, and it could hurt their advertising revenue. There's also a concern of people viewing on pirate sites, rather than the network's own website.
For now, Hulu, ABC, NBC and CBS will all be blocking you from access when you pick up your Google TV. The folks at Google are working on it, but don't expect to hear anything soon.
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Feds are Planning a Tough Review of the Comcast/NBC-Universal Deal
Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 12:00 PM ETTags: NBC, Comcast, Universal (all tags)
The Justice Department is taking a hard look at the potential issues that arise with Comcast’s purchase of NBCU.
Though the deal is expected to go through, it’s not going to happen easily. Comcast already controls a huge portion of the cable TV market, but giving it control of channels may represent an unfair advantage over competitors.
“When companies swell to include both content and distribution, we need to pay attention,” says Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockafeller. “It is vitally important that when we have mergers in these markets, consumers cannot be left with lesser programming and higher rates.”
The Justice Department is going to look at the deal from an antitrust perspective while the FCC will be looking to see whether or not the transaction is in the public interest. Public comments will soon be accepted to help guide the FFC’s decision.
The biggest concern is that Comcast will have the power to raise rates for access to NBC programming, forcing other cable and satellite providers to pay up or go without.
Source: Associated Press
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Feds are Planning a Tough Review of the Comcast/NBC-Universal Deal
Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 12:00 PM ETTags: NBC, Comcast, Universal (all tags)
The Justice Department is taking a hard look at the potential issues that arise with Comcast’s purchase of NBCU.
Though the deal is expected to go through, it’s not going to happen easily. Comcast already controls a huge portion of the cable TV market, but giving it control of channels may represent an unfair advantage over competitors.
“When companies swell to include both content and distribution, we need to pay attention,” says Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockafeller. “It is vitally important that when we have mergers in these markets, consumers cannot be left with lesser programming and higher rates.”
The Justice Department is going to look at the deal from an antitrust perspective while the FCC will be looking to see whether or not the transaction is in the public interest. Public comments will soon be accepted to help guide the FFC’s decision.
The biggest concern is that Comcast will have the power to raise rates for access to NBC programming, forcing other cable and satellite providers to pay up or go without.
Source: Associated Press
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NBC’s Zucker Calls Boxee Illegal – Boxee Responds
Mon Feb 08, 2010 at 02:35 PM ETTags: Boxee, NBC, Industry Trends (all tags)
The Comcast and NBC Universal merger hearing in Congress sparked a bit of controversy over the fair use of Hulu.
Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. If you didn’t see the Congressional hearing on CSPAN yesterday, you missed out. Technically, that’d be CSPAN 3, where the Comcast/NBCU merger hearing was broadcast.
When asked about blocking Boxee users from accessing Hulu, NBC President Jeff Zucker had an interesting choice of words. “What Boxee was doing was illegally taking the content that was on Hulu without any business deal,” he stated.
Boxee’s contention is that they merely enable their users to view the content through the existing web service. “Boxee uses a web browser to access Hulu’s content – just like Firefox or Internet Explorer,” says Avner Ronen on Boxee’s official blog. “We don’t “take” the video. We don’t copy it. We don’t put ads on top of it. The video and the ads play like they do on other browsers or on Hulu Desktop. And it certainly is legal to do so.”
When asked about negotiating with Boxee, Zucker said that they would of course be willing to negotiate with the company. Though Ronen says that this has not been their experience in the past, they will take the offer at face value and contact Zucker.
Source: Boxee
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NBC Gives You More Olympics than Ever – Live, On Demand and Online
Mon Jan 25, 2010 at 04:30 PM ETTags: NBC, Industry Trends (all tags)
Looking to get your Olympics fix? NBC’s got over eight hundred hours worth of it coming to you. That’s over fifty hours a day.
If you’re one of those people who can’t get enough of Olympic competition, you’ll be glad to know that this year NBC Universal is providing more Olympic coverage than ever. All in all, NBCU says you’ll have access to over eight hundred hours of programming, and in more ways than ever.
Almost two hundred hours worth of programming will be on NBC proper. Things kick off with the opening ceremony on February 12th at 7:00 EST. They’ll be covering it in the afternoon, primetime and late night time slots, and focusing on skiing, speed skating, snowboarding and figure skating.
The USA network will feature, as you may have guessed, Team USA coverage. They’ll hit up a few other sports, but Ice Hockey and Curling will be the go to for USA. It’s all USA, and it’s all live. If you don’t get a chance to see it live, you can swing on over to Universal HD to pick up the replays.
MSNBC picks up hockey as well. Though they’ll be showing other countries primarily, MSNBC’s got the USA v Canada men’s hockey game. You can also find speed skating and figure skating on MSNBC.
CNBC will be a sort of jack-of-all-trades this year. They’ll pick up the sports that other channels didn’t and provide long form coverage instead of the quick hits the other channels will focus on.
Over four hundred hours of live coverage can be viewed online too. NBCOlympics.com will host not only ten work weeks worth of live events, but over a thousand hours worth of on demand access to full event replays. You’ll also find recaps, montages, and athlete-specific reels.
Source: NBC
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It’s Official – Comcast to Become Majority Shareholder in NBC
Thu Dec 03, 2009 at 08:15 PM ETTags: Industry Trends, Comcast, NBC, Universal (all tags)
Sure, we've known about it for a while now, but it's finally official. Comcast and General Electric have signed a deal that makes Comcast the majority shareholder in NBC Universal.
According to the press release that came out of the new partnership this morning, Comcast now owns fifty-one percent of NBC Universal. The other forty-nine percent which is now fully owned by General Electric, rather than by GE and Vivendi, will be managed by Comcast.
This is all pending approval from a variety of government boards of course, including the Justice Department, the FCC, and the Federal Trade Commission. There's also a bit of funding that needs to move around and some closing conditions that need to be met before the deal is final. Comcast says that most of this is simply routine, and no issues are expected.
Response to the news has been mixed, with consumer advocacy groups being especially concerned. A cable company as large as Comcast owning a broadcaster as large as NBC Universal raises some red flags.
The question being raised most commonly is that of exclusive content. Comcast now has the broadcasting rights to shows and movies created by NBC Universal of course, but also the rights to The Olympics and other sporting events. It's entirely possible that Comcast could restrict other cable companies from having access to programming.
Hulu is a concern common among viewers, but Comcast says there's no need to worry. As Comcast CEO Brian Roberts put it “We love Hulu and have no intent to crush it like a bug”. It's a strange way to reassure fans of the net based television service. He also has stated that there is currently no plan to institute any kind of premium, paid content on the site.
Comcast's famously stringent bandwidth caps also have people worried. Were Comcast to restrict access or lower bandwidth to competitor's sites, or simply deny them content, it could create an uneven playing field.
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Hulu Toys With Subscription Idea
Thu Oct 22, 2009 at 05:00 PM ETTags: Hulu, NBC, Industry Trends (all tags)
The ever popular free television streaming service Hulu may not be so free in the future, according to NBC.
Marc Graboff of NBC Universal commented on the popular Hulu streaming service recently, stating that Hulu needed to find a way to turn things around. While Hulu is certainly increasing viewership across the board, the problem, according to Graboff, is that these added viewers aren’t translating into added dollars.
“Hulu has got to bolster its economics,” says Graboff. “The trick is ... to turn those digital pennies into digital dollars.” Just how they’ll do that is anyone’s guess. Graboff suggests that an increase in advertising would help, but just how much is difficult to say.
He also suggests that a subscription model could be in the future. Graboff sees Hulu staying free, with paid subscribers having earlier access to shows, rather than blocking out non paying viewers. "I do think Hulu is experimenting with different models," he said. "I know they're looking at any number of things.”
Not mentioned by Graboff is the possibility that Hulu could offer HD content at a premium, something that’s sorely lacking from the site.
Graboff still thinks highly of the site, and says that NBC’s investment was a step in the right direction, but says Hulu may have been hasty to offer content for free.
Source: Reuters
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