Cordkillers Ep. 20 - Discs!
YouTube might buy Twitch. AT&T definitely wants to buy DirecTV. What does this mean for cord-cutters. There is some good news in there.
CordKillers: Ep. 20 - Discs!
Recorded: May 19, 2014
Guest: Justin Robert Young
Intro Video
Primary Target
- YouTube reportedly buying Twitch for 1 billion
- Twitch is bigger than HBO Go, according to Sandvine’s traffic data
- Why YouTube Wants to Buy Twitch
- Variety report that started all the hooplah
- Variety reports Google’s YouTube to buy Twitch for more than $1 billion
- The Wall Street Journal, however, has followed up with a report claiming that discussions are "early" and that "a deal isn't imminent.
- browser and apps on the Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One platforms.
- Ads get removed for $8.99 a month
- YT forced G_+, YT notorious for the actions of it’s content id system which can be used to remove gameplay videos
- Twitch (1.35 percent) of all peak downstream traffic in N.A. (BTW Netflix rose to 34.
Secondary Target
- AT&T to buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion as cellular growth eases
- AT&T can bail on $48.5 billion merger if DirecTV loses NFL Sunday Ticket
- AT&T Says It Wants to Sell Web TV, Too
- Regulatory OK for AT&T/DirecTV may hinge on the 'bundle'
- - Deal won’t close for at least a year. $67.1 billion with debt (generated 2.6 billion in cash flow)
- NFL out - "The parties also have agreed that in the unlikely event that DirecTV’s agreement for the NFL Sunday Ticket service is not renewed substantially on the terms discussed between the parties, AT&T may elect not to consummate the merger.”
- Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson anticipates offering an Internet TV service within 12 to 18 months of the deal closing.
- Partnership with former News Corp. Chief Operating, pledged $500 millionOfficer Peter Chernin.
- Sony, Dish, Verizon and ATT all have announced plans. Apple and Comcast presumed to have them too. Only Dish has a deal with a content provider
- If approved ATT promises to roll out 15 million more subs for Internet, expand fiber to 25 markets, lock in broadband-only prices for three yearsHonor 2010 Open Internet Guidelines
Signal Intelligence
- Shocker: Cable TV prices went up four times the rate of inflation
- FCC report on average cable prices in US year ending Jan. 1 2013
- Basic cable increased 6.5% 4X rate of inflation (1.6%)
- expanded basic increased 5.1%
- Equipment for Basic and Expanded basic 4.4% and 4.2%
- ExBasic rose 4.6% where no competition and 5.*% where there was competition
Gear Up
- Microsoft to drop Gold subscription requirement for entertainment apps on Xbox One and Xbox 360 in June
- Halo 5: Guardians' and live-action Halo TV show set for fall 2015 launch
- - Drop price to $399 June 9 without Kinect, equal to PS4 w/o Camera
- No more Xbox Live subscription necessary for most apps
- No word on Original video. Told GigaOm: We’re still determining what makes sense as an economic model for Xbox Originals.
- Phil Spencer told Ars Technica plans began when he joined the Xbox team 5 weeks ago.
- “We have spent thousands of hours in engineering to make sure voice, gestures, and even IR for TV work great, but when a consumer walks in the store—$399 is a point we hear from consumers that they want Xbox at. I wanted to make sure players were heard.” "
- Halo TV show (spielberg) coming along with Halo 5: Guardians in autumn 2015.
- E3 media briefing June 9
Under surveillance
- AMC Debuts New Series ‘Halt And Catch Fire’… On Tumblr?
- AMC put the first episode of Halt and Catch Fire on amctv.Tumblr.com until May 31. Because Tumblr is h1p.
- “Halt and Catch Fire” debuts June 1 at 10:00 p.m.
- Woz gave it a 10
Front Lines
- TV ad dollars slowly shifting to web video
- Several major advertisers, including MasterCard, Mondelez International and Verizon Wireless in the past year have moved a portion of the money they previously spent on television to online outlets. Time spent viewing online rises while networks ratings decline. This is especially true for young viewers. Nielsen says 30% of online video users are age 18 to 34, compared to 21% of TV viewers.
- Comcast has 'no plans' for internet caps despite testing them
- Comcast’s David Cohen told investors last week that he expects usage-based billing to reach all Comcast customers within five years.” When word got out and the inevitable outrage was expressed Cohen said "Comcast has no plans to announce" such a policy and that his remarks were taken out of context. Also those caps their testing in some markets mean nothing and besides, they probably will do unlimited plans.
- Holy crap, trailer for Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" is thrilling
- A trailer for Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' came out last week before Godzilla, and a new trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy came out today, which are you more excited about?
- WWE stock plunges; Vince McMahon loses $357 million
- Share of WWE Entertainment fell Friday as investors began to worry about its new online subscription service and worries about a new deal with NBCUniversal. The pac keeps Monday Night Raw on USA and Friday Night Smackdown on SyFy and even increases rights fees 70%. Investors just wanted a BIGGER increase.
- Web TV service Pluto.TV adds a DVR feature so you can save shows for later
- Pluto.tv, which is that leanback service that streams videos from around the Web and gives you a TV-like guide has added the ability to save programs to watch later like a DVR. Since the videos are not really live it’s kind of more like bookmarking but it fits the metaphor of their interface to say DVR.
- Vudu's 'Share My Movies' lets up to five friends peek into your library
- Vudu is promoting a feature of Ultraviloiet DRM where you can share your video library with up to five friends by sendnding them an email invite. The feature is found in Vudu under the title “Share my Movies.” Ultraviolet supports up to three simultaneous streams, so you can even watch movies at the same time.
2014 Summer Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv
- DTNS: $250,532,304
- The Morning Stream: $212,173,101
- /Film: $172,169,864
- GodsMoneybags: $141,604,147
- Amtrekker: $82,187,675
- Night Attack: $0
On Screen
- Brian: Godzilla (theater), Regular Show (parent's house), Game of Thrones (HBO go), Cosmos (hulu)
- Tom: The Shield (ep. 12), Warehouse 13 (Amazon), Agents of SHIELD (OTA), Game of Thrones (HBO), Orphan Black (iTunes) , Regular Show (Netflix), Cosmos (OTA)
- Justin: Godzilla (theater),
Dispatches from the Front
Hello Tom and Brian. I had a friend as me a question that I had no answer for and was hoping you guys could maybe steer me towards a proper answer for it. His question was ""Does anyone know what's the maximum resolution possible to extract from a regular 35mm film like most movies and TV shows are shot on?
Thank you in advance,
Ryu
Hey guys, love the show. I'm not sure if you still call this the chicken challenge, but I took it. I have DirecTV And my contract recently ended earlier this month. My bill went up to $100 a month. I was originally at $72. This is after being a customer for 4 years. I called with the intention of negotiating a cheaper deal and possibly a genie DVR. after speaking to customer retention, they offered me $15 off and free genie but I had to sign a 2 year contract. I could not accept this offer. I asked to cancel. They put me on hold and came back and cancel my service as of Monday. So I am now officially a cord killer! I don't know how I am going to watch the rest of Game of Thrones, my parents don't even have HBO for me to steal a login. But I have a wife and two kids who will now spend more time playing outside over the summer instead of in front of the TV. I do love sports so it's likely just a summer break, but we shall see!
Thanks for the great show. Just wanted to let you know my story.
Derek, St Louis
Hey guys, do yourself a favor, now that we're close to the end of the run of Cosmos and rewatch both versions of the series, alternating between the two series (so watch the first of the old, then the first of the new, and so on). I've been doing that today, and its AMAZING seeing not only the little nods to the original in the new one, but just how far science (and technology) have come in the decades since. For example, when they made the original, they hadn't even figured out what killed off all the dinosaurs! They didn't even have a guess. Unless you've got the DVDs of the original series, it can be a bit hard to find online. Its supposed to be available on YouTube from the Science Foundation, but YouTube's copyright 'bots have blocked most of the episodes, you'll have to use other ""alternative distribution channels"" to find them. (Daily Motion seems to be a good place.) One thing I noticed was that there wasn't nearly as much reenactment in the original as I thought. So far, the longest amount that's been in any of the episodes that I've rewatched has been about 3 minutes. Anyways, I hope you guys can find time to rewatch both series and talk about it on the podcast, because you'll see both series in a completely different light if you do.
Brian, TN
The buffet example was BS. You aren't paying extra for food you don't eat. The way you guys describe it, functionally you want to go to a restaurant and only buy off the ale carte menu. Sounds good? NOT EVERYTHING is offered there. You want steak? order steak. It's not ale carte. Tacos are. Eat tacos. But a buffet, for a flat fee, means you can try the steak, the tacos and the fish. And you get to eat as much as you want. Want crab legs? pay extra. Life is simple. you guys make it to complicated.
Wess
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