Cordkillers 113 - M-Gone

Study says networks are dying, Fandango to sell movies and TV shows, Netflix approves your television.

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CordKillers: Ep. 113 - M-Gone
Recorded:  March 21 2016
Guest: None

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • A new report from Barclays Capital on the future of media
    - “The concept of a ‘network’ could become obsolete.”
    - “The aggregation platform will become akin to the concept of a cable network today for consumers, but micro-customized to individual preferences.”
    - Content will become divided into two main buckets: scripted shows and live events.
    - Live events will migrate to broadcast
    - Cable cos will either have to do live or become OTT providers
    - Offline TV no longer becomes the default. Instead, people will boot up connected TVs or go immediately to the video-on-demand function, or switch to over-the-top service HBO Now
    - Total viewership may be falling but digital viewing is growing.

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

  • Netflix’s first recommended TVs in 2016 are from LG and Sony
    - Netflix has awarded “Netflix Recommended” badges to smart TVs for the second year. TVS must meet seven criteria around the speed and execution of the Netflix app. 
    - LG 4K UHD TVs with web OS 3.0: UH6300 series, UH6500 series, UH7500 series, UH8500 series, UH9500 series, and G6 series
    - Sony Android 4K UHD TVs: S85D series, X85D series, X93D series, X94D series, XD93 series, XD94 series, SD85 series, and XD85 series"
  • Netflix approved criteria
    - TV Instant on
    - Resumes from where it was when turned off
    - Latest Netflix app
    - Fast app launch
    - Fast app resume
    - Netflix button on remote
    - Netflix icon prominent on screen
     

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Hello Tom, Brian, and crew!

I was listening to your discussion about bringing new release movies to your home instead of the theaters, and it reminded me of the special events offered by Alamo Drafthouse.  Brian mentioned theaters like Alamo lean towards food/drinks to bring in money.  The Alamo near me does several ""special events"" from week to week: sing/quote-a-longs, all-you-can-eat cereal parties, movie marathons, and even movie/lecture events partnered with our local university.

I wonder if more theaters would start to lean towards these kinds of events if people begin to just watch new movies from home.  Our Alamo is holding a watch party for Serenity next week, and, even though the movie is on Netflix, I'm considering going just to see it with other fans of the series.

Keep up the great work!

- Benjamin

 


$50 to get movies @ home where you have a pause button sounds great.

PlayStation Vue trial was a total fail for me. I have a 1st gen PS3 and I have no idea how the service looks because all I ever get is an error message. Tech support was no help either. The silver lining is that for $30 you can use those Vue creds to authenticate TVEverywhere apps on the Roku, Apple TV and in the browser.

- John


 

 

Hey guys, 

The reason my wife and I are seasonal cordkillers is local sports broadcasts. We’re huge hockey fans and she can’t watch her local team unless we have Comcast Sports Net. I noticed that Playstation Vue offered CSN, so I signed up for the free trial. 

I did not have a Playstation account before this and I signed up in the browser and on the Fire TV app. It was very easy to sign up for and a pleasant experience. I scrolled through the live channels and tried some out. The quality was excellent, so much better than my experience with Sling TV - I was very impressed. The next night, when her team was playing, I asked if we could try streaming the game. She agreed. I tuned to CSN on the Vue app. I received: “Sorry, we are not allowed to stream this game due to content ownership rights.”

Foiled again by local sports broadcasts. Hopefully soon we can watch any game, local or not, directly through the various sports team apps. 

Keep up the great work!

- Sean


 

While searching for a show to watch with my son on Netflix this morning, I saw Hacking the System was available. I put it on and before I knew it, my son was putting down Minecraft to watch every minute (which included one inappropriate F!@$ bomb from Brian, but I will forgive him, if I had been stunned I'm sure he'd hear the same). We made it through 7 episodes in no time. I made sure my son was aware that he watching someone that he has also been forced to listen to while in the car with me. I just wanted to pass on that you did a great job, and my 9 year old is already begging for the end of the season.

- Steve

 

 

Hey Tom & Brian,

Hulu sent me a survey a few days ago and starting about 20 or so questions in, the entire survey switched gears and started asking how I felt about a ""hypothetical"" new internet streaming tv service.

To start, the asked if I've heard of various existing streaming service, including Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and even Apple's long rumored streaming service (http://cl.ly/472c1L2D3i0k).

Later, they said this new hypothetical service could be offered by any number of companies, including Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, or Apple, but that I was ""randomly assigned"" Hulu as the company behind this hypothetical new service for the upcoming questions.

Anyway, it went on to show me about ten or so different variations of channels, features (cloud dvr, 8 day on demand, ad skipping, etc), and costs, asking how likely I would be to sign up for each, or if I'd rather stick with traditional Hulu.

So what do you think? Will Hulu try and start competing more directly with Sling TV and PlayStation Vue?

Love the show!

PS Here are a few screenshots of the survey, in case you're interested:
http://cl.ly/0D3t08432u34
http://cl.ly/1F0c3U0G072C
http://cl.ly/1B1n212X1c3a
http://cl.ly/0n2m472b3q3p
http://cl.ly/3G3D2C1g0T1R
http://cl.ly/2r3s2J0w0c20

 - Tom

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Pilot X by Tom Merritt

Tom MerrittComment