Google Satellite Farm May Mean Plans for TV ServiceBy: Kailey AletoArticle
"News that Google applied to the FCC in December for a satellite receiving station license in Iowa is now fueling speculation that it may be doing that to bundle Internet and TV services in Kansas City." The article justifies Google decision to conduct a "trial-run" in Kansas because of how small Kansas City is over 1,100 other cities. This was partly due to the fact that the city could guarantee the cooperation of the local electric provider, which the author mentions being a key player in sharing utility poles and buried conduit. Another part of the plan is to employ few locals and build across Kansas City a fiber-optic network that it says will transmit data up to 100 times faster than conventional broadband, starting in 2012. Over the years Google has been encouraging users to begin watching more and more television via the Internet especially because Google now owns YouTube. Essentially the future goal is to "feed programming to tablets or smartphones using Google's Android software, or to televisions connected to the Internet through Google TV." Who knows what they will do next at this rate it seems as though the Google corporation has the power to take over the world, but for now just simply transforming and upgrading the way we consume our media.
Dragon TV gets a jump on Apple, brings quality voice control to living rooms
By Louise Henninger Article
This article is relevant to the change in production and the consumption of technological innovation. Apple seems to always be the first company that comes out with the next "hot" item and the rest of the companies are left in the dust trying to catch up and create an equally great products. According to this article though, Dragon got a jump start on creating a television that allows you to use your voice to maneuver through normal activity that a remote is used for. This new television can be compared, to an extent, to Siri from the Iphone 4 because "It will let you navigate to a specific channel by saying its name or number, watch a program by saying its name, or find content by saying a specific actor’s name (“find dramas with Gary Oldman”). Of course social network access is also integrated, letting you say “send update to Facebook."" This television will eliminate the need for a remote and create less stress when the remote goes missing.
Amazon Instant Stream strikes a deal with Viacom to take on Netflix and other competitors
The major media conglomerate Viacom and Amazon.com have teamed up to add more than 15,000 titles to the Amazon Instant Stream library for their Prime members. In her article, “Amazon Sweetens Prime Deal With More Instant Vid Titles,” Erika Morphy with the E-Commerce Times reports this “licensing agreement” and suggests the long-term potential for Amazon could undermine the success of Netflix.
Morphy proposes that although the deal with Viacom may mean defeat for Netflix and other competitors, experts predict the addition will advance Amazon as a site for “one-stop shopping.” Netflix’s battle to share the market with competitors may be further impaired by Morphy’s assertion of an inevitable rise in price as their annual content provider fees are bound to expand. She also notes their continued struggle to recover from last years PR disaster may also contribute to the company’s fight to remain on top.
While Amazon’s prices are noticeably competitive—approximately $20 cheaper per year than Netflix—many consumers are drawn to their diverse products. According to amazon.com, Prime members receive free two-day shipping on purchases, instant streaming video, and access to Kindle Books. The product diversity offered to Prime members of Amazon means less time is spent elsewhere, and more time purchasing on their site. Moreover, Morphy found that Sally Mounts, president of Auctus Consulting Group, believes Amazon’s deal with Viacom will, “not only steal market share from Netflix, but also expand the market considerably.”
How Hulu Could Kill Off Nielsen Ratings and Improve Television
In the article entitled, “How Hulu Could Kill Off Nielsen Ratings and Improve Television” from the February 15, 2012 edition of Venturebeat.com, a website that talks about technology, money and innovation, Tom Cheredar addresses Hulu’s new show Battleground, which is the website’s first scripted original series. The interesting, and most important aspect of this new show, is that with the show comes Hulu’s new plan to measure viewership. This plan has the potential to “make a huge difference to the survival of shows that have a dedicated following but don’t necessarily command a particular time slot.” Essentially, this plan is bound to shake up the television industry.
Battleground is a half-hour dramedy about “a campaign staff that’s trying to win a Wisconsin senatorial election for an underdog candidate.” Not only are the show’s producers, actors and directors highly accredited, but the show is one of the first high-profile series that is completely centered on web viewership. Because the show is circulated as streaming through video and not through a television set, it is not based off of the standard rating system. So, Hulu says that it is planning on determining it’s success by “the level of activity surrounding [the show],” which includes “total viewing audience, comments and discussion, social media interactions, etc.” This way of measurement is actually beneficial for a number of reasons.
First, it is a much more “honest and accurate” way to measure the ratings. The article states that the current way to measure the ratings (Nielsen) is unfit because “it’s based on a sample of the population measured by a single company.” TV ratings indicate more whether people are watching a TV show, and less whether they actually like the show. If Hulu looks at the activity of individuals talking about their show, then they can see whether people are caring enough to talk about it or not. Essentially, it’s a much more “honest representation” of what the people are thinking.
Second, new shows that are premiering are less likely to get canceled prematurely. With Nielson Ratings, original television shows that hit the airwaves and didn’t immediately draw in a large enough audience to generate advertising revenue for the networks to be satisfied with, got canceled. But with Hulu, original shows are more likely to get at least a full season to validate what their show has to offer. Hulu’s goal is not trying to find amazing shows that are trying to fill some sort of prime-time schedule; it seems as if they’re just trying to just give new shows a place to try to find an audience.
Lastly, Hulu gives television networks the platform to create “more creative and unique shows,” as opposed to shows that are simply created just to appeal to the rating system. The current rating system rewards television shows “that appeal to the highest number of people across all demographics and time slots." Hulu's new show is not being put on the air for a number rating, so they are able to have more creative control with their show, then say a show on a major cable network trying to reach a certain demographic or audience.
Overall, this is important because it is paving the way for new televisions shows to be broadcasts in different platforms, “breaking new ground in the way of premium original programming.” Hulu is owned by three of the largest broadcast TV networks NBC, ABC and Fox, so their plan could ultimately bring about a new measurement of how television shows are rated, created and budgeted. In the end, the success of Hulu can only be based on whether it is able to create “quality content that’s on par with top TV network programming.”
In October, YouTube announced the creation of over 100 television-style niche channels set to roll out in 2012 in hopes of competing with network and cable television content. This recent piece in The New Yorker explores the creative forces behind the initiative and lays out the ways the company is hoping to shake the television industry at its core.
The Google-owned video service sees television’s future as further developing into an even more fragmented niche medium which will present thousands of channels to choose from.
While airtime on TV is scarce and expensive, YouTube content is infinite and much cheaper to produce. This allows YouTube to create niche channels for smaller targeted audiences that they say will ultimately be more engaged and more quantifiable than traditional TV ratings, an ideal combo for advertisers.
The company understood that the huge advantage television had over YouTube was screen time. People stay much longer in front of the television than they spend at once on YouTube. This is the reason why it partnered with professional writers, directors, and producers to create original premium content for the site, TV-style content that will make viewers stay longer on the channel. Some of the big names ited for the project include Madonna, Amy Poehler and the creator of C.S.I. These professionals gain from the creative liberty YouTube will ensure them, while it becomes up to the audience, as opposed to the traditional TV executives, to decide what is worth watching.
With YouTube’s expectations that most people will own Wi-Fi-enabled devices on their televisions within a few years, and if these channels take off and succeed in attracting viewers, they have the potential to shake the industry and become a threatening competition for network and cable television. Its success could also be synonym of more content and quality control for viewers.
"News that Google applied to the FCC in December for a satellite receiving station license in Iowa is now fueling speculation that it may be doing that to bundle Internet and TV services in Kansas City." The article justifies Google decision to conduct a "trial-run" in Kansas because of how small Kansas City is over 1,100 other cities. This was partly due to the fact that the city could guarantee the cooperation of the local electric provider, which the author mentions being a key player in sharing utility poles and buried conduit. Another part of the plan is to employ few locals and build across Kansas City a fiber-optic network that it says will transmit data up to 100 times faster than conventional broadband, starting in 2012. Over the years Google has been encouraging users to begin watching more and more television via the Internet especially because Google now owns YouTube. Essentially the future goal is to "feed programming to tablets or smartphones using Google's Android software, or to televisions connected to the Internet through Google TV." Who knows what they will do next at this rate it seems as though the Google corporation has the power to take over the world, but for now just simply transforming and upgrading the way we consume our media.
Dragon TV gets a jump on Apple, brings quality voice control to living rooms
By Louise Henninger
Article
This article is relevant to the change in production and the consumption of technological innovation. Apple seems to always be the first company that comes out with the next "hot" item and the rest of the companies are left in the dust trying to catch up and create an equally great products. According to this article though, Dragon got a jump start on creating a television that allows you to use your voice to maneuver through normal activity that a remote is used for. This new television can be compared, to an extent, to Siri from the Iphone 4 because "It will let you navigate to a specific channel by saying its name or number, watch a program by saying its name, or find content by saying a specific actor’s name (“find dramas with Gary Oldman”). Of course social network access is also integrated, letting you say “send update to Facebook."" This television will eliminate the need for a remote and create less stress when the remote goes missing.
Amazon Instant Stream strikes a deal with Viacom to take on Netflix and other competitorsBy Rachel Strasburg
Article
Amazon.com
The major media conglomerate Viacom and Amazon.com have teamed up to add more than 15,000 titles to the Amazon Instant Stream library for their Prime members. In her article, “Amazon Sweetens Prime Deal With More Instant Vid Titles,” Erika Morphy with the E-Commerce Times reports this “licensing agreement” and suggests the long-term potential for Amazon could undermine the success of Netflix.
Morphy proposes that although the deal with Viacom may mean defeat for Netflix and other competitors, experts predict the addition will advance Amazon as a site for “one-stop shopping.” Netflix’s battle to share the market with competitors may be further impaired by Morphy’s assertion of an inevitable rise in price as their annual content provider fees are bound to expand. She also notes their continued struggle to recover from last years PR disaster may also contribute to the company’s fight to remain on top.
While Amazon’s prices are noticeably competitive—approximately $20 cheaper per year than Netflix—many consumers are drawn to their diverse products. According to amazon.com, Prime members receive free two-day shipping on purchases, instant streaming video, and access to Kindle Books. The product diversity offered to Prime members of Amazon means less time is spent elsewhere, and more time purchasing on their site. Moreover, Morphy found that Sally Mounts, president of Auctus Consulting Group, believes Amazon’s deal with Viacom will, “not only steal market share from Netflix, but also expand the market considerably.”
How Hulu Could Kill Off Nielsen Ratings and Improve Television
By: Samantha Hirsch
Source
In the article entitled, “How Hulu Could Kill Off Nielsen Ratings and Improve Television” from the February 15, 2012 edition of Venturebeat.com, a website that talks about technology, money and innovation, Tom Cheredar addresses Hulu’s new show Battleground, which is the website’s first scripted original series. The interesting, and most important aspect of this new show, is that with the show comes Hulu’s new plan to measure viewership. This plan has the potential to “make a huge difference to the survival of shows that have a dedicated following but don’t necessarily command a particular time slot.” Essentially, this plan is bound to shake up the television industry.
Battleground is a half-hour dramedy about “a campaign staff that’s trying to win a Wisconsin senatorial election for an underdog candidate.” Not only are the show’s producers, actors and directors highly accredited, but the show is one of the first high-profile series that is completely centered on web viewership. Because the show is circulated as streaming through video and not through a television set, it is not based off of the standard rating system. So, Hulu says that it is planning on determining it’s success by “the level of activity surrounding [the show],” which includes “total viewing audience, comments and discussion, social media interactions, etc.” This way of measurement is actually beneficial for a number of reasons.
First, it is a much more “honest and accurate” way to measure the ratings. The article states that the current way to measure the ratings (Nielsen) is unfit because “it’s based on a sample of the population measured by a single company.” TV ratings indicate more whether people are watching a TV show, and less whether they actually like the show. If Hulu looks at the activity of individuals talking about their show, then they can see whether people are caring enough to talk about it or not. Essentially, it’s a much more “honest representation” of what the people are thinking.
Second, new shows that are premiering are less likely to get canceled prematurely. With Nielson Ratings, original television shows that hit the airwaves and didn’t immediately draw in a large enough audience to generate advertising revenue for the networks to be satisfied with, got canceled. But with Hulu, original shows are more likely to get at least a full season to validate what their show has to offer. Hulu’s goal is not trying to find amazing shows that are trying to fill some sort of prime-time schedule; it seems as if they’re just trying to just give new shows a place to try to find an audience.
Lastly, Hulu gives television networks the platform to create “more creative and unique shows,” as opposed to shows that are simply created just to appeal to the rating system. The current rating system rewards television shows “that appeal to the highest number of people across all demographics and time slots." Hulu's new show is not being put on the air for a number rating, so they are able to have more creative control with their show, then say a show on a major cable network trying to reach a certain demographic or audience.
Overall, this is important because it is paving the way for new televisions shows to be broadcasts in different platforms, “breaking new ground in the way of premium original programming.” Hulu is owned by three of the largest broadcast TV networks NBC, ABC and Fox, so their plan could ultimately bring about a new measurement of how television shows are rated, created and budgeted. In the end, the success of Hulu can only be based on whether it is able to create “quality content that’s on par with top TV network programming.”
How YouTube Is Creating the Future of Television John Seabrook, The New Yorker; January 6, 2012By Celine Fusella
In October, YouTube announced the creation of over 100 television-style niche channels set to roll out in 2012 in hopes of competing with network and cable television content. This recent piece in The New Yorker explores the creative forces behind the initiative and lays out the ways the company is hoping to shake the television industry at its core.
The Google-owned video service sees television’s future as further developing into an even more fragmented niche medium which will present thousands of channels to choose from.
While airtime on TV is scarce and expensive, YouTube content is infinite and much cheaper to produce. This allows YouTube to create niche channels for smaller targeted audiences that they say will ultimately be more engaged and more quantifiable than traditional TV ratings, an ideal combo for advertisers.
The company understood that the huge advantage television had over YouTube was screen time. People stay much longer in front of the television than they spend at once on YouTube. This is the reason why it partnered with professional writers, directors, and producers to create original premium content for the site, TV-style content that will make viewers stay longer on the channel. Some of the big names ited for the project include Madonna, Amy Poehler and the creator of C.S.I. These professionals gain from the creative liberty YouTube will ensure them, while it becomes up to the audience, as opposed to the traditional TV executives, to decide what is worth watching.
With YouTube’s expectations that most people will own Wi-Fi-enabled devices on their televisions within a few years, and if these channels take off and succeed in attracting viewers, they have the potential to shake the industry and become a threatening competition for network and cable television. Its success could also be synonym of more content and quality control for viewers.