ITV

Tag: Time Warner Cable

  • Three million homes have no CBS service via TWC

    Three million homes have no CBS service via TWC

    MUMBAI: As Time Warner Cable and CBS continue their negotiating deadlock, Starcom MediaVest researcher Sam Armando has discovered how widespread the blackouts are individually in the New York, Los Angeles and Dallas markets. TWC has refused to make the figures available.

     

    Armando writes in a blog post that 17 per cent of homes in both New York and Dallas are without the local CBS station, while the figure climbs to 26 per cent in the Los Angeles market.

     

    On a national level, the number of homes with CBS-owned local stations blacked out is around 3.2 million, according to CBS. Showtime is off the air across TWC’s national footprint, as TWC and CBS continue to battle over terms of re-upping a carriage deal. The blackouts started 2 August.

     

    CBS has called on talent to encourage TWC customers to switch providers and on Monday brought the Manning brothers into the fold. A newspaper ad in New York might suggest CBS thinks the blackouts could continue until 15 September.

     

    “You could miss this historic matchup,” the ad reads, referring to the New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos game on that Sunday, with Peyton and Eli Manning facing off.

     

    The ad also suggests viewers could miss the much-anticipated college game between Alabama and Texas A&M on 14 September “featuring Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.” That copy could become moot any day now as Manziel is under NCAA investigation for receiving payments for his autograph; he could be suspended for the game.

  • Apple TV gets Disney Channels app, Microsoft’s Xbox offers Time Warner Cable

    MUMBAI: Apple and Microsoft have added new channels to their streaming video devices that boost their available content. It’s a step forward for both gadgets but doesn’t break the a la carte wall just yet. Apple TV was upgraded to include apps for Disney channels – pay TV subscription required – Vevo and the Weather Channel, while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console added a subscription-contingent Time Warner Cable app. The latter offers access to 300 TV channels including CNN, AMC and Comedy Central.

    Blair Westlake, corporate VP of Microsoft’s media and entertainment group, told the Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog that his company had considered licensing channels directly from media companies to create a service similar to the kinds of online cable TV products planned by Intel and Sony. “We looked at it and said if we can deliver an app or apps like the one we are lighting up today” with Time Warner Cable, that’s “really what people expect.”

  • Time Warner Cable supplies customers with rabbit ears “TV antennas” during CBS Blackout

    Time Warner Cable supplies customers with rabbit ears “TV antennas” during CBS Blackout

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable is trying out a traditional solution to its longstanding CBS blackout problem. The cable operator has started offering free television antennas to help its customers continue watching their favorite CBS shows via broadcast signals. The offer is particularly effective in major cities including Los Angeles, Dallas, and New York.

    The cable company notified its customers in affected areas about its latest offer that would serve as a temporary solution to the CBS blackout. It has posted the message on its Website and has sent communication through email. Time Warner Cable is giving away basic indoor antennas to its subscribers. The tool could be claimed at any Time Warner Cable store. It is also offering a $20 voucher to each customer who prefers to purchase TV antennas at any Best Buy location.

  • lost 2.5 mn viewers between 2010 and 2012: FCC

    lost 2.5 mn viewers between 2010 and 2012: FCC

    MUMBAI: According to recently released FCC data from their annual report on cable industry competition, the cable industry lost roughly 2.5 million video subscribers between 2010 and 2012. According to the FCC, cable operators laid claim to 57.3 million pay TV subscribers at the end of 2012, down from 59.8 million in 2010. 

    Most of these customers flocked to telcoTV, with AT&T U-Verse increasing their subscriber total from three million to 4.1 million between 2010 and 2012, and Verizon FiOS’s total subscriber total going from 3.5 million to 4.5 million during the same stretch. Verizon and AT&T recently announced they’ve both passed the five million cable TV subscriber mark, giving them more TV customers than all but the nation’s two largest traditional cable companies: Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

    Cord cutters make up a very small but growing part of the equation as well, with even the industry’s biggest cord cutting deniers now acknowledging the glacial but inevitable trend toward less expensive internet options for many users.

    Meanwhile, the FCC report also pointed out that the soaring costs of programming is slowly but surely driving many of the nation’s smaller cable operators out of business. “800 cable systems serving over 35,000 subscribers have closed mostly in small and rural communities, leaving those communities without any wireline MVPD (cable video) service,” claims the report.

  • Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable join to manage software in STBs

    Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable join to manage software in STBs

    NEW DELHI: Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable have joined hands to manage the Reference Design Kit (RDK) software being used in set-top boxes (STBs).

    The new venture RDK Management will manage the RDK licensing, community support and training, as well as code management.

    Comcast will contribute RDK components into the new entity, including the RDK code and specifications, related intellectual property rights, associated contracts and licenses which will be transitioned to the RDK Management.

    The RDK is a pre-integrated software bundle, developed and licensed by Comcast to create a common framework for powering tru2way, IP or hybrid STBs and gateway devices and accelerate the deployment of video services.

    RDK works with the CableLabs OCAP Reference Implementation software along with other open source components.

    The new entity will provide continuity with the existing licensing program and continue to offer a licensing program similar to the existing program. In addition, the new entity will set up an expanded support program to provide technical support to RDK licensees as operators more broadly deploy the RDK solution.

    Since its introduction in early 2012, more than 100 licensees have joined the RDK community, including OEMs, systems integrators, SOCs and software vendors as well as MVPDs to create a community of innovators focused on bringing rich, multi-screen TV home entertainment experiences to consumers faster.

  • Cox said to discuss merger with Malone-backed Charter

    Cox said to discuss merger with Malone-backed Charter

    MUMBAI: Cox Communications, the third-largest US cable provider, has held talks about combining with Charter Communications, according to reports on the matter.

    Cox president Pat Esser has discussed a deal with representatives from Liberty Media, which owns a 27 per cent stake in Charter. The structure of a potential deal hasn’t been determined; including which company might be the acquirer.

    Liberty and Charter are also still pursuing an acquisition of Time Warner Cable, the people said. Billionaire John Malone, who controls Englewood, Colorado-based Liberty, has said he wants Charter to get bigger so it can gain leverage in negotiations with TV networks, which have sought higher prices for the use of their programming.

    Cox has 4.8 million video subscribers, while Charter has 4.4 million, according to Craig Moffett, an analyst at Moffett Research LLC in New York.

    Malone sees mergers as an appealing way for the cable industry to cope with the lower video profit margins that have come from higher programming costs and fewer new customers.

    Malone’s strategy isn’t just about traditional cable. The high-speed internet connections that companies like Charter provide to US households are the key to the future of the TV industry, Malone said at the June meeting. He cited the growing viewership of streaming-video services, also known as over-the-top.

    Dissolving the trust is a step toward Cox gaining flexibility to merge the cable company.

  • Time Warner Cable, CBS at loggerheads over distribution deal

    Time Warner Cable, CBS at loggerheads over distribution deal

    MUMBAI: Although neither side is taking shots at each other publicly, there is an undercurrent of tension between Time Warner Cable (TWC) and CBS Corp as the two companies attempt to negotiate a new distribution deal.

    TWC‘s agreement to carry CBS-owned TV stations including KCBS in Los Angeles, the basic cable channels CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian, and the pay network Showtime expired at the end of June. Since then, there have been a couple of extensions, the latest one running to a few days before the end of the month.

     

    CBS is looking for a hefty increase. Chief executive Leslie Moonves has not been shy about making the case that the network should be getting more than popular cable channels.TNT, for example, gets over $1 per-subscriber, per-month, according to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan.

    CBS has yet to have a so-called retransmission consent negotiation reach the point where its signal went off a pay-TV distributor because of a contract dispute.

    Another component complicating these talks is Showtime. Because it is a premium channel, consumers opt to subscribe to it rather than having to take it as part of their pay-TV package. It is unlikely that Showtime would be yanked along with CBS‘ other channels as such a move would take money out of both companies‘ pockets.

    Neither side is commenting publicly on the negotiations.

  • Time Warner Cable to offer content directly to Samsung Smart TVs without STB

    Time Warner Cable to offer content directly to Samsung Smart TVs without STB

    NEW DELHI: Time Warner Cable (TWC) has made available its TWC TV application on compatible Samsung Smart TVs to enable customers to see television without a set-top box.

    TWC video subscribers will have instant access to 5,000 Video on Demand (VOD) titles from nearly 100 networks.

    Samsung Electronics America content & product solutions VP Eric Anderson said: “The application will provide existing Time Warner Cable subscribers with more control and choice for how they access their Time Warner Cable content over their Samsung Smart TVs without having to be tethered to their cable box.”

    “SmartTV is an important product for Samsung in the TV market. In April 2012, global market research agency IHS said shipments of televisions in 2012 amounted to 238.5 million units, down 6.3 per cent from 254.6 million in 2011. Shipments aren‘t expected to rise back to the 2011 level until 2015, when they will amount to 253.1 million units,” he adds.

    “Time Warner Cable is giving customers more flexibility in how they watch the content they love through our TWC TV application for Samsung Smart TVs,” said Video for Time Warner Cable senior VP & GM Mike Angus.

    The TWC TV application will be available for download initially on 2012 Samsung Smart TVs and the 2013 Samsung Smart TVs soon afterwards. Channel line-ups vary by market and depend on the video subscription package to which a customer subscribes.

  • Tivo gets $490 mn from settlement of patent litigation

    Tivo gets $490 mn from settlement of patent litigation

    MUMBAI: Tivo which develops digital video recorders in the US has settled its pending patent litigation with Motorola (now owned by Google and Arris), Cisco and Time Warner Cable. This way the parties have avoided going to trial.

    Tivo has agreed to enter into certain patent licensing arrangements with Arris, Cisco, and Google. As part of the settlement, Google and Cisco will pay Tivo an upfront lump-sum payment of $490 million, bringing the total from awards and settlements related to the use of certain Tivo intellectual property to roughly $1.6 billion.

    In February 2011, Motorola had accused Tivo of infringing on its patents for digital video recorders. Tivo then filed a counter-suit in March 2012.

    Tivo CEO and president Tom Rogers said, “We are pleased to reach an agreement that brings our pending litigation to an end and further underscores the significant value our distribution partners derive from TiVo‘s technological innovations and our shareholders derive from our investments in protecting TiVo‘s intellectual property.”

    “Further, this settlement significantly enhances our already strong balance sheet, bringing our cash position to over $1 billion before inclusion of future expected payments of at least $400 million from prior settlements. We intend to use our significant capital resources to drive shareholder value, including more aggressively returning capital to shareholders under our newly increased share repurchase authorisation and we will be increasing the size of our 10B5-1 trading plan as soon as permissible,” he added.

    “Importantly, we just recently closed one of our best quarters ever in terms of subscription growth, driven by a number of our existing operator deals in the US and abroad that are now fully up and running. As a result, we delivered our highest gross margin ever and solid MSO revenue growth of 98 per cent year-over-year, and we expect this MSO revenue growth will continue as we roll out additional deployments. So, as we look out beyond today‘s important settlement we believe our core operating business will continue to drive growth to both the top and bottom line.”

    As part of the settlement, TiVo and Motorola, Cisco, and Time Warner Cable agreed to dismiss all pending litigation between the companies. Tivo will recognise a portion of the payment as past damages during the second quarter and the remainder over time. The company intends to provide additional details regarding the timing of revenue recognition in its second quarter fiscal year 2014 earnings report. Further, as a result of this settlement, TiVo expects net income and Adjusted EBITDA to benefit from lower litigation spend in the remainder of its fiscal year ending 31 January 2014 and beyond.

  • Time Warner Cable to offer live mobile TV for iOS

    Time Warner Cable to offer live mobile TV for iOS

    MUMBAI: The Time Warner Cable (TWC) TV mobile app for iOS devices received an upgrade that now allows users to watch from anywhere some of the content which they predominantly viewed from home.

    Until recently, to watch any programming through the app, users had to have a connection to the TWC Wi-Fi router in one‘s home. With this service, if users are away from home, they can use any Wi-Fi hotspot and gain access to up to eleven live channels.

    The TWC TV app is free for Android devices, PCs, Macs and Roku Boxes, but at the moment it‘s only the iOS version that gets the “TV anywhere” upgrade.