The Very Best Coverage of Internet TV - No one else tracks OTT services, broadband, home networking and the proliferation of bandwidth-hungry UHD TVs – and their coming industry-wide impact. Issue 954 - November 6-12, 2015 Insider News. Outsider Views. The US Pay TV Business Is a Sinking Ship TOP HEADLINES -All the Major TV Networks Are Going pay TV providers in the States are busy testing WWE’s Global Internet Direct-to-Consumer OTT out new types of skinny bundles and streaming TV Channel Has 1.3m -Linear TV Is Gasping Its Last Breaths bundles in order to grow their shrinking pay TV Subs -It’s a Broadband Future for Cablecos subscriber bases, and leverage their broadband page 9 and Telcos networks. These efforts will accelerate in 2016, The latest quarterly earnings should prove as we see pay TV providers introduce more and Disney and ESPN Me- more flexibility and multi-platform innovation dia Networks Coming beyond any doubt that traditional linear TV is dead, and the pay TV business as we know it is for their bundle-based TV offerings. to PlayStation Vue And in the coming year, the economics page 12 undergoing a dramatic transformation. Pay TV companies, who are all also broadband of linear TV are poised to begin shifting Verizon and NBA companies (save for satcos) in the US, have dramatically away from overnight and real- Announce Content collectively reported a better-than-expected time ratings towards total, multi-platform Partnership Q3, but the trends already in motion won’t be audience measurements over longer time page 13 reversed. All the major TV networks know frames, to compensate for viewers’ insistence this, and are now signaling openly their plans on watching TV when they want, not according Periscope Now Avail- to aggressively pursue viewers directly through to a programming schedule. able on Living Room’s Internet-delivered subscription services. The shake-up in linear ratings will come as Silver Screen Meanwhile, the collective broadband TV networks begin pushing their own data page 14 subscriber base continues to grow. Broadband/ more seriously to advertisers, as Nielsen finally continued on page two Sckipio Gets Invest- ment from Intel page 15 Marvell’s G.hn Beats Extollo’s HomePlug ASSIA’s CloudCheck a AV2 in Lab & Field Tests Very High 95% Accu- rate at Wi-Fi Testing - Won in All Scenarios and in the Worst Background page 18 Case Environments - Marvell contracted for Network FX to In June 2015, CNET said the Extollo perform both the Lab Repeatable Power- Eero Claims Its Mesh- LANSocket 1500 power-line adapters, which line Testing and the Field Home Testing. based Wi-Fi Routers are based on HomePlug AV2, had the “best - Marvell purchased the Extollo adapters from Solve Homes’ Wi-Fi power-line performance to date.” At the end of Amazon on August 20, 2015. No firmware Problems last month, October 2015, the test lab Network upgrade was available on Extollo’s Web site. page 19 FX, a subsidiary of CableLabs, said that, Extollo’s adapters have Broadcom’s HPAV2 after conducting tests, G.hn adapters using MIMO power-line chipset. Marvell’s chips “performed better than the - Marvell provided Marvell-branded Extollo [HomePlug AV2] devices in the lab and adapters that are based on its reference in the field under a variety of test conditions in design and which it makes available to a single network and in multiple networks.” equipment makers. They are not available The main chipmakers promoting G.hn at retail but the exact same chips are (Marvell and Sigma Designs) and HP AV2 in Comtrend’s G.hn adapters that are (Broadcom and Qualcomm) are members of available at retail. Consumers can and CableLabs, which owns Network FX, as are should download the latest firmware from MoCA chip and equipment makers. Comtrend’s Web site. Amazon sells a pair continued on page four November 6-12, 2015 The US: continued from page ONE “No matter how rapidly the world continues to rolls out its more robust multi-platform measurements change, we have positioned ourselves to benefit,” and as competitors such as comScore begin to more Moonves said this week. The future looks bright aggressively challenge Nielsen in the TV currency for CBS, which announced this week it has begun market – ie in viewership data. creating programming exclusively for its OTT service Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes summed it up [See: CBS Is Now Creating Original Content for its nicely during his company’s quarterly earnings call Internet TV Service, pg 9]. this week. “Every day it becomes clearer that the trends CBS’ chief financial officer, Joseph Ianniello, echoed “Every day we anticipated are happening, and in some ways, his confidences and added: “As we continue to grow it becomes they’re happening even faster than we expected,” he our direct-to-consumer initiatives, we expect CBS All clearer that said. “For many consumers, the television viewing Access and Showtime over-the-top to be contributors the trends we experience is stuck in the Bronze Age.” to our operating income growth next year.” anticipated are Time Warner expects HBO Now, the stand along For TV Networks, It’s OTT or Die happening even OTT service, to begin contributing meaningfully to its There was no mincing of words during this latest faster than we income growth next year, too. These early movers will round of quarterly earnings calls: the TV networks were expected.” have the advantage in new Internet TV ecosystem. eager to discuss their future plans outside the traditional TV ecosystem as indicators of their companies’ strength On-Demand Audiences heading into the Internet TV future. Now Outpace Live Linear Audiences “We believe that the opportunities [of OTT] Meanwhile, the industry is getting ready to shed outweigh the challenges,” Chris Albrecht, CEO of live audience measurements, in favor of a broader Starz said this week. “We’re now looking at what’s perspective that will be better able to measure a clearly numerous opportunities for Starz to be show’s multi-platform and time-shifted audience. distributed in ways other than MVPDs.” Starz has “Our viewers are increasingly choosing when and decided it will launch a direct-to-consumer offering how they experience our programming,” said Lachlan next year. [See “Starz Gives in to Its Inevitable Murdoch, chairman of 21st Century Fox, speaking at Internet TV Future,” pg 8]. the company’s quarterly earnings call. “Live viewing 21st Century Fox’s CEO James Murdoch said this of television is contracting as a percentage of total week his company is considering a direct-to-consumer launch too, though he didn’t say for certain that the viewing, especially in the younger demographics company will do so. “IP streaming video construction, coveted by advertisers.” this is something that we’re very excited about,” There’s no question linear TV is on its way out. Murdoch said. “I think over time, the streaming Consumers have made clear they much more prefer to “Live viewing entertainment business and streaming television watch TV shows and movies according to their own of television business is much more attractive [than in the past].” personal schedules, not the TV program schedule. is contracting Discovery Communication’s CEO David Murdoch pointed to Fox’s show “Empire.” Its second as a percent- Zaslav made similar comments about launching an season premier garnered a total of 12 million viewers age of total OTT service in the States sometime in the future. across its live broadcast and same-day time-shifted viewing.” Discovery already operates an SVoD service across viewing. But the audience for that episode more than Europe, called Dplay. [See “Discovery Eyes Internet doubled across a 30-day span and across multiple TV Launch in US,” pg 10] platforms. That means more viewers watched the And CBS’ Les Moonves seemed eager to embrace premiere episode time-shifted than live. the chaos, as his company is the only over-the-air James Murdoch added that over half of the broadcast network to launch a direct-to-consumer company’s ad revenue is sold in the C7 window now. Internet TV service, and its pay TV network Showtime The same trends can be found across its other shows: was the second premium network to launch such a the audience for “Scream Queens” grows 130% when service, behind HBO. multiple-viewing is included. That means, once again, The US: continued on page THREE Page 2 ©2015 May not be copied or forwarded by e-mail, posted to a web site, faxed or copied in whole or in part. November 6-12, 2015 The US: continued from page TWO a fundamental shift in consumer appetite and the more viewers watch that show time-shifted than live. economics of the cable business model,” said Jason CBS reported similar trends in audience for some Cuomo, VP and senior analyst at Moody’s. In fact, of its shows. The season premiere of “Limitless” in Cuomo believes the growth in broadband will be September drew 10 million viewers; the audience for the only thing to save those companies whose main that episode grew to 17.5 million time-shifted in the money-maker has been pay TV. “The loss of video following two weeks, “and that number continues to subscribers is a fundamental weakness, but broadband rise as we speak,” Moonves said. “This phenomenon demand and pricing actions are more than fully is happening across our schedule.” offsetting the negative video trends,” Cuomo said. “This phenom- Fox’s nonlinear audience is growing by a third year- Broadband will become even more important to enon is hap- over-year; and 10 of CBS’ shows experience audience service providers as consumers watch more and more pening across increases of 3 million or more when nonlinear viewing video online.