TDG Opinions

Last week, I accepted an invitation to attend a media delegation hosted by the Israeli Export and International Cooperation Institute in conjunction with the Ministry of Trade. The goal was to present Israel’s new media efforts as technology represents about 25% of their $8 billion in exports. Through a whirlwind three days in blistering hot and humid Tel Aviv, I met with 20 companies all representing certain aspects of the new media industry. Some were pertaining to the markets TDG examines; others, not so much. ...

TiVo announced Thursday that Cox Communications would fully support and promote the DVR pioneers Premiere box and service throughout its cable system. The deal is a first for TiVo because it fully integrates Cox’ VoD library into the TiVo interface. It’s also a first for North American cable; Cox is the first company to make its full VoD library available through a retail product. But there’s a lot more to this deal than meets the eye. For Cox, it marks a radical departure from standard cable practices; a move that brings with it substantial risks as well as the potential for great rewards. ...

Three independent but related announcements on Monday reveal the power of the Internet to reinvent distribution. They also highlight the importance of net neutrality in maintaining the delicate balance that currently sustains the business models of some of the biggest online players. Google and Verizon talked about their plan for Net Neutrality, Netflix continued to shore up its streaming catalog and AT&T announced U-verse TV-Everywhere content to the mobile phone. All three announcements are interesting in themselves. But taken together they illustrate how even minor changes to the status quo could destroy the most robust of online business models....

When it comes to delivering Over the Top Video to the television, there are two models that encompass virtually every approach. Those that outright replace (supplant) paytv service and those that provide additional content to augment (supplement) paytv. If we look at some of the winners and the failures of the recent OTT market, there is evidence which model will dominate in the short term. ...

Thursday evening I had the dual chance to both test out Best Buy’s Movie Mode app at a screening of ‘Despicable Me’ and be a hero to my six-year-old who could see this highly anticipated movie before any of his friends. ...

Further evidence that Netflix is shaking off the shackles of a DVD rental business emerged Tuesday. Relativity Media, producers of such titles as “Get Him to the Greek” and “Robin Hood”, will allow Netflix to stream first-run theatrical films at the same time as HBO and Showtime. This agreement is good for Netflix as it reduces the expense of shipping a physical DVD to subscriber homes. But it’s also good for subscribers as they no longer must wait 2 days or more to receive the DVD. They can stream it immediately to the host of devices that run the Netflix client. ...

Today saw the loss of another OTT player as Move Networks, the pioneer of adaptive bitrate technology halted operations. Most of the remaining employees were released this morning. Few will be surprised by the announcement - Move’s challenges have been well discussed since last year’s big management shakeup....