YouTube TV comes to TVs, TiVo BOLT VOX gets real, and whether we want Netflix after shows.
CordKillers: Ep. 193 – Archduke Content
Recorded: October 30 2017
Guest: None
Intro Video
Primary Target
- YouTube is taking on TV on its home turf, and it’s starting to win
– YouTube says viewers watch 100 million hours of clips a day in the living room, up 70% in the last year. Google uses that to mean TVs connected to the Internet not sitting on your couch with your laptop or phone. YouTube users overall watch a billion hours of video a day. - YouTube TV is rolling out on Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, and more
– Monday YouTube rolled out a YouTube TV app for Android TV and Xbox One. Apps will roll out in the coming weeks for Apple TV, Roku, and smart TVs from Samsung, Sony, and LG. YouTube has no rollout plans for Amazon Fire TV devices. The TV-based apps will have a full grid programming guide and let users scroll through a transparent sidebar of channels while video stays playing. It also supports voice search.
How to Watch
- TiVo officially announces its voice-controlled DVRs, the BOLT VOX and Mini VOX
– TiVo confirmed the launch of the 4K BOLT VOX and Mini Vox which include voice control from the remote. TiVo’s voice search has some context sensitivity allowing refinements on the fly. The BOLT VOX will come in 500GB and 1 TB sizes with 4 tuners for OTA and cable at $199 and $299 each. A 3 TB model has 6 tuners but only supports cable for $499. The Mini costs $179.99. The TiVO Vox remote will also be sold separately for $39.99 for existing BOLT, Roamio and Mini customers. The new VOX products go on sale October 29th. - TiVo’s revamped interface is available for existing DVRs
– As of October 29th, you can visit TiVo’s website and request an upgrade to your Bolt, Mini or Roamio set-top box. It’ll take “2-3 hours” before you can force the download, but you don’t have to wait for TiVo to push the new design on its own
What to Watch
- Netflix is launching a Stranger Things after show
– Stranger Things has a 7-episode after show on Netflix called Beyond Stranger Things. Netflix means it to be watched after completing the whole season. - Netflix Cancels ‘House Of Cards’, Says It’s “Deeply Troubled” Over Kevin Spacey Claims
– Netflix will not renew House of Cards after the current 6th season is released. The 6th season just began production and is expected to be released in mid-2018. Star Trek Discovery star Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed News that House of Cards star Kevin Spacey sexual harassed him at a party in 1986 when Rapp was 14. Netflix and production house Media Rights Capital released a statement saying the companies are “deeply troubled” by the news. Sources tell TVLine that the decision to cancel it was made months ago. - House of Cards to End With Season 6
What We’re Watching
- Brian: Firefly, Stranger Things (through ep 4? 5?) More Mindhunter
- Tom: Firefly (The Message), Stranger Things (Season 2), Mr. Robot (303), Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek: Discovery
- On the Lookout: Sniffer
Front Lines
- Hulu’s CEO is going to run Sony TV, and another Fox exec is going to run Hulu
– Mike Hopkins, formerly of Fox, who has been CEO of Hulu since 2013, is leaving to run Sony TV where he will report to new Sony Pictures Entertainment boss Tony Vinciquerra. Randy Freer. President and COO of Fox TV will become CEO of Hulu. - DirecTV to Launch Android TV-Based OTT Set-Top Box
– A new FCC filing shows that DirecTV plans to offer a new streaming set top box based on Google’s Android TV with no built in satelite connectivity or hooks into the company’s current Genie hardware. The documentation in the filing descirbes the box as an over-the-top streaming service box, with access to the Google Play Store and Ethernet, digital audio, HDMI and USB ports. - Roku Wants to Start Streaming to Third-Party Devices
– Variety reports Roku will bring its streaming videos channel to its mobile apps. The Roku Channel streams free ad-supported movies. Roku generates 41 percent of its revenue from what it calls its platform business, which includes advertising and licensing fees. - Apple’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Hollywood Is the Opposite of Edgy
– Bloomberg reports Tim Cook delayed the release of Carpool Karaoke because of foul language. In fact Apple’s original content is expected to be comedies and dramas with broad appeal and suitable for all ages. - Comcast Q3 Earnings Beat Expectations Despite 134,000 Cable Subscriber Loss
– Comcast lost 134,000 residential video subscribers while adding 214,000 Internet subscribers. Last year at this time Comcast was bucking the trend by adding video subscribers in modest amounts. Comcast overall did well. NBC Universal saw a drop with the absence of the Olympics but NBC’s content licensing haul was up 20% to $440 million. - Regal Cinemas Plan May Let You Pay Less for Flops, More for Hits
– Regal Entertainment Group plans to test Dynamic Pricing in 2018. The idea would be to charge different prices depending on how popular a movie is.
Dispatches from the Front
Hello Tom, Brian and guest.
I can’t thank you enough for recommending the movies anywhere app. Not only did I get 5 free movies for linking my Google Play and Amazon accounts, I now have access to all the special features that I didn’t even know were available for my movies. Hours and hours of director’s commentary, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, gag reels and production stills. I buy most of my movies on Google and I watch them usually on my Roku device. Nowhere in the app on the Roku for Google movies or even the app on my Android device, as far as I can tell, is there a place to access the special features. Maybe I’ve completely missed something, but I am completely blown away that they don’t make this stuff available on their own apps. Anyway, thank you again. Love love love the show.
– Adam
Hi Tom (and Brian),
A few weeks ago, you were talking about the new Movies Anywhere app, and you mentioned how Ultraviolet movies purchased on FandangoNow didn’t transfer to Movies Anywhere via VUDU. I experienced the same thing with a 4K code from BestBuy for pre-ordering Spiderman Homecoming that redeemed only on FandangoNow. Well I was digging around my iTunes library with week and noticed Spiderman Homecoming in there. It took a while, but the movie eventually showed up in my Movies Anywhere library. You might want to check for those movies you were missing before, they might just be there now!
– David
Just listened to latest episode and want to add the way I watch Star Trek Discovery is I have a tablet I just throw on VPN save discovery offline and then airplane mode it and watch it on my commute. I don’t even think CBS go gives option for offline viewing does it.
– Jack
Hey Tom and Brian, I wanted to toss a question out to the cord killers audience to see if I can get some suggestions. I have a Hard drive filled with videos for my 2 year old daughter to watch when we are bored with streaming options. Its mostly full seasons of young children’s television. I get tired of watching the same show repeatedly but don’t want to have to make decisions like which show to switch to and I don’t really want to manage a static playlist but I don’t really want the complete randomness of loading all the videos and hitting shuffle. So I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to dynamically generate a playlist based on some loosely defined “time blocks” for lack of a better word at the moment. where I could maybe say play 3 videos from folder A then 2 Videos from B etc. Love The show!
– Justin
As far as neilson numbers for Netflix, I wanted to bring up a point about why their numbers will be even more pointless. Neilson works by taking a sample of people watching a show at a time and extrapolating that sample to the US audience. That works if you know that people have more or less the same choice of what to watch at a certain time. With Netflix any show can be watched at anytime and everyone’s LOLOM (list of list of movies – their term for the home page) is unique and different everytime you start Netflix. So making statistical extrapolations from a sample is pointless. Though knowing how corporations and ad agencies work (from the last 6 years of working) they will probably be used as cover to prove what ever point they need at the moment.
Love the show and keep up the good work. Love being a Patron
– Martin
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