Lamarr Wilson joins us to talk about HBO and Netflix’s size debate and whether the Olympics are anti-cordkillers.
CordKillers: Ep. 6 Get off your apps!
Recorded: February 10 2014
Guest: Lamarr Wilson
Intro Video:
Primary Target
- HBO Makes More Money Than Netflix — For Now
- Time Warner revealed HBO numbers Wednesday
Netflix generated $1.2 million in last quarter of 2013. HBO generated $1.3 billion in revenue in the last quarter of 2013.
HBO makes $1.791 billion operating income 2013 (Netflix $228 million)
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said on the earnings call that HBO and Cinemax added about 2 million customers last year, while Netflix grew by 6 million, and added more than 2 million customers just in Q4.
The company declared in its 2013 Annual Report this week that it intends to spend close to $3 billion on content in 2014. — will spend around $6.2 billion on content over the next 36 months. Netflix Plans expansion in continental Europe.
- Netflix’s sales are now basically on par with HBO’s
- Netflix plans to spend $3 billion on content this year
Secondary Target
Signal Intellegence
Gear Up
Under Surveillance
Front Lines
- Twitch ranked 4th in peak internet traffic, ahead of Valve, Facebook, Hulu
- Justin.tv, owner of video game streaming service Twitch, changes its name to Twitch Interactive
- Hulu signs deals for ‘Fraggle Rock’ spin-off, ‘Cheers’ and more CBS classics
- Here’s A First Look At Mike Judge’s Hilarious Take On Silicon Valley
- A third season of ‘House of Cards’ is coming to Netflix
- Watch a 15-Minute Teaser for the New Game of Thrones Season
- Ken Burns’ New iPad App Turns U.S. History Into Beautiful Mixtapes
On Our Radar
On Screen
- Brian: Archer, The Lego Movie, The After
- Tom: Archer, Top Chef finale, Father Ted, The After, Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, Olympics (OTA)
- Lamarr: Marvel Avengers Assembled, Hulk Agents of Smash, Agents of Shield, Helix, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones Season 2
Dispatches from the Front
- Big thanks to Jay in Toledo who’s sent us great feedback from the TV side of things and hooked us up with an interview with Jerry Anderson at his station in Toledo! You rock Jay!!
- Check out one of my fave web series, the very funny @SubmissionsOnly. http://www.afollowspot.com/2014/02/its-date-submissions-only-comes-back.html
Lisa Glassberg
- I honestly don’t believe I did this https://soundcloud.com/sebgonz/cordkillers
@sebgonz
- Message: On the cordcutting decision… I set my directv account on vacation mode (six months) just to try cordcutting. After setting up a windows media center system I can now kill the directv account with confidence as I’ll be ready to counter any argument with the Directv retention department. Great Show!
George
- I’m proud to say after a long time watching another show about cord cutting and moving to Cord Killers after it was cancelled about a month ago, that I have taken the plunge and cancelled DirecTV.
I cancelled my service on the day of the Big Game, and was able to watch the death of the Broncos just fine with my brand-spanking new Leaf antenna. Go figure.
I had been wanting to cut the cord for a while. Holding me back was my local NHL team, and wrestling. The WWE Network announcement was a game changer for me. A complete no-brainer purchase for me, not just for the PPVs. The weekly shows would be made available on it immediately after they air, and I don’t normally watch Monday Night Raw until Tuesday anyway. I was suddenly only being held back by arbitrary blackout decisions enforced by a regional sports channel. Right as I began seriously considering the feasibility of cord cutting my first year of DirecTV passed and my bill increased by $40 a month. It was a sign.
I put together a spreadsheet showing what my costs would be and I would be saving over $1000 a year. That included a way to watch the Carolina Hurricanes on NHL GameCenter Live. The decision was made. I got the usual retention offers, but their best effort wouldn’t even save me $500 a year.
What was really interesting to me was that I didn’t get any real fight after mentioning the WWE Network. I was expecting to have to explain the crazy notion that I don’t have to spend $55 on a pay-per-view ($65 for WrestleMania). Instead I got sad understanding from the other end of the line.
Charles in Raleigh, NC
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmPuGnaNHdHd5VDZCTFgxYk9WMTFrNDYwV1hVbEE&usp=sharing
- Hey guys, after episode 5 I finally decided to get rid of my cable with Verizon. They offered to charge me $94 for internet and basic cable but I turned them down. I went from paying $213, which also included home phone service I stopped using to $106 a month for a 75/35mbps connection. Thanks guys, keep up the work.
Mike
- I’m a long-time listener of yours from the TWiT days, and have happily followed you to the new cordkillers show, to which I donate through Patreon.I just listened to the most recent episode, and there’s something that bothers me as a listener. When comparing devices to use to cord cut, consistently, there is misinformation pushed about the AppleTV and airplay. As is often the case, the impression is given that AirPlay only supports mirroring mode, in which essentially the app takes over the screen, and is mirrored to the television, rendering the device (tablet/phone) un-useful for any other purpose. This is always contrasted against the Chromecast, which does not dominate the device after the video is slung from the device (android/ios) to the Chromecast. This is NOT the case at all. Mirroring is but one AirPlay mode. Almost all apps though support the second mode, where, just like the Chromecast, the video is targeted to the AppleTV, but then the device is free for other work. Often, I sling a Netflix, YouTube, DailyMotion, etc, etc, etc video to the AppleTV using a button that looks just like the Chromecast button, then continue on to read my email, play a game, etc. It absolutely does NOT dominate the device. Every app doesn’t support it, but most apps do. I think by continuously misrepresenting the capabilities of the AppleTV, which supported this years in advance of the Chromecast, you are spreading misinformation. I say this as a person who owns Android and Apple devices, and has both an AppleTV and a Chromecast. I just tire of the misinformation out there.
Bob
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