Sony promises an Internet-only streaming service, so does Dish, but Sony’s got the machines to deliver it. Will that end up working against them?
CordKillers: Ep. 24 I don’t give a Ratchet’s Ass
Recorded: June 15, 2014
Guest: Justin Robert Young
Intro Video
Primary Target
- It’s Complicated, but Sony’s Pay TV Service Is Still “On Track”
- Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Shawn Layden tells Re/code
- – Internet-carried service on track coming to US later this year.
- – We probably wouldn’t throw the switch on all devices on Day One, simply because client management is tricky.
Secondary Target
- Dish’s upcoming internet TV service to target cord cutters and “cord haters”
- GM of Interactive and Advanced TV Adam Lowy at the TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco
- – “Cord cutters, cord nevers and what we call cord haters” will be the target audience of the new service
- – Fox Network SVP of Distribution Strategy and Development Sherry Brennan said that her company would like to sell its networks through all and any of these new services
Signal Intelligence
- Netflix receives new logo and subtle website makeover
- Netflix website got redesign
- – Includes a slightly transparent top bar and a palette of white and light greys.
- – Logo changed to simpler version the updated emblem uses flat, red text with minimal embellishment.
Gear Up
- Sony’s PlayStation TV Has the Makings of a Hit
- PlayStation TV Coming To US And Canada This Fall For $99
- – PlayStation TV game console (known as the PlayStation Vita TV abroad) is coming to the United States and Canada this fall.
- – $99 ($139 bundle with dual shock controller, memory card and Lego Movie video game)
- – Vita Games, PlayStation Now
- – Not playing up streaming video options, but Japanese version has several.
- – PS Vita already supports Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Crackle and Redbox Instant
Under surveillance
- Sony formally announces PlayStation original sci-fi series ‘Powers’
- Sony will create an original show for the PlayStation called “Powers”
- – Adaptation of graphic novel by Brian Michael Bendis
- – Elements of police procedurals, sci-fi, and fantasy, and follows a pair of detectives investigating people with superhero-like powers.
- – Free first episode to all (with registration) PlayStation Plus get access to whole series.
- – Ratchet&Clank scheduled for movie release to PlayStation in 2015
- – More to come
Front Lines
- AT&T said if it gets to buy DirecTV it will help create a strong national competitor
- -Can bundle broadband and video in ways it could not without the transaction. It also said there might be ‘upward pressure’ on standalone service. Do we want more bundling?
- Comcast will test a video distribution platform through its X1 cable set-top boxes.
- -It will allow content creators to upload videos viewable on a dedicated app. SVP of video Matt Strauss said the focus won’t be on user-generated video, but target audiences that see high value in certain types of niche content.
- Sonic the Hedgehog will become a movie thanks to Sony,
- -22 Jump Street Producer NEal Moritz and Marza Animation Planet. The Hollywood Reporter says we’ll see the return of Sonic’s long-time antagonist Dr. Eggman (née Robotnik). Anybody want to see Sonic on a big screen?
- Netflix will release 26 episodes of a revival of 1990s childrens show “The Magic School Bus 360” beginning in 2016.
- -Old episodes rank as one of the most popular educational programs in the company’s catalog. Does Netflix risk becoming the reboot factory?
- Zatz Not Funny discovered a new Slingbox model called M1 that looks like a typical video streaming box and has WiFi built in.
- -Could we be looking at a cheaper Slingbox with Roku-like functionality?
- Anime distributor Crunchyroll acquired video startup Redux
- -Redux does video discovery and will help Crunchyroll to improve discovery on its apps.
2014 Summer Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv/
- DTNS: $462,591,077
- TMS: $420,381,999
- Amtrekker: $397,100,217
- GodsMoneybags: $213,120,477
- /Film: $198,386,221
- Night Attack: $97,389,035
On Screen
- Brian: How to Train Your Dragon 2, Orange is the New Black, E3, Thunderf00t youtube channel, Game of Thrones
- Tom: The Shield 204 (Amazon) Orange is the New Black (Netflix) World Cup, E3, MASH the movie (Netflix) Game of Thrones (HBO Go)
- Justin: Game of Thrones, WWE Network , Orange is the New Black
Dispatches from the Front
First of all, love the show, really makes me wish that I had listened to Framerate. I have a small request: from a recent episode of Spoilerin’ Time, I learned that you use the lower third in the video version to identify the show or movie that you’re discussing. But as an audio-listener, I am not privy to this information. I have not yet watched Cosmos or The Shield, so I would prefer to skip those spoilers. But I am a big Game of Thrones fan. I find myself having to spend sometimes several minutes seeking through the episode to find the beginning of the game of thrones discussion, in the process hearing some of the other chatter that I would prefer to postpone. If it is too much effort, I understand, but if there is any way that you can jot down the time when you begin discussing a particular show, and add it to the podcast episode description field, I would be overjoyed.
Keep it up.
Joe
Hey guys! It’d be great if you made use of podcast chapters in the shows; in the main show it’d help with those faux-“”spoilers”” about Star Wars that people whine about, and in Spoilerin’ Time it’d help people to listen and just skip the sections they’re not caught up with yet.
Love the show!
Caleb
Hey Tom and Brian,
As I am getting ready for the 24hr LeMans, trying to find a place to stream it a week or so before the race. I am completely delighted to find that the good people at LeMans are not only streaming the entire race but also chromecast-able directly from their website. I would like to applaud the LeMans group for their forward thinking of live sport’s on the Internet. Thanks for all both of you do.
Cord cutter since 2007
Jason
Ft Myers Florida
As I was watching the Sony E3 press release, I was noticing how they were nudging people in the same direction, although in a much more subtle way than Microsoft. Tom has always been saying that both console manufacturers want these things in the long term.
In particular, the PlayStation feature that lets your friends play in your multi-player game even if they don’t own it seems an awful lot like MS’s library-sharing feature. Every one assumes that it’s going to use Sony’s new streaming service. While that’s probably true, I can also see a time where they use a specific kind of DRM in order to be able to download the game locally to improve performance and decrease load on the servers.
And PlayStation TV is digital only, without fanfare, mainly because it’s only a $100 box. But it plays most Vita games. I’m not sure what “most” means, but based on reviews Vita games seem to be much closer to full console games than phone games. And you can use your PS3 controller so the cost to try it out is small for PS3 owners that haven’t made the jump to PS4 yet.
It’s interesting how this worked out. To me, this seems a lot like Sony learning from its PS3 launch. I remember when PS3 launched, Sony was pushing it as an entertainment center. (Anyone remember PlayStation X?) Xbox was pushing games, especially Halo, of course. That, combined with an earlier release gave the 360 a lead that PS3 could never catch up to. But this time around, the situation seems reversed. And while the release-date lead for PS4 was negligible, the lead in terms of units sold seems to be significant.
Alan
Links
www.patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box