Why Amazon bought Twitch, and excitement for the return of The Tick!
CordKillers: Ep. 35 – SPOOOOON!
Recorded: August 31, 2014
Guest: Fraser Cain
Intro Video
- None
Primary Target
- Amazon buys Twitch
- Why Amazon Really Bought Twitch
- Prime-time Twitch is bigger than CNN, MSNBC, and MTV
- – Amazon buying Twitch ($97- million in cash, total of $1.1 billion)
– one hour and 45 minutes on the site per day
– 1.35 percent of all downstream traffic in the U.S. during peak times
– Emmett Shear: “ We’re keeping most everything the same: our office, our employees, our brand, and most importantly our independence. But with Amazon’s support we’ll have the resources to bring you an even better Twitch.”
Signal Intelligence
- Samsung bets on 4K Amazon and Netflix streaming to make UHD TV more tempting
- Amazon’s original shows will stream in 4K starting this October
- -4K Amazon and 4K Netflix (Wuaki.tv, Chili and Maxdome) to Europe on Samsung TVs
– Comes in October
– Netflix has been in US TVs since April
– Samsung began UHD broadcasts in April with Korean cable provider CJ Hello Vision.
Gear Up
- TiVo’s first box just for cord cutters is the Roamio OTA DVR
- TiVo beats estimates on strong subscriber growth
- – Roamio OTA $49
– 4 tuners, 500 GB storage, TiVo Stream, WiFi
– No cable card slot so $150 cheaper (and no TiVo Mini support)
– Available in Limited Edition at Best Buy
– Better than expected profits — strong growth in subscribers through cable TV partners such as Virgin Media in the UK, ONO in Spain and Com Hem AB in Sweden.
– TiVo’s subscriptions rose by a third to 4.8 million in the second quarter ended July 31.
Under surveillance
- Amazon is resurrecting ‘The Tick’ with Patrick Warburton for new pilot
- –Patrick Warburton made a deal with Sony Television to shoot a pilot for The Tick to try on Amazon.
– Jeffrey Tambor’s “Transparent,” which will drop its entire 10-episode first season on Friday, Sept. 26. - Amazon greenlights yet another batch of original kids TV pilots
- -Five more kids pilots
-Three animated
– “The Stinky & Dirty Show” about a backhoe and a garbage truck that are best friends
– “Buddy: Tech Detective” aimed at preschoolers
– “Niko and the Sword of Light” about a young adventurer.
-Two live action
– “Table 58” about a motley lunch table of outcast kids
– “Just Add Magic” about friends who find an old cookbook with magical recipes.
-Previously announced Sara Solves It which makes 6 kids shows in this pilot season
-Current children’s shows in the coming months: “Tumble Leaf” on September 5, “Creative Galaxy” on October 3, and “Annedroids” on October 30.
Front Lines
- Netflix dropped $2 million to get access to the first season of The Blacklist which will show up for US users 9/7.
- YouTube now can queue videos to Chromecast from its Webpage. Not only that but you can now cast whole playlists.
- Netflix will launch an original series in French late next year. “Marseille”
- -Follows Mayor Robert Taro, who has been in office 25 years and is facing off against an ambitious young politician. Netflix calls it a“tale of power, corruption and redemption.”
- Canada’s cable giants, Roger and Shaw are launching shomi a subscription-based service available ONLY to its Internet or TV subscribers for $9 a month starting in November.
- Netflix didn’t win any Emmys during the primetime ceremony.
- -Out of 31 nominations they took home 7 of the Emmys given away in the Creative Arts Ceremony the week before. Last year David Fincher won a primetime Emmy for best directing.
On Screen
- Brian: been very busy vacationing
- Tom: Fargo, The Leftovers, Bojack Horseman, Continuum, The Shield (303)
- Fraser: Death Note, Sword Art Online,
Dispatches from the Front
- Questions from the live audience
Links
