Is Hulu or CBS the future of cord-cutting apps? Has TiVo cracked the perfect bundle?
CordKillers: Ep. 71 – Decidedly Less Juicy
Recorded: May 18, 2015
Guest: None
Intro Video
Primary Target
- Hulu pulls a Netflix, rescues ‘The Mindy Project’ from cancellation
– Hulu picking up a 26 episode 4th season of The Mindy Project
– Is this Hulu’s Arrested Development? Where does it go form here? Can it continue to live in two worlds (broadcast catch-up and original on-demand)?
– Is this strategy working for Yahoo with Community? Can it work better for Hulu? - AT&T will sell Hulu subscriptions, but not to watch on your TV
– Hulu is partnering with AT&T U-Verse TV service to sell Hulu subscriptions.
– AT&T customers can find the shows on a mobile app or on the Web.
Signal Intelligence
- CBS’s Video Streaming Service Now Offers Live TV In Over 60% Of The U.S.
- CBS All Access app gets Chromecast support (Update: HGTV, Fox and FXNow, too)
– Hulu offers catch-up for 3 main English-language networks in US
– CBS All Access adds the other one
– CBS can add live feeds. Now has that in 64% of markets 94 total. $5.99 a month)
– Added chromecast support too. (Android and iOS)
Gear Up
- Plex comes to TiVo
– Oh TiVo. You keep being so close to a really great cordcutting device.
– TiVo Roamio getting Plex app 6/8
– Opera-based version of smart TV apps. 720p only
– Won’t integrate with universal search - TiVo wants to become the legal version of Aereo
– Multichannel says TiVo plans to use Aereo trademark and customer lists in a legal version of the service
– TiVo CEO Tom Rogers wants to offer low-cost bundles of channels and streaming services
– “The answer is pretty clear — it’s kind of the Aereo model, done legally and better.”
– Event planned in San Jose for July to unveil new Aereo.
– Essentially Rogers says that Cable should bundle TiVos with OTA and broadband services in with their Internet.
Front Lines
- Over-The-Top Streaming Video Services To Surge To 330 Million+ Subscribers By 2019
– No big surprises from Juniper research here, but the latest research says subscriber numbers for streaming services will rise from 92.1 million in 2014 to 333.2 million by 2019. Even less surprising is the project that almost none of that growth will come from Smart TVs. - Twitch has launched a channel on Roku adding to its apps on game consoles and FireTV.
- BBC Global iPlayer to close in June
– Didn’t know BBC offered an international version of its iPlayer for $6.99 a month in Canada as well as Australia and Western Europe? Well you found out too late. It’s closing the service June 26. - Radio Times reports Netflix is trying to lure Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror away from Channel 4.
- Is Netflix seriously going to revive ‘Top Gear’ as ‘House of Cars?’
– Word is Netflix is among the producers Jeremy Clarkson and friends have been talking to about doing a car show now that Jeremy is persona non grata at the BBC. The Mirror purports to have it on good authority that Netflix would call the show House of Cars. - Discovery is filming virtual reality ‘Mythbusters’ and other shows
– Discovery told AdWeek that the Mythbusters crew has been shooting in virtual reality for next season. Discovery Virtual is a division working on several other VR programs as well.
Under Surveillance
- The trailer is out for Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs biopic starring Michael Fassbender and Seth Rogen directed by Danny Boyle.
- Trailer for new Supergirl” TV Show” came out
- A trailer for the forthcoming SyFy series based on Lev Grossman’s ‘Magicians’ trilogy coming 2016.
– The books are inspired by CS Lewis’s Narnia series as well as an attempt to tell what a Magicians college might ACTUALLY be like. The TV series is making it GRAD school so the characters can be older - Three-part miniseries Childhood’s End coming to SyFy in September based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke.
- Brian: Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty, Mad Max, Game of Thrones
- Tom: Silicon Valley, Bob’s Burgers, Once Upon a Time, The Shield (510), Game of Thrones, Mad Men
Dispatches from the Front
PLEASE, for the love of everything that is good in the heart of a Mother of Dragons… quit with emails and conversations about spoilers.
The Geeky Brit
–Ian, Ontario, Canada.
Regards WMC demise.
I too am disappointed with Windows 10 not continuing WMC. You mention apps like plex and Kodi. Yes, I use plex myself… but what I will miss most from WMC is the OTA DVR functionality. As of now, I have yet to find ANY other DVR software as easy to setup and use as Media Center.
Since there isn’t really any hope for this, or worth arguing ALL my points, I have a question?
What is the best software available to use PC with OTA tuners to record broadcasts? Preferably something that can handle multiple tuners and has a reliable guide to schedule series… oh and it has to actually RECOGNIZE the TV tuner without extensive manual setup… that was the key of WMC and what angers me most about Microsoft’s decision.
Thanks for the show.
–David C. St. Louis, MO
Go Cards!!
Kodi has OTA DVR functionality
Cordkillers. Love the show. I was one of the lucky ones to get on the deal for the Lifetime TiVo OTA for $299. Got it last week, and I am loving it. I haven’t had a DVR since I went OTA and been using Hulu as my cloud DVR per say. Now w/ TiVo OnePass, I see myself canceling Hulu (once I catch up on some shows). I can keep up w/ the motto and record what I want so I can watch what I want, when I want (and now CBS!). Cutting another monthly bill is awesome.
–Neil
Hello Everyone,
I have to say I love the prospect of Apple TV. I really loved the speculation where the first month for every app is free and then using that information to tailor a package to you.
The fact of the matter is though I don’t like Apple and mostly likely wouldn’t get an Apple TV. What I really love if the potential for the Roku TV’s. You guys have made comments before about a TV not keeping up with the Software which is a downside to Smart TV’s. If I was going to trust anyone to buck the curve on that it would be Roku. I have had my Roku 1 longer then I’ve had 3 of my TV’s so when it comes to Software keeping up with Hardware Roku I trust. The bonus of that is if after 5 year the hardware isn’t keeping up with the tech, it’s $30 for a stick and $69 for a Roku 2 right now, that is not bad in my opinion.
Thanks for your Time,
–Nicky Marson
Hey guys,
I wanted to add a little bit to your Apple TV predictions. In our house we primarily use Roku boxes simply due to the availability of ALL THE CONTENT. On what other device or platform can you get Amazon Video and Google Play video on the same big screen enabled device? This is what I want on a new Apple TV – apps directly from the content providers – and if the rumor is true about being announced at WWDC I’m hopeful that this might come true.
Here’s my prediction – at WWDC they will announce an Apple TV SDK and a beta that runs on current Apple TVs. This gives developers time to write and test apps prior to any new hardware. Then at this year’s iPhone event the new box is announced. This would allow them to have a fully stocked Apple TV App Store prior to launch like they did with the watch. With the technologies that came with iOS 8 and the watch the foundation is in place for building Apple TV apps as app extensions.
I can’t wait!
Thank,
–John in rainy Billings, MT
Hello Tom and Brian! You were discussing CBS All Access this week and Brian described it as meeting the “completeness” vector. But I wonder if you’ve actually used it?
My wife and I did a trial week to try it out and catch up on some shows we watch on CBS. But when she went to watch Big Bang Theory, it was missing several episodes – at that point, it had only the three most recent plus the first four of the season, but not the ones in between. We checked another show she watches, Criminal Minds, and found a similar result – only the last five episodes, same as is freely available on their website. They also still had the most ads of any streaming service I use – and that behind the paywall!
While it is true that other shows did have the complete current season, it was very hit-or-miss. We wound up cancelling the service because CBS “All” Access did not, in fact, give us access to all of the current season’s programming. For the same basic price as Hulu Plus or Netflix, I would expect that at the very least. Their back catalog is pretty readily available elsewhere too – for instance, I can watch any episode of Star Trek ever on Netflix. For my money, they need to worry less about the back catalog and worry more about actually providing complete current seasons.
Love the show – you guys helped me figure out what I needed to do to cut the cord, and I’m pleased to say we’re one year cable-free and don’t miss it! Thanks!
Sincerely,
–Andrew L
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