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Video-on-DemandComcast Video-on-Demand to Offer Day and Date Premieres From IFCAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 28, 2006 - 9:47am.
Philadelphia - Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with independent film distributor IFC Entertainment, to offer movies on its video-on-demand service on the same day that they premiere in theaters. Launching in March, the IFC in Theaters service will debut two independent films each month on Comcast On Demand on the same day as their theatrical release, for a video-on-demand viewing fee of $5.99 per movie. At least 24 films will be released simultaneously in theaters and on demand in 2006, including "CSA: The Confederate States of America," "I Am a Sex Addict," "Three Times," "American Gun," "Russian Dolls" and "Sorry, Haters".
Video-on-Demand Firm Kasenna Raises $11 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 6, 2006 - 2:30am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Kasenna, a provider of video-on-demand programming and delivery technology for IPTV services, announced on Monday that it has raised $11 million in a new round of venture capital financing. Intel Capital led the investment round, in which all of Kasenna's existing investors participated. Mountain View, Calif.-based Kasenna provides video-on-demand services for customers including Charter Communications, Cavalier Telephone and SaskTel. The company will use the funds to expand within domestic and international IPTV and cable markets, as well as strengthen to its balance sheet.
Video-on-Demand Server Firm Edgeware Raises FundsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 26, 2006 - 8:30am.
Stockholm - Edgeware, a Sweden-based start-up developing servers for on-demand TV services, announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of first round venture capital financing. Creandum, an early stage technology venture capital firm focusing on the Nordic region, led the round. Edgeware is a system vendor targeting interactive TV and video on demand (VoD) applications in IPTV and cable TV networks. The company said it would use the funding to develop its first line of products and enter the market.
Comcast to Offer Episodes of CBS Shows Through Video-on-DemandAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 8, 2005 - 10:55am.
Philadelphia - Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, announced on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Viacom's CBS, to offer four of the broadcaster's primetime series in video-on-demand format. Beginning in January, Comcast subscribers will be able to view episodes of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" on demand. The episodes will cost 99 cents each and become available as early as midnight following their broadcast on CBS. Comcast will also offer some programs in high-definition, and full past seasons of "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" on demand. Separately, Philadelphia-based Comcast said it will offer seven films from the Seattle International Film Festival and one from the 2004 New York International Independent Film Festival for viewing through its video-on-demand service through the end of January.
Eebee Infant Learning Series Coming to Video-on-DemandAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 1, 2005 - 4:24am.
New York - Eebee, a developer of infant learning programs for kids and parents, announced on Tuesday that it has signed agreements to offer its programming as video-on-demand content on Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Mag Rack and PBS Kids on Demand video-on-demand systems. The "eebee's adventures" series includes three DVD releases targeting six-month-old to two-year-old children, offering content in 10-minute segments.
tags: Video-on-Demand | Eebee Infant |
Disney, Swiss Firm Kudelski to Develop Video-on-Demand ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 1, 2005 - 6:38am.
Zurich -- The Walt Disney Company has partnered with Swiss security software firm Kudelski, to develop a video-on-demand service for global digital TV operators that would deliver movies and TV programs to the hard drive of a digital video recorder, Reuters reported. The companies said the service will be compatible with satellite, cable, terrestrial and IPTV digital video recorders. However, the service will not be offered in the U.S., Canada or Japan.
PlanetOut Launches Video-on-Demand With Sundance Doc SeriesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 13, 2005 - 10:14am.
San Francisco -- PlanetOut, an online media company focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, on Wednesday announced plans to launch a broadband Internet video-on-demand service with programming from TV networks, movie studios and its online community of 5 million members. PlanetOut Video will offer content from partners including Sundance Channel, which will premiere the first episode of its 8-pary documentary series on gender reassignment, "TransGeneration," on the service before it airs on Sundance and MTV's Logo in September. PlanetOut Video will also offer a Gay TV Guide for locating LGBT-related cable and network TV programs. The company will add member-generated video content to the service in 2006. "We believe that PlanetOut Video will allow us to establish relationships with a wider range of advertisers, such as movie studios, TV networks, and Fortune 500 advertisers wanting to engage the gay market through video and thirty-second ad spots," said PlanetOut president Mark Elderkin.
Disney Shutters Trial of MovieBeam Video-on-Demand ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:07am.
Burbank, Calif. -- Disney has shut down a trial of its MovieBeam video-on-demand service in three cities, as it seeks to upgrade the system and find new partners for the venture. The "datacasting" service utilized unused portions of the broadcast signal sent out by TV stations to deliver a range of movies to special set-top box receivers in viewers' homes in Jacksonville, Fla., Spokane, Wash., and Salt Lake City. The service was due to expand into additional markets, but Disney canceled those plans last fall; it's not clear when or if the company will re-launch MovieBeam. "In order to deliver to consumers an even better entertainment experience, MovieBeam is planning an upgrade of its technology, network and infrastructure," said Disney spokeswoman Michelle Bergman. "MovieBeam's business model is flexible and allows us to deliver the service to a range of devices in addition to the current MovieBeam receiver. We are in the process of making critical decisions about our device strategy and are confident that these decisions will positively impact our plans to bring MovieBeam to a national audience." The Los Angeles Times reported that Peter Murphy, the strategic planning chief at Disney who once championed MovieBeam, no longer holds that position, in a division of the company that is being overhauled.
Video-on-Demand Start-up Veveo.tv Raises $14 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 11, 2005 - 10:53am.
Waltham, Mass. -- Veveo.tv, a Massachusetts-based start-up developing video-on-demand technology, has raised $14 million in its first round of venture capital, the Boston Business Journal reported. The company was started last year by Murali Aruvamudan, who previously founded Winphoria Networks, which was acquired by Motorola in 2003 for $172 million. Veveo.tv is doing most of its development work in India, the Business Journal reported.
Comcast to Launch National Video-on-Demand Dating ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 10, 2005 - 2:39am.
Philadelphia -- Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, said on Thursday that it plans to launch a national video-on-demand dating service, Dating on Demand, on Valentine's Day. The service invites Comcast subscribers to submit a video personal ad, or else attend a local taping event, and contact singles whose profiles they have viewed on the service through a HurryDate e-mail account. Comcast said that, since launching the service in Philadelphia last summer, member profiles have been viewed more than one million times. The company added that initially, only profiles from Philadelphia and Chicago will be available to all Comcast viewers; additional profiles from subscribers in Baltimore, D.C., Portland and Denver will be added later this spring.
EU Approves Disney-Columbia Video-on-Demand Joint VentureAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 12, 2004 - 7:20am.
Brussels -- The European Commission on Thursday approved the proposed joint venture between The Walt Disney Company, U.K.-based ON Demand Group and U.S.-based film studios Columbia Pictures to provide video-on-demand services in the U.K. and Ireland. The Commission said the joint venture -- called MovieCo -- would increase competition for BSkyB "to the benefit of cable customers" in both countries. In a statement, the Commission said it had examined the transaction's impact on the competitive structure of the market and concluded that the joint venture would give cable network operators "an alternative to procure video content other than BSkyB", currently the dominant player. ON Demand manages transactional TV services, including the launch and operation of pay-per-view and video-on-demand services.
Disney Delays Expansion of MovieBeam Video-on-Demand ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 3, 2004 - 5:36am.
San Francisco -- Disney has said that it will delay the expansion of its MovieBeam video-on-demand service from this fall until next year, as it finalizes plans on delivery devices, CNET News.com reported. Disney said the service has received favorable reviews among consumers in the three cities where testing has gone on since October 2003, and said in May it would enter three new markets in the fall. "We're postponing the launch of the MovieBeam service (into new markets) for the moment until we finalize the specific device strategy for a more national launch in 2005," Salil Mehta, executive vice president of Disney's corporate business development, told News.com. "We're having conversations to embed or include the MovieBeam technology in (third-party) devices," perhaps including PCs. MovieBeam delivers films to a proprietary set-top box in consumers' homes over an unused portion of the broadcast spectrum using a technology called "datacasting". Before the service is expanded further, Disney also plans to simplify the user interface software and add free content including short films.
Discovery Acquires Second Educational Publisher for Video-on-Demand ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on August 23, 2004 - 2:07am.
Silver Spring, Md. -- Cable TV network operator Discovery Communications, which owns The Discovery Channel, announced on Monday that it has acquired educational publisher Rainbow Educational Media. The companies did not provide financial details of the transaction, which marks Discovery's second recent acquisition of an educational publisher, having purchased AIMS Multimedia last week. The deals will add programming to Discovery's newly formed Discovery Education video-on-demand unit, which aims to provide resources for educators. Raleigh, N.C.-based Rainbow produces educational videos, CD-ROMs and DVDs for children and students in grades K-8.
Cdigix to Provide Digital Music, Video-on-Demand to Six UniversitiesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on August 19, 2004 - 2:17am.
Denver -- Cdigix (formerly Cflix), a provider of digital entertainment and educational media for colleges, announced on Thursday that it has signed agreements with six schools to provide downloadable music, video-on-demand and educational media services to students. The company will provide its services at Marietta College, Ohio University, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the University of Denver, Wake Forest and Yale University. Digital music downloads will be provided through MusicNet, a service launched by a group of major record labels that offers an 800,000-song catalog. The campus music service will cost $2.99 per month or $0.89 per track, while the video-on-demand service will be available for a monthly $9.99 subscription or else $3.99 per movie. The company's educational course curriculum will be free to enrolled students.
Internet Video-on-Demand Service CinemaNow Raises $11 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 27, 2004 - 4:26am.
Santa Monica, Calif. -- CinemaNow, an Internet video-on-demand service owned by Canadian film studio Lions Gate Entertainment, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $11 million in its fourth round of venture capital financing. Menlo Ventures led the investment round; Cisco Systems and Lions Gate also participated. Santa Monica, Calif.-based CinemaNow offers a library of 5,000 titles from studios including Disney, Fox, MGM, Miramax and Warner Bros. The company also markets its proprietary secure Internet video-on-demand delivery technology to third parties. The funds will be used for further technology development, content acquisition and marketing.
Internet Video-on-Demand Provider Akimbo Raises $12 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 12, 2004 - 6:17am.
San Mateo, Calif. -- Akimbo Systems, developer of an Internet-based video-on-demand service, announced on Monday that it has raised $12 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the investment round; Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Sprout Group and Zone Ventures also participated. San Mateo, Calif.-based Akimbo plans to launch its service this summer, offering independent films, extreme sports, news and foreign language programming. Subscribers will pay $9.99 monthly plus $229 for the Akimbo Player device, which also requires a broadband Internet connection. The company will use the funds to market and deploy its video-on-demand service.
Report: DVR Owners Watch More, Not Less Video-on-DemandAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on June 17, 2004 - 9:24am.
Newtonville, Mass. -- Contrary to industry assumptions that digital video recorders (DVR), which allow users to pause and record live TV, compete with video-on-demand services for viewers' attention, a new report from Massachusetts-based Lyra Research found that DVR owners actually watch more video-on-demand programming than non-DVR owners. The report is based on an Internet survey during April and May of 350 U.S. video-on-demand users who also owned digital video recorders. "Our findings may be because video-on-demand offered content that was not available via broadcast or because the DVR users are more experienced than non-DVR users with time shifting and more comfortable operating menu-driven systems for selecting programs," said Steve Hoffenberg director of electronic media research at Lyra Research.
Report: One in Three U.S. Homes Will Have Video-on-Demand By 2008Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 27, 2004 - 7:13am.
Boston, Mass. -- One in three U.S. homes will have video-on-demand (VOD) services available to them by the end of 2008, when VOD is available in 36.5 million digital cable homes, predicts Boston-based research firm Yankee Group. Deployments in 2003 rose 70% from 2002, and 11.4 million homes are now capable of using video-on-demand. The firm's estimate is a bit lower than an earlier projection, due to increased desire among cable operators to focus on other services like HDTV and digital video recording, which are being aggressively deployed by their satellite TV rivals. Yankee Group advises cable operators to market VOD more aggressively to their subscribers, as well as expand their available content libraries. Cable firms are also encouraged to continue to deploy digital video recording set-tops, despite their somewhat negative impact on the use of VOD, as that impact will be limited by video-on-demand's broader content offering and ability to support impulse viewing.
Report: Video-on-Demand Orders Eclipse Pay-Per-View for First TimeAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on May 3, 2004 - 3:25am.
New Orleans -- December 2003 marked the first month where orders for video-on-demand programming were greater than those for pay-per-view content, according to data from In Demand, a provider of both services to cable TV operators. In Demand noted that video-on-demand has only been available for the last two years, and in less than half as many of its subscribers' homes as pay-per-view. "We started out the year as a pay-per-view business and ended it as a VOD business," said In Demand president and CEO Steve Brenner. "Better still, the transformation of the business that began in the fourth quarter of 2003 has continued and accelerated through the first few months of 2004." The company added that movie studios are increasingly releasing titles with 30-day windows to video-on-demand, and are generating the most revenue with these newer titles.
Hotel Video-on-Demand Provider On Command Acquires HotelevisionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 12, 2004 - 9:10am.
Denver, Colo. -- On Command, a provider of in-room broadband entertainment services to hoteliers and cruise ship operators, announced on Thursday that it has acquired Hotelevision, a provider of targeted advertising to televisions in upscale hotel rooms. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. New York-based Hotelevision provides ten cable channels -- including A&E, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, The Weather Channel and Starz -- for free to guests at upscale hotels, and is supported by national advertising. Hotelevision will continue to operate as a separate entity, but will coordinate its activities with On Command, which provides broadband access and on-demand entertainment in over 1 million guest rooms.
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