New Amazon deal brings MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central to Prime Instant Video
If you’re considering an Amazon Prime subscription, you might be persuaded by Amazon’s new deal with Viacom to bring 2,000 new titles to the service.
The Viacom agreement will bring a new slate of programming to Amazon’s video offering and will include popular shows from MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central.
Amazon Prime, which costs $79 per year, is a service that gives customers free two-day shipping on most products and access to streaming movies and … Continue Reading
Verizon/Redbox video service will be subscription-based, offer a “competitive” content library
Top executives from Verizon and Redbox revealed more details about the new jointly-operated rental service announced earlier today.
The video rental service will allow people to access streaming video through Verizon, while also taking advantage of Redbox’s DVD and Blu-Ray rental Kiosks. The service will definitely operate under a subscription-based pricing model, but won’t give customers the option of choosing between a separate streaming or DVD/Blu-Ray subscription package, said Verizon SVP of consumer product management … Continue Reading
Senate Democrats don’t like the idea of a Netflix Facebook app
Streaming video service Netflix recently appealed to a panel of U.S. senators to update an old law that forbids the company from launching a Facebook application within the country.
The antiquated law, the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), prohibits companies like Netflix from sharing a person’s movie-rental history. The law was passed in 1988 after Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental records were published in a news publication. At the time, the law seemed … Continue Reading
SnagFilms snags $7M to distribute indie movies online
SnagFilms, an independent film-distribution startup, has secured a new $7 million round of funding, the company announced today.
SnagFilms has the distribution rights to over 3,000 indie movies and documentaries including “Casino Jack,” “Super Size Me,” “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” and many others. SnagFilms allows bloggers to embed video of its movie library and runs advertising spots to generate its revenue. More recently, the company has made select films available for OnDemand … Continue Reading
Warner Bros. now adding restrictions to your Netflix DVD queue
Giant media company Warner Brothers might be taking further steps to ensure that its updated distribution strategy for newly released DVD movies has the maximum effect — regardless of how petty the company may seem as a result.
Earlier this month, Warner Brothers decided to delay all new DVD movie releases from becoming available through video rental services, like Blockbuster and Netflix. This means the rental services must wait 56 days after a new Warner … Continue Reading
Why it’s stupid for Netflix to focus on competition at home
With increases in revenue and higher than expected subscriber growth, video rental service Netflix is once again the darling investment among Wall Street analysts (for the most part). However, not all the comments from Wednesday’s fourth quarter earnings results were positive.
Netflix warned of increasing competition against its domestic streaming service, while celebrating its shrinking DVD-by-mail business — two subjects analysts spend far too much time obsessing over. The biggest threat Netflix faces overall has … Continue Reading
Netflix backpedals on video game rental plans
Netflix is no longer planning to offer a video game disc rental-by-mail service to complement its DVD-by-mail and streaming video subscription service, the company revealed Wednesday during its fourth quarter earnings call.
The video game rental service was originally announced in September 2011 as part of Netflix’s effort to spin off its DVD rental business into a separate company called Qwikster. The service, which many Netflix subscribers had long-begged for, would have offered game disc … Continue Reading
Netflix back with a vengeance in Q4: revenues & subscribers both up
Against all odds, streaming-video giant Netflix is actually making money and signing up new customers. The company beat Wall Street estimates with better-than-expected fourth quarter results, including a well-needed subscriber boost, it announced today.
Netflix had a particularly rocky 2011, with a 60 percent price hike on combined streaming-and-DVD rental plans and a failed plan of splitting Netflix into two companies. The company was punished with a loss of more than half of its stock … Continue Reading
Netflix CMO Leslie Kilgore leaves after 12 years
Netflix‘s chief marketing officer is stepping down after 12 years that culminated in a cock-up known as Qwikster.
Leslie Kilgore, who has been with the company for almost as many years as it has been in operation, will continue to be a “key part of Netflix” according to chief executive officer Reed Hastings. Kilgore, a marketing veteran from Amazon, joined the company in 2000, and is credited by the CEO with helping the company out … Continue Reading
Disgruntled Netflix investors file class-action lawsuit
A group of disgruntled Netflix investors has filed a class action lawsuit against the movie rental company for allegedly withholding information.
Netflix’s stock price suffered from two very large decreases in the summer and fall of 2011, in part due to massive price increases to subscription plans and a failed attempt to spinoff Netflix’s DVD-by-mail rental business into a separate company. And while the company was clear on those plans, it wasn’t entirely clear on … Continue Reading
YouTube player adds Netflix-like storyboard feature for easier navigation
YouTube will soon add a helpful storyboard feature that will help you more easily navigate videos.
The feature, as first spotted by Digital Inspiration, lets you hover your mouse over any point in the video timeline to see a single thumbnail, making it easier to find your favorite part of that talking dog video or that catchy Internet love song.
Netflix and Hulu’s video players already feature thumbnail previews, so YouTube is playing catch up … Continue Reading
How we watch TV now: Viewers are going mobile and multi-tasking
How do you watch your favorite TV shows? Chances are, you’re still using that traditional TV in your living room, but according to a report from Nielsen audiences are increasingly going mobile to consume videos and television.
Nielsen released its 2011 State of the Media: Consumer Usage Report Monday, which looks at all the data collected by the company over the course of the past year to paint a bigger picture of how we consume … Continue Reading
Netflix launches in the UK — LoveFilm undercuts it
Netflix announced yesterday that its streaming service is now available in the UK.
TV programs and movies, including local favorites such as The Only Way is Essex, can be streamed via Netflix to smart TVs, game consoles, computers, tablets and mobile device for £5.99 ($9.23) per month. A month’s free trial is available.
Netflix’s main rival in the UK market is Amazon’s well-established LoveFilm, which reacted quickly to the announcement by undercutting Netflix with a … Continue Reading
Netflix inks major new content deals ahead of UK ad launch
Netflix is putting the finishing touches on new film and TV licensing deals and launching an ad campaign this week for its streaming video service in the UK. The actual launch date for the service is still unknown.
The newest UK streaming agreements are with heavy-hitters Sony, Disney, Paramout, iTV and Channel 4, the Guardian is reporting. Netflix is launching an advertising campaign in the UK this week to build excitement among potential subscribers.
Good … Continue Reading
Digital entertainment is changing the living room for good (infographic)
There was a time when little Bobby would get up to turn the television to one of the three available channels when the family got bored. If you missed the Ed Sullivan show that night, too bad, go play chess.
Nowadays, people miss shows on purpose so they can watch them on their time, on the device of their choice. There’s none of this gather the family around the tube for a little late night … Continue Reading
Netflix UK competitor LoveFilm signs streaming agreement with iTV & BBC Worldwide
Video rental service LoveFilm subscribers in the UK will soon have streaming access to content from British television networks BBC Worldwide and iTV, LoveFilm’s parent company Amazon announced today.
BBC Worldwide’s content library includes television shows like Doctor Who, Life On Mars, Torchwood Planet Earth and more. iTV’s library contains TV shows like Marchlands, Above Suspicion, Cold Feet and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.
While people in the UK can … Continue Reading
Want to rent a new Warner Brothers DVD via Netflix? Prepare to wait longer
In an effort to boost lagging DVD sales, film studio Warner Brothers has decided to delay all new releases from becoming available through many popular movie rental services.
This means you’ll have to wait 56 days after a new Warner Brothers DVD goes on sale before you can rent it through Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster (see update below). Previously, all WB movies would become available 28 days after the DVD went on sale, but … Continue Reading
HBO to Netflix: We’re taking our ball & going home
HBO is taking a giant step back from Netflix entirely; the cable network has stopped providing DVDs for Netflix’s rental service.
While Netflix can still get HBO DVDs and Bluray discs from other sources, it will no longer be able to get them directly from HBO at a discount.
HBO shows are not available on Netflix’s instant streaming service, either. In fact, while HBO subscribers can use mobile and over-the-top devices or web browsers to … Continue Reading
Netflix subscribers watched over 2B hours of video in Q4
Subscribers of Netflix’s streaming video service watched over two billion hours of television shows and movies in the fourth quarter of 2011, the company announced today.
Netflix has 20 million streaming members globally across the U.S., Canada and Latin America. The company plans to launch its streaming service in both the UK and Ireland later this year.
While the number of streaming hours for Netflix indicates that the service is doing well, it doesn’t necessarily … Continue Reading
Netflix’s original series Lilyhammer streaming in February
Netflix is fulfilling its original series dream this February with a new show called Lilyhammer, to stream in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
The company has talked about bringing original content to its streaming service for awhile now. Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive officer has said that the company may bring back retired or canceled series as a part of its original content strategy. This recently came true when Netflix announced it will … Continue Reading
