Fox threatens to become a pay-TV channel if courts greenlight Aereo, probably doesn’t mean it

Fox threatens to become a payTV cable channel if courts greenlight Aereo, probably doesn't mean it

Quick: what’s the difference between a broadcast TV network (Fox, CBS, ABC and NBC) and a cable channel (TBS, TNT, ESPN, etc.)? Oh, only millions and millions of viewers. Nevertheless, Fox’s COO Chase Carey is perturbed enough by the mere thought of Aereo getting its way, that he’s already claiming that the network will go dark in favor of becoming a cable channel — if and when OTA network streaming over the internet is completely legalized, that is. Causticism aside, Carey’s remarks are certainly indicative of how the networks feel about the potential disruption of their revenue stream, and moreover, showcases just how far we are from living in a world that isn’t dominated by the same old processes when it comes to entertainment.

Carey stated: “We need to be able to be fairly compensated for our content. This is not an ideal path we look to pursue, but we can’t sit idly by and let an entity steal our signal. We will move to a subscription model if that’s our only recourse.

Is it possible that Fox would suddenly vanish from over-the-air antennas everywhere, screwing up countless programming agreements with a near-endless amount of partners? Sure… but it’s also possible that the ninth circle of Hades will be converted into an NHL arena. We’re calling your bluff, Carey.

Update: According to the New York Times, Univision chairman Haim Saban joined the saber rattling, stating that his network is ready to consider all options, including converting to pay-tv.

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Source: Bloomberg

Bing Pulse launching with help from Fox News, aims to make State of the Union speech more interactive

Bing Pulse launching with help from Fox News, aims to make State of the Union speech more interactive

Just in time for next week’s State of the Union address, Bing announced it’s teamed up with Fox News to launch Bing Pulse, a one-stop hub where folks can easily interact and share their thoughts with one another while President Barack Obama’s speech is taking place. The Microsoft-owned search engine says that Pulse will allow participants to vote on reactions to the event every five seconds, with the impending results being shown on the Bing Politics site. What’s more, Bing believes “this will be the largest live online poll in history,” which will be enhanced by the outfit’s new Beat “social sentiment tracker” — a service that’s set to collect and analyze data from Twitter in order to figure out what are the trendiest political topics during the speech. Folks interested in joining the Bing Pulse conversation should hit that more coverage link to get acquainted — and, of course, don’t forget to bookmark it so you’re all set come February 12th.

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Source: Bing