Pirates, you have scholarly advocates in the London School of Economics. The LSE’s Media Policy Project has published a report entitled “Copyright & Creation: A Case for Promoting Inclusive Online Sharing”, and it argues that copyright infringement is not harming the creative industries nearly as much as is common believed. The authors even go so […]
The most popular sites on the internet? Boring and predictable. The one site that each state reads more of than average? That’s a world where USA Today and Huffpo reign supreme, and New Yorkers don’t read the New York Times.
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Contrary to what the popular press might have us believe, piracy isn’t killing content. At least, that’s what a team of scholars from the London School of Economics has found after conducting a deep analysis of the situation.
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Apple has launched a new section on iTunes called “Employees on iTunes”. All the media in that section was created by, or at least influenced by, Apple employees. And it’s all free. And you can’t have any–unless you work at Apple. Apple news source 9to5Mac revealed recently that Eddie Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of […]
Apple continues to roll out its staged partner additions, with two new channels appearing on the streaming media player today. The Major League Soccer channel brings soccer (or “football,” depending on how European you are) and the Disney Junior channel adds a third outlet for that media giant’s content to invade your Apple TV.
The Disney Junior channel requires authentication via cable providers to ensure you have a subscription that allows access to its live programming and on-demand shows, which is the same et up that Disney Channel XD and Disney Channel on Apple TV use. That’s similar to how its HBO offering operates, and content providers in general seem keen on this kind of arrangement for bringing content to Apple’s streamer that used to be locked to cable company set-top boxes.
The MLS app provides scores and highlights for everyone who enjoys American and Canadian teams playing the sport where you kick a ball towards (or away from) a giant net on a big green field, whatever you choose to call that. It also offers access to live streaming matches via MLS Live, but you’ll need an annual subscription (starting at $14.99, with direct purchase through Apple TV available) to unlock that feature. The nice thing is that it covers an entire season’s worth of games, and also works on the MLS iPhone and iPad apps.
Apple is pretty much always adding new content and channels to the Apple TV these days, and clearly wants to make it a destination device for top-tier providers. It’s competing in a market that includes Roku and various built-in smart TVs from almost every OEM at this point, which have access to channel libraries that can number in the hundreds or even thousands, so building partnerships is a good idea at this point.
The Apple TV is getting lots of love lately from Apple, via a recent software update and a new feature that lets you setup a new streaming box with a simple tap of your iPhone or iPad thanks to the magic of Bluetooth LE. Rumors have been swirling about refreshed hardware coming soon, too, so it’s possible that’s why the company is lavishing so much attention on software of late.
Streaming media hardware company Roku, which is holding it own in a market that includes tech industry heavyweights including Apple and Google, has just introduced new models of its streaming players. The small set-top boxes include redesigned versions of the Roku LT, Roku 1 and Roku 2, bringing some features from the Roku 3 flagship player to the company’s more conservatively priced offerings.
Each new Roku gets a hardware design refresh, with bubble-style rounded sides instead of the straight lines and hard edges of the older versions. The designs are a bit more whimsical, and an improvement over the previous, somewhat Apple TV-like puck style design. The lineup gives access to Roku’s Channel Store for expandable content options. Third-party channels available for Roku number over 1,000 in the U.S., but cap out at just over 450 in the UK, Canada and Ireland.
The entry-level LT is pretty much the same as its predecessor in a brand new shell, but the Roku 1 gets a considerable upgrade with support for 1080p video (the old one supported just 720p), while the Roku 2 adds a new headphone jack and dual-band Wi-Fi capabilities, which previously were features exclusive to the Roku 3. Roku tells TechCrunch that 40 percent of its customers said the headphone jack was the reason they opted for the Roku 3, so this should bump up sales of the lower cost unit. The LT retails for $49.99, while the Roku 1 is $59.99 and the Roku 2 is $79.99.
Roku’s SVP of Product Management Jim Funk says that it’s adding new channels at a rate of about one to two a day, and that it’s seeing 13 hours of streaming per week on average. The company is also working to bring Netflix’s DIAL AirPlay-type service to Roku’s platform, which will allow users to stream content from their phone to the players directly. That integration will come sometime in the next few months, according to Funk.
Roku has also added support for M-Go in the U.S. starting today, which brings that transactional video-on-demand company’s catalog of curated content to the streaming platform. M-Go is a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor, and offers access to 16,000 movies and TV shows, with 20,000 anticipated in its library by year’s end. The M-Go partnership arrangement is a revenue sharing opportunity for Roku, Funk explained, and it puts the service right in Roku’s centralized “TV Shows” and “Movies” tabs, giving them an advantage by taking them out of the general fracas of the 1,000-strong channel guide.
All the new Roku devices are available in the U.S. for pre-order, with expected shipping in October, and the new LT is a U.S.-exclusive for now. In Canada, the UK and Ireland, the Roku 1 and 2 are available for pre-order with shipping anticipated in October, and the previously released Roku 3 makes its way to those territories with immediate availability from Roku’s website. The hardware revamp comes ahead of speculation that Apple will update its own Apple TV streaming media device sometime soon, possibly alongside new iPads, so we could see a lot of competition for holiday dollars in this space.
Ever read the comments on a popular YouTube video? There is no faster way to strip yourself of faith in humanity. It’s a cesspool. And this is coming from someone who writes for the Gawker network. We know a little something about rowdy comments sections. YouTube’s is worse, but it’s finally about to smarten up.
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The team at RockStar games have wasted no time capitalizing on the popularity of not only the game Grand Theft Auto V itself, but the music gamers are able to listen to inside the vehicles of the game. This is otherwise known as GTA Radio, having become a rather interesting side-project and powerful result of […]
Mentioned almost as a footnote in today’s release on their larger SteamOS headline, Valve has let it be known that they’re entering into deals for multimedia delivery as well. Speaking on music, TV, and movies specifically, Valve has suggested that both SteamOS and Steam – the software client you use on your Windows, Mac, or […]
Nielsen will launch its Twitter TV Ratings Service on September 30. It will be the first time the company has formally used Twitter data to augment its long-standing media metrics system.
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