Telecommunications
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‘The Secret: Dare to Dream’ Tops FandangoNow Chart
Lionsgate’s The Secret: Dare to Dream was the top movie in terms of revenue on FandangoNow for the week ended Aug. 2. FandangoNow is Fandango’s transactional video-on-demand service. The film, released July 31 for premium VOD rental at $19.99 for 48 hours, stars Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas and is based on the best-selling book … Continue reading “‘The Secret: Dare to Dream’ Tops FandangoNow Chart”
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Doc ‘The Blech Effect’ Coming to VOD and EST Aug. 25 From Virgil
The documentary The Blech Effect: The Rise and Fall of the King of Biotech will come out on VOD and EST Aug. 25 from Virgil Films. The film chronicles the life of David Blech, who would be a multi-billionaire — if only he were in a coma for the last 15 years. In his early … Continue reading “Doc ‘The Blech Effect’ Coming to VOD and EST Aug. 25 From Virgil”
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Verizon Loses 81K Fios TV Subs in Q2; Down 283K Subs From Last Year
Verizon’s status as a pay-TV operator continues to slip with the telecom operator July 24 disclosing it lost 81,000 Fios TV subscribers in the second quarter, ended June 30. The telecom has lost 283,000 Fios TV subs in the past 12 months, ending the period with 3.98 million. Verizon added 10,000 broadband subs, bringing it … Continue reading “Verizon Loses 81K Fios TV Subs in Q2; Down 283K Subs From Last Year”
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AT&T Posts 886,000 Q2 Video/OTT Sub Loss; Broadband Declines Too
AT&T says the bulk of its pay-TV subscriber woes is behind it. The numbers tell a different story. The media giant July 23 said it lost 886,000 video subs in the second quarter (ended June 30), which is a slight improvement from the 897,000 subs lost in the first quarter. The decline included 68,000 AT&T … Continue reading “AT&T Posts 886,000 Q2 Video/OTT Sub Loss; Broadband Declines Too”
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AT&T Drops ‘Watch TV’ Sign-Ups
AT&T has begun informing users that it will no longer offer its low-budget AT&T Watch TV service to new and returning subscribers. “Standalone WatchTV is no longer available for new sign ups or to re-subscribe,” AT&T said in a statement. “Existing WatchTV customers who subscribe to the app or have a qualifying AT&T Unlimited plan … Continue reading “AT&T Drops ‘Watch TV’ Sign-Ups”
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Charter/Spectrum Wants to Charge Netflix, Others Interconnection Fees
Charter Communications, owner of Spectrum cable, has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to allow it to charge interconnection fees (or peering) to over-the-video services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+ and Hulu broadband. The fees were in part the genesis behind the Obama-era Net Neutrality guidelines, which specifically prohibited Internet Service Providers … Continue reading “Charter/Spectrum Wants to Charge Netflix, Others Interconnection Fees”
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CFO: Comcast Looking at Near 400,000 Video Sub Loss in Q2
The NBCUniversal Peacock streaming video service can’t come fast enough. Comcast Cable is expecting the same quarterly pay-TV subscriber loss in the second quarter (ending June 30) as it had in Q1: more than 388,000 subscribers dropping service. That’s the projection Comcast Corp. CFO Michael Cavanaugh revealed June 16 during the virtual Credit Suisse Communications … Continue reading “CFO: Comcast Looking at Near 400,000 Video Sub Loss in Q2”
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Comcast Extends Free Wi-Fi Access Through Year’s End
Comcast June 19 announced it will extend free access to its 1.5 million public Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots to anyone who needs them, including non-customers, through the end of 2020. Comcast launched free access earlier this due to the coronavirus pandemic. It then extended the offer for 60 days of free home Internet access for new … Continue reading “Comcast Extends Free Wi-Fi Access Through Year’s End”
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Comcast Pledges $100 Million to Fight Racism, Advance Social Justice
Comcast chairman/CEO Brian Roberts June 8 issued a letter decrying the civil unrest rocking the country since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day. Roberts said Comcast would pledge $100 million to fight for social justice and equality, which includes $75 million cash and $25 million in media … Continue reading “Comcast Pledges $100 Million to Fight Racism, Advance Social Justice”
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Dan York Named CEO of Cox Media Group
Dan York, former chief content officer at DirecTV and MediaPlay News “Digital Driver,” has been named CEO of Cox Media Group. York will be responsible for all aspects of managing the company’s media platforms and will oversee CMG’s long-term strategic priorities. Steve Pruett, who was interim CEO, will continue as executive chairman of CMG. He … Continue reading “Dan York Named CEO of Cox Media Group”
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Cable TV Could Lose $1 Billion in Hidden Fees Revenue
Hidden fees on the typical pay-TV bill are the secret sauce that pad cable operators’ bottom line and state and local government coffers. The average cable bill includes $37.11 worth of added monthly fees (excluding $13.28 in taxes) that aren’t part of the advertised package price, according to new data from KilltheCableBill.com. A separate report … Continue reading “Cable TV Could Lose $1 Billion in Hidden Fees Revenue”
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Pay-TV Lost Record 2 Million Subs in Q1
Another financial quarter, another 90 days of pain for the pay-TV market. The largest pay-TV providers in the U.S. — representing about 95% of the market — lost more than 2 million video subscribers in the quarter ended March 31, compared with a net loss of about 1 million subs in the same period last … Continue reading “Pay-TV Lost Record 2 Million Subs in Q1”