Altice's Altice Mobile service is becoming Optimum Mobile, said the cable operator Friday. Altice said the name change is the start of a plan to align all its operations under its Optimum brand. The first of the moves takes effect Sunday.
The push into games is in “the early stages,” said Netflix's Q2 shareholder letter. Games will be included free in subscriptions at no additional cost, with initial focus on mobile, it said Tuesday. “Since we are nearly a decade into our push into original programming, we think the time is right to learn more about how our members value games,” it said. Mobile is “a great platform for games,” said Greg Peters, chief operating officer and chief product officer. “It’s very mature. It’s got great enabling technology, tools, a great developer community, and the vast majority of our members have phones that are capable of great gameplay experiences.” The video streamer beat its global net subscriber additions target by 54% in Q2 (see 2107200068), and it’s forecasting 59% year-over-year net adds growth in Q3.
Astound Broadband is buying central Texas fiber-to-the-home operator Harris Broadband, it said Tuesday. The deal is expected to close later this year and will give Astound's Grande Communications more than 6,000 additional customers, 12,500 homes passed and 150 fiber miles in Texas, it said. It didn't provide terms.
FuboTV agreed with The Cordish Cos. for a mobile Fubo Sportsbook in Pennsylvania, subject to regulatory approvals, it said Thursday. FuboTV plans to integrate gaming with its live sports content, enabling consumers to bet on sports events while they watch. The virtual MVPD has carriage agreements with regional sports networks NBC Sports Philadelphia for the 76ers, Flyers and Phillies and with AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh for the Penguins and Pirates. Scott Butera, president-Fubo Gaming, called the pact a “a significant accomplishment” for its forthcoming Fubo Sportsbook, which in the Pennsylvania market, can also include mobile casino games. Fubo Sportsbook is expected to begin state-by-state rollout in Q4, subject to regulatory approvals in the four states where it has accords.
Harmonic announced public cloud support for delivery of Dolby Vision live content. The company integrated Dolby Vision into its VOS cloud streaming platform and XOS software-based appliance to streamline ultra-high-definition HDR live production, it said Thursday.
ViacomCBS and Charter Communications renewed distribution agreements allowing continued carriage of ViacomCBS' content and licensing of its streaming services, they said Thursday. They said the deal will expand collaboration on addressable media and advanced advertising.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' partial rejection of a consolidated challenge to the FCC's 2019 local franchise authority order (see 2105260035) wrongly said the order preempts a telecom services fee charged by Eugene, Oregon, when it applies to broadband services provided by cable operators. That's per a petition (in Pacer, docket 19-4161) for rehearing and for rehearing en banc filed Monday by petitioner Eugene. The city said the FCC ignored a 2016 Oregon Supreme Court decision on the fee's validity under the Cable Act, and rehearing is needed to resolve that conflict and to address the 6th Circuit's inversion of "the longstanding presumption against implied federal preemption of state and local taxing authority." The FCC didn't comment.
HITN-TV reached an agreement giving Roku users access to its Edye educational entertainment programming in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries, said the media company Friday. HITN bills Edye as the first Spanish-language premium VOD subscription service for preschoolers and their parents. Users can download the Edye app through the Roku Channel store for viewing more than 70 animated series, it said.
The U.S. pay-TV industry lost more than 18 million subscribers 2014-2020, including 7 million last year, said Parks Associates Thursday. Traditional pay-TV services had about 10 million sub losses in 2020, Parks said, while overall pay-TV subscriptions fell 7 million, as virtual MVPDs gained 3 million subs, said analyst Kristen Hanich. The only pay-TV category with growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, vMVPDs now account for 16% of U.S. pay-TV households, and are expected to increase to 23 million by 2024 vs. 53 million for traditional pay-TV, Hanich said. ISPs and others operating in pay TV are looking for alternatives to traditional pay TV, said the analyst. Cable companies had some success in bundling around Wi-Fi-first mobile virtual network operator services, primarily running on Verizon’s network, Hanich noted. A Q1 Parks survey showed 4% of broadband households subscribed to Comcast Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile or Altice Mobile. With over 110 million residential and small business internet subs, U.S. ISPs can leverage the “massive subscriber base,” Hanich said.
Seventy percent of video watchers use two or three devices for viewing, 10% more than six, Kaltura reported Wednesday. TV was the most popular viewing source for 62% of respondents: Smart TVs were the top way to watch content for 38% of respondents vs. set-top boxes at 25%. And 65% of respondents listed Netflix as their most watched, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Hulu tied for second place, then Disney+, pay TV, YouTube TV, Roku, HBO Max, other and Apple TV.