Compared to many new technologies, it is astounding how user-friendly the generic, cable box DVR is. Other TV or online technologies could learn from its lessons.
The DVR has one truly great user-friendly feature - the list of recorded shows. The beauty of this feature is a direct result of the DVR's limitations. There are a limited number of shows (because hard drive space is limited) and the shows are all relevant to the user (because he or she chose to record them). This list is easy to navigate (because it is short) and highly personalized.
The list of recorded shows will be easy to navigate from any phone capable of playing video. The phone's small screen is up to the task of navigating through this simple list. This becomes a simple and valuable implementation of TV Everywhere once the DVR storage moves to "the cloud".
The contrast with cable VOD and the current, early TV Everywhere offerings could not be more striking.
30 August 2011
23 August 2011
NFL Sunday Ticket without DirecTV
DirecTV, which has exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, will be selling the subscription package to any non-DirecTV subscriber for the first time this fall. In an interview with Multichannel News, Alex Kaplan, DirecTV's Senior Director of Product Management, said that "It's our attempt to open up the universe a bit to people that can't get DirecTV -- students, people who live in big apartment buildings and people who live in New York City -- and it's a new revenue stream for us."
NFL Sunday Ticket via the PlayStation 3 will be cost $339.95 for the season; the package sells for $334.95 on DirecTV.
Letting Others Get Your Crown Jewel - Is that Smart?
It is a widely held belief that the main purpose of Sunday Ticket exclusivity for DirecTV was to attract customers to its platform (instead of cable, Dish or telco video services. It is well known that NFL Sunday Ticket is, if not a loss leader, does not generate a whole lot of margin for DirecTV.
Making Sunday Ticket available to non-subs, is, at least, a little odd. It is hard to imagine Cablevision providing News 12 over-the-top to Verizon customers.
Cable operators have long coveted access to Sunday Ticket (no one likes to be the platform WITHOUT a top quality programming service). It seems that if the package is available to cable customers over-the-top, by definition it is no longer is as much of competitive differentiator for DirecTV.
DirecTV's Kaplan says the target is residents in cities like New York, where tall buildings prevent a clear signal for satellites, and video-game playing college students. “There are real revenue opportunities here from non-DirecTV customers, and while they won’t sign up for DirecTV right away, ultimately these people could move to the suburbs, and we’ll have a relationship with them that could lead to a conversion to DirecTV,” said Kaplan.
That sounds fine, if the PS3 is more penetrated in New York City or college campuses, but I think most of the PS3s are probably in the suburbs.
Why PS3? What About Other Platforms? We Are in an Experimenting Age
The NFL has argued that Sunday Ticket has a minimal cannibalizing effect on the viewership on the nationally telecast games because its availability is limited to DirecTV. That's important because the vast majority of NFL television revenue is from Fox, ABC/ESPN and NBC, not DirecTV.
However, if the goal was experimentation, the PS3 is an odd choice. The PS3 accounts for more streaming hours for Netflix than any of its other platforms -- 30% of the total, according to an analysis by Sandvine; this choice was the not obvious toe-in-the-water play, that say, Roku, would have been.
Eagle-eyed observers will note that DirecTV has offered Sunday Ticket via broadband already with Sunday Ticket To Go, a $50 add-on for DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers that has been offered since 2008. STTG is available on iOS, BlackBerry, Android, other consoles, etc.
DirecTV did make Sunday Ticket To Go available to DirecTV non-subscribers in 2009 (in Manhattan) and 2010 (everywhere), but this offer was only available to people who could not subscribe to DirecTV service. In fact, a prospective customer would have to first sign up for DirecTV, then be rejected by a DirecTV installer.
DirecTV's Kaplan's other interesting comment in the interview is that "We're not going to let it [NFL Sunday Ticket subscriptions on PlayStation] go to an unlimited number. We're trying to figure out what is the market for this at that price point." Confusingly, in a later interview with Bloomberg, he added “If this test is successful, we have the opportunity to distribute ‘Sunday Ticket’ through various different devices, and we’re certainly open to relationships with other consoles and Internet-connected devices.”
Perhaps DirecTV thinks that they have already picked off all of the viable satellite television customers who really valued Sunday Ticket. It could be that the real test is less about the incremental revenue the broadband offering will bring, but whether the existing DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers will churn out at any greater rate if Sunday Ticket is available over-the-top.
NFL Sunday Ticket via the PlayStation 3 will be cost $339.95 for the season; the package sells for $334.95 on DirecTV.
Letting Others Get Your Crown Jewel - Is that Smart?
It is a widely held belief that the main purpose of Sunday Ticket exclusivity for DirecTV was to attract customers to its platform (instead of cable, Dish or telco video services. It is well known that NFL Sunday Ticket is, if not a loss leader, does not generate a whole lot of margin for DirecTV.
Making Sunday Ticket available to non-subs, is, at least, a little odd. It is hard to imagine Cablevision providing News 12 over-the-top to Verizon customers.
Cable operators have long coveted access to Sunday Ticket (no one likes to be the platform WITHOUT a top quality programming service). It seems that if the package is available to cable customers over-the-top, by definition it is no longer is as much of competitive differentiator for DirecTV.
DirecTV's Kaplan says the target is residents in cities like New York, where tall buildings prevent a clear signal for satellites, and video-game playing college students. “There are real revenue opportunities here from non-DirecTV customers, and while they won’t sign up for DirecTV right away, ultimately these people could move to the suburbs, and we’ll have a relationship with them that could lead to a conversion to DirecTV,” said Kaplan.
That sounds fine, if the PS3 is more penetrated in New York City or college campuses, but I think most of the PS3s are probably in the suburbs.
Why PS3? What About Other Platforms? We Are in an Experimenting Age
The NFL has argued that Sunday Ticket has a minimal cannibalizing effect on the viewership on the nationally telecast games because its availability is limited to DirecTV. That's important because the vast majority of NFL television revenue is from Fox, ABC/ESPN and NBC, not DirecTV.
However, if the goal was experimentation, the PS3 is an odd choice. The PS3 accounts for more streaming hours for Netflix than any of its other platforms -- 30% of the total, according to an analysis by Sandvine; this choice was the not obvious toe-in-the-water play, that say, Roku, would have been.
Eagle-eyed observers will note that DirecTV has offered Sunday Ticket via broadband already with Sunday Ticket To Go, a $50 add-on for DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers that has been offered since 2008. STTG is available on iOS, BlackBerry, Android, other consoles, etc.
DirecTV did make Sunday Ticket To Go available to DirecTV non-subscribers in 2009 (in Manhattan) and 2010 (everywhere), but this offer was only available to people who could not subscribe to DirecTV service. In fact, a prospective customer would have to first sign up for DirecTV, then be rejected by a DirecTV installer.
DirecTV's Kaplan's other interesting comment in the interview is that "We're not going to let it [NFL Sunday Ticket subscriptions on PlayStation] go to an unlimited number. We're trying to figure out what is the market for this at that price point." Confusingly, in a later interview with Bloomberg, he added “If this test is successful, we have the opportunity to distribute ‘Sunday Ticket’ through various different devices, and we’re certainly open to relationships with other consoles and Internet-connected devices.”
Perhaps DirecTV thinks that they have already picked off all of the viable satellite television customers who really valued Sunday Ticket. It could be that the real test is less about the incremental revenue the broadband offering will bring, but whether the existing DirecTV Sunday Ticket subscribers will churn out at any greater rate if Sunday Ticket is available over-the-top.
08 August 2011
Tangible Evidence of "Cord Shaving"
The title of this post is provocative, but it is not as provocative as the content that inspired it.
For many years, cable executives and some industry analysts have downplayed the impact of cord-cutting on the multichannel subscription television business. The arguments have some merits. Multichannel penetration continues to rise each quarter. Broadcast has been free competition for cable television forever. The most popular online video is YouTube, which, while a wonderful service, is not a substitute for a television subscription, except in the sense that people watch television and people watch YouTube. Netflix, even in its DVD-by-mail incarnation, got a lot closer to being a substitute. The programming (movies and TV series) was the sort of thing that people watched on TV. It did offer a large amount of choice -- one of the primary virtues of a multichannel subscription versus broadcast television. It was an all-you-can-eat subscription that offered a lot of value for heavy users (or multiple person households). Netflix was seen as a good service for "cord shavers" who might drop premium channels like HBO and Showtime and get their movie fix from the company with the red envelopes.
For those waiting for the multichannel television business to be roiled the way that the music business was, the first big cracks were admitted last week. The dirty little secret is porn. Porn on cable was a wonderful business. The retail prices were high, the marketing costs were low (consumers who want it seek it out) and the wholesale costs were modest (there are lots of companies that make porn and the cable companies easily pit them against each other; also there are few barriers to entry in the porn business and it requires little capital, so new suppliers are always entering the market).
Multichannel distributors never talked much about porn in their earnings calls before. The subject was considered...in poor taste.
Time Warner Cable and DirecTV were forced to admit that the reason for the declines in their VOD business were large declines in the sale of porn.
It is no wonder that porn is the canary in the coal mine. Anonymity is a plus for consumers (no need to explain the VOD purchase on the cable bill is a plus in many households). Short form content is often a good substitute for long form content in this genre (most long form content could be considered a compilation of scenes -- the unit of payment for the performers). A relatively small amount of the porn market is branded (Playboy, which doesn't consider what it provides as porn, is the strongest brand name in "adult video"). Also, there is a tremendous supply of free content on the Internet.
What is the next genre to be cord shaved? Many categories of news seem to share these characteristics: weather information, sports highlights, entertainment news are some of the more obvious examples. These sorts of services (The Weather Channel, ESPNews, E!) do have the advantage of being bundled on the basic tier, rather than being a separate purchase, for consumers. These channels are also bundled with other channels for sale to the distributor. Therefore they are not easy to drop, even if their value to the bundle is declining. But it sure looks like their value to the bundle is, in fact, declining.
For many years, cable executives and some industry analysts have downplayed the impact of cord-cutting on the multichannel subscription television business. The arguments have some merits. Multichannel penetration continues to rise each quarter. Broadcast has been free competition for cable television forever. The most popular online video is YouTube, which, while a wonderful service, is not a substitute for a television subscription, except in the sense that people watch television and people watch YouTube. Netflix, even in its DVD-by-mail incarnation, got a lot closer to being a substitute. The programming (movies and TV series) was the sort of thing that people watched on TV. It did offer a large amount of choice -- one of the primary virtues of a multichannel subscription versus broadcast television. It was an all-you-can-eat subscription that offered a lot of value for heavy users (or multiple person households). Netflix was seen as a good service for "cord shavers" who might drop premium channels like HBO and Showtime and get their movie fix from the company with the red envelopes.
For those waiting for the multichannel television business to be roiled the way that the music business was, the first big cracks were admitted last week. The dirty little secret is porn. Porn on cable was a wonderful business. The retail prices were high, the marketing costs were low (consumers who want it seek it out) and the wholesale costs were modest (there are lots of companies that make porn and the cable companies easily pit them against each other; also there are few barriers to entry in the porn business and it requires little capital, so new suppliers are always entering the market).
Multichannel distributors never talked much about porn in their earnings calls before. The subject was considered...in poor taste.
Time Warner Cable and DirecTV were forced to admit that the reason for the declines in their VOD business were large declines in the sale of porn.
It is no wonder that porn is the canary in the coal mine. Anonymity is a plus for consumers (no need to explain the VOD purchase on the cable bill is a plus in many households). Short form content is often a good substitute for long form content in this genre (most long form content could be considered a compilation of scenes -- the unit of payment for the performers). A relatively small amount of the porn market is branded (Playboy, which doesn't consider what it provides as porn, is the strongest brand name in "adult video"). Also, there is a tremendous supply of free content on the Internet.
What is the next genre to be cord shaved? Many categories of news seem to share these characteristics: weather information, sports highlights, entertainment news are some of the more obvious examples. These sorts of services (The Weather Channel, ESPNews, E!) do have the advantage of being bundled on the basic tier, rather than being a separate purchase, for consumers. These channels are also bundled with other channels for sale to the distributor. Therefore they are not easy to drop, even if their value to the bundle is declining. But it sure looks like their value to the bundle is, in fact, declining.
29 July 2011
Netflix price increase - an experiment?
I have been surprised in reading all of the coverage of Netflix's new pricing scheme, that nothing I read has pointed out a possible reason for the new structure -- to create two distinct products, one DVD-by-mail and one streaming. This is one way, perhaps the only real way, for the company to really understand how consumers value the two offerings.
Watch Instantly became much more attractive with its deal with Starz in 2008, which brought Watch Instantly premium-window movies -- much higher profile content than its streaming offering had offered up to that point (and arguably the best streaming stuff on the service today). The explosive growth of the service's subscriber base since 2007 certainly suggests that streaming has had a lot of value (end 2Q07 sub count was 6.7 million; end 2Q11 paid sub count was 23.3 million - yowzah!)
When Netflix launched streaming in 2007, it was positioned as added-value for the mail-based subscription offering. This brought a number of benefits. First, it created broad exposure to the service (because every Netflix subscriber has to have access to an Internet connection to manage one's queue, if nothing else). Second, because the streaming offering was meagre at first, it wasn't a product that could really stand on its own anyway. Third, when it was launched it only worked on Internet Explorer on Windows PCs -- Macs, Roku, Xbox, Playstation, connected Blu-Rays and TVs, iPhone and ubiquity came later (and added tremendously to the value). Finally, Netflix probably had no idea how popular the streaming option would be.
Watch Instantly became much more attractive with its deal with Starz in 2008, which brought Watch Instantly premium-window movies -- much higher profile content than its streaming offering had offered up to that point (and arguably the best streaming stuff on the service today). The explosive growth of the service's subscriber base since 2007 certainly suggests that streaming has had a lot of value (end 2Q07 sub count was 6.7 million; end 2Q11 paid sub count was 23.3 million - yowzah!)
Now, by creating two different subscriptions, Netflix will get some real data on how its customers value the different offerings. Right now, Netflix has extensive data in how they use the services (time spent watching streams, DVDs ordered per month, platforms used for watching those streams), but, as many people know, there is no test for how people really value a service than actually paying cash for it.
To the extent that Netflix wants to add live television channels (like, say Epix or Starz or Disney Channel, for starters -- ad -supported services will be trickier because advertising has different rights issues), they would prefer to have a subscriber count that does not include people who only use and value the mail-based service.
That said, an effective 60% increase for those, like myself, on the one-DVD-unlimited plan sure seems like a big, big jump. But that is a discussion on which many others have already commented.
That said, an effective 60% increase for those, like myself, on the one-DVD-unlimited plan sure seems like a big, big jump. But that is a discussion on which many others have already commented.
25 July 2011
TWCable iPad App revised - what's new in 2.0
On 7 July 2011, Time Warner Cable released its second version of its popular and within-the-industry controversial iPad app. The app take some major steps forward adding significant functionality, but seems very much like a work-in-progress rather that a polished piece of software.
The first noticeable change in the 2.0 TWCable TV iPad app is that its splash screen is now purple, unlike the avocado shade of 1.0 (my review here). Branding people will note that TWC's web site is blue with a white logo, some of its trucks are painted with a lime-colored logo on a white field and this app has a white logo on a purple background.
The second change is the semi-persistent navigation below offers 4 choices: Live TV, Guide, DVR and Settings. Previously, the only function was Live TV.
Starting with the most mundane, Settings has 3 choices: Favorites (your list of your favorite channels -- which starts out empty), Devices (which set top box do you want to control via the iPad) and Sign Out.
The Guide button adds new functionality -- the ability to use the iPad app as a remote control for a set top box. The guide is the familiar scrolling electronic programming guide (EPG) from digital cable. It launches on channel 1. It is not the guide for the channels on the app. When a channel is touched, the user is given the choice of "Watch Now" or "Add to Favorites". The guide does not require that you look at all 1000 or so channels on the system, it gives a choice of 3 views: All Channels, Favorites (more on this later) or just the HD channels. One missing choice, that would seem to be an easy addition would be the list of the channels to which the users subscribes; this would also be much more useful than "All Channels".
DVR also adds new functionality -- the list of Scheduled Recordings on the connected cable box, but not what has already been recorded (and, there is no way to play those recordings via the iPad). This functionality is provided on TWC's website.
Live TV works much as it did in 1.0, except that users have lost the "Last Five Channels Viewed" navigation option from the previous version. That's a step backward -- it was one of the innovative navigation features (i.e., something other than a scrolling guide and channel up/channel down). The Favorites list does not apply to Live TV viewed via the app, only to the set top box guide.
There is significant latency in switching channels. The app also seems buggy, it crashed twice on me in a short period of time.
There are 15 new channels on the app: Africa, Cooking, Discovery Health & Fit, DIY, ESPN Classic, Gol, Gospel Music, Great American Country, Jewish Life, Mav, Shop NBC, Smithsonian, Tennis, Universal and Word. Seven of these are SD, the other eight are HD. Live sports events have been beefed up with Gol and Tennis, previously only Golf was in that category (ESPNews and ESPN Classic don't show live events).
In terms of new programming ground, the app now contains HD-only services (Smithsonian and Universal), the previous version did not. The other broad categories of what is not carried continue to be:
The first noticeable change in the 2.0 TWCable TV iPad app is that its splash screen is now purple, unlike the avocado shade of 1.0 (my review here). Branding people will note that TWC's web site is blue with a white logo, some of its trucks are painted with a lime-colored logo on a white field and this app has a white logo on a purple background.
The second change is the semi-persistent navigation below offers 4 choices: Live TV, Guide, DVR and Settings. Previously, the only function was Live TV.
Starting with the most mundane, Settings has 3 choices: Favorites (your list of your favorite channels -- which starts out empty), Devices (which set top box do you want to control via the iPad) and Sign Out.
The Guide button adds new functionality -- the ability to use the iPad app as a remote control for a set top box. The guide is the familiar scrolling electronic programming guide (EPG) from digital cable. It launches on channel 1. It is not the guide for the channels on the app. When a channel is touched, the user is given the choice of "Watch Now" or "Add to Favorites". The guide does not require that you look at all 1000 or so channels on the system, it gives a choice of 3 views: All Channels, Favorites (more on this later) or just the HD channels. One missing choice, that would seem to be an easy addition would be the list of the channels to which the users subscribes; this would also be much more useful than "All Channels".
DVR also adds new functionality -- the list of Scheduled Recordings on the connected cable box, but not what has already been recorded (and, there is no way to play those recordings via the iPad). This functionality is provided on TWC's website.
Live TV works much as it did in 1.0, except that users have lost the "Last Five Channels Viewed" navigation option from the previous version. That's a step backward -- it was one of the innovative navigation features (i.e., something other than a scrolling guide and channel up/channel down). The Favorites list does not apply to Live TV viewed via the app, only to the set top box guide.
There is significant latency in switching channels. The app also seems buggy, it crashed twice on me in a short period of time.
There are 15 new channels on the app: Africa, Cooking, Discovery Health & Fit, DIY, ESPN Classic, Gol, Gospel Music, Great American Country, Jewish Life, Mav, Shop NBC, Smithsonian, Tennis, Universal and Word. Seven of these are SD, the other eight are HD. Live sports events have been beefed up with Gol and Tennis, previously only Golf was in that category (ESPNews and ESPN Classic don't show live events).
In terms of new programming ground, the app now contains HD-only services (Smithsonian and Universal), the previous version did not. The other broad categories of what is not carried continue to be:
- any broadcast channels
- any premium channels (e.g., HBO, Showtime, Starz)
- anything from Viacom (e.g., Nick, MTV, Comedy, Spike)
- A&E HD
- ABC Family HD
- Africa Channel HD
- AMC HD
- Animal Planet HD
- Bio HD
- Bloomberg (still SD)
- Boomerang (SD)
- Bravo HD
- Cartoon Network HD
- Chiller (SD)
- CNBC HD+
- CNBC World (SD)
- CNN HD
- CNN International (SD)
- Cooking Channel (SD)
- C-SPAN HD
- C-SPAN2 HD
- C-SPAN3 HD
- Current TV (SD)
- Discovery Channel HD
- Discovery Fit & Health (SD)
- Disney Channel HD
- Disney XD HD
- DIY HD
- E! HD
- ESPN Classic (SD) - this service is not on the WatchESPN app
- ESPNews HD
- EWTN SD
- Food Network HD
- Fox Business HD
- Fox News HD
- FX HD
- G4 HD
- Galavision HD
- Gol TV HD
- Golf HD
- Gospel Music HD
- Great American Country (SD)
- GSN (looks like HD)
- Hallmark Channel HD
- HGTV HD
- History HD
- History International HD
- HLN HD
- Home Shopping Network HD
- Hub HD
- IFC HD
- Investigation Discovery HD
- Jewelry Television by ACN (SD) -- the weird branding continues
- Jewish Life TV (SD)
- Lifetime HD
- Lifetime Movie Network HD
- Lifetime Real Women (SD)
- Mav TV HD
- Military Channel (SD)
- MSNBC HD
- Mun2 (SD)
- National Geographic HD
- National Geographic Wild HD
- NY1 News HD
- NY1 Noticias for Time Warner (SD) -- odd "for TW" branding continues
- Oprah Winfrey Network HD
- Ovation (SD)
- Oxygen HD
- Planet Green HD
- QVC HD
- Reelz Channel HD
- Science HD
- Shop NBC (SD)
- Sleuth (SD)
- Smithsonian HD
- SoapNet (SD)
- Style HD
- Sundance (still, oddly SD)
- SyFy HD
- Tennis Channel HD
- TLC HD
- Travel Channel HD
- TruTV HD
- Turner Classic Movies HD
- TV Guide HD
- TV One HD
- Universal HD
- USA HD
- WE tv HD
- Word Network (SD)
No longer on the app -- Wedding Central, which was shut down on July 1, 2011. This review is of the Version described in the iPad Settings section as "Developer Build", for reasons that are unclear to me. It is Version 2.0.0 in iTunes.
21 June 2011
Netflix on Cable, how could that work?
I was intrigued by a comment about Netflix at the recent Cable Show by Melinda Witmer, Time Warner Cable's Chief Programming Officer: “Consumers are getting it on every device that’s coming on an IP basis today but not the set top. They look like a programmer to me and it makes me sense that we’d be doing business with them in the home on our equipment, too.” The intriguing part of this is not that it makes sense, but that it is completely counter to the conventional wisdom that Netflix and cable companies are inherently competitors.
Netflix on cable offers the Netflix the following advantages:
- Availability on another device is always good.
- Integration with the mainstream of TV watching probably increases usage of the service similar to how carriage on a more convenient channel increases a channel's viewership.
- A relationship with the cable operator represents a way of addressing ISP bandwidth caps (e.g., excluding Netflix usage from such caps) and network traffic imbalances (that negotiation gets rolled into the affiliation negotiation).
- A Netflix app on the cable set-top box might improve the technical quality of Netflix service by storing some of the most requested content (or the starting minutes of a lot of content) at the headend rather than outside the headend (with a CDN). Presumably this could save Netflix something on its content delivery costs as well.
Netflix on cable offers the cable operator the following advantages:
- Netflix adds to the functionality of the cable service. Looking at it the other way, if Netflix is not on the set-top box, the subscriber has a reason to turn on another device (game console, PC, Apple TV, Roku, connected Blu-Ray, etc.) and, once there, will see more value on that device and spend more time using it.
- Netflix is a popular services and is already being bought by many cable customers. Offering it is a way to repatriate some of those revenues.
Netflix on a direct streaming basis costs a consumer $7.99 (plus applicable taxes). Presumably the cable operator would like to make some margin on the sale of Netflix. Cable customers could pay extra to get Netflix via the set-top box as it simplifies the home entertainment system by eliminating the need for another box to be connected to the TV (although relatively little of Netflix distribution to the TV is likely via a dedicated box like Roku -- game consoles are probably the biggest one and no one buys a game console primarily to get Netflix). Cable television has always been a premium product and its price reflects that. After all, about 10% of cable customers buy only the basic broadcast level of service and the primary competitive service to that is free over-the-air television. Cable operators often sell their services for different prices than other providers in the marketplace (e.g., HBO's price on Comcast often has little similarity to its price on Verizon or DirecTV), although few services are available directly from the wholesaler (MLB.TV is such an example as it is a broadband delivered version of the Major League Baseball Extra Innings package sold by multichannel providers). [Added: In fact, that might be the biggest issue for a distributor; HBO might, not unreasonably, expect the same rights as Netflix, to be able sell direct to consumers.]
If Netflix expected 70% of retail revenue and it wanted the same $7.99 wholesale than it would get from a direct customer, then the retail price would have to be $11.41. 70-30 is the typical split for content providers in Apple's iTunes store and is a common split in Internet content-distribution relationships. If the retail price would stay at $7.99 and Netflix were to get a 70% split, that would make the wholesale take $5.59.
All things considered, both Netflix and the cable operator could benefit from the arrangement, so perhaps they would split the difference between these scenarios -- that would put the retail price at $9.70 and the wholesale rate at $6.79 -- rounding puts Netflix at $10 retail and $7 wholesale. For those who remember premium television pricing history, that sounds very conventional (and I mean that as a compliment).
02 June 2011
TWCable iPad App Review
I recently got an iPad, primarily to better understand the multichannel TV and over-the-top video apps that have generated so much discussion in the video business.
One of the biggest public disputes has been over the iPad app from Time Warner Cable, artlessly called TWCable TV. Discovery, Fox and Viacom sued over the inclusion of their channels in the app. While Discovery and Fox appear to have settled their issues with TWC, the Viacom services are still missing from the app. The app works only in your home and only if you subscribe to both cable TV and broadband service from TWC.
The app is simple, good-looking and intuitive. It is a fine start.
The app launches with a splash screen of a TWC logo on an avocado green background. I have never seen that color associated with the company previously. Much like the app's name, one wonders if the branding people approved it. [Addition: I have since seen this green -- or a more lime-ish tint -- on TWC trucks, but the website graphics are blue, the color I had always associated with the company.]
It feels new. This is not the clunky navigation from the set-top box ported to a new platform. It does feel like an iPad app. It is a limited functionality app. You can only watch live TV and only of the handful of channels that they have provided. When you leave the app and return, it returns you to the last viewed channel, just like a regular TV
Sign up is via the TWC username and email that you need for programming your DVR from their website (which, by the way, doesn't work that well) and other account management functions. Blessedly, this only needs to be done once.
There is no way to reorder the channel lineup or bookmark favorite channels.
The channels carried are a mix of services, with a decided preference for HD versions, which is a little odd given the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio. The full list of the 73 channels carried is below; by my count 16 are SD channels. The app originally launched with 32 channels. It is unclear to me if the app's channel lineup can be revised on the fly or if TWC has to issue an updated version of the app whenever it wants to make a change.
What isn't carried:
The list of channels carried. The name is how it appears in the top bar when selected (except for the comments in parentheses or after the dashes). The numbers do not appear on the guide, that's just a function of this list.
One of the biggest public disputes has been over the iPad app from Time Warner Cable, artlessly called TWCable TV. Discovery, Fox and Viacom sued over the inclusion of their channels in the app. While Discovery and Fox appear to have settled their issues with TWC, the Viacom services are still missing from the app. The app works only in your home and only if you subscribe to both cable TV and broadband service from TWC.
The app is simple, good-looking and intuitive. It is a fine start.
The app launches with a splash screen of a TWC logo on an avocado green background. I have never seen that color associated with the company previously. Much like the app's name, one wonders if the branding people approved it. [Addition: I have since seen this green -- or a more lime-ish tint -- on TWC trucks, but the website graphics are blue, the color I had always associated with the company.]
It feels new. This is not the clunky navigation from the set-top box ported to a new platform. It does feel like an iPad app. It is a limited functionality app. You can only watch live TV and only of the handful of channels that they have provided. When you leave the app and return, it returns you to the last viewed channel, just like a regular TV
Sign up is via the TWC username and email that you need for programming your DVR from their website (which, by the way, doesn't work that well) and other account management functions. Blessedly, this only needs to be done once.
The app only works in landscape orientation. The guide is a translucent list of channels that appears on the left side and starts when you launch the app. If you tap on on the screen on the right side, it goes away and the channel you are watching expands to fill the iPad's width (preserving the aspect ratio).
The guide fits eight channels at a time and displays the channel logo (small, not always that clear), the title of current show, one line of description about the episode and the start time and title of the next show. When the guide comes up, a a translucent bar at the top also comes up that provides 2 buttons. On the right is "Channel History" which which shows and provides one-click-access to the last four channels that you have viewed. This is an interesting interface choice that adds some functionality to the ubiquitous "last channel" buttons on TV remotes. On the left is the "Log Out" button, although I can't understand why anyone would ever do so in normal use.
The guide and top bar will disappear on their own after a short while. To bring back the guide, tap on the screen. There is significant latency switching between channels. This is not a dream device for ADD channel surfers. The video generally worked well. I had some experiences of waiting for it to reload/buffer video when I was not switching channels.
There is no way to reorder the channel lineup or bookmark favorite channels.
The channels carried are a mix of services, with a decided preference for HD versions, which is a little odd given the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio. The full list of the 73 channels carried is below; by my count 16 are SD channels. The app originally launched with 32 channels. It is unclear to me if the app's channel lineup can be revised on the fly or if TWC has to issue an updated version of the app whenever it wants to make a change.
What isn't carried:
- any broadcast channels (not even thinly-viewed digital multiplex feeds like ABC's Living Well)
- any premium channels
- anything from Viacom (e.g., Nick, MTV, Comedy, Spike)
- any of the HD-only services (e.g., Smithsonian, MGM, HD Theatre)
Given how sports-driven most subscription television marketing is and how crucial sports is seen for most early adopter video innovations, there is little sports programming in the app. Golf Channel is the only full-time sports service in the lineup. None of the New York regional sports networks are available. The ESPNs are not, except ESPNews; they are available on the WatchESPN app. Versus, MLB, NBA, NHL, Tennis, Big Ten, Gol, Speed, Fox Soccer...none of them are available. Nor are TNT and TBS which have significant slates of sports. In contrast, women-targeted services are very well represented: 3 Lifetime services, E!, HGTV, Food, Oxygen, WE, Style and Wedding Central.
My television subscription includes all of the 73 channels listed below. It is unclear to me if TWC blocks out the digital tier or HD channels for customers who do not subscribe to them. Conversely, I wonder if some of the foreign language services that I do not see on the app are available to other customers who do subscribe to them.
There is no access to the recorded content on your DVR. There is no closed captioning or SAP. There is no-access to any on demand content. The only "switch" in the settings panel is "Remember password". This is version 1.0.2008 of the software.
In short, if you have an iPad the app is well worth downloading and looks like it will add some value to a cable subscription. I'm not sure that I will end up using it that much given its limited functionality and the presence of more-fully-featured actual TVs in my household.
In terms of the business dispute, TWC is taking the position that because the app only works in the home, the iPad is essentially operating as another television and its rights to carry channels on it are covered by its rights in its regular affiliation agreements. There is certainly a lot of support for the programmer's side of the argument that this is not another television (for starters, no must-carry broadcast channels are carried) and that these rights have to be negotiated separately.
The list of channels carried. The name is how it appears in the top bar when selected (except for the comments in parentheses or after the dashes). The numbers do not appear on the guide, that's just a function of this list.
- A&E HD
- ABC Family HD
- AMC HD
- Animal Planet HD
- Bio HD
- Bloomberg TV (oddly only in SD, however the Bloomberg HD feed just launched on this system)
- Boomerang (SD)
- Bravo HD
- CNBC HD+
- CNBC World (SD)
- CNN HD
- CNN International (SD)
- C-SPAN HD
- C-SPAN2 HD
- C-SPAN3 HD
- Cartoon Network HD
- Chiller (SD)
- CurrentTV (SD)
- Discovery Channel HD
- Disney Channel HD
- Disney XD HD
- E! HD
- ESPNews HD (not ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU all of which are on the WatchESPN app, which does not have ESPNews HD).
- Eternal Word Television Network (SD, although the HD feed is carried on the system)
- FX HD
- Food Network HD
- Fox Business HD
- Fox News HD
- G4 HD
- GSN (looks like HD)
- Galavision HD
- Golf Channel HD
- HGTV HD
- HLN HD
- Hub HD
- Hallmark Channel HD
- History HD
- History International HD
- Home Shopping Network HD
- IFC HD
- Investigation Discovery HD
- Jewelry Television by ACN (SD) -- weird to see such a lengthy name for an obscure channel
- Lifetime HD (which launched the same day as Bloomberg HD)
- Lifetime Movie Network HD
- Lifetime Real Women (SD)
- MSNBC HD
- Military Channel (SD)
- Mun2 (SD)
- NY1 News HD
- NY1 Noticias for Time Warner (SD) -- odd branding in the "for Time Warner"
- National Geographic HD
- National Geographic Wild HD
- Oprah Winfrey Network HD
- Ovation TV (SD)
- Oxygen HD
- Planet Green HD
- QVC HD
- Reelz Channel HD
- Science Channel HD
- Sleuth (SD)
- SoapNet (SD)
- Style HD
- Sundance Channel (SD, although the HD feed is carried on the system -- a particularly odd choice for a movie service)
- SyFy HD
- TLC HD
- TV Guide Network HD
- TV One HD
- Travel Channel HD
- Turner Classic Movies HD
- USA HD
- WE tv HD
- Wedding Central HD
- truTV HD
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