WebTV

If you are trying to get Netflix and use Verizon’s broadband, then there is a good chance that your video performance is less than optimal. Some Verizon customers might even go as far as calling it a crappy Netflix experience. The reason: a behind-the-scenes power play between Verizon and Cogent Communications , one of the Continue Reading →

Netflix has inked a new multi-year deal with DreamWorks Animation to claim timed exclusivity to new, original TV series from the studios that made popular children’s films such as Shrek, Madagascar, Kung-Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. Netflix says the new deal is the largest it has ever signed for first-run content, although Continue Reading →

Google Fiber is certainly one of Google’s more audacious experiments and it’s now becoming clearer what the company’s long-term strategy is with its high-speed fiber Internet and television service. Barron’s points us to a new research note from Evercore Partners analyst Ken Sena, who just got back from seeing Google Fiber in action in Kansas Continue Reading →

Intel’s talks to buy content from media companies for its new TV service are advancing, and the chipmaker is offering to pay as much as 75 percent more than traditional cable rates, people familiar with the talks said. But Intel has yet to close any programming deals, said the sources, who requested anonymity because they Continue Reading →

Several sources with knowledge of the ongoing Hulu acquisition talks tell PandoDaily that a deal is imminent and that DirecTV is the likely victor. The acquisition price will be written with a “B,” according to our sources, but just barely. It’s no secret that Hulu’s owners are seeking an acquirer for the premium streaming video Continue Reading →

Ask Netflix Vice President of Product Innovation Todd Yellin what makes the streaming giant special, and he’ll start telling you about algorithms, test groups and suggestion engines. “It’s the revolution of TV,” he explained to us at E3. “They used to send out a TV show and then they’d have no freaking idea who was Continue Reading →

Amazon announced on Tuesday it’s exclusively adding “thousands of TV episodes from Viacom to Prime Instant Video.” The content is mostly kids programming, with shows like Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues. Those are coveted shows for streaming services, and up until late May they were on Netflix. Amazon has also snagged up other Viacom Continue Reading →

Netflix continues to dominate the TV show streaming industry, grabbing 89 percent of the market during Q1 2013. At the same time though, it lost 4 percentage points year over year as competitors Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime gained 3 percentage points and 1 percentage points, respectively. The latest data, which comes from marketing firm Continue Reading →

Verizon is close to taking the lid off a four-year, $1B extension of its NFL rights. The deal, which will allow Verizon to stream every NFL regular-season and playoff game to mobile phones, should forever obliterate the distinction between sponsor and media-rights deals. Its previous deal gave Verizon subscribers access to live games schedules from Continue Reading →

DirecTV, the second-biggest U.S. pay-TV service, and two other bidders are each offering at least $1 billion for Hulu LLC, the online video website, said people with knowledge of the bid. The other two couldn’t be identified immediately. Los Angeles-based Hulu’s board has been weighing at least seven buyout offers and plans to narrow those Continue Reading →