WebTV

Google’s Chromecast streaming stick could soon get competition from an unexpected source: Mozilla has secretly been working with a partner on a Chromecast-like streaming stick that is powered by Firefox OS. The project was supposed to be under wraps for at least a few more weeks, but Thursday, news started to leak out when a Continue Reading →

Google has been in talks to acquire video search startup Baarzo, according to sources with knowledge of the company. However, those sources were less clear about whether the companies had reached a final agreement. (One suggested that the deal had closed, the other was noncommittal. A third source had also said that Baarzo has been Continue Reading →

Even though Amazon is investing heavily in its Fire platform including new Fire TV and Fire Phone, it still is showing some chops for iOS. Monday’s free update brings the latest features of Amazon’s Video service to its iOS apps. Amazon upgraded the iPad and iPhone apps today with all new video playback controls, including Continue Reading →

Netflix recently signed deals with Comcast and Verizon to improve streaming quality for its customers. There’s still work to be done, though, and streaming quality can often be shaky. Netflix wants you to know what’s wrong if you have a less-than-good stream, which is why it updates its monthly speed index to show off the Continue Reading →

On Tuesday, news broke that YouTube would begin blocking videos from artists on indie labels that had not signed on to its new terms, a set of contracts it’s making partners agree to before it launches a paid streaming service later this year. Fans and artists were understandably upset, but YouTube insisted that the majority Continue Reading →

Smartphones and tablets are playing a key role in the consumption of online videos, a new study from video technology company Ooyala shows. During the first quarter of 2014, 21 percent of all online video-plays around the world were completed through mobile devices or tablets, Ooyala reported Wednesday. In the first quarter of 2012, that Continue Reading →

Netflix is already working on a dizzying number of original shows, but it’s just added a new genre to its growing repertoire of exclusive content. Starting in early 2016, the company will premiere a talk show hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler, featuring guest interviews and jokes about “topical entertainment and cultural issues.” Original shows such Continue Reading →

Twitter has announced it’s acquiring live-TV clipping service SnappyTV, a platform used by broadcasters and rights-holders to edit and distribute snippets of live TV across the social sphere shortly after they’re first aired. Launched in 2010, San Francisco-based SnappyTV has been been partnering with the likes of FOX Sports, NBC Sports, CBS, HBO, and NBA. Continue Reading →

Are you watching the World Cup? I am, and I’m loving every minute of it. If I’m home and there’s a World Cup game being played, it’s on my TV. Even if I’m doing other things, it’s on in the background … it’s easy to tell when something exciting is happening (or about to happen) Continue Reading →

It’s official: Google is about to ruin YouTube. A company exec told the Financial Times it will start blocking videos from record labels that refuse to sign licensing deals for its forthcoming premium service, YouTube Music Pass. This is the dumbest thing Google could do, and it threatens the very heart of what has always Continue Reading →