AT&T unveils DirecTV Now streaming service ahead of Nov. 30 launch

NEW YORK - AT&T Inc., the largest US TV provider, took the wraps off its new DirecTV Now streaming service on Monday, two days before it enters the online video service market to win subscribers who shun pay-television subscriptions.

DirecTV Now will launch at prices ranging from $35 a month for over 60 channels to $70 for over 120 channels, AT&T said. For a limited time, more than 100 channels will be available for $35, the company said.

AT&T announced the subscription video service in March, promising on-demand and live programming from many networks over the Internet, similar to Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. But details on the service had been limited.

AT&T is counting on the mobile video market for new revenue as most US consumers already have wireless service and further growth is limited. AT&T acquired DirecTV for $48.5 billion last year, making it the largest US pay-TV operator with 25.3 million video subscribers, in an effort to diversify into the media and entertainment business.

AT&T also plans to buy Time Warner Inc. for $85.4 billion to gain control of premium content from networks such as HBO, as online video competition is expected to heat up.

"It is really important to understand that this is the foundation for how we are going to do things in the future," John Stankey, chief executive of AT&T's entertainment group, said at a media event in New York.

DirecTV Now will help AT&T target a new market segment, including consumers who cannot pass credit checks for pay-TV subscriptions and those who shun pricey pay-TV connections, Stankey said.

DirecTV Now content will include live and on-demand video from Walt Disney Co., Twenty-First Century fox, Viacom Inc. and Scripps Networks Interactive, AT&T has said. The company is actively working to bring CBS Corp. programming to its service, executives said on Monday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Chinese Netflix' takes on tech titans in US

SAN FRANCISCO - A Chinese internet colossus referred to as a combination of Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Tesla announced Wednesday it is taking on US tech titans on their home turf.

LeEco showed off smartphones, televisions, bicycles, self-driving electric cars and a virtual reality headset along with a platform to connect all its offerings to movies, television shows, services and more in the internet cloud.

"We have blazed a new path in the internet content domain," LeEco founder and chief executive Jia Yueting said during a press event at The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

"This is the first time we will be able to achieve this in America."

Jia outlined a plan to win hearts and minds in the key North America market before moving to woo the rest of the world in the LeEco ecosystem.

He noted that some have told him "LeEco is crazy to come to the backyard" of companies such as Apple, Google, Netflix, Tesla and Amazon, but that he was confident it would succeed.

LeEco will launch two smartphones, flagship LePro 3 and its 'little brother' Le S3, in the US on November 2 priced at $399 and $249 respectively.

On the same day, a line of Super4 X Series ultra high-definition televisions will make their US debut at prices beginning at $649 and topping out at $4,999 for a uMax85 that measures 85 inches diagonally.

The smartphones and televisions will be sold at the company's LeMall.com e-commerce website, and have software integrating the hardware with the LeEco cloud platform for services and content such as on-demand television.

LeEco promised enticing bargains during a "flash sale" at LeMall on November 2, out to make a splash in the market and get people using its Netflix-style subscription service for online content.

The company also displayed a virtual reality headset and its Super Bike packed with sensors, locks and other technology powered by Google-back Android software.

A new LeEco concept car that was being used in London for the filming of a new "Transformers" film being directed by Michael Bay was rushed to San Francisco for the event.

No plans were revealed for releasing LeEco bicycles, cars or virtual reality gear in North America.

"It might seem that we have released a lot of seemingly unrelated products, but it is the opposite," Jia said.

"We have given these products the same nervous system to share content."

He maintained that LeEco wasn't coming to North America to challenge US technology giants, but to "create an entirely new generation of products" that are interconnected on the company's cloud computing platform.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Netflix global push grabs more customers than expected

Netflix Inc.'s aggressive push into international markets won more customers than the video streaming service and its investors expected last quarter, sending its shares surging 7 percent.

The dominant online video company said on Tuesday it had 74.8 million subscribers at the end of December and forecast 6.1 million more through March, fueled by its expansion this month into virtually every country except China, where it is exploring ways to launch its service.

The projection is more bullish than the 4.94 million average estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet StreetAccount.

Shares of Netflix rose 7 percent to $115.42 in after-hours trading.

Netflix, which started sending DVDs to customers by mail two decades ago, now offers its subscribers unlimited online access to TV shows and movies from Hollywood studios plus its own original shows such as "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black."

New customers overseas are countering slowing growth for Netflix in the United States, the company's biggest market. It added 1.56 million U.S. subscribers in the fourth quarter, below the 1.65 million it forecast, and less than 1.9 million a year earlier.

"Our high penetration in the U.S. seems to be making net additions harder than in the past," the company said in a quarterly letter to shareholders.

Netflix said it expects U.S. subscribers to jump 1.75 million this quarter. The company will likely benefit from the return of hit show "House of Cards" and a traditional bump in interest at the start of the year from people with new TV sets.

Internationally, Netflix added 4.04 million subscribers, compared with its estimate of 3.50 million. Netflix does not break down where its international subscribers are based.

From January through March, the company expects to add about 4.35 million international subscribers.

"The rollout in 130 countries in early January ensures that they will have no problem hitting their international target," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

Netflix said it may be able to start a service in China this year, but it may take longer. "We have work and uncertainty ahead," the company said in its investor letter. "Our expectations are modest and long-term."

Netflix said revenue rose 22.8 percent to $1.82 billion in the December quarter. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $1.83 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Excluding items, Netflix earned 7 cents per share, ahead of analysts' average estimate of 2 cents per share.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

10 years later, YouTube is a hit but faces challenges

WASHINGTON - Ten years after its launch, YouTube has become a household name for online video but faces an array of rivals in the market and lingering questions about its business model.

The first video uploaded April 23, 2005 -- an 18-second clip of co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo -- offered little indication the service would become the leader in Internet video and a key part of the Google empire.

A decade later, YouTube has more than one billion users, with localized service in 75 countries and 61 languages.

Some 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and "every day people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube and generate billions of views," according to the YouTube statistics page.

Google is reserving its 10-year anniversary celebration for May 10, marking the day the site went public, a spokesman told AFP. But analysts and others were talking about the milestone.

"Everyone in the world knows YouTube, even my mom," said Dan Rayburn, analyst at Frost and Sullivan who also writes a blog about streaming media.

YouTube played a key role in the Arab Spring uprisings and other political movements. It has faced bans in some countries, notably for the distribution of a film about Muhammad which offended some Muslims, and has faced criticism for being used to distribute unauthorized copyrighted content.

Seeking a business model

Rayburn said that even though YouTube is immensely popular around the world, it is not clear if it has a real business model.

Google bought YouTube in 2006 for some $1.6 billion in stock -- raising eyebrows about what was then the Internet firm's biggest acquisition -- and now generates considerable revenue, but also has high costs.

"Even today, Google will not say if YouTube is profitable," Rayburn noted. "But 90 percent of analysts say it is not profitable."

Rayburn said that even though YouTube popularized the idea of online video, the videos are mainly "user generated content" that does not attract revenue from users or advertisers.

"To stream premium content like films and television programs, people go to Netflix or Hulu or iTunes," he said.

"YouTube has struggled to find its core business. The vast amount of content on it cannot be monetized."

But a report by Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne earlier this year said YouTube is "a high-growth, valuable asset" for Google with tremendous potential.

The report said YouTube generated some $4.7 billion in revenue in 2014, and that it can do even better by investing in premium content -- such as the paid video channels it recently unveiled and other kinds of subscriptions.

"Given Google's hefty resources, we have been surprised it has not been willing to invest more directly in premium content," the report said.

The research firm Trefis says in a recent report that YouTube represents about three percent of the value of Google but that its importance is growing.

"As the explosive growth in online video ads spending continues, YouTube will be able to leverage its popularity to buoy Google's revenue going forward," Trefis said.

YouTube may be the most recognized name in online video, but it is being challenged on all fronts: Amazon, Hulu and Netflix and Time Warner's HBO for "premium" paid content, and services such as Facebook for free uploads of user videos.

"YouTube has to decide what they want to be," Rayburn told AFP.

"Do they want to be a place where anyone can upload stuff?"

He said Google appears to be happy to leave YouTube as it is, consistent with the philosophy of the California firm.

"I don't think Google wants to monetize all of that," said Rayburn.

"The Google mantra is to help the world and allow anyone to upload anything. They want to keep everything free and open."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com