Latest from Next TV in Bluesky-tv

TiVo Extends Patent Deal with Canada’s Shaw

daniel.frankel@futurenet.com (Daniel Frankel) — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 14:22:25 +0000

TiVo announced today that Canada’s Shaw Communications has signed a multi-year extension for its i-Guide interactive programming guide, was well as expanded access to TiVo’s intellectual property portfolio.

TiVo said that Shaw “will gain broader access to TiVo’s next-generation IP offerings for use across all platforms including BlueSky TV.

“We’re happy to renew our agreements with TiVo, which reinforces our commitment to providing advanced entertainment offerings to our customers across Canada,” said Jay Mehr, president of Shaw Communications, in a statement

Notably, Shaw built its BlueSky TV platform by licensing Comcast’s X1 video system. TiVo, is of course, locked in a sprawling life-or-death patent battle with Comcast, attempting to get the No. 1 U.S. cable company to pay IP licenses for X1.

TiVo didn’t specify which patents Shaw renewed license for—or if any of them are the same as the ones it’s battling Comcast over.

“Extending our agreement with Shaw Communications underscores the benefits of TiVo’s advanced interactive program guide and demonstrates the value of our IP and technology,” said Matt Milne, chief revenue officer for TiVo. “With these offerings, Shaw Communications can continue to deliver captivating entertainment discovery experiences to its customers.”

Shaw Streams YouTube to BlueSky TV Boxes

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 22:54:57 +0000

Weaving more OTT fare alongside its baseline pay TV service, Canada’s Shaw Communications said it has completed an integration of YouTube and YouTube Kids apps on its BlueSky TV set-top box platform.

BlueSky TV, Shaw’s next-gen pay TV product, is powered in part by Comcast’s cloud-based X1 platform. Other cable operators with X1 syndication deals include Cox Communications and two other Canadian MSOs – Videotron and Rogers Communications.

As part of the integration, Shaw has also tied YouTube content with set-top search and the BlueSky TV voice remote.

Shaw, like Comcast and Cox, has also integrated Netflix on its new wave of set-tops, which support both managed video services as well as apps that are delivered via the internet. Shaw has also integrated CraveTV, an SVOD service that includes series from premiums such as HBO, Starz and Showtime with BlueSky TV.

As part of its bundling strategy, Shaw is touting the pairing of its WideOpen Internet 150 tier, which included unlimited data, with the BlueSky TV service, noting that the combo starts at $65 per month for the first six months with a two-year “ValuePlan” commitment.

Shaw launched BlueSky TV across its properties in April 2017, and has been leaning on the relatively new offering to help moderate the loss of pay TV subs. As of February 28, Shaw’s cable video sub base had dropped to about 1.63 million.

“The addition of YouTube to Shaw BlueSky TV allows Shaw customers to spend less time searching for their favourite videos and more time watching them,” Chris Kucharski, president, consumer, at Shaw. “Whether they’re entertaining friends and family, listening to a playlist or following a tutorial, our customers can have their content all in one easy-to-use platform — and it’s all just a voice command away.”

Shaw’s Pay TV Business Returns to Growth

Jeff Baumgartner — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 18:59:00 +0000

Canada’s Shaw Communications said cable TV subs grew for the first time since 2010 following the recent deployment of a next-gen video service that leans on Comcast’s X1 platform.

Shaw added 12,921 cable video subs in its fiscal Q3 period, expanding that total to 1.66 million. By comparison, Shaw lost more than 27,000 cable video subs in the year-ago period.

Shaw’s return to growth in the category follows rollout of BlueSky TV, a service that comes way of the operator’s licensing of Comcast’s X1 platform.

Shaw launched BlueSky TV in January 2016, initially in Calgary, and now offers it across its cable video services footprint. Cox Communications also uses X1 for its new “Contour” service, and Rogers Communications has plans to launch an X1-based IPTV service by early 2018.

But it hasn’t been all clear sailing for Shaw, as the operator is facing a patent lawsuit from OpenTV and Nagravision units of The Kudelski Group that is seeking to halt the rollout of BlueSky TV.

But cable video growth wasn’t the only story during Shaw’s Q3, as it also added 6,531 satellite video subs in the period, giving it a total of 776,825.

The Canadian MSO also tacked on 20,892 high-speed internet subs, ending Q3 with 1.83 million.

Shaw noted that it’s “optimistic” that BlueSky TV combined with its WideOpen 150 broadband tier and new more flexible TV packages offer a “compelling reason for consumers to stay and switch to Shaw.”

During Q3 Shaw had a net gain of more than 38,000 revenue generating units in its consumer division, improving on the 47,000 RGU losses in the year-ago quarter.

In wireless, Shaw added 20,000 RGUs (postpaid and prepaid) in the quarter.

Shaw Expands BlueSky TV Across Western Canada

Jeff Baumgartner — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:43:00 +0000

Following earlier launches in Vancouver and Calgary, Shaw Communications said it has rolled out BlueSky TV, a new offering based on Comcast’s X1 platform, across its footprint in Western Canada.

In addition to mobile apps, BlueSky TV features a cloud-powered interface for set-tops and a voice-based remote for navigation and search.

Shaw said it’s pairing the full region launch of BlueSky TV with an integrated marketing campaign across digital, social, television, radio, billboard and retail space outlets that also introduces “Bingee,” a new “Shaw-Bot” that’s focused on the new video offering.

Below is a video ad touting the BlueSky TV service:

Shaw said it’s selling BlueSky TV in its new Small, Medium and Large packages. For example, BlueSky TV with the new Small video package is available to new Shaw subs for $30 per month for the first year when it’s bundled with the MSO’s WideOpen Internet 150 broadband tier on a two-year ValuePlan. New customers are also in line to get two free months of CraveTV and Shaw’s The Movie Network channel package, which includes HBO Canada.

Shaw will be tapping the new platform to help it turn around its video results. In fiscal Q1, Shaw lost 13,146 residential video subs. Comcast, by comparison, added 80,000 video subs in Q4 2016, and added more than 160,000 for the full year.

Fellow Canadian operator Rogers Communications also has plans to launch an IPTV service powered by Comcast’s X1 platform, Cox Communications, another X1 licensee, is using the platform to underpin its new “Contour” TV service.

Though Shaw’s initial deployment of BlueSky TV has been smooth, the OpenTV and Nagravision units of The Kudelski Group are trying to toss a legal wrench into the rollout. Last month, they filed a patent suit against Shaw that seeks to halt the deployment over allegations that the BlueSky TV platform infringes on six Canadian patents owned by Nagravision and OpenTV.

Shaw Expands Reach of X1-Based ‘BlueSky TV’ Service

Jeff Baumgartner — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 17:12:00 +0000

Shaw Communications took the next step in its rollout of BlueSky TV, a new offering powered by Comcast’s X1 platform, by extending access to customers in Vancouver.

Shaw introduced BlueSky TV in Calgary last month.

Shaw’s service features many of the calling cards of X1, including a voice remote, Kids Zone view, a sports app, and a whole-home DVR. Shaw has not announced if it also intends to support other X1-facing features such as a cloud DVR that Comcast is deploying or the integration of OTT services like Netflix.

Shaw is selling BlueSky TV with its WideOpen Internet 150 tier starting at C$99.90 per month for the first 12 months as part of the MSO’s two-year “ValuePlan” contract.

Speaking on the company’s recent fiscal Q1 earnings call, Shaw president Jay Mehr estimated that nearly 200,000 boxes deployed by the operator are already compatible with X1, and that the operator has been buying X1-compatible devices for the past 18 months in anticipation of the launch of the service for set-top boxes.

Last year, Shaw launched mobile app called FreeRange TV that also uses Comcast’s X1 platform.

Shaw will be drawing on Comcast’s technology playbook as it looks to improve its video results. In fiscal Q1, Shaw lost 13,146 residential video subs. Comcast, by comparison, added 80,000 video subs in Q4 2016, and added more than 160,000 for the full year.

Shaw: Almost 200K Boxes Already Compatible With New X1-Based TV Service

Jeff Baumgartner — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 16:23:00 +0000

Shaw Communications launched BlueSky TV, its next-gen video service based on Comcast’s X1 platform, this week in Calgary, but the Canadian MSO has been busy seeding its markets for months with boxes that are compatible with the new TV product.

“Every box we bought in the last 18 months is…compatible” with X1, Jay Mehr, Shaw’s president, said Thursday on the company’s fiscal Q1 earnings call, noting that nearly 200,000 such boxes have already been deployed.

Following up the debut this week in Calgary, Shaw expects to launch BlueSky TV in Vancouver “within a matter of weeks, not months” and then proceed with launches in more markets by this spring, Mehr said.

Shaw’s new service will include several features that are present in Comcast’s X1 service, including the voice remote, Kids Zone guide view, a sports app, and a whole-home DVR.

“We love their [Comcast’s] playbook, and we will be following that playbook,” Mehr said, later noting that the platform’s support for voice navigation and its ability to aggregate services and features makes it “a lot more than video or a lot more than IPTV.”

Shaw has not responded to questions about when or if the MSO plans to offer a cloud DVR service, which has become a key feature of Comcast’s X1 service, and if Shaw also intends to integrate Netflix on boxes that run BlueSky TV.

Shaw will be looking to the new video platform to reverse subscriber losses in the category. In fiscal Q1, Shaw shed 13,146 residential video subs, narrowed from a year-ago loss of 18,029, for a total of 1.65 million. The operator also lost 15,669 residential satellite TV customers, for a total of 774,905.

Shaw also added 16,964 residential high-speed Internet subs, expanding that total to 1.8 million.

Brad Shaw, Shaw’s CEO, said the MSO is on track to complete its DOCSIS 3.1 upgrade by the end of fiscal 2017.

On the financial front, revenues rose 14.9% to C$1.3 billion, with net income of $89 million, down by $129 million versus the year-ago quarter due to a non-recurring provision of $107 million related to the wind-down of Shaw’s investment in shomi, the SVOD joint venture of Shaw and Rogers Communications that was shut down on Nov. 30, 2016.

Shaw Launches ‘BlueSky TV,’ Powered by Comcast’s X1 Platform

Jeff Baumgartner — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 22:08:00 +0000

Canada’s Shaw Communications took its X1 licensing deal to the next level Wednesday with the introduction of BlueSky TV, the brand for a new TV service that is powered by Comcast’s cloud-based platform.

Shaw’s new service, initially offered to customers in Calgary, will feature several features that grace Comcast’s X1 service, such as the voice remote, Kids Zone, a sports app, and a whole-home DVR, but not yet a newer cloud DVR capability that Comcast has been rolling out across its footprint. Comcast has also integrated Netflix with X1.

Shaw said it will launch BlueSky TV to more markets in the coming months. Shaw is selling BlueSky TV starting at C$99.90 (US$75.85) a month for 12 months when subs bundle in the MSO's when coupled with its WideOpen Internet 150 tier as part of a two-year "ValuePlan."

The launch of the X1-based pay TV service follows Shaw’s launch last year of a TV Everywhere app called FreeRange TV that also leans on Comcast’s platform.

Shaw’s latest launch marks another win for Comcast’s strategy to expand the scale of its technology (and recoup some of the costs associated with it) beyond its own footprint. Comcast’s X1 syndication plans picked up steam again after the MSO failed in its bid to acquire Time Warner Cable.

Cox Communications has already deployed an X1-based product, under the Contour brand, across its service area. Another Canadian operator, Rogers Communications, recently struck a long-term strategic deal to deploy Comcast’s X1 platform and usher in a next-gen IPTV service that will sebut in "early 2018," effectively killing another IPTV project that Rogers had under development.

Shaw, which grapples with Telus and its Optik TV service, will be looking for the new service to help its video business return to growth. Shaw lost 22,171 residential cable video subs in Q3 2016, ending the period with 1.67 million.

“We are proud to be the first in Canada to pioneer Comcast’s ground-breaking technology and to be their first international partner,” Shaw CEO Brad Shaw said in a statement.

“With features like the voice remote and advanced search, X1 has given Comcast customers a completely different video and entertainment experience than what they’re used to in the home,” added Tony Werner, Comcast’s president, technology and product. “We’ve seen a tremendous response from millions of customers in the U.S. and we’re excited Shaw’s customers will soon experience the same game-changing TV platform.”

More to come…