Latest from Next TV in Ces-2016

CES 2016: Viacom Has Openings in Tech

jon.lafayette@futurenet.com (Jon Lafayette) — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:45:00 +0000

Complete Coverage: CES 2016

LAS VEGAS — While a lot of the news in the media world is about downsizing and restructuring, Viacom has lots of jobs open — in the technology sector.

“Viacom invests a large amount in technology. We’re not a technology companies but it feels like one,” Viacom chief technology officer David Kline said at a Wednesday-morning session at the International CES here.

To tackle all of the challenges and opportunities presented by the way tech is disrupting the media business, Viacom is looking for tech talent.

“We have a lot jobs open,” Kline said. Especially in demand are video developers and engineers, people who know how to build APIs and SDKs. Viacom wants to build the office of the future, for a new generation of workers comfortable with social and texting rather than today’s email, he said. “It kind of makes us stale. We want to grow.”

Kline said one big task has been making sure that content is ready to run on all of the different platforms, from cable to online to over the top.

For more of this story, please visit broadcastingcable.com.

CES 2016: SVOD, EST Spur 1% Spike in Home Entertainment Spend

Dade Hayes, Broadcasting & Cable — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:00:00 +0000

LAS VEGAS — Total spending on home entertainment — a large category including physical discs, downloads and SVOD — ticked up 1% in 2015 to reach $18.1 billion, according to an annual report issued today by the Digital Entertainment Group.

Released as International CES kicks off here, the report shows a continued free-fall for DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, with packaged goods revenue slumping 12% to $6.1 billion. But overall electronic sell-through, or EST, sales soared 18% to hit $1.9 billion and SVOD jumped 25% to $5.1 billion. And even within the beleaguered physical disc category, Blu-ray disc sales rose 8% in the fourth quarter, corresponding with strength in movie box office receipts.

“The strength of the premium experience bodes well for the introduction of Ultra HD Blu-ray in 2016,” the report asserted.

For more of this story, please visit broadcastingcable.com.

CES 2016 Keynotes Worth Noting

Jeff Baumgartner — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 13:00:00 +0000

► Monday, Jan. 4, 2 p.m. PT: Top Tech Trends

Shawn DuBravac, the CTA’s chief economist and senior director of research, will once again provide a valuable projection into what’s buzzing in CE while sharing the organization’s latest sales data. Last year, he predicted that global CE spending would drop slightly — by about 1% — to $1.05 billion from the record levels seen in 2013.

► Tuesday, Jan. 5, 3 p.m. PT: Dish Network’s annual press event

The big question heading in: Who’s going to be banging the drum and stirring the on-stage excitement now that former CEO Joe Clayton is retired? Regardless, expect to hear what’s on the tech and service docket for Dish and Sling TV, its OTT TV service for cord-cutters, which made its splashy debut at last year’s event in Sin City.

► Wednesday, Jan. 6, 8:30 a.m. PT: Keynote with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings

For years, Netflix has been a key component of the CES mix, usually tying itself to announcements from its vast array of CE partners, including all of the world’s top TV makers. But this year, the company will take center stage, and speculation will run wild about what kind of earth-shattering announcement Netflix will be able to muster. Netflix already offers a steadily growing library of 4K content, is on all of the CE devices that matter and is the world’s largest provider of OTT SVOD services. Curious minds and geeks around the world are wondering what Hastings has up his sleeve.

► Thursday, Jan. 7, 4:30 p.m. PT: Keynote with YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl

2015 was another big year of change and innovation for the world’s biggest and baddest video streamer. In October, it rolled out Red, a subscription-based service that runs $9.99 per month, but has not generated a lot of buzz since. That could change this week if YouTube takes its video strategy to the next level, following reports that it has been in talks with studios and other content providers about licensing TV shows and movies for its platform. Like Amazon, which recently locked in distribution deals with Starz and Showtime, is YouTube another “virtual” MVPD in the making?

CES 2016: ViXS Launches Cord-Cutter TV Stick

Jeff Baumgartner — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 12:15:00 +0000

Taking aim at a growing consumer segment, video chipmaker ViXS has introduced the CordCutter TV Stick, a single-stream transcoder that delivers over-the-air TV programming to mobile devices.

The CordCutter TV Stick, powered by the company’s XCode 5505 chipset, will become available in the first quarter of 2016, ViXS said. The company’s new chipset is available now.

ViXS did not release pricing on its new streaming stick, but the company will show off its OTA streaming wares at this week’s International CES in Las Vegas (booth MP26055 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 2, lower level).

ViXS said the CordCutterTV Stick features ATSC/DVB OTA reception options, streaming via Ethernet or WiFi, and support for iOS and Android clients. Its XCode 5505 provides single-stream transcoding of HD video, a USB 2.0 host port, and is powered by a 600 MHz CPU.

Toronto-based ViXS is introducing the OTA TV stick as traditional pay TV operators battle a small, but growing cord-cutting trend. The top 13 U.S. MVPDs lost 190,000 net video subs in Q3 2015, according to Leichtman Research Group.

CES 2016: Syfy Launches Tech Lab

George Winslow, B&C — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 12:00:00 +0000

To help it better exploit the use of new technologies to increase interest in its original programming, the Syfy channel has launched Syfy Labs.

During CES this week, the network will also be demonstrating some of the key initiatives in virtual reality, 3D printing and the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies that will be the focus on the new innovation lab, explained Matthew Chiavelli, senior VP of Syfy Digital, in an interview.

The Syfy Labs will be based in their existing offices.

“This formalizes our commitment to these experiences and to make them part of everything we do with our digital experiences,” Chiavelli said.

It also builds on a long tradition of experiments with technology that dovetail well with its audience and programming. “We started doing podcasts with `Battlestar Galactica’ before people were doing podcasts,” noted Chiavelli.