Showtime said it’s the first cable network to launch an app on LG Electronics smart TVs that run webOS.

The launch, which includes access on LG’s new 2018 OLED TVs and Super UHD TVs with AI ThinQ built-in, spans both Showtime’s standalone OTT service (called SHOWTIME and sold for $10.99 per month) as well as Showtime Anytime, its authenticated TV Everywhere service that is part of a pay TV subscription.

Showtime said its standalone OTT service, launched in July 2015, has well over 2 million subscribers.

The app launch on LG smart TVs expands on Showtime’s streaming reach on other platforms that include Samsung smart TVs, Roku, Apple and Amazon devices, and the Xbox One console. Showtime is also distributed by vMVPDs and digital partners such as Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, fuboTV and Amazon Channels.

Calling it the most live-streamed Super Bowl ever, NBC said the stream of Sunday’s matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots delivered an average minute audience of 2.02 million viewers, and peaked at 3.1 million concurrent streams.

That streaming audience included consumers who tuned in via the NBC Sports app, at NBCSports.com, NBC.com “TV Everywhere,” the En Vivo app, NFL.com, NFL Mobile from Verizon, the Yahoo Sports app and Verizon’s go90 offering.

NBC Sports Digital’s live stream of Super Bowl LII, powered by its Playmaker Media unit, also saw fans consume 633.7 million live streaming minutes of the game across 6.1 million unique devices, up 185% and 112%, respectively, from NBC’s last live Super Bowl live stream in February 2015 (Super Bowl XLIX between the Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks).

RELATED: NBC Sports Digital Launches ‘Playmaker Media’

NBC also said the in-game average minute audience (AMA) of 2.02 million was up 152% from its streaming coverage of Super Bowl XLIX (800,000 AMA).

RELATED: Super Bowl OTT Feeds Don’t Go Off Glitch-Free

For Super Bowl LI last year between the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, Fox delivered an AMA of 1.72 million, up 224% from Fox’s previous Super Bowl live stream in 2014. Fox also said that the stream of Super Bowl LI pulled in 4.42 million unique viewers.

RELATED: Fox’s Super Bowl Stream Nets Average Minute Audience of 1.72 Million

“We are excited by the record-breaking consumption as well as the quality of the streams we delivered to football fans,” Rick Cordella, EVP and general manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group, said in a statement, which comes as NBC Olympics prepares to live stream 1,800 hours of the Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea.

RELATED: NBC Olympics to Live-Stream 1,800 Hours of PyeongChang Winter Games

Though the latest numbers again show the growing popularity of streaming, the TV audience remains far greater, as NBC said the game posted a total audience delivery of 106 million viewers across all platforms based on Fast National data released today by Nielsen Company and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Viewership peaked at 112.3 million from 10:00-10:15 p.m., during the game’s fourth quarter.

NBC noted that the numbers don’t include out-of-home viewers, which won’t be available until Thursday (February 8) from Nielsen. OOH will increase the audience “by several million people,” the network added.

RELATED: fuboTV Says Daily Trials Hit Record During Super Bowl Sunday

In an effort to help its cable operators make the leap to IPTV, TiVo has introduced a next-gen, app-based platform that will enable TiVo to deliver its interface and overall user experience on a variety of retail streaming devices as well a client that will run on an MSO-managed device that runs Android TV.

Read More: Complete coverage of #CES2018

The new, underlying cloud-powered platform, to be demoed at next week’s CES in Las Vegas, is designed to allow TiVo’s cable operator partners to begin their pivot away from QAM-based digital video distribution systems and spark the transition to an IP-based video architecture, with options for VOD, DVR services as well as linear TV.

That migration can be deployed in several different forms, including hybrid QAM/IP approaches as well as IP-only scenarios for all video customers or those tailored to specific market segments, such as broadband-only customers or for services that are delivered on college campuses within the MSO’s traditional service footprint.

TiVo’s next-gen work centers on the backend control plane of the video service and factors in the company’s new UI, search across linear, OTT, VOD and DVR-recorded content, along with upgraded components such as voice search and navigation and a personalized recommendation engine.

For MVPD partners, TiVo will also integrate encoders and other video infrastructure components from third-party suppliers, explained Jim Denney, TiVo’s vice president of product and strategy.

An example of some of that early work is already taking place in Spain with Vodafone, which has combined TiVo’s new platform with network DVR technology from Ericsson, and was the first service provider to deploy TiVo’s new user experience.

RELATED: Ericsson Folds on Fabrix Systems For $95M

In addition to that backend work, TiVo work in the next-gen arena will also focus on streaming clients that will operate as apps on unmanaged retail devices such as the Apple TV box and Amazon Fire TV players. TiVo is also extending its next-gen platform to web browsers and apps for smartphones and tablets.  

TiVo, Denney said, is also developing a client to run on MSO-managed Android TV devices that will auto-boot to the cable operator’s experience when the box is turned on and extend more control to the operator, for those that want that option. This option will also enable cable operators to deliver their pay TV service on a platform that also supports the multitude of OTT apps that are offered on the Google Play store.

In both of those app-based scenarios, TiVo’s new fourth-gen UX (formerly code-named “Hydra”) essentially will be bridged to those retail and MSO-managed devices and support the same “design sensibility” that is delivered by TiVo on its more traditional Linux-based boxes, Denney said, noting that the approach allows TiVo to scale across different clients using a similar baseline code.

This isn’t the first time TiVo has tried to extend a bridge to third-party retail platforms. In 2015, TiVo introduced an app (in beta form) for the Fire TV that enabled users to watch shows and movies recorded to the DVR on the Amazon-made OTT device. AsZatzNotFunny reported Wednesday (January 3), TiVo retired that original Fire TV client app a few weeks ago, presumably to make way for the new app strategy being announced today.

RELATED: TiVo Flips on Fire TV App

TiVo’s fresh apps-based video approach for cable partners may ring familiar, as it shares some important similarities with new products for tier 2/3 MSOs that have been recently introduced by MobiTV and Evolution Digital.

RELATED: MobiTV, NCTC Forge Next-Gen Video Deal

TiVo has yet to announce if any of its current crop of MSO partners have committed to the next-gen platform. In the U.S., possible candidates include existing MVPD partners such as RCN Corp., Mediacom Communications, Armstrong, GCI, Grande Communications, Midco, and Atlantic Broadband, among others. Suddenlink is also a TiVo partner, though Altice USA, which acquired Suddenlink in December 2015, appears to be going in a different direction with its recently launched “Altice One” all-services platform.

RELATED: Altice USA Unveils ‘Altice One’

go90, Verizon’s free, ad-based OTT, said it has scored a multi-year deal to be the exclusive streaming partner for the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the U.S. for all games save for the league’s Game of the Week on Lifetime.

go90 said it will feature 98 NWSL games live and via on-demand for the 2017 season, offering them at go90.com or the service’s iOS and Android apps. Viewers with go90 version 3.0 or later can also cast the games to TVs in tandem with Apple AirPlay and the Google Chromecast streaming adapter.

The NWSL matches streamed on go90 will be produced by Vista WorldLink in HD and feature halftime shows and pre- and post-game shows. In addition to the NWSL Game of the Week carried by Lifetime (via its network, Web site and mobile apps), Michael Cohen, a veteran broadcaster of nine Olympic Games and three FIFA World Cups, will serve as the league’s executive producer for all digital broadcasts on go90, which will kick off its coverage with four games during the league’s opening weekend (April 15-16).

Outside the U.S., NWSL games are offered at NWSLsoccer.com and the NWSL iOS app.

go90, which is coming of a relaunch of its underlying platform but has not released usage metrics, said it has rights to stream more than 1,000 live soccer matches each year.

“We are pleased to team up with NWSL and bring 98 live women’s soccer matches to fans in the U.S. on go90 and across our owned and operated AOL and, soon enough, Yahoo properties.  This complements our existing commitment to soccer on go90,” said Chip Canter, GM of Verizon Digital Entertainment, in a statement.

Switzerland-based The Quickline Group has picked SeaChange International to provide the key tech underpinnings of a new multiscreen TV service that offers catch-up TV, network DVR and personalization components.

The service, called Quickline TV, will run on SeaChange’s multiscreen-capable Adrenalin video backoffice platform and tie into set-tops outfitted with Nucleus, SeaChange’s set-top box software that uses RDK-V, the video-facing version of the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the software platform for gateways being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications (via its acquisition of Time Warner Cable).

SeaChange said it also helped with the deployment of Android and iOS apps for the Quickline TV service.

On the personalization end, the new multiscreen service will also support individual subscriber profiles.

Quickline uses a centralized video platform to support 25 independent regional cable operators that serve about 400,000 homes.

“With Quickline’s groundbreaking achievements in personalization, ease of enjoyment and RDK implementation, we believe the eyes of the media world will be on Quickline TV as a new ideal for video service provider evolution,” SeaChange CEO Ed Terino, said in a statement.

Soumya Sriraman has been appointed president, North America of BritBox, an SVOD service that’s expected to launch in the U.S. in Q1.

The coming SVOD offering is a joint venture of BBC Worldwide and U.K.-based broadcaster ITV. AMC Networks, which has a J.V. with BBC Worldwide for cable net BBC America, is on board as an investor in BritBox with a non-voting minority interest.

RELATED: ‘BritBox’ to Hit U.S. in Q1 2017

Sriraman was most recently was EVP of franchise and digital enterprises at BBC Worldwide North America. Her successor will be announced in the coming weeks, the company said.

In her new role, Sriraman will head up the overall strategy and operation of BritBox, with a focus on bringing British content to the service through a mix of acquisitions, licensing, co-productions, and partnerships.

Prior to joining BBC Worldwide North America, Sriraman was CEO of Palisades Tartan, a British/American film distribution company, and is also late of Universal, Warner, and Vivendi.

“Soumya has an outstanding historical knowledge and familiarity with British content. This, coupled with her creativity and excellent business acumen makes her the ideal executive to fill this role,” Ann Sarnoff, president, BBC Worldwide North America, said in a statement. “I am confident that Soumya is going to make this service a success, as she has done in all her endeavors for the last five years at BBC Worldwide North America.”

"I have personally waited a long time for a service with an offering like this - one with a breadth and depth of compelling content from powerful content producers like the BBC and ITV - all in one place," added Sriraman.

ESPN said it has completed the nationwide rollout of the ESPN App on DirecTV set-top boxes, extending access to a hybrid platform that lets viewers switch between all ESPN live and VOD content on the big screen.

The national rollout follows the announcement of the first phase of the launch in December 2016.

RELATED: ESPN Rolls Out App on DirecTV Set Tops

In addition to ESPN’s linear networks, DirecTV customers with broadband-connected set-tops also have the option to stream live events from ESPN3, SEC Network + and ACC Network Extra, along with VOD clips and highlights from ESPN.com. Because the app is integrated with the set-top and supports auto-authentication, DirecTV customers do not need to log in to access the app’s streaming content.

The states covered in the final phase of the nationwide rollout include: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Although some Arris investors reacted poorly when Roku and Comcast announced the release of a new app for Roku devices that can be used in lieu of a traditional set-top box, an industry analyst held that it shouldn't have a big effect on Arris’s business with its largest customer.

RELATED: Roku, Comcast Kick Off Xfinity TV App Beta Trial

Arris shares dropped sharply soon after the announcement was made at 1 p.m.  ET today, but the stock quickly recovered. Arris shares closed down 14 cents (0.49%), to $28.58 each Tuesday.

While the news was expected (Roku and Comcast announced plans for the app about nine months ago), the market initially reacted otherwise, Simon Leopold, analyst with Raymond James, said today in a research note with the title: ARRS: The Sky is Not Falling, Roku at Comcast Is Not a Shock.

“Most, including us, see the traditional set top box (STB) as challenged, but offset by the deployment of next generation IP gateways and media boxes along with infrastructure to support them, and today's release does not alter our view on the trajectory,” Leopold wrote. “The initiative does not alter ARRIS' trajectory that includes increased Network & Cloud and Broadband sales while traditional STBs decline.”

And while the model to be employed by Comcast for Roku devices does allow for customers to get almost the full pay TV experience on Roku boxes bought at retail, it doesn’t seem to reflect a massive near-term shift in how the market functions today.

According to Bloomberg, Comcast subs who use a Roku as their primary device (rather than a regular set-top) will get a $2.50 monthly credit. However, the FAQ for the Xfinity TV app being tested on the Roku platform notes that customers won’t be on the hook for equipment charges regarding their use of Roku devices during the trial. But upon conclusion of the test “you will be informed of the charges that will apply for connecting this device with your XFINITY TV service and will have the opportunity to opt in,” it reads.

Update: Comcast clarified that, in or out of beta, there will be no equipment charges for use of the Xfinity TV app on a Roku. But out of beta, other fees associated with a customer’s account would apply, such as additional outlet charges. The company also confirmed that the app will be available to video subs who also subscribe to Gigabit Pro, Comcast's 2-Gig residential broadband service that uses FTTP technology. 

Plus, those Roku/Xfinity TV app users will require an Xfinity IP gateway in their home – something that Arris also makes.

Also factoring into Arris’s favor the decision by new FCC chairman Ajit Pai to pull the plug on proposed new set-top box rules. The industry was already evolving to support retail devices using apps without the regulatory efforts, Leopold added.

He also does not expect the new Roku app from Comcast to have much of an impact on the MSO’s plan to have more than 60%  (in the low-60 percentage range) of its video sub base on X1 by the end of 2017.

RELATED: Comcast Backs Bet on X1

But Leopold speculated that the app, though initially available to customers in Comcast’s traditional service footprint, could position the MSO to compete out-of-region and take on virtual MVPD services like DirecTV Now.

For its part, Comcast has poured cold water on the idea, arguing repeatedly that the economics of an OTT-TV service don’t add up, at least for now.

RELATED: Roberts: ‘OTT Economics Are Unproven To Us’

Apple’s new “TV” app that aims to be a central, unified hub for separate apps that offer an array of movies and TV shows for streaming has gone live on the Apple TV, Phone and iPad.

 As an aggregated OTT guide of sorts, Apple introduced the TV app in October, hopeful that it will change how consumers watch TV across its devices because they won’t have to constantly toggle between individual apps while also tying in access to the iTunes store and a user’s iTunes library.  

RELATED: Apple Unveils ‘TV’ App

The biggest criticism has been the app’s lack of support for popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. TechCrunch notes that apps from providers such as Hulu and HBO Now are supported at launch. The Verge said the app is being released with iOS 10.2 and tvOS 10.1.

Among early reviews, TechnoBuffalo isn’t impressed with the app because the linkages between the TV app and individual apps can be a confusing mess. But the reviewers it does point out that the new TV app from Apple lets users can integrate access to content from apps from programmers such as CBS, Starz, Showtime, The CW, Crunchyroll and CuriosityStream, and HBO Now, but not HBO Go, the premium service’s TV Everywhere offering.

The debut of the TV app from Apple follows the recent launch of a single sign-on feature for authenticated TVE services, though it initially supports a small smattering of apps from MVPDs and individual programmers.

RELATED: Apple’s Single Sign-On for TV Everywhere Apps Still Hit and Miss

Starz and Spotify have forged a deal enables the new Starz app to integrate access to soundtracks and individual songs from original series and movies via Spotify's streaming music service.

In addition to integrating the music from select movies and shows, the app will also make curated TV and movie recommendations from Starz based on Spotify music selections.

RELATED: Starz Launches OTT Subscription App

Starz said app subscribers can access songs and soundtracks from original shows and series like Power, Ash vs Evil Dead, Da Vinci’s Demons, The White Queen, Spartacus, and Outlander, as well as movies offered on Starz such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Annie and Disney’s Inside Out.

Spotify Premium users will be able to login and listen to full tracks while consumers who use Spotify’s free offering can listen to 30-second track previews. All users can also save and follow Spotify playlists from within the Starz app, the companies said.

“Starz is thrilled to share plans to soon integrate Spotify’s industry-leading streaming audio capabilities into the STARZ app,” Jeffrey Hirsch, COO of  Starz, said in statement. “Spotify integration will complement and fortify the STARZ app’s appeal for distributors and consumers alike.”

Starz launched its new app, which unifies support for its authenticated TV Everywhere offering and the programmer’s new standalone OTT subscription service, in April.

Expanding the reach of its managed video downloading technology, Penthera said its Cache&Carry has been integrated with Digiflare’s Videa cloud-powered video app publishing platform.

Penthera’s download-to-go-software enables consumers to watch TV shows and movies without the need for an Internet connection. Video will also tie in Fastplay, a feature that, Penthera says,  enables mobile video app users to stream videos the instant they hit play without start-up buffering. 

The agreement could help Penthera secure beachheads with more distributors and programmers. Digiflare’s announced customers include Bell Media, PBS Kids, Rogers Communications, Charter Communications, Univision, Hearst, Verizon, CW Seed, PBS, Starz, Vimeo, and shomi, the multiscreen VOD venture from Rogers and Shaw Communications that will be shutting down on November 30.

Comcast, Charter, Time Warner Cable (now part of Charter), Starz, and Corus Entertainment are among Penthera’s announced customers.

RELATED: Penthera Downloads Charter, TWC Deals

“We partner with industry-leading infrastructure and software service companies, like Penthera, to support each of our customers’ unique needs, always delivering an improved mobile video experience,” said David George, Co-CEO at Digiflare. 

RELATED: Penthera Picks Up More Patents

“Digiflare provides a premier video app experience for some of the biggest content creators and video service providers in North America. We are always looking for partnerships that expand and improve the end user’s viewing experience: that’s why this integration with Digiflare makes so much sense,” added Michael Willner, Penthera’s CEO.

Xumo, an aggregator of ad-supported OTT video for smart TV and mobile platforms, has expanded an agreement with Jukin Media that will set the debut of two more channels on Xumo: The Pet Collective and People Are Awesome.

They said the two brands, which will launch of Xumo this week, represent more than 8 million followers and 325 million monthly views.

The addition of People Are Awesome and The Pet Collective (The Pet Collective is a joint venture of Jukin Media and Freemantle Media) follows Xumo’s recent launch of Fail Army, another Jukin property, on its smart TV platform. They timed the announcement with VidCon (June 23-25) in Anaheim.

Xumo noted that it will also show off its smart TV platform and unveil its new iOS mobile app at VidCon.

Xumo said it reaches nearly 20 million devices in the U.S. via native smart TV app integrations/partnerships with LG, Vizio, Panasonic and Funai Electric, which makes Sanyo-, Magnavox- and Philips-branded TVs in North America.

Other announced content partners for Xumo’s platform include Time Inc., Condé Nast Entertainment, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, PopSugar, Mitú Network, Machinima, TYT Network, Reuters, Field & Stream, PBS Digital Studios, Mashable, Network A, Fandor, Outside Television Shorts, Bonnier, Saveur, Cycle  World, and The Onion.

Television, like all things, has been shaped by the scarcity of resources. 

Originally back when television was broadcast over VHF and UHF frequencies, the broadcast spectrum was the scarcest resource.  The rights to broadcast spectrum were required for each market (DMA) to which a network distributed a signal.

At first, the U.S. government, which owns all broadcast spectrum in the country, allocated spectrum on a first-come basis with the requirement that certain public services were provided such as news and children’s programming.  Once these original spectrum rights holders were grandfathered in, they could resell the spectrum rights to others. 

With only three broadcast networks, each hour of prime-time was a valuable and scarce resource only allocated to programming that could draw substantial audiences. Currently, there is a television frequency “repack” going on which is mandated by the FCC in which current broadcast spectrum rights holders are required to give up some of the current spectrum allocation in return for different spectrum and cash. 

Later, when cable television first started in the 1970s, the cable plant infrastructure no longer required free-space spectrum for distribution. Rather, the cable signal was distributed over a coaxial cable (coax) which had relatively unlimited spectrum. However, instead of over free-space, the spectrum was contained within the coax cable.  This allowed hundreds of video channels to be simultaneously transmitted along with guardbands.  Later, this same spectrum was used to transmit two-way data for Internet service.

In the world of cable, the scare resource was subscribers and the network.  It was still very expensive to build out a cable plant, which required physical infrastructure costs to be incurred and franchise fees paid to the city for exclusivity rights.  So cable operators were valued on a “homes passed” basis, because each home passed a potential subscriber since the cable was already in the ground. Historically, cable systems valued each subscriber at about $5,000 which was the life-time revenue of that household before churning.  So, subscriber acquisition of these homes passed became the most valuable resource.

In 1992, Congress (through the Cable Television Protection and Competition Act) mandated the “must-carry” rules regarding carriage of programming which gave the broadcast networks the option of either charging the cable operators for the right to re-transmit their signal over the cable plant (retransmission consent or must pay), or require that the signal be carried (must carry).  The latter was applied for low rated broadcast networks or local non-network affiliated channels, while the main broadcast networks could demand payment in the form of retransmission fees.  Many of the broadcast networks created their own cable networks, such as the Viacom networks created by CBS, and required that cable operators carry their new cable channels in return for the right to retransmit the affiliated broadcast network.  Other new cable networks without a broadcast bargaining chip opted to give the cable operator a piece of the cable network ownership.

Today we are entering a world where the cable bundle is slowly but surely de-bundling and moving to Internet-based delivery. 

While the economics of the debundled environment versus the existing aggregation and distribution model continue to be hotly debated by both industry pundits and equity analysts, the future economic interests and alignment of programmers with cable and multi-channel operators may slowly diverge as the programmers seek a direct customer relationship and the operators focus on their more profitable broadband data services. 

Cable programmers are starting to become apps in the Apple TV app store, the Google Play app store and other device-based distribution platforms.  Instead of relying on the cable operator to acquire and service the millions of customers, cable networks will start to become direct-to-consumer businesses with narrow over-the-top offerings bundled into branded apps like HBO Now, Sling TV, Sony Vue and the like.

In this new world of debundled programming and distribution, the scarce resource is again subscribers but now it is within these app store distribution platforms where they are competing with literally millions of other apps rather than just hundreds of other channels. 

The customer acquisition challenge for these cable networks is a new one since they have never before had to market directly to customers to obtain subscriptions.  Previously, their marketing focused on promoting new shows and programmers used “lead-in” audiences to drive viewers to new programming. 

Ironically, the best medium for promoting these new over-the-top video channels and SVOD bundles turns out to be the old medium -- cable and broadcast television -- which still accounts for the vast majority of video-based viewing hours. 

Broadband delivered programming services such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Now have used television as a key channel for both their new customer acquisition efforts as well as their tune-in campaigns for new programming offerings.

Broadcasters with TV Everywhere authenticated over-the-top viewing apps are also driving viewers to these platforms through both call-to-action tags at the end of tune-in promos, and by developing creative specifically for these apps. 

With the addition of audience targeted media planning and real-time analytics that combine television spot airing timing with in-app data, these networks can now measure the conversions that their television spots are driving to the viewing apps. 

So, while television is again in the process of reinventing itself, it remains a proven way to reach consumers and drive branding and conversion.

Wendell Wenjen is vice president of business development at Simulmedia, a company that works with advertisers and cable networks to provide audience-targeted linear television advertising.

Apple isn't sharing sales figures on the new Apple TV, but the company's latest streaming and gaming device enjoyed a “huge first day,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday on the company’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings call.

Apple began to take orders on the new, more apps-friendly Apple TV lineup (the 32 GB version sells for $149; a 64 GB edition costs $199) on Monday (October 26).

Cook also reiterated Apple’s view that “apps represent the future TV,” a position that’s shared by the cable industry as the FCC mulls whether to move ahead on new set-top security rules aimed at spurring the retail market for  devices that can support MVPD TV services. 

Before announcing the new Apple TV, the company had shipped more than 25 million previous generation versions of the platform.

Cook said Apple sold more than 300 million total devices over the past 12 months, including 231 million iPhones and 55 million iPads.

Apple still isn’t breaking out sales of the Apple Watch, which has become an app target for several MVPDs , programmers and OTT players.  Cook said the Apple Watch, which now supports more than 13,000 apps  is still in the “very early innings,”  but said sales are ahead of expectations. He said Apple also expanded distribution of the connected wearable, noting that the Apple Watch is now available in about 5,000 locations in 32 countries.

Apple also posted record fourth quarter sales of iPhone,  even as sales of the iPad continue to decline. Apple sold 9.8 million iPads, versus 12.3 million a year ago.

Cook said Apple Music now has more than 15 million individual and family acocunts and about 6.5 million paying subscribers.

During the call, Apple was asked about growth rates that trial rivals such as Google.

Apple is guiding for growth of 8% to 11%, with Cook emphasizing an increase in “Android switchers” the potential for the iPhone in emerging markets, and 25% growth in the App Store in Q4. Another bright spot is the enterprise market, where Apple pulled in revenues of $25 billion in its fiscal Q4, up 40% from the year-ago quarter.

With respect to Android switchers, Cook said of consumers who bought iPhones in the last quarter and were replacing their smartphone, 30% had swapped over from an Android device.  “That number is the largest that we’ve ever recorded since we began measuring it three or so years ago,” he said.

Apple posted a Q4 profit of $11.1 billion ($1.96 per share), up 31%, on revenue of $51.5 billion, up 22%, driven by iPhones sales. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.88/share on revenues of $51 billion.

Apple shares were down 4 cents (0.03%) to $114.51 each in after-hours trading Tuesday. 

The current-generation Apple TV is getting access to more TV content after extending a bridge to CBS All Access, CBS’s stand-alone OTT subscription service, and the NBC app.

CBS All Access, which costs $5.99 per month, offers thousands of shows on demand and streams live feeds in more than 100 markets. CBS said it’s offering a free week-long trial to the service via Apple TV; current subscribers can sign in with their normal credentials. 

CBS All Access also supports the Android TV platform, Android and iOS mobile devices, Web browsers at CBS.com, Roku players and integrated Roku TVs, and the Google Chromecast.

NBC, meanwhile, has expanded its app to the legacy Apple TV and the Xbox One, with Amazon’s  Fire TV platform and the Chromecast on deck,Variety reported.  NBC’s app also runs on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets and the Roku platform.

Update: NBC confirmed its plans to expand access to its app on the Fire TV and Chromecast. "We are very excited to launch our vast library of NBC programming on Xbox One and Apple TV," Rob Hayes, EVP, NBC Digital Entertainment, said in a statement. “As we see viewership increasingly grow on connected devices and gaming consoles, we’re looking forward to expanding NBC across more platforms this year. Fans will be able to watch the current season of ‘The Blacklist,’ which is currently only available on the NBC App, as well as more than 40 additional series and over 1,000 episodes of both current and classic hit shows." 

“With Xbox our goal is to deliver premium gaming and entertainment, and we’re very happy to partner with NBC to bring their TV lineup to Xbox One owners," added Mike Nichols, corporate VP, marketing for Xbox. “With the NBC app, Xbox One owners will enjoy free episodes of many of your favorite NBC shows, full seasons to catch up on, and brand new episodes the day after they air, all right next to your Xbox One games.”

Consumers will be able to place orders for the new, more app-centric Apple TV product line on Monday (October 26), with shipments slated to start by the end of next week, Apple CEO Tim Cook said yesterday at the WSJDLive conference in Laguna Beach, Calif.

About half of pay TV operators are deploying multiscreen TV software releases at a speedier rate in 2015 versus 2014, a new survey of nearly 30 operators in the U.S. and Europe from S3 Group revealed.

Of those that are deploying software released more frequently, 46% boosted the number of software releases by more than 20% in 2015, while 39% saw output increases of between 11% and 20%.

Also, 78% of that group cited automated testing (see chart) as the top initiative that contributor to these faster software development timelines, said S3 Group, which also happens to specialize in automated test tools for pay TV providers.  

While pay TV providers have historically been saddled with cycles that allow for one to four releases a year, 26% issued more than one release per month on average in 2014 (ranging from 13 to more than 50 releases annually), and an additional 30% of operators 30% of operators made between five to 12 releases annually.

S3 Group, whose survey covered pay TV operators spanning 77 million subs, said the results amplify the fact that the group is embracing their roles as software companies more rapidly adopt Agile, DevOps and “continuous deployment” models that largely emerged out of the software world. For more on this trend, see this Multichannel Newscover story (subscription required).

Among other survey findings, 41% ranked service availability as their top priority, followed by speed (32%) and efficiency (27%).

“Unlike yesteryear, pay TV providers’ reliability and innovation is no longer driven by the physical plant, but rather by software code,” said John Maguire, chief strategy officer, TV technology at Group, in a statement. “Video service providers are striving to shorten innovation cycles, test and launch services faster, and make updates more frequently.  As our survey shows, this trend is pushing operators to realign their software lifecycle tools and organizational structure to balance the need for speed and stability.”