NBCUniversal plans to relaunch Sprout as “Universal Kids”
NBCUniversal plans in September 2017 to relaunch preschooler cable channel Sprout as an ages 2-11 aimed channel named “Universal Kids.”
cable TV
Merger between Charter and Time Warner Cable approved
Comcast isn’t the only giant-sized cable company to buy up other companies. This week, the FCC finally granted its approval of a $79 billion merger between Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable. The newly-merged company will become the second-largest cable company in the country, after Comcast. Along with Time Warner Cable, Charter is also purchasing … Read more
Cable TV boxes face new FCC rules, other challenges
A recent survey by Leichtman Research Group reports that 65% of US households have at least one TV set connected to the Internet. This includes smart TVs (TVs with streaming media apps built in), video game consoles, Blu-Ray players, and streaming devices (Rokus, Apple TVs, etc.). This number’s gone up from 44% in 2013. It … Read more
Are live sports cable TV’s last stand against cord cutting?
Yes, it’s another infographic from Statista. This time, it concerns live TV programming. Despite the rise of DVRs and on-demand programming, Nielsen reports that live sports is the one area that’s been resistant to such trends. For good reason, I’d imagine. Watching sports well after the event aired (and the game outcome is known) loses … Read more
My choice of video services (winter 2015-2016)
There’s been a lot of talk about “cord cutting,” or cancelling cable TV services. Less spoken about is “cord shaving,” or just cutting back on cable TV services to cheaper packages. For any cord cutters/shavers, streaming video becomes much more important. I’ve made a few changes to my own cable TV and streaming video services recently. … Read more
Showtime launches cord cutter friendly streaming service in July
Initially announced a few months ago, Showtime’s finally announced its own streaming service, similar to HBO’s “HBO Now.” Just called “Showtime,” the pay TV channel’s cord cutter friendly service will debut in July on iOS devices; support for Android will come “soon.” The new service will cost $10.99/month, with a 30-day free trial. Showtime doesn’t seem … Read more
Charter to buy Time Warner Cable in a $78.7 billion deal
Cable company Charter has announced they’ll be buying Time Warner Cable for what amounts to a $78.7 billion deal. Charter also plans to buy smaller cable company Bright House Networks in a separate $10.4 billion deal. More details in this The Verge article. While Charter’s the fourth largest cable company in the US, it’ll affirm … Read more
Comcast is now primarily an Internet service provider, not a cable TV company
A tipping point’s been reached for the nation’s biggest cable TV and Internet service provider. In an earnings announcement on Monday, Comcast has announced that for the first time, it has more broadband Internet subscribers than cable television subscribers. It’s pretty reflective of several trends, particularly the prominence of cord cutting. Cord cutting’s increasing popularity likely stems … Read more
Nickelodeon offers a cord cutter-friendly streaming service
News came today that Nickelodeon plans to offer an online subscription service coming this March. The service, which for some reason won’t be called “Nickelodeon,” will be available for anyone, including those without a cable subscription. This joins both the current trend of cord cutting (canceling cable TV services) and HBO Go, CBS, Sling TV, … Read more
RIP Saturday morning cartoons, and the reasons why they’re dead
Saturday morning cartoons are now officially dead. Here’s a list of various reasons why, and what’s taken their place for today’s kids.