ABC News GoStream Launches

Where do you go to get the news of the day? Well many of us now find it 24/7 from mobile and other digital properties. Well add one more resource to your content arsenal as another News organization just made it even easier to find the news you want whenever and wherever you want.   Today ABC announced the launch of their new online video initiative called GoStream.

According to the network, they are putting more power in the hands of their reporters as the new service allows any of ABC's field journalists to fire up an app and begin sending raw video to ABC News, which will then disseminate the streams to ABC News via the LiveU streaming platforms. ABC News will then disseminate on its ABCNews.com/live platform – which will undergo a redesign as well as its mobile apps and Apple TV. Viewers will be able to choose from any number of feeds during major events, which will not air with a delay. The program could be broadened to include civilians that live stream as well. More: Mashable.com 12/02/14 - Live from everywhere: ABC News journalists will stream video to your screen

Have something to add to this story? Please share it with us in the comments.

News that Finds You - BreakingNews.com's Proximity Alerts

Geolocation services are not new to smartphones, and place-based features have only improved over the years however in the battle for attention on your phone, Breaking News, a startup owned by NBC News, wants to win by finding smart ways to show you less. Today they debuted a new feature to their iOS app that pushes proximity-based news alerts when a big story breaks near a user’s physical location. Geo-targeted to mobile devices, the alerts highlight major stories that are relevant to people nearby, including significant earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, public safety alerts, evacuations and more.
Proximity alerts will also accompany users as they travel internationally. NBC says Breaking News is the first mobile app to offer the innovative service.
“In a world where news alerts are out of control, our mission is to deliver the breaking stories that are uniquely important to you,” said Cory Bergman, general manager of Breaking News. “Few things are as important as learning about a big breaking story that just happened near your location. Proximity alerts are lightning fast, and the service sets Breaking News apart as the go-to app to discover breaking stories that matter to you, wherever you are.” The app also includes the addition of a “Watchlist,” where users can easily track breaking news in their favorite interests in real time, as well as a new design, infinite scroll, simple navigation, faster search, and an improved iPad view.

The Breaking News app update is available today on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and it will be available for Android devices soon. To download the Breaking News app for iOS, visit BreakingNews.com/apps. Also read their release - Introducing proximity alerts and much more in the new Breaking News iOS app

TiVo - To Roam or not to Roam

The DVR pioneers at TiVo are back with the recent launch of a new line of devices that promise closer integration of streaming services and personal recordings. Their cool new trick; out-of-home (OOH) streaming of both live and recorded shows, with the ability to download shows to to smartphones and tablets from anywhere. The company says that the new Roamio line combines the functionality of a DVR, Apple TV, Roku and Slingbox and even with all of those devices in a user’s entertainment centre; they still wouldn’t have access to everything a Roamio can do for them. It says that while doing what other cable set-top-boxes don’t do: combine all the best of linear TV with all the best over-the-top content, TV lovers now have the ability to roam free and both control and consume from out of the home through a mobile device. According to Colin Dixon, chief analyst and Founder of nScreenMedia, "The TiVo Roamio has reset the bar for what a DVR can do by making all that functionality and content available anywhere will allow users to get more value from the content they already pay for.” For now, the connectivity only works with iOS devices but the company has plans to roll out to Android sometime next year.

 

Now I'll admit that I've always have a soft spot in my heart for TiVo because truly, their early product was literally years ahead of it's time but now I must question.... is it enough to keep the company relevant? I guess only time will tell. As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome.

 

Reed Hastings - 10 Reasons why Internet TV will continue to gain popularity

After Netflix’s blockbuster earnings sent its stock soaring yet again earlier this week, Reed Hastings, the company’s CEO made a bold prediction: TV as we know it is coming to an end.  “As Internet TV grows from millions to billions, Netflix, HBO, and ESPN are leading the way,” Hastings wrote in an 11 page manifesto about Netflix’s future. “Internet TV will replace linear TV.”

He's obviously not sharing his perspective alone because numerous networks and stations have agreed with his views on the limitations of linear television and have launched their own apps. Although Hastings cites WatchESPN, HBO GO and the BBC iPlayer as leaders in this arena, we must also acknowledge the industry disrupters in streaming television technology; Aereo and the Dish's Hopper. Each of these also have huge potential to cause a dramatic shifts in the TV business as it heads into the future. Case in point at the opening of this year’s NAB when News Corp (FOX) COO Chase Carey threatened to take their programming off the broadcast airwaves and convert to cable channels. This was followed later by Univision and later CBS. While viewed largely as saber-rattling, the idea that the networks could be converted into cable channels gained attention in the television world because such a move would have wide-reaching implications for viewers and station owners. The point may be mute if Hastings predictions hold true and we move from broadcast and cable to an unbundled & streamed viewing environment.
Feel free to look at his letter to shareholders earlier this week and the 10 reasons he believes why Internet TV will continue to gain popularity, concluding that “over the coming decades and across the world, Internet TV will replace linear TV. Apps will replace channels, remote controls will disappear, and screens will proliferate”.

Let me share them with you here:

1. The Internet will get faster, more reliable and more available
2. Smart TV sales will increase and eventually every TV will have Wifi and apps
3. Smart TV adapters (Roku, AppleTV, etc.) will get less expensive and better
4. Tablet and smartphone viewing will increase
5. Tablets and smartphones will be used as touch interfaces for Internet TV
6. Internet TV apps will rapidly improve through competition and frequent updates
7. Streaming 4k video will happen long before linear TV supports 4k video
8. Internet video advertising will be personalized and relevant
9. TV Everywhere will provide a smooth economic transition for existing networks
10. New entrants like Netflix are innovating rapidly

Update 05/01 - A view from Michael Grotticelli at Broadcast Engineering - Netflix unveils plan to replace broadcast television