Leslie Moonves, President/CEO of CBS has historically been the most resistant of the big networks to offer its content to alternative platforms. With this launch as well as the recent licensing deals with Hulu Plus and Amazon, the network is now pushing hard into the digital circle. Back in January, the company launched CBS Connect app, which offered up social media real-time conversation and synced second-screen experiences -- but no full episodes. Finally yesterday they announced a new iOS app that allows users to stream full episodes of the network's primetime lineup (8 days after broadcast), along with daytime and late night programming the day after broadcast. Android and Windows 8 versions will be released later this year. The the company said it will integrate with the existing CBS Connect app by the start of the fall season, so viewers can access a slew of second-screen features, including social feeds and bonus content tied to TV shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Hawaii Five-O. More @MediaDailyNews 3/14 - CBS Starts CBS App, And Full-Episode TV Player
I travel to almost an
excessive level for work and that put me in a position very early on for
adopting some kind of a "TV Everywhere" mindset. If my providers
could not deliver it, technology would, hence I installed a slingbox
about 3+ years ago. It of course was not the perfect solution but it was a
reasonable work around while the industry came to grips with getting the
consumer's the product that they wanted. It was slightly before
that time bellwethers Comcast and Time Warner proposed the TV
Everywhere initiative and cable executives were hailing it a savior for
the industry amid new kinds of competition. So where are we now? Well
earlier this week during a panel about TV at the 4A's conference in New Orleans
the general consensus of an esteemed panel industry leaders was that the TV
Everywhere initiative hasn’t worked so well. “It's awful from a consumer
standpoint and I'm embarrassed," said David Levy, president of sales,
distribution and sports at Turner Broadcasting System. Although the
premise of TV Everywhere seems like a is a fairly straightforward one,
NBCUniversial's new EVP, Lauren Zalaznick said that "TV Everywhere's
biggest problem is that no one can agree on what TV Everywhere really
means". A growing number of network executives have been
moaning about the disparate iterations of TV Everywhere. Every network seems to
have a different way to handle it and frustration abounds. From a
consumer perspective, knowing that all the video -- live and recorded -- is
truly available from any access point goes a long way in clarifying the
confusion that seems to stymie usage. If the user doesn’t have to second-guess
whether and where each piece of content resides, then TV Everywhere has a shot
at becoming a reflex. There is a big market here Netflix, the Super bowl,
Olympics and no doubt this year’s March Madness are all proof to this. TV
networks, producers and video service providers need to work together
to figure this out — before someone else does! For now I guess I'll just have to stick with my good ole Slingbox. Now where's that suitcase?
Netflix has finally released a new feature that allows subscribers to let their Facebook friends know what television shows and movies they are watching while also seeing friends’ viewing activity. The company has been trying to integrate Facebook elements in the U.S. for quite some time spending over a year lobbying Congress to amend a 1988 law called the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) that previously made such an app illegal in the United States. This past December that all changed when Congress passed a bill which updated the VPPA to accommodate the Facebook integration. According to Facebook, international users have had a sharing option for some time but the application restricted the sharing functionality. Now international users will be able to upgrade to the new version as well.
The video link at the top of this post (provided by Netflix) explains the new features.
One of many cool products unveiled at this week's SXSW comes from social curation technology provider Mass Relevance. They released Dynamic Mosaic a product which integrates real-time social content from multiple sources - including Instagram, Facebook, Vine, Twitter and Google+ - into a branded experience with depth and motion and the best part is it's all in real time. The company says the product allows brands to determine placement of sponsored and named accounts. Aiming to mimic the real-time flow of social conversations, a steady stream moving right to left will bring forth the latest social content. It will slow down when necessary to play Vine videos and highlight photos, before moving to the next piece of content. According to Ann Sommerlath, IMAX's VP of Corporate Communications, they have signed on to be one of the first Mass Relevance clients. She states: “We are very excited to partner with Mass Relevance to debut an entirely new kind of visualization and experience. We believe this experience is a great way to capture real-time conversations occurring at the conference while also engaging fans worldwide.” See the SXSW IMAX Dynamic Mosaic Live demo
