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Cable Technology Feature Article

October 05, 2013

Cable Technology Week in Review

By Tara Seals, TMCnet Contributor


There has been a lot happening in the world of cable and video during this first month of October. First up, Twitter (News - Alert) filed for its IPO this week and expects to make TV a big focus of its future revenue generation plans. Not to be outdone on the TV front, Facebook announced that it will begin sending out weekly reports to America’s four largest television networks. These reports will give broadcasters a general idea of how much talk their shows generate on the social network. The reports will include how many likes, comments, or shares a television episode created on Facebook (News - Alert). It will also detail how many Facebook members participated in the action. These reports will not be available to the general public, but instead will be shared only with ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS, as well as a small number of select partners. For years now, Facebook and Twitter have been in a heated battle over broadcasting dominance. Being the king of real-time events means more user activity and more advertising dollars. Both companies have tried, over the past few months, to boost their relationships with television networks and highlight data reports on user activity during television events.

Meanwhile, as the baseball playoffs continue, Comcast Business is getting into the zeitgeist of the season with an announcement that the Oakland’s As’ O.co Coliseum is now using Ethernet services to realize high-speed Internet. The stadium also houses the Oakland Athletics’ executive and administrative offices. The 2012 season saw the Athletics finish first in their division and thus they required extra bandwidth to cater to media members covering each game during the playoffs. During non-game days, the current Internet connection deployed at the facility already catered to over 175 employees, and whenever the team was in town, it was in need for a fast, reliable connection to cater to nearly 400, so that work could be carried out efficiently without any drop in performance. They also wanted an internet connection that could scale easily, as new initiatives resulted in temporary spikes in bandwidth demand during the playoffs and other special events.

In personnel news, video encoding specialist Envivio has appointed Terry D. Kramer as chairman of its board of directors. Kramer seems an obvious choice for the role as he has not only served on Envivio’s board since May 2011, but is also a telecommunications executive and former United States ambassador for the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT). "I have enjoyed working with the company at the center of TV without boundaries and am excited by Envivio's pioneering technology," Kramer said. "The video industry continues to advance at a rapid pace, and consumers' appetites for TV anywhere require innovators like Envivio to develop solutions that improve network efficiency and the user experience."

In advertising, Simulmedia, a targeted television advertising company, has joined hands with TiVo (News - Alert) Research and Analytics (TRA) to launch a new program which will enable Simulmedia to guarantee advertisers the number of targeted purchasers among those who view TV advertising. Simulmedia’s purchase data targeting and media delivery guarantees are different from traditional networks which leverage age, sex and demographic details of the population only. Dave Morgan, Simulmedia’s CEO said, “TRA is a leader in the use of the consumer purchase behavior for media and our partnership with them is an industry first. The industry needs to move beyond age/sex demos. Adults 18-49 is not a demo, it’s a family reunion. A heavy cereal purchaser PRP guarantee, for example, is far more targeted and less spray and pray.”

Speaking of ads and audiences, Revolt TV, set to launch on Oct. 21, is bringing back old-school music television to the airwaves, courtesy of mastermind Sean Combs, who has spent the better part of 18 months working on the channel. Revolt has national carriage deals with both Comcast and Time Warner (News - Alert) Cable (TWC), making it one of the largest independent network launches in cable television history. Through music videos, performances, interviews and news, Revolt says that it “will deliver the best of the best in music to the first multi-platform network for artists and fans - all live, on-air, and at the speed of social media.”

Essentially, Revolt is taking an older format—think MTV in the early years—and revisiting it with a few nods to today’s hyperconnected social reality. It will actually—gasp!—play videos for most of the time. Advertising execs think it may just work, too.

And finally, cue the “We’re No. 1!” chants: The AT&T (News - Alert) U-verse TV customers in the North Central Region are very happy with the service that is being offered to them, according to the J.D. Power 2013 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study. It reveals that AT&T U-verse TV outperforms all other TV providers in the region. "Our focus is to provide the best experience for U-verse customers every step of the way, whether you're ordering service, getting U-verse installed or watching TV at home or on the go," said Lori Lee, senior executive vice president, AT&T Home Solutions. "We offer customers a unique experience you can't get from other TV providers, which is why we're the fastest growing TV provider in the country. Our work doesn't stop here. We have much more in store for U-verse TV customers."

Have a great weekend!





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