Also: Rogers banks on its future, TV Everywhere registry pushes ahead, Kabel Deutschland picks multi-screen partners

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

September 7, 2011

2 Min Read
Google May Up the Ante for Hulu

Welcome to the cable news roundup, Hump-Day edition.

  • Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is shaping up to be the wild card in the Hulu LLC sweepstakes, as it is said to be willing to pay much more than $2 billion (perhaps up to $4 billion) in exchange for access to more content over a longer period, a move that could pull the rug from under three primary bidders that are playing by the rules: Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Dish Network LLC (Nasdaq: DISH), says AllThingsD. DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV)'s already dropped from the bidding.

  • Rogers Communications Inc. (Toronto: RCI) wants to try its hand at a new line of business: lender. The Canadian MSO and wireless service provider is seeking permission to incorporate an in-house bank, the first step toward offering retail credit cards, reports The Globe and Mail. If it gains the license, Rogers may try to compete by providing perks tied to its video and wireless products.

  • Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Cox Communications Inc. and other backers of the Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) say they are adding members and generally making progress with the rollout of a common digital registry for cataloging movies and TV shows. Comcast, for example, said it's prepping to use EIDR IDs to help it create a database of program metadata from multiple sources that can be used across video platforms, including on-demand, linear and online. CableLabs VP and Deputy General Counsel Jud Cary says other MSOs, including Shaw Communications Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. , are poised to join the cause. He'll be at the IBC show in Amsterdam this week to drum up some international support. (See CableLabs, Studios Back TV Everywhere Registry.)

  • Germany's largest MSO, Kabel Deutschland GmbH , has named three vendors to its content delivery network (CDN) lineup for TV Everywhere services: Concurrent Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: CCUR)'s MediaHawk VX server, SeaChange International Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC)'s EventIS back-office and the NDS Ltd. software client.

  • The Advanced Television Systems Committee has started work on a next-gen TV standard that likely won't be compatible with today's platform, reports TV Technology. ATSC 3.0 is expected to be made up of "voluntary" technical standards and recommended practices for a new digital broadcast system.

    — Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable



About the Author(s)

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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