Streaming video buzz dominates today's cable roundup, including the unveiling of
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s long awaited subscription video play and the expansion of
Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) availability to Android and
Boxee devices.
Apple will get a 30 percent cut of revenue from subscription videos, magazines and newspapers sold through iTunes, but only if publishers sell the content exclusively through its app store.
It's a big week for Netflix, which is finally available to Boxee users, will soon be available on Android devices, and was ranked as the No. 1 paid streaming video site by The Nielsen Co. (See 20 Million for Netflix and Security Snag Sacks Boxee's Netflix Rollout .)
No word on whether cable operators will get a cut of the TV-based commerce revenue Rovi Corp. and Delivery Agent will generate by allowing subscribers to buy products marketed directly through interactive program guides. (See Rovi Pushes Click-to-Buy IPGs and Canoe CTO: 'T-Commerce' Coming in 2011.)
Add Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) and Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) to the list of ISPs that will test their "readiness for the next-generation of Internet Protocol" on June 8 at World IPv6 Day.
Look for 3-D ads from movie studios and other media buyers to begin running on 3net, the new 3-D channel from Discovery Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and IMAX, starting in April. (See DirecTV Set to Launch New 3-D Net .)
Wisconsin said no thanks to the $23 million the feds offered the state in broadband stimulus money since there were too many strings attached.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) field workers may be visiting local telecom markets in four or five new Hybrid Chevy Tahoes, thanks to the $354.2 million in funding President Obama has proposed for the 2012 Commission budget.
Things are looking sweet across the pond lately. European cable operators saw revenue from digital video jump 17.4 percent in 2010, while broadband revenue rose 4 percent and telephony jumped 9 percent, according to Cable Europe.
— Steve Donohue, Special to Light Reading Cable
