Peter Kafka had an interesting article about not being able to watch Monday Night Football at his home with his iPhone. I had a couple thoughts and comments about his dilemma which I'm sure is shared by many.
First - being able to watch something on your iPad but not on your iPhone while using your home WiFi is probably an encryption / conditional access / DRM issue. The cable company with any sort of TV Everywhere probably treats your PC, laptop or tablet device the same as a set top box. A cell device is probably a little more tricky.
Second - since it was the Watch ESPN app which should have allowed mobile devices like the iPhone - I have to wonder who Peter had his cell service with. If Verizon has an exclusive on NFL mobile rights then that may extend to the handset. I doubt this is the case but it was the first thing that popped into my head. Maybe iPhones are the exception to cross carrier availability?
Anyway - my two cents on the matter.
Showing posts with label TV Everywhere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV Everywhere. Show all posts
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Time Warner Cable and Fox News TV Everywhere
Time Warner Cable now has TV Everywhere apps for Fox News and Fox Business News. This announcement got me wondering if we will see a new trend where TV Everywhere becomes the first line of defense for content producers against the oncoming tide of a la carte TV.
HBO Go is tremendous but the over the top service is only available to people who are already subscribing to HBO through their cable company. One hand washes the other in this arrangement. If you think about it - HBO is also a defacto package of channels. Nobody gets just one HBO channel. Other content providers who are not premium channels may see this and wonder if a similar arrangement like this can be used to their advantage.
I am not sure about the details of the Time Warner Cable arrangement with Fox News and Fox Business News regarding their apps but I have to wonder if the language of the agreement states that the apps are only available to people who subscribe to both channels? That may not be a big deal now when Time Warner and other cable companies package the channels together but it would be good protection and a very valid selling selling point if a la carte ever came to be. Sure with a la carte TV you would be free to pick either Fox News or Fox Business News or neither but what if you lost access to the apps for both channels if you didn't also get both linear channels?
Just something that occurred to me.
HBO Go is tremendous but the over the top service is only available to people who are already subscribing to HBO through their cable company. One hand washes the other in this arrangement. If you think about it - HBO is also a defacto package of channels. Nobody gets just one HBO channel. Other content providers who are not premium channels may see this and wonder if a similar arrangement like this can be used to their advantage.
I am not sure about the details of the Time Warner Cable arrangement with Fox News and Fox Business News regarding their apps but I have to wonder if the language of the agreement states that the apps are only available to people who subscribe to both channels? That may not be a big deal now when Time Warner and other cable companies package the channels together but it would be good protection and a very valid selling selling point if a la carte ever came to be. Sure with a la carte TV you would be free to pick either Fox News or Fox Business News or neither but what if you lost access to the apps for both channels if you didn't also get both linear channels?
Just something that occurred to me.
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