WebTV

Many smart TV platforms are less than perfect, so you’re almost always better off adding some kind of streaming device. Now Roku is cutting out the middleman completely, by releasing TVs with Roku baked right inside. Synergy! There are two OEMs making Roku TV, TCL and Hisense. The TCL sets go on sale on Tuesday Continue Reading →

More details have leaked about Google’s upcoming subscription service for YouTube, these in the form of screenshots posted by Android Police on Monday. The service, called YouTube Music Key, will give subscribers ad-free and offline playback of YouTube videos, as well as audio-only material. Per the screenshots, users will be able to play music on Continue Reading →

Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube all let you watch whatever you want, whenever you want. But if you wanted to watch with friends or family, you had to figure out when and where to meet in real life. Rabbit fixes that with a browser-based video chat service that lets you watch whatever you want with friends, Continue Reading →

Children under the age of 13 are a massive and relatively untapped market for internet companies due to federal privacy laws, but now Google is ready to risk those treacherous legal waters in order to sign them up. According to the Information (subscription required), Google is preparing features like a kid-safe version of YouTube and Continue Reading →

YouTube launched a redesigned HTML5-based TV interface on Thursday that will put a stronger emphasis on your playlists and the channels you subscribe to. This new version is rolling out for the Xbox One now and will find its way to other connected devices like the PS3, Roku, smart TVs, streaming players and Blu-ray players Continue Reading →

CBS is working on shows that you won’t see on CBS. Instead, the plan is for you to see them on the Internet, via video services like Netflix or Amazon’s Prime Instant Video. If that happens, it means CBS will have opened up a new revenue source: In addition to selling its reruns to Netflix Continue Reading →

What a difference a week makes. At our Innovation Series breakfast this past week, I was planning to discuss my recent article, The “New” Media Landscape: CNBCUTWC, 21stCFTW, ATTDirecTV, T-Sprint. We sent out our pre-breakfast discussion guide just as the Twenty-First Century Fox/Time Warner and Sprint/T-Mobile deals blew up. This made for an awesome, lively Continue Reading →

Netflix doesn’t want anyone to know how many people watch its original shows, like “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black.” But until a few months ago, at least one company had a pretty good idea — and shared it publicly. Now Netflix has plugged that leak. Procera Networks, a broadband monitoring company, Continue Reading →

Netflix has surpassed HBO in subscription revenue, CEO Reed Hastings proclaimed on his Facebook page Wednesday. Netflix subscription rates have been consistently on the rise this past year–from just above $500 million to nearly $1.2 billion in the past year–while HBO’s subscription revenue has remained comparatively steady, Quartz reports. But, as Hastings alludes, don’t think Continue Reading →

In its latest effort to boost advertising by small businesses, Google said its YouTube unit had acquired Directr, a mobile-video app used by small businesses to create marketing videos. No purchase price was disclosed. Directr offers a mobile app for Apple’s iOS platform that makes it easy for small businesses to shoot, edit and upload Continue Reading →