Technology360

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Jan. 14, 2018

Here is this week’s compilation of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  CES is responsible for a few entries.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• Hands-on with 3.0 OTA TV at CES.  Cord Cutters News
• ATSC 3.0 standard approved, Technicolor HDR proposal expected as part of standard.  CEPro
• LG plans ATSC 3.0 4k broadcast testing in U.S. this year.  hdreport

Broadband/Wireless/Spectrum

• AT&T reined in 600-MHz bidding as it closed in on FirstNet.  FierceWireless  …and…  AT&T looks to sell remaining 600-MHz spectrum.  FierceWireless
• must read  600-MHz incentive auction ‘extravaganza’ ends with a whimper.  FierceWireless
• Was the spectrum auction necessary?  Radio Magazine

Consumer Electronics

• Hands-on with 3.0 OTA TV at CES.  Cord Cutters News
• What to know about those 8K TVs.  Hollywood Reporter

Digital Video/VOD/OTT

• TiVo: 20% of daily life spent with video.  Video Nuze
• TV sets remain as prime device for VOD viewing.  Rapid TV News

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read (TV, too)  How public radio’s risk-adverse culture impedes its chances for success.  Eric Nuzum in Current

Repack

• Noncoms to get brief from FCC auction/repack experts.  Broadcasting & Cable

Social Media

• The problem with Facebook.  MediaPost
• must read  Facebook tells publishers big change is coming to News Feed.  Digiday

Television

• must read  TV still claims most-favored screen status.  Rapid TV News  …and…  TV sets remain as prime device for VOD viewing.  Rapid TV News  …and… Three-quarters of U.S. consumers have a connected TV.  Rapid TV News
• TiVo: 20% of daily life spent with video.  Video Nuze

This week’s readings for #pubmedia, 8 Jan. 2018

First compilation of the new year: This week’s selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• Sony, Pearl TV partner for ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV program guide.  FierceCable
• On tap for TV at CES: 3.0, voice, gadgets.  TVNewsCheck
• Free TV keeps getting better: Welcome ATSC 3.0.  ElectronicDesign
• ATSC 3.0: Now it’s up to us.  TVTechnology

Broadband/Wireless

• AT&T plans to launch mobile 5G in a dozen cities by late 2018.  FierceWireless
• ‘Alarming’ unlimited [smartphone] data usage: 31.4 GB per month and rising.  FierceWireless

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• 2018 could be the year Facebook banishes news from its feed.  Digiday
• Streaming becomes mainstream as cord-cutting accelerates.  Chicago Tribune

Journalism

• must read  Fewer Americans rely on TV news; what type they watch varies by who they are.  Pew Research
• 2018 could be the year Facebook banishes news from its feed.  Digiday
• Reporters, once set against paywalls, have warmed to them.  Digiday

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read  The value of podcasts.  MediaPost
• A dozen ways radio can whistle past the graveyard.  Jacobs Media Strategies

Social Media

• 2018 could be the year Facebook banishes news from its feed.  Digiday

Strategy/Management/Legal

• The great consolidation: How 2017 paved the way for the next gilded age of television.  Paste Magazine

Television

• 487 original programs aired in 2017. Bet you didn’t watch them all.  New York Times
• Record number of OLED TVs shipped at end of 2017.  Rapid TV News
• must read  Live TV and movie habits to continue sharp decline in 2018.  nScreenMedia

Readings for #pubmedia, New Year’s edition

I opted to spend last weekend with my kids and grandkids rather than compile this – go figure! – so here is a two-week or so compilation of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter account.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• 2018 preview: ATSC 3.0 will get closer to becoming a real TV technology.  FierceCable
• 4K for broadcast: Is it worth the expense.  Bill Hayes in TVTechnology [repeat from June]
• New single-box solution for 9+million OTA+broadband households.  nScreenMedia [this is an ATSC 1.0 device, but looks like a great, inexpensive solution later on for 3.0 conversion]

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Most top cable nets see viewership declines in 2017.  Cablefax
• must read  How to cut the cord on cable.  New York Times

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• DIRECTV Now suffering outages in prime time.  TV Answer Man
• must read  Consumers demanding more from streaming services.  Rapid TV News [I’m getting more regular buffering interruptions – every 20-30 minutes – on my high-end data subscription via Comcast and discovery sucks on pretty much every OTT service]
• Demand and supply revamping OTT outlook.  TVTechnology
• New single-box solution for 9+million OTA+broadband households.  nScreenMedia 
• Netflix subs gain parity with pay-TV customers in U.S.  Rapid TV News
• must read  FAANG firms to sink teeth into tenth of total U.S. TV and video revs in 2018.  Rapid TV News  …and…  Facebook’s plan to take on TV.  MediaPost
• In 2017, TV’s streaming revolution made its biggest leap forward yet.  Vulture

Public Media

• Coming next year: A Mister Rogers revival in movie theaters.  MediaPost

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read  Podcasting: Radio’s answer to on-demand programming.  Radio Magazine

Television

• Broadcast nets register double-digit dip in ratings.  MediaPost

Weekly readings for #pubmedia, Dec. 18, 2017

This week’s collection of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• What is Next Gen TV and when will it launch?  TechHive

Broadband/Wireless

• Why the fight over net neutrality is far from over.  FierceWireless  …and…  FCC overturns current net neutrality rules. FierceTelecomm  …and…  FCC repeals ‘net neutrality’ rules for internet providers.  NPR
• What will the end of net neutrality do to America?  HuffPost
• TV is now clearly the wireless industry’s new battleground.  FierceWireless

Cable/MVPD/Cord-Cutting

• Cord cutting slows in Q3.  FierceCable

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• T-Mobile promises to end the “complete bulls—t” from TV companies in 2018.  Ars Technica
• must read  OTT video ad growth triples in one year.  Rapid TV News  …and…  OTT ad spending up 18x over past 12 months.  Video Nuze  …and…  OTT now 26% of video ad spend.  MediaPost  …and…  OTT revenues to reach $120B by 2022.  FierceCable
• must read  More than 3/5ths of video plays set to be on mobile by mid-2018.  Rapid TV News
• TV is now clearly the wireless industry’s new battleground.  FierceWireless
• SVOD a daily habit for 60% of U.S. adults.  nScreenMedia
• TV networks are buying original digital series for their apps.  Digiday

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read  Beyond the narrative arc.  Eric Nuzum in NiemanLab
• Do podcasts have a “discoverability problem?”  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Norway becomes first country to end national radio broadcasts on FM.  The Guardian
• must read  Nielsen: The good, the bad, and the truth.  Jacobs Media Strategies  …and…  Radio listeners spend 58% of their tune-in time with their favorite station.  Nielsen  …and…  Nielsen Q2 Total Audience Report: Radio holds steady, smartphone use balloons.  Radio & Internet News
• Study: FM radio is top audio for smart speaker users.  InsideRadio

Repack/Spectrum

• must read if you’re Ch. 14  IEEE Broadcast Symposium Part 1: Repack.  Doug Lung in TV Technology

Strategy/Management

• must read  How ‘Sesame Street’ persuaded public television to act like a network.  Current

Television

• Television at a crossroads.  Forbes

This week’s readings for #pubmedia, Dec. 11, 2017

Here is another collection of readings from my @haarsager Twitter account.  The digital video and radio sectors were well-represented last week.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• TV of tomorrow offers exciting, dystopian future.  MediaPost
• Dish’s Charlie Ergen and Sinclair’s David Smith: Thing 1 and Ting 2.  Harry Jessell in TVNewsCheck
• Dish’s Ergen steps down as CEO to focus on building wireless business.  FierceWireless

Broadband/Wireless

• You’re buying a 4K TV.  How much internet bandwidth do you need?  KING-TV
• Dish’s Charlie Ergan and Sinclair’s David Smith: Thing 1 and Ting 2.  Harry Jessell in TVNewsCheck

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• Hulu Live passes 440 stations, leads vMVPD local arms race.  FierceCable
• Parks Assoc.: Over one-half of OTT households subscribe to multiple streaming services.  FierceCable
• One-third of U.S. web users stream video as primary viewing choice.  Rapid TV News
• Pivot to nowhere: The once-vibrant market for digital video series has deteriorated.  Digiday

Cable/Pay-TV/MVPD

• Hulu Live passes 440 stations, leads vMVPD local arms race.  FierceCable

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• Radio’s big opportunity with evergreen content.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Podcast ads remain stubbornly old-fashioned.  Digiday
• Podcasting: Glass half empty or half full?  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Smart speakers for smart listeners.  James Cridland in  All Access Music Group
• Is it time for radio to tune out of TuneIn?  James Cridland in All Access Music Group

Strategy/Management/Legal

• Why are so many TV anchors and radio hosts being suspended? Bad management.  Micheline Maynard in Medium
• WTTW plans to  buy rival public TV station WYCC’s broadcast license.  Chicago Tribune

Television

• TV of tomorrow offers exciting, dystopian future.  MediaPost
• Video viewing strong, but traditional TV losing ground.  MediaPost  …but…  CBS research guru David Poltrack sees “bright future ahead” for broadcast TV.  Deadline.com

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Dec. 1, 2017

Another page falls off the calendar.  Welcome to the last month of 2017.  Here is this week’s somewhat slim collection of selected links from @haarsager on Twitter.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• ‘Next Gen TV’ could be an ad boon for local TV stations.  Wall Street Journal
• Broadband/Wireless/Net Neutrality
• Comcast hints at plan for paid fast lanes after net neutrality repeal.  Ars Technica

Cable/Pay-TV/MVPD/Cord-Cutting

• Pay TV subscribers opting for open TV platforms.  nScreenMedia
• Legacy services set for collapse as virtual MVPDs disrupt pay-TV market.  Rapid TV News

Digital Video/OTT

• More than half of U.S. homes take multiple OTT services.  Rapid TV News
• must read  The young reject DVR, embrace smartphone video; connected TV picking up the slack.  nScreenMedia

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• Amazon is now creating content for Alexa.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Comcast integrates iHeartRadio into X1.  FierceCable

Television

• We just don’t rent movies anymore.  nScreenMedia
• The retrofitting of broadcasting.  MediaPost

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Nov. 26, 2017

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving!  Here is my latest collection of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV/HbbTV

• Does Next-Gen TV spell doom for over-the-air DVR?  TechHive

Broadband/Internet/Wireless

• must read  Tim Wu: Why the courts will have to save net neutrality.  New York Times
• Former FCC chairman Wheeler says Pai’s net neutrality proposal is hypocritical.  FierceTelecom
• All signs point to December vote to kill net neutrality rules.  Ars Technica

Cable/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Will internet TV streaming replace legacy pay-TV in 2018?  Nasdaq
• Lessons from the OTT revolution.  TVTechnology
• Skinny TV not yet picking up the slack for pay-TV subs drain.  Rapid TV News

Digital Video/OTT

• Will internet TV streaming replace legacy pay-TV in 2018?  Nasdaq
• Fans expect poor quality for sports live streaming.  Rapid TV News
• HD mobile video goes mainstream.  Rapid TV News  (in the video, move the screen around with your mouse)

Journalism

• Boise TV station develops 360 video strategy for YouTube.  NewsLab

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read  Understanding public media’s most engaged podcast users.  Knight Foundation in Medium
• At Third Coast, holding on to public radio ideals as podcasting booms.  The New Yorker

Spectrum/Repack

• FCC provides pointers on getting repack bucks.  Broadcasting & Cable

Strategy/Management/Business

• must read  Steve Brill: Newspaper bosses ‘paralyzed’ by change, clueless about paid content.  Poynter
• must read  There’s a digital media crash. But no one will say it.  Talking Points Memo

Television

• What you need to get HD channels over the air.  hdreport
• U.S. consumers spend more time watching films and TV.  Rapid TV News
• HDR mindshare: As awareness grows, so does confusion.  FierceCable

Weekend reading for #pubmedia, Nov. 17, 2017

A two-week gap has elapsed since the last compendium of links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  The FCC approval of ATSC 3.0 is the big news this time.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/Next-Gen TV

• FCC approves ATSC/Next-Gen TV for OTA broadcasting.  TVTechnology  …and…  TVNewsCheck  …and…  Variety
• must read  Harry Jessell: It’s now up to the market to make 3.0 work.  TVNewsCheck
• Sinclair announces nationwide ATSC 3.0 deployment after FCC OK.  FierceCable
• Top 4 ‘outrageous myths’ about ATSC 3.0.  TVNewsCheck
• Rep. Dingell has privacy concerns over ATSC 3.0.  Broadcasting & Cable  …and…  TVNewsCheck
• NAB and CTA team on ATSC 3.0 ‘test lab’ in Cleveland.  TVTechnology

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Kagan: Pay-TV lost 1.2M users in Q3.  FierceCable

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• must read  Devices streaming to TVs go mainstream in the U.S.  Rapid TV News  …and…  Streaming tech reaches one-third of universe, eroding ‘traditional TV’ viewing.  MediaPost
• must read  Research: 52% of viewers now watch their favorite show from an online source.  Video Nuze
• One size does not fit all in OTT world.  Rapid TV News
• Connected TV advertising is surging.  Video Nuze
• U.S. OTT market heats up.  Rapid TV News
• The man who gave us the DVR says Roku is the future of TV.  MarketWatch

Journalism

• must read  8 strategies for saving local newsrooms.  Columbia Journalism Review

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• With mobile, NPR is not checking off the boxes: How NPR builds great apps.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• BBC debuts interactive audio drama for Amazon Alexa.  Radio & Internet News
• The Main Studio Rule: U.S. radio’s biggest opportunity in years.  RadioInfo

Strategy/Management/Legal

• Inside the Guardian’s consumer-revenue operation.  Digiday

Television

• must read  Why have TV viewers stopped channel surfing?  MediaPost
• must read  ‘Content Connoisseurs’ dominate TV landscape.  Rapid TV News
• Rapidly abundant 4K/Ultra HD content failing to reach platforms.  Rapid TV News
• Nielsen to incorporate Comcast set-top data in local TV ratings.  MediaPost
• HDR TV shipments to soar 300% by 2021.  Rapid TV News
• CBS no longer tied to traditional TV?  nScreenMedia

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Oct. 27, 2017

I’ve been in Scotland, taking a three-week break from aggregating these links, but not a break from posting them to my @haarsager Twitter account.  Here is a longer-than-usual catch-up.  The most recent articles are generally near the top of each category.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• Sinclair, NAB cheer FCC’s ATSC draft order.  FierceCable
• Retrans a key part of FCC’s ATSC 3.0 plan.  TVNewsCheck
• FCC to vote on ATSC 3.0 on Nov. 16.  TVNewsCheck
• CTA warns of ATSC 3.0 ‘chaos’ without modulation standard.  Broadcasting & Cable
• must read  Disparate views of the future of ATSC 3.0.  TVNewsCheck
• Internet of Everything: The IoT market is projected to expand 12x from 2017-2023.  Hackernoon

Cable/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Cord cutting hits 632k for Q3 with bulk of top platforms reporting.  FierceCable
• More than half of U.S. broadband households subscribe to pay-TV, OTT service.  Rapid TV News
• vMVPDs alone no threat to pay-TV.  nScreenMedia

Digital Video/VoD/OTT

• More than half of U.S. broadband households subscribe to pay-TV, OTT service.  Rapid TV News
• Can home Wi-Fi deliver TV reliably?  nScreenMedia
• Netflix rumbles on, but it’s still hard to discern original content’s role.  Video Nuze
• must read  Mobile surges as VOD viewing set to catch up to linear TV by 2020.  Rapid TV News
• Shift toward on-demand viewing accelerates.  nScreenMedia

Journalism

• must read  Young subscribers flock to old media.  Politico
• Scoring stories to make better recommendation engines for news.  Monday Note

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• must read  Radio can’t just check off the boxes.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• Generation X is now driving NPR’s audience growth.  Washingtonian
• Setting the record straight on FM radio in iPhones.  Sam Matheny at NAB  …and…  Everything you need to know about FM radio on your phone.  CNET
• Radio’s digital dashboard display dilemma.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• The good NEW days of radio.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• must read  Classical music’s biggest problem is that no one cares.  On An Overgrown Path
  
• Will radio get off the dime with podcasting?  Jacobs Media Strategies

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repack

• Internet of Everything: The IoT market is projected to expand 12x from 2017-2023.  Hackernoon
• FCC chair’s advisor: FCC can’t hold another big spectrum auction.  Multichannel News
• Broadcasters emerging as winner in FCC reauthorization process so far.  Morning Consult
• T-Mobile, Fox TV stations partner on repack.  TVTechnology  …and…  Pocket Now
• Tower deaths put repack sked in spotlight.  TVNewsCheck

Strategy/Management/Legal

• FCC to lift station modification freeze.  Broadcasting & Cable
• must read  Viewer preferences straddle generations.  TVTechnology
• Pubmedia’s commitment to local audiences must transcend lip service.  Gary Knell in Current
• must read  How to crowdfund a TV series.  Cablefax

Television

• AI is changing how you watch TV.  Venture Beat

Wireless/Broadband/IoT

• nerd alert  5G: Can we do better than OFDM? Cohere Technologies believes we can with OTFS.  FierceWireless
• FCC chair’s advisor: FCC can’t hold another big spectrum auction.  Multichannel News

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Oct. 1, 2017

October already.  Here are selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed in the past week.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV/Next-Gen TV

• Next-Gen TV: Will the bang match the buzz?  TVTechnology
• NAB reinforces no tuner mandates for Next Gen TV.  TVTechnology

Cable/MVPD/Pay-TV/Cord-Cutting

• Linear OTT boosts falling U.S. pay-TV.  Rapid TV News
• must read  Research: Pay-TV satisfaction is up, but price remains Achilles heel.  Video Nuze
• must read  Bad news and good advice for operators in new TiVo data.  nScreenMedia
• U.S. TV households subscribing to a pay-TV service dips below four-fifths mark.  Rapid TV News  …and…  Only 70% of U.S. homes have pay TV.  FierceCable

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• OTT: Is it TV or digital?  MediaPost  …and…  Is OTT a broadcast or digital buy?  MediaPost
• Is Amazon’s video strategy working?  nScreenMedia
• BBC iPlayer opens up access to archive programs.  Rapid TV News
• Full extent of Millennial, Gen X video consumption not being measured.  Rapid TV News

Journalism

• Network news audiences continue to shrink.  Los Angeles Times

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• Radio’s wake-up call.  Jacobs Media Strategies
• must read  More music, less typing, replacing radios drive smart speaker adoption in new NPR/Edison research.  Part 1: Radio & Internet News and NPR, Part 2: Radio & Internet News  …and…  The full report.  National Public Media

Repack/Spectrum Auction

• my blog  The repack death toll begins.  Technology360.com
• [for engineers] Unanticipated interference after repack. Charles Rhodes in TVTechnology

Television

• Destination TV maintains its grip on American viewing.  Rapid TV News
• Wells Fargo analyst: Local TV stocks rated to outperform.  TVNewsCheck
• Network news audiences continue to shrink.  Los Angeles Times