Technology360

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Feb. 24, 2018

Here’s another collection (a bit slimmer than usual for some reason) of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

• HPA panel examines road to ATSC 3.0 and repack.  TVTechnology

Cable/Satellite/MVPD/Cord-Cutting

• How did satellite TV go from a $50B business to ‘less than zero’ in three short years?  FierceCable  …and…  Dish loses 200K more linear TV subscribers in Q4; value of satellite business ‘less than zero,’ analyst postulates.  FierceCable

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

• Buoyant SVOD boosts U.S. TV market to be worth $140B by end of 2018.  Rapid TV News
• TV Everywhere use encouraging SVOD adoption?  nScreenMedia

Journalism

• KPCC, WAMU and WNYC help revive local news websites in L.A., D.C. and N.Y.  Radio and Internet News

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

• KPCC, WAMU and WNYC help revive local news websites in L.A., D.C. and N.Y.  Radio and Internet News
• Why radio should eat the elephant (one bite at a time).  Jacobs Media Strategies
• RadioPublic calculator shows the pros and cons of today’s podcast advertising.  Radio and Internet News
• HD Radio penetration nears 50% in new car sales.  Radio Magazine

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

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, Apr. 23, 2016

A selected group of links of interest from my @haarsager Twitter feed this week.  Lots of good stuff, particularly in the journalism and ATSC (which now gets a separate category).  --Dennis

ATSC 3.0

CBS’s engineering chief gives 3.0 a lukewarm reception.  TVNewsCheck

Five things television broadcasters should know about ATSC 3.0.  Wiley on Media

ATSC 3.0 broadcast airs in Vegas: On-demand 4K shows over antenna TV.  Inverse

Wheeler said ATSC 3.0 will circulate this month  TV Technology  …and…  Wheeler on broadcaster’s 3.0 push.  TVNewsCheck  …and…  FCC to put out ATSC petition out for comment by month’s end.  Multichannel News

LG demos ATSC 3.0 Wireless Network Antenna.  TV Technology  …and…  LG Electronics demonstrates ATSC 3.0 wireless network antenna.  LG presser

TV’s ATSC 3.0 possibilities on display.  TVNewsCheck

ATSC 3.0 will bring TV to ‘inflection point.’  TVNewsCheck

must read  Pilot highlighting ATSC 3.0 Interactive Environment prototype.  TV Technology

Magid survey: UHD, ATSC 3.0 score high among consumers.  Broadcasting & Cable

Cable/Satellite/MVPD/Pay-TV

Traditional TV viewers dip, cable news helps slow decline.  MediaPost

Pay-TV gets armed by Comcast for OTT battle.  nScreenMedia

Consumer Electronics

LG Electronics demonstrates ATSC 3.0 wireless network antenna.  LG presser

VR/AR reaches ‘fever pitch’ at NAB Show.  NAB Show Daily News

Digital Video/OTT

Binge TV viewing may be slowing down.  MediaPost

Cord cutters are few, but tons of us are streaming video.  Fox News

Video streaming habits: 65% of TV OTT viewing is spent using subscription VOD.  Telecompetitor

Pay-TV gets armed by Comcast for OTT battle.  nScreenMedia

Time to admit second screening is a myth?  MediaPost

New OTT services raise TV viewership.  MediaPost

When TV Everywhere becomes what pay-TV is.  nScreenMedia

AirTV may sling around local channels.  informitv

Journalism

must read  Local journalism matters more than ever.  RTNDA

must read  An ethical quandary for nonprofit journalism – are funders calling the shots?  Poynter

must read  Rethinking the mission and purpose of local reporting.  Media Reset

Journalism has an editing crisis, but we can do something about it.  Poynter

The culture of journalism breeds disdain for…the audience.  Medium

must read    Journalism isn’t dying.  But it’s changing WAY faster than most people understand.  Washington Post

For news outlets squeezed from the middle, it’s bend or bust.  New York Times  …and…  Media websites battle faltering ad revenue and traffic.  New York Times

TV news faces a threat familiar to newspapers.  The Guardian

Tremors in the distributed content world.  Frederic Fillloux in Monday Note

must read    Producing good journalism and embracing video important for adapting to digital change.  Kinsey Wilson in Journalism in the Americas

Management/Strategy/Business

TV and radio stations, working together? It’s possible – and potentially powerful.  Current

must read  6 trends driving the future of TV.  Multichannel News, part 1  Multichannel News, part 2

must read  A broadcaster’s guide to Washington issues.  David Oxenford and David O’Connor in TVNewsCheck

Radio/Digital Audio/Podcasting

With young people trading AM/FM for streaming, will radio find a home in your next car?  NiemanLab

8 NPR One t hings I wish I had known or done while I was at a station.  NPR

Is broadcast radio doomed? [from UK]  Radio World

Can audio go viral on Facebook?  Here’s an NPR experiment.  Nieman Lab

A portrait of a Pandora listener.  Media Life Magazine

NPR’s visuals team is using an analytics bot to measure if people care about stories.  Journalism.co.uk

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/Repacking

Encouraging words for a repack summit.  TVNewsCheck

Analysts: Verizon, AT&IT should purchase Dish spectrum.  FierceWireless

Wheeler calls for strong bidding in spectrum auction.  Bloomberg BNA

must read  The broadcast spectrum auction: Preparing for a post-auction world.  Deloitte

[comments on auction, repack also]  Wheeler said ATSC 3.0 will circulate this month  TV Technology  …and…  Wheeler on broadcaster’s 3.0 push.  TVNewsCheck  …and…  FCC to put out ATSC petition out for comment by month’s end.  Multichannel News

FCC Commissioner Pai:  Rural could lead repack.  Broadcasting & Cable

Broadcast ‘daisy chain’ poses puzzle for post-auction repack.  Bloomberg BNA

must read  FCC says pre-auction expenses can be reimbursed to stations that have to be repacked after the incentive auction.  Broadcast Law Blog  …and…  Repack reimbursement clarity ripples through NAB.  TVNewsCheck  …and… the FCC Declaratory Ruling on this

Incentive auction troubles: Older cell towers may buckle under weight of new 600 MHz equipment.  FierceInstaller

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, 4/16/16

Here is another group of selected links from my twitter feed.  Don’t want to wait for the weekend?  You can visit http://www.twitter.com/haarsager for the feed.  -- Dennis

Cable/Satellite/Pay-TV

Cord cutting in rural markets has less appeal.  Telecompetitor

Digital Video/OTT

AirTV streams local OTA channels directly into Sling TV.  Zatz Not Funny!

Netflix reports lowest churn as 1/5th of U.S. broadband households cancel OTT in 2015.  Rapid TV News

Subscriptions to OTT services aside from Netflix, Amazon and Hulu remain minimal.  Video Nuze

Are digital media too big to fail?  Media Post

The digital media bloodbath: Hundreds of jobs lost.  BuzzFeed

The threat to the “golden era” of video.  nScreenMedia

Journalism

With new roadblocks for digital news sites, what happens next?  Ken Doctor in Nieman Lab

must read  Want to start a small data journalism team in your newsroom?  Here are 8 steps.  Nieman Lab

Management/Strategy/Business

The case for PBS stations in a post-TV world.  Current  …and…  The case for NPR station sin a post-radio world.  Current  [audio]

must read  Let’s make the future of media again.  Cory Bergman in Medium

Radio/Podcasting/Digital Audio

must read  The fight fur the future of NPR.  Leon Neyfakh in Slate  …and…  Public radio story private pods: Now, forever and yesterday.  John Moe in Medium  …and…  Today’s public media fight misses the point.  Melody Kramer in Medium

must read  How big are Audible’s ambitions in changing short-form audio?  Really, really big.  Nieman Lab

Has Pandora overplayed its hand?  Jacobs Media Strategies

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/ATSC 3.0/HbbTV

Broadcast TV’s future is in Wheeler’s hands.  Harry Jessell in TVNewsCheck

DISH Network – No value in spectrum anymore?  Seeking Alpha

NAB, CTA, pubcasters ask FCC for voluntary ATSC 3.0.  TV Technology  …and…  Coalition files FCC petition for voluntary use of new broadcast TV transmission standard.  NAB presser  …and…  Broadcsasters petition FCC for ATSC 3.0 rollout.  Broadcasting & Cable

must read  Five things television broadcasters should know about ATSC 3.0.  Wiley on Media

Accenture predicts big year for ATSC 3.0, VR.  TV Technology

must read  Sinclair eager to offer next-gen TV services.  TVNewsCheck

Pearl, Pilot, Sinclair join AWARN Alliance.  TV Technology  …and… New group to tackle ATSC 3.0 emergency benefits.  Broadcasting & Cable

must read  Analysts expect incentive auction to generate between $32.8 and $43.8B.  FierceWireless  …and…  Some TV station groups would reap billions from a successful auction.  S&P Global Market Intelligence

Television

Master control to tackle IP, virtualization, 4K.  TVNewsCheck

American’s spend 80% of their watch time with TV.  Rapid TV News

DirecTV to carry MLB Network games in 4K Ultra HD.  Variety

Q&A with Mark Schubin on 4K, UHD, HDR and more.  TV Technology

High Dynamic Range TV gets a leg up – and maybe an upcharge.  Variety

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, Apr. 10, 2016

Here is this week’s list of selected links from my @haarsager Twitter feed.  --Dennis

Cable/Pay-TV/Satellite TV

Pay-TV profit forecast: Steep declines by 2023.  MediaPost

Consumer service and experience match content and cost as new pay-TV differentiators.  Rapid TV News

DirecTV sets launch of three 4k channels.  FierceCable

Digital Video/OTT/VOD

must read  Live video poised to soar as Facebook doubles down.  Video Nuze  …and…  Why Facebook went all in on Live Video.  BuzzFeed

must read  On-demand demographics: VOD viewing across generations.  Nielsen

More than half download video monthly.  nScreenMedia

Online video share of viewing to double in the next decade.  Rapid TV News

U.S. cord-cutting cuts loose as OTT revenues rocket.  Rapid TV News

Consumer Electronics

4K penetration to pass 23% in 2016.  Rapid TV News

Vizio teams with Google on the future of TV.  SF Gate

Journalism

must read  Digital disruption is coming quickly to TV news; how can broadcasters adapt and respond.  Nieman Lab

Data journalism, a crucial skill that most J-schools aren’t teaching.  Columbia Journalism Review

Management/Strategy/Business

Ads are more effective in G-rated TV shows.  MediaPost

CPB prods TV stations to consolidate.  Current

must read  Mobile is Eating the World 2016.  Benedict Evans of Andreessen Horowitz in SlideShare

must read  Why your brilliant content strategy doesn’t stand a chance.  Greg Satell in Digital Tonto

Radio

Radio is a great value proposition – no user name, password, wifi or credit card needed.  Jacobs Media Strategies

must read  Podcasts a go-go.  Jacobs Media Strategies

Gimlet Media’s radical transparency.  NewCo Shift in Medium

Five ways to share your audio.  The Media Online

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/ATSC 3.0

must read  As spectrum auction unfolds, big questions loom.  Bloomberg BNA

FCC chair to Senate: Spectrum auction could extend into FY 2017 (post 9/30/16).  Broadcasting & Cable

Television

Older viewers hang on to TV, younger viewers flee it.  nScreenMedia

Weekend readings for #pubmedia, part 2, 3/27/16

Now, the remainder of the links that have piled up since March 6th.  Most of those relating to spectrum, incentive auction and ATSC 3.0 were posted yesterday.  --Dennis

Cable/Satellite/MVPD/Pay-TV

Adding OTT to the mix held cablecos’ position for all-IP future.  Rapid TV News

U.S. pay-TV missed 5M new subs since 2010.  NScreenMedia  …and…  Cord-cutting more than doubled in 2015; pay-TV lost 385K customers, Leichtman tally finds.  FierceCable  …and… Leichtman Research  …and…  Cord-cutting remains muted as major pay-TV providers lost 385K subs in 2015.  Video Nuze

The impending battle over skinny bundles.  NScreenMedia  …and…  Can CBS All Access become a competitive skinny bundle?  NScreenMedia

U.S. multichannel subs drop by more than 1M in 2015.  Rapid TV News

Digital Media/OTT

Adding OTT to the mix held cablecos’ position for all-IP future.  Rapid TV News

With Google Cast, are smart TVs on their way back to dumb-dumb land?  Video Nuze

U.S. millennials show huge appetite for SVOD.  Rapid TV News

must read  Deloitte has released results of its annual Digital Democracy survey.  Deloitte  …and…  What’s the state of TV? A step-by-step breakdown of what you need to know.  The Guardian  …and…  Streaming, binge-watching take hold in U.S.  Media Post  …and…  Deloitte: 70% of U.S. consumers now binge-watch.  NetNewsCheck

OTT emerges as fastest-growing source of ad views, accelerates redefinition of “TV.”  Media Post

TV usage falls in February; OTT grows overall.  Media Post

OTT softening demand for à la carte.  TV Technology  …and…  Digitalsmiths’ Q4 2015 video trends report: Consumer behavior across pay-TV, VOD, PPV, OTT, connected devices, and content recovery.  Digitalsmiths

Journalism

Jay Rosen: “Depends on your point of view…” These are weasel words for political journalists.  Press Think

must read  How the New York Times, Vox and other publishers adopt a product approach to news.  Digiday

Management/Strategy

28 years of stock market data shows link between employee satisfaction and long-term value.  Harvard Business Review

Testing its pay-per-article model in English, Blendle launches in the U.S. with 20 publishers.  NiemanLab

must read  Jeff Jarvis: “Video is a social token.”  NetNewsCheck

Does fair use knowledge change practice? (Pat Aufderheide research).   American University

Vendor Relationship Management: The next step for customers in control.  CMO

The BBC micro:bit education initiative.  BBC

Globalization, technology, customization and overparenting – meet the millennial generation.  Gigaom

Radio/Podcasting

must read  Adam Davidson (Gimlet Media, ex-NPR) on podcasting and public radio.  Facebook  …and…  Fred Jacobs: Radio’s digital dilemma: Opposing viewpoints.  Jacobs Media  …and… NPR decides it won’t promote its podcasts or NPR One on air.  NiemanLab  …and…  Elizabeth Jensen: Why NPR changed how it talks about podcasts.  NPR ombudsman

must read  The Infinite Dial 2016 report is out.  Edison Research  …and…  The Infinite Dial: Pandora down; Spotify, iHeartRadio, Apple Music up.  Radio World

Spectrum/Incentive Auction/ATSC 3.0

Why Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint investors should care about spectrum auctions.  Motley Fool

Life beyond today’s set-top box.  Videonet

[For additional links in this category, see yesterday’s post.]