Bloomberg

This information may seem mundane compared with smartphone geolocation software that follows you around or the trove of personal data Facebook Inc. vacuums up based on your activity. But even gadgets as simple as light bulbs could enable tech companies to fill in blanks about their customers and use the data for marketing purposes. Having already amassed a digital record of activity in public spaces, critics say, tech companies are now bent on establishing a beachhead in the hom ...read more

Companies such as Google, Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. are also competing for the market, fueled by compelling demographics. By 2020 about 45 million Americans will be caring for 117 million seniors, spending on everything from food delivery to safety and health monitors. Research by the AARP and consultants Parks Associates found that caregivers will spend an average of $509 annually for each person they tend to by 2021, a 69 percent increase from 2016.

From ...read more

While Walmart sits on the streaming sidelines, the competition is moving on. Netflix’s subscription-based approach -- featuring cutting-edge, exclusive content such as “House of Cards” and “Stranger Things” -- has been on a global-growth tear. Amazon’s spending billions on its own programming to catch up while offering hit shows from HBO and Showtime. And Disney is planning its own streaming service, which will debut in 2019.

All told, there are more than 200 over-the-top vi ...read more

The market’s enthusiasm for WWE stems largely from its lucrative TV contracts, combined with its early success in direct-to-consumer streaming TV apps. In 2014 the company made a risky move, deciding essentially to cannibalize its traditional pay-per-view business. Instead of paying their cable companies one-time fees to see WWE’s marquee events—say, $44.99 for the Royal Rumble—fans would be encouraged to subscribe to a streaming video service, the WWE Network, and pay a monthly ...read more

A study by Parks Associates found that password-sharing cost the TV industry $500 million in 2015. On its website, Comcast advertises its college streaming service by telling students: “Mooch no more.”

For the company, the long-term goal is for students to become customers when they leave school, get jobs and can afford a cable bill that typically costs $85 a month or more.

From the article "Free ESPN in Dorm Rooms Gives Comcast Access to Future Customers" by Gerry Smith.

Even so, TV-curious tech companies keep trying. In recent years, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.com have considered taking a crack at the market. “In the next six months, we’re going to see a major bake-off,” says Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates Inc.

From the article "Can YouTube TV Get You to Cut the Cord for $35 a Month?" by Felix Gillette.

The milestone puts Sling TV ahead of Time Warner Inc.’s HBO Now in total subscribers, according to Brett Sappington, an analyst with Parks Associates, which bases its information on consumer surveys and mobile data. Dish has never disclosed Sling’s subscriber number and spokesman Bob Toevs declined to comment. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates Sling had 671,000 subscribers at the end of June.

From the article "Dish’s Sling Seen Passing 1 Million Users in Cord-Cutting Race" by ...read more

WWE has been at the forefront of the media industry’s attempts to establish a business providing programming straight to viewers, without an intermediary like cable or satellite networks, while still maintaining lucrative TV deals. The company made all its content, including live events, available on the internet to paid subscribers in February 2014. Last year, WWE Network was the fifth-largest streaming service by subscriber volume, beating even HBO Now, according to Parks Asso ...read more