The Guardian

A study from Parks Associates (see graphic) sums up the problem. Viewers sign up and get their fix, knowing that they can drop the service any time and subscribe again in the future when a new series or another Amy Schumer special becomes available.

In order for OTT to retain its momentum in the market and offer a real alternative to cable and satellite, it must retain customers. A leaky bucket will never reach a tipping point. Today, three main strategies can reduce OTT chu ...read more

Besides new phones, Apple is expected to significantly upgrade its Apple TV set-top box, which has barely changed since it went on sale in March 2012. The key difference in the new one, expected to cost about $149, will be voice-activated searching (using Siri) and control across multiple sources of content such as Netflix and iTunes, plus the App Store allied to a motion-sensitive controller, rather like Nintendo’s Wii.

The changes look timely, if not overdue. Apple TV is o ...read more

Pricing has also yet to be disclosed. Netflix charges new members $8.99 for its streaming service; HBO is expected to charge more. “It’s a premium product and it will be priced accordingly,” HBO’s chief executive officer, Richard Plepler, told analysts last month.

The loss of exclusive access to HBO is likely to contribute to increased numbers of cord-cutters – as people who drop cable packages for standalone broadband access are known. A recent study from tech analyst Parks ...read more

Harry Wang, analyst at Parks Associates, said: "Samsung is trying to do one thing: knock Apple's status in the US. They want to show that they can excite the high-end smartphone adopters just as well as Apple."

Wang said Samsung already had an advantage in the Far East where its brand is better known than Apple but it is now clearly after US consumers. "They are catching up. Samsung is now a formidable brand."

He said the company had done a good job of distancing itself ...read more

Sales of traditional board games are plummeting as consumers turn to colourful games on smartphones and touchscreen computers. Hasbro's game and puzzle sales dropped 7% in the last three months of last year, following a 22% drop the year before. The number of people playing video games for at least an hour a month in the US has jumped by 141% to 135 million since 2008, according to the market research firm Parks Associates.

From the article, "FarmVille firm over the moon aft ...read more

In the US, research firm Parks Associates said the percentage of broadband-enabled homes with smart TVs connected to the net rose from 8% in 2010 to 10% in 2011.

From the article, "CES 2012: The Rise of Smart TV" by Charles Arthur