Blog articles from 11/2008

GE's going after the connected TV market now. A joint venture between General Electric and Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer Tatung will market LCD TVs next year in the U.S. The new company, called General Displays & Technologies, plans to introduce its first GE-branded models in the spring of 2009. We are developing advanced, Internet capabilities for content delivery to televisions, without the need for a PC. This includes IPTV through cable, satellite, and advanced...

We're at the TelcoTV show in Anaheim this week, and getting updates on the trends in telco/IPTV services on a global basis. Some of the things that have caught my eye include: * Web integration of VoD and remote DVR services. Everyone seems to be talking about a Facebook integration and recommendations for VoD titles. I saw an interesting demonstration from SeaChange, where their Affinity recommendation engine allows users to recommend things like VoD titles. That could enhance the...

We're at the TelcoTV show in Anaheim this week, and getting updates on the trends in telco/IPTV services on a global basis. Some of the things that have caught my eye include: Web integration of VoD and remote DVR services. Everyone seems to be talking about a Facebook integration and recommendations for VoD titles. I saw an interesting demonstration from SeaChange, where their Affinity recommendation engine allows users to recommend things like VoD titles. That could enhance...

Best Buy reported today that falling consumer spending, driven by the recent turmoil in the financial markets and other macro economic factors, has resulted in lower-than-expected revenue for the consumer electronics retailer. The uncertainty regarding future consumer spending has limited the company's ability to project revenue for the critical holiday shopping season and the balance of the fiscal year. Given both the change in economic environment and the significance of the holiday...

Good commentary today on CNET regarding MGM's decision to run full-length movies on YouTube . You have to wonder how many ads can be running during a feature-length movie before a viewer gets too annoyed.

On Friday, November 7th, Nielsen Media Research and IMMI announced the indefinite suspension of their out-of-home TV measurement service. IMMI and Nielsen announced the partnership in early 2007 and began delivering the first national out-of-home television ratings in September 2008. Not surprisingly, the postponement of the out-of-home TV viewing measurement service is a result of current economic conditions. It is unclear if or when the service will resume. I posted a blog regarding...

Not a bad deal for the Austin company. Not a bad deal at all, especially considering the current market conditions. Back in the days when I was writing about Wi-Fi hotspots 4, 5 years ago, I predicted only a couple of companies would survive which seemed at a time an exploding market. On the list were Wayport and Boingo. Wayport was able to secure many strategic locations coveted by other companies interested in the hotspot market. Lately it also has been managing AT&T's Wi-Fi hotspot...

Refined business models will control network use and yield more revenue -- The tremendous growth of mobile broadband usage, with annual growth rates of 200% in parts of North America and upwards of 800% in parts of Europe, will create future challenges for service providers if not properly managed. A new custom study from Parks Associates , Mobile Broadband in North America and Europe: Change is Key to Continuing Profitability, found that many carriers rely on outdated...