Consumer Retail & TV

Despite a plethora of cable TV channels, kid-friendly digital multicast offerings including PBS Kids and educational and informational programming blocks across broadcast television stations, U.S. tweens are being raised on subscription video-on-demand programming. The trends from six European countries are no different, newly released Kagan data show.

Television has the opportunity to win back its once-central role in the home by getting smarter

There's been a surge of major streaming services into the consumer video market. With this has come a "multi-billion dollar" expansion of original content creation ... and an increase in M&A activity among broadcast companies. These are the integral themes of Ooyala's State of the Broadcast Industry report for 2019.

In late January 2020, the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) successfully staged its NATPE Miami conference. Even as concerns over the COVID-19 virus grew across Asia, there was little worry that a pandemic would sweep across North America. Now, two years later, NATPE Miami is back. And, it will very much be an in-person event.

As a Futuresource Consulting analyst sees it, the smartphone will likely remain the most important personal electronics device for consumers for the foreseeable future. As technology progresses, however, we won't rely on or be limited to the smartphone forever. What could this mean for broadcast media's C-Suite?

With the Mobile World Congress 2019 show only weeks away, many handset vendors will release details of their first 5G smartphones. Conversely, most operators are only just embarking upon roll out of their 5G services in each region. Is broadcast media truly ready for 5G?

Despite the negative press, lines of CES 2022 registered attendees were seen at McCarran International Airport awaiting their official credentials on Wednesday. At the same time, the NEXTGEN TV team was busily sharing three big stories involving the rollout of the ATSC 3.0-powered broadcast television technology — making Day 1 of the three-day affair a significant one for next-generation television.

Ooyala has just released its Q2 2017 Global Video Index, and there's a glimmer of hope for broadcast radio and TV C-Suiters intent on scraping away at some of those digital ad dollars: Mobile video plays have plateaued after 22 quarters of strong growth, increasing just over 1% since Q1 this year.

Following a recent change of residence, our editor-in-chief invested in a $21 digital TV antenna and hooked it up to a television set in his home office. What was the result? He says it's best to perhaps stick with a MVPD if you truly want the TV service everyone deserves -- or, at least an vMVPD.

If you thought the COVID-19 pandemic would halt, or reverse, cord-cutting trends for MVPDs, think again. While 40% of Americans still pay for cable services, a shift in viewing habits and streaming services is leading more consumers to say no to cable TV.

A presentation devoted to "cord-cutting" was delivered to the Wall Street investment community on Thursday as part of the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference, with Mike Vorhaus, Los Angeles-based President of Magid Advisors, sharing some data about the rising embrace of SVOD services. The data are sobering reminders for broadcast TV's C-Suite that local news and original programming may be its final saving grace.

While many of us postulate the wide-ranging effect ATSC 3.0 and 5G will have on the broadcast media industry, we rarely actively plan for it until that change is upon us. A group led by Magid; FOX; and 20th Television; in tandem with the Council for Research Excellence; aims to do just that. 

The global TV market is forecast to show signs of recovery in 2022 and beyond, thanks largely to improvements in the supply of large LCD panels — the primary obstacle manufacturers struggled with in 2021.

Pay-TV subscribers across the U.S. are growing increasingly satisfied with over-the-top streaming TV services vs. traditional cable TV. But, a trio of associated J.D. Power studies released Thursday (9/28) indicate they also are spending nearly an hour more a week watching regularly scheduled television programming than they did two years ago.

When Consumer Reports asked its members for feedback on their pay TV, home internet, and bundled plans, most companies got poor marks for value and many for customer service. But, a couple of bright spots emerged from the survey of more than 108,000 CR members.