netflix

Because the [itvt] editorial team is busy working on The TV of Tomorrow Show (March 3rd-4th in San Francisco) and on our new EBIF Intensive event (March 5th in San Francisco), we will be covering most stories in summary/round-up form over the next few weeks. Here is a round-up of the latest broadband video and over-the-top (OTT) news:

In an interview with Bloomberg News that was published Wednesday, Anthony Wood, CEO of over-the-top company, Roku, revealed that the company hopes to raise $30 million in private funding this quarter from Menlo Ventures and other sources, and that it may go public next year--though he added that it is not currently working with an investment bank and has yet to set a date for an IPO.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) last week announced the launch of a new mobile phone application that will initially be available for iPhone/iPod touch, BlackBerry and Android handheld devices, and that the company says will subsequently support "dozens" of additional handhelds. "The TCM mobile device application is the ultimate mobile experience for classic film fans and is an important part of our strategy to solidify TCM's position as a lifestyle brand," Dennis Adamovich, TCM's SVP of brand and digital activation, said in a prepared statement.

Netflix is set to announce today that its streaming video service will launch on the Nintendo Wii games console this spring, providing it with distribution in a potential 26 million additional US homes (note: the Wii is currently the most popular games console in the US). The company has previously secured distribution deals for the service through the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 games consoles, as well as through Roku OTT set-tops, TiVo DVR's and a number of other devices and platforms. "The launch of the Wii is a huge step forward for Netflix," Netflix founder and CEO, Reed Hastings, said in a prepared statement. "With the installed base of over 26 million, all WiFi equipped, that's almost one in four American homes.

Due to the volume of news generated by last week's Consumer Electronics Show, and because the [itvt] editorial team is busy working on The TV of Tomorrow Show (March 3rd-4th in San Francisco), we are covering a number of stories in this issue in summary form:

A number of pieces of connected TV news came across [itvt]'s desk, Tuesday. Here is a brief--and by no means exhaustive--round-up (note: also see "Vudu Unveils Vudu Apps OTT Service," "ActiveVideo Networks in Deal to Provide Blockbuster with Cloud-Based User Interface," and "Showtime Networks, Betfair Launch Interactive TV Widgets"):

A number of items of broadband-video and live-streaming news have come across [itvt]'s desk over the past few days. Here is a brief round-up:

Video rental company, Netflix, and IFC Entertainment, a Rainbow Media-owned distributor of independent and foreign films, last week announced a partnership that gives Netflix the US rights to offer 53 IFC Entertainment titles over-the-top on TV's and computers.

[itvt] has just published an interview with Peter Low, president and CEO of interactive TV authoring solutions provider, Ensequence. Low, whose appointment as CEO was announced in September, discusses his new role at Ensequence, outlines the strategic trajectory of the company's flagship iTVManager platform, provides statistics and other information on the company's various deployments around the world, explains how the company is responding to the emergence of connected TV, and shares his thoughts on the implications for the company of the US cable industry's plans for template-driven interactive TV.

As [itvt] was going to press Sunday night, video rental company, Netflix, and Sony Computer Entertainment America announced a deal to make Netflix movies and TV episodes available via instant streaming on the PlayStation 3 game console (note: Netflix instant streaming has been available on the rival Microsoft Xbox platform since last year--though users must first subscribe to that platform's $50-a-year Xbox Live Gold service). Netflix says that it expects to begin streaming via the PS3 next month, and that the PS3 streaming service will be available at no additional cost to Netflix members in the US who have a PS3 system (note: Netflix memberships are priced from $8.99 a month).

Electronics retailer, Best Buy, and video rental company, Netflix, on Tuesday announced the availability of two new Blu-ray Disc Players, marketed under Best Buy's own Insignia brand, that allow Netflix members to instantly watch movies and TV episodes from that service over-the-top on their TV sets. The players--the Insignia Advanced Series Blu-ray Player (NS-WBRDVD) and the Insignia Connected Blu-ray Player (NS-BRDVD3)--are priced at $249.99 and $179.99 respectively and are available both in Best Buy's retail stores and on its Web site. According to Best Buy, the Advanced Series model uses built-in WiFi to connect to the Internet while the Connected model uses an Ethernet connection.

Verismo Networks, a Silicon Valley-based company that offers an over-the-top-TV platform called VuNow (note: the platform has traditionally been offered in conjunction with a small set-top box device called the PoD; however, back in February, Verismo announced the launch of a global OEM initiative targeting consumer OEM's, content aggregators and ISP's--see the article published on itvt.com, May 8th), announced Tuesday that the VuNow platform can now play content from, among other sources, Hulu, Netflix, CBS, CNN, ESPN and Amazon

Video rental company, Netflix, announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with Disney-ABC Television Group that will make several of the ABC broadcast network's most popular series available to be streamed instantly through Netflix's broadband video service.

DVD rental service provider, Netflix, last week announced another over-the-top deal for its service with a consumer electronics company: starting in the fall, subscribers to Netflix's unlimited plan (priced from $8.99 per month) will be able to instantly watch more than 12,000 streamed movies and TV episodes on Sony Electronics' Bravia Internet-connected HDTV sets, as well as on previous Bravia models equipped with Sony's Bravia Internet video link module, the company said. The other CE companies that have recently signed OTT deals with Netflix are Microsoft (for the Xbox 360), LG Electronics, Roku, Samsung, TiVo and Vizio. "Sony has been a world leader in consumer electronics for decades," Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, said in a prepared statement.

Microsoft announced Wednesday that movie rental company, Netflix, has launched its streaming service on the Windows Media Center platform (which, while formerly a standalone OS, is now part of Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate). The service offers around 12,000 movies and TV episodes.