FREMONT, Calif.—The Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA) has announced the recipients of its 2023 Membership Grant Program as well as extended support for all existing grant members. 

Now in its sixth year, the Membership Grant Program sponsors select companies, who meet the financial requirements, with a one-year Principal membership. This grant program not only enables smaller companies to participate in and benefit from the SVTA’s mission of deeper industry collaboration across the video streaming ecosystem, but also benefits existing members and the industry at large by bringing in new ideas from cutting-edge startups and accelerating advancements in video streaming, the group said. 

“As we usher in a new year and plan for our annual conference, we welcome our new and returning grant members and look forward to the new perspectives and fresh ideas they will contribute to the Alliance,” said Jason Thibeault, Executive Director at the Streaming Video Technology Alliance. “Recognizing that diversity is the lifeblood of any community, we’re also proud to announce we’ve met our commitment to award at least half of the grants to businesses led by underrepresented groups for the third year in a row.”

The SVTA board of directors chose the following five new companies as the 2023 grant recipients:

• Vionlabs is an AI video-audio platform that analyzes consumer mood and long-format video-audio files. The company empowers streaming services, entertainment companies, telecoms, software companies, and advertising platforms to create unique user experiences in a scalable way, without the use of third-party data. “We are thrilled to be joining the SVTA, an industry leading organization for media technology standards, and look forward to helping drive interoperability and standardization across the streaming ecosystem. Over the next year, we plan to assist in the establishment of a metadata standard across the industry that puts user experience at the center,” said Marcus Bergström, CEO, Vionlabs
• Infuse Video Inc. is a video hosting platform that allows for the creation and streaming of personalized, dynamic video experiences in real time. Its API enables producers to author modular, multilingual content tailored to individual viewers, increasing the reach and impact of their content, and providing a more relevant and engaging experience for viewers than traditional one-size-fits-all video.
• “We are excited and honored to have been awarded an SVTA Principal Membership Grant and look forward to collaborating with other industry leaders to establish best practices for authoring and streaming high-end dynamic video at scale,” said Ruud van der Linden, founder and CEO, Infuse Video Inc.
• IdeaNova Technologies, Inc. is a premium media streaming company with extensive experience in IT security and secure video streaming. The company’s range of products and services are designed to reduce the complexities of delivering secure video streaming via attractive, reliable, state-of-the-art technology. “As we work to advance streaming video technology in the aviation industry, we are thrilled to be awarded a grant membership by the SVTA. We are eager to collaborate and leverage the Alliance’s technological resources and work with airline industry ecosystem companies like Viasat, Thales, and Panasonic Avionics to better improve the streaming experience for travelers,” said Juraj Siska, co-founder, IdeaNova Technologies, Inc.
• swXtch.io, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IEX Group, Inc., has created a product called cloudSwXtch that revolutionizes cloud networking by adding multicast and other features for media, financial, and industrial applications. cloudSwXtch implements a high-performance overlay network on cloud or edge deployments and unlocks missing network features that are required for demanding, high-throughput media distribution. “We are grateful and excited to be selected as a recipient of the Streaming Video Technology Alliance’s 2023 Membership Grant Program. The SVTA is a respected leader in driving industry collaboration and innovation, and we look forward to advancing the future of cloud-based broadcasting together with the SVTA, its members, and our fellow grant recipients,” said Brent Yates, CEO, swXtch.io
• Cadami, a market leader in coded caching and media transmission technology, provides solutions for wireless video streaming by enabling network providers to deliver an extensive library of high-quality, multi-media content while minimizing network usage. “We are thrilled to be selected as a recipient of the Streaming Video Technology Alliance's 2023 Membership Grant Program. Cadami is dedicated to developing innovative solutions for video streaming and caching. We believe that the SVTA's mission of deeper industry collaboration and bringing in fresh ideas from cutting-edge startups will help accelerate advancements in the field," said Andreas Dotzler, CEO, Cadami GmbH

The group also said that the SVTA was welcoming new member America’s Boating Channel as the first recipient of its Public Service Membership program.

Finally, the SVTA announced that it is now accepting speaker submissions for its in-person Segments:2023 conference, which will take place on May 16, in New Orleans at the Hilton New Orleans/St. Charles.

The group noted that in 2019, the SVTA announced its first-ever public-facing conference: Segments. 

This one-day event was developed to feature 15-minute presentations grouped into areas of the streaming workflow, allowing attendees to listen to a diverse set of speakers talk about technical challenges they have faced and how they were solved. 

Unfortunately, the pandemic forced the SVTA to reschedule the launch of this event several times. Now, the Alliance is ready to gather the industry for the launch of Segments:2023. As intended, this conference, which is open to both SVTA members and non-members, will feature short presentations grouped into segments of the streaming video workflow, as well as updates about SVTA working group activity.

This in-person event will take place in New Orleans on May 16, 2023, and the SVTA is currently seeking interested speakers to present at the conference. To submit a presentation for consideration, complete the online form here.

More details on the conference can be found at the Segments:2023 website: https://segments2023.svta.org.

FREMONT, Calif.—The Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA) has announced that the application process is now open for its 2023 Grant Membership Program. The Program enables smaller organizations, such as startups, to participate in and contribute to the SVTA’s work as Principal Members for one year by waiving the standard membership fees. 

To qualify for the Program, companies must be able to confirm that they generate less than $1.5M in annual revenue.

Now in its sixth year, the SVTA Grant Membership Program has awarded a total of 21 grants and 14 grant renewal memberships. Grant recipients are eligible for membership renewals based on their contributions. A special committee chartered by the board is in charge of the renewal selection process.

“It’s tremendously rewarding to introduce more voices and perspectives into the SVTA from across the streaming industry, a core tenet of the Grant Membership Program and our Diversity and Inclusion initiative,” said Jason Thibeault, executive director at the Streaming Video Technology Alliance. “We are pleased to share that we have met our goal of awarding at least 50% of the grants for the past two years to businesses led by underrepresented groups.”

Grant recipient companies are required to attend SVTA’s three member meetings each year (there are no limits on how many people from each company can attend) and participate in relevant working groups. They also have access to SVTA’s intranet and documents and can contribute to projects and vote on documents. Current grant members include Blockcast, Netskrt, picoNETS, Datazoom, Didja, Touchstream, and allt.

In addition to contributing directly to SVTA efforts, this program also provides innovative and cutting-edge technology companies an opportunity to work side-by-side with major players in the streaming space. 

This can even lead to acquisitions of Grant awardees by other member companies as SVTA has seen with Streamroot (acquired by Lumen), Content Armor (acquired by Synamedia), and Quortex (acquired by Synamedia). Another grant member, Peer5, was acquired by Microsoft, the group reported. 

Organizations interested in applying for the 2023 Grant Membership Program can find more information here: https://www.svta.org/svta-grant-program/

The SVTA also announced that the SVTA’s third and final member meeting of the year is scheduled for October 18 - 19, 2022, in Charleston, South Carolina. After close to three years of virtual events, SVTA members will gather in person for industry discussions, Working Group sessions, and networking. For more information and to register visit. https://www.svta.org/meeting/q3-q4-2022-october-18-and-19/

Members of the SVTA include companies from across the streaming video ecosystem such as network operators, technology providers, service providers, and content owners. Current members are: Adobe, AERQ, Agile Content, Alibaba, allt, Amazon, ARK Multicasting, ATEME, Bitmovin, Blockcast, Brightcove, Broadpeak, CBC, Ceeblue, Charter Communications, Cisco Systems, Citrix, Comcast, CommScope, Compira Labs, Conviva, Datazoom, Deutsche Telekom, DidjaTV, Disney Streaming, Dolby, Eluvio, Equus Compute Solutions, Ericsson, Fastly, Friend MTS, Globo, Google, Harmonic, Hughes Satellite Systems, INKA Entworks, Intel, Intelsat, InterDigital, Interra Systems, Irdeto, Liberty Global, Lilac Cloud, Limelight Networks, Lumen Technologies, Mainstreaming, Nagra, NCTA, Netskrt, Neustar, Nice People at Work, NTT East, Optus, Orange, Panasonic Avionics, picoNETS, Plex, Qwilt, Siden, SiriusXM Radio, Sky, SSIMWAVE, ST Engineering iDirect, Stackpath, Streaming Global, Synamedia, Telefonica, Telekom Malaysia, Telestream, Thales, The Football Association Premier League, THEO, Touchstream, Unified Streaming, Varnish Software, Vecima Networks, Velocix, Verizon, ViacomCBS, Viasat Inc., WarnerMedia, Western Digital Corp., and Wowza.

The Streaming Video Alliance has undergone a rebrand to the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA) as the organization aims to showcase the work of its technology groups.

The Alliance aims to solve the technical challenges of streaming video and ensure online video continues to flourish.

Since its launch in 2014, the SVTA has grown to include over 100 member companies across the globe, seven Technical Groups, and has published 30 documents to date, which include technical specifications, best practices, guidelines, and tech briefs on key industry trends.

“Updating the name of the Alliance is a key step in our strategy to clearly communicate to our audiences that all of our work focuses on addressing technical challenges throughout the streaming workflow,” said Jason Thibeault, executive director at the Streaming Video Technology Alliance.

“Our original mission of providing a forum for the industry to collaborate on technical solutions for delivering high-quality streaming video at scale remains the same, and now our brand clearly supports that focus.”

In a blog post, Thibeualt added that the new brand “clearly supports” the story that the Alliance wants to convey: that is a technical association focusing solely on technical challenges.

“It provides a new gravitas to our working groups,” he added. “What’s more, this slight tweak also speaks to those who get involved with the organization. The people sent by our member companies are focused on technology as well. They may be product managers or architects or devops or software engineers, but they are, at their core, highly technical people.”

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.

 PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—A new survey from The NPD Group has found that consumers are more worried about the cost of streaming services than they were last fall, with cost going from being the #4 reason for canceling a subscription video on demand (SVOD) service in October of 2021 to #2 in April of 2022. 

The latest TV Switching Study from NPD also found that consumers are also increasingly signing up for services based on promotional or discounted offers.

“In the last several months consumers have had to navigate rising prices in many facets of their lives and SVOD services are part of that mix with companies like Netflix and Amazon raising their subscription rates,” said John Buffone, executive director, industry analyst at NPD. “While cost considerations in SVOD services are still dramatically lower than in cable and satellite TV, it is important for providers to recognize that price sensitivity is growing so they can adjust their offerings to retain their subscriber base.”  

As of April 2022, promotional offers and discounted fees were more heavily influencing not only if consumers signed up for a SVOD service, but also their preferred method of sign-up (e.g., direct from the provider). In the survey period, the #1 reason cited for SVOD users signing up for a service was because of a free trial offering. At the same time, promotion/discount offers became the top reason driving the preferred sign-up method, moving up four spots from October 2021 (among viewers extremely or very likely to subscribe to a SVOD service in the next six months). 

But while price and promotions/discounts play increasingly important roles, content remains critical to consumers, the researchers said. 

Knowing that a specific TV show or movie was on a service drove one-third of SVOD users to sign-up, an increase versus six months ago, driven by younger viewers (up six percentage points).

“Consumers are creating a value equation to determine what services they ‘need’ versus those they cancel, especially as they return to experiential activities,” added Buffone. “For some consumers ad supported tiers can be a way to cut costs without losing access to content. As we look to the future – including potential AVOD offerings from Netflix and Disney – understanding the differing consumer value propositions will be key in determining tier structure and pricing strategies.”

At a time when many companies are rushing into ad-supported services, the survey highlighted the fact that consumers are more engaged and more likely to use an ad free service. 

When pricing tiers are available, survey results indicate that a customer who pays a premium for an ad-free experience is engaging with the service more frequently with 28% reporting using the service every day or most days vs. 20% of the ad-supported subscribers reporting the same. Consumers that pay a premium for ad-free viewing also place significantly more value in content availability, exclusivity, search, discovery, and user interface, indicating they are a more engaged consumer, the researchers said. 

The results of the NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence TV Service Switching Study are based on online consumer surveys of more than 5,000 U.S. consumers, aged 18+ from diverse regions and demographical backgrounds. The report was fielded from April 5- 21, 2022.

PALO ALTO, Calif.—Wurl has announced that it will be working with TED to launch a free-ad-supported TED channel. 

The Wurl-powered FAST channel will offer viewers a 24/7 linear channel featuring TED's most celebrated talks, award-winning TED-Ed videos, short films, TED originals, and highlights from TED's conferences. 

“TED represents groundbreaking ideas, presented in an iconic, minimalist format that maximizes attention and impact for all of us as viewers,” said Craig Heiting, Wurl’s head of strategic business development. “Having the opportunity to bring TED’s unique library of content into the world of FAST TV is not only an honor, but a task we will engage with extreme precision to maximize reach and impact for TED.”

TED will leverage the full suite of Wurl services, including Global FAST Pass for worldwide distribution, AdPool for maximized monetization of ad Inventory, Wurl Perform for viewer acquisition and retention, and Global Data Services for optimal data insights.

"Streaming TV gives TED another powerful digital tool to support our mission of bringing great ideas to viewers everywhere," said Alan Seiffert, head of global business development at TED. "With Wurl's reach of over 300 million connected TVs worldwide, and with their innovative and advanced technologies, they are an excellent partner for us to spread ideas in the FAST TV space."

DALLAS—New data from Parks Associates' Video Services Dashboard reveals that as of Q3 2021, Amazon Prime Video's subscriber penetration rate was at 45% of US internet households. 

Parks released the data as Amazon and other streamers continue to raise fees. 

Amazon announced in February that the annual fee for Prime Video would increase from $119 to $139 and on April 6 increased prices for its music service. 

"Amazon's Prime pricing rise, the fourth in its history, comes barely a month after Netflix raised its fees, while Hulu raised its prices last year," said Eric Sorensen, senior contributing analyst, Parks Associates. "Amazon also debuted its `Lord of the Rings' trailer during the Super Bowl this year, so the firm obviously hopes the value they are bringing in content will offset any consumer reluctance to pay higher prices. With inflation and the cost of content on the rise, we will likely see more providers start to slowly raise their subscription prices, trying to find that balance between revenue growth and consumer value."

Parks Associates estimates that in the first quarter of 2021, 77.3 million US households were members of Amazon Prime and that around 71% of them watched Prime Video. 

The researchers also noted that Amazon Prime Video is one of the four foundations of the consumer streaming stack, along with Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu. 

Amazon Prime Video is one of several benefits of an Amazon membership, but Amazon, like its competitors in the OTT space, is investing in original content offerings to keep its subscribers engaged, to encourage new subscribers, and to lure in cord cutters and service hoppers, the researchers noted. 

Many OTT services aired Super Bowl ads this year, promoting not just one title but the range of their content library, to remind viewers of the total value of each subscription.

"These price increases by Amazon have been fully vetted out as part of their long-term strategy to generate more revenue from subscribers over time," Sorensen said. "Supply chain and increasing shipping expenses are being passed down to customers, but it is doubtful that Prime members will object to a twenty-dollar-a-year membership rise, the first in four years."

LONDON—Disney+ has announced launch dates and pricing for 42 countries and 11 new territories. The launches will start with South Africa launching on May 18 followed by all the other countries in June.

A large group of countries North Africa and the Middle East will launch on June 8, including Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

On June 14th, another 24 countries, mostly in Europe, will launch, followed by Israel and a number of other territories on June 16.

In addition to movies, TV series and Disney originals, users will also have access to high-quality viewing, up to four concurrent streams, unlimited downloads on up to ten devices, IMAX Enhanced for selected titles (where available), and the ability to set up to seven different profiles, the company said. 

Full list of countries with standard and annual pricing is available here.  

NEW YORK— Amid the burgeoning debate about the metaverse and its prospects for dominating the media landscape, Deloitte's Digital Media Trends survey found a number of signs that streaming media might be vulnerable to competition from the metaverse. Those included a notable lack of loyalty to individual streaming services, which face high churn rates among younger subs, and the popularity of video games, which cut into the time audiences spend with streaming services and are beginning to expose younger audiences to the metaverse.  

Overall the report, which covers respondents in five countries, found that streaming video providers face greater pressure to attract and retain subscribers who have become savvier about chasing the content they want and managing the costs they pay. This is especially true with younger generations who have grown up with smartphones, social media and video games, and prefer entertainment experiences that are more social and interactive. For the youngest generations, user-generated social media streams and social video games may be meeting their needs better than streaming video and the popularity of games is providing a gateway into the metaverse, the researchers said. 

"While streaming video on-demand business models look much the same as they did when they were created 15 years ago, social media and gaming companies have quickly evolved their offerings, leveraging technology, and capitalizing on behaviors,” said Jana Arbanas, vice chair, Deloitte LLP and U.S. telecom, media and entertainment sector leader. “Social media is free and available anywhere, anytime, offering both passive and interactive experiences with endless streams of personalized content, without the cost of a subscription. And more people are interacting and socializing in game worlds that host millions of users, brands and franchises, and major non-gaming events. SVOD companies aren't just competing with each other for audiences, they are also competing with different, more social and immersive forms of entertainment."

Other key data points include:  

• The average churn rate in the United States remains at 37% across all paid streaming video on-demand (SVOD) services. In the United Kingdom (U.K.), Germany, Brazil, and Japan, the average overall churn rate is closer to 30%.
• In all five countries, Gen Z respondents prefer video games as their favorite form of digital entertainment. For older generations, watching TV and movies at home comes first.
• In the U.S., 81% of social media users say they use social media services at least daily; 59% use these services several times a day. Across the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Brazil and Japan, people in younger generations (including Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X) are consistently more likely to say they use social media.
• Nearly half (46%) of U.S. respondents say they watch more user-generated content than they did six months ago, and half say they always end up spending more time watching user-generated content than they had planned (a number that jumps to 70% among Gen Z).
• In all five countries, Gen Z and Millennial gamers play an average of 11 hours a week. In the U.S..
• Churn is highest among the youngest generations as just over half of U.S. Millennials (52%) and Gen Z (51%) have either canceled, or both added and canceled, an SVOD service within the last six months.
• Twenty-five percent of those in the U.S. have canceled a streaming video service and then resubscribed to the same service within the past 12 months. Respondents say they churn and return either because a new season of their favorite show was released, they got a free or discounted rate, or content they wanted to watch moved to the service. It's global too. In the U.K., Germany, Brazil and Japan, around 22% have churned and returned. Overall, Gen Z and Millennials are significantly more likely to churn and return.
• Cost is also a factor in retaining consumers who are thinking of canceling. For a reduced cost, some would be willing to sign up for an annual subscription, watch more ads, or wait 45 days to watch a new release. Globally, many people prefer ad-supported options for streaming video that reduce or eliminate their subscription costs.
• In the U.S., 81% of social media users say they use social media services at least daily and 59% use these services several times a day. Across the U.S., U.K., Germany, Brazil and Japan, Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen Xers are consistently more likely to say they use these services.
• Forty-six percent of U.S. respondents say they watch more user-generated content than they did six months ago, and half (50%) say they always end up spending more time watching user-generated content than they had planned (a number that jumps to 70% among Gen Zs).
• About 4 in 10 (41%) of U.S. respondents say they spend more time watching user-generated video content than they do TV shows and movies on video streaming services — a sentiment that increases to around 60% for Gen Zs and Millennials.
• Seventy percent of U.S. respondents say they follow an influencer, and one-third (33%) say these online personalities influence their buying decisions; that figure jumps to more than half of U.S. Gen Zs (52%) and Millennials (53%). 
• Social media services are also becoming shoppable retail destinations; more than half of U.S. respondents (53%) and around 40% or more in the U.K., Germany and Japan say they see customized ads on social media for products or services they have been looking for — a number that increases to 72% in Brazil.
• Whether smartphone, console, or PC, gaming has become huge, and it's taking time away from other forms of entertainment. 
• In the U.S., more than 80% of both men and women say they play video games, and half of smartphone owners say they play on a smartphone daily. Gen Z and Millennial gamers play the most, logging an average of 11 and 13 hours per week, respectively. Gen X gamers follow closely behind with around 10 hours of gameplay every week, reminding us that it's not just the kids.
• About half of all U.S. gamers say that playing video games has taken time away from other entertainment activities; unsurprisingly, these percentages increase for younger gamers. This trend is also playing out in other markets, with just over half of gamers in the U.K. (55%), and just under half of gamers in both Brazil (45%) and Japan (44%) also trading other entertainment activities to play video games. 
• Overall, more than three-quarters of U.S. gamers surveyed also say that gaming helps them relax, while nearly 60% report that gaming helped them through a difficult time. About half (53%) of U.S. gamers say that playing video games helps them stay connected to people. And these games are supporting identity: 61% of U.S. gamers say that personalizing their game character or avatar helps them express themselves.
• Gaming and music also appear to be closely linked; about half (51%) of U.S. gamers say they often discover new music while playing video games. 
• About a quarter (23%) of U.S. gamers say they have attended an in-game event in the last year, with Millennials and men being the most likely attendees. Remarkably, 82% of those attending live in-game events also made a purchase because of the event: 65% purchased digital goods and 34% purchased physical merchandise, reinforcing the steady blurring of lines between real and virtual worlds.

The online survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers was conducted in December 2021 and January 2022 and was also fielded for the first time in mature digital entertainment markets, including the U.K. (n=1,002), Germany (n=1,002), Brazil (n=1,000) and Japan (n=1,000).

BARCELONA—A new report from NPAW found that Increased competition and the proliferation of streaming content lowered video on-demand (VoD) consumption per service in 2021, putting increased pressure on streaming companies to stand out from the competition and boost the consumption of their content. 

NPAW‘s Video Streaming Industry Report 2021 highlights the impact of increased competition on streaming services, with established providers and newcomers alike bidding for the viewers’ attention and experimenting with new monetization models.

Overall, that competition drove down VOD consumption for each streaming provider by an average of 9% across regions. Rather than this downward trend reflecting a loss of appetite for VOD content among consumers, the researchers stressed that it showed the effects of increasingly fierce industry competition and an abundance of content. 

“In today’s hyper-competitive market landscape, it is critical for providers to prioritize Quality of Experience and Quality of Service if they want to stay ahead of the game. Access to real-time data and video analytics insights is the key to creating better user journeys, increasing viewer loyalty, and reducing churn,” says Ferran G. Vilaró, CEO and co-founder of NPAW, a video intelligence and analytics company. 

Other key takeaways from the report include: 

• Linear TV Is a local business. Consumption per service increased globally but varied from one region to another. This mixed picture is a reflection of the local nature of Linear TV and how its consumption depends much more on local preferences and trends than VOD does.
• Providers continued optimizing video quality for VOD, increasing Join Time by a global average of 5% to support higher bitrates while lowering the buffer ratio. However, they seem to have gotten the hang of Linear TV, as tweaks in the various quality metrics for this type of content stabilize. 
• With live sporting events back at full speed, sports streaming is booming for VOD and Linear TV, both from a consumption and video quality standpoint. We expect sports streaming consumption and quality to continue rising in 2022 as providers put a greater focus on this type of content.
• Big screens still reign supreme, while smartphones show the biggest decrease in consumption of all devices. Streaming is competing with many other forms of entertainment on mobile phones. But also by the fact that consumers are spending more time at home and have less of a need to stream video on the go.

The full report is available here.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Roku, Inc. has announced that in the coming weeks it will be rolling out Roku OS 11 with new features to personalize the user experience, expanded content discovery menu options, automated speech clarity, new sound modes, an improved mobile app and other features. 

OS 11 includes Roku Photo Streams, which allows users to customize their Roku experience by creating a personalized screensaver using their own photos and easily share photos so they appear on the Roku devices of friends and family around the country. 

Once a Stream is shared, friends and family can also add their photos to the Stream, creating a shared album.

“At Roku, we are laser-focused on tailoring the streaming and visual experience to fit our customers' personal preferences,” said Gidon Katz, senior vice president product & experience at Roku. “We recognize not everyone interacts with their TV in the same way, so we are proud to offer a platform full of choice, while simultaneously providing our users an easy-to-use experience. With Roku OS 11, we’re offering a platform with new personalized updates across search, audio, content discovery along with a new feature that allows our customers to display and even share photo albums through Roku devices.”

Other noteworthy features of Roku OS 11 include: 

• Automatic Speech Clarity and Sound Modes. Now available for Roku audio products, Roku's new automatic speech clarity setting dynamically identifies and amplifies dialogue so users don’t miss a word.
• New Sound Modes for Roku Streambars and Speakers. Users can choose the optimal settings for whatever they’re streaming. The new sound modes, Standard, Dialogue, Movie, Music, and Night are easily accessed by pressing the star button * on the Roku remote or through the Roku mobile app and are tailored for different viewing scenarios to ensure the best audio experience.
• A/V Sync. Roku is expanding A/V sync to supported player and audio devices with a simple calibration tool within the Roku Mobile app, syncing audio with the action on the screen. This feature is available when a users has a player or Streambar connected to the Roku mobile app and is accessible within the settings menu.
• What to Watch on Roku Home Menu. What to Watch is a new destination added to the Roku Home Menu, leading to movies and TV shows from a variety of streaming channels, including those users most frequently interact with. What to Watch provides easy access, a personalized selection of new titles that were recently added, recommendations for users based on popular and trending content, and so much more.
• Live TV on Roku Home Menu. In January, Roku added a Live TV Zone on the Roku Home Menu giving users easy access to free live and linear content from The Roku Channel as well as cable alternatives, including Hulu, fuboTV, Philo, Sling, and YouTube TV, to name a few. With Roku OS 11, users will be able to see recently watched live tv content and discover the latest in local and national news, sports, movies, and more in the Live TV section now located on the Roku Home Menu.
• Voice Enabled Keyboard. Roku Voice simplifies device setup and channel login for supported apps by allowing users to enter email, password, and PIN information with their voice. With OS 11, voice-enabled keyboards are now available in Spanish, German, and Portuguese.
• Mobile Content Details. With OS 11, the free Roku mobile app will provide users with a more visual experience when searching on the platform. New visual elements with OS 11 provide additional information about where to stream movies and TV shows, highlighting which channels are streaming the content for free or where it can be streamed within existing subscriptions, allowing everyone to get more out of the channels they are paying for. The new content details on the mobile app also show visual images of the cast and crew to assist with choosing what to watch. All of these updates fit in with the recently added Save List, which allows users to save movies and TV shows while on the go so that you can stream them when you’re back home and ready to watch.

For more information visit Roku.com.

SILVER SPRING, Md.—Curiosity Inc. has launched Curiosity Now, a free, ad-supported streaming channel, on all LG Smart TV 4.0 and newer models. 

Curiosity Now offers select programming from an extensive library of original and curated documentaries, shows and series in the nature, history, science and travel genres.

The company also reports that in the coming weeks, Curiosity Now will launch on additional FAST platforms as part of an effort to acquire new subscribers. 

“We are excited to introduce the Curiosity Now streaming channel to the LG Channel platform and bring a sampling of our family-friendly, factual entertainment programming to LG’s highly engaged user base,” said Brandon Fong, senior vice president of partnerships and distribution for Curiosity. “LG customers will have more ways to interact with Curiosity’s deep library of content and discover some of the best programming across nature, history, science, and travel.”

Programming highlights for the first week of the service include “Ancient Engineering,” “The Secret Lives of Big Cats,” “Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places,” “Myths & Monsters, and “Secrets of the Brain.”

PALO ALTO, Calif.—Wurl and ScreenHits TV have announced that they will work together to deliver and monetize free-ad-supported TV (FAST) channels in ScreenHits TV's current territories, the U.S., the UK, Germany, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.

ScreenHits expects to add several new territories later this year as part of its rapid international expansion efforts across Europe, Latin and North America, the Indian sub-continent and Africa. 

These channels will be distributed on the ScreenHits TV app available across several platforms, including on Fire TV, iOS and Android TV now being rolled out across leading smart TV brands.

"This is an exciting opportunity to join forces with ScreenHits TV, one of the most innovative streaming apps available," said Craig Heiting, senior vice president, worldwide business development at Wurl, which interconnects over 1200 streaming channels from the world's top content companies with leading streaming distribution services in over 50 countries. "The ability to provide ScreenHits TV's FAST channels to a global audience is helping millions more viewers easily access the very best of streaming content."

"With Wurl's reach to 300 million-plus connected TVs worldwide across 50 countries, ScreenHits TV (SHTV) will have access to a selection of premium channels for our live feed that we can partner with as we grow in new territories," said Rose Hulse, founder and CEO, ScreenHits TV, which is a curated streaming aggregator. "This will help us to further our goal of continually reaching new viewers and growing revenue for our leading streaming and content partners."

Netflix announced Sunday that it has suspended its streaming service to Russia, in light of its invasion of Ukraine. 

“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia," a Netflix spokesperson said.

The move is seen as fairly symbolic for Netflix since Russia accounts for just under 1 million subscribers, a small fraction of its 222 million subscribers worldwide. However, it's not just subscriptions that tie Netflix to Russia. Earlier last week, the streaming service, which just signed an agreement last December to begin carrying  20 Russian federal television channels on its streaming service, announced it would no longer comply with the terms.

The announcement is just the latest in a series of announcements from media giants like Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Sony and Universal, who all said they would not premiere their latest movie releases in Russia.  

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—New research from Ericsson finds that 5G is on track to become the fastest adopted generation of mobile technologies in history, with 5G subs set to top 580 million by the end of 2021 and growing to 3.5 billion around the world in 2026.

By 2026 there will be about 380 million 5G subs in North America accounting for about 84% of all mobile subs in North America. 

Currently 5G operators around the world are adding about 1 million new 5G subs a day. 

The new projections are noteworthy for the media and entertainment industries not only because the fast 5G networks will provide new ways of delivering content to consumers, making mobile devices an even more important platform for video delivery. 

Ericsson is also predicting that global mobile traffic will grow from more than 49 exabyte (EB) per month at the end of the 2020 to about 237 EB per month in 2026, a trend that will have a major impact on the networks cable operators and telcos currently use to deliver data and video. 

Smartphones, which currently carry 95 percent of the mobile traffic, will also be consuming more data than ever. Globally, the average usage-per-smartphone now exceeds 10 GB/month and is forecast to reach 35 GB/month by the end of 2026, according to Ericsson. 

The projections, which come from the annual “Ericsson Mobility Report” also indicate that the rapid development of 5G networks will fuel an explosion of the Internet of Things (IoT) that could have a major impact on the media landscape and the delivery of video. 

The Mobility Report noted that IoT technology (NB-IoT and Cat-M) connections are forecast to increase by almost 80 percent during 2021, reaching almost 330 million connections. In 2026, these technologies are forecast to comprise 46 percent of all cellular IoT connections.

The full report is available here. 

WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court has thrown out two of the Charter/Time Warner Cable broadband-related conditions, the ones "prohibiting Charter from charging programming suppliers for access to its broadband subs"—no charging for interconnects—and the one "requiring New Charter to provide steeply discounted broadband service to needy subscribers," with the court saying it essentially had no choice after the FCC failed to defend them.

Three customers of the combined Charter/Time Warner Cable/Newhouse, represented by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, had filed suit saying the conditions were responsible for their cable bills going up and wanted the conditions set aside due to that "injury."

Because the FCC did not defend the conditions, imposed by the Tom Wheeler FCC, the court vacated both, but made clear that the other conditions—usage-based pricing and buildout conditions—remained in force. The petitioners had challenged them as well. Charter separately is looking to get out from under the usage-based pricing conditions.  

A three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the FCC appeared to have imposed irrelevant and non-germane conditions, but did not have to get to those issues. 

"We need not resolve these questions, however, for there is a simpler ground of decision," the court said. "The lawfulness of the interconnection and discounted-services conditions are properly before us, yet the FCC declined to defend them on the merits. The agency’s only explanation for doing so was its view that we cannot reach the merits. Having lost on that question, the FCC has no further line of defense. 

“Because the Commission chose not to argue the merits in the alternative, we have no choice but to vacate the challenged portions of the order.” 

The decision was two to one, with judge David Sentelle dissenting. Sentelle did not weigh in on the merits, but dissented because he thought the court should not be weighing in at all. "[T]here is insufficient evidence to show that the injury to the consumer appellants would be redressed if this court were to order the vacation of the conditions imposed by the government on New Charter," he wrote. "It may be that New Charter would take actions beneficial to the appellants, but it is not the case that this court can redress their injuries."

Free State Foundation President Randolph May focused on the court's opining on non-germane conditions.  

BERKLEY, Calif.—A Berkeley, California-based startup says it has a new way to distribute streaming video that eliminates the need for traditional video encoding and content delivery networks (CDNs).

Eluvio was founded by Michelle Munson, a Cambridge-trained software engineer and IBM veteran. The company’s patent-pending “Content Fabric” architecture is a global software overlay network that enables just-in-time video distribution—stream or download file—directly from the source.

The system, Eluvio says, eliminates the need to create additional copies of files used in distribution networks or storage facilities using a novel representation of media and data protocol implemented in a blockchain network to create a direct-to-consumer media distribution network.

MGM is using the Eluvio Content Fabric for global streaming to web, mobile and TV Everywhere audiences of certain properties, including transcoding, multiformat encryption and DRM, access control and audience reporting.

“The economics of today’s video ecosystem is defined and hampered by yesterday’s technologies, and we aim to change that,” said Munson, who serves as CEO and co-founder of Eluvio. “The Eluvio Content Fabric enables content owners to manage and distribute video and large form content in ways never before possible, opening publishers to more direct monetization opportunities, and reducing costs by minimizing core bandwidth and storage, and radically streamlining the traditional media distribution workflow.”

Munson is introducing Eluvio alongside her co-founder, Serban Simu, at IBC in Amsterdam. In 2003, Munson and Simu also founded Aspera, which invented the FASP fast file transport protocol. Aspera was acquired by IBM in 2017. 

OpenSignal, a U.K.-based researcher that measures video networking performance, has released a new report that cites Verizon as having the best mobile video streaming experience among the four major U.S. telcos, narrowly beating out T-Mobile, with Sprint following and AT&T at #4.

Out of a possible score of 100, all of the carriers rated “fair,” which means that they couldn’t handle high-resolution video without some hiccups, but were able to handle standard definition video with few problems.

The report notes that each carrier is placing increasing emphasis on video. AT&T’s recent acquisition of Time Warner was done partly with the goal of launching its own streaming service based around  its flagship network HBO next year. Likewise, Verizon, with its recent content acquisitions of AOL and Yahoo, as well as Sprint’s bundling of the Hulu OTT network and T-Mobile’s complementary Netflix subscriptions to new subscribers all illustrate the importance U.S. telcos are placing on streaming video.

Last month, OpenSignal reported that all four telcos support mobile streaming rates of an average 14 Mbps, with Verizon and T-Mobile both offering up to 20 Mpbs streaming, which is enough to support ultra high definition resolution. 

EMERYVILLE, CA.—How good is the experience viewers are having watching streaming mobile videos? Gracenote, a Nielsen company, aims to find.

Gracenote today announced its new Mobile Video Analytics Solution for MVPDs, mobile operators, streaming services and hardware. The product gives them a way to better understand how the performance of mobile apps is affecting the way users behave, their attitudes about the experience and how consumer engagement with an app stacks up against competitors, the company said.

“In a hotly-contested marketplace for subscribers, it is critical to understand the factors that drive engagement and retention,” said Mike Greenawald, senior vice president, connectivity at Gracenote.

The in-depth examination of user interaction and engagement with mobile apps includes key performance metrics, such as the name of the wireless/internet service provider and type of streaming content.

The Mobile Video Analytics Solution provides insights into the performance quality of mobile video services, which is the greatest contributor to a viewer’s experience and satisfaction.

It also collects analytics on engagement, which include how, when and where viewers watch, how long they watch and other factors like stickiness of content, payload, network access and speed.

With the Mobile Video Analytics Solution, the attitudes of mobile users also can be measured on pricing and why viewers choose to subscribe or drop subscriptions as well as their intention to switch to another service.

Insight on these metrics can be measured against the performance of competitors with their subscribers, allowing streaming services to make course corrections to remain competitive.

When engagement is low, the new solution offers support for passive video tests and survey responses to examine behavior and find out the reason for disengagement and churn.

With the new analytics solution, wireless service providers also have the ability to detect areas of network congestion, which can guide them on where to add capacity.

More information is available on the Gracenote website. 

MENLO PARK, CALIF. & OGDEN, UTAH--Facebook has hired the seven-person team at social media video developer Vidpresso to enhance interactive elements of its Facebook Live streaming service.

Vidpresso is a six-year old based startup in Ogden, Utah that helps broadcasters and businesses deploy video on social media. Broadcasters, including KSL, KTXL, NBC and Univision along with Buzzfeed, Turner Sports, Nasdaq and TED use its Vidpresso:LIVE platform to adds real-time chats, polling and relevant data from Facebook Twitter, and other social media networks during live broadcasts. CBS was among its earliest customers when it used Vidpresso to display social media posts during the 2013 and 2014 Macy's Day Thanksgiving Day Parades. 

Facebook did not buy the company outright, according to TechCrunch, but did acquire the company's IP and its staff will be joining Facebook at its offices in Menlo Park, Calif., London and Los Angeles. In a blog post, the company said it will be business as usual for the time being.

“We will continue to help creators, publishers, and broadcasters create great live experiences, and focus on what we’re best known for: Enabling world-class interactive streams on Facebook Live,” the company said. “Our customers who currently use the product will continue to be able to do so following our transition to Facebook.”

The company added that joining Facebook will give them “the best opportunity to accelerate our vision and offer a simple way for creators, publishers, and broadcasters to use social media in live video at a high quality level. We've always wanted to build tools for everyone to create interactive live video experiences.

“By joining Facebook we’ll be able to offer our tools to a much broader audience than just our A-list publishing partners,” they added. “Eventually, it’ll allow us to put these tools in the hands of creators, so they can focus on their content, and have it look great, without spending lots of time or money to do so.”

Since it was launched three years ago, Facebook Live has hosted more than 3.5 billion broadcasts an more than 150 billion reactions to Live video.

Ocean Media, an independent media planning and buying firm, has just released “The Power of Connected Devices,” on OTT trends that illustrates the transition for viewers, programmers and advertisers. Ocean’s infographic highlights the who, how and where of “television” consumption, the speed of the transformation, and how the advertising market is shifting in its wake.

Among its findings:

• America now counts 8.8 connected devices per household--60 million devices overall

• One in three households has cut the cord

• Four in 10 “light” TV viewers are “heavy” OTT consumers

• Streaming viewership has increased 30 percent year on year, while linear viewership decreased 6 percent year on year (42 hours OTT vs. 132 hours TV)

• Ad completion rates for video per break stand at 95 percent – against an average video ad completion of 81 percent for Q1 ’18, per the IAB

• The connected population skews younger and wealthier, and tilts toward the West Coast