This week, Motorola 4Home and Verizon teamed up and announced their new home automation system, bringing us one step closer to connected, energy efficient, “smart homes.” Imagine the convenience of locking your doors or turning off your lights remotely with your smartphone!
Upon facing backlash from numerous customers and investors, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings decided to kill Qwikster three weeks after he initially announced the new business. For now, Netflix will remain one entity that provides streaming video and mail-in DVD rental services for subscribers. Additionally, movie studios will soon revolutionize video content by using a cloud-based storage space called UltraViolet. Viewers will soon be able to purchase once and watch anywhere. Comcast is trying out its new MyTV Choice cable package, an alternative to bundled pay TV offerings. My TV Choice will allow users to choose from tiered packages and opt out of costlier channels such as ESPN and BBC America. Lastly, be sure to check out the Nielsen statistics detailing who’s talking about TV on social media. You might be surprised by the results!
1. Motorola and Verizon team up; let you control your home as you roam (Oct. 12) – By Zach Honig, Engadget: Do you have Verizon broadband and an overwhelming desire to dim your lights remotely and spy on the kids while you’re out on a date?
2. Qwikster Is Gonester: Netflix Kills Its DVD-Only Business Before Launch (Oct. 10) – By Peter Kafka, All Things D: Qwikster, we never knew ya: Netflix has killed its plans to turn its DVD service into a separate business.
3. Ready for movies in the cloud? Studios bet you are (Oct. 11) – By Lisa Richwine, Reuters: Hollywood is making a major bet this coming holiday season that consumers will buy movies, instead of renting, and view them on the go.
4. Comcast’s MyTV Choice: Is this the future of pay TV bundling? (Oct. 7) – By Ryan Lawler, NewTeeVee: Comcast is testing out a new type of pay TV bundling that gives users the ability to pick and choose which types of content they want to pay for month after month.
5. Who’s Talking About TV Online? [STATS] (Oct. 13) – By Zachary Sniderman, Mashable: More women use social media to talk about their television-watching habits, making up 53% of the total online population and 55% of the social media population discussing television.
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