Monthly Archives: March 2012
NAB For Newbies: Tips & Tricks
NAB can be a daunting experience for newcomers. To help, we put together this list of tips from some old NAB hands. At The Hotel Bring Cash – ATMs in Las Vegas tend to charge excessively high fees Travel in Packs – With mammoth taxi lines snaking around the LVCC, it can take hours of standing in the hot Vegas sun just to catch a ride back to your hotel. Grab 4-5 co-workers or friends and flag down a limo instead. (You can usually find them by the taxi line.) Splitting the fare lets you get to your destination with minimal cash and maximum style. Stay Hydrated – keep in mind that Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert. The air inside the show is very cool and dry and it’s often hot inside. Always carry water with you in your bag so you’re not walking around the show parched and grumpy. Be a Smarter Networker – Pack a … Continue reading
The Nielsen Myth
This originally ran on Digiday and was picked up by IPTV News. Co-authored with KIT COO Alex Blum TV is a hugely successful $60 billion industry. It’s also built on a jury-rigged measurement system that’s a bit of a joke and needs to be replaced for the potential of the modern media world to be fully realized. Nielsen ratings have admittedly come a long way from handwritten diaries, but they’ve still become antiquated as our viewing experience shifts from broadcast television to over-the-top services like Netflix and Hulu. This sea change of Internet meshing with TV presents a golden opportunity for anyone with the smarts to step up and figure out a better way to mine the resulting avalanche of consumer-engagement data that is now becoming available. Nielsen guesstimates shouldn’t be OK anymore. With IPTV, it’s possible to track exactly how many people are watching any given show and where and when they are watching it, and it can break … Continue reading
“I’m Not Really Watching:” Passive vs Active Viewing and Their Affect on the Social TV Experience
Quick question: when you’re watching TV, do you talk during the entire show? When the commercials come on (provided you’re not skipping through them) do you only think and talk about the show you’ve been watching?I’m guessing the answer is no. So then why does so much of the activity in the social TV space assume the opposite? Yes, a lot of people watch TV with a second screen device in hand. But there’s no logical path that says they are using that device solely to interact with whatever is on the screen. Chances are high that if they’ve whipped out the iPhone, they are checking email, looking at a friend’s Facebook photos, checking the score of the game they’re not watching or some other activity completely unrelated to the what’s on TV. That’s because people often turn on the TV just to have some sort of background distraction. Call that “passive viewing.” Reading email and half-watching American Idol aren’t … Continue reading
KIT digital Is Going Big at NAB 2012
The changes brought about by the convergence of the internet and television are bound to dominate the conversation at NAB this year, and KIT digital will be front and center during those discussions. From our booth at SU8505, we’ll be showcasing our latest product introductions, from our white label Social EPG product (the next generation of Social TV) to our enhanced partnerships with IBM. Stop by to say hello and hang out in our Living Room of the Future, where you can play with a live demo of our Social EPG, and check out what we’ve been building for BSkyB and other network operators. Keep your eyes open for a special surprise announcement during NAB that’s sure to be a knockout. To set up an appointment for a personalized private demo, email us at nab-rsvp@kitd.com
Aereo: First Takes
Aereo is a controversial new service that allows users to watch live broadcast television over the internet on iPhones and iPads and stream those same broadcasts to their television sets via a Roku or Apple TV device. Users can also record programs to a cloud-based DVR for future viewing. Beta users get a free 90-day trial, after which they’ll pay just $12/month. Lawsuits have been filed in both directions, as broadcasters bridle at the notion of someone charging for what they broadcast for free. (The service uses HD antennas to capture the digital broadcast signals and send them to the user’s device, via WiFi.) Aereo has the same basic game plan as recent KIT acquisition Sezmi, though since Aereo is backed by a group of high-profile investors lead by Barry Diller, it’s been getting a lot of press. Aereo claims the $12 charge is for the DVR service, not the broadcast signal, though industry observers have doubts about Aereo’s prospects … Continue reading
Great Infographic: TV Goes Social
Great, great job from Vancouver-based Work [at] Play
The Lilyhammer Effect
One of the most significant developments in the TV landscape went virtually unreported earlier this month. There had been much speculation around how Netflix would handle the release of their new original series, given the non-linear nature of the service. They surprised most observers, however, when they announced that in launching their new series Lilyhammer, a crime drama starring Steve Van Zandt, they would be releasing all 8 episodes at once. Now research has shown this to be an excellent tactic for short-form content: viewers get hooked on a series by watching 3 or 4 episodes at once and don’t have to remember to return to the site on a weekly basis. So-called “binge TV” – where viewers use services like Netflix or iTunes to catch up on entire seasons has become popular enough to warrant its own nickname. For many people it’s their preferred way of watching. Which is why Netflix play is at once brilliant and revolutionary. Because … Continue reading
The View From QITCOM 2012 – Social TV In The Arab World
I had the pleasure of representing KIT digital at QITCOM, the annual conference held in Doha, Qatar. My panel was on Social TV and my fellow panelists represented 6 different countries. Social TV is a different animal in the Arab world and the entire conference was most definitely an eye-opener. But first a little set-up: Doha is well on its way to becoming the next Dubai. The economy is booming and there are buildings going up everywhere you look. In places, it looks a lot like the suburbs of Dallas or Las Vegas circa 2004, where entire towns seemed to spring up out of the desert overnight, symmetrically designed and carefully landscaped. It’s easy to get lulled into thinking you’ve landed in Princess Jasmine’s Oasis at Disney World, but those people in the traditional dishdashas, kefiyas and veiled burkas are not cast members: they’re the ones in charge. And yet the Al Jazeera network is based here too, in a … Continue reading
KIT’s Social EPG Initiative
Global Lead Analyst Alan Wolk discusses KIT digital’s thoughts on a Social EPG in an interview with Beet.tv’s Andy Plesser that also ran in StreamingMedia.