Copyright Office Says Aereo Can’t Qualify As Cable Company

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By Sahil Patel

Down and out, maybe: The US Copyright Office has rejected Aereo’s bid to obtain a compulsory license to retransmit broadcast signals via its over-the-top streaming service. In other words, the US Copyright Office is saying Aereo can’t qualify itself as a cable company — at least not at the moment.

Once the Supreme Court ruled against Aereo in its long-running battle with TV broadcasters, the OTT service started out on a new legal strategy, under which it would be reclassified as a cable company just like any traditional multi-channel provider. This would then allow Aereo to transmit local signals and continue operating its business, as long as it paid broadcasters royalty fees (something which it had been fighting not to do).

In a ruling by the US Copyright Office, the group said the 1976 Copyright Act, which SCOTUS cited when it said that Aereo was “substantially” similar to a cable company, does not cover internet-based transmissions. In a letter to Aereo, the office’s general counsel Jacqueline Charlesworth said that this compulsory license is meant to serve “localized” services that are “regulated as cable systems by the FCC.”

So what’s next for the company It needs the backing of a federal court ruling or for the FCC to review the matter. (The FCC has taken comments on a proposal to classify internet-based transmissions like a cable system, but it hasn’t made any rulings on it yet.) Until then, the Copyright Office said it would accept Aereo’s filing for royalty fees on a provisional basis, but won’t process the paperwork.

So it’s not completely over yet, but it’s getting close.

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Xbox One Sales Leap Without Kinect

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While Microsoft’s Xbox One has been a successful seller since its release on the market last November, the question of whether it could sell even better without the inclusion of the Kinect motion device was definitely making the rounds. Microsoft answered this query last month by releasing a new bundle without the device for $399, and, as a result, sales have picked up tremendously.

“Over the past month, we’ve seen a strong spike in interest in our Xbox One console options, including the new $399 offering, and the amazing lineup of games announced during E3,” said Microsoft.

“Since the new Xbox One offering launched on June 9, we’ve seen sales of Xbox One more than double in the US, compared to sales in May, and solid growth in Xbox 360 sales.”

The statement is based on Microsoft’s “internal data based on retail calendar and sold through numbers,” but crucially didn’t give away any actual numbers.

The decrease in price for the system is no doubt a driving factor, as the bundle previously sold for $499 back in November with the Kinect included – which caused several gamers to turn to the PlayStation 4 instead, which was selling for $100 less at $399.

Now, however, Microsoft has managed to even the playing field, so to speak, by offering a next-gen console for a similar price. For those who prefer the motion device, or want to take advantage of games that support it (such as Kinect Sports Rivals and the forthcoming Fantasia: Music Evolved), the regular $499 bundle is still available, and the company has promised that the Kinect will be available for separate sale as well.

This news is likely to get better for Microsoft leading into this holiday season, especially with big hits like Sunset Overdrive and Halo: The Master Chief Collection set for release later in the year. However, one has to wonder if development on Kinect-oriented games will be affected by the move.

Source: TechCrunch

Nitero’s Speedy New Wi-Fi Service

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In the age of Wi-Fi technology, companies are always looking for a way to make things faster and, as a result, more trouble-free for consumers. Texas startup Nitero is the latest company to give it a shot, as it has announced the unveiling of a new chip that will deliver 60 GHz wireless networking to mobile devices. This ultrafast, low-power networking is short range, but that’s perfect for its intended application of enabling high quality video transfers without overly draining the battery of a mobile device. The 60GHz WiFi can handle even the massive data requirements of 4K video with ease.

With this chip, devices can now transfer data 10 times more efficiently than other means, making it a perfect solution for those trying to transfer data from smaller screen devices to larger ones – ideal for presentations, sor instance, but also for playing a video.

Through such technology, users can take video from their smartphones and play it instantaneously across high-definition televisions, without skipping a beat on quality. The NT4600 supports low-latency 4K display data transfers, and not incidentally can easily broadcast games from a small display to a big one. That’s a huge feature for mobile game publishers looking to increase the impact of their games.

Samsung with produce the chip for Nitero as a contract manufacturer, using a 28-nanometer manufacturing process with special radio frequency features. This will allow the chip to meet low-power requirements.

“802.11ad, the next generation of Wi-Fi, is the missing link to allow for the long-awaited convergence of PC, gaming, and entertainment platforms onto a single mobile device. 802.11ad solutions built for the PC and slimmed down for mobile simply can’t meet the power, performance, and form-factor requirements of Tier 1 mobile customers,” said Pat Kelly, CEO of Nitero. “At Nitero, we targeted the smartphone from day one. The result is 60G.”

The technology should begin appearing in products sometime in 2015.

Source: VentureBeat

 

‘Snowpiercer’ Finding Success On VOD Services

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Sometimes, movies just manage to do better on the home video front, either as an on-demand release or through sales in Blu-Ray or DVD formats. One movie that proves this theory is Snowpiercer, the American language debut of Korean director Bong Joon-ho.

The movie got a limited theatrical release a couple of weeks ago, and opened to rave reviews, with many noting the strong performance of such leads as Chris Evans (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and Jaime Bell. However, just two weeks later, the film has been released on the on-demand front, available for download through iTunes, cable providers and a number of other services. And, surprisingly enough, it’s finding more success on that front.

As part of RADIUS-TWC’s distribution plan for the film, Snowpiercer managed to make an estimated $1.1 million from video on-demand sales over the weekend, earning nearly twice as much as the $635,000 it cleaned up in theaters. While those numbers pale in comparison to Transformers: Age of Extinction’s $100+ million opening a few weekends ago, it’s still an interesting business statistic.

“From a layman’s perspective, these numbers are possibly not that interesting,” said RADIUS-TWC co-president Tom Quinn. “But from an industry perspective, it’s a game changer.”

VOD works as a cheaper and more profitable alternative to most filmmakers these days, especially “indie” producers. “That $1.1 million gross is actually worth almost double to me in terms of how it nets out in our bottom line,” said Quinn.

Promotion plays a big part in the movie’s success as well. “We are being promoted on TV, but we are being promoted on TV to consume,” continued Quinn. “We have a TV campaign, but it’s in service of actually selling the movie to be purchased. That’s very different.”

Usually, movie-to-home releases span a much larger ratio, around three months or so. But Quinn stands behind the company’s decision to go with VOD instead of theaters. “Should we have opened larger (in theaters) ” he asked. “Possibly. It’s a fair discussion for us to consider, but I also feel like in some respects we absolutely nailed the timing from our original theatrical launch to our debut on VOD.

Don’t be surprised if other studios manage to follow Snowpiercer‘s example.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

 

‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’ Rockets Into Success

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Glu Mobile is expecting some record numbers for its 2014 revenue, up to $161.5 million for the year.  Despite a low point in the second quarter, the company looks to be well on pace to beat its expectations for the year, and the reason is simple: The huge success of its recent release, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

The game has taken off like a rocket since it launched, reaching the top 10 in mere days, and it’s currently sitting ahead of Supercell’s Hay Day and Boom Beach as well as King’s Farm Heroes Saga. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is a game that recreates living the lifestyle of a Hollywood actress. Officially endorsed by the mega-star, the game has become a sales juggernaut, and, as a result, has netted both Glu and Kardashian a great deal of money, set to make $200 million this year alone.

So why is this simulation so popular. There are a number of reasons. Besides having Kardashian’s name attached (she continues to be a big draw in the media, especially with her marriage to rapper Kanye West), Hollywood is quite a draw when it comes to the female gaming demographic. That’s not to say only girls play it, but it does draw a large female audience, creating a female to male ratio of 3 to 1, the opposite of something like Supercell’s Clash of Clans.

There’s also no question that Kardashian is an ideal fit for a game of this nature, as players can take part in a number of activities in Hollywood that fit the high-profile lifestyle, whether it’s photo shoots or something along those lines. Kardashian’s dedicated fans follow her every fashion move, and the game is the best way for these extreme fans to closely follow the reality superstar.

Finally, Hollywood does provide a new twist on games, when so many other releases are relying on proven formulas, like Candy Crush Saga and the match-three puzzle scenario. While it does show similarities to Pocket Gems’ Campus Life, which was released back in 2012, it does provide an alternative take on living in Hollywood, providing a fresh approach.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is available now for iPhone & iPad and Android.

Source: Mobile Dev Memo

The Fight Against Mobile Dark Social: The Unquantifiable Platform

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Several forward-thinking brands, agency execs, and publishers are pushing to build a presence on platforms that, according to recent data science, are considered “inherently unquantifiable”  — mobile messaging apps.

Mobile messaging apps like Kik, Line, WeChat and WhatsApp are all platforms that possess hundreds of millions of registered users but offer little insight into how media is shared among them.

“There’s just little way to track the traffic acquisition. The systems aren’t in place for them to quantify it,” said Rebecca Watson, vp of business development at ad network RadiumOne. However, she went on to add, “Just because they can’t exactly say how large the importance is, doesn’t mean it’s not important.”

Because sharing on mobile messaging apps generally consist of  users copying and pasting links and then sending them to their contacts, publishers and advertisers alike are unable to track the traffic they deliver. This activity is known as “mobile dark social.” And since sites have no way of telling which specific app a visitor came, publishers and advertisers have a hard time optimizing for these apps. However, the media industry has started experimenting with them nonetheless, hoping that the analytics for these apps will one day catch up with the size of their user bases.

“Users will continue to adopt these systems and have conversations in these platforms, and these apps are not going away,” said Watson. “So we have to get started now with what we have.”

In addition to Watson, everyone from publishers to ad tech companies and media buyers to fast food brands are trying to figure out messaging apps and are excited about their potential.

For example, the publishing company BuzzFeed added, in addition to looking for a full-time employee whose only role will be to determine the publication’s messaging-apps strategy, a WhatsApp sharing button to its iOS site this past October and has seen shares from it steadily increase since, according to BuzzFeed’s spokeswoman Ashley McCollum. However, BuzzFeed still believes some of its sharing might also be occurring in other places like Gchat and Whisper and messaging apps. These efforts are meant to capitalize on BuzzFeed’s growth in “mobile dark social” referral traffic, which has increased fourfold in the past 12 months.

“We’re still figuring it out, and it’s early days for these messaging apps, but especially as we expand internationally, where many of these messaging apps have high penetration, they’re really top of mind for us,” McCollum said.

The consensus among the industry seems to be that it is only a matter of time before an “agreed-upon analytics” for these platforms emerges. Even without these analytics, a few brands have had the courage to enter the messaging-app competition anyway.

Source: Digiday

Consoles Mulling Over Early Access Programs

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Over the past couple of years, Steam has been expanding its line-up with the debut of Early Access games. These games serve as “still in development” versions of upcoming games, providing players the opportunity to try out something before the full version comes out. Although its had its share of issues, a lot of games, such as Rust and Day Z, have managed to rack up impressive sales – and that’s something both Sony and Microsoft have noticed.

Talking with Gamasutra, Sony publisher and developer relations VP Adam Boyes stated that early access games is “one of the massive conversations we have internally.” However, there are certain obstacles in the way, such as clarifying that a game is still in development. “We don’t want somebody to stumble across that title and expect a full product, and have a negative experience.”

He continued, “We obviously have our tech requirement checklist that people have to adhere to. So we’re internally discussing, what does that list look like What are the caveats Stuff like this. So it’s still a project that a lot of minds are considering. No details yet, but it’s something on the top of my mind every day.”

Meanwhile, over at Microsoft, ID@Xbox manager Chris Charla explained that such a program is “something developers have been asking for, and we are listening really closely to developers.” However, he didn’t confirm the program for Xbox One just yet, and also has concerns about putting an unfinished game in front of players. “There’s a lot of heavy deep thinkers, experts, PHDs working on these problems at Xbox every day – not just for the Xbox store, but for Windows Store and Windows Phone. Our goal is to have a rational marketplace, where good games are visible and sell well.”

We may see some sort of early access program on consoles in the near future — do you think that’s a good idea, or one that’s not ready to be released yet

Source: Ars Technica

iOS Making Big Money Overseas

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It’s a tough mobile market in Japan and China, with both iOS and Android platforms thriving for dollars. In a way, both are successful, but Apple is clearly leading the charge.

Industry tracking firm App Annie has reported that while Google Play leads the charge in terms of outperforming on a mobile scale, Apple continues to make more money. Google Play shows a growth of 60 percent more downloads than Apple’s market (a rise from last quarter’s 45 percent). However, Apple’s App Store generated 80 percent more revenue than Google Play – and in the end, that’s where the most money is being seen.

China and Japan play a big part in this market, as mobile-game spending managed to reach $16 billion in 2013, with a higher goal set for this year.

Apple managed to make a deal with China Mobile to enable iOS, which in turn helped increase the revenue for both parties. As a result, Chinese iOS revenues managed to grow by 20 percent between Q1 and Q2, creating a lead over Google Play and Android platforms.

“China is proving to be pivotal in Apple’s international growth strategy,” says the report. “In its Q2 2014 earnings call, Apple reported a records high revenue in China of almost $10 billion, inclusive of retail sales.”

In the past, Japan has leaned more towards the Android platform, but with a deal in place to sell iPhone directly through superpower service provider NTT Docomo, iOS could easily catch up there as well. Apple’s smartphone sales grew 50 percent year over year in the last year, and this has helped Apple maintain its revenue lead over Google despite Google’s increasing Android smartphone sales.

It’ll be interesting to see where the market goes from here. Will iOS continue its growth, or will Google Play find a way to catch up

Source: VentureBeat

Novartis And Google Create Smart Contact Lens

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The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis announced that it is contracting Google’s “smart contact lens” technology, a project that is currently being worked on by the Google X team. According to Fox News, the company has been testing a prototype contact lens that would help people with diabetes manage their disease.

The company’s eye care division, Alcon, will license Google’s smart lens and co-develop them for a variety of ocular medical uses.

According to a piece done by Mashable, the lenses have ophthalmic electrochemical sensors in them that are designed to measure glucose levels via tear fluid in the eye and offer real-time updates to an app on a connected mobile device for people with diabetes. Google secured a patent for the technology earlier this year.

“We’ve always said that we’d seek out projects that seem a bit speculative or strange,” according to the official Google Blog, “and at a time when the International Diabetes Federation is declaring that the world is ‘losing the battle’ against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot.”

In addition to glucose measurement, Novartis says another key issue it would like to address with these “smart lenses” is the potential to provide accommodative vision correction to people with presbyopia, an age-related eye condition that affects billions, making it difficult to focus on objects nearby. However, details on how that might work are currently unavailable.

“Our dream is to use the latest technology in the miniaturization of electronics to help improve the quality of life for millions of people,” Google founder Sergey Brin wrote in a Novartis press release. “We are very excited to work with Novartis to make this dream come true.”

Alcon’s division head Jeff George said that the companies aim to “unlock a new frontier to jointly address the unmet medical needs of millions of eye care patients around the world.”

There are no details yet about when the first smart contact lenses might hit the market . According to Mashable, Alcon’s director of global external communications, Elizabeth Harness Murphy said that it is “way too early in the agreement and way too early in the prototype development” to project when smart lenses will arrive. She also made clear that terms of the deal are not being released.

Sources: Mashable and Fox News

Men’s Style Startup Dash Hudson To Tap Marketing Power Of YouTubers

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By Sahil Patel

Dash Hudson, a social/mobile startup that aims to make it easier for young men to find style recommendations and make purchases, knows where it should go to drive audiences to its platform — YouTube.

The company is launching a new program called “We Dress YouTube,” which will enlist establishing and rising male YouTube stars to promote the platform via referral codes in exchange for a new wardrobe and some additional incremental revenue.

First things first, what is Dash Hudson and how does it work Using a proprietary search technology, the commerce platform pulls in available clothing items from different web sources. A group of style experts then write articles about those items, and publish them on a news feed available on Dash Hudson’s mobile app. Users can sift through these posts and determine which things they want to buy, which can be done directly via the app.

Since launching in March, Dash Hudson has been witnessing 20-30 percent week-over-week audience growth, says co-founder Thomas Rankin.

The startup also recently raised $400,000 in seed funding from a group of investors that includes former Groupon CTO Paul Gauthier.

Now, the startup is targeting its next stage of growth by tapping the influential relationship YouTube creators tend to have with their audience. Those Dash Hudson enlists in the “We Dress YouTube” program will receive $250 in free clothing and a custom referral code, which they can distribute to their viewers. Creators will then make 2.5 percent off every transaction the platform processes with their referral code.

Since Dash Hudson is focused on a “young, urban, college-educated male audience,” the startup is interested in working with YouTubers that “speak honestly” to that audience, says Rankin. Mostly, this means young, male YouTube creators — though women who feature guys in their videos can also apply.

“We are looking across verticals,” adds Rankin. “We want to work with personalities in comedy, tech, gaming, style . . . We are open to speaking to our audience in all of the different ways that they engage in content.”

The only major requirement is that all participating creators have a minimum of 100,000 subscribers. The company has already signed up a few creators, though Rankin declines to disclose names. In total, the goal is to sign up 20 influential YouTubers for the initial phase of the program.

A brand, especially within the category of fashion and style, enlisting the YouTube community to reach and engage with audiences is not uncommon — in fact, it’s becoming increasingly less so.

With the service that Dash Hudson aims to provide, it also makes perfect sense, according to Rankin. “YouTube has to be the next distribution channel for fashion,” he says. “Look at what happened with television. Fashion brands and retailers have been dressing TV personalities for decades, either through direct endorsements or through helping those personalities look better. Both parties get value. That kind of thing can happen on YouTube.”

Rankin is well aware of the problems YouTubers — especially those with 100,000 to 1 million subscribers — currently face by relying on only ad revenue, which is generally split with YouTube. “This is a great opportunity for them to add some supplemental income.”

And to Dash Hudson’s credit, beyond understanding that there is an opportunity in working with YouTube talent, the startup is also aware of how to manage that relationship. “We want [creators] to be wearing our clothes, but we also want them to be themselves,” he says. “We don’t want to get involved with the creative. We are going to trust the personalities to be who they are, and speak about Dash Hudson in a way that makes sense for them.”

The company won’t run ads on those channels, either. “We just don’t feel like it’s the right way to go about it,” says Rankin.

That said, working with the YouTube community is a long-term project for the company. This initial phase will also be used to understand and outline what works best, says Rankin, but Dash Hudson expects to open up the program to more YouTubers in the future.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ER8HksY0lDM

 

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.