In this week's rundown of recent news items for cord cutters: Showtime mined digital currency on viewers' computers, 4K/UHD movie prices lowered, what's new on streaming services in October, DisneyNOW launches, and more.
Roku's founder and CEO, Anthony Wood, told Investor's Business Daily that "in the next few years most TV will be streamed and most of it will be streamed through a box or through the smart TV software built into your TV." Wood's rosy outlook for streaming is apparently shared by many investors; Roku saw it's stock price nearly double within a day of it's IPO on Thursday, rocketing 68% on its first day.
Showtime has been mining digital currency using online viewers' computers. Nathaniel Mott reports on TomsHardware.com that "The company used Coinhive, a cryptocurrency mining tool, on several of its official websites. This allowed Showtime to use customers' devices to mine the Monero cryptocurrency, which it could then sell for a profit whenever it desired." Showtime has apparently removed Coinhive from its websites, but has made no comment about the issue.
Amazon has introduced a new Amazon Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR). Set to be released on October 25, the device is available for pre-order at a price of $69.99.
Which TV streaming service has the best channel lineup? Fortune reports that "DVR maker TiVo combined survey data about the most desirable channels with the lineups at all of the major Internet TV services" and then "pinpointed a core of 27 channels consumers most wanted in their bundle." They then looked at what channels were available in streaming services and found the best service to be AT&T’s DirecTV Now "Just Right" option, which includes 85% of the most-wanted channels. The DirecTV Now "Live a little" bundle came in second, followed by the Sling TV "Orange + Blue" package. Hulu TV was fourth, followed by PlayStation Vue in fifth. Youtube TV came in dead last.
AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet is now in 18 states, AT&T recently announced. Focused on "rural and underserved locations needing home internet," AT&T says that it "deliver(s) Fixed Wireless Internet across over 160,000 locations" with plans "to provide access to over 400,000 locations by the end of this year, and over 1.1 million locations by 2020." Ars Technica points out that "AT&T got (a) nearly $3 billion federal subsidy" and the service has a 160GB data cap.
If you've complained about the high price of 4K movies from the various streaming services, Android Police reports that "Google Play Movies seems to be moving to match Apple's new $19.99 UHD pricing." Amazon Prime Video
Variety has a list of what’s coming to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime in October 2017. In anticipation of Halloween, "Netflix will kick off the month of haunts and horrors by bringing in television shows and films like Season 2 of 'Stranger Things,' Season 1 of 'The Mist,' 'Cult of Chucky,' and 'Raw.'" "Amazon is bringing even more frightful treats this month with content like 'Blair Witch,' 'Pet Sematary,' 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre II,' and 'American Horror Story' Season 6." And "Hulu will have 'The Amityville Horror,' the original 'Carrie,' and 'Poltergeist II' and 'Poltergeist III' available to stream." Not a fan of horror? There's plenty of new video from other genres as well. Check out a complete listing, including debut dates, here.
Disney has consolidated three of their "WATCH" apps into a single app called DisneyNOW. Broadcasting & Cable's Jeff Baumgartner reports that "The new app offers full episodes and live streaming feeds from Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD for users who take a pay TV service with TVE rights to Disney Channel content." For those without a pay TV subscription, some unlocked content is also available. DisneyNOW is currently available on Roku and we will have a full review available soon.
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