In this week's rundown of recent news items for cord cutters: Everything coming to Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu in November, former DirecTV CEO isn't too worried about cord cutters, Formula 1 to launch online live streaming service, 10 percent of YouTube viewing done on TVs, Verizon offering 4K streaming option, and more.
The Nerdist has published a list of everything coming to Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu in November 2017. "Netflix is debuting a brand new Marvel TV series" and "the rest of November is also pretty heavy with Netflix original series." "Hulu is leaping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Runaways... The Hulu original sci-fi comedy series Future Man is on our radar," and "over 20 of 007's best adventures join Hulu's lineup of movies." And on Amazon Video, 'The Big Sick,' an Amazon produced film, "is premiering on Prime next month alongside other original movies including Landline and The Only Living Boy in New York. Amazon is also debuting three new comedy pilots: The Climb, Love You More, and Sea Oak. And in a streaming first, Amazon will stream three NFL games as part of its Thursday Night Football lineup."
"Most Netflix customers don't pay for other streaming services. But Hulu and HBO Now subscribers do," says Rani Molla, writing for Recode. Eighty percent of Netflix subscribers reportedly pay for no other streaming services, while 17 percent also pay for Hulu, and very few pay for HBO. However, "a majority of HBO Now and Hulu subscribers — 62 percent and 61 percent, respectively — do pay for Netflix.
Chris Morran, writing for Consumerist, reports that AT&T claims to have nearly 800,000 DirecTV Now subscribers, compared to an estimated 2 million subscribers to Dish's Sling TV. AT&T reportedly added 296,000 DirecTV Now subscribers in its most recent quarter, while AT&T and DirecTV together lost 385,000 traditional cable and satellite TV subscribers.
Two months ago, Verizon introduced several unlimited data plans, but video quality was restricted to a maximum of only 720p quality - with cheaper plans providing only DVD quality. Now, Cnet's Robert Cheng reports, "Verizon is bringing back full-quality video streaming... The company said on Wednesday that it would offer the option for consumers to stream 4K quality video -- if they're willing to pay $10 extra a month."
"YouTube Now Clocks Over 100 Million Hours Watch-Time on TVs per Day," says Variety correspondent Janko Roettgers. "This means that viewing on TV is accounting for roughly 10 percent of all YouTube watch time... Altogether, YouTube has more than 1.5 billion users watching an average of 60 minutes of videos every day."
CNBC's Chloe Aiello says that "Former DirecTV CEO Michael White isn't too worried about cord cutters." He told CNBC that "broadband is the future, and already a major revenue generator as more consumers flock to streaming platforms to consume content." White said that "You are seeing cord cutting, that's a reality. The advantage is, we can sell broadband still.""
Over 200 OTT services are active in the U.S. market, says a new report from Parks Associates. FierceCable reports that "according to Parks, 60 companies have introduced over-the-top video services just since the beginning of 2016. Over that span, only seven OTT services in the U.S. have shuttered."
"Verizon's long-rumored live TV streaming service appears to be having some issues," according to Ars Technica. The article discusses a Bloomberg report by Scott Moritz and Lucas Shaw that Verizon "is aiming for a spring 2018 launch for its new online TV service, which has been delayed at least twice as the telecommunications giant grapples with how to compete in the media world... Staff shuffling, technology reboots and negotiations for streaming rights have bogged Verizon down, as has the news last month that media chief Marni Walden is stepping down."
"Formula 1 plans to launch an online live streaming service in 2018," writes Autosport's Jonathan Noble. "F1's commercial chief Sean Bratches has told Autosport that it had no choice but to pursue an 'over the top' offering if it was going to attract bigger future audiences. 'We have an obligation to our fans, quite candidly, to ensure that they are able to access our content in any means they want, he said." According to Autosport, "despite rumours that F1 could use platforms like Netflix or Amazon for its live streaming service, Bratches is clear that it will be done entirely in-house."
