Cordcutter News Brief - How to stream the Winter Olympics, next-gen DirecTV NOW coming this Spring, YouTube TV getting first major test, and more

February 2, 2018 - 20:06 -- RokuGuide

Cordcutter News BriefsIn this week's collection of recent cord-cutting news items from around the web: How to stream the Winter Olympics; next-gen DirecTV NOW coming this Spring; YouTube TV getting its first major test; Hulu Live TV not coming to Android TV; Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu will triple original content budgets; over-the-top TV services set to flourish; and more!

Cnet tells us how to stream the XXII Winter Olympics. Coverage from PyeongChang, South Korea, begins on Wednesday, February 7 with a live stream of mixed doubles curling, a new Winter Olympic event. "Each and every Winter Olympic event will be available to stream live and on-demand on NBCOlympics.com on computers[, and] via the NBC Sports app on phones, tablets and connected TVs. The NBC Sports app is available for iOS or for Android as well as the Amazon Fire Apple TV , Comcast X1, Chromecast, Roku, Windows 10, Xbox and select Samsung devices." But the catch, says Cnet, is that "you will need to prove that you are pay TV subscriber to access the live streams. Without authentication, you will be able to stream 30 minutes of coverage on your first visit and five minutes each day after that."



A big DirecTV Now update arrives this Spring reports Engadget. "CEO Randall Stephenson has confirmed that the 'next-gen' DirecTV Now will launch in spring 2018. The revamp will bring a cloud-based DVR, '3rd-stream' and interface upgrades, Stephenson said."

YouTube TV is getting its first major test, says Business Insider, as it debuted on Roku and Apple TV devices this week. "More eyes will mean more scrutiny of the performance of YouTube's live-TV service, and there will probably be bugs in the new software as well. Observers are likely to watch how YouTube responds to customers early in the rollout and whether it can avoid technical difficulties that plagued competitors like Sling TV and DirecTV Now."

Hulu Live TV is not coming to Android TV due to a lack of platform users, reports AndroidHeadlines. "Hulu's SVP of Experience, Ben Smith... confirmed Android TV support is not in the pipeline... While Smith did make it clear that Hulu is 'constantly evaluating' the situation, Smith started the response with 'we don't have current plans to support Android TV.'"

"Over-the-Top Digital TV Service Set to Flourish Over 5 Years" according to Zacks Equity Research in an article on NASDAQ.com. "According to a latest report by consultancy Juniper, the market size of digital TV and video services will reach $119.2 billion in 2022 from $64 billion in 2017. The Americas will take 33.5% of revenues, with Europe taking 31.7%. Advertising spend against online video is set to grow 130% to $37 billion in 2022, increasing from $16 billion in 2017."

How much are you will to spend on streaming services? According to MarketWatch, most people aren't willing to spend more than $20 on streaming services. "According to a new report on the future of the streaming wars, 42% of Americans would be willing to spend anywhere from $1 to $20 max, per month, on subscriptions to streaming services. The report, from live-streaming startup Phenix and conducted by YouGov, also found that 32% of Americans aren't willing to spend any money on streaming, while just 26% would spend more than $20 on streaming services."

Dish Network lays off 90 in El Paso refurbishing plant, according to FierceCable. "The move comes as Dish is seeing the rapid migration of its customer base to its Sling TV virtual MVPD service. "

Cord cutters appear to be signing up for OTT streaming services for special events, as TechCrunch reports that the Grammys gave CBS All Access its second-biggest day for signups yet. "According to the network, its subscription video on demand and live streaming service hit new records in terms of subscriber sign-ups and unique viewers for the awards show specifically, and was the second biggest day for subscriber sign-ups ever." The biggest day ever? "The premiere date for CBS' anticipated, streaming-only series 'Star Trek: Discovery'."

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu will triple original content budgets, according to TDG Research and reported by StreamingMedia.com. "The three leading subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services... will spend a combined $10 billion annually on originals by 2022, tripling their current spend... As studios such as Disney pull their licensed content off subscription services, look for originals to become even more important."

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