In this week's rundown of recent news items for cord-cutters: Why streaming needs subscription bundles, a service to find movies and TV shows across services, how to binge-watch responsibly, Pluto TV adds over 2,000 on-demand movie titles, and more.
Cord-cutting promised to free us from overpriced bundles full of channels that we didn't want. But with many content owners launching their own fee-based services and pulling their videos from other streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, freelance writer Noel Murray argues in The Week that streaming needs subscription bundles: "The options for home entertainment are getting increasingly stark: Either shell out a lot of money for cable, or pay almost exactly as much to a dozen or so standalone streamers."
Plex DVR is out of beta and now supports live TV and more tuners. Live TV is currently supported only on iPhones, iPads, and Android TV devices, but Plex promises to add more device support in the future.
Trying to find a specific movie or TV show to stream? JustWatch will show you where to find a specific title across linear TV and streaming TV services. Say, for example, you want to watch The Big Bang Theory. JustWatch will tell you that you can stream one season on CBS All Access, or buy 10 seasons on several different services including Amazon, Google Play, VUDU, and Fandango NOW. If you're just browsing for suggestions, this web-based service also features a host of filters that will help narrow your interests.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is urging us to binge-watch responsibly. In response to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stating the company’s No. 1 competitor was sleep, the AASM provided tips for safe-binge-watching, which include setting an episode limit each night, taking a break between each episode, avoiding use of mobile devices in bed, and turning off all screens at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
The CEO of Discovery Communications said that pay-TV operators need to offer an $8 skinny bundle that's priced competitively with Netflix. FierceCable reports that David Zaslav said "the bundle will have no sports, a few networks, and will cost $8 to $10."
It's common knowledge that pay TV is suffering from subscriber loss, but MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett says that losses are even worse than reported. Most statistics only show the number of subscribers who cancel their accounts, but "if you include the people who should have signed up for pay TV when they moved into new homes, 'nearly a million homes either cut the cord or chose not to take one in the first place in Q1.'"
We noted last week that Pluto TV is making thousands of movies and TV shows available on-demand. This week, a Variety exclusive report says that Pluto TV "has secured a deal with Gravitas Ventures for access to the indie film distributor's entire catalog of more than 2,000 titles." A dedicated Gravitas Movies channel will include "documentaries and feature films such as comedies, dramas, and horror films."
Meanwhile, Sling TV is adding a Tribeca Shortlist library with "hundreds of high-quality, on-demand films personally recommended by celebrities." On-demand films from Tribeca Shortlist expand Sling TV’s video-on-demand (VOD) catalog by more than 200 hours; collection refreshed monthly
YouTube wants content creates to keep their videos advertiser-friendly and has updated their guidelines on how to do so. YouTube started focusing on "brand safety" after a pull-out by over 250 advertisers upset that their ads were shown alongside videos from hate groups. According to StreamingMedia.com, "Creator guidelines now suggest channels steer away from hateful content, the inappropriate use of family characters, and demeaning language if they want to show ads."
