Our weekly news brief summarizes cordcutter news from around the Web. In this week's round-up: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is leaving Crackle, new Roku and TiVo units comply with FCC audible accessibility requirements, Twitter and Dick Clark Productions announce exclusive streaming deal, and more.
TiVo & Roku recently added screen readers to satisfy an FCC requirement for audible accessibility on "televisions, set-top boxes, and similar devices... that receive or play back video programming" manufactured after December 20, 2016. These requirements including making device controls, menus, and program guides audibly accessible to those who are blind or visually impaired. Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV have had similar features in place for nearly a year.
Jerry Seinfeld is leaving Crackle for Netflix. Originally produced as a web series on Crackle, Twenty-four new episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee will be available exclusively on Netflix beginning in late 2017, along with all previous episodes. In each episode of the Emmy-nominated series, Seinfeld and a friend share stories over a cup of coffee and while driving in a classic car. Past guests have included Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, Jim Carrey and David Letterman.
Twitter continues to add more live events to its streaming video offerings. Dick Clark Productions and Twitter announced that Twitter will be the exclusive streaming platform for the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2nd, red carpet pre-shows for the Billboard Music Awards on May 21st and the American Music Awards in November, and the 7th Annual Streamy Awards this Fall.
Cordcutters who want premium cable channels on an a la carte basis should pay attention to Amazon Channels, a service available to Amazon Prime members. There are more than 100 channels available, including Showtime, Starz, HBO, and Cinemax. Channels are accessible from within the Amazon Video app on Roku and other devices, even when a standalone app for a channel is not available. Techhive's Jared Newman recently interviewed Amazon's vice-president of digital video, to find out more about Amazon's future plans for Amazon Channels.
However, not everyone wants to pay for premium content, and Tubi TV has set its sights on that market. Thomas Ahn Hicks, co-founder and head of strategy for Tubi TV, recently told AdExchanger that he sees "a strong desire among viewers who want free content, whether they're viewers in search of value or subscription viewers who can't find the content they want on their SVOD [subscription video on demand] service." All of Tubi TV's content is "not actively licensed to the TV broadcasters and cable networks. We can bring video from these premium content partners in a way that's free to viewers."
The acceleration of cordcutting is often attributed to Millennials, but a report from Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar states that "those who watch the most TV, adults 50+, are now also the fastest growing demographic in terms of online video consumption." These adults make up only one-third of the population, but account for half of all TV viewing.
DirecTV Now gained more than 200,000 paying subscribers in its first month, despite its much-publicized launch problems.
