Music and movies were the central focus last month at the 2006 International CES show, as Motorola Inc. and Verizon Wireless each unleashed new music services; Verizon Communications detailed its plans to expand its FiOS services; various companies made news in the Internet-based video space; and the nation’s cablecos provided timelines to adopt a Java-based platform for interactive TV.
Motorola said its subscription music service, called iRadio, will be available at a yet-to-be-disclosed date, over mobile handsets including the recently announced ROKR E2. The service, which Motorola has not announced pricing for, will include an initial 435 commercial-free radio channels. Bluetooth wireless technology will enable a user to move their music automatically from the phone, through the car stereo or to the home stereo system or on-the-go. And if listeners want to purchase a song they hear on the service, they can press a key to purchase and download the track over-the-air.
Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless took the wraps off V CAST Music, a clone of Apple’s iTune service targeted at mobile phone users. The V CAST store is stocked with an initial half-million songs, which users can download to the PC for 99 cents or to the cell phone for $1.99.
Also last month, Verizon’s wireline business launched FiOS TV in seven more North Texas communities, doubling its presence in Dallas/Ft. Worth, where the company recently got a statewide franchise due to a new Texas law. Verizon also recently began offering FiOS TV in Herndon, Va., and surrounding parts of Fairfax County, Va., and Temple Terrace, Fla.
In the next 18 months or so, Verizon plans to add a variety of new capabilities to its FiOS TV services, the company revealed at CES. That will include the ability to store and view digital photos on the TV, interactive advertisements and a personal on-demand channel option called Studio TV that will enable people to buy their own channels on Verizon’s IPTV network and allow viewers to watch those channels on demand.
In other CES news, Akimbo has partnered with Thomson (RCA brand) to offer a co-branded retail Akimbo Player for $199 after rebate. Akimbo also is working with on-demand downloadable movie service Movielink LLC to bring that company’s Hollywood movies and other entertainment to the Akimbo TV-based Internet service. Available in national retail channels by early spring, the new Akimbo Player will offer recently released films and classic movies in addition to 8,000 titles already available on the Akimbo Service.
In a recent interview with xchange, Akimbo CEO Josh Goldman said his company also is working to expand its appeal through distribution deals with service providers in the telco, cableco and DBS arenas. Akimbo — which aggregates a wide variety of mostly specialized content — expects to announce in the first quarter of 2006 a partnership with a major U.S. telco, the company has told xchange (For more on Akimbo, see our On the Tube Q&A with Goldman in next month’s xchange).
And DAVETV, which is also a content aggregator, at CES announced that its service — which offers on-demand programming for between about $2.99 and $4.99 per selection — is available officially to PC users. A set-top box-based version of the service is in beta mode.
In addition to selling the services direct to consumers, DAVETV is pursuing distribution relationships with other service providers, including telcos and cablecos, said Joe Bednar, business development. He added hospitality applications likely will be the first opportunity in this vein.
Also on the video front, Starz Entertainment Group LLC has launched the beta rollout of Vongo — a new video download application and service for broadband that delivers movies and other video content over the Internet for playback on Windows-based PCs, laptops, select portable media devices, and on a TV.
Starz Ticket, which became available in 2004 with RealNetworks Inc., will continue as a service, but Starz will focus on Vongo, the company said. Vongo is different from Starz Ticket in that subscribers will have unlimited access to more than 1,000 movies and video selections, as well as a live, streaming Starz TV channel, for a monthly cost of $9.99. And members may download movie and video selections to three eligible devices of their choice per account.
CES was also the forum at which executives from the major U.S. cablecos voiced their commitment to a Java-based open application platform for interactive TV services, called OCAP, and announced their plans to deploy the technology in their networks starting this year. OCAP, or OpenCable Application Platform, is a set of software developed by CableLabs and its members. OCAP includes middleware, and applications and authoring tools.
Richard Green, CableLabs’ president and CEO, said the idea behind OCAP is to encourage third parties to develop two-way applications for cable TV networks. Such applications include, but are not limited to, DVR, programming interfaces, ad insertions, gaming and more.
Time Warner Cable beginning in 2006 will deploy OCAP in headends of cable systems serving five markets with a combined customer base of about 2.5 million customers. These markets are New York City, Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wis., Lincoln, Neb., and Waco, Texas.
Comcast Corp. will deploy OCAP in 2006 in Boston, Denver, Philadelphia and Union, N.J. Advance/Newhouse will enable OCAP devices in Indianapolis initially. Charter Communications Inc. will deploy OCAP in select markets beginning in 2006. Other companies making similar announcements were Cox Communications Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp.
While OCAP originally was developed for set-top boxes, it also can be embedded in TVs and other consumer electronics. In fact, Samsung at CES demoed an OCAP-enabled TV. The first OCAP TVs are expected to hit the streets in 2007. Executives from Samsung, LG Electronics and Panasonic were among the speakers at the CableLabs-hosted press event announcing the OCAP activities. Panasonic and Samsung also announced at CES their plans to supply OCAP set-top boxes to Comcast.
Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts noted that among the benefits of OCAP are automated provisioning of TV peripherals like speakers and DVDs, and the ability to use one remote control for them all.
| Links |
| Advance/Newhouse www.mybrighthouse.com Akimbo www.akimbo.com CableLabs www.cablelabs.com Cablevision Systems Corp. www.cablevision.com Charter Communications Inc. www.charter.com Cox Communications Inc. www.cox.com DAVETV www.Dave.tv LG Electronics www.lge.com Microsoft Corp. www.microsoft.com Motorola iRadio www.motorola.com/iradio Movielink LLC www.movielink.com Panasonic www.panasonic.com RealNetworks Inc. www.realnetworks.com Samsung www.samsung.com Starz Entertainment Group LLC www.starz.com Time Warner Cable www.timewarnercable.com Verizon FiOS TV www.verizon.net/fiostv Verizon Wireless www.verizonwireless.com Vongo www.vongo.com |
