Jeremy Toeman › Comments

Virgin Media, the British cable company, announced last week that it intends to open up the company’s TiVo-branded DVR to over-the-top (OTT) video providers. That’s right: a cable operator is welcoming OTT providers such Netflix and Amazon’s LoveFilm onto a company-provided DVR. Talks are at an early stage but Virgin’s intentions are clear. In the words of CEO Neil Berkett, “We want TiVo to be completely open. We’re talking to everyone.” - Jeremy Toeman

Netflix may have lost a few customers in the wake of last year’s Qwikster debacle, but it still has very ambitious goals for subscriber growth: the video service wants to eventually be two to three times as big as HBO, which would equal between 60 million and 90 million domestic subscribers, according to a presentation published by CEO Reed Hastings this week. The slide deck, titled “Netflix Business Opportunity,” is meant to explain the company’s business to potential new hires — but it also provides interesting insights into Netflix’s goals as well as its take on competitors and the changing video marketplace. - Jeremy Toeman

In what may, in a couple years, be remembered as a telltale remark of overconfidence, Samsung’s AV product manager said today in an interview “TVs are ultimately about picture quality. Ultimately. How smart they are…great, but let’s face it that’s a secondary consideration.” Pride goeth before a fall, Samsung! - Jeremy Toeman

I have a few friends who have “cut the cord.” And no, I haven’t told them to lose my number. - Jeremy Toeman

Tim Cook is speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference today, and he was pretty candid when asked about the living room and Apple TV: he said that the Apple TV is a "hobby" because the company knows the business isn't as big as the Mac or iOS devices, but that "Apple doesn't do hobbies as a general rule." Cook followed up by saying he "can't live without" his Apple TV, and that he's "always thought there was something there, and that if we kept following our intuition and kept pulling that string, we might find something larger." - Jeremy Toeman

How big an impact are connected TV and over-the-top content having on the video ecosystem? According to a new study from French research firm Idate: They're huge, and from all indications they're getting bigger. - Jeremy Toeman

Barry Diller always enjoys riling the media industry from which he sprang. A few minutes ago at a press conference at IAC headquarters in New York City, Diller introduced a new startup IAC is backing called Aereo that is building a DVR in the cloud that broadcasts live TV to your iPad, computer, or TV.  Diller has always believed that Internet TV would be a healthy counterweight to “media concentration” as media companies increasingly want “to protect that closed system.” - Jeremy Toeman

In the case of a serious living room play, if you check out the above graphic, what stands out most about the Apple TV in its current incarnation is its lack of apps, web, and communications support. These elements are the three biggest game changers that propelled the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad beyond the impressive media foundation that marked the pre-iOS iPod. - Jeremy Toeman

Research firm Xyologic released a bunch of statistics about Google TV today.  And those statistics point squarely at the amazing lack of app installs on the platform.  Granted, these aren’t official numbers from Google or anything, but they seem quite believable (except for the whole Napster as #1 app thing, which is just bizarre, but then again, so are apps on your TV). - Jeremy Toeman

Roku is one of the cord-cutter’s favorite tools, because its devices make it easier to get video on your TV without paying for a cable subscription. But as Roku plans to more than double the current number of apps on its platform, it is putting a particular focus on cable apps — ones that will still require users to keep those cable subscriptions. - Jeremy Toeman

In the first phase of our TV Everywhere enablers mini-series, I discussed Companion TV with second screen expert,  Jeroen Elfferich , CEO & co-founder at Ex Machina and how smartphones and tablets are changing the way we create, and enjoy TV. He shared some great insight into how show formats are evolving to embrace our multi-screen lifestyle and how for the first time, the Internet is being harnessed to compliment TV, not to cannibalize it! He also admitted that he spends more time playing games on his iPad then he would have ever imagined! - Jeremy Toeman

BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen demoed his P2P live streaming protocol at the San Francisco MusicTech Summit on Monday, which he said could potentially stream live video to millions of computers with no central infrastructure. Cohen said that the protocol could potentially be used for video conferencing, live streams of video game tournaments or even live sports events. “My goal here is to kill off television,” he joked. - Jeremy Toeman

The first clue comes from Jobs’ statement that it has to be “completely easy to use.” As one who had to deal with all types of digital content and many licensing deals, Jobs clearly realized that gaining access to quality content will be key to any future Apple TV strategy. But he also knew that he would have to deal with user-generated content, video podcasts and new types of Internet TV shows as well. So I believe that his team is creating a very large database of content that includes commercial programs and all of these other Internet-accessible TV programs, and building an architecture around this content to make it elegantly organized and tied to artificial intelligence technology that makes it easy to find. - Jeremy Toeman

Adam Crozier, chief executive of Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster, raised the issue with the company when he took the job in 2010, amid expectations that Apple would follow the pattern of branding used for its iPhone and iPad when it eventually cracked television. - Jeremy Toeman

And now, I ask the question of TV viewing: are we or aren’t we cutting the cord? - Jeremy Toeman

In this three-part series, Co.Create looks at the world of social TV. In Part Two, we checked in with content creators and looked at show-specific solutions. In this third and final installment, we look at the brand perspective and the complicated job of measuring what happens on the second screen. - Jeremy Toeman

We have been following Google TV apps since August 2011. Since then 64 exclusive apps for Google TV have been added. According to our analysis, these apps have a total install base of 4,793,000. Please note that 6 of these apps – which come pre-installed at Google TVs – combine to 4,441,000 of these installs. Only 352,000 Google TV exclusive Android apps have been downloaded so far. - Jeremy Toeman

Within just over a week, Netflix and Hulu are both debuting their first stabs at original scripted programming. - Jeremy Toeman

If you thought television engagement was on the wane, think again. It turns out that viewers in the US spend more than 33 hours per week watching video across the screens, according to the latest Nielsen Cross-Platform Report. When one considers that 35 hours per week is legally considered a full-time job, it tells you something about where television falls in the priority queue for Americans. - Jeremy Toeman

The start-up that was born as a modest search engine and grew to become the Web's most powerful force has declared itself ready to begin rolling out its first metropolitan fibre network. - Jeremy Toeman

Last year, we learned that the new iPad is codenamed ‘J2′ in the iOS 5.1Beta software and last week, we learned that it will likely be announced at the beginning of next month. But we also learned of another Apple Jxx product, the next Apple TV, codenamed J33 and AppleTV 3,1 in the 5.1B software. This new Apple TV also will feature the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 technology. - Jeremy Toeman

In the next few days we’re releasing an update to your YouTube experience on Google TV making it faster and easier to find great content, adding YouTube channel pages, and giving you more control over your experience. - Jeremy Toeman

Amazon has aggressively grown its Prime Instant Videos service over the past year, more than tripling the amount of content available to subscribers since launch. And as Amazon continues to add more content to Prime Instant Video, there have been speculations that it could introduce a service not tied to its Amazon Prime offering. But that’s probably not in the cards — at least not in the near term — according to the company’s top video content acquisition exec. - Jeremy Toeman

I’m pretty sure the headline here says it all. - Jeremy Toeman

As the video viewing options trend more toward broadband support and on-demand viewing, the use of wired cable and satellite is seeing serious slumps. - Jeremy Toeman

After working and sleeping, people spend more time watching TV than any other activity (breathing is a close second). But new data from Nielsen shows that online video and the proliferation of connected screens are changing the way we watch it. Young people, specifically, are spending less time in front of the TV set and cable box. - Jeremy Toeman

Any doubts that Social TV was a real phenomenon were flattened last Sunday, when Bluefin Labs tracked 12.2 million Social Media mentions of the Super Bowl, compared to 1.8 million in last year’s game. For perspective, Nielsen said this year’s game attracted 111.3 million viewers vs. 111 million last year. That ratings jump is headline news for NBC and its advertisers, so surely the massive increase in social buzz caused a similar celebration somewhere. - Jeremy Toeman

With all the talk surrounding Apple's rumored television set, it's easy to glance over the other companies tackling the so-called "Smart TV" space. - Jeremy Toeman

National Cable & Telecommunications Association said Internet-video startup Boxee is "simply wrong" in asserting that changing FCC rules to let cable operators encrypt basic cable channels would hurt consumer choice and limit competition. - Jeremy Toeman

The Internet didn’t kill TV! It has become its best friend. Americans are watching more television than ever before, and we’re engaging online at the same time we’re tuning in. Social media has created a new and powerful “backchannel”, fueling the renaissance of live broadcasts. Mobile and tablet devices allow us to watch and experience television whenever and wherever we want. And “connected TVs” blend web and television content into a unified big screen experience bringing us back into our living rooms. Social TV examines the changing (and complex) television landscape and helps brands navigate its many emerging and exciting marketing and advertising opportunities. - Jeremy Toeman