A Report Isn’t Needed to See That Video Competition is Fierce
Yesterday, NCTA filed comments with the FCC on its annual report, the “Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming.” As anyone who is a fan of great TV programming (whether viewed from a traditional provider or the multitude of other ways to watch) knows, competition in the video marketplace is aggressive. Choices are abundant, leading to better products and easier ways to access the programs consumers love. That’s why, instead of rehashing the state of today’s competitive marketplace, we urged the FCC to take steps to eliminate rules that no longer make sense. We
Cable Recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month
Before Hispanic Heritage Month concludes this week, we wanted to highlight a few of the special programs and efforts being made throughout the internet and television community that recognize the contributions of Hispanics to American history and culture. Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15 because the 15th marks the independence days of several Latin American countries, is a time in which communities all over the U.S. celebrate the second-fastest growing ethnic group in the country. Many internet service providers and television programmers take this
Technology is Changing the Way The Weather Channel Covers Hurricanes
This past September brought with it some of the year’s biggest news stories, and most of them revolved around the major storms and hurricanes that ravaged south Florida, Houston, and Puerto Rico. Most likely, you turned to The Weather Channel to better understand how it was all unfolding and impacting the communities that were hit. Case in point, this year, the network experienced its highest ratings in its 35-year history at the height of Hurricane Irma, with 70 million viewers tuning in from one out of three TV households in America. A small but mighty company, the staff at The Weather
BBC America’s Top Executive Gives Her Take on Women in Television
In anticipation of Diversity Week, when thousands will gather in New York City next week to encourage and advance diverse initiatives across the cable industry, we spent some time getting to know our Woman of the Year honorees who will be awarded with WICT's highest honors at the annual WICT Touchstones Luncheon. This week, we spoke with Sarah Barnett, president and general manager of BBC America, to learn more about her career challenges and highlights, and where she thinks the industry stands when it comes to gender diversity. What does this honor mean to you? First, I would like to start by
MTV Shuga: Television That Changes Lives
Television serves as one of life’s biggest sources of entertainment, but sometimes we forget how much of a changemaker it can actually be. MTV has always been a staple in this kind of “edutainment” style of programming, with its array of reality shows that plunge into real-life issues that teenagers grapple with day in and day out. The force behind much of the network’s footprint in this type of behavior-changing content is the MTV Staying Alive Foundation–MTV’s international and grant-giving initiative dedicated to HIV prevention. Throughout the past nineteen years, the foundation has
Diversity Programming Stands Out at the 2017 Emmys
Last night's 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards marked another year where innovative storytelling and unique talent came out on top. But this year’s victories stood out a little more this time around. As many have noted since last night, the 2017 Emmy award winners have never been more diverse. Whether it was a lead actor or director from a minority group or a women-centric storyline that took the honors, there’s no doubt that this year’s Emmy-winning programs have made television richer and more vibrant than ever. In honor of and in anticipation of the industry’s Diversity Week next week, we’d
Premium TV is Serving Up Choice, Value, and a Side of Fries
Today, you can watch TV wherever you are and on whatever device you want. But more than just being flexible and fun, premium TV is also available in a number of different packages, from a la carte to full suite bundles, which means there’s a way to watch for every budget. The graphic below highlights the many ways to access premium TV. And while no one option is perfect for everyone, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the bundle is usually the best value. Learn more about how cable provides great TV value here.
Television’s Role in Supporting Diversity
Like most things that make American culture rich, the success of premium television rides on the diverse voices and perspectives that come together behind the scenes and on the screen. Directors, producers, showrunners and cast members are hard at work looking for the best ways to represent America's array of viewers, and most importantly, to encourage acceptance and understanding of all types of communities across the country—all through innovative storytelling. With Hispanics as the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., it's essential that networks like Univision and El Rey provide
More Viewers Try New Ways to Watch TV
As more and more Americans are taking advantage of streaming video on demand services like Hulu or TV Everywhere apps, television as we know it is being redefined. A big part of that revolution is which screens we use to access these services. While television sets aren’t going away, they’re no longer the only place to watch our favorite shows. According to new data from Leichtman Research Group, 43 percent of adults watch tv on non-tv devices like tablets, laptops and phones. That’s up from 33 percent in 2015 and 18 percent back in 2012. As our lives grow more and more connected, we fit
New Data Shows Vast Majority of Evening Internet Traffic is From Streaming Media
Sandvine, a network policy company known for their deep research and insight into internet trends, recently released the 2016 Global Internet Phenomena Report. Among the many revealing broadband stats was one number that crystalizes just how significantly streaming content has changed how we use the internet. According to Sandvine, 71 percent of all evening internet traffic in North America is streaming audio or video content. This means that from a data volume perspective, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, YouTube, and dozens of other popular streaming media sites are responsible for the vast bulk of