Presidential Primaries, TV Critics, and the Arctic Circle: The Best of Platform 2016
2016 comes to a close and it was an exciting one in the internet and television world. Live streaming broke records like never before, premium TV networks came out with award-winning programming once again, and internet speeds are faster than ever. Before we dive into 2017, we’d like to highlight a few of our favorite stories from this past year that reflect the innovative minds of our industry and the work that brought us to where we are today. Following C-SPAN on the Presidential Campaign Trail As we all know, the presidential election dominated for all of 2016. We were honored to accompany
New Data Shows that Time-Shifting is TV’s Biggest Value
Nothing has had a more profound effect over the last 10 years on TV than time shifting. The ability to watch a show at any time has not just made watching TV easier, it’s made it more fun. It’s made it possible save up shows over the course of the week and watch them all on Sunday evening. It’s made the concept of binge watching possible. And it’s made scheduling time to watch TV with family and friends easier. Time shifting TV is possible through a variety of features and technologies. Recording shows on a DVR is one of them, but not the only one. According to a recent survey NCTA
HBO, FX Delivering Top TV Shows Competing for Golden Globes
The nominees for the 74th annual Golden Globes were announced today. Among the honored were 36 nominations for premium TV programs, more than last year. HBO came out strong once again with 14 nominations, the most for any TV network. FX also received nine nominations, followed by AMC with five. HBO’s Game of Thrones is back vying for best drama series, along with the network’s new science fiction western thriller, Westworld. In the best musical or comedy series category, FX’s Atlanta and HBO’s Veepcompete for top honors. In the category for the best limited series or motion picture made for
Was Your DVR Used in a DDoS Attack?
This past September, KrebsOnSecurity, a website dedicated to news and information on internet security, was struck by a record breaking denial of service attack. A month later, a similar attack took place against Dyn, an internet infrastructure company. Soon after, NCTA produced a helpful graphic explaining how a DDoS attack like the ones that struck KrebsOnSecurity and Dyn work by taking advantage of unsecured internet-of-things devices like cameras and thermostats to overwhelm and crash servers and infrastructure. It was widely reported that part of the cacophony of devices used in these
The Numbers Show Cyber Monday is Stronger Than Ever
The turkey and stuffing might all be gone by now, but the online deals generated over the Thanksgiving holiday are still being served. The data is in, with reports announcing that more consumers took to doing their shopping online this Thanksgiving season than ever before. Cyber Monday had its strongest showing in history, with consumers spending $3.45 billion online. That’s 12 percent more than Cyber Monday turned out in 2015. And according to Adobe Digital Insights, Black Friday had a strong showing as well. It trailed behind Cyber Monday by $110 million in online sales. Over $1 billion of
Making Transgender and LGBTQ Storytelling on Television a Priority
Transgender awareness week kicked off earlier this week, with organizations and communities in the internet and television industry paying tribute to transgender people across the country. Diversity is an important component of who we are as an industry and we take pride in reflecting the diverse faces and voices in the programming that we air. This week we celebrate transgender communities, but recognizing the LGBTQ community is something our industry supports year-round. Pay TV and internet providers have taken steps in recent years to highlight the stories of transgender people and the
How On-Demand Content Has Changed the Way We Watch Television
Cable operators still dominate when it comes to video-on-demand viewing, according to a new report from the Video Advertising Bureau. In a time when more alternative viewing platforms are available to us than ever before, The State of MVPD’s Video-on-Demand 2016 Report, which uses stats reported by Nielsen, found that 54 percent of VOD viewership came from cable service providers. Online services and satellite followed with 35 and 30 percent of viewership, and “other” platforms came in at 2 percent. VOD usage actually proved to be very high across all generations of consumers who subscribe to
Live TV is Breaking Free
It will come as no surprise that technology is dramatically changing how we watch TV. We’ve written about it a few times on this blog precisely because the change is so fundamental. We’re familiar with how on-demand services have changed viewing habits, but what about live TV? Can technology transform live entertainment? There’s some new information that helps answer that question. In a survey we commissioned from Morning Consult, 44 percent of respondents say they watch live TV on a device other than a television outside their house or apartment at least once a month. That tells us that not
ESPN’s The Undefeated is Taking on Sports, Race, Culture, and Defining Modern Journalism
ESPN may be the best known brand in the world of sports. But they do more than simply report the nightly scores. Their commitment to covering sports and athletes of all types from around the world has transformed not just how athletics is covered, but how stories are told and how sports journalism is defined. So when ESPN commits itself to opening a dialogue on the issues facing African-American communities in America and how those issues intersect with sports, it’s something worth paying attention to. That’s where we get The Undefeated, ESPN’s new website dedicated to race, sports and culture
Report Reveals Programmers are Optimistic About Future Video Technology
A new report released from Akamai surveying companies that offer (or plan to offer) “direct to consumer” or over-the-top (OTT) video services reveals an optimistic and rapidly maturing marketplace. Apps like Hulu, HBO Now, and SHOWTIME are changing consumers’ relationships with streaming entertainment and while adoption is increasing, they key watchword among survey participants remains quality. According to the report, these companies are focused on how to offer scalable, interactive, live ultra-high-definition (UHD) quality experiences today while still looking towards what consumers will