March 27, 2014

Bloomberg Reports (Very) Early Talks of DirectTV-Dish Network Merger

According to Bloomberg, Dish Network's Chairman, Charlie Ergen, recently contacted DirectTV CEO Mike White to discuss a merger of the two biggest satellite television operators in the country. A previous merger was blocked by regulators in 2002, but that hasn't stopped shares for both companies from soaring based on Bloomberg's report. At this stage it's nothing more than a report, but industry insiders will be keeping very close tabs on any developments.  Read the entire Bloomberg story here.

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March 26, 2014

Millenials Watch More TV On Small Screens Than Big Ones

A new study from Deloitte found that teens and millenials in their early 20s watch more TV shows on their smartphones, tablets, and computers than they do on a TV screen. The big screen is still king of the market, with essentially everyone but millenials preferring to watch their favorite shows or channels on a TV set. But this marks the first time any demographic actually watches more television programming on devices other than a TV. Clearly it's a sign of the times, but second-screen apps still have yet to truly take off.  The cable industry will be keeping a

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March 25, 2014

Aurora Transmitter System May Help MSOs Ready for DOCSIS 3.1

Aurora Networks says a new high-density transmitter system of theirs may help multi-system operators (MSOs) get ready for DOCSIS 3.1, the CableLabs spec which sets the stage for the next generation of cable services. The system includes 1.2 GHz transmitters, which can support the higher end of the spectrum range in DOCSIS 3.1. You can read more about Aurora Network's transmitter system from Jeff Baumgartner at Multichannel News.

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March 25, 2014

SCTE Announces New Board Appointment

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) is looking towards internationalization with the appointment of their latest member to the board of directors in Bill Warga. Warga, vice president, technology and a member of the chief architecture group for Liberty Global, will replace Time Warner Cable’s Mike LaJoie, whose term is set to expire this year. Warga currently oversees the research and evaluations of new technologies in both Europe and the United States for Liberty Global. Read more about Warga's appointment from CED Magazine.  

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March 24, 2014

CableLabs Brings Perspective to Health Data Interoperability

When we think of interoperability, we think about modems working with routers, Blu-ray players working with TVs, smartphones working with Bluetooth headsets, etc. But what about in the world of healthcare? Turns out, there is a glaring need for more interoperability when it comes to health data. In some cases, interoperability could save lives. In a recent conference focused on this issue, the West Health Institute invited leaders from other industries that have seen success in creating interoperability standards. William Check, Senior Vice President, Science and Technology Chief, National Cable and Telecommunications Association (CableLabs), was on hand to speak about

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March 24, 2014

March Madness: Best Ratings in 23 Years

The upset-riddled 2014 NCAA men's basketball tournament has proven a boon for CBS and Turner, as Thursday and Friday's games drew an estimated 8.5 million total viewers, up 5% over last year's 8.1 million total viewers for the same timespan. Viewers were likely drawn in by big upsets such as No. 14 seeded Mercer toppling No. 3 Duke, and little-known North Dakota State upending the Big 12's Oklahoma. Sports pundits have noted for years that the so called mid-major basketball conferences have been catching up with power conferences – if so, CBS and Turner could be the beneficiaries as these

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March 21, 2014

DSA Asks FCC To Move Quickly on Wireless Spectrum

According to CED Magazine, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) is urging the FCC to move quickly on opening up more unlicensed spectrum for wireless use. The DSA's members include tech giants like Facebook and Google, which presumably carry some weight. One argument is to open up the so-called "white-space spectrum," the unused frequencies that have been licensed mostly to TV broadcasters but left unused to avoid interference. To find out more about the DSA's filings with the FCC and the possible solutions for opening up more unlicensed wireless spectrum, check out Brian Santo's story.

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March 20, 2014

DLNA CVP-2 Guidelines Enable Multi-screen Delivery Through Set-tops

MSOs will soon be able to deliver multi-screen content through customers' home set-top boxes, thanks to the new DLNA CVP-2 guidelines published this week. "DLNA’s new CVP-2 guidelines provide the industry with a foundation to significantly enhance consumer enjoyment of premium content offerings from their service provider," says Tom Lookabaugh, Chief R&D Officer at CableLabs. CableLabs contributed to the technology as a member of the DLNA group. Read more about the exciting new guidelines at CED Magazine.

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March 19, 2014

Startup Boxfish Raises $7M; Offers Video Discovery Tools for Cable Providers

Video discovery apps are nothing new and have risen and fallen seemingly as often as the ocean tides. But Boxfish, a video discovery startup that utilizes information provided in captions from TV broadcasts, has created technology that at the very least is drawing investments. They recently announced an additional $7 million in funding, according to TechCrunch. According to TC, a number of big cable companies are already incorporating Boxfish's API and licensing data into their own video discovery tools. More details from Ryan Lawler at TechCrunch here.

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