If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Major US broadcasters are lining up their digital offerings for consumers, whether they like it or not.

"Television networks increasingly need to make content available to fans no matter where those fans are and what devices they are using," said Greg Ireland, IDC research manager.

Disney-owned ABC is the first major broadcaster to live-stream programming to iPhones and iPads starting this summer for residents of New York City and Philadelphia via WATCH ABC, including local news, daytime talk shows and prime-time dramas. Plans include expansion to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago and eventually, buy-in from all ABC affiliates.

"Many people are starting to wonder if cable is worth keeping, and they're thinking of cutting the cord and going online only since they can get content from Netflix, Amazon and other places,” notes NPR. “Live streaming is a way the broadcast industry is trying to cement the system they've had in place for a long time, even as more people are watching TV and video online. So, they're going where the viewers are going, but they're scared that people are going to cancel their cable subscriptions."Continue reading...

While Amazon, Hulu and grandfather HBO all crow about significant online growth, Netflix continues its lead, accounting for one third of all streaming into North American homes since 2010.

A new report from broadband tracker Sandvine finds that Netflix’s share of prime-time “downstream” traffic delivered over fixed networks is 32.3 percent, just a tad off its projected estimate of 33 percent last November. Amazon and HBO have held fairly steady, the former down from 1.75 percent to 1.31 percent, and the latter down from 0.5 percent to 0.34 percent, while Hulu actually gained, up from 1.1 percent to 2.41 percent. 

These percentages include what Sandvine calls “home roaming,” data transmitted from personal networks via WiFi to tablets and iPhones, up 9 percent from one year ago and accounts for 20 percent of 2013 traffic.

“2013 will be the year long-form video will make its move onto mobile networks,” said Dave Caputo, CEO, Sandvine. “The 'home roaming' phenomenon… combined with increased consumption of real-time entertainment on mobile networks globally, and the doubling of Netflix traffic on mobile networks in North America, suggests that users are getting comfortable with watching longer form videos on their handheld devices.”Continue reading...

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Continuing its aggressive push to convince the world that YouTube video content is better than TV, the online video giant is rumored to be launching paid subscriptions for specialist video channels as soon as this week, the Financial Times reports.

YouTube has said it was “looking into creating a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube for our users to enjoy and provide our creators with another vehicle to generate revenue from their content, beyond the rental and ad-supported models we offer.” 

The preeminent global video site has long-since evolved from its user-generated roots into a platform that every major company and marketer is looking to leverage with professional-grade content. With an audience of one billion, YouTube and its content partners are looking to create another revenue stream besides the site's burgeoning ad platform. "This is a whole new form of content, content delivery and content consumption," said DreamWorks CEO Jeffery Katzenberg in Business Insider. "It's the medium of the future and the future has already arrived. Video is becoming the global shared experience."Continue reading...

In front of a room-full of potential advertisers at the Digital NewFronts, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declared "the future is now" for YouTube, which recently passed 1 billion unique visitors monthly. While many would have expected Schmidt to purport that YouTube's content is as good as what's on TV, he made a simple and very clear statement instead: YouTube content is better than TV. 

The event, billed as a "brandcast,” featured celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Macklemore and YouTube personality Felicia Day, but the real star was the platform itself. Schmidt said YouTube is “not a replacement for something that we know," according to Business Insider. “It's a new thing that we have to think about, to program, to curate and build new platforms."

"I thought that YouTube was like TV, but it isn't. I was wrong," added Robert Kyncl, YouTube's global head of content. "TV is one-way. YouTube talks back. TV means reach. YouTube means engagement."Continue reading...

Apple sells largest corporate-bond offer in history.

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Twitter opens up self-serve ad platform to all businesses.

Chrysler Group auto sales rose 11 percent in April; Ram truck sales were up 49 percent.

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College Football Playoff unveils new (and quite boring) logo. 

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AB InBev reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its disputed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which faces inquiry over Mexico worker deaths.

GE to buy Lufkin for $3 billion in oil-and-gas-industry play.

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Adidas stops controversial sale of t-shirts around injured Louisville player Kevin Ware.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to be honored for pro-women Makers series.

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Reuters editor faces charges of helping "Anonymous" hack site when he was with Tribune.

McKee Foods picks up Drakes brand from Hostess.

Chevy chooses McCann for global advertising account.

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Center for Science in the Public Interest blasts Nickelodeon for airing junk food ads.

Coke seeks world peace via vending machines.

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