BERLIN — A court in Hamburg has granted Universal and Warner Bros. a preliminary injunction against Swiss streaming video portal Zattoo for running commercial spots with their films.
Zattoo bundles Germany's free TV channels on its Internet site as free web streams but adds online advertising to the content as part of its business model.
Warner and Universal are suing the IPTV provider, saying its agreement with German channels does not allow it to insert commercials into its films.
The majors are seeking additional license fees from Zattoo, which has been blocked from streaming Warner and Universal films until a settlement is reached.
Launched in 2005, Zattoo boasts more than 4.2 million registered users, 40% of which stem from Germany. The service is also available in Denmark, France, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K
Sunday, May 24, 2009
YouTube prepping UK TV show streaming
YouTube is in talks to bring full length TV show streaming to the UK, and the negotiations are going down right now!
YouTube has been tinkering with full length video streaming in the US recently, but the video sharing site is planning to rollout a similar set up here in the UK.
A senior source at Sony Pictures told New Media Age that a deal was being carved out right now: “YouTube’s aim is to do something with long-form. We are in discussions with it about that.” Those in the know at both ITV and Channel 4 meanwhile have said that YouTube is at the table with broadcasters too.
Hulu Streaming to U.K. in September? Not Until ITV and Channel 4 Are Satisfied
American TV aficionados living in the U.K. will get a fabulous gift in September, when web-TV streaming company Hulu opens its service there, according to new rumors. But as well as endless Stargate and Family Guy, they'll also get their own ITV and Channel 4.
The rumors come from U.K. broadsheet newspaper The Telegraph, which has heard from the usual "sources," who are apparently close to the negotiations, that Hulu's in deep discussions with management from ITV and Channel 4: That's Britain's premier ad-supported channel, and the country's alternative-programming fourth terrestrial channel. More than 3,000 hours of American TV content is also on the table.
There's also word that some content from the BBC may be available too. If true, that represents a new step for the national broadcaster, since it currently distributes episodes online only via its extremely popular catch-up BBC iPlayer service. Apparently Hulu's negotiations are hung up on the issue of advertising--Hulu's trying to push a model that's worked in the U.S. but both Channel 4 and ITV, which currently manage their own advertising content, want to retain control.
This is a big move for Hulu, since it would give the company access to the highly web-connected Britons, who are about as fond of their TV as their U.S. cousins. And that sounds like an excellent way to expand the business, when the latest Nielsen poll shows that though internet streaming TV consumption is on the rise, 99% of all U.S. TV is still watched the traditional way: on the telly.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Watch TV Online Through Streaming Video
The available means for enjoying television shows has changed dramatically in recent years.
Yet most people seem to be intimidated by the notion of setting themselves up to watch television. I suspect they simply think there is more effort than is really required to start watching their favorite TV shows.
While discussing this matter with various people, I've discovered many people still think the art of watching TV online is some kind of sophisticated process with a steep learning curve. Or they think it must involve unethical activity of some sort. It doesn't!
Neither of these perceptions are accurate anymore. Watching your favorite television show is now a days usually as easy as loading your favorite website. And the big studios and television stations have found recently moved to proving more and more (almost all, really) of their shows online through streaming video.
Keep reading to the end of this article to learn where you can find all your favorite shows for free in an entirely legal fashion.
So let's start from the beginning. What exactly is streaming video? The difference between streaming video and downloaded video is that with streaming video you watch the video in real time as it downloads to your computer.
The video is kept in memory for a video player in your browser to process. So unlike downloaded video, you don't have to wait to watch the video. In most cases, you can literally just click and play within your web browser.
A frequent misconception is that Internet video means low-fi video. This may have been the case a few years ago, but these days, between improved broadband access and improved video compression technology, you can watch lots of high quality video for free. You can even watch high definition video more cheaply than you would through cable or digital satellite.
Online video no longer only means distorted, heavily compressed videos of pets doing funny things. You can now easily find entire films as well as entire collections of specific shows all viewable in high definition for free.
These days you will find entire films and entire seasons of TV shows provided through great video services like the free Hulu streaming video site.
There are many benefits to watching video online instead of watching standard television. First of all, the price. Once you learn how to search and find different video sites, you'll understand that you have an almost limitless number of shows you can watch for free at no additional cost and at any time.
Say "so long" to those crazy over-priced digital cable companies.
So move on to taking control of your TV watching schedule instead of having it imposed on you. Care to save your favorite show until late at night when you go to bed instead of watching during prime time. Go for it. Care to enjoy your show while sipping on an espresso at your favorite coffee shop. Go for it.
With better broadband and wireless networks everywhere, there is no reason to limit your TV viewing options anymore. Anywhere you find web access, you may now savor your favorite television programs
Yet most people seem to be intimidated by the notion of setting themselves up to watch television. I suspect they simply think there is more effort than is really required to start watching their favorite TV shows.
While discussing this matter with various people, I've discovered many people still think the art of watching TV online is some kind of sophisticated process with a steep learning curve. Or they think it must involve unethical activity of some sort. It doesn't!
Neither of these perceptions are accurate anymore. Watching your favorite television show is now a days usually as easy as loading your favorite website. And the big studios and television stations have found recently moved to proving more and more (almost all, really) of their shows online through streaming video.
Keep reading to the end of this article to learn where you can find all your favorite shows for free in an entirely legal fashion.
So let's start from the beginning. What exactly is streaming video? The difference between streaming video and downloaded video is that with streaming video you watch the video in real time as it downloads to your computer.
The video is kept in memory for a video player in your browser to process. So unlike downloaded video, you don't have to wait to watch the video. In most cases, you can literally just click and play within your web browser.
A frequent misconception is that Internet video means low-fi video. This may have been the case a few years ago, but these days, between improved broadband access and improved video compression technology, you can watch lots of high quality video for free. You can even watch high definition video more cheaply than you would through cable or digital satellite.
Online video no longer only means distorted, heavily compressed videos of pets doing funny things. You can now easily find entire films as well as entire collections of specific shows all viewable in high definition for free.
These days you will find entire films and entire seasons of TV shows provided through great video services like the free Hulu streaming video site.
There are many benefits to watching video online instead of watching standard television. First of all, the price. Once you learn how to search and find different video sites, you'll understand that you have an almost limitless number of shows you can watch for free at no additional cost and at any time.
Say "so long" to those crazy over-priced digital cable companies.
So move on to taking control of your TV watching schedule instead of having it imposed on you. Care to save your favorite show until late at night when you go to bed instead of watching during prime time. Go for it. Care to enjoy your show while sipping on an espresso at your favorite coffee shop. Go for it.
With better broadband and wireless networks everywhere, there is no reason to limit your TV viewing options anymore. Anywhere you find web access, you may now savor your favorite television programs
Monday, May 4, 2009
No More Online Video for You, Unless You’re a Cable Subscriber…
We knew it was always come down to the question of what to do about online video. Although the overwhelming majority of broadband customers still take some sort of video package (or simply don’t care enough about television to get one in the first place), there is a small, but growing number of people who are dispensing with video packages from cable and relying entirely on broadband video services to watch network and cable programming.
Hulu and Joost, along with limited fare from the major American networks, as well as video offerings from the CBC and BBC exclusive to residents of those countries, create the potential for a major problem for cable operators — what happens if people stop buying video packages.
Comedy Central's Video Streaming - Will it be available to non-cable subscribers for long?
Comcast and Time Warner, the nation’s largest cable operators, have plans to put a stop to the erosion in video subscribers before it gets serious — by seeing to it that they don’t get to watch free online video any longer.
Comcast’s On Demand Online and Time Warner’s TV Everywhere services are either in operation or will begin trials later this year. Both seek arrangements with cable programmers (coincidentally many of which they also have an ownership interest in) to create a new authentication system to block non-video subscribers from accessing video content aired on those channels. Cable subscribers who do take a video package will get in for free.
The video programming would still exist on various cable network websites. Comedy Central would still have clips on comedycentral.com and CNN would still have their news clips at cnn.com. But under the cable operators’ proposals, those clips would no longer be available to individuals who cannot prove they have a video subscription.
Currently, some 90% of Time Warner’s broadband customers also take a video package, and Time Warner can easily authenticate those subscribers with a type of “authorization key” which an online video player would seek for permission to play the programming. Time Warner is also contemplating whether live streams of cable channels would also be a good idea. Currently, cable operators routinely insist on prohibiting live streaming of the cable networks they carry.
Of course, the problem will come down to those who subscribe via satellite dish services or a smaller cable operator or telephone company video package. Does this enforcement only occur on Time Warner and Comcast’s own broadband networks, or would it be widespread?
Multichannel News covered the Time Warner TV Everywhere trial:
Time Warner Cable is working with two major programming partners on its “TV Everywhere” initiative to make sure the Internet-video service is easy to use and scalable, said Peter Stern, the operator’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer.
Stern, speaking on a panel here at the Cable Show ‘09, said the MSO is already working closely with two programmers — Turner Broadcasting System and another he did not identify — that will involve authenticating consumers “in a very straightforward way so they can get access to content.”
“To be honest, we’re still working it out in terms of the user experience,” Stern said.
The concept, which is being Comcast and Cox Communications, is to reinforce the cable TV subscription model, by providing that programming to paying customers over their Internet devices.
Stern pointed out that 90% of Time Warner Cable’s broadband customers are already paying for multichannel video.
“Those people are already entitled to watch this programming,” he said. “The big risk we have is, if we don’t offer this programming to them the way they want it, they’ll turn to piracy.”
Alternatively, if that programming is provided to them for free over the Internet, the risk is they’ll cancel their subscription service - with such “cord cutters” obtaining their media online.
Some basic principles Time Warner Cable is following in developing TV Everywhere are that consumers should “have choice in terms of the sites they can have access on,” he said. “That will be dictated by programmers, not the cable operators.”
Stern continued, “Not to say we’ll not have content on the [Time Warner Cable] RoadRunner site, but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought we were the only site consumers should be able to access.”
Cable operators have always been concerned about “leakage” of valued cable programming to online streaming or piracy. Cable programming currently charge subscription fees to cable operators for carriage on those systems. Some, like C-SPAN or Current, amount to pennies per month per subscriber. But others, particularly for sports programming, Fox News, basic movie channels, and other high-rated channels command enormous fees amounting to several dollars a subscriber per month each, whether the subscriber wants to watch the programming or not. These costs are continually increasing. Fox News, for example, leveraged very strong price increases for its news channel, as well as forcing a number of cable systems to pick up the low rated Fox Business Channel to receive discounts. Viacom also routinely demands cable operators take additional networks they may not want to carry in return for discounts on the networks those operators do want.
It all gets passed on to cable subscribers in the form of rate increases every year. With the increasing number of channels on a cable lineup, when a bunch demand rate increases, rates can spike significantly from year to year. Nearly all have carriage contracts that forbid the cable operator from selling their network(s) on an a-la-carte basis.
With cable video pricing increasing, many subscribers downgrade their subscriptions to save money. If a cable programming is giving away their content online, that creates a greater incentive for viewers to stop paying for video packages, and rely on their Internet connections instead.
Earlier this week, Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt reiterated that although the erosion of video subscribers isn’t a problem today, it could easily become one tomorrow. He cautioned programmers who give their shows away for free online that a day of reckoning may be coming, when a cable operator is no longer willing to pay for networks that give everything away online.
Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, which owns Fox News, supports the concept, according to Multichannel News:
News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said that cable networks have to find a way to monetize the Web, before consumers begin to expect to get their content for free.
“The fact is with free content, people are used to it being free on the Internet,” Murdoch said. “Nobody is making any real money from the Web except search. We have to monetize it.”
The other controversy involves cable operators trying to limit video viewing by imposing usage caps or tiered pricing on consumers, limiting the amount of video they can consume online. At the lower end of the caps proposed by Time Warner, viewing Hulu or Joost programming would be akin to “pay per view,” with fees of 50 cents or more per show in broadband costs, once one’s usage allowance expires.
Hulu and Joost, along with limited fare from the major American networks, as well as video offerings from the CBC and BBC exclusive to residents of those countries, create the potential for a major problem for cable operators — what happens if people stop buying video packages.
Comedy Central's Video Streaming - Will it be available to non-cable subscribers for long?
Comcast and Time Warner, the nation’s largest cable operators, have plans to put a stop to the erosion in video subscribers before it gets serious — by seeing to it that they don’t get to watch free online video any longer.
Comcast’s On Demand Online and Time Warner’s TV Everywhere services are either in operation or will begin trials later this year. Both seek arrangements with cable programmers (coincidentally many of which they also have an ownership interest in) to create a new authentication system to block non-video subscribers from accessing video content aired on those channels. Cable subscribers who do take a video package will get in for free.
The video programming would still exist on various cable network websites. Comedy Central would still have clips on comedycentral.com and CNN would still have their news clips at cnn.com. But under the cable operators’ proposals, those clips would no longer be available to individuals who cannot prove they have a video subscription.
Currently, some 90% of Time Warner’s broadband customers also take a video package, and Time Warner can easily authenticate those subscribers with a type of “authorization key” which an online video player would seek for permission to play the programming. Time Warner is also contemplating whether live streams of cable channels would also be a good idea. Currently, cable operators routinely insist on prohibiting live streaming of the cable networks they carry.
Of course, the problem will come down to those who subscribe via satellite dish services or a smaller cable operator or telephone company video package. Does this enforcement only occur on Time Warner and Comcast’s own broadband networks, or would it be widespread?
Multichannel News covered the Time Warner TV Everywhere trial:
Time Warner Cable is working with two major programming partners on its “TV Everywhere” initiative to make sure the Internet-video service is easy to use and scalable, said Peter Stern, the operator’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer.
Stern, speaking on a panel here at the Cable Show ‘09, said the MSO is already working closely with two programmers — Turner Broadcasting System and another he did not identify — that will involve authenticating consumers “in a very straightforward way so they can get access to content.”
“To be honest, we’re still working it out in terms of the user experience,” Stern said.
The concept, which is being Comcast and Cox Communications, is to reinforce the cable TV subscription model, by providing that programming to paying customers over their Internet devices.
Stern pointed out that 90% of Time Warner Cable’s broadband customers are already paying for multichannel video.
“Those people are already entitled to watch this programming,” he said. “The big risk we have is, if we don’t offer this programming to them the way they want it, they’ll turn to piracy.”
Alternatively, if that programming is provided to them for free over the Internet, the risk is they’ll cancel their subscription service - with such “cord cutters” obtaining their media online.
Some basic principles Time Warner Cable is following in developing TV Everywhere are that consumers should “have choice in terms of the sites they can have access on,” he said. “That will be dictated by programmers, not the cable operators.”
Stern continued, “Not to say we’ll not have content on the [Time Warner Cable] RoadRunner site, but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought we were the only site consumers should be able to access.”
Cable operators have always been concerned about “leakage” of valued cable programming to online streaming or piracy. Cable programming currently charge subscription fees to cable operators for carriage on those systems. Some, like C-SPAN or Current, amount to pennies per month per subscriber. But others, particularly for sports programming, Fox News, basic movie channels, and other high-rated channels command enormous fees amounting to several dollars a subscriber per month each, whether the subscriber wants to watch the programming or not. These costs are continually increasing. Fox News, for example, leveraged very strong price increases for its news channel, as well as forcing a number of cable systems to pick up the low rated Fox Business Channel to receive discounts. Viacom also routinely demands cable operators take additional networks they may not want to carry in return for discounts on the networks those operators do want.
It all gets passed on to cable subscribers in the form of rate increases every year. With the increasing number of channels on a cable lineup, when a bunch demand rate increases, rates can spike significantly from year to year. Nearly all have carriage contracts that forbid the cable operator from selling their network(s) on an a-la-carte basis.
With cable video pricing increasing, many subscribers downgrade their subscriptions to save money. If a cable programming is giving away their content online, that creates a greater incentive for viewers to stop paying for video packages, and rely on their Internet connections instead.
Earlier this week, Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt reiterated that although the erosion of video subscribers isn’t a problem today, it could easily become one tomorrow. He cautioned programmers who give their shows away for free online that a day of reckoning may be coming, when a cable operator is no longer willing to pay for networks that give everything away online.
Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, which owns Fox News, supports the concept, according to Multichannel News:
News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said that cable networks have to find a way to monetize the Web, before consumers begin to expect to get their content for free.
“The fact is with free content, people are used to it being free on the Internet,” Murdoch said. “Nobody is making any real money from the Web except search. We have to monetize it.”
The other controversy involves cable operators trying to limit video viewing by imposing usage caps or tiered pricing on consumers, limiting the amount of video they can consume online. At the lower end of the caps proposed by Time Warner, viewing Hulu or Joost programming would be akin to “pay per view,” with fees of 50 cents or more per show in broadband costs, once one’s usage allowance expires.
Cutting the Cable: Can Internet Replace Your TV?
More and more people are ditching cable and broadcast television in favor of watching their favorite shows via over-the-top video sites. Here are two online-only TV watchers' perspectives.
With more premium streaming video available than ever before, we had to wonder what it would be like to like to ditch the cable and satellite companies and rely only on the internet for TV shows. Once we started asking around, however, we found that many people had already done so.
For this story, we interviewed two people who've said "no" to traditional TV: Kimberly Maxwell, a 22-year-old medical student in Philadelphia, and Luis Villegas, a 39-year-old musician and guitar teacher living in Los Angeles. While their reasons, home environments, and even streaming methods couldn't be more different, they're both thrilled with their decision.
Kimberly
When she attended West Point, frequent TV-watching wasn't an option, so Kimberly Maxwell never became television-obsessed. While she could have easily gotten her own set now that she's a first-year med student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, she chose not to.
"When I moved to Philadelphia I didn't have a TV already, and the first couple months I was here I found I was just really never home to watch it so I didn't get one. When school started, I really didn't have time for it."
Instead, Kimberly watches the few programs she enjoys on her 14.1-inch laptop screen, which suits her fine for solo viewing. She admits that it doesn't work well when company is over.
"The only weird thing about not having a television is entertaining people. You come over to someone's apartment and it's kind of a failsafe to just turn on the TV and they can watch TV and you can go about whatever you need to do. But I don't really have that option so there's a lot more going out, a lot less sitting around."
Hulu is Kimberly's site of choice, and she rarely strays from it when choosing shows. Her favorites include The Office and Life. Hulu is especially popular with soldiers on deployment, she says.
While she can't catch every popular show—she has a friend who often talks about ridiculous reality shows that Kimberly can't find online—that doesn't bother her. "I don't really feel like I'm missing out on much," she says with a laugh. She stresses that anyone relying on internet video needs to be flexible: there are many shows you just won't find.
Economics were a factor, but only a slight one, in her decision to go with streaming video. She doubts she would watch enough to justify the cost of cable. Mostly, however, she simply finds that online TV fits her life better. She can see the few programs she enjoys whenever she wants. While she's considered getting a Netflix account, enough of her friends have one that it satisfies her need for occasional movies. Several of her friends have also made the switch to solely streaming video, and she thinks that young people are more willing to give up regular TV.
"I've never lived in a city like this. There's so much culture and art here, why watch it on a screen when you can go out and see some pretty amazing things in person?"
Luis
As a husband and father of two, Luis had a tougher road in giving up traditional TV: He had to sell his family on the idea. His wife was easy to convince, since she was never an avid viewer, but the kids needed reassurance.
"If it was just me, I would have done it in a heartbeat, but it took me a little while to convince my kids," he says. "I had to convince them that we'd have to do it a different way, but that they could still watch most of the shows that they liked. They're seven- and nine-years-old, so they're young but old enough to grasp the concept that okay, this isn't cable anymore, this is the computer."
Economics played more of a role in Luis's decision. He's a professional musician, and when bookings slowed down during the current recession, he and his wife looked for expenses they could cut. The $60/month TV bill seemed a good place to start.
"In times like these, people are having fewer parties, so my workload isn't as heavy as normal. We're dependent on people wanting to hear live music," he says.
They had to move from DSL to broadband to have a connection fast enough for streaming, but they're still saving $35 per month overall. Plus, the faster connection makes it easier to do other things online.
With a Macintosh computer already connected to his living room's 50-inch HD plasma flat screen, Luis was a natural for Boxee. He's been using it since February and loves the selection and convenience.
"Somebody turned me on to Hulu and I thought, wow, this has almost everything I watch on regular television. Then somebody turned me on to Boxee, which aggregates content from different networks like CBS and CNN." He's also tried Plex, which is available for Macs.
While Luis is flexible, some shows, including 24, House, and Survivor, had to be online for him to make the switch, since he and his wife watch them together. The one thing he misses is full CNN shows.
"On Boxee, they do have a CNN channel which is more excerpts, I think—a little bit of this, a little bit of that," he says. "There are no full programs on there. That was one that we miss the most: we'd watch AC360 and The Larry King Show, mostly. I haven't watched those since we moved over to online."
While most of his family's shows come from Boxee, his kids stream their favorites from Cartoon Network's site. The added effort to watch streamed programs seem to keeps them from watching too much, he says. One of the side perks of the switch has been that his kids now watch less television and spend more time playing.
"They either will play with their toys at home or listen to music, so it kind of helped out," he says.
His family also enjoys a Netflix account with unlimited streaming, and since that works with Boxee they can easily download movies whenever they like. The Netflix interface is a winner, he says, as even his less tech-savvy wife can select a movie with ease.
The move to online programming has worked out so well for Luis, that he doesn't see himself returning to cable when his business improves.
"I don't really plan on going back. If we did, it wouldn't be for me; it would probably come from either my kids or my wife, but they seem fine, too. This might be detrimental to the cable companies."
As online options grow, we expect a lot more people to follow the path set by Kimberly and Luis, ditching regular TV and embracing online video.
With more premium streaming video available than ever before, we had to wonder what it would be like to like to ditch the cable and satellite companies and rely only on the internet for TV shows. Once we started asking around, however, we found that many people had already done so.
For this story, we interviewed two people who've said "no" to traditional TV: Kimberly Maxwell, a 22-year-old medical student in Philadelphia, and Luis Villegas, a 39-year-old musician and guitar teacher living in Los Angeles. While their reasons, home environments, and even streaming methods couldn't be more different, they're both thrilled with their decision.
Kimberly
When she attended West Point, frequent TV-watching wasn't an option, so Kimberly Maxwell never became television-obsessed. While she could have easily gotten her own set now that she's a first-year med student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, she chose not to.
"When I moved to Philadelphia I didn't have a TV already, and the first couple months I was here I found I was just really never home to watch it so I didn't get one. When school started, I really didn't have time for it."
Instead, Kimberly watches the few programs she enjoys on her 14.1-inch laptop screen, which suits her fine for solo viewing. She admits that it doesn't work well when company is over.
"The only weird thing about not having a television is entertaining people. You come over to someone's apartment and it's kind of a failsafe to just turn on the TV and they can watch TV and you can go about whatever you need to do. But I don't really have that option so there's a lot more going out, a lot less sitting around."
Hulu is Kimberly's site of choice, and she rarely strays from it when choosing shows. Her favorites include The Office and Life. Hulu is especially popular with soldiers on deployment, she says.
While she can't catch every popular show—she has a friend who often talks about ridiculous reality shows that Kimberly can't find online—that doesn't bother her. "I don't really feel like I'm missing out on much," she says with a laugh. She stresses that anyone relying on internet video needs to be flexible: there are many shows you just won't find.
Economics were a factor, but only a slight one, in her decision to go with streaming video. She doubts she would watch enough to justify the cost of cable. Mostly, however, she simply finds that online TV fits her life better. She can see the few programs she enjoys whenever she wants. While she's considered getting a Netflix account, enough of her friends have one that it satisfies her need for occasional movies. Several of her friends have also made the switch to solely streaming video, and she thinks that young people are more willing to give up regular TV.
"I've never lived in a city like this. There's so much culture and art here, why watch it on a screen when you can go out and see some pretty amazing things in person?"
Luis
As a husband and father of two, Luis had a tougher road in giving up traditional TV: He had to sell his family on the idea. His wife was easy to convince, since she was never an avid viewer, but the kids needed reassurance.
"If it was just me, I would have done it in a heartbeat, but it took me a little while to convince my kids," he says. "I had to convince them that we'd have to do it a different way, but that they could still watch most of the shows that they liked. They're seven- and nine-years-old, so they're young but old enough to grasp the concept that okay, this isn't cable anymore, this is the computer."
Economics played more of a role in Luis's decision. He's a professional musician, and when bookings slowed down during the current recession, he and his wife looked for expenses they could cut. The $60/month TV bill seemed a good place to start.
"In times like these, people are having fewer parties, so my workload isn't as heavy as normal. We're dependent on people wanting to hear live music," he says.
They had to move from DSL to broadband to have a connection fast enough for streaming, but they're still saving $35 per month overall. Plus, the faster connection makes it easier to do other things online.
With a Macintosh computer already connected to his living room's 50-inch HD plasma flat screen, Luis was a natural for Boxee. He's been using it since February and loves the selection and convenience.
"Somebody turned me on to Hulu and I thought, wow, this has almost everything I watch on regular television. Then somebody turned me on to Boxee, which aggregates content from different networks like CBS and CNN." He's also tried Plex, which is available for Macs.
While Luis is flexible, some shows, including 24, House, and Survivor, had to be online for him to make the switch, since he and his wife watch them together. The one thing he misses is full CNN shows.
"On Boxee, they do have a CNN channel which is more excerpts, I think—a little bit of this, a little bit of that," he says. "There are no full programs on there. That was one that we miss the most: we'd watch AC360 and The Larry King Show, mostly. I haven't watched those since we moved over to online."
While most of his family's shows come from Boxee, his kids stream their favorites from Cartoon Network's site. The added effort to watch streamed programs seem to keeps them from watching too much, he says. One of the side perks of the switch has been that his kids now watch less television and spend more time playing.
"They either will play with their toys at home or listen to music, so it kind of helped out," he says.
His family also enjoys a Netflix account with unlimited streaming, and since that works with Boxee they can easily download movies whenever they like. The Netflix interface is a winner, he says, as even his less tech-savvy wife can select a movie with ease.
The move to online programming has worked out so well for Luis, that he doesn't see himself returning to cable when his business improves.
"I don't really plan on going back. If we did, it wouldn't be for me; it would probably come from either my kids or my wife, but they seem fine, too. This might be detrimental to the cable companies."
As online options grow, we expect a lot more people to follow the path set by Kimberly and Luis, ditching regular TV and embracing online video.
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