So many things struck me as wrong about the latest Netflix communication in which CEO Reed Hastings apologized and then announced the DVD business will be spun off into a separate brand, Qwickster.com Qwikster. Creating a new brand: Brands are powerful. They mean something. They are difficult and expensive to build. Netflix has a great [...]
I stumbled upon an interesting iPad application last week, the CBS Fall Preview app. I say “stumbled” because I have not seen any promotion for it, but happened across it while searching for a “Survivor” show app — something apparently only available on Sprint for the HTC Evo phone. It was also mentioned on ITVT. [...]
Dear Netflix, I thought we would be together forever, but things have changed. You know it, I know it, and I don’t think this letter will be a big surprise. We’ve had great times. You brought me a world of streaming video to multiple screens – even the big one. We rated thousands of movies [...]
Interactive TV and mobile apps have to make do with limited screen space. One workaround is to just automatically truncate headlines until they’re short enough. If the headline is 50 characters and you only have room for 30, just let the computer cut it off at 30. What could go wrong? I would encourage product [...]
The HBO GO service is a game changer. HBO has made a significant investment in steering customers to its new streaming video service with the idea that HBO is available almost anywhere. Yes, this means you can watch “Game of Thrones” while sitting on your own throne. Or “Taxicab Confessions” while riding in a taxi. [...]
The Masters Tournament offered two versions of video-rich apps to go with this year’s golf tournament. Which scored the best value for users? Read on. The Masters Tournament app was available as a free version for the iPhone/iPod Touch and a $1.99 version for the iPad. The user expectations go up dramatically in my book [...]
The Weather Channel was the latest network to try the Nielsen Media-Sync platform for iPad with last week’s premiere of From the Edge with Peter Lik. After spending a few weeks trying ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy app from Media-Sync (see reviews of the first, second and third enabled episodes), it was interesting to see another network’s [...]
Nickelodeon rolled out the orange carpet for connected kids with an updated Kids’ Choice Awards co-viewing app. My tryout during Saturday’s show was limited to a few minutes because: 1) I was camping and used a wi-fi connection at the Fall Creek Falls State Park lodge during a dinner stop, and 2) The pre-teens in [...]
TiVo and several other companies had a busy weekend after a large third-party e-mail vendor announced customer data had been exposed. Unfortunately, Epsilon’s April 1 press release was no joke. The data included “email addresses and/or customer names only.” The release does not provide any detail about why they’re saying “and/or.” Epsilon blames “unauthorized entry” [...]
IntoNow has fixed a flaw that revealed user e-mail addresses in data sent between their servers and iPhone app. The IntoNow app is like Shazam meets TV meets Foursquare. Launched two months ago to much press coverage, the app identifies audio of TV programs you watch to check-in or “tag” a show. This tells other [...]
