ivi.TV adds L.A. broadcasters to its web-based cable offering

Oh, how Hollywood must be reeling: the Barbarians — in the form of web-based cable operator ivi.TV — are, literally at the gate. Ivi.TV, which launched its $5 a month platform that streams live broadcasts from some 40 network affiliates in Seattle and New York last October, has added broadcast channels in L.A. to its lineup. The channels, including ABC CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, PBS and others, is available anywhere in the U.S

The Real Issue In Comcast’s Dispute With Level 3 Is About Power, Not Money

Yesterday, Level 3 went public with a statement saying that Comcast was for the first time demanding, ” a recurring fee from Level

Report: DVDs, not pay-TV most likely casualty of OTT, VOD delivery

A new study says renting and buying DVDs are the most likely casualties from increased use of over-the-top and on-demand video services, and that cord-cutting as a trend has been exaggerated. The study, “2010: The New Age of Video Entertainment,” from Frank Magid Associates, asserts that only 1 percent of consumers in the survey have actually cut the cord to their pay-TV operators, far fewer than previous studies that have shown. In fact, FMA argues that users are simply switching operators rather than looking for content over the top. The study found that consumers who use the greatest number of alternative platforms tend to also spend the most on subscription services, indicating that OTT delivery may be used to augment traditional delivery. “The average American’s capacity to consume video content is impressive,” said Maryann Baldwin, VP of Magid Media Futures.

Black Friday buyer’s guide: Roku

Judge temporarily shuts down FilmOn.com’s streaming of broadcasters’ content

FilmOn.com, which has been streaming broadcast networks’ signals across the Internet and charging customers $10 a month subscriptions, has been issued a temporary restraining order, which the company says it’s complying with-for now. A federal judge in New York issued the TRO pending the courts deciding whether it will issue a preliminary injunction. Broadcasters sued the company, claiming it was infringing on their copyrights

5min Media’s Harnevo tapped to lead super-sized AOL Video unit

AOL, which spun off from Time Warner almost a year ago, is bringing all of its video assets under a single unit as it continues to leverage online video to help it climb back to relevance. Creating an AOL Video unit will allow the Internet portal to better drive the creation, production and syndication of high-quality online video content for its users.

Juniper Networks acquires video delivery technology from Blackwave

Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), which last week jumped into the wireless networking market with its $152 million purchase of Trapeze networks, has acquired the intellectual property assets of Blackwave, which specializes in Internet video storage and delivery infrastructure. Juniper said it will use Blackwave’s technology to help it create a converged content delivery solution. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. By integrating the Blackwave technology with its own Media Flow Controller, Juniper adds storage performance and scaling capabilities that provides a solution for its customers who require scalable and efficient distribution of content and high-quality video over the Internet, Juniper said. “The acquisition of Blackwave technology continues Juniper’s commitment to the new network by serving the rapidly escalating appetite for high-quality video from anywhere to any device,” said Rajan Raghavan, vice president and general manager, Content and Media Business Unit, Juniper Networks.

SNL Kagan analyst: Can’t ignore OTT, cord cutting pressure on pay-TV industry any longer

The largest dip in cable subscriber numbers in three decades could be due to the economy, but it’s no longer possible to ignore the potential impact over-the-top pressure and cord cutting is having on the pay-TV industry, said Ian Olgeirson, a senior analyst with research firm SNL Kagan. “It’s a hard one to pinpoint at this juncture,” he said in a telephone interview with FierceIPTV . “Obviously, a second quarterly decline in a row, especially since until the second quarter we’d never even seen a single quarterly decline, is a little unusual.” The cable industry has lost some 1.45 million subscribers in the past six months, and there are some operators, like Charter, who say they’re seeing erosion in the fourth quarter, as well. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss the impact of over-the-top substitution on video subscriber performance,” he said, “particularly after seeing declines during the period of the year that tends to produce the largest subscriber gains due to seasonal shifts back to television viewing and subscription packages.

Black Friday buyers guide: Apple TV, Roku, Google TV, Orb TV or Boxee Box? I’ll take an iPad

Rev up your engines, head out to your favorite electronics store (or, better yet, sit back with a nice cup of tea and a fast Internet connection) and do your part to keep the economy stimulated. It’s officially the Holiday Shopping Season, and we here at FierceMarkets expect you to shop ’til you drop.

5min Media launching 24/7 celebrity news channel

5min Media, which recently was acquired by AOL, is launching a “5min Media Celebrity News Channel,” short-form celebrity gossip videos from top media brands that will be distributed across the 5min Media syndication network of some 800 sites, including entertainment-centric sites such as SheKnows.com, Hearst’s UGO sites, Betty Confidential and dozens more. Created in partnership with Splash News, Sugar, TalkHollywood, Meredith TV, Hollyscoop and other premium content providers, the 5min Media Celebrity News Channel will include a constant feed of the latest celebrity and entertainment news that can be integrated into partner sites by embedding the 5min Media video player. 5min sees 22 million unique viewers each month, and recently was ranked No. 1 by comScore in seven vertical categories, including Home, Food, Health, Fashion, Beauty and Auto

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