Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) On Demand Online will move from trial to reality later this year but not as the TV Everywhere wonderland all the hype might lead subscribers to expect: the streaming on demand will be limited to some cable shows and movies, access will be limited to in-home computers—and, at first, access will be possible only through Comcast’s own ISP, barring anyone who does not pay Comcast for video and broadband. But, as promised, the actual service will be free to cable subscribers; access will bethrough Comcast.net or the company;s video portal Fancast.

Sounds pretty weak. If you’re a Comcast subscriber, read the full story at PaidContent – Comcast Will Expand Streaming On Demand This Year; Not Quite TV Everywhere.

But if you’re really inclined to wag a finger, there is nothing disrupting your business more than the Internet. The MPAA has worked hard to force file-sharing sites out of business or push them to the Web’s fringes. At first, the studios tried to kill file sharing with lawsuits. Then they hired security firms, such as MediaDefender and MediaSentry, which promised to discourage file sharers by blocking or slowing the sharing process. None of that worked.

Maybe that’s one reason the MPAA overhauled its “antipiracy” operations three weeks ago. CNET reported on Friday that the studios’ trade group decided to change the name of the “antipiracy” unit to “content protection” and fired three leaders, including the MPAA’s general counsel.

Read the full article over at Cnet – End of the world as Hollywood knows it.

The second article pertains to TV specifically, attacking the outdated distribution and revenue model for the shows. The main point that the author is making, albeit indirectly, is that viewers value two things above all else: quality and convenience. Quality is two-fold: that’s to say the artistic quality of the show (why you like it) and the visual quality of the content (HD). Convenience is a no-brainer. It is far easier for people to pirate a show and watch it at their convenience without interruptions (commercials) than it is to catch it on the tube or deal with using a Tivo. Here’s a snip from that article:

What I’m doing is downloading TV shows and sending them to a media player near my TV. I’m doing this because there exist two separate infrastructures that interface imperceptibly at one key point – the official cable and online distribution networks and the shady underworld of pirate distributors. Right now that interface is a trickle, but it will soon be, pardon the pun, a torrent.

The first infrastructure is the studio system. While I’m talking specifically about TV here, we can also extrapolate to talk about movies and music. This infrastructure is based on the advertising or distribution model in that they make all their money placing advertisements around their content or by placing their content onto physical media. But what is important to note is that the TV industry is in a completely different business from the music and movie industry. They’re not “selling” a product. They’re selling the space around a product. They they commission artists to make that product better in hopes of raising the price of the space around that product. They sell DVDs, sure, but that’s a sideline.

I think the true testament to all of this is the fact that it is no longer (or maybe never was) a faux paux to admit you’re pirating TV shows and films because “everybody else is already doing it”. Indeed. Read the full article at CrunchGear – What “on-demand” media really means and why your cable company should be scared

Aimed at a TV-compatible interface to any streaming website Zinc should run on any Intel Mac running OS X 10.5. Specifically pointing out boxee, Zinc says users can create access to new sites just by adding an rss feed to their favorites tab.

A short blurb from ZeeVee:

It’s easy to use, and offers fast access to prime time TV episodes, movies from streaming services like Netflix, and web-only content. Connect your computer to your HDTV, and unleash the full power of Zinc.

Cheers Engadget.

Some of the international content Hulu has added includes: Digital Rights Group’s GreenWing, Peep Show,Doc Martin and Kingdom; Endemol’s Fear Factor UK, I Want to be a Hilton and Chains of Love; Bollywood films from Saavn, including Sarkar, Deewana and Hera Pheri; and U.S.-based anime producer FUNimation’s Mushi-shi, Shikabane Hime and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Thanks to Multichannel.

Time Warner Inc. chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said that the media giant is currently in discussions with several distributors regarding its “TV Everywhere” concept and that trials of the service could begin in the second half of the year.

Bewkes, speaking on Time Warner’s first-quarter earnings call wouldn’t identify which operators the company is talking to or when the trials would specifically begin. But Bewkes has been a big proponent of “TV Everywhere” concept, which would allow subscribers to cable, telco and satellite TV service the ability to access programming they have already paid for through their subscriptions on multiple platforms, including online and via mobile devices.

Already Time Warner has launched HBO Go, an online version of its HBO service, with about 650 hours of programming – three times the amount available on HBO On Demand – in Time Warner Cable’s Green Bay, Wis. system. These trials would include Time Warner content other than HBO, including some from its Turner Broadcasting System and could possibly include programming from other providers, said Time Warner spokesman Keith Cocozza.

Turns out not everybody is crazy with the idea, probably because there’s already an overwhelming amount of choices for VOD services and the technology and ideas are still very young. 

On the conference call, Bewkes wondered why every distributor doesn’t support the concept, adding that they already have the billing systems in place and provide service to roughly 90% of the television homes in the country. All it would require is the deployment of some type of authentication software to verify that an online viewer is a subscriber.

“The system is simple, it doesn’t present any blocks for consumers and it is clearly in the interests of all cable multichannel networks and all video providers,” Bewkes said. “The outliers seem to be the broadcast networks, which are clearly in a different position and have different problems.”

The notion of the content being your bargaining chip, rather than a channel or traditional disc-based product, is a very welcome one indeed. Let’s hope TV Everywhere debuts in one form or another. Thanks to Multichannel.

Disney, which made the deal through subsidiary ABC Enterprises Inc., joins News Corp., NBC Universal and Providence Equity Partners as an equity partner in the fast-growing TV and movie-streaming site. Terms of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval, were not announced. Disney will have near parity with News Corp. and NBC, according to an industry source. Other sites have reported it would take a stake between 27% and 30%, which the source said is within the realm of possibility. 

Once the deal closes, Hulu will begin streaming current ABC hits Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and other current shows the day after they air on TV, mirroring Disney’s streaming strategy on ABC.com and other Disney sites. Disney also offers streams of its shows through distribution partners AOL, Fancast and Xbox Live, which it will continue to do. Hulu, along with Disney and its partners, will get an exclusive window for Disney content. 

In addition to ABC primetime shows, Disney will also offer other current and library shows from ABC Daytime, ABC Family, the Disney Channel as well as “popular titles” from Walt Disney Studios to the site. The company hasn’t yet said what movies will be added.

One nice thing about this move is that there are now 3 out of the 4 major broadcasters that have joined Hulu. Right now VOD is extremely confusing to those who are not really paying much attention, so when the time comes for them to consider a service/company to go with they might not have a clue. Story courtesy of VidBiz.

On this occasion, NPA Conseil and www.tvarevoir.fr developed a catch-up TV indicator. The fist study measures the proportion of programs broadcast between March 15 and 21, 2009 that were made available online and on demand by national TV channels . It shows that national channels (TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+, France 5, M6 & Arte) offer more than half of their hour volume broadcast during major audience hours (17:00 to 24:00) on catch-up TV services. Entertainment, information and magazines (especially those on access prime-time) are the main programs available. Prime-time programs (films and TV series) are seldom available, as they are often proposed for rentals. 

Big thanks to VOD France for the tip. Full article here.