Boxee rebranded its box from Boxee TV to Boxee Cloud DVR and changed the services it offers. The device manufacturer is aiming to cooperate with broadcasters by trying a fresh approach to DVR, said Ronen.

“Our pitch to them is if we move the DVR to the cloud, we can do dynamic ad insertion, so instead of losing the ability to monetize that audience if they’re watching a week later or binge viewing if they’ve recorded the entire season, if you could serve fresh ads whenever somebody is watching it … that is a better way to monetize DVR.”

http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/changing-viewer-habits-pushed-boxee-to-quick-revamp-1200343403/?utm_source=MESA+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8577cbb55f-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/10/4208970/next-xbox-tv-entertainment-plans?utm_source=MESA+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8577cbb55f-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email

“The shift to digital and OTT distribution is accelerating, particularly as content providers increasingly warm up to these channels,” notes senior analyst, Michael Inouye. “While Pay-TV services are still afforded many advantages we are approaching the proverbial fork in the road when content owners will decide if they continue down the same path or forge ahead, shaking up the primary means of media distribution as we’ve known it.”

http://advanced-television.com/2013/04/11/ott-revenue-up-60/?utm_source=MESA+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8577cbb55f-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email

PayPal is now available on LG Smart TVs in the US, Canada and the UK, and will become available in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Australia this month, with other markets to follow.

Describing the television as a “natural outlet for commerce”, PayPal’s senior director of global business development Randall Davies said that the partnership will be welcome news for charities and advertisers looking to engage an audience at a time when they are receptive to donating or purchasing.

Consumers can use a remote to enter in their information or use LG’s Magic Remote to control the onscreen keypad. PayPal will also offer a ‘remember me’ command for an even easier experience.

While staying in SF, my hotel was just around the corner from the historic Shorenstein Hayes Nederlander Theater. Looking out the window Thursday night, I couldn’t help but think about the theater, connected home and the smart tv.

In 1905, Sam Shubert was killed in a railroad accident. Sam and his brothers Lee and J.J. operated theaters in Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, Troy, Albany and in 1900 leased the Harold Square Theater in New York City. During the next 25 years, Sam’s brothers carried on his legacy assembling a vast network of theaters from New York City to Portland, Oregon. The Shubert Brothers, as they are now referred, owned, managed or operated close to a thousand theaters across the USA. In addition to controlling the majority of credible venues, the brothers were powerhouse producers, presenting some 500 plays and musical attractions.

The Shubert Brothers were infamous for their ability to understand what audiences want to see and presenting it in a venue in which they controlled the outcome. They were the truest definition of a “Producer,” able to match creativity, talent and demand with an end game of successful monetization. What’s most impressive is that all of this was done before Google Analytics, before Neilson and before phone-banks for consumer market research. Much has been said about The Shubert Brothers but their vertical integration of content creation, distribution, accessibility and controls were great for commercialization of creativity and provided a solid economy for entertainment consumption. What is amazing to me is that all of this progress and targeting of content on a local level was delivered and measured in a 1-to-1 manner where the reaction post-show from Main Street USA informed future Producer level decisions.

About the time of Lee and J.J. Shubert’s death in the mid-50s and 60s respectively, a new form of producer was in full-effect. Television producers were busy crafting content for distribution to homes across America. In this story, theaters were being replaced by living rooms and Producers clung to “channels” as a way of associating a target audience, time of day and a well-crafted message. Content was now being created, distributed 1-to-many and measurement happened in broad-strokes.

Fast forward fifty years to 2000 and the Producers of today find themselves with a malleable digital medium fertile for rapid creation, personalization and measurement unlike anything we have ever seen; or is it? With all this progression came more choices for the consumer, more interactivity and more fragmentation. Producers still relied on the “channels” of yesterday to be found by their target audience and online media buys in the form of banners, pre-roll and sponsorship exploded on the scene. That reliance on mass buys and one message is about to vanish.

To better understand where we are today, I suggest we look to The Shubert Brothers legacy. Except this time we no longer need the “channels” or theaters, the scale or the vertically integrated venues. We only need a connected device and to be thinking like The Shubert Brothers; understanding our target audience and ensuring we are relevant and findable.

Creatives have new challenges to overcome. Leveraging the smarts and abilities of platforms such as Google TV, Apple TV, WD TV and Roku enables content creators to find, deliver and measure their audience real-time in a 1-to-1 and 1-to-many manner. Never before has this level of targeting, distribution, creativity and interactivity been available to storytellers. (See figure 1) and that goes against the core of creativity. Creativity lives in grey and data lives in black and white.

In a lot of ways, the connected platforms, which allow for users to find and engagement with content real-time are the new Producers. The Platforms know that it is their job to help you find the content you want, when you want it and how you want it. No more channels. No more reliance on provider deals. Replace the names of J.J., Sam and Lee with Google, Apple and Amazon. Welcome the age of hybrid delivery and the renaissance of the new Shubert Brothers.

http://www.2ndscreensummit.com/nyc/

Produced by MESA in partnership with TWICE, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News magazines and in conjunction with CEA’s CE Week in New York City (June 25-29), the 2nd Screen Summit (S3) NYC event will be
a gathering of CE, Broadcast, Advertising and Content Holder executives and their service provider partners for a half-day of information, market statistics, education and thought leadership around the emerging 2nd Screen ecosystem.

Building on the success of the S3 event held in Santa Monica in February, S3 NYC will emphasize the importance of the 2nd Screen to digital distribution models being explored by content holders and advertisers. Seen as a key to the success of digital is the engagement of consumer through 2nd screen user experiences, with the resulting data and analytics about consumers driving additional retail/engagement/revenue opportunities.

Is this really a second screen experience? Sync is nothing new.