A Job at PlayOn!

January 12, 2012 | Jim's Blog

Ok – we don’t have positions open up that often, but we have an intern position now. It’s for someone who wants to work with a fast growing software company in the online video space. It’s a Data Entry job, and it’s located in Seattle. If you’re interested, conscientious, hungry, and willing to pay your dues to learn, please let us know by sending over your resume to jobs@playon.tv. We’re looking for someone soon!
 
Cheers,
The PlayOn Team
 

» View post

Season of the Roku.

December 29, 2011 | Jim's Blog

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone got a Roku for Christmas this year? I hope it’s not just me, I hope that the mainstream is really beginning to adopt streaming entertainment. It’s about high time they did. PlayOn has been around in earnest for about 3 years now and things have changed. It used to take an entire cup of coffee (or cocktail if the occasion called for it) to explain to my friends and family just what PlayOn was. Now it takes less time than it does for them to add sugar. People understand the terminology and the concept now, they get streaming. I think that’s a good sign.
 
Then my aunt in rural Virginia got a Roku, now I know that streaming has arrived. It’s one thing to be able to talk to my relatively tech savvy friends about PlayOn and streaming and DLNA, it’s another thing altogether when my aunt who still by her own admission doesn’t “get” the Internet is streaming Netflix to her TV. I’ve never felt more convinced that major changes are afoot in the way we consume media. As someone who works for a company that is right in the streaming technology mix I couldn’t be more excited. You should be excited too, the growth of streaming entertainment will present you with more choices than you’ve ever had before and it’ll do it for less money.
 
My aunt got a Roku just for Netflix, but I have friends that got Roku’s too. Why? Because they wanted an easy way to stream more content into their homes. Whether it’s Netflix, music, shows, or something else, Roku gives them an easy relatively cheap way for them to do it. Some of them intend to fully cut their cable and save around $100/month. Others are using Roku to supplement their cable options with a host of on-demand titles and some cool music sites. Some of them still don’t even know how they’re going to use it, but they know they will.
 
So why am I telling you this? Easy, PlayOn is the best investment you can make in making your Roku be all it can be. For only a few bucks a month you can bring live news, Hulu (no Hulu+ subscription required), Comedy Central (The Daily Show anyone?), PBS, CNN, Spike, and much more to your Roku. It’s super easy to do, it’s free to try out, and it adds more content to your Roku than you can imagine. We also want you to know that we’re working hard on making PlayOn work even better with Roku. So whether you’re a cord cutter, a cord never, or just someone with a cool new Roku you’re not sure how you’ll use, PlayOn is the best plugin channel you can add to get the most of your new Roku. It’s easy to get started. http://www.playon.tv/devices/roku
 
Enjoy.

 

» View post

Taking PlayOn to the Next Level, Introducing the PlayOn Channel Store

December 20, 2011 | The PlayLater Team's Blog

Earlier this year, we launched the PlayDirect API to give developers the power to create their own PlayOn channels. Developers began adding channels in a frenzy, with top-tier content such as the Food Network, Disney Channel Live, Lifetime, TVLand, and a myriad of new channels to enjoy. When we launched the API, we promised “phase two” was coming – and now its time.

PlayOn users can now access the new channels created by our developers with the launch of the PlayOn Channel Store. The store gives consumers the first way to create a free, fully-customized channel lineup, unique to their own tastes. The PlayOn Channel store makes it easier than ever for PlayOn and PlayLater customers to find and install additional channels. Meanwhile, developers using the PlayDirect API are also enabled to reach a much wider audience.

While PlayOn already boasts over 25 channels including Netflix, Hulu, MTV, TBS, Pandora, YouTube, Comedy Central, CBS, ESPN, ESPN3, [adult swim], Spike, Nick, BET, Amazon, and PBS – users can now access The WB, TVLand, WSJ, and Bravo! Soon, users will be able to access nearly anything available online, only limited by how quickly developers can make new channels available.
 

For more information on new PlayOn Channel Store visit our website at channels.playon.tv

If you’re interested in adding a channel to PlayOn, you can get access to the API, and start adding channels to the store at the PlayOn Plugin Channels Developer Hub
 

» View post

HOW TO: Record an episode of The Daily Show to watch on your holiday vacation or road trip

November 15, 2011 | The PlayLater Team's Blog

Streaming media is great, until you try to watch the latest blockbuster in a plane, train or automobile! PlayLater is here to ensure you have something to watch on your trek over the river and through the woods (to Grandmothers house) this holiday season. It’s super easy and free for the first 14 days. Let’s take a look!

NOTE You’ll need to install the latest version of PlayLater to your PC. Then it’s just three simple steps:

STEP ONE: Open PlayLater and click on the channel you want. We want to catch last night’s “Daily Show with John Stewart”, so we’ll click on Comedy Central.

PlayLater Screenshot

STEP TWO: Select the episode you want to record. Check the Air Date to find the latest (you can also browse or search for the episode you want). Click the Record Now button and leave your PC on for the next 30 min.

Viola! Your selection will be waiting for you under “My Recordings” so you can “PlayLater” with no Internet access required.
 

STEP THREE: Click play. Watch your prize and pat yourself on the back for being prepared!

Well, this will make your holiday travels a bit more enjoyable. Why not load up the hard drive with your favorite clips, TV shows, and movies? You’ll need something to do during your layover in Chicago.

TIP: Be sure to record a couple of things for the kids while you are at it, they get bored so easily : )

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 to record it now, and PlayLater. What will you record next?
 

» View post

The DVR Effect: What is driving the increase in time-shifted content?

October 31, 2011 | The PlayLater Team's Blog

Long gone are the days when we’d gather around our television sets for the latest batch of “must see TV.” These days, we can just catch up on our favorite programs whenever we want since we can simply time shift them. Audiences have decided that they can’t be bothered with the networks’ schedule. We want to watch what we want, when we want. Period.

Time shifting is experiencing exponential growth, but it threatens broadcasters’ and media companies’ status quo. They are desperately trying to maintain control over their primetime, the advertising tied to primetime, and the content itself. Time shifting threatens their way of doing business. However, it seems the more the cable companies and content providers try to fight time shifting, the more consumers demand it. And why wouldn’t they? Most of the content we want is available online, on demand. We can find what we need, when we need it. To the modern consumer, access is more important than ownership.

One of the problems is that time-shifted or DVRed content isn’t included in the metrics. The more you measure it, the more you see that time-shifted views of broadcast content represent a larger and larger percentage of the total views of that content. And it is growing – this year consumers have viewed 25% more DVRed content than last year.
 
However, if consumers don’t want to watch by the broadcast schedule, when do they want to watch? A recent New York Times article explains that viewers are catching up on their time-shifted content on Fridays, already a traditionally weak ratings night. The article states:

“Friday is a big DVR viewing night,” said David F. Poltrack, CBS head of research. “by Friday, people have built up an inventory of shows they recorded earlier in the week.”

We know why viewers want to time shift, and we know that the cable and content companies are fighting to maintain the status quo. Maybe the big companies should reconsider their stance. Time shifting offers access to audiences who you cannot reach during primetime, and enables an existing audience to watch more often. Research studies have also shown that online viewers are more likely to watch commercials and are more engaged with the advertisement than broadcast viewers are.

Perhaps once the methods of measurement catch up to reality – and count the people who are time-shifting content (Nielson plans to start measuring DVR viewership in some major metros in 2012), advertisers will become more aware of how numerous, valuable and engaged these viewers are. Then broadcasters will be able to leverage (financially) and therefore embrace (technically) the new behaviors and expanded audiences. It really doesn’t matter how hard the media companies try to hold on to the broadcast model, though. Time shifting is here to stay, and soon enough our children will laugh at the inconvenient concept of “broadcast.”

 

 

 

» View post

Pages